On the weekend of 18 and 19 May, ASICS FrontRunners Alesia Ruthven and Tracy-Lee Dalton (among a few other FrontRunners) tackled the Oxpecker Trail Run (Yellow Billed).
The Oxpecker, which takes place in the Central Drakensberg, has become a firm favourite on the SA trail calendar. The two-day event is known for its innovative format, spectacular trails and great vibes.
This is what the ASICS FrontRunners had to say:
It was Alesia's first ever stage race. These were some of her highlights:
THE CAMARADERIE
I was quite nervous as it was my first real stage race. I’ve done a few shorter, less technical trail races but nothing like this and with the injury as well I just wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to complete it. But being in the race village and the energy of everyone being excited with you, that type of thing really helped.
LOCAL SUPPORT
The summit of the big second climb on day one was amazing. It was pretty technical up there and steep; and so many runners in our batch were walking the climb and really struggling. And then we got to the top, completely exhausted and there were these Zulu ladies singing and cheering and so genuinely supporting every runner. More amazing (and inspiring) was realising that they had come up the same route with 25-litres of water on their heads for the waterpoint they were manning.
RUN THE BELOVED COUNTRY
I’ve always been this person who has been looking at the next international race and where I could go and do a beautiful, exotic run outside of this country. I know a lot of runners like that. This really opened my eyes to how beautiful it is right here on our doorstep. The route was amazingly diverse, from the mountains to the cotton fields and the forests, it was all just so breathtakingly beautiful that it really makes you appreciate your country.
PARTNERSHIP
Usually you run by yourself with your own goals but this weekend I ran with two other people and we ran as a team, which I was stressed about as that was a first for me too. There were times when one of the three would be tired and the others were feeling strong and then a few kilometres down the road those roles would be reversed. That was so incredible and you draw from each-other’s strengths and support and motivate. And conquer together that way. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to do it if it wasn’t as a team. It’s fine to run alone with your own goals but it’s so much more rewarding to run with a team.
ALL FOR ONE
The 'community' feel of our running community also really shone for me. About six kilometres from the finish on the last day a women in front of us who took a really bad fall. Her knees were bruised and she was in a pretty bad way. Usually you would expect people to just kind of 'ask' if she was 'okay' and then push on because they want their times (and it is really close to the finish). Not here though - everyone around us just stopped what they were doing and helped her. Runners stopped without hesitation and didn’t even pause their watches, they were so concerned with helping her. There were people feeding her from their nutrition and hydration and one guy ran two kilometres back and to go and fetch the medics. She was in tears and then at one stage looked up and realised how much support there was for her (with everyone crowding around), you could see this change in her eyes from completed defeat to courage. Courage to get up and push on to finish the race. That was really special.
For Tracey it was all the additional experiences that made it so special.
THE SCENE
Driving through the Drakensberg Mountains and arriving at Mseni and realising that the event was a lot bigger than I had anticipated, really set the tone for the weekend. Walking around that first evening looking through the shop and the different setups that they had put together was great and then watching that first sunset and just trying to take it all in was pretty overwhelming.
VIEWS FOR DAYS
Getting to the top of the big climb on Day One with those 360-degree peripheral views was a highlight (literally and figuratively). Also, realising everything was downhill from there was pretty sweet.
OBS
The Old Brown Sherry shots on route was a nice touch. Those definitely added a bit of a different dimension.
BRIEFINGS UNLIKE ANY OTHERS
I loved the race briefings and prize givings each night. It was amazing to be a part of that hall and feel the energy of all the runners and the pulse of the setup as a whole. Also, seeing the highlights of the day and hearing what we were in for on the next day in such a vibey, engaged manner was really cool.
A FEW OTHER THINGS
The delicious food; the beer at the end of the race; the ice bath (even though it was freakin cold!) - I’d never done that before so it was nice to experience that. And, watching the moon rise while we were skipping stones on the dam was pretty special.
