Categories Daily life in Cape Town, Running

Running the Hills in Cape Town

by Catrina31 Comments on Running the Hills in Cape Town
  • Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain

Over the last few days, we ran up two hills. Hill number 1 was the famous Table Mountain, which we did with a guide.

Together with my husband Kai and Reto, my favourite running buddy from Switzerland, we went to a parking spot where we met up with our guide, Grant. About 20 others also joined – they were locals who regularly go running with Grant. It was quite hot when we started (32°C/90°F) and from the first step, it was straight up, including a lot of stairs. It was only 6k, but it took us over an hour.

  • The before pic. Reto in the blue shirt, myself in orange, Kai in white.

The trail required good technical skills which I completely lack. I did fine while going up, but on the downhill parts I started to worry that I could fall and then automatically slowed down to a snail’s pace. I think I will need to run these trails more often to get some practice!

  • The “during” pic (and finally an easy part of the trail!)
  • The “nearly there” pic
  • The reward…
  • …Cape Town from above.

Feeling more confident, we decided to tackle hill no. 2, Lion’s Head, on our own. We set out at 6am and started our trek up. Again, it was only a 5k roundtrip, but this one was even trickier, as it involved a lot of rock scrambling. The view from the top was spectacular.

  • A cloudy Table Mountain behind
  • Rewarded again!
  • Three happy runners, with Signal Hill in the background

There are two things I learned this week about life in South Africa:

  1. South Africa is a low-cost country – but only if you earn your salary elsewhere. The average annual income here is USD 12’000. After the Table Mountain run, I was chatting with one of the runners who worked as a speech therapist in a local hospital. I casually mentioned that the registration fees for races are such a bargain (USD 7.50). Undaunted by my obvious blunder, she put me right: “No, I don’t think it’s a bargain at all”. At that moment, I could have kicked myself for being so insensitive. Talk about runfessions… this won’t happen to me again!
  2. Friends greet each other with a kiss on the MOUTH! Yesterday, we visited a lovely elderly couple that Kai knows well. Kai was greeted with a hug (lucky him) and I got the kiss on the MOUTH! I nearly fainted on the spot. For the rest of the visit, I was considering getting drunk on a few bottles of wine just to get through the merry good-bye ordeal. After a long and agonizing internal battle, I decided to go with my mantra: “embrace adversity”. Yep, kisses on the mouth it is! BRING IT ON! And I’m still alive to tell the story!
  • Do you like trail running? How often do you do it?
  • How do you greet your friends?

I am linking up with  Kookyrunner and Zenaida  for Tuesday Topics.  

31 Comments

  1. Wow, liebe Catrina, was für eine wunderschöne Welt, in der du deine Zelte aufgeschlagen hast !! Tolle Bilder, toller Lauf, tolle Gruppe.

    Dass man sich an das Küssen auf den Mund mit Freunden erst ” gewöhnen ” muss, durchaus verständlich, gibt es sogar in Familien Mitglieder, die sich weigern, den anderen auf den Mund zu küssen – ja, das habe ich erlebt !!

    Trail running ist eine Art des Laufens, die sich hier kaum praktizieren lässt, früher in meiner alten Heimat gehörte das auch zu meinem Programm – bergauf/bergab, aber man kann nicht alles haben !!

    Meine Freunde und ich umarmen uns, es werden auch Küsse auf die Wangen verteilt, je nachdem, wie gut man sich kennt, wie sehr man sich mag, aber Küsse auf den Mund, ich glaube, sie wären sehr erstaunt, abgesehen davon, dass ich das auch nicht mit jedem haben möchte.

    Genieße dein Leben, lasse uns weiterhin teilhaben und ganz liebe Grüße in die Ferne von ganz oben ! 😎

    1. Liebe Margitta
      Ja, das waren wirklich zwei ausserordentlich schöne Exkursionen! Diese Stadt, das Land und die Menschen sind einfach wunderbar.

      Du hast vielleicht nicht so viele Bergtrails, aber doch einige Strand- und Waldtrails. Am Meer zu laufen ist sowieso ein RIESEN-Privileg, um das ich dich lange benieden habe, als ich in Zürich in der Stadt festsass und deine schönen Blog-Bilder sah. 😉
      Bei der Begrüssung unter Freunden macht man es in der Schweiz à la française: drei Mal ein Wangenkuss. Die jüngere Generation hat es auf einen Kuss reduziert (genügt ja auch) oder umarmt sich. Aber auf den Mund… naja, da wären auch sehr viele erstaunt!
      Es gibt hier noch einen dritten Hügel, den Signal Hill. Punkt 12 Uhr wird da jeden Tag eine Kanone abgeschossen, um den Schiffen die Zeit anzugeben – eine alte Tradition. Ich hoffe, dass wir es diese Woche noch schaffen, da hochzukommen und live mitzuerleben.
      Geniesse auch du dein schönes Leben im hohen Norden! Ganz liebe Grüsse aus tief unten im Süden!

