2012 annual Tomato Trot at Lilyfontein school happens later today...
It's still (fairly) early in the day, and there is a nippy blustery wind blowing, and it is wet, wet, wet out there.
somewhere out there is a Weather forecaster who, according to new legislation in South Africa, is due to be (a) hung, drawn and quartered at dawn, or (b) given a promotion. The reason for this is that it is now a criminal offence to predict the Weather incorrectly. The relevant penalty depends on the weather predictors standing within the ruling Party.
About the only thing the weather forecast got right was that there was an incredibly good chance of rain on the day.
The fields at the school that were to be used as parking for the competitors are waterlogged, and consequently parking has been moved to the nearby Gonubie Farmers Hall, with a bus shuttle service moving people to and from the school.
The Cycle Race has been postponed/cancelled.
There will apparently be no Beer Tent :( , but there will still be beer :)
All functions of the Tomato Trot are being moved to the school hall, which was flooded a few days ago.
The graveled road sections of the race are going to be filled with puddles, and running water. The tarred part of the race should be okay though. The part of the race that none of the athletes are looking forward to will be the Start. The piece of road on which the Race starts was in bad shape earlier this week, and is probably worse now. The roadway is graveled, slopes downhill quite steeply, and is badly rutted. The water on the road surface will make it awkward to see where the holes are, and will also make everything very slippery.
Further on, those parts of the race that go through neighbouring farms are going to be interesting as well, as the ground is extremely waterlogged, which is going to make the surface very unstable.
Okay, so I've whined about the weather, and I've whined about the road. The other area that concerns me, particularly for those less tough individuals, is keeping warm. There is limited protection from the elements at the school, however, some competitors will be at the school from early on, with minimal outerwear. It is very likely the competitors will be running in the rain, and the ablution facilities at the school are not yet operational.
Our preparations? Running kit without shoes (they go on just before the race, nice and dry and cosy), long sleeve top and track suit pants. In a sports bag, 2 sets of dry clothing, towels, a few energy drink things, deodorant, and then whatever else gets tossed in just as we leave home.
What the hell, we only do the Tomato Trot once a year, so let's just enjoy being cold and wet and miserable. We can laugh at ourselves tomorrow...
Friday, February 3, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
2012 Tomato Trot
It’s that time of year again.
The annual Tomato Trot, starting and
finishing at East London’s top adventure school, Lilyfontein, is here again.
Just because the 15km run is a recognized
Border event, it doesn’t mean the Tomato Trot is only a race. Far from it, the
Tomato trot is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon/evening.
There is a 15km cycle race, a 15km Run, a
15km Walk, a 5km Fun Run/walk/cycle/pram-push, and my personal favourite, a
Beer Tent.
There are prizes for the winners in the
various categories, and there also loads of Lucky Draw Prizes. This year TnT
(Terry and I), have donated a Free-for-a-Year WordPress website as a Lucky draw
Prize. So, if you want or need a website, you need to enter one of the Tomato
Trot events to stand a chance. If you don’t win the site, well, just call us.
Our prices are that reasonable that you don’t actually need to win the site to
be able to afford a website (you don’t even need to live in East London – we have
clients all over the world!).
Enough of that, the Race now.
On Saturday 4 February 2012, at 3pm, the
fun Starts, with the start of the 15km Cycle Race. The other starting times are
further down on the page.
Apart from the Beer Tent, my Tomato Trot
interests are the 5km unFun Run. UnFun ‘cos that’s what I do. I go out there
and get around the course as quickly as I can run/walk/hobble/crawl, with loads
of moaning. I moan to keep myself busy. I enjoy the run, but only before and
after, not during.
My other main Tomato trot interest is the
weather. I read somewhere that top athletes are able to predict their finishing
times according t the weather. I don’t bother with predicting times because
they’re generally too long, but I do like checking the weather, only because I
have to be out there in it.
At ten minutes past four, on the afternoon
of the 4th of February 2012 I will be adding to the mad frenzy at
the start of the 5km Tomato Trot unFun Run. The weather will have cooled a bit
from the predicted maximum of 26 degrees C, but not by noticeably much. It will
be pretty humid, which means lots of sweating (Tip: Drink LOTS (Tip Tip: of
water)).
The chances of rain are pretty good around
that time of day, and the wind will be fairly strong but if the direction is
accurate, East-North-East, it won’t bother the 5km entrants. The 15km entrants
will have isolated areas of head-winds, but will mostly be having the wind from
either side or behind.
There are maps below to give you an
indication of the routes. The maps are from Uncle Google, hope he doesn’t mind
me using them…
The bottom line here, for a Saturday of
great family fun, doing something together, as a family, The Tomato Trot must
be on your list of things to do. You can enter at the school, before the race.
Starting Times:
15km cycle – 15:00
15km walkers – 15:30
15km runners – 16:00
(Runners/walkers doing the 15km race must be 16 years or older on race day)
5km fun run – 16:10
To Find Lilyfontein School:
View Larger Map
The 15km Race for Runners and Walkers:
The 5km Fun Run:
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