Sunday, September 28, 2014

Trailblazer 10K 2014: my 10th out of 20!

I love participating to special anniversaries of our races and runs, and most especially this one today, which supports our local trail system: today was the 20th edition of the Trailblazer event offered by the Friends of the Stevens Creek Trail.
I met Race Director and Executive Director, Aaron Grossman, after the race, he told me that they had a solid stride, just missing the September 2001 edition for various reasons (certainly a special and memorable year...). He also mentioned that the turnout was higher this year than last year, a great news!

Incidentally, my first run of this event was in 2002 and I had quite a consistent run all these years: 34:39 (02), 34:52 (03), 34:16 (06), 33:57 (07), 37:44 (09), 34:25 (10), 34:24 (11), 35:21 (12), 36:24 (13). My "worst" performances were the day after running respectively a challenging hilly trail double marathon in 2009 and last year after winning the Stevens Creek 50K for the third time. Otherwise, this race on its flat and fat course represents a great test before the end of the season.

This year, I skipped the "Stevens Creek" double and did run the 50K yesterday. I felt it wasn't reasonable, less than seven days after taking 3rd at the US Nationals of 24 hours last weekend. With 133 miles in one day, I had my weekly mileage already... ;-) Actually I went for 15 and 20K on Friday and Saturday to get the legs moving and I was really wondering what I'd be able to do this Sunday as I had a few remaining muscle spasms in my calves before I even went for my 1.5-mile warm-up, oops!

I didn't have a particular goal this morning, just hoping to get in the groove around 6 minutes/mile, following the lead. With my focus on ultra running this year, 13 ultra races so far including 2 24-hour events, I didn't spend as much time doing speed work on the track as I used to a few years ago and it has been a while since I even ran a mile in 6 minutes...

Aaron sent us off promptly at 8:30 am. As usual, it was a fast start and I had no intention to keep up with Jose Pina Sr. this year, really. I was in 6th at the first turn but quickly moved to 4th then 3rd by the first half mile. The last runner I passed, Simon Azriel, kindly asked me if I had run 100K the day before, sounds like people have some expectations for me and that I did set the bar pretty high... ;-)

By mile 2 I was about 15 seconds behind Jose and Benjamin Mearls, 25, was way ahead. This is when Jose experienced some GI issues last year which prevented him from finishing. But he was good and solid this year, he had his second place and Masters' win, easy. Well, not sure about the easy as he was later limping and had ice around his knee, hope it's not too serious, I know how much he cares about the cross-country (XC) season.

My GPS indicated a consistent 5:40 at mile 1, 2 and 3, a pace I was pleased with given the circumstances. I lost a few seconds going through the tortuous course as we pass near the Shoreline Lake area and pushed again for the final 2 miles, not crazy though as Jose was out of reach, 1 minute in front, and I had even more lead on Simon.

The final mile is challenging and tricky as we run through both the back and front of the 5K pack, a race which starts 15 minutes after ours. I crossed the line in 35:59.46, a hair split from 36 minutes, phew! My official pace was only 5:48, my GPS was off by 0.2 miles.

Now, if you think 5:48 is fast, consider the 4:41 min/mile that Dennis Kimetto of Kenya clocked 26 times in a row to win the Berlin Marathon this morning and set a new World Record at this mythical distance. Wow! Closer to us, Benjamin did win our race in a blazing 32:59, and won on of the surface tablets that Microsoft was sponsoring in addition to hosting us on their parking lot. I already won 2 XBoxes here, time for the young generation to have fun! ;-) Oh, by the way, notice that both overall winners wear Brooks shoes, eh eh...

Here is picture of the results while they are getting finalized and published on the race website:
After the race starts another marathon, a 2-hour award ceremony and generous raffle, and the kids mile race in the middle.
It's so cool to see 2 more generations participating to this running event. After meeting my ultra running buddy Bill Dodson, 79, who completed his 5th barefoot Trailblazer 5K, it was cool to see kids and toddlers go for 3 laps, encouraged by us and their families, and digging dip according to a few cries and tears. No pain no gain as we say...


