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The Ladies race is really getting exited. Only 19km between 2nd and 6th place ladies.

Being off the bike for over a year this was my first race again. I really enjoyed it. Did the 70 km race with the though of mud. But as mentioned the course design was awesome preventing any major mud puddles. Also appreciated the 40km riders always giving space to pass without asking. Well done all.

Hi Marietjie. As Walkerr mentioned only with time will it get better. It took me almost to middle February for my hands to be heeled. Also spoke to my GP about it (he is a ultra runner himself) and said one don’t need to worry about it as it is like pinched nerves and it will get better.

Yes I do agree Mike was not talking about the winners. (But I personally think the past winners must still feel hard done) I also heard from one of the top five finishers of this yeas Munga about support ahead of him. Also no names mentioned. The Munga should stick to it’s original rules, or change it.

Agree 100% what was said. I personally thinks past winners (and top 10 finishers) will feel cheated with regards to this years superhuman time to complete the race. (I even felt almost to embarrassed to recall to my wife my time for finishing the 2017 Munga in just under 4 days. Almost two days longer than this years winner , Not that I was in their league at all)

Hi Vetseun This is also what I tried to make the point about. That advice is always appreciated from people who have firsthand experience, but as you just mentioned again, each person will need to finally decide for themselves what will work or not. (The camel pack, and lack of training with the TT bars was my own experience, and should I do it again, I will probably use the same setup as before, as that made me feel comfortable . Also the reason for the camel pack decision last year was because of the race the previous year when it was so hot and windy, and how many contestants dropped out almost in the first 200km due to dehydration) I therefore tried to give my experience and what worked for me, not imply what should be used or not used for the Munga. But I am sure you will agree? Off the subject of training preparation. So, have you entered again?

Sam81. It has been said or suggested in the past to ride this race on your bike you feel the most comfortable with. There are entrants who did it on gravel bikes, hard tails, and full suspension. It will all depend on your bike you generally favor for long rides that is going to give you the confidence to feel the most relaxed to stay in the saddle for the duration of the ride. Therefore no matter what other people say, ride the bike you think is the best suited for you for this race. Just as a side note. You mentioned maybe doing the Munga with a Camel bag. I did it with one and it was never an issue. (I could only fit 2 bottles onto my bike and had another 2 to 3 liters in my camel bag) you are going to experience all sorts of pains and discomforts during the ride, so the additional back pain won’t even be noticed. ( I never ever used a camel pack for any of my races before. These include J2C, Trans Bavian, and 360ne racers). I then started doing all my long training rides first with the empty pack, and over a period adding more and more things into the pack. This way I never felt any discomfort. Also remember to leave space on your handle bars for lights, GPS. I also fitted TT bars which was a total waist as I probably used it less than 2 hours for the complete ride. (This was again not practicing with it long enough) Good luck on your training and just remember this important thing. Your fitness is probably only going to count for about 20% of the race. Your mental strength is going to count 80%.

Think the date change is a good idea. Many cyclists used to do Joberg2C and 36one. (Me included) This year both races started on the same day. ( this year I gave both a rest after being none stop sick after Munga, but if had to choose between the two, I think J2C most likely would have been first choice)

Wow. That's a real bummer Eddie. Hope you get all your belongings before it really becomes a stressful issue. I know the last thing you want to worry now about is crap like this. Good luck.

I agree with you core is important for this type of race. But what I do additionally is home core work. Some squats, dead lifts, and kettle ball exercises. I have been a Virgin Active member for 3 years but also do not have the time to go to gym and waste time waiting for machines or weights. So while at home twice a week for 30 to 40 minutes, I do core.

Slowbee. This race is more a mental strong survival race than a fitness race. I believe if you already have the fitness from your regular training rides, then as suggested from previous replies saddle hours will be the most important aspect of your training preparation. This is to get used to the sore bum, the aching back, your hands and feet which will hurt like hell, and many more pains which one just do not get from under 8 to 10 hour rides. So as was suggested by the latest advice from all the guys only trying to help, which I agree 100% with, please do not let this kill your ambition. I say this from reading many post of very successful adventure finishers who make it clear that they do not believe in excessive long rides weekend after weekend. They suggest maybe every 3rd to 4th weekend these long rides, and then regular 4 to 5 hour rides in between. (This with the hope you do have you base training already under the belt). Then if you use you IDT for the rest of the week with 1 and a half hour to 2 hours sessions ( I know how sore long IDT rides can be) this hopefully will get you closer to your goal, and not compromising your family live and work responsibilities. So Slowbee don't let this race beat you mentally even before it started. Go work out how you want to and can train from next week day by day to race day, make sure you follow this schedule and if your mind is strong enough, anything is possible. And as you said, if this one is unsuccessful then there will always be another time. (Great successful people have said it many times; I did not fail X amount of times, I have just learned how not to do it wrong X amount of times) The advice given is in my opinion also how I believe it should be done! But there are other just as successful ways to do it. Good luck Slowbee.

Nice one Vetseun!

Agree with you Gammibear. I don't sleep a lot (always go to bed late, and get probably maximum 5 hours sleep every night) and during this years 36One fell a sleep I my bike twice. So for now sleep as much as you can.

Awesome Vetseun. Hope for many enjoyable miles on it.

With the first mini Munga ride on the 1st of July, now suddenly this race is starting to become a reality. no more time to skip planed training rides with the thought there is still a lot of time until 28 November. Let's get going.