Some races are well organised. And some… not so much. The 10k race on Robben Island belonged to the latter. It was the first time that this 10k was held and there were some birth pains.
Robben Island is a small island about 10km from Cape Town. It was used as a prison for over 300 years until 1996. Famously, Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison on this island. After the fall of apartheid, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and became South Africa’s first black president in 1994. Today, the former prison is a museum and a popular tourist destination.
When we picked up our race packs, we learned that the race would be in four waves of 250 runners. We were in the first wave and should be at the ferry terminal at 5.15am. Sharp. If we miss the boat, we will miss the race.
On race day, we walked 20 minutes from our apartment to the ferry terminal. We were there well before 5.15am, along with 250 other runners.
First surprise: the ferry didn’t leave at 5.15am. It left at 6am.
Despite the wait, I have to admit that the boat ride itself was beautiful. We even had a rainbow as a bonus!
We arrived on the island at 6.30am. Our race would start in 45 minutes at 7.15am.
Incidentally, the island has very little infrastructure: there are no shops, restaurants or cafés. However, we were all prepared for that and brought our own water and food.
However, we were very surprised that there were only two porta-potties. We tried to use some of the toilets in the museum buildings, but unfortunately, the water was switched off.
Then, yet another surprise: over the speaker, it was announced that the race would start an hour later, at 8.15am. We all wondered why and I asked a few official-looking people, but nobody knew. Oh well, at least we had more time to stand in line for the porta-potties!
Finally, our race started and we got to enjoy a flat and scenic race course.
I noticed that the kilometre markers came much faster than my Garmin could track them. When the gap got bigger and bigger, I knew that this would be a very short 10k. True enough, it was only 9.3km (it took me 41m 45s).
Some runners were very upset about this and quite a few continued after the finish line to fill the missing distance.
To be fair, the organisers did very well with the finish area: there was free coffee, ice cream and muffins (and, as a bonus, they even switched the water on for the toilets in the buildings!).
Getting back to the mainland was another test of patience: we waited for over an hour for the ferry boat. By the time we were back on the mainland, it was 12.30pm.
All in all, we invested over 7 hours in a 40-ish-minute race! Yes, it was a special experience – but I’m not sure that we will need to repeat this one. “One-and-done” is fine for us!
- How much time are you prepared to invest in a regular weekend race?
- Do you have any “one-and-done” races?
I’m joining Kooky Runner and Zenaida’s link-up, Tuesday Topics. I’m also joining Runner’s Roundup with Mile By Mile, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner and Runs with Pugs.
Liebe Catrina,
oh, oh. Nach so einem Erlebnis, weiß man die gut organisierten Läufe wieder umso mehr zu schätzen. Die über 7 Stunden wären ja ok, wenn ihr eine seeehr lange Anfahrt gehabt hättet, aber wenn das Rennen quasi ums Eck stattfindet, ist das schon heftig. 😉
Trotzdem Gratulation zu deiner tollen “10er-Zeit” und vielleicht mausert sich das Rennen ja noch in den nächsten Jahren, wenn sie die zeitlichen Hoppalas in den Griff kriegen. 😀
Liebe Doris
Haha, genau! Wir sehen Robben Island jeden Tag von unserem Balkon aus, sozusagen in Griffnähe. In der Ausschreibung war der Start sogar mit 6.30am angegeben, was natürlich auch daneben war. Aber zum Glück nahmen es die meisten südafrikanischen Läufer recht locker. 😉
Danke dir! Genau das denke ich auch. Die müssen mal ein paar erfahrene Läufer ins OK reinnehmen und dann klappt das viel besser.
Oh no, that’s waaaay too many hickups for one race… I would have been so annoyed by all the delays, what if somebody has other things planned that day and thus expects the race schedule to hold? Have to say though that the idea to have a race in such a historical place is a great one, you don´t often get the chance to do that.
Yes, exactly! I was starting to get nervous, because we were expecting guests at 2pm at our place. Fortunately, we made it back in time.
The location was very impressive. If you go as a tourist to Robben Island, you have to sit on a bus and they do not allow you to wander around on your own. So this was a very unique opportunity to explore the island a bit.
Also, many runners took a tour of the former prison buildings which was also an added bonus (we had toured the buildings last year, so we didn’t go along).