Bill placed 3 in his competitive M70-and-over age group
Surprisingly, I took the Masters title which was unusually set at 50 and above this year (it's typically 40 in most races, or 35 in world events):
As a consequence, Aaron gave the M50-59 award to second place in our age group, another Frenchman living in Cupertino whom I didn't know, Joseph Maggiolino (40:18).
Jose won his M40-49 age group by a few minutes but missed the grand prize this year.
I also touched base with this other amazing local runner, JR Mintz, who, mind you, races an average of 3 races a week. Yes, that's 150 races a year!!! He admits that's it's hard to maintain quality with such a quantity, but that's a way to dedicate a life to our sport!

After the dust settled and everybody left the area, I went on for another 10K loop which I cruised this time in 42:31, a 6:50 min/mile pace. For the love of running... ;-)

Thank you to all who participated by running and walking, providing support to this very nice organization and the Stevens Creek trail in particular. We need such support to keep and win the battle of extending the trail so it connects the Bay to our hills at the Stevens Creek Park and Reservoir! A big thank to all the volunteers who made this event possible, from the association itself to many joyful high schoolers! And to the sponsors for their invaluable support: Microsoft, Hobee's, Google, StarOne Credit Union, Recology, Avery Construction, HONU Wealth Management, Rotary Club of Mountain View, Fenwick & West, Tori Ann Corbett, RJG Consulting, Prometheus, Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
Hope to see all of you next year for the 21th edition!


Friday, September 26, 2014

North Coast 24-hour US Nationals: a podium, but still a rookie!

It was my 104th ultra race but only my second participation in a timed 24-hour event, so what would you expect? A few learning rookie experiences...

Focusing on the USATF North California Mountain and Ultra Trail running Grand Prix, in which I won my age group again this year for the 8th time in a row, I don't race much outside of California. And, while I travel extensively around the globe for work, I'm not so used to traveling to races. Last time was for the US 50K road USATF Nationals where I won my brand new age group, the day after my birthday. I had passed on the 100K Nationals in April as I was still recovering from the nagging injury which bothered me through February and March plus, it was the weekend between American River 50-mile and Ruth Anderson 50-mile.

So, after 12 ultra races so far this year, including my first 24-hour event in June with 127 miles, I had 4 weeks to prepare for this 24-hour USATF Nationals in Cleveland, Ohio. I flew in on Thursday night to attend client meetings with 2 local financial institutions and get ready on Friday evening. I stopped by Edgewater Park to have a look at the course and parking lot and had the pleasure to meet a few other runners including elite Serge Arbona who already ran 156.5 miles on this course, had 6 24-hour events beyond 150 miles under his belt and was looking forward to add a new one.
Serge is 49 so, at this rate, he is going to blow away our M50-54 age group record and I thought it was my last chance to improve Ed Ettinghausen's one of 146 miles.

The path is really smooth and mostly flat, a great race track, with gorgeous views of Lake Erie (so large that is looks like the Ocean...).


Comforted by this quick recogn of the site, although slightly concerned about the strong wind coming from the lake, I went back to the hotel, downtown, 3 miles away from the start.
The race starting at 9 am, there was no rush to go to be too early. Surprisingly for a night leading to an important event, I slept like a baby for almost 8 hours, a good start!
I arrived at the Park around 7 am and there were already quite a few tents up in the crew area.


Look at this runner's table, this runner already had the beer ready to flow, although not the one my Quicksilver Running Club buddies are used to drink in the Bay Area! ;-) I had never seen root beer used as an ultra drink before.
I didn't have a tent and set my bags on the grass next to one canopy. Later, the two occupants, Mary Dasilva and Lauren Idzik, both from upstate New York. I was really impressed how organized they were with chairs, boxes, coolers, tables, packs of bottles, ... Certainly set for self-sufficiency for 24 hours! I thanked them for their offer and, since rain was announced for the night, gladly accepted it, saying that I will "move in" when it starts raining tonight.

For once, as opposed to our local races in California, there wasn't a single runner whom I knew among the list of 170 participants, so it was great to get welcomed by them and a few others, experiencing the most welcomed ultra camaraderie. Serge arrived around 7:30 which surprised me as he was supposed to sleep in his car on the parking lot. He set his table on the other side of the course and told me that he actually had a rough night because the Police didn't allow him to stay last night so he had to find another parking lot and couldn't get a good sleep, stressed that he was of getting kicked again from the place he found. Not a good start for him... Yet, he was positive and optimistic, a key strength for this type of ultra running event.
To finish my preparation before the start, I stopped by the restrooms to fill my bottles and made the first mistake of the day. I filled 3 bottles of my Gu2O mix then filled a 4th bottle with only water, only to find out the water was yellowish/brownish. And it tested really bad as well, yikes! Unfortunately, flying light with only a carry on, I had bought just enough Gu2O pouches for 150 miles (one bottle every 15 miles or so) and couldn't afford losing the content of the three bottles, I was just hoping it wouldn't upset my stomach and kidneys.

