I didn’t plan on racing two weekends in a row, but when a friend suggested the 14k Grape Run, we couldn’t resist. Who could say no to a run through vineyards on a Sunday morning?
Our alarms went off at 4am (no oversleeping this time!) and by 5am, we were out the door. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the venue, a shopping mall parking lot, to pick up our bibs. So far, so smooth. But every race has its hiccup, right?
This time, it was the toilets. Every runner knows that portapotties are race-critical infrastructure. I scouted the area. Nada. Turns out, there were only very few toilets inside the shopping mall. Nervously, I joined the ridiculously long line. I calculated my odds and briefly considered some bushes in the parking lot, but thankfully, everyone was on panic-fuelled speed, so the line moved along nicely. I made it to the starting line with four minutes to spare.
We even squeezed in a quick selfie with some of our running club (plus the guys in the background who clearly wanted in on the photo!).
Here’s a key detail: 15 minutes before our 14k race, the 21k runners had already taken off. I didn’t realize yet just how much that would affect my race.
We started on the road with gentle up-and-downs before turning into the hilly vineyards. The sun was climbing over the hills, bathing everything in golden light. It was absolutely beautiful. There were a lot of twists and turns but there were plenty of marshals at all the crucial points.
Then came the collision course. About 15 minutes in, the slower 21k runners started appearing on the route. At first, it was just a few scattered individuals, but soon there were groups of them, chatting and soaking in the morning. I fully respect this – after all, running should be an enjoyment – but it made life tricky for us faster 14k runners.
The chaos peaked when we were funnelled into a single row of vines barely wide enough for one runner. Directly ahead was a 21k-pacemaker, surrounded by a loyal pack of about 50 followers. I was trying to pass, along with two fellow 14k-runners. I shouted at the top of my lungs: “Runners trying to pass on your right!”
The pacemaker, hearing the commotion, yelled out: “Everyone left!” In theory, the two commands were clear, but in practice, the runners were utterly confused. People drifted right and left, creating a perfect storm of chaos. I swear someone almost toppled into a grapevine. To a casual onlooker, it must have been a hilarious spectacle.
I felt so relieved when our routes were split and I saw an unending, free downhill ahead!
From then on, it was pure joy. We rolled smoothly through the sunlit vineyards towards the finish line. I crossed in 1:07, taking 2nd in my age group, and Kai followed not long after in 1:12.
Despite all the chaos, this race was an absolute blast. Would I do it again? Absolutely! And next time, I’ll have some ninja moves ready for those bottlenecks!
- Do you mix up left and right? – Yes, all the time!
- Medal or mug – which would you prefer? – The mug! Anything but a medal!
I am linking up with Jenny from Runners Fly and Jenn from Runs with Pugs for Tuesday Topics!
Liebe Catrina,
haha – grandios beschrieben! Ich stelle mir die Läuferschar um den Pace-Maker so vor, als würden sie auseinandergesprengt. Völlig wahllos, in alle Richtungen und du und deine Mitläufer slalomen vorbei! 😆
Deine Klowarteschlange erinnert mich an ein Rennen am Wolfgangsee, an dem ich zwar früh genug für den Start bei den Dixis anstand, aber die Kleidertransporte abzufahren drohten. Als ich an 3. Stelle war, musste ich mich entscheiden zwischen pinkeln und den Kleiderbeutel eben beim Lauf selbst tragen oder die Schlange verlassen, Wechselkleidung abgeben und wieder hinten anstellen. Ich entschied mich, meine Kleidung der nächsten “Fertigen”, die aus dem Klo kam, mitzugeben, da sie selbst auch noch einen Beutel dabei hatte. Sie brachte beide dann zum Transportfahrzeug und ich kam kurz danach dran und gut durch den Lauf!
Gratuliere dir und Kai zu eueren super Zeiten!
Liebe Doris,
Ah, deine Wolfgangsee-Geschichte! Die habe ich noch nie gehört, die ist ja Gold wert! Dieses panische Abwägen zwischen pinkeln oder den Kleiderbeutel mitschleppen… aber deine Lösung war ja genial. Darauf wäre ich nicht gekommen, super! Die perfekte Mischung aus Pragmatismus und Laufnotfall.