Liebe Catrina,
ach herrje was für ein Erlebnis! Ok, dass bei einer Premiere nie alles glatt laufen mag, kann man verstehen. Aber da war ja schon einiges geboten für euch! Mich hätte das sehr mürbe gemacht und die Laune in den Keller gefahren. Wenn das dann noch bei Regen und Kälte gewesen wäre….. 8-(
Da kann man sich vielleicht noch daran halten, dass ihr bei einer Erstaustragung dabei wart und es ja auch ein sehr spezieller Ort war. Jedenfalls darf man gespannt sein, ob es eine zweite Durchführung geben wird.
Ich hatte noch kein “one-and-done”-Rennen.
Normalerweise wäre die Relation 7 Stunden zu 40 Minuten für mich nicht sinnvoll. Aber andererseits, wenn es etwas Spezielles gibt oder man sich dort mit Freunden trifft, sieht es schon wieder anders aus. Es käme da auf das Gesamtpaket an.
Liebe Grüße
Elke
Liebe Elke
Uff, zum Glück war es nicht kalt! Das wäre dann sehr ungemütlich geworden.
Am Mittag, beim Warten auf die Fähre, hatten wir eher mit der Hitze zu kämpfen. Wir sassen zusammen mit Hunderten von Läufern alle auf dem Boden in der prallen Sonne. Keine Bänke, kein Schatten weit und breit… es kam einem Gefängnis-Insel-Erlebnis recht nahe!
Das OK war recht unter Druck, weil die Presse und das nationale Fernsehen auch da war… ich vermute stark, dass die Verspätung auch damit zusammenhing.
Genau! Es war für dieses eine Mal ok, aber noch einmal wäre es definitiv nicht sinnvoll.
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen Cape Town!
Sag’ ich doch: Wer Abenteuer mag, liegt bei euch richtig !! Eine ganz schöne Geduldsprobe, aber in der herrlichen Landschaft dürfte es nicht ganz sooooooooooooo schlimm zu ertragen sein. Lustig ist das jedenfalls nicht !!
Kann mich erinnern, das Nelson Mandela auf dieser Insel lange Jahre verbracht hat, wunderschön, wenn es nicht so traurig wäre !!
Dann dieses Wetter !! Wenn ich hier aus dem Fenster sehe……………………. 🙄
Aber es hat sich offensichtlich doch gelohnt, bist eine Superzeit gelaufen !! Congratulations from the Baltic Sea !!!
7 Stunden 40 für einen 10-Kilometer-Lauf – wahrlich eine Geduldsprobe, in der Zeit hätte man einen Ultra laufen können !! 😉
Kann man nur sagen: weitermachen unter der Sonne Afrikas !!! Das sage ich dir, die hier seit Tagen unter dicken, nassen Wolken keinen einzigen Sonnenstrahl erblicken kann – nein, ich bin nicht neidisch, nein, nein, nein !!
Bis dann, liebe Catrina !
Genau! In 7 Stunden hätte man einen schönen 70km-plus Lauf machen können! Da hätte man noch etwas mehr für’s Geld bekommen. 🙂
Die Geschichte dieser Insel ist wirklich traurig. Als ich letztes Jahr da die Touristen-Tour gemacht habe, hatten wir einen Guide, der selbst ein politischer Gefangener da in Haft sass. Schon sehr eindrücklich.
Das Wetter hier ist gerade sehr schön – kühl am Morgen, sonnig, aber nicht zu heiss während dem Rest des Tages. Hoffentlich bleibt es so für eine Weile. In der Schweiz ist auch der ganze Schnee weg, in den Bergen ist der Schnee nass geworden. Schade!
Durchhalten, liebe Margitta, der nächste Frühling kommt bestimmt, liebe Margitta!
Liebe Grüsse von See zu See!
It sounds like the race organizer had never done a race before! Some races are meant to be one and done, I guess! At least you got to see a beautiful tourist spot.
Last summer I ran a race in Chicago. The race itself was great, but the buses that took us to and from the race did a poor job–we ended up waiting for over 90 minutes after the race for a ride back to our cars. Never again.
I had the same impression, Wendy! There was water at the start, but not at the finish line. We were supposed to carry the water bottles with us…🤔
Oh, I remember reading that! Wasn’t it also extremely cold? That’s the worst! One and done, indeed. 😊
Oh no, so many things went wrong with that race! The ferry departure time was most likely out of the race director’s control, but the rest? Only two porta potties for groups of 250 runners arriving at once? Such a late start and much later than necessary even considering the delayed arrival due to the ferry’s delay. I agree, this would be a one-and-done race for me, too.
