Ride long
RIDE LONG > riders
By SELENE YEAGER
What does endurance mean to you? Here are three riders who’ve mastered the art of the long ride better than most.
We’re spoiled in South Africa – we have an embarrassment of riches in the endurance and ultra-endurance scene. You can probably blame events like the Comrades Marathon and the Absa Cape Epic; they’ve established in us a rich tradition of bloody-mindedness, and an urge to tackle anything long and hard.
Take your pick: the Old Mutual Double Century, the Munga, the TransBaviaans, Around the Pot, the Freedom Challenge or the 36One… here’s what three of SA’s top endurance riders can teach us about them, and the art of going the distance.
Were you ever to cross swords with Nicky Booyens in an endurance environment, taking her ever-cheerful demeanour
at face value would be dangerous. Behind the broadest grin in the business lies mental and physical fortitude that has turned her into one of the most remarkable long-haul athletes we have. She runs, rides, and everything in between, obscene distances for fun.
What attracts you to ultra-endurance events?
The challenge of pushing myself harder and further. And also, the challenge of the unknown; when you enter a big race and you don’t know what’s going to happen, that’s always a fun challenge.
Do you approach short events differently?
There’s definitely a lot less planning and preparation than for longer events. Sometimes the shorter events are a bit harder; your intensity can be that much higher, where you normally go into a long race with a slightly lower intensity.
Endurance Legend
Nicky Booyens, 45
Munga legend ( 200km bike version and 400km trail run version). Has run the full length of the 2 150km Freedom Challenge. In bike time-limits. In winter.
Based in: Pretoria
Follow: @turbo_mamb
How do you train for ultra-endurance?
Physically, I don’t actually do anything different, whether I’m training for a short, fast event or an ultra. I just try to fit in whatever training I can each day, and make do with that.
You don’t need as much training for ultra-distance events as people think