~ musings and meanderings
about all things trail ~
Rockhoppin’ Trail
about Linda Doke
Three decades (plus) of ultra-distance running began with a chunk of years on tar (incl 10 Comrades, 16 Two Oceans) and followed with more than 20 years of trail, racing through canyons, on beaches, deserts, islands, glaciers, salt flats, over mountains, escarpments and peaks. Seven years ago I added a coaching focus, passing on the lessons I’ve learned to help others seeking to reach beyond their comfort zones discover their full potential.
My musings on our Drakensberg Grand Traverse
If you know the why, the how takes care of itself. Well, that’s not altogether true – it omits to mention the tremendous amount of planning and preparation that goes into ensuring that the how happens. That ‘small point’ aside, I wholeheartedly believe...
counting down to the Drakensberg Grand Traverse
This is a blog I’ve looked forward to writing for more than two years – ever since I first mustered up the courage in January 2013 to ask Ryno Griesel whether he’d be interested in teaming up for a mixed record attempt of the Drakensberg Grand Traverse. His response...
Run The Rann 2015 (161km)
“Trail running is a dangerous sport, and ultra trail running is the extreme version of it, because the nature of the playground is wild and sometimes, like here in the Rann, quite inhospitable.” These are the words of Gaël Couturier, race director of Run...
To Run The Rann of Kutch
2015: a new year, fresh legs, action-packed challenges! First up, an ultra with a difference: instead of dramatic scenery with mountains, forests, streams, canyons or deserts as with my five ultras last year (Whale of Trail 52km, Outeniqua Quest 108km, Fish River...
KAEM 2014 – the most beautiful desert race
Looking to do a 7-day self-sufficient stage race in a desert? Look no further than the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon (KAEM), long reputed to be the best organised self-sufficient stage race on the international trail running calendar. KAEM had been...
The Freedom Run – just 3 days til the finish line
Yesterday I had the privilege of joining Freedom Runners Mimi Anderson and Samantha Gash on the 29th day of their incredible 32-day, +2 000km run from Pietermaritzburg to Paarl, in South Africa. I last saw Mimi and Samantha when they were in Cape Town, three days...
The Freedom Run – 24 Sept to 25 Oct 2014
Today was Day 1 of what will no doubt be the toughest run yet done on South African soil. Following the route of the 2 350km Freedom Trail, a gruelling event much hallowed by even the bravest mountain bikers, the Freedom Run is a challenge being tackled by two...
Miles for Smiles Mad Run 2014
There’re so many reasons to run. We run for pleasure, for adventure, for challenge, for fun, for friendship, for competition. The sheer joy that running brings is pure in its simplicity, and it’s very real. Running makes our hearts smile, it makes us happy....
Tuffer Puffer 2014
Never again, I had said, never again. That was back in 2007, after my second Tuffer Puffer. Somehow, over the seven years since, I had forgotten I’d said that. I guess I can blame my short memory partly on time’s ability to morph naivety into reality, and...
Fish River Canyon Ultra 2014
First, some history about running the Fish River Canyon… The Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world, surpassed only by the Grand Canyon in Colorado, USA. Located in the south of Namibia, the canyon is stark, rugged, magnificently desolate...
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