My friends and I had a similar experience at the Hot Chocolate 15K that only came to the DC area once (I don’t think they were invited back). Not only did they have an over hour delay, but when they started the 15K, they started us in the wrong direction so we were running toward the 5K runners (or whatever distance it was) who were trying to make their way to the starting line. Many other things went wrong that morning as well. Somewhere in the bowels of my blog is the race recap. I need to reread it just for fun (or to get my BP up)! LOL
I just read your Hot Chocolate 15K recap! It was in 2011 – and it sounds horrific! Delays are easier to deal with in warm weather like we had, but when it’s freezing cold you don’t want the start of the race to be delayed. I’m glad that you and your group didn’t get too upset about it. Ha, those comments on the social media must have been a “fun” read!
This race was covered by the national TV and other news media – fortunately for the organisers, it was all positive and nice. I hope they still get some constructive feedback from the runners and do a better job next year, though.
Liebe Catrina,
wo ihr euch immer rumtreibt?! 😛 Nee, mal Spaß beiseite, da liegt so ein kleines nettes Eiland sooo nah dran und dann das … ! – Wetter war okay, wie ich es entnehme! Deine Zeit war mehr als gut, denn wenn man das auf 10 km hochrechnet, kommt ein Ergebnis von weniger als 45 Min. raus!!! CONGRATS! – Die offiziellen Results sind aber noch nicht raus, oder? Auf der Internetseite sind sie auf jeden Fall noch nicht verlinkt!
Ich würde es als Abenteuer abhaken, aber dieses Rennen wohl auch vorerst nicht mehr einplanen. – Mehrere Rennen hatte ich nur einmal bestritten, aber nie gesagt, dass ich dort nicht mehr antreten würde. Bin gerade nochmal die Liste meiner Races durchgegangen. Da kommen nur Rennen drin vor, die ich umständehalber nicht mehr gemacht habe, oder die es nicht mehr gibt! – Allerhöchstens hatte ich mal einen schlechten Tag erwischt, dann lag es aber an mir, oder meiner Form!
Evtl. bis zu 7 Std. hatte ich manches Mal zugebracht, wenn ich zu einem Rennen gefahren bin (auch mal gut 60 km über Landstraßen), rechtzeitig dort sein wollte (Startnummernausgabe), das Rennen lief und dann noch auf die Siegerehrung warten musste (!), weil ich unter den ersten 3 war, bevor ich wieder nach Hause fahren durfte! 😆 – Meist war es sonntags und meine Frau hat warten müssen, weil sie an solchen Fahrereien verständlicherweise kein Interesse hatte! – In den Jahren 2008 bis 2013 hatte ich mehrere Laufcups absolviert und da brauchte man mehrere Starts im Jahr! 😳
Aber euer Besuch auf Robben Island aus touristischem und geschichtlichem Interesse war bestimmt interessant. Die Insel sieht so auch ganz gut aus!
Aus einem trüben, aber milden Darmstadt
liebe Grüße Manfred
Lieber Manfred
Die Läufer haben unter sich gewitzelt, dass wir besser zurückgeschwommen wären, das wäre schneller gewesen!
Die offiziellen Resultate sind immer noch “pending”… fast zwei Wochen nach dem Lauf. Das ist ja auch so ein Unding – aber passt ins Bild. Ich glaube, ich bin vierte oder fünfte geworden, je nachdem, wie schnell die Frauen in den anderen Gruppen waren.
Die Preisverleihung haben sie auch nicht richtig angekündigt. Die Overall Gewinnerin wusste nicht, wann und wo die Preisverleihung stattfinden würde und kam dementsprechend zu spät, die Arme.
Wie gut, dass du nie so schlecht organisierte Rennen mitmachen musstest. Wobei ich denke, dass es bei dem Organisationstalent der Deutschen sowieso NIE so schlecht sein würde wie bei diesem Robben Island Lauf.
Das kann ich mir vorstellen, dass deine Laufcups zeitintensiv waren. Aber das ist ok so – du hast es ja so eingeplant. Die Anfahrt, dann der Lauf, dann muss man auf die Preisverleihung warten und die selbst dauert ja auch immer eine Weile. Wenn alles nach Plan läuft, dann finde ich das völlig i.O. Hast du die Cup-Gesamtwertung in deiner AK auch gewonnen?
