As published in Endurance New Zealand
My last venture to the country was in 2008 for my first attempt at this behemoth event. 2350kms raced from Pietermaritzburg near Durban in the east, to Cape Town. At the time it was a voyage into the unknown.
I discovered this gem by way of Jannie, my partner in the 2007 edition of the Cape Epic. He was to do the ‘Freedom’ as he called it, that year as well. He didn’t say much - just that it was unsupported. In my naivety this concept was somewhat inconceivable to me- what did it mean? A little research was in order.
To RASA competitors it means you shall receive no outside assistance, seconding or support during the race. You will carry all that you will need on the trail. What are provided though- perhaps ironically named - are support stations that participants must pass through but can choose to avail themselves of dinner, bed and breakfast along with lunch provision to take on the trail if they wish.
Along the route there are 26 support stations with the odd intermediate support station that provides only a basic roof over your head. You are given the option to victual the 26 support stations each with a two litre container ahead of the race with supplies of you choosing. Spaced anywhere from 80–140kms apart they allow for a full day of riding between each of them- South Africa beckons me once again, for a mountain biking adventure on an epic scale in the form of the Freedom Challenge or RASA (Race across South Africa). This non-stop race is yet another one of South Africa’s vibrant and long standing competitive and pioneering endurance events. provided as you are with maps, getting to the next lodging should be a cinch.
The varied hospitality from the support stations is wonderful to experience. They give a real cross section of the South African people and their lives as you are catered for in the homes of villagers, community run lodges, and Afrikaaner farmers’ homesteads- established families, young families, both affluent and struggling. The RASA is the brainchild of land access lawyer, race director and sometime endurance athlete Dave Waddilove.
The trail the race follows began as he sought to find a unique route to join two iconic endurance running events: Cape Town’s 56km ‘Two Oceans’ and the East Coast’s 87km ‘Comrades Marathon’ from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
He joined the two events in a challenge where he ran the ‘Two Oceans’ then continued running across South Africa, completing a marathon a day for seven weeks to arrive in Pietermaritzburg in time to compete in the ‘Comrades’.
In doing so he lay down the foundations for the ‘Freedom Trail’ taking up a mantle laid down by the government of a country emerging from the apartheid era for renewed hope and vision in which it called upon its citizens to begin initiatives to develop growth, and called the initiative the ‘Freedom Challenge’.
Dave’s vision was to produce an environmentally sustainable mountain bike trail across the country that benefited communities by the provision of services to the trail, helping them to develop economically, support the trail and preserve the environment in their locale.
The Freedom Trail is a carefully chosen route that traverses the country to take in as many of the wonders of the land along its way. It travels through six of the country's seven biomes. It passes through many Wilderness Areas and the odd game reserve- the most notable being Addo Elephant National Park.
Geographically the trail traverses the flood plains of the Malutis, passes over six mountain ranges including the iconic Drakensburg and Swartberg Massifs, and crosses the vast parched plains of the Cambedoo and Karoo. Touring, racing, travelling through these landscapes, the mountain bike acutely connects you to your surroundings. Both witnessing and experiencing these terrain changes on a daily basis is just one of the intense sensational experiences you are provided with in your time on this race, this trail, this journey.
The RASA is the promotional tool of the Freedom Trail. Open throughout the year for individuals to tour, the support stations that service the race also service the trail in its touring capacity. By providing food, bedding and washing facilities the touring cyclist need not be laden down by such needs and accoutrements of travel.
How long you spend on the trail and which parts you choose to do are at your discretion and can be easily catered for. Racing, however, means travelling light and typically riders will have 6-10kgs of necessities including food, water, clothing, tools and medication on them carried in either a small backpack or some suitable bike packing system.
Raced in mid winter, your choice of equipment should include options for bitter temperatures, snowy days and multiple wet days in the saddle. However if a weather window is on your side then the mild temperatures, if not chilly mornings, make for pleasant days of adventure. Will fortune favour the brave if you choose to run light?
Finishing the RASA like any multi-day endurance event requires the successful combination of a good strategy, sufficient skills and ability all coming to play together. You needn’t have these in abundance but just enough to ensure you can reach the end before the 26 day cut off to record an official finisheasily a support station a day strategy.
A strategy usually planned in advance should allow for options should things go awry. In 2008 my plan was simple- don’t be late for the nonrefundable flight home! Twenty days was my limit which was almost derailed at the eleventh hour. Having travelled 2200kms, a long detour around the final mountain range was necessary as torrential rain near the finish had swollen to impassable the rivers in the final portage enroute to the finish. Notwithstanding the spraining of my ankle and breaking a gear shifter, which happened within two days of each other and half way into the race, thankfully significant mishaps never materialised to derail my race attempt. As such I was recognised as a race finisher with the now traditional awarding of a Basutho blanket. To those involved with the race, it is a significant and respected token for the successful athletes of the RASA.
A race it is, but the achievement of finishing itself, is each individual’s win and the blanket recognises this fact. The ability of any rider who regularly exercises puts this unique race within their scope. The 2008 competitor demographic I was part of is representative of other years of the race. Tim James a 50yr old racing snake lowered the race record to 14 days. A collective fouraptly and descriptively known as the ‘Fat Farmers,’ secured a well earned if somewhat slimmer finish in 23 days together with a 62yr old gentleman Hennie de Clerq to successfully earn their blankets. My challenge this year will be an attempt to see if I can lower my time of twenty days. I have a strategy in place but it is another venture into the unknown. I know I can finish but have I got what it takes to sustain faster pace, exist on less sleep and maintain longer days one after the other? Will I have the good will of the weather god Tawhirimatea on my side and be fortuitous in maintaining both physical and mechanical integrity throughout the event? Will my sense of direction desert me in the hours of fatigue cumulatively impacting my race for the following days? Yet still, I am a little torn between enjoying the fantastic experience of the event and challenging myself in terms of a faster time strategy.
The race has daily batch starts of 10 to 12 that begin on June 11th 2011. My starting batch on the 19th June is the penultimate one and will include participants of the Extreme Triathlon who will have run an 85km trail run the previous day and will proceed from the mountain bike directly into a four day 240 km paddle. Regular race reports will be posted on www.freedomchallenge. org.za and live progress can be viewed via live GPS tracking on the website.