  2. WOW! Those views! Looks gorgeous. I think you definitely ‘held your own’ with the other runners. What an adventure.

    I had no idea about the low income in South Africa. I wouldn’t have thought that!

    1. Aren’t the views to die for?! The hills and the sea make for good photos.
      Yes, the low income surprised me, too. It’s a third of the average income of the US!

  3. Haha! Yes, the kiss on the mouth from South Africans is a shock! LOL. Even a shock for us who just live next door. But yes, embrace it my friend! Those photos of your trail up the mountains are spectacular! What a view right? And I love the one with Table Mountain and it’s table cloth of clouds. 🙂 Your orange top against that background is gorgeous! I’m so pleased you are enjoying all that Cape Town has to offer in terms of running, hiking and trails.

    Don’t be too hard on yourself at all about your #runfession on affordability. What’s important is that you quickly recognised it as a blunder. I once had someone visiting here who kept going on and on about how everything was so cheap and even after I explained to her that it wasn’t cheap for most people here, she still continued.

    1. Ah, Shathiso, I am so glad the mouth kissing is a shock to you, too! Haha! Nobody ever told me that about South Africans.
      I am so blown away by this city and this country. The views, the mountains, the friendly people… it’s just so beautiful. I am sure Botswana has the same beauty to offer.
      I’m sorry that you had people doing the “ah, this is so cheap” stunt. It is just so rude and thoughtless. I can’t believe that she kept on going on about it even after you told her.
      Thank you, Shathiso, for being so encouraging. Your opinion means a lot to me as you are my northerly neighbour! 😉

  4. HA ha ha…”embrace adversity!” Now there’s a mantra 🙂 That mountain-climbing sounds fun, but very tough and technical. I’d bet a new pair of shoes, though, it would get easier after you’ve had more experience and practice. What a great adventure, and the views are amazing!

    1. Haha, what a good bet! You are right, I urgently need more practice. Next week my brother is coming to visit, so I have another victim to take to the hills!

  5. Wow, you really cant beat those views when running! Like you, I would have probably slowed down doing the downhill portion of the trail run.

    I love the “embrace adversity” mantra! The kiss on the mouth whole have definitely thrown me for a loop though, lol.

    1. I can never get enough of the views! I understand why the settlers opted for this place many centuries ago.
      Haha, it’s a strange custom for non-South Africans. I definitely prefer the cheek! 😊

  9. Dear Catrina,

    I m really fascinated by looking the pictures from your two amazing runs. Unbelievable exciting! But 32°C and straight up, that`s nothing for me. Five or six kilometers can be very long under this conditions 😀

    In the plain from northwestern germany it is very difficult to do trail runs. There are no hills and only few woods. But it is no problem for me, because I like the view over the endless landscape.

    I m greeting my friends with an embracement. A kiss is just only for my sweetheart 😀

    Continue to enjoy your stay in Cape Town and kiss kiss *oops* 😆
    Volker

    1. Haha, Volker, I had to laugh out loud at your last sentence! Exactly, oops!
      Yes, it was really hot on that trail run and we didn’t bring any water along with us. I was quite happy that it was fairly short. At the end they had some cold beer and water in the car which everyone drank (I stuck to water).
      I like the Oldenburg landscape and scenery as well. Every place has its own charm in its own unique way.
      I prefer embracing my friends, too! It feels good and isn’t awkward at all. 😉
      Have a great week out in the endless countryside in the North!

  10. Liebe Catrina,

    da waren eure letzten Tage aber wieder sehr ereignisreich!
    Tolle Touren habe ihr zudem unternommen! Da wäre ich vor allem auf der verblockten zweiten Tour sehr gerne dabei gewesen! 😉 Danke für die Möglichkeit euch virtuell und bildhaft (nach)zubegleiten! 🙂

    Trail running is one of my favorite, hier aber nicht in ausgeprägter Form durchzuführen!

    Ich denke, dass ich kommunikativ und auch nahbar bin. Zur Begrüssung und zum Anschied bekommen gute Freunde einen Hug, oder auch einen Big Hug. Auch ein Wangenkuss ist da und dort mal drin, aber auf den Mund küssen … das wäre nicht nur ungewöhnlich … das wollte ich nicht! Aber vielleicht werden wir Männer da ausgenommen und haben da eher Glück, wie es dein Kai erlebt hat!

