2009 Sunrise Monster 32 km

This past Saturday saw the thirty second running of the Sunrise Monster 32 km. The race, as its name implies is usually a bit of a "monster".

I did my fifth Monster this year and it was definitely the hardest one. The new route is a lot tougher than it seems and a lot harder than the previous routes. The original route that included Neptune etc was in my opinion a much better route, but the race could apparently no longer follow that route for some reason or another.

The 2009 route, taken from the official race website;

From the onset I just wanted to do this years race as a Comrades training run, so I was aiming for a finish time of around 3 hours. The race was set to start at 06:08 but was delayed by about 15 minutes due to traffic and the Metro cops still having to close some roads. Collecting pre-entries was also a bit of a mission and it took me quite some time to collect my number. Good thing for the delay then!

The start was a bit of a mess with loads of runners starting from in front of the start line and on the sides of the road, then feeding onto the road in front of the faster runners which was a bit annoying. It is funny how almost all road races in Pretoria lately seem to have runners starting from in front of the start line.... organisers should really start to address this issue.

The route starts with a few nasty little hills just to remind you that you are indeed doing the Monster. But nothing too serious. I was feeling good after 10 km or so and decided to pick up the pace a little, reaching the 16 km halfway mark in 1:21. Even though I was planning on doing around 3 hours, I decided to see if I could improve on my 32 km PB of 2:40, as I was really feeling good and knew (or thought I did) the rest of the route. My plan was to push hard over Klapperkop and then have some time in the bank for the Herbert Baker stretch and any other small bumps towards the end.

My plans were however dashed at the 21 km mark when instead of going over Klapperkop, we went down the side of it. As in the total mineshaft, free fall type of decent. It was 2 km of downhill mountain biking without a bike. Normally I love a bit of cross country running, but not after 21 km and not when I have a race plan hastily put together on route assumptions. My knees were not impressed.

When, after what felt like an eternity we finally made it back onto civilized tar roads, my race was all but ruined. I never regained my rhythm and even the small downhills hurt like mad the last few km. Normally I am a pretty tough runner (have never had any injuries, never get knee pain etc) but I really did not enjoy that part. My right knee made funny grinding sounds the rest of the day. That part must have been awful for people with actual knee problems or any kind of injuries/niggles.

Most of the last 6 odd km was spent alternating between running and walking and trying to be as gentle on my legs as possible. I finished the race in 2:51 which was still a lot faster than planned but a lot slower than what could have been. From what I have heard through the grapevine the organisers had to cut some "corners" because of the exorbitant cost of Metro traffic cops and that next year they are not going to take us down that suicidal slope. But I understand that sometimes you need to do what you need to do ;)

All in all, apart from the cross country running and the minor hiccups at the start, the race was one again excellent. I will definitely be back again next year as it ranks as one of my to-do races. A tough race to get you into shape for Comrades - and prepare you for all the downhill running that is to be had there.

Big thanks to Harlequin Harriers and Medihelp!