AROUND . . . and around . . . and again – almost 500 times.
The same route and no one to talk to.
While most Kouga residents have spent the long hours of the lockdown with a good book or working in the garden, a dedicated runner from Jeffreys Bay took on an extraordinary – and adrenaline-packed – challenge.
Even though it was a last minute decision.
Over the past four months, Ruth Joubert (44) has been training hard for the Two Oceans Ultramarathon that was set to take place on Saturday, April 11. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the championship was postponed.
Instead of giving up on her plans, she put on her running shoes and ran 58,01km around her house last Saturday – lapping her property over and over again.
But how to complete a 58km ultramarathon in your own garden? Joubert had begun to consider the possibility of this in silence on Friday.
First she had to set up a route around her house: each lap spanning 120 metres, thus 484 laps.
“It was a last minute decision,” says Joubert who had run a 10km distance around her house last week. “My running partner, Cindy Muller, told me the day before that she was going to run on her farm in Oyster Bay. So, I decided that I could try as well.
“But only for 42.2km – a marathon distance. I could not imagine running 58km around the house as it takes much longer than running on the road.
“I did not think my legs would manage anything further.”
Joubert woke up early on Saturday morning and knew: She was ready.
She took her first lockdown-ultramarathon step just after 08:00.
“I knew if I could complete 10km, I only had to do that distance almost six times in order to complete 58km – I just kept telling myself that,” says Joubert who used to run four to five times a week, incorporating one long run with hill training and sprints in between.
“I had trained physically, so it was mostly a mental issue, as there would be no scenery, no chatting with my running partner, no cheering crowds and no medal.”
Although ready to crack at the 51km mark, Joubert pushed through.
“It was pretty tough, especially the stretch from 51km to 58km. I almost tripped three times on the steps as I became more tired,” she says. “It seemed to take forever, but at no stage did I want to quit then. There was no way I was going to give up that far in.”
According to Joubert, the Two Oceans organisers had increased the distance from 56km to 58km due to traffic and congestion.
“At the 40km mark, I decided I was only going to do 56km – there was no point in running the extra 2km. “I figured I did not need to add the extra kilometres if I did not have traffic. However, after a few more kilometres I decided I needed to run whatever they asked – no excuses.”
Her average pace was 1km every 7 minutes and 30 seconds – with an elevation gain of 253m – resulting in an elapsed time of 7 hours, 15 minutes and two seconds.
The best part about the challenge: being able to complete a longer distance since lockdown, but, mostly, being able to achieve something she had never imagined she would ever do.
Will she do something similar again soon?
She laughs, “I would rather run the distance on the road with my running partner, but if I have to, under the same circumstances, yes, I would.”
Joubert says she really got into running about 12 years ago. “Since I became a mother, I have always run to stay active and to exercise. In more recent years it has become a part of my life – i cannot live without it, whether it is a quick 5km run or a longer distance.”
This mother of two teenage daughters ran her first marathon in 2018, followed by her first Two Oceans Ultramarathon in 2019. She also completed the gruelling Cango Marathon in February this year.
Her biggest supporters: her family and close friends.