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen Cape Town!
Liebe Catrina,
da fragst du ja den richtigen, der gleich mal nachgucken musste, damit er auch jaaa nichts Verkehrtes erzählt! 😆
Laufserien über ‘kurze Strecken’, zumeist 10 km, bin ich ja zwischen 2008 und 2013 gelaufen. 2008er Serie über 4 Läufe: 1. der AK und ne Serie über 7 Läufe: 2. der AK. Bei dieser 2. Serie musste ich am meisten fahren. – 2010 Cup mit Wertung von Halbmarathon und 10er (eine Woche später): 3. der AK. – In 2012 und 2013 je eine Serie von 4 Läufen: beide 1. der AK! – Ohne Angabe zu verstehen, da war ich halt noch fitter! 😛
Würde dich so ne Laufserie auch mal reizen, oder hast du sowas schon gemacht?
Heute kein Lauf, wurde rekrutiert als Schiri bei einem Schul-Basketball-Turnier!
Aus dem nächtlichen Darmstadt
liebe Grüße Manfred
Ha, wusste ich doch, dass du alles fein säuberlich notiert hast, lieber Manfred!
Super, 1. in der AK zu werden ist gar nicht so einfach in diesen Laufcups. Und sogar über mehrere Jahre! Da warst du wirklich sehr fit!
Ich habe jahrelang an einem Laufcup in Zürich mitgemacht. 12 Läufe, wovon mindestens 6 gemacht werden mussten. Die Strecken waren zwischen 10 und 21km. Die Konkurrenz war hart, ich bin nur 3. in meiner AK geworden.
Oh, Schiri! Auch wieder mal schön!
Liebe Grüsse aus dem sonnigen Cape Town!
Holy moly! That’s insane! I would have lost it, but then they gave ice cream, so I would have forgiven everything very quickly. But seriously. I hate when they push back start times.
And I’m laughing about how they turned the water back on. It’s the little things.
Congratulations! I have a few one-and-done events…. They are fine, but no point in going back to them.
The ice cream was worth it! And the muffins too! They didn’t have water at the finish line… instead, they only had Coke (that was one of the sponsors). I was glad that we had brought water with us!
True! We were so grateful for working toilets and somewhere to wash your hands!
Thanks, Jenn!
Ugh! I hate when they push back start times! But then I would have forgiven everything after ice cream. It’s my Achilles heel. And how funny that they turned the water on for the restrooms after all that.
Running after boat rides is hard for me. I had one race like that and I was definitely queasy.
There are a few one and done events I’ve done. I’ve been there, seen what I had to see, and moved on.
Oh yes, there were many who got queasy on the boat ride! On the way back, I thought the woman next to me was going to throw up. I’m glad she managed to hold it in!
Ouch, that makes for a long day! I’ve done many “one & dones,” unfortunately. They give us great stories, though!
That’s true, Kim! They make for good stories. I had a race yesterday evening where everything worked like clockwork. Now I don’t know how to make it an interesting story!
You had me at island! I haven’t written about it yet, but there’s an island in Lake Erie that was used as a prison camp in the Civil War. It’s very close to the mainland and I have to imagine that the escape attempt rate was 100%.
Anyway, too bad that the race wasn’t better organized. The words “limited bathrooms” do not go with “island” or “race”. A very unique one and done!
Ooh! It must have been so tempting to swim ashore! There were a few attempts on Robben Island, but unfortunately for the prisoners, the Atlantic is icy cold and many drowned before they could make it to mainland.
When I prepared this post, I googled “prison islands”. There are hundreds of them! It seems like this used to be a very trendy thing.
Haha, yes! The island had very little to offer in terms of toilet alternatives such as trees and bushes…. not an ideal combo at all! 🙂
Too bad about the race
I’m sure I’ve had one and done races.
They usually make you chuckle when you look back.
And they’re more interesting to talk about when you’re exchanging race stories!
With all your races, I’m sure there are quite a few one-and-dones!
This venue sounds a lot like our Alcatraz (where they have a tri race). I can usually go with the flow but starting an hour late really messes with our nutrition and hydration. With a 10K, we can probably manage but it is anxiety provoking. Looks fun nonetheless
Exactly! I didn’t know Alcatraz had a triathlon. That must be a cool race!