With that, it was time to go to the start line, with a couple minutes to spare. Oh wait, all the runners were gathered 200 yards from the start line, that was weird. I started jogging toward the area when I heard Race Director, Dan Horvath, blowing the horn (Photo credit Cameron Dedrick).
Oh well, we were on for 86,400 seconds, a few weren't going to make a big difference. (Photo credit: JohnnyDaJogger)
I joined the middle of the pack and made my way to the front and stopped progressing when I saw Serge, resolute I was not to pass such an experienced ultra runner. From what I could see, there were two runners ahead of him, running at a blazing fast pace, while Serge and I were already under 8 minutes/mile, oops!
The sky was clear, temperature nice for a jog in the park, but the wind had changed direction in the night, now coming from the land, against us as we were coming back to the start area. It wasn't as bad as last night but strong enough to feel the need to push to keep the pace. Thankfully, though, nothing to compare with the wind gusts we had in San Francisco in June for 17 straight hours!

I had to make conscious "efforts" to slow down and not pass Serge. We were clocking 7:30 laps (each lap is 0.90074) which I knew was already too fast, under the reasonable 9 min/mile pace. At some point, Serge made a quick pit stop and I slowed down even more so he can catch-up. But after a few more laps, I couldn't help myself and passed Serge who didn't seem to have a good day.
I kept going and passing participants, surprised that quite a few of them were already walking a few hours into the race, but realizing all the various and amazing personal challenges. There was this ultra runner, Charles Moman, who was in a major car accident 6 months ago and was told he might not be able to walk again and here he was, walking for 24 hours and more than 43 miles, an ultra! There was Leo Lightner who won his M85+ age group with 37 miles at 86 (and I bet he can go longer but he was the only competitor in this age group). On the other side of the age spectrum, this amazing girl, Angela Demchuk, 13, who had never run more than a half-marathon (already a feat in itself at this age) and, while keeping joking, smiling, laughing, providing encouragements to others, logged a whopping 58 miles for her first ultra; mind blowing! (Photo credit Jen Goellnitz.)
The entrants list had 35 names who didn't show any previous ultra results. With that, it was an unusual mix of experienced and "serious" competitors and a good group of participants who were leveraging the event to discover and experience how far they could go. Well, for sure, we were all here to see how far we could go in a certain time.
Back to the title, this format of event is still new to me and I've still hard time developing a strategy, in particular, how to decompose the intimidating challenge of running for 24 straight hours. For instance, 4 blocks of 6 or 8 blocks of 3. Without a crew, I didn't even have to set goals explicitly. Implicitly, I was hoping to run 75 miles in the first 12 hours and, well, as close to 75 miles in the last 12 hours... With a few laps in the low 7 minutes and almost none above 8 minutes, I was a few miles ahead of my plan by 6 hours. After noon, the temperature had raised significantly and many runners were suffering from that. I had trained a lot in the heat in California so that wasn't bothering me much but all the salt accumulated on my top and shorts was a concern for a few volunteers at the aid station. For sure, I had sweat a lot but I had drunk a lot too and taken one S!Cap consistently, every hour.
By 8 pm, 11 hours in the race, it was dark and the temperature had decreased of course, but not that much. As usual, I had started too fast and logged 80 miles in the first 12 hours. I stopped at the aid station to have a look at the rankings, I was in second place. Isaiah Janzen was in first with a lead of a couple of laps. He was part of those who had never run an ultra before so I wondered how strong he could keep up for another half day. When he lapped me, he knew who I was and briefly introduced himself.
My legs were feeling good but I felt the need to slow down the pace a bit and my laps were now closer to 9 minutes. I picked my headlamp when day light disappeared and, although I agree that it's not necessarily, it makes running and staying alert in the dark easier, which is important to keep the pace when you are getting tired both physically (distance and effort), physiologically (sleep cycle) and mentally. As we were progressing into the night, the rain came. I'm not exactly sure when, I think around 10 pm. It was a gentle drizzle which felt actually very good and helped washing out the salt from my clothes and body. Speaking of which, between the sweat and the rain on one hand, and the abrasion of the salt and the sand, I had started chaffing pretty bad in the afternoon (tights and butt). I had put more vaseline to appease but decided that I'll take care of it after the race, ouch...!

