Here are my thoughts on this race. I mainly do small races in rural KZN, usually with less than 100 entrants, so obviously I'm not quite used to waiting at obstacles. Seems the Jhb guys are used to this and don't really mind too much. The thing is, with these small races the organizers/route designers put in lots of effort to make the route enjoyable with a nice flowing track. They build bridges over river crossings and dongas, sometimes even floating bridges over dams, and perfectly manicured singletrack for a modest entry fee of R120. Sure there are technical sections too, but if you have proper skill you can ride most of these races without ever getting off your bike. So it just irritates me that organizers of a big race like this couldn't care less about the condition of the route. With almost 1000 people paying R350 entry surely they could afford to build some kind of bridge at that crossing (and some others too)? Especially considering that they knew about the problem from previous years. Either they are just in it for the money, or they think mountain bikers have a special fondness for wet shoes. As for seeding, dunno how you're supposed to improve it if they only use big events like these where you stand still half of the time. Okay, rant mode off, I'll just avoid any big races in the big smoke in future.
