Running with Wild Animals – Literally
This June I will be setting off to South Africa to fulfill one of my bucket list dreams. Simply going to Africa is my bucket list dream but I feel this trip have developed into so much more. I will be running a race in an African game park. There will be rangers and helicopters keeping track of the most dangerous animals and they will stop the race if any of them are too close.
Entabeni Game Reserve
The Entabeni Game Reserve is a private game park in South Africa 250km north of Johannesburg. Entabeni is full of all kinds of wild life, including the “Big Five” (African lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard and rhinoceros). This region boasts a rich variety of antelope and birds as well as giraffe and monkeys. I hope to see them all from a safe distance!
Big-Five Marathon 2016
On Saturday June 25, 2016, the big-five marathon and half marathon will take place. This difficult course takes the runners along dirt roads used by safari jeeps for viewing animals. It will go down an extremely long steep paved road, through km’s of deep sand (where the lions live) and then back up the long steep paved road. Rumour has it, this hill is not even runnable. The terrain is varied but the exposure is not, the entire length of the race is fully exposed to the hot African sun.
Albatros adventures has organized several aid stations along the way, all of them have water and coca cola. Some of the stations include energy drinks, bananas, aid station and a chance to drop some personal supplies. There is an optional foot wash and massage after the deep sand section before going back up the big hill. It sounds like a well run event – no pun intended.
Coming soon…
Go Michele GO!!