Deeper in the night, many runners had either left, such as my canopy hosts, or gotten into their tent for some rest or sleep. But a good number of "studs" kept going even it meant a lot of walking. I passed the 100-mile mark by 1 am, that is 16 hours in the race. At this point, I was running at about 10 min/mile and revised my goal to 140 miles. The chaffing was very painful but, more worrying, I discovered at 2 am that my urine had turned brownish. Darn, this never happened to me before and, based on previous accounts form others, I interpreted that as the symptom of blood in the urine. I did a few more laps but decided to stop at the medical tent to get my urine tested only to hear that they didn't take this responsibility. Disappointed, I went back on the course but decided to walk it to think about what to do next. 2/3 in the lap, Dan, the Race Director, was walking toward me, he was on the course to find me and walk with me based on the medical staff's concerns, what a dedication from a race director! An opportunity to mention how impressed by the calm and accessibility of Dan throughout the 30+ hours that he must have been up.

The rain actually started to pick-up as Dan and I were approaching the aid station. Dan was insistent that I go straight away to the medical tent but I told him that my stuff was not under a tent anymore and it was key that I get it protected from the rain. By the time we got to my bags, a storm and pouring rain were hitting us and I was completely soaked when we got into the race headquarters, so much that I was shivering pretty bad. Dan was even more insistent that I hurry to the medical tent but I had to change first, at least my top. It took at least 15 minutes before I stopped shaking. The MD in charge, Greg, examined me and, based on the fact that my kidneys didn't hurt, ruled the blood in urine issue out. Rather a good (as in very bad...) case of dehydration. He got me to drink some cranberry juice and a few cups of chicken broth. It took me an hour to get warmer, even though I was laying down under a heater. And 20 more minutes to decide to get back on the course. The chaffing of the first 17 hours was so bad that it made even walking excruciating. And there was still almost 6 hours to go...

Despite this pit stop of 1 hour and 20 minutes, I was still in second place which surprised me. For sure, I had missed much of the storm, which must have slowed others down too, Thankfully, it was only occasionally drizzling now. But my lead on 3rd place was down to only 3 laps. Surprisingly, I found myself running faster than before I stopped, about 9 min/mile. I even caught-up with Harvey and that upset him so much that he yelled in the dark and went on a crazy sprint. Sincerely, that looked weird but, like they say, don't take it personally... Here is Harvey's picture by Jen Goellnitz on Saturday afternoon (singlet):
I maintained that good pace for a few laps before feeling some fatigue again on top of the extreme pain of the chaffing. In addition, my urethra was so painful that I had to make frequent pit stops. The good news is that I was drinking a lot of water and soup and managed to get my urine clearer after a couple of hours. But, with three hours to go, I was left with my bad yellowish Gu20 bottles of the morning which I decided not to use. Given my condition, it was probably not a good idea to skip electrolytes for 3 hours, but I really had my doubts on the quality of that water. Harvey was running so strongly that he eventually passed me but 3rd was still quite an honorable position to be in. We were running in the daylight again, by a beautiful morning, and more runners and walkers were back on the course. I was now passed by runners with fresh legs while I was battling to clock 10 to 12-minute laps. The last hour was particularly stressful as I found I had a 4-lap lead on Matthew Garrod in 4th. I now wanted to keep the 3rd position as well as top Master so I just kept moving, now beyond 140 laps. I lost 1 lap to Matthew in the following 30 minutes, creating some suspense... In the last lap, #148, with 10 minutes to go, I experienced something really new, my body just refusing to run... I could barely put one foot after another, or lean forward, it felt surreal, albeit not in a good way. The tank was on empty, the battery was dead, many runners were now passing me, it was pathetic... But I was so resolute that I managed to finish the loop, plus a few yards in the remaining 3 minutes. I had covered 133.4 miles in a day, 6 miles more than in San Francisco in June, so a new Personal Best at this format. Yet, I was quite disappointed to be so far from my original goal although it made sense based on what had happened to my body during the night.

