TRAIL Magazine Cape Trail Clinic 2016

Posted by Jaco Roux February 12, 2016

TRAIL Magazine Cape Trail Clinic 2016

Our trail grading: YELLOW 7A

Distance: +-3km over two days
Extremeness: Not very extreme
Location: Camps Bay High School, Cape Town, South Africa
Joggers: About 20 crazy trail runners

Two weeks ago I had the massive privilege to meet awesome people and talk ~~dirty~~ trails for two days! The TRAIL Magazine’s Cape Trail Clinic was held at Camps Bay High – not a bad venue given a mountain behind you and the sea in front.

Sitting with my Achilles injury (because in my head I’m still 21 and can run anything Ryan Sandes can) it was a good time to reflect on, well... everything. Experts covering every aspect of trail running helped me with this reflection and awesome brands like Brooks, CamelBak, NuZest and Cocos Pure kept us intrigued & healthy.

Here is some of my favourite tips I learned from the clinic:

Have a pre-race plan A, B & C?! [Thanks Ryno Griesel] Mine is: (A) finish with relatively low pain (B) sweep, don’t mention pain (C) survive, what pain?
Turn your hydra-pack upside down and suck out unwanted air – GENIUS! [Can’t remember who said this]
Your cadence should be 180 per minute?! I think mine is a sweeping 150. :| [Thanks Coach Sean Tait]
Press firmly down on your knee’s when speed-hiking. Wish someone told me this 4 year ago when I started extreme jogging! [Thanks Ryno]
Warmup before you run? Huh? And the infamous T-bars. ;) [Thanks Devon Coetzee for the awesome & simple exercises]
Don’t run with Nicholas Rupanga after just 2 weeks of recovery! [Thanks Chris Alan]
Drink Good Green Stuff… [Thanks Deon Braun & Lucy Etherton] To be honest – I won’t be giving up my braaivleis and beer just yet.
Carry a ziplock bag for the number 2… don’t ask. [Thanks Linda for sharing your secrets]

Would I recommend this trail clinic to runners? Most certainly! The programme catered for everyone… from the newbie roadies who started trail running the previous weekend to the heavy bearded mountain goats. The friendliness of the pro’s and the willingness to share their passion for trail running astounded me during these two days. I left on Sunday sad to say goodbye to a small trail running family… until we meet again on some random mountain!