Rockman post mortem

[Henley 1]

What a race!!

The first time in years that I ended up on my back with tail between my legs taking an hour to recover after a race. Totally underestimated - eisch. This will truly become the Off-road Ironman SA.

Despite the weather it went excellently well. The mtb was muddy in places but that's what off-road implies.

I always get lost in any race. I did not get lost yesterday, so the route must have been well demarcated, believe me.

Prizes were great.

Watering point were perfectly placed and well stocked with the right stuff.

Rockman trophy - very original and 10X better than just another medal - great idea!

Pictures were taken at the finish and given to athletes in printed form!

Pity there were so few canoe entrants. Scared of flipping in the choppy open waters?

I'll be back next year - but better prepared :-)

[KevG]

Very cool race, the flatness of the MTB route very deceiving when that much mud thrown into. One of the few races I almost DNF'ed!

Very well organized I feel, just need wash bay next time

As far as Ultras go, this is one of the toughest ones I have done, was a proper test. Next time though: wont be using a single speed

Water points well spaced, well demarcated routes throughout, good organization with lifeguards and all post race facilities great

Will be back next year

[kingalton]

That was the hardest thing i have ever done...

 

SWIM - 42 min

tough tough tough, the wind and chop were a killer

 

MTB- 2:30ish

That mud, Clay and wind was insane, i thought i had left enough in the tank for the run..big mistake

 

RUN - 2:51

I fell apart totally on the run, i got a spasm in my back and couldn't run, it was insanely painful.. almost hurled a few times.

lap 1: 1:05

lap 2: 1:46 (i walked most of the way, it took everything in me not to throw in the towel)

 

done and dusted and a great lesson learnt, keep as much as possible for the run, lose 10 minutes on the bike and run well, save 10 minutes on the bike and lose 60 min on the run...

 

EINA

 

great event though...

[JGR]

That was the hardest thing i have ever done...

 

SWIM - 42 min

tough tough tough, the wind and chop were a killer

 

MTB- 2:30ish

That mud, Clay and wind was insane, i thought i had left enough in the tank for the run..big mistake

 

RUN - 2:51

I fell apart totally on the run, i got a spasm in my back and couldn't run, it was insanely painful.. almost hurled a few times.

lap 1: 1:05

lap 2: 1:46 (i walked most of the way, it took everything in me not to throw in the towel)

 

done and dusted and a great lesson learnt, keep as much as possible for the run, lose 10 minutes on the bike and run well, save 10 minutes on the bike and lose 60 min on the run...

 

EINA

 

great event though...

Good mental training for IM

[kingalton]

Good mental training for IM

 

Exactly - the only thing that got me through it was telling myself to learn to suffer through this, if i had quit, it would have meant nothing..

 

many lessons learnt... ;-)

[Mike Bike]

i had a great time, only did the ride part as a team..i was one of the few who didnt get stuck at all in the mud. I agree bike wash would have been great afterwards. Was very well organised, route was well marked. Will definitely do it again

[kingalton]

just checked on the results, I did the second fastest bike leg overall, then one of the slowest run legs overall.. haha

[kingalton]

just a little bit of clay and mud :-)

[Memnon]

I agree - great event! As this was my first Ultra I have to say it left me quite nervous to enter the next one because it was TOUGH. It is very encouraging to see some of the other guys also saying that it was a tough event!

 

My take aways from the race were as follows:

 

The water may have been 22 deg C at the shore but it felt a lot colder out there. I swam without a wetsuit and suffered.

 

The bike route was tough for such a flat profile but very well marked and supported.

 

The run route was really good but i came unstuck with just 5km to go and limped in.

 

In general I think the event was awesome and my girlfriend said that as a supporter it was very supporter friendly with lots of spots to see the action - she is more sunburnt than me! And on that note: apply sunscreen evenly and everywhere!

 

[JGR]

just checked on the results, I did the second fastest bike leg overall, then one of the slowest run legs overall.. haha

Well at least you know what to work on!

[Memnon]

Where are the results? I can't seem to find them...

Edited December 2, 2013 by Memnon

[kingalton]

http://www.spectrumsport.co.za/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=f86YvAoiGeM%3d&tabid=3458&portalid=17&mid=8540&forcedownload=true

[Face Plant]

Hi Guys

 

thanks for all the positive feedback we really appreciate it. Alot of work goe into putting together an event like this and it makes it all worth while when we see comments like this. All i can say about the guys that finished this event is WOW guys you deserve to show of that finishers trophy! it was a brutal day!! i hope you all are wearing your armbands with pride today!

 

We always strive to improve on events so any critisism is also appreciated because without this we dont know where to improve, one "MAJOR" thing that was overlooked was the bikewash sorry guys!! i did see that some guys used their initiative and cleaned their bikes in the dam but i do promise that we will have one next time! hope to see you all at next years event!

 

one more thing... what did you think about the goodie bags and jackets?

[Henley 1]

I forgot about that armband! And the goodies bag was awesome - yes!!

And results are out quickly - as usual

[Mike Bike]

goodie bags and jackets were great!!

[ZaRuK]

On the whole I was rather disappointed with the course. Granted the previous weeks weather had a role to play but I found the course to be rather mundane. Virtually no single track or technical sections (riding 500m on soggy turf is not technical) on the bike and made up mostly of sand roads or jeep track... i.e. not really a proper mountain biking course. The swim was a little tough with quite a bit of chop and murky waters, my gripe here would be the positioning of the 1st buoy right into the sun. Couldn't see it until I was right on top of it. Run leg was ok... again not very technical but challenging enough for most due to conditions and terrain.

 

From organisational aspect, Goodie bag was excellent, race day organisation was good, trophy and photo was a nice touch, aid stations nicely stocked and well located. +1 on the bike wash for next year...