You are right! I would have been in trouble if this had been a marathon. Or if it had been very hot. It could have been a lot worse! 😊
That’s a shame about the initial bad organisation, and especially the delays. But at least they made up for things post-race for you all with the free food, drinks, and enabling of the toilets!
I wouldn’t have minded too much about the distance shortage unless I were hoping to go for a PB on the 10k. Then I would have also kept going after the finish line.
Funnily enough, this past weekend I had a large investment of time for what was just 18km of trail run. Almost 2 hours drive there, 2 hours for the run, then 2 hours back again. But, it was made better by the fact that I was sharing a car with a friend and we ran as a group where all met up.
I think most races these days tend to be ‘one and done’ for me. There is a lot of variety to choose from, so its more a case of just trying new locations and race experiences for me.
You are so right! After everyone had coffee, ice cream and muffins, people felt a lot happier. It’s a shame I didn’t take a photo of the recreational area (I was too busy eating ice cream). It was rather nice: a big tent with lots of seats to relax. Everyone was hanging out there and there was a good vibe.
I didn’t mind the short distance either – quite the opposite, I was happy to see that finish line early!
So not all your runs start at your doorstep?! Running with a group is always a bit more of a hassle with all the driving and waiting. But then again, you get to talk about ALL the running stuff with your buddy during the car ride without getting on anyone’s nerves!
The choice of races these days is HUGE! I have friends who do the same races on repeat (like 20 times the Jungfrau Marathon). I always think life is too short for that! 🙂
That’s so frustrating, but it sounds like you made the best of it! Ive had races start late before and it can be so annoying so be all ready to go and then to have to just stand around.
Yes! We got up extra early so that we don’t miss that ferry! I could have slept longer and have that extra cup of tea… Ah well, the things we do as runners!
Wow this sounds like quite the adventure! But it looks like you had fun and looks pretty 🙂
I enjoyed seeing the location from a different perspective! As a tourist, you are not allowed to leave the bus and can’t wander around the island.
It does sound poorly organized! You have a good attitude and it sounds like you enjoyed it anyway. But I can see how you won’t be rushing to sign up again next year!
We did enjoy the unique location – but I don’t have to go and see it again!
We were expecting guests at 2pm at our place and I was starting to wonder if we needed to cancel it. I was glad it all worked out in the end.
1000 runners are a big pack for a race on a little island like that.
Sorry for all the problems, I can understand how annoying all the situation you have mentioned could have been: first of all the porta-potties.
However now you have another race done: congrats!
I have been running since 1985 and in my log book there are many “no more here”.
Yes! They’re used to handling tourists, but not 1’000 all at once running around the island. And there is only one ferry (for 250 people) that needs 30 minutes for one way.
Yes, looking at it from a racing perspective, this was a good training run.
Oh, I bet you have! I’m sure your log book would make an interesting list of all the things that can go wrong in a race!
Liebe Catrina,
verbuche es unter einen schönen Ausflug mit einem kurzen Läufchen 😉 So seid Ihr mal auf diese Insel gekommen und der Tripp hätte schon alleine für Eiscreme und Muffins gelohnt 😆
Außerdem muß man ja nicht jeden Lauf zur Tradtion erheben 🙂
Zu Deinen Fragen fällt mir heute nichts wirklich Gescheites ein. Über den Lauf hinaus zeitlich ausgeufert ist bei mir, soweit ich mich erinnern kann, noch kein Lauf. Genauso war noch kein Lauf wirklich ein so großer Reinfall, dass ich ihn nicht hätte nochmal machen wollen.
Liebe Grüße aus dem kühlen, nach vielen Regentagen aber endlich mal wieder trockenen Oldenburg
Volker
Lieber Volker
Gute Idee, einfach das Ganze umdrehen! Und gratis Eis! Und eine Schifffahrt! Es ist alles eine Frage der Perspektive.
Dann bist du ein Glückskind! Bei dir ist sogar beim Berliner Marathon kein zeitliches Ausufern möglich, das ist ja praktisch eine Hausrunde.
Gerade habe ich deine Schnee/Regen/Trockenbilder auf deinem Blog gesehen. Jedes Wetter hat etwas, worüber man sich freuen kann. Deine Einstellung finde ich super. Wie du richtig sagst – es ist alles eine Frage der Perspektive!