The physical and mental fatigue was so big that couldn't even walk back to the finish area. Ted, from Harvey's crew, helped me but we barely covered 50 yards. He went to the medical tent to get Dr. Greg Hom and Katie who made me drink a cold chocolate milk which I liked very much but I didn't keep. As I was sitting on a bench, one of the Park Rangers passed by with his car and I suggested that he gets me to the finish line. Yes, again, a pathetic way to finish. I took me another hour to call Agnès at home and tell her the story which wasn't told in the results or the nice photo montage she had posted on Facebook to our friends.
I left with quite some hardware in addition to new friendships and lifetime memories. A gold medal for winning my age group, a bronze one for 3rd overall and, for running more than 100 miles, a gigantic belt buckle, so large and heavy that I probably will never wear it but, as Agnès and Greg said, that will make an impressive paper weight! ;-)
The drive back to the hotel was short enough to be safe despite the tiredness. I went to bed at 1 pm and woke up at 6 pm, worked and social networked for a few hours then had a good 7-hour night sleep to get back on track for a client meeting in downtown Cleveland on Monday then a 3-hour drive to Detroit for 2 days of customer meetings there before flying back to the Bay Area on Thursday. Yes, running is only my second job, there is hopefully another one to pay the bills! ;-)

As of this Friday the complete results aren't finalized yet but we pretty much got the right number of laps. For his first ultra (!!!) Isaiah logged a whopping 154-mile distance, I'm sure this must be unheard of!

From the timing to the setup of the single aid station, the organization was very professional. Family and friends really appreciated the live rankings on my end, although they got a shot of adrenaline when the results went off in the final hour on the website. The volunteers were amazingly dedicated to each of our needs; if they happened to be short of what you wanted, they had it for the next lap, made to order! Without a crew I really appreciated the possibility to leave my bottle which I'd found refilled at my next passage, very helpful to keep the momentum and save precious time. During the peak of the afternoon heat the poor volunteers had to fight wasps making their job even harder. It was also amazing seeing volunteers taking successive shifts with the same efficiency.

I'm extremely grateful to the medical crew for their recommendations, their patience to handle my disappointment and impatience, and for getting me back on my feet in the middle of the night. Here are some of them, after the award ceremony. From left to right: Katie, me, Dr. Greg Hom who flew all the way from Florida to lead the team composed of local students he had worked with before and Dr. Andrew Lovy, 79, who not only worked the medical tent but also logged 36 miles and placed in his age group! Dr. Lovy spent years on the front line in Vietnam so he certainly knows what both service and ultra endurance are!


In retrospective, I certainly made a big mistake not taking care of the chaffing early enough. As for the dehydration, I'm really not sure what I could have done differently as I did drink a lot of both electrolytes and iced water before it happened, as well as took one S!Cap every hour. I didn't get any cramping, so the pace seemed adequate and sustainable, although I should manage to slow down more in the first 6-12 hours... I used 10 pouches of Vespa which allowed me to eat very little compared to such a prolonged effort. No foot blister and the Brooks Launch were the perfect shoes. Overall, not too many rookie mistakes, but enough to jeopardize any chance of record. 2nd 24-hour, there will be more...

All week I debated if I was going to race both the Stevens Creek 50K and Trailblazer 10K this weekend as I did these past 3 years with much success (winning the 50K 3 times). I procrastinated until this morning and the registration was closed for the 50K so that's taking care of the decision. I'm in the 10K on Sunday, hope for a decent performance in my age group, short of much track and speed training this year.

Since it took me so long (5 days!) to post this race report, I can mention a few other participants' accounts who did beat me at this game:

  1. John Hnat (100 miles for a major come back from back surgery!)
  2. Lynn David Newton (a nostalgic ultra career end; maybe the last ultra but hopefully not the last run or shorter race!)
  3. Alene Nitzky (a few struggles too for a quadruple Badwater girl)
  4. Diana Martinez (a new ultra marathoner, whoot!)
  5. Angela Maraldo McKinstry (congrats on your 3rd NC24!)
  6. Mary Mathews Nabb (yes, you have an impressive and very consistent "energizer bunny" stride! ;-)
  7. And we still wait to hear from the winner and amazing ultra debut of Isaiah Janzen on his blog...
Here are a few sources of pictures as well:
  1. Jen Goellnitz's album on Facebook
  2. Her high definitions pictures
  3. A few of Greg Murray's super pro pictures
  4. 2,700 pictures from "JohnnyDaJogger"
  5. The Race Director's album
And a series of livestream videos from Jim White (Cincy/NKY)

