Stats: Thursday, 14 October 2010, 06:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52921139

Thanks Hillbillies for a great run this morning!! With 2 speedy Hillbillies as running partners today, I had a good speed-session. Dy is back in top form after a lightning-fast Gun Run this past weekend, and Rob is his usual speedy self.

We started at a comfy pace up Dean Street, and stretched our legs along Newlands Avenue. Heading up Kirstenbosch Drive Rob found a hidden energy store and flew up the hill, with Dy and I following close behind. Heading down Riverside, Dy and I had a bit of a race to the M3, temporarily leaving Rob behind, but he soon caught up and then overtook us - still having some energy left after we'd spend ours sprinting.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable run. Scenic, with little by way of vehicular traffic but quite a lot of runners out and about. I can see that summer is well on its way - mornings warm up quite quickly and all the 'fair-weather-runners' are coming out of hibernation and starting their summer running programmes. It's great to see so many people taking advantage of the good weather to spend some time outdoors.

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Some of the Hillbillies will be doing a 5K run tomorrow morning (Friday) at 6am, and for those who prefer sleeping in on a Friday morning, join us next week Tuesday for a longer run - around 14-15km - starting 5:30am from Great Westerford.

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Wednesday, 13 October 2010, 05:30

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52804490

Having missed yesterday morning's run due to rain (which then cleared up within half an hour...), I decided to make up for it this morning with an equidistant run. I had to tweak the route a little - running solo I didn't want to run down some of the quieter back-roads that we enjoy as a group. I decided to combine two of our main routes to keep my distance up, and got in some good hillwork by sticking to Rhodes Avenue (M63) all the way from M3 to Kirstenbosch Top Gate - wow, that's a long climb!! I was rather glad for this past weekend's Gun Run - Kloof Road was good training for this morning.

My reward was a stop for some fresh sweet Kirstenbosch water at Rycroft Gate, followed by a peaceful meander through the Gardens, just making up a route and choosing paths at random.

Heading back I decided to hit our regular 'flat 8K' route - well the last 6km thereof. Water break at the Engen as usual (dodging a whole gaggle of businessmen with coffee and cigarettes in hand (the coffee smelled so good! but the smoke was NOT pleasant.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of runners and cyclists on the road at 5:30 this morning already - I passed at least 2 runners while I was head to Great Westerford just before 5:30. Another 2 ran past Westerford as I was exiting the building. And I lost count of how many people I crossed paths with along my route!! I don't know if it wassc the great weather, or just that everyone was having a good day, but every single runner, walker and cyclist I came across was smiling and friendly and all just seemed to be enjoying the great outdoors.

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I hope you'll all join me tomorrow morning for a scenic, relaxing 8K. We're heading out Bishopscourt way again, so there are a few little hills, but every climb has a downhill!!

Thursday, 6am at Great Westerford

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Morning Run: Tuesday, 12 October, 05:30

Important update: tomorrow's run starts at 05:30!
We meet at Great Westerford as usual, but with summer fast approaching (I know, who'd think from the weather at the moment?!) the mornings are getting lighter very quickly, and the time has finally arrived for us to shift into our 'summer schedule'. So from this week on, until it starts getting too dark again at the end of this summer, Tuesday morning runs will start at 05:30, and Thursday remains 06:00 throughout the year. This gives us the chance to squeeze in an extra km or two on Tuesday mornings, and get extra-fit for summer.

Tomorrow we'll be taking the scenic route to Kirstenbosch Gardens, avoiding the traffic. From Newlands Avenue, up Boshoff Avenue, stopping for water at Stone Church. Then up Winchester, Glastonbury and up to the junction of Klaasens Road. We take a small detour up and over Monterey Road before following Klassens Road to Top Gate. We meander down through the Gardens from Top Gate (Rycroft Gate - don't worry, free entry until about 8am.) down to entrance 2 (Tea Garden) and slowly make our way back to Dean Street.

Hilly, yes, but very scenic. A great leg-stretch after a tough but high successful Gun Run this past weekend.

See you guys tomorrow morning 05:30!

 

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Gun Run Half Marathon 2010

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52536584

So the 2010 Gun Run is officially over. But it seems that all the Hillbillies who participated had a fantastic day!!! A whole bunch of PB's, and those who didn't run personal bests still ran good times and enjoyed the race.

A HUGE "WELL DONE" to Tanja, Linelle and Dy for their fantastic PB's!!! Linelle cut 2 minutes off from her previous PB - on this tough course that is extra-well done!! Tanja managed to cut a whole 5 minutes off of her previous PB, including a whoping 27 minutes off her 2009 Gun Run time!!! And Dy breezed by in under 2 hours - amazing!!!