    Viel Spaß bei all euren Touren, demnächst auch auf Signal Hill!

    LG Manfred

    1. Lieber Manfred,
      Der Lion’s Head hätte dir bestimmt gut gefallen! Beim Aufstieg hatte ich Bedenken, wie schwierig der Abstieg wohl wird. Aber es ging recht gut (wenn auch nicht sehr elegant) 😬.
      Du hast vielleicht keine sehr hügelige Trails, dafür schöne Waldwege!
      Genauso habe ich es auch mit Begrüssungen: Hugs und Wangenküsse sind beide okay – aber auf den Mund… argh! 🤪 Männer sind klar im Vorteil!
      Danke! Und dir wünsche ich schöne Waldläufe!

  11. Trails are so worth it, but they can be so scary! Look how high up you are!

    You didn’t mean to be insensitive. I would have said the same thing.

    I am not much of a “toucher”, so kisses on the mouth would be hard. When I lived in Miami, it was always hugs, and cheek kisses, sometimes two, and that was hard enough. Close friends will get a hug, but otherwise my greeting is very much “Hey, youuu!”

    1. I was scared at times – especially when I thought about the descent! However, it went much better than I thought, if not as elegantly as I hoped.
      Yes, I had no intention of being insensitive – thankfully the girl was kind and understanding.
      I’m fine with hugs and I like a friendly wave with a smile and “hi”. I think we should both move to Finland where they don’t touch much, either! 🙂

  12. Liebe Catrina,
    wow, was für tolle Aussichten! Die Bilder der beiden Touren sind großartig. Und das orange deines Tops bringt jedesmal den perfekten Farbtupfer auf die Fotos 🙂
    Ich liebe Trails und ich liebe Berge.Einfach wunderbar. Allerdings bin ich bergab auch eher technisch nicht so perfekt und mach dann lieber langsamer.
    Meine Freunde begrüße ich mit einer Umarmung, meine Mama und meine Töchter bekommen noch Küsschen auf die Wangen dazu 🙂
    Ich kann mir sehr gut deine Verwunderung mit dem Kuss auf den Mund vorstellen. Da wäre ich auch ziemlich verschreckt. Das wäre mir dann doch definitv zu viel.
    Viel Spaß weiterhin im warmen Süden.
    Liebe Grüße
    Helge

    1. Liebe Helge
      Die Aussichten sind unglaublich schön – fast so schön wie in der Schweiz ;-))
      Orange ist meine Lieblingsfarbe und ich packe fast nur immer diese Laufshirts in den Koffer. Ich hoffe, dass sich diese Vorliebe mal ändert…
      Das tröstet mich, dass du bergab auch langsamer bist. Mit dem Alter wird man vorsichtiger, denke ich.
      Falls wir uns mal treffen, kriegst du eine dicke Umarmung von mir! Keine schrecklichen Überraschungen mit Mundküssen und so.
      Ich hoffe, dass du munter deine Läufe machen kannst und dass die Arbeit sich in vernünftigen Grenzen hält.
      Liebe Grüsse aus dem warmen, aber windigen Süden.

  13. Wow! An hour to do 6k? That must be one tough climb!!! I am with you – the downhills are more challenging than the uphills. In a very trick trail race I ran a few years ago, I passed runners on the uphill, but they all passed me on the downhill. You are running in a beautiful place!

    Hmmm…kisses on the mouth! I would have to get used to that!

    1. Exactly like me! I did a tricky trail race 2 years ago, speeded uphill no problem, but then was overtaken by everyone going down. I really need to work on the downhill part.
      This place is truly beautiful, I am so grateful to be able to experience it.

  14. Spectacular views!!! I would have definitely fallen on the way down. 🙂 I had no idea about the income. Average income is $12,000? Wow! The kiss on the mouth would have freaked me out! 🙂

    1. Haha, I was freaked out all the way down! Yes, when grocery shopping or eating out I always remind myself of the average income. As a result, we spend much less.

  15. Wow, those are serious hills! I am so impressed by trail running — and those look quite technical. I would have a hard time adjusting to the mouth kissing ….

    1. The hills are really tricky and I’ll need a lot of training to master them. Haha, I will always be freaked out by the mouth kissing! It takes so much mental energy!

  16. Oh wow! This is spectacular but I can totally see where you’d be afraid to fall on the way down. What a fun adventure though. I run trails all the time but nothing like those. We’re very flat here. Yikes on the mouth kissing! That would be a tough adjustment. Good for you for just going with it!

    1. I prefer flat, easy trails, too. We ran one the other day at a vineyard – so much easier!
      Haha, the mouth kissing is definitely something else!

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