Und ja, die Situation um den Pacemaker wäre perfekt für einen Comiczeichner gewesen: ein ruhiger, friedlicher Weinberg an einem Sonntagmorgen, und mittendrin dieses Geschrei und ein auseinanderfliegendes Knäuel an Läufern, es war zu lustig! 😆
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen Cape Town!
Guten Morgen, die erste Nachricht, die ich bekomme , ist die von Catrina und ihrem erneuten Rennen !! Wundert mich das ? Nein, erstens ist es Dienstag und zweitens: was wäre ein Wochenende ohne Lauf ??
Morgens um 4 Uhr, das ist ja gruselig !! Aber dafür wurdest du ja dann belohnt, als du in der schönen, langen Schlange an den Toiletten stehen durftest und zum Glück noch rechtzeitig am Start warst !! 😉
Wieder gut gemacht, liebe Catrina, zweiter Platz, ein Sieg nach dem anderen……………Glückwunsch !
Immer wieder schön, die abwechslungsreiche Landschaft dort zu sehen.
Regengrüße von ganz oben……………erhole dich gut !
Danke dir, liebe Margitta! Zwei Wettkämpfe an zwei Wochenenden hintereinander waren nicht gerade ideal, aber es hat enorm Spass gemacht. 4 Uhr ist früh, klar, aber gegen 5 Uhr wird es hell und die Morgenstimmung ist einfach schön. Und wenn man um kurz nach 7 Uhr schon im Ziel ist, liegt der ganze Sonntag noch vor einem.
Über den zweiten Platz freue ich mich – der Sieg ging an eine starke Laufkollegin aus Simbabwe. Die detaillierten Resultate kommen erst nächste Woche, weil ohne elektronische Zeitmessung alles etwas länger dauert.
Regen bei euch? Ich wette, du warst trotzdem draussen!
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen, aber sehr windigen Cape Town!
Congrats Catrina! A wine race sounds right up my alley–but what, no wine at the finish? I’ve been in races that have had slow runners/walkers mixed in with the rest of us, and that weaving gets pretty difficult after a while. Thank goodness the course opened up! What a beautiful place to run!
Thank you, Wendy! I know right?! Wine would have been really nice!
I don’t mind weaving if there’s enough room, but between the vines it got hectic, ha!
It was a lovely place to run, especially at that time of the day.
Second in your age group, Catrina, you’re a star!
But wow, you weren’t kidding – that is chaos. Who would design a route that way? And the toilets thing? Bad planning but I guess it all worked out in the end (I would also have been looking for bushes in the parking lot!)
I would definitely prefer a mug. I love mugs and that one is very cute!
Thanks, Nicole! Exactly, bushes for the win! It actually wouldn’t be the first time… I must admit that I once peed behind a few trees in a school yard…
I think race organizers try to save money on the port-a-potty rental. Somebody needs to invent a portable potty that you can use discreetly in your car!
Not having a bathroom right before a race is a runner’s worst nightmare. And yes I mix up left and right all the time.
Congrats on defying the odds and making it through the race! You earned the mug!
If I had know I would have drank less tea in the morning! The mugs are a nice keepsake – the announcer was making a joke with how the finishers got “mugged” after the race. 😂
Ha, I see the problem here! I don’t usually mix up left and right, but I might in the middle of a race like that. I would have been one of the slower runners falling over into a grapevine, ha ha.
Congrats on another great race! It looks really beautiful, and yes I would DEFINITELY take a mug over a medal! No more medals!!!
Oh, Jenny, I would have been the first to mix it up, especially during a race when the brain gets a bit foggy.
No more medals! I keep on throwing mine away (except the “important” ones), so a mug was a nice change. You can never have enough mugs, right?!
Vielleicht hatte die Gruppe einige Gläschen Wein intus, da ist mensch schonmal ein bisschen desorientiert 😉 Ohne Alkoholbeteiligung hätte ich in diesem Fall jedenfalls die richtige Seite gewählt. Beim mehrfachen „um die Ecke denken“ mache ich auch rechts-links-Fehler.
In Anbetracht meines völlig überfüllten Tassenschranks und meiner Vorliebe für andere Tassenformen würde ich in diesem Fall eine Medaille bevorzugen.