As I was approaching the finish line I heard my name being called, couldn't see who was calling me, till I looked down to see Josh happily stretching out his legs on the ground and waving at me - he flew through the course in a stunning 1h54 and was waiting around for Tanja and the rest of the Hillbillies to finish!!!!

While I didn't break any land speed records yesterday (or even approach my 21K PB), I had a great race. I felt strong, and showed that mean old hill who's boss. To say that my previous 2 Gun Runs were disastrous would be an understatement. So this year, to run so strong the entire course, and finish feeling fresh and good - that was my Gun Run achievement. At least now I'll have good memories of what was probably my last Gun Run (unless a future visit to SA happens to coincide with that year's Gun Run of course)

I saw Andre along the out-and-back stretch along Granger street - he looked strong and comfortable. And so lost in the experience that he didn't hear my call out. I hope you had a good race Andre!!

And I'm sure I saw Kari at the start, but she was clear on the otherside of the street with a huge crowd in between, so I didn't get to say hi. I hope you had a good race too Kari!

So congrats and well done once again too all the Hillbillies who took part in yesterday's Gun Run Half Marathon!!!! You guys all did amazingly well!!!!

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Dean Street Hillbillies

2010 OUTsurance 94.5 Kfm Gun Run

Good luck to all the Hillbillies running the Gun Run on Sunday.
I hope you're planning to collect your numbers early, because by 12:10 this afternoon it was already getting quite crowded at Sportsmans Warehouse in Rondebosch, when I went to collect my number! It seems we're in record field sizes for all Gun Run routes this year. It has always been a popular race, and this year is no different, so get to the start early and save yourselves the hassle of finding a parking spot 2km from the start, and an hour wait in the loo-queues!!! Yeah, I'm talking from experience here, and I'll definitely be arriving VERY early on Sunday!

Start times and route infor for the various distances are as follows (from the Top Events website):
VENUE:  Beach Road, Mouille Point for all distances
START TIMES:  21.1km - 07:00, 10km - 07:30, 5km 07:45
ROUTE: 21.1km - Mouille Point, V&A Waterfront, Somerset Road, New Cape Town Stadium Precinct, Sea Point, Beach Road, Kloof Road,              Camps Bay, Clifton, Sea Point Promenade.
ROUTE: 10km - Mouille Point, V&A Waterfront, Sea Point Promenade
ROUTE: 5km - Mouille Point - Green Point Park, New Cape Town Stadium Precinct, Sea Point Promenade
FINISH: Sea Point Beach Front, Rocklands Beach opposite Winchester Mansions for all distances
CUT-OFF: 10:00 for all distances

I'll be on the lookout for you guys at the start, but if i don't spot you in the crowds before the race - good luck and enjoy! And please give us some feedback about your race experience afterwards! We'd all like to hear how you did/how much you enjoyed the run.

 

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Dean Street Hillbillies

 

Stats: Thursday Morning Run: 7 October 2010, 06:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52008784

What a perfect morning for a run (despite being a bit windy)!

3 Hillbillies set off this morning, with Jen debuting her very first Thursday morning run with the Hillbillies.

You ran well Jen, hope you enjoyed it, and we hope to see you at more Thursday runs! Watch this space for route details of upcoming runs, we'll definitely be doing today's route again soon.

We had a lovely, flat and easy run this morning - following our usual 8K route along Newlands Ave, M3, past the cricket grounds and along Belmont, but instead of hitting Main Road back along that last kay, we ran along the Liesbeek River Trail instead. Except for getting stuck behind a smoker on one bridge this mornimg, the river route offers clean, fresh air and relaxing sounds of the river flowing by. An awesome run!!

Thanks Hillbillies!!

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Dean Street Hillbillies

Stats: Tuesday, 5 October 2010, 05:45

Wow what a beautiful morning for a run!!! So warm, clear, and fresh.
We had a lovely run up Rhodes Mem, stopping at the very top for some cold water and to admire the awesome sunrise view.

We tried an interesting new variation of the old route, by continuing down past Newlands Avenue on our way back, and crossing the M3 at the Shell. We decided on the spur of the moment to hit the Liebeek River Trail for a short stretch, and wow was that a great choice (thanks again Dy!). Nothing beats a relaxing morning run along a slow-moving river. Unfortunately, that stretch of the Trail is fairly short and we soon found our feet on solid tar again, but it was a fantastic detour and change of scenes from our 'same-old' route!

Thanks Dy, Linelle and Rob for a great run!

Stats can be found here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51775118

Thursday we meet at 6am at Great Westerford for an easy, flat 8km through Claremont and Rondebosch. We'll hit the River Trail from Belmont Road and follow it all the way back to Boundary. It really is a stunning route, and avoids busy (and stinky) Main Road.

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Dean Street Hillbillies