Climb every mountain in Joburg... and tales from the Vienna woods

There's been little time for running, and even less for writing about running. Blame the Rand Show for the first two weeks of silence, and then blame Vienna for the next. After a spell at the Popular Mechanics stand at Johannesburg's big Easter show, it was a day's rest and then straight back to the airport to head off to the Vienna half marathon.
Yes, this is about running and cycling in and around Cape Town. But it's worth comparing what is available in other parts of the country ... or other parts of the world. No graphics and no full descriptions until I return home because I haven't brought along the laptop, but some thoughts in the interim.

• Johannesburg, Northcliff: Our usual B&B when we're working at Nasrec is Rockridge Manor in Fairland. This is ideally located for some testing runs where almost nothing is absolutely flat, and all of it is at altitudes that severely challenge sea-level runners. I've run up Northcliff Ridge before, but this time decided to document the run. Free advice: maps are good, but remember that the shortest distance between two points on a map may be almost vertically up a rocky hillside.
• In Vienna, we're based northeast of the city centre, across the river in the semi-rural area of Gerasdorf bei Wien. It's at a couple of hundred metres above sea level, and mostly flat. It's also, at this time of year, uncomfortably cold, with regular rain and sniping winds. The forecast for Sunday's race says sunny and 18. That will make a welcome change from cloudy, rainy and single digits.

Tokai manor house

Location: Tokai

Activity: Run

Category: Road loop

Distance: 11,5 km

Description: Undulating with long drag up to the manor house and a kick near the end.

Altitude: 10 - 72 metres; total climbing 78 metres

Gradient: 4, 5 % very briefly; drag up to Manor house is about 3 %.

Rating: Slow poison

Up at the top end of Tokai Road, the old Manor house marks the end of a mile-long gradual uphill (if you start it at the roundabout where Tokai Road intersects Spaanschemat River Road, that is). It's at this point that the mountain bikers break left to the start of the Tokai Forest ride, and runners turn right towards what used to be the old Porter reformatory and is now the Chrysalis Academy, a youth training centre.

From our usual starting point at the Meadowridge shopping centre, the first part of the run is a mild uphill followed by a fairly flat section along fringe of the houses bordering the M3. A hidden little alleyway in a dead end takes you to the Cycle Track, a short winding tarred path across some wetlands (often flooded in the middle section in winter).

Depending on the route options you take, the actual uphill to the Manor house can be as long as 2,5 km, though it's gentle until the roundabout. Much of the rest of the run is shaded, with an avenue of trees more or less all the way to the top. From the Manor house, pass by the guard post and boom at the entrance to Chrysalis. You'll probably be hot and thirsty; about 100 metres from the boom, alongside the big hall on the left, you'll find 2 taps with drinking water. From here, follow the road all the way as it twists right and then left before exiting the grounds and heading through forest (currently being de-forested) towards Spaanschemat River Road. If you do this on a Saturday morning in summer, you'll see the country goods market setting up as you pass through the Chrysalis grounds. It's worth a return visit by car once you've finished the run, for a hearty breakfast, wicked treats and some interesting people-watching.

Finally, pass between the stone church on the right and the Range on your left as prepare to turn left into Spaanschemat River Road, with only a couple of hundred metres to your right turn into Firgrove Way, 3 km from home.

Silvertree trail

Location: Silvertree Trail, Newlands Forest to Kirstenbosch loop
Activity: Run
Category: Circular Trail
Distance: 8 km
Altitude: 95 m - 285 m
Gain: Total gain 324 metres
Gradient: up to 20 %; average climb >10 %
Rating: Beauty with Cruelty
Early every week in summer, an e-mail reminder from Patrick Cox goes out to those on the Celtic Harriers trail running mailing list. On Thursday evenings the off-roaders gather at the agreed spot, guaranteed to be somewhere on the slopes of Table Mountain, at 6 in midsummer and 5.45 as the days shorten.

The Silvertree Trail is graded a 7/10 by Pat. Almost all of that 7 is in the first couple of kilometres of this undulating route that roughly follows the contour path from the Newlands Forestry station to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and back.

After departing the car park, the route heads off up a short tarred stretch before turning southwards. Firm, mildly uphill gravel gives way to loose, very uphill stony climbs interspersed with what seem like endless steps. Even before you've emerged from the shade to reach the high point, though, the views across the Cape Flats and Southern Suburbs towards False Bay are stupendous. At Kirstenbosch the route drops down for the briefest of sojourns alongside the garden's manicured lawns, taking a quick break at a water fountain that also indicates the return route.

There are several stream crossings, some on quite slippery rock, that could be tricky in winter. The lung-bursting inclines aren't reserved for the outward stretch, either: on this undulating route, there's plenty of uphill and similarly plenty of picking your way down steps (watch out for where the sand has eroded from behind the steps' wooden retainers, ideal for tripping up the unwary).