Haha, genau! Bei mir ist (auch ohne Alkohol) diese Rechts-Links-Verwirrung so schlimm, dass Kai bei meinen Richtungsanweisungen immer das Gegenteil macht, dann liegt er richtig. 😅
Oh, Lizzy, du hast einen überfüllten Tassenschrank? (Oder zumindest alle Tassen im Schrank, ha!) Dann wären wir perfekte Tauschpartner!
Medal or mug? Neither please. I want MONEY! 😅💦💦💦
Bottlenecks are part of the course challenge! It makes it exciting. Those kinds of courses are not PB courses of course.🤔 14km is even a stranger distance than 15km!😅💦
Yeah toilets are essential. I don’t always wait in those long lines. I find a bush and give back to Mother Nature 😅💦 When you have to go, you just go!
🏃♀️💨🤚Congratulations on your AG second! No money this time huh?
MONEY!! Me too! 😂 I guess I will get an e-mail asking for my banking details next week. Because there was no electronic timing (all manual), it takes 8 working days for them to put together the ranking list. I agree, 14km is a funny distance. I thought maybe they just wanted to make it two thirds of a half-marathon, which still sounds a bit strange, ha!
I like the term “giving it back to Mother Nature” – it sounds quite polite and pleasant. I’ll use that next time I’ll pee behind a bush! 😅
I’ve never thought of the congestion aspect when there are multiple different races in one event and narrow passages. How frustrating! But wow, the scenery! What a lovely idea to have a race through vineyards. But what a bummer about the toilets, they need to fix that for another time.
The two races were supposed to be 30 minutes apart, which would have probably been perfect. But for some reason we only started with 15 minutes difference, which threw the whole spacing out off. The vineyards were lovely! You can also buy a hiking/biking permit for the day, which is a nice day out – and you get a wine tasting at the end! 😀
Well done! Another AG placing finish! You are so fast! I loathe medals so I would take anything but a medal. I throw all of the medals away. I should just tell them not to give me one at the finish. It’s a waste of money and space!
I can get left and right confused if I am startled, so I can see why the runners were sort of startled! I think we tend to pass on the left here in the US – or that is the way it works on our lake paths. So people generally say “on your left” when they are passing. I wonder if that varies from country to country? I am thinking you drive on the right side in South Africa but maybe I am wrong!
What a gorgeous place to race, though! The single track aspect makes it very tricky, though! I’m glad it was just for a small part of the race!
Thank you, Lisa! You are like me! I really don’t want the medals! It would be better if you could sign up for the medal when you register for the race (as they now do a lot with the t-shirts, you pay a bit extra for it).
Ah yes, good point! I should have mentioned that in the post. In South Africa, everyone drives on the left, so overtaking would happen on the right (did I get that right??).
You would have loved this race, Lisa! It was quite hilly, but the vibe was relaxed and really enjoyable (apart from the traffic jams!)
Liebe Catrina,
wow, gleich wieder an der Startlinie – ja, so bleibt man in Top-Form! Sieht man ja an euren Zeiten, Glückwunsch zu euren Finishs, super!
Landschaftlich sieht es ja sehr einladend aus, ein Sommermorgenambiente wie im Bilderbuch. Wenn da nur nicht dann die laufenden Hindernisse gewesen wären. Da kann ich deinen Frust sehr gut verstehen. Man hätte das sicher gut managen können, die einen links, die anderen rechts. Aber wenn das sooo schwierig ist. Oder hatten schon einige dem wohlgereiften Rebensaft zugesprochen…?
Welch ein Glück, dass das nur eine Passage war, und ihr danach wieder freie Bahn hattet!
Für mich wäre allerdings Medaille bevorzugt. Wir haben schon sooo viele Tassen…
Liebe Grüße
Elke
Liebe Elke,
siehst du, ich bemühe mich, mit deinem Wochenendpensum mitzuhalten… du hast ja auch ständig irgendeine Hundsverlochete, wie Kai das nennt 😅. Dieser Lauf hätte dir gefallen: leicht hügelig, ruhige Landschaft, angenehme Temperaturen, kein Wind, wirklich ideal.
