[Event] MTN National MTB Series #8 Ride Crater Cruise Driven By NISSAN

[Jeanpg]

I agree with a couple of previous posters - the Squirt table was awesome - lots of character and effort on display - it gave us a huge pick-me-up in the race!

 

Also a big thumbs-up to the guys with the planes, and the fountain rocked!

[Vlakvark T]

Thanx, Wessel and the guys from Advendurance for a well organized race. Compliments to the second last water stop, that kids done well with the lubricant and cleaning of the glasses and that ice was welcome.

[Gen]

Thanx, Wessel and the guys from Advendurance for a well organized race. Compliments to the second last water stop, that kids done well with the lubricant and cleaning of the glasses and that ice was welcome.

There was ice cream?. . Darn..

Edited September 15, 2014 by Gen

[kosmonooit]

There was ice cream?. . Darn..

 

 

 

I think someone would do well setting up a stall selling ice creams and soft drinks along that route, how many times have I dreamt of an ice cream after that tunnel of heat, dry and sand along the river.

[Andymann]

Hey Cape Town - did you manage to at least get some proper beer eventually?

 

We had a brilliant ride - 15km from where we stayed, 80km race and 15km back home again.  Just a nice little 5:30 ride for us gay triathletes ;-)

[Andymann]

Hey Cape Town - did you manage to at least get some proper beer eventually?

 

We had a brilliant ride - 15km from where we stayed, 80km race and 15km back home again.  Just a nice little 5:30 ride for us gay triathletes ;-)

[Gen]

I think someone would do well setting up a stall selling ice creams and soft drinks along that route, how many times have I dreamt of an ice cream after that tunnel of heat, dry and sand along the river.

 

 

Indeed .. I almost went for a beer at that pub before sorry hill. . But I think had I I would've just stayed there

[Gen]

Double post..

Edited September 15, 2014 by Gen

[Vlakvark T]

According to my Garmin 500 - That max of 42 C nearly kill me- agree must have stopped for the  beer at that pub before sorry hill

 

Distance:

81.45 km

 

 

 

Elevation Gain: 1,170 m Elevation Loss: 1,162 m Min Elevation: 887 m Max Elevation: 1,396 m

 

Avg Temperature: 35.0 °C Min Temperature: 24.0 °C Max Temperature: 42.0 °C

[Francois Pienaar]

I"m not complaining about the route, but look, the first stop for the Ultra was stupid.  A bottleneck so close to the start is just not great, surely a small bridge would have completely cleared out that section.

 

Then, onto what I expected and what I got.  Well, I've "heard" the Crater Cruise is more like a road race, so I was expecting a lot of district road.  From that perspective, I was actually happily suprised by the variety en route, my only complaint was that you had no food at the 25 or 50km water points.  I'm not asking for a buffet, but a little potato or ring donut to keep me going would have been awesome.

 

The 93km water point with cold coke and oranges was a total life saver and I LOVED the river water point as I had a full on swim.

 

If I do the Ultra again, I'll simply be sure to take more food with me as I blew as a result of not eating enough before the 70km mark.  Then when I reached the 70km water point, I was so low that I struggled to eat.  Picked myself off the floor, marched on and eventually finished in a painful 7hr.

 

Tough day at the office, lessons learnt.  Bring on W2W.

[kosmonooit]

Yup that's one thing you learn from the Crater Cruise is to keep fed, hydrated and cool, otherwise that last 20 k's is pure hell.

[Gen]

According to my Garmin 500 - That max of 42 C nearly kill me- agree must have stopped for the beer at that pub before sorry hill

Distance:

81.45 km

 

 

Elevation Gain: 1,170 m Elevation Loss: 1,162 m Min Elevation: 887 m Max Elevation: 1,396 m

Avg Temperature: 35.0 °C Min Temperature: 24.0 °C Max Temperature: 42.0 °C

Huh. . I had distance of 79 . something km and 730m (I think) of ascending. . Weird either you or I got lost

 

Added my bryton does mess around from time to time

Edited September 15, 2014 by Gen

[Cylon]

I entered the marathon on Saturday and don't have anything bad to say about the route or water tables as they completely met my expectations.

 

However, at around the 45km mark I snapped my rear gear cable which resulted in my chain being fixed on the 11t at the back. Since the cable was too short for a trailside repair, I mashed/walked to the closest water point by the river where I was hoping to get a lift back to the finishline. The control person at the water point radioed for a sweeper and I heard them tell him that it would be there in ±30mins. 

 

After 1 hour there was still no sign of any sweeper vehicle and by this stage there were a number of other people with various ailments that were also waiting for an early departure. The control guy radioed in again and was told the same story. Eventually, after waiting for more than 2 hours, I decided that enough was enough and mashed/walked the last 30km in the >35C heat to the finishline. Another couple that was waiting with me eventually arranged for family members to fetch them from a nearby lodge.

 

This is the first time that I've ever required the assistance of a sweeper at a MTN race and the fact that it was M.I.A at a 80km/110km event in extreme temperatures puts a big question mark around the quality of the organisation. Isn't this what my entry fee is supposed to go towards?

 

Although my situation can be classified as more of an inconvenience, there were other people with far more serious problems and after what I experienced first-hand this past weekend, I would hate for my wife or child to ever be stranded in a similar situation. Definitely something that Advendurance needs to address urgently!

[Funride]

Can someone perhaps tell me where to find the photos of the race. Can't find anything on Photomarx or CSharp Photography?

[Trawsaj]

Can someone perhaps tell me where to find the photos of the race. Can't find anything on Photomarx or CSharp Photography?

Jetline Action Photo?

[Muggins]

They were apparently going to be posted on the Jumpertrax site by today.

 

I sent jumpertrax an email regarding this yesterday afternoon and they replied at 01h00 this morning. Not the first time they have replied at that sort of hour.

 

Not so sure these guys ever sleep.