Liebe Grüsse aus dem windigen (ich genoss heute den Rückenwind!) Cape Town!
Those first time races can have issues, even if the race director is experienced.
I know I’ve done some one-and-done races. But I put them so far out of my mind that I don’t recall them! But we’ve all run races where they run out of water or the course is poorly marked. Or the logistics are just unbearable.
I guess I’d drive 25 miles for a good 5K or 10K. Longer for a half. I would not drive 100 miles for less than a half marathon.
I can justify driving further if I have as car full of friends.
But at my age, the only way I’m going to run a race in all 50 states is to travel long distances to run halfs.
Andy
I can imagine that! I have a good running buddy who is a race director, and the amount of work that goes into it is incredible. And that’s for a well-established race! Imagine doing it for a “first”!
I agree, Andy, I would never drive 100 miles just for a race. Filling the car with running friends is a great option to reduce the environmental impact and to make the trip more fun. We also try to combine things with race trips: for example, we combined the Berlin Marathon with visiting Kai’s mum.
Is that your plan? To run in all 50 states?
That was an interesting experience to say the least… but you seem to have a sense of humor about it. 😉
It definitely was interesting and a good “war” story, San! Somebody here said to view it as an sightseeing trip with a race thrown in. It’s all about perspective, right?!
LOL on all the glitches. The pre-start delays would stress me out for a normal race, but I think all the diversions — the ferry, the rainbow, the unique location — would get me to relax and go with the flow — except for the porta-potty issues!
Yes, exactly! In the beginning, we were all in a focused racing-mode, but after a while we kicked back and relaxed. I was so glad the toilets at the finish line were working! I really needed one, ha!
Wow! With logistics like these most likely I will not run the race again. That is a lot of time invested for a 6 mile race. At least you can say that you ran it.
I agree, Zenaida! Such a huge effort for a 10k!
I was surprised by how many runners have never even visited the island, let alone run there. So at least we can tick that box! 😊
That’s a shame that it wasn’t better organized 🙁
Absolutely, Kim!
The ferry ride would have been so amazing, Catrina. I would run this one for the uniqueness of it. But with the delays it would likely also be a one-and-done race. I used to run these one-and-done kind of races fairly often during my 1st few years of running. Registration was paid for through my work at my former job at Busch Systems. But these past few years since my days at Busch I’m much more picky & choosy. Because they always involve driving to get there, I’ll very, very seldom run 10k’s & half marathons anymore. Ironically, I’ve never run a 5K race in my 10 years running. I usually now just go for the ultras these days. This past year I ran 3. Time wise I count on them being a very full day.
Oh, you would have enjoyed it, Carl, especially the rainbow! Another thing that is unique about the island is the wildlife. Only very few people live there and the tourists are kept in the buses. Boaters need a licence to get there (which is usually declined). Therefore, the birds can nest quite undisturbed. They have a great penguin colony there, too.
Yes, I thought of you! I like that you make a point of limiting the driving time. This race didn’t involve any driving, but it was still quite time-intensive.
I didn’t know that you’ve never run a 5k!
Running only ultras makes more sense from a benefit-cost ratio: you get to run many hours for the travel time! Especially if runners do it like you, and only pick races that are in close proximity. Yes, it’s a full day but of course you’ve planned it that way. I hope all is well, Carl!
Oh wow, that is a kind of a bucket list race, even though it was a bit chaotic, what an incredible opportunity. Like so many South Africans I have never been there, but I’ve heard so many negatives about the maintenance and facility upkeep that I’m a bit reluctant. But, I reckon I should make it a priority next time we are in CT
You are absolutely right! The tour is not recommendable – I did it a few years back and it was very disappointing. There is so much potential to make this a much more memorable experience!
However, as a race location a visit is worthwhile (as long as you plan enough time). On race day, runners could also go and see the prison from inside, so you could make it a worthwhile outing.
Wow that’s a lot of glitches and delays even for a first-time race. It’s too bad you had to spend half a day getting through a 10k but what can you do. Sounds like the ferry ride was enjoyable…when it actually came, haha! Congrats to both of you!
Such a big time investment, Marcia!
I was wondering whether you had been to Robben Island when you were here. I’m glad you didn’t go! The museum tour is not very good, they could make it a lot more interesting for visitors. And now you know you don’t need to run there, either, haha!