Several opportunities for wrong turns are available; the mountain trails are well signposted at junctions, but the running trails don't necessary follow the hikers.
All in all, a perfect way to end the day.

Shortcuts

I'm all for taking shortcuts.

As you know, In Life There Are No Shortcuts.

Fortunately, we're not talking about life. I mean shortcuts that make runs interesting. A bit like Alice slipping through a wormhole and ending up in a parallel universe.

One shortcut we took a couple of years back occasionally has me waking up sweating. I can still hear Nick's reassuring voice while, at that precise moment we were unable to see the outside world - bear in mind that the Blue Route and high-speed traffic lay possibly 50 metres away to our left - and were badly in need of machetes to hack our way through head-high vegetation. I imagined I could hear the whup-whup-whup of Hueys and an occasional whoosh and whump from the rocket launchers, the crackle of automatic rifle fire, and I could have sworn I felt the heat of napalm-fuelled brush fires. Perhaps I shouldn't have stayed up to watch those re-runs of Platoon, or perhaps it was that extra slice of pizza that did it. After all, it was just a 16-k run that turned out to be 22.

Shortcuts. The thought struck me on this morning's run (which largely reversed our regular "Up Bowwood" route) as we prepared to cross the Liesbeeck River near the Vineyard Hotel. There's a neat little bridge in the shade that takes you to the road that itself leads to our watering stop at Paradise Motors, the Shell garage at the bottom of Wynberg Hill.

So, I'll dig out some good shortcuts. They're the kind of thing you don't see unless you're out running. You rarely see them while riding, and almost never while driving. Some of them take you to interesting places, and some are interesting in and of themselves. I'll be listing a few in due course, and I welcome additions from those with suitable inside knowledge.

Oh, and water points. That's another one. So stand by for a listing of water points, commercial and non-profit. To runners, they're like gold.

Kirstenbosch Top Gate

Location: Kirstenbosch Gardens Top Gate, c/o Rhodes Drive (M63) and Klaassens Rd
Activity: Run
Category: Hills
Distance: 4,53 km from Main Road, Wynberg
Elevation: 181 metres (188 maximum)
Gain: 119 metres
Gradient: 2,6 % (max 12 %)
Rating: Hard
Saturday mornings are for scrambled eggs on toast and an Americano, usually at the Rambling Rose at the Meadowridge Shopping Centre after some footslogging with Ravens Roadies. With the Roadies gathering at Glencairn for a change, the Domans decided to sleep late and run from home.

My elevation graphic starts at Main Road where Kenilworth becomes Wynberg. There are a couple of ways to approach Wynberg Hill; we went up Riverstone Road (eventually becomes Tennant), left into Aliwal Road and right up Carr
Hill Rd for the steepest part of the run at 12 %.

A right turn at this point into Waterloo takes you up Wynberg Hill proper, with Wynberg Park on your left - also steep at around 10 %. After the slog up the hill you turn left into Trovato Road for a brief downhill respite, but once you've gone under the M3 you the road kicks up again to 10 % gradient. Fortunately, it's in the shade for most of the rest of the way. Watch out for traffic; once past the turnoff to Chart Farm you'll be able to run on the new sidewalk. At the intersection with Klaassens Road (left turn and follow the road to the T-junction with Rhodes Drive) you'll have broken the back of the climb. Enjoy the four-tap water fountain at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens Top Gate.

* On our run we met the Celtic Harriers group under the leadership of Club Captain Anton - we hadn't run with the club for a long time, so it was good to catch up on happenings - before threading our way back down Kirstenbosch Drive and along the Liesbeeck River Canal and another water stop (this one an Energade stop) at Paradise Motors. Our return was via Tennant and Wetton Roads for a total of 16 km.

Up Bowwood

SportTracks (Elevation corrected) 

Location: Bowwood Road, Claremont

Activity: Run

Category: Climb

Distance: 1,26 km

Altitude: 37-74 m
Gain: 37 m

Gradient: Average 3 %; maximum 4,7

Rating: Mild sweat

Our regular Tuesday and Thursday morning runs from Kenilworth (starting at the big apartment block opposite Kenilworth Centre) have stretched from a grudging 5 km to a comfortable 7 km. It's straight up Lansdowne Road, across Main Road at Claremont and on up Bowwood to the M3 for a gentle climb that can be taxing if taken at pace. The actual top of the run is a "fried egg" roundabout at the top of Bowwood; from there watch out for the tricky little downhill towards the M3 because there's no sidewalk or verge, but that aside it's relatively safe underfoot. Be alert to traffic on weekday mornings, particularly at the traffic lights on Newlands Rd.

Next week we'll cross the M3 and turn north to run along the canalised river all the way to Paradise Motors, stretching the distance to about 8.

* On our return to the start we were approached by a man who said he'd noticed the three of us running and was interesting in joining us. We'll see how long he lasts before losing patience...