Eigentlich hätten die beiden Distanzen eine halbe Stunde versetzt starten sollen, aber aus irgendeinem Grund gingen die 21km-Läufer erst um 5.45 Uhr los. Und die Gruppe um den Pacemaker hat gesungen und geklatscht, wie das hier üblich ist… ich kam mir fast wie eine Spielverderberin vor, die mitten in die Party reinplatzt. Aber irgendwie hat es funktioniert.
Und sag mal: Wie kommt ihr alle zu so vielen Tassen zu Hause? Lizzy hat auch Unmengen! 😂
Liebe Grüsse aus dem windigen Cape Town!
Naja, Hundsverlochete würde ich das nicht unbedingt nennen, kleine lokale Läufe haben auch ihren Charme.
Unsere Tassen sind eher Souvenirtassen, von Ereignissen, Weihnachtsmärkten u.ä. Auf alle Fälle sind damit Schrankfächer (zu) gut gefüllt. 😉
Liebe Grüße aus dem kalten Rheinland!
Elke
Haha, eure Tassen-Sammlung gäbe einen interessanten Flohmi-Stand! 🤩
How frustrating and disruptive to your rhythm. It sounds like you kept a level head and it must have made the final stint extra gratifying to have a clear path ahead of you!
Also, it looks like the weather could NOT have been better!
The weather was amazing, Elisabeth! Very cool in the beginning and then the warm sun rays – absolutely perfect.
The traffic jam really threw off the rhythm, but once the route split, it felt like someone opened a gate and finally let us run. That downhill was exhilarating!
You are on fire, Catrina! You’re cleaning up on all those AG places 🙂 Wow, that would be SO annoying coming up on all those walkers, especially on that single lane segment. I’m glad it wasn’t for too long! Congrats, to you & Kai!!
Thanks, Kim! It was a fun race, despite the wall of walkers…It killed the rhythm and the momentum. Luckily, the rest of the run was actually great. Kai was happy with his race too. I’m so happy every time he decides to run too!
What a fun race! Can u get both medal and mug?
I would prefer right side if possible. Just used to it I guess.
I love how much spontaneous race you join!
You would have enjoyed it, Coco! There was only mugs, but I heard some runners say they’d rather have a medal.
Yes, same here! I’m used to sticking to the right and let people overtake on the left, but here in SA, it’s left-side driving and people use the same system in the races. It still boggles my mind!
Congrats on your 2nd place age group finish, and how nice to receive an award you will actually use! When we ran the Baltimore marathon they had the half marathoners start at the half-way point of the marathon course. Their race started at just the right time for the slower, walking-six-abreast-while-chatting participants were starting out as we came speeding through. It was frustrating and chaotic for a bit, but at least we were on city streets and not in a single-row vineyard.
Yes, ask my balance and stretching class students, I mix up left and right all of the time! LOL
Oh my goodness, that Baltimore race must have been planned by non-runners! How can anyone plan a race where faster runners will bump into the slower runners of another distance?!
You are right, especially the six-abreast chattering groups really are annoying for faster runners. In our case, the half-marathon should have started 30 minutes before us (they ended up starting only 15 minutes before). I think with 30 minutes, it would have been a much better experience.
Ah, I’m not the only one! Kai is convinced I do it on purpose when I’m giving directions in the car! 😂
Nicely done! Sounds like it was a little hectic out there for a few KM’s. I have missed my start time before because I was stuck in a porta potty line. There are never enough
ARGH!! Being stuck on a porta-potty when the gun goes off is my worst nightmare!
In this case, it would have affected my time, as it was all manually timed, no electronic chips.
It got hectic – but as soon as the roads were clear it was amazing!!
Ha! I’ll take the medal! But the mug is cute!
Running in the vineyards must have been beautiful! But I am terrible at rights and lefts, especially if I get startled.
How funny, my race this past weekend also had some bathroom challenges. I made it through ok, but plenty of people were still waiting when the race officially began!
Congratulations on your AG placement!
Yes, Jenn! I thought the same when I read your race recap this morning! Why are there never enough porta-potties?!
I know you love medals – I thought you would choose a medal over a mug! Do you hang up your medals in your office? That rack must be quite full by now.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who confuses right and left! Kai is convinced I’m doing it on purpose, haha!!