Friday, September 19, 2014

Running in Johannesburg, South Africa: Mushroom Farm Park in Sandton

When I visit a foreign country or city, I make sure to check on the web what the local running community is recommending in terms of routes, or any other tip posted by other runners who have visited before. Conversely, I hope others find my "Running in..." labeled posts (see the "Running in..." labels in the right column) with more than 50 reviews from around the world!

When it comes to South Africa, and especially Johannesburg, getting local tips is particularly essential as there is so much insecurity caused by the extreme gap between wealthy and poor populations cohabiting in this city. One of the most common advice is "don't even think of running on your own outside!" In retrospective, and as I was told by colleagues afterwards at the office, the run I did upon arrival down to the Botanic Garden was slightly on the risky edge although I didn't feel threaten at any time even when passing groups of homeless in the underpasses (oops, put this way, that doesn't sound so safe!).

For the exclusive and privileged Sandton area, some people advised to pay for a pass at the Radisson Blu fitness center which has an indoor track. I don't know how long it is but I doubt this would have fitted my desire to run at least 10K. Besides, if it is about avoiding the treadmill, rather be outside (any takers among hotel owners and managers to install treadmills outside?). Here is the imposing Radisson Blu:
The next hint was from seeing a large green area on Google maps, the Innesfree Park. However, I learned later in the week that the nearby area on the other side of the highway is extremely dangerous and unsecured, so a clear no go (I think we drove by and it's also an open area with many people hanging out).

The last tip I found was for a rather small local park called Mushroom Farm Park and renovated in 2009. Along with mine, here is an enthusiastic blog post about this green patch in Sandton: I'm in love with a park. Indeed, it is the best compromise for a safe run outside. It is opened from 6 am (at least) to 6 pm, has at least 3 guards on duty patrolling the park, has high fences all around, only one opened entrance (the parking one which is ok to use for pedestrians although the signs say otherwise). It is very accessible and close to the major hotels in Sandton, which is the default area for business travelers (Hilton, Radisson, Holiday Inn, Courtyard). For locals, or those brave enough to drive a rental car on the left side of the road, it has a free and rather spacious parking.

It has a nice pathway, albeit quite narrow when there is other users, especially the bridges.
But, for such a small area and short loop, a great variety with a winding trail, 2 bridges over a small creek and a couple of hills.

From a practical standpoint, the park has restrooms, which I didn't visit and I brought my own water so I didn't test/taste if the water is drinkable (but tap water is throughout the city, including at the Botanic Garden as I was told and experienced).
Quite conveniently, for those interested in cross-training, it has an original outdoor gym:
Also a playground for kids to have their own fun:
Here is the sign which will please the bird watchers (and, yes Steve, I did spot a few ducks and pigeons! ;-):
Last, but not least, the park attraction is a balloon which Hyundai sponsors, offering aerial views over Sandton for RSA75 (about $8):
Note that the balloon can be seen from miles away so that's an easy landmark to spot Sandton from anywhere in Johannesburg.

Since I got my GPS stolen from my suitcase at the airport, I could tell for sure the length of the loop. One of our consultants whom I ran with on Thursday said 700 meters. The first day, I clocked 3:25-3:40 loops without going in the red zone. On Thursday, I was in my 16 th lap, having ran all the previous ones between 3:15 and 3:20 when I passed 2 runners only to find them picking up the pace to follow me. It was enough to get my engine (or ego... ;-) started and here we were, running the next lap in 2:56, phew! I did another one under 3 minutes, still "pushed" by them and they finally stopped so I slowed don a few seconds for the last 2 laps to make it 20. Great speed work out, which I hadn't really planned for as I was rather meant to taper, one week before the US 24-hour Nationals in Cleveland, OH. Yes, tomorrow...! Anyway, with these times, it must indeed bit slightly shorter than half a mile.

Again, a perfect option and compromise between outdoor running and security, a definitve "must run" if you are staying in or nearby Sandton (which is actually quite some distance from downtown, but has a large train station).

Run happy AND safe in South Africa!