Date: 08 January 2012
Time: 06:00
Event Cost: 30km; R50; relay; R30; 5km; R15; Temporary License; 30km; R25; relay; R15
Location: Glen Beach Country Club, Camps Bay, Cape Town
Time: 06:00
Event Cost: 30km; R50; relay; R30; 5km; R15; Temporary License; 30km; R25; relay; R15
Location: Glen Beach Country Club, Camps Bay, Cape Town
Description
The Ocean Basket Bay to Bay is a 30km road race along the scenic coast from Camps Bay to Hout Bay, and back. There is also a relay road race of 2x15km and a 5km Fun Run/Walk.
Lots of lucky draw prizes, including the Peninsula sight-seeing flight for three, New Balance running shoes and Ocean Basket vouchers.
Pre-entries are available from http://www.topevents.co.za, or from Sportsman’s Warehouse, Rondebosch. On race day, entries will be available for the 5km race only. To accommodate entrants for the 30km race, organizers are looking at making pre-entries available at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Tokai and Canal Walk.
Every race is entitled to a bad year once in a while. I believe that if you do not have a bad one, you cannot really judge what a good one is.
I entered the relay and the 30 km. The idea being that I’d coast back to Camps Bay with my fiance.
The weather was hot and many of us were sweating within the first km. It is my opinion that with temperatures rising as they are, that race organisers should consider starting longer races earlier. This for the sake of back markers and traffic. Traffic volumes and race entries are increasing. Add a bunch of cyclists to the mix and there is a disaster of the magnitude of Midrand of Fields Hill waiting to happen. Earlier start times and a possible capped entry may help.
Bay to Bay’s organising committee need to set a standard for water tables and all tables along the route need to adhere to this. There were a few that were undermanned and so short that if you blinked you missed them. What is more, several stations ran out of water. This affected my fiance and other back markers who were battling with the heat.
At the change over there were no toilet facilities. Runners were using the local garage. What happens when the garage toilet packs up? Who foots their water bill?
It appears that they ran out of madals at the finish. My fiance is fairly new to the the sport and those medals mean something. Due to this she had nothing to take home. This was worsened by the fact that they ran out of coke and that there was no cool drink on sale at the finish. Eventually some enterprising vendors moved up from the beach and made a killing.
Lastly if you say prixe giving is at such and such a time. Stick to it. We waited for nearly an hour till prize giving.
However the course is still beautiful and the marshalls coped with the increasing traffic. I believe an earlier start will hep them as well.
I truast that my critique will be taken as constructive and will help build to next year’s event being a good one.
I ran the 30km which was my first event greater that 21km. Overall a fantastic experience. Perhaps a 5:30 start would be better given the heat later in the morning. But all in all very enjoyable.
Shortage of help at waterpoints and watershacets smell and taste old at certain waterpoints.