That must have been so frustrating. Melbourne Marathon has a similar problem where the fast marathoners are trying to get through the 2+-hr HM runners who just don’t keep to the left. They only need to leave a little bit of room because there aren’t that many marathoners that are that fast, but nope. When I’m having a bad day, or just want to take it easier, I do try to stay to the left. Once I was in a race and there was a 10K runner who kept holding up maranthoners, she had big headphones on and she would eventually realise someone wanted to pass so move over a bit and then would immediately move back into the way of the runners coming through. I really wanted to tell her off, but I’m conflict-averse, so …
I love your photos of the course though, it looks beautiful. Congratulations on your 2nd place, a great result.
I do mix up my left and right but when I hear people coming through I always move to the left, my main issue is when I’m giving navigating directions in the car. I would choose the mug over a medal. Although I have a medal from a trail race that is a bottle opener so that is pretty cool.
Oh dear, Melissa, that sounds quite awful for the faster Melbourne runners! If only the half-marathon people would pay more attention and keep to the left!
I’m like you – that headphone runner in your 10k race would have driven me up the wall! But you still don’t want to start a full-blown conflict and blow away all the good races vibes.
When you come to SA, you really need to make sure you can join a race, it’s a lovely experience. I find people much more relaxed here compared to races in Switzerland and they seem to focus more on the fun aspect. The scenery in the vineyards was lovely. And thanks — I was pleased with the 2nd AG place. The first place in my AG was taken by a runner from Zimbabwe, we know each other from earlier races.
Haha, don’t start me on giving directions in a car! It drives Kai nuts!
Now, that’s genius! Bottle-opener medals!!
It can be so stressful to be waiting to use the bathroom when a race is about to start! I like that mug but I might be a little sad not to get a medal since I have one from just about every race I’ve done.
Right?! All that effort of getting up on time and going to the venue… just to arrive late at the starting line because of a toilet! Or rather, not enough of them.
At this race, we it was manual time-keeping (no electronic chips), so it would have really affected your finishing time.
Ah yes, if you collect medals, Lisa, you don’t want to miss any!
I have found that runners and walkers can get confused with the “on your left” statement. Though it just seems like poor planning on the race director’s part. Maybe next year they’ll start the 21k a little earlier to clear the road. Congrats on your finish. At least everyone had to deal with the challenge.
Yes! I agree! In fact, I am one of those people who gets confused, ha! You’re right about the planning part: in fact, if everything had gone according to plan, the 21km should have started at 5.30am and the 14km a half hour later, at 6am. Instead, the 21km started at 5.45am. I think those missing 15 minutes were crucial! Hopefully, next year it will work out better.
I love this race. Even if there was chaos. I hope things improve and you do it again.
Yes for the mug.
You would have loved this race, Darlene! Maybe next time I’ll sign up for the 21km, then I won’t have that problem, ha! You can’t have too many mugs, right?!
That sounds annoying but I’m glad it didn’t last too long.
After 2 weeks in Australia I still know my left from right but down now which side of the sidewalk to walk on!
Haha, so true! I need tricks to keep myself on the correct side. When I run in SA, I just stick to the side of the arm with the Garmin (the left) and it works every time. Back in Switzerland, I have to unlearn the whole system again.
I hope you had a great time in Australia, Coco!
War da nicht schonmal so eine total chaotischer Weinberg-Lauf? Vielleicht geht das nicht anders zwischen den Reben, muss so sein?! Maximale Konfusion! So wie nach einer Flasche Wein zuviel! 😉
“Links laufen! Nein, das andere Links!!” fällt mir da ein.
Ok, die Klo-Warteschlange ist echt übel, das sind Basics die wirklich jeder Veranstalter drauf haben sollte (für ein Klo bezahlen wir immer Startgebühren).
Aber ihr habt ein tolles Ergebnis erlaufen und könnt mega-zufrieden sein.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Becher! Ich mag nützliche Trophäen.
Ja, genau! Du hast ein gutes Gedächtnis, Oliver! Dieser Lauf war grösser und besser organisiert – d.h. es WÄRE besser organisiert gewesen, wenn sie die 30 Minuten Abstand zwischen den beiden Events eingehalten hätten, ha!
Das “andere Links”!!! Genau! Ich sollte es den Läufern nicht übel nehmen, ich wäre auch wie ein kopfloses Huhn in die falsche Richtung gelaufen.
