Adventure Works Puffer 2004 – Cape Point to Ferryman’s via the mountains

Puffer: 28 August 2004

Even though I promised myself ‘never again’ during last year’s Puffer (Peninsula Ultra Fun Run)
I somehow couldn’t resist undertaking this epic journey once again.

So for the second time I found myself lining up at Cape Point amongst 140 other crazy mountain runners for this year’s event. I soon found myself running with some legends of the running scene and was entertained by stories of their running exploits for a good while - imagine doing 160km on a running track – that’s 400 laps! As the weather warmed up we headed off-road to Red Hill, the first of many mountain sections. Feeling good and enjoying myself, I bantered with fellow runners and enjoyed the fynbos and scenery of the area.

We crossed Ou Kaapse Weg and made our way up the Wagon Trail to Silvermine Nature Reserve. I made an error of judgment and didn’t drink enough early on and was now starting to feel the effects even though we weren’t half way yet. I had hooked up with Dirk who provided me with some much-needed muti and we soon reached the dam at Silvermine for refueling and encouragement. In fact as I plonked myself into a vacant chair, I was reminded by a couple of women who were (wo)manning the excellent table packed with goodies and drinks of all description; how last year we had met in exactly the same place, same chair and I was even wearing the same running shirt. At this stage Ian arrived looking strong and the 3 of us proceeded to continue the run together.

Now although I wasn’t feeling great, running as part of a team made a huge difference and although my running partners were stronger than me – I managed to stay with them all the way to the end. We made the cut-off at Constantia Nek comfortably and I was ahead of schedule to beat my time from last year. Yes there were times when I kind of secretly hoped to twist my ankle to give me a reason to bail but we were now into the business end of this crazy run and nothing would stop us now. Pacing is everything in these endurance events and we were doing well.
We overtook many people on the long final leg, who were all struggling but struggling alone which makes it a lot harder.

So 11 hours and 57 min after leaving Cape Point we arrived at Ferryman’s to a great reception and some cold beers. On a day when temperatures reached the high 20’s and 52 people did not complete – we were pretty satisfied with our efforts. With great support and excellent watering tables en-route – I received a massage at one and there were dancing girls at another (I think they were dancing girls but it was near the finish and I can’t vouch for my sanity). Either way it was another memorable experience on our awesome mountains and despite the pain and mild dehydration I managed to beat last year’s time by 1 hour and 10 minutes and never bothered saying ‘never again’. I will be back next year to hopefully complete my third Puffer and receive my permanent number for this unique event.

Cheers for now