Sa Marathon Championships

Hi Team,

With the first 5 months of racing behind us all I can say is that its been a great journey, the results to date were fantastic and we clearly stamped our mark as the best mountain bike team in Africa. 

In the buildup and planning we always knew that doing Joberg2c, Sani2c and the SA Marathon champs in one month, yes 31 days, would be a massive task! After a tough, cold and wet Sani2c our riders unfortunately fell ill. Matthys had to fly home but Philip having recovered a bit decided to soldier on and race the SA Marathon Championships. We are currently taking a small break to recover, get well and be ready for the next national Marathon in Champaign Valley 10-11 June.

Philip Buys - 2nd Overall

A few days after racing in the wet and cold conditions at Sani2C, I picked up a cold and Matthys picked it up two days after me, we had to take a few more days off to recover. 

Our next race was SA Marathon champs and unfortunately Matthys felt that he would not be able to race and I also had to think very carefully whether I should race or not. 

My heart rate and power seemed normal and safe to race, so I decided to give it a go and if I started feeling the slightest discomfort during the race, I would withdraw. 

During the race I still had blocked sinuses and had plenty of slime, but halfway in and with most of the climbing behind us, I still managed to stay in contact with the leaders. 

At one stage my left leg seized up with cramps and I had to stand in one spot for about two minutes stretching it out. With being ill and riding so little the few days leading up to the race, I sort of expected some cramping, but not as severe as what I had.

I dropped back to 5th place before the last 20km loop and managed to work my way back into second before crossing the finish line.

The plan for the next week is to fully recover from being ill and take a few extra days off before prep for the next block of racing coming up in 3 weeks time. We’ve had quite a long haul of racing up until now and its time to recuperate and refocus.