Aber die Klo-Warteschlange… Kosten am falschen Ort gespart, dabei ist das der grösste (und nicht der ärmste) Laufclub in Cape Town. Naja, vielleicht haben sie daraus gelernt.
Ich hoffe, deinem Hamstring geht’s etwas besser? Ich denke, bis zum neuen Jahr wirst du wieder fit sein… und dann geht die Post ab!! Ich bin sehr gespannt!
Incredible accomplishment, Catrina. Congratulations on 2nd in your age group. It would have been very tricky navigating past that large a group of 21k runners. Looks really beautiful running through the vineyards. Definite mug for me. 😀
Thank you so much, Carl! I felt bad for yelling at the 21km runners, but it was the only option to get past. At least they seemed to take it with humour and it was only for a short while until our routes split.
You can never have enough mugs, right?
Hope all is well on your side!
Siehste, liebe Catrina,
weil 2 Läufe an 2 aufeinander folgenden WEs überfordern können, hab ich die Zeit zwischen den beiden WEs verlängert … nee, im Ernst, ich komme leider erst jetzt zum Kommentieren!
Meist ist es bei euch Damen deutlich voller vor den ‘Häuschen’. Manchmal sind schon Läuferinnen auf unsre Toi gekommen. Aber du hast es, wie auch immer, geschafft und konntest rechtzeitig loslegen!
HERZLICHEN GLÜCKWUNSCH zu euer beider Finish, dir zum 2. Platz in deiner AK! Suppi, toll gemacht!
Aber was soll ich mit Medaillen, die ich sogar schon reihenweise entsorgt habe, es sei denn es waren sehr besondere Veranstaltungen, dann habe ich sie behalten, wie z. B. auch alle Marathon-Medaillen! – Du kannst ableiten, ich würde den Becher nehmen! Da darf dann mal wieder einer kaputt gehen! 😆
Ich glaube mein älterer Bruder hat mal davon erzählt, dass er ab und zu mal links und rechts verwechselt hat! Ich kann mich bei mir nicht daran erinnern! Aber dieser Engpass hätte mir gestunken, erst den Weg versperren und dann noch falsch ausweichen, so dass das gleiche Chaos wie zuvor herrscht! Zum Glück gab’s bei euch noch Passagen ohne feiernde Läufer! 😉
Wir hatten das mal auf unserem Lauf von Ehrwald zur Zugspitze hoch. Auf dem Abschnitt im Geröllfeld eine Wandergruppe, die nicht daran gedacht hatte auszuweichen. Bis es 2 Läuferinnen hinter mir zu viel wurde und sie die Wanderer zur Seite und zur Rücksichtnahme ‘gebrüllt’ haben. Die Wandergruppe ist dann missmutig ausgewichen! – So kann’s gehen! 😉
Also, in Zukunft immer das andere Links einkalkulieren! 😛
Liebe Grüße Manfred
Lieber Manfred,
ja, die WC-Situation war wieder einmal typisch – bei den Damen staut es sich einfach immer. Zum Glück ging es diesmal gerade noch rechtzeitig auf.
Danke dir für die Glückwünsche! Über den zweiten Platz habe ich mich sehr gefreut, und Kai war auch zufrieden. Mit den Medaillen geht es mir wie dir: Die meisten landen früher oder später im Abfall, ausser ein paar besondere Stücke, wie z.B. Berlin oder Boston. Eine Tasse kann man immerhin brauchen! Und wenn sie kaputt geht ist es auch in Ordnung.
Der Engpass hat wirklich genervt. Erst blockieren sie den Weg, dann weichen sie auch noch falsch aus (ok, das hätte mir auch passieren können) – da bleibt einem nichts anderes übrig, als kurz laut zu werden. Deine Zugspitz-Geschichte zeigt ja, dass es überall vorkommt.
Genau – immer an das “andere Links” denken!
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sehr warmen Cape Town!
Congratulations Catrina! All bottlenecks aside, looks like a spectacular place to have a race. I can totally understand how people would get the left and right directions mixed up. You were a good sport about it. I’d opt for the mug for sure!
Thank you, Marcia! The course really was spectacular! After the bottleneck, I also got to enjoy it more. Ha, yes, I always mix it up as well, especially when running. The mugs are in good use!