ASICS FrontRunner Dale Demmer talks us through a 20km which formed a regular part of his build up to IRONMAN South Africa.
WHERE: Durban central
DISTANCE: plus/minus 20km
SURFACE: Mix of asphalt and paving
SHOE: ASICS DynaFlyte 3
This route takes in a bit of the Durban promenade and beachfront and then into the Durban North area. Being around 20kms it has been really nice in the past week or so (just ahead of this week’s full taper) to feel all the big mileage of the IRONMAN build up to really start paying dividends on the shorter distance.
We start at Bike and Bean Coffee shop on the promenade near North Beach. It’s quite an ‘athletic’ hangout with lots of cyclists, runners and surfers always gathered there.
We run north along the promenade from there, past Blue Lagoon, crossing the bridge over the Umgeni River and then head into Durban North. Here we wind along the bottom roads all the way through Glenashley and our turnaround point is at the Glenashley Spar where one of the running clubs – Regents – have put in a permanent water stop which is really convenient. This is around 9kms in and we then start making our way back. This is where our climbing starts, making our way into Durban North area all the way up to the top, before heading back toward the city.
There are a few undulating hills toward the city, peppered with a few sharp climbs just to push the heart rate and get us hurting. Then there is one nice long downhill through NMR back towards the Umgeni again and back towards Moses Mabhida stadium and then round the People’s Park track, which is a one km loop. From there we head back down Argyle Road to the beachfront where we make our way back towards Bike and Bean
The run often ends in a bit of a sprint and then finished off with a compulsory coffee and a bit of banter at Bike and Bean.
