I love Mnweni, but then I am probably biased. I love the folk at the Mnweni cultural and hiking centre that cherish the event, the runners that choose to run such a wild route, the majesty of the mountains and how this little event has grown from meagre inception in 2001 to be such a must do for so many and that it has been my responsibility to have brought it into existence and keep it going.
It is always quite hectic to be both organiser and runner in the same event but it has some unique advantages that were to unfold later. Registrations the night before and some late ones before the start, a last few announcements and then to set the race off and join the field as a runner. The early stages of the run had me being pathfinder up front at a fairly quick pace.
The Friday before race day there was quite a bit of rain as forecast and plenty of cloud that completely hid the high berg. Swinging round into the Mnweni cutback area, the first cloudlift occurred and what the high berg had in store for us was revealed. The snowline was low down, a good 500 m lower than 2013, the last snowy race year. The amount of the white stuff though was striking but daunting. Brilliant white against the black basalt for hundreds of metres up, rising into swirling clouds, veiled in secrecy. That much snow would not be easy to break trail through atop the summit but beautiful it most certainly was.
Approaching Mnweni pass, the grass was as long as ever from abundant summer rains and heavy with fallen rain. Stopping to put longs on 2 kms before Chi Chi bush camp saw me drop back a dozen places which I slowly regained up the pass as we rose to meet the snowline and early wet snow.
Moving higher into drier snow was better but as feared it was becoming seriously deep. The clouds closed in and light earlier snowfall became a blizzard and the rising winds soon covered the fresh tracks. Time to make a safety call and where better for the race organiser to be but the point on route where the conditions were the most severe at the time the decision needed to be made. The lead group mostly wanted to continue and I thought they were strong and prepared enough to do so but others further back would be weaker so I turned around to get the rest of the field to also abort. The next few runners were well kitted out and still good to go and close on the heels of the lead group so I let them pass and descended further. The cold was biting. Slight hesitation with the decision to return had lost me the heat of work and I needed to get moving again.
As I approached the next few adventurers and prepared to be bearer of bad news, the wind died, clouds parted and blue skies opened up above. Brilliant sunshine bathed the high peaks around. With newfound joy I turned myself around a second time instead and bounded up the pass again to rejoin those I had left earlier, noting how the walked trail often went off route. There was so much snow that boulder fields could not be discerned from the actual trail route.
Going across the top from the trodden path it was easily apparent that almost half a metre of snow had fallen overnight. Overtaking was not easy to catch the lead group but I got back to them at the top of Rockeries Pass, warm from running free and in high spirits to join a bunch in like playful mood.
There had been no racing for a while and everyone was more interested in bum sliding down the snow slopes, wiping out and having fun. When the pace picked up below the snowline again, I was well back and not well positioned to chase the lead and then still needed a long break to get all the warm gear off but I still decided from there to try catch a few places and picked up the pace passing a dozen or so others to catch Nicolette and Marzelle 9 km from the end and then running with Nicolette to the end in third place with Marzelle finishing a few minutes behind us. Rory Scheffer and Pierre Jordaan being the first and second finishers, six and three minutes ahead respectively.
Shower and a cool drink and then time to relieve interim timekeeper Cherize Victor for the rest of the day.
Ultimately of the 191 starters, 187 finished and 183 of them did so within the 12 hour official cut off. Bearing in mind that other events held on the same weekend but in locations with less extreme weather conditions than Mnweni were cancelled due to weather factors, this is a very high finishing ratio.
Full results and official organiser’s report to follow.
– written by Bruce Arnett
