The Voet of Afrika, otherwise known as "The toughest marathon, with the warmest heart" was run this past weekend and was a great success. Located in the centre of the Overberg and only 40km from Cape Agulhas, you don’t find a more southerly marathon in Africa. I've been on a mission recently to get my first full marathon under my belt and chose the Voet because it was the first one coming up. Only after I entered did I hear how tough it is, and then I saw the route profile... Friday night I drove up to Bredasdorp with some mates who came along for the camping and running atmosphere. The campsite is located right next to the sports grounds on the edge of the town, so we set up tent and wandered down for registration and the usual bowl of pasta, followed by an early bedtime. At 4am alarm clocks started going off in various tents and the campsite was full of life. Bus shuttles were available for transport to the start (between 4 and 5am!), but I persuaded Pia and Katrina to drive me through and see what happens when runners gather so early in the dark and cold. Despite the fact that they didn't run themselves, they got to experience their first "Rude Awakening." It had been a full moon that evening, and it was still up as we drove in the dark following one of the buses. As we got to the start line a heavy mist rolled in over us, so the moon disappeared, but it gave an eerie feel to the area. Pia's comment was that with the crowd, music, lights and "smoke," it looked like a trance party. At this stage she began to doubt as to whether we’d come to the right place! No worries - as soon as you spot the queue winding its way to the porta loo's, you know you’re in the right spot! At 5:50am I was standing in the crowd waiting for the countdown, feeling surprisingly calm. Ignorance is such bliss... Around me I was hearing comments from people who had obviously done the race and you could pick up the nerves. One important piece of information I picked up was that at approximately 26km to go, the real climb starts - lovely. 6:00am and the gun went off and everyone started running, very slowly. Being used to half marathons I expected a fast pace going over the line, but I greatly appreciated the slow pace for the first few kms and took it as a warm up. Looking around, I saw what a spectacular area we were running through. The first 15-odd km went through farmlands on gravel roads, complete with cow pastures and their delightful associated smells... It also meant having to do a bit of sidestepping to miss piles of dung in the road. All part of the fun I guess! To one's left you could see rolling hills heading in the direction of Agulhas, with low clouds filling the valleys and to the right was a mountain range. At some point we had to go over this - talk about being stuck between a rock and an... ocean? With 28km to go we turned right off the gravel road and onto a sandy path heading towards the dreaded mountain climb. It also took us away from the farmed area into forest and fynbos vegetation. For the next few km's it was fine white sand on unused paths and then old jeep tracks, forcing us to run in two lines of single file up a hill. This for me is trail running and I was loving it! The great outdoors, beautiful scenery and the smell of fynbos... This is why I live in the Cape! The path eventually turned onto another old gravel road which headed up, winding it's way over the pass. Luckily I couldn't see the top, so I shuffled my way on up, passing most other runners who had just become walkers. Was this the climb everyone had been dreading? Apparently so. Having just taken part in the Tokai Mast Challenge last weekend, this was nothing in comparison, and I pushed on up. I guess some of the more seasoned marathon runners chose to walk, to save energy for the 22km still to go, but I was feeling strong and gung-ho. At the top was the King of the Mountain banner and with that the road headed downhill. In the distance you could make out the little "town" of Napier, which is where we were heading. On reaching Napier we were met by the first spectators - other than the odd farmer and people manning the water stations there had been no spectators until then. Leaving Napier and heading on the last 17km to Bredasdorp also meant leaving the gravel roads, and meeting traffic. It's said that there are 13 hills on the way back to Bredasdorp – I lost count after a while and just tried to stay focused. The cars irriated me though, some hooting as they came past, others with passengers hanging out their windows with vuvuzelas, some going slow enough to have a chinwag with the runners ahead of me, some zooming past... After the peace and quiet in the mountains and the pleasure of gravel road, it was quite an adjustment. All I could do was put my head down and pace myself through each kilometer, paying as much attention to my posture and pace as I could. Good thing I decided to wear a cap - the sun was now baking down on the tar. At least they had water points almost every 1km along the road, which was a blessing. I'd been feeling really strong on the downhill into Napier but had lost some of that confidence as I hit the road. Suddenly I was on the outskirts of Bredasdorp and I picked up pace a bit. 3km to go... Feeling great.. 2km and I had to walk up the last hill. A few days beforehand, msyelf and some mates had been joking that a full marathon was just a 10km run 4 times over, with 2km for an added bonus. Maybe, but hell, those last 2km were the killer... Knowing how close I was, wanting to get the last stretch over with as quickly as possible but my legs just couldn't go faster. The last 1km or so is downhill and then you take a sharp right to the sports ground. As I took the right turn, it took all of my energy not to walk - my legs were like jelly. Suddenly I was on the grass with the finish line in sight and what a sight to behold! Then I was almost sprinting the last few hundred metres to the finish line, cursing the marshals as they were telling me to "carry on just a little further" beyond the line to have my number recorded and to collect my medal. All I wanted was to sit down and get my breath back! I got my Coke, found the physios and followed that up with a beer. What a pleasure! We later packed up the tent and our gear and headed to Arniston, to lie on the beach and relax. I could not have asked for a better way to experience my first full marathon - the setting, scenery, mates and Arniston afterwards. Will I be back next year? Oh most definitely. And I'm going to make a weekend of it and stay in Arniston for a few days to nurse the aches and pains! Will I do another marathon? For sure! Where: Bredasdorp, 2 hour drive from Cape Town Cost: R50 for the 42Km, R40 for the 21Km, and R30 for the 10km Race details and entry can be found here. Photos in the gallery See Pia's view of the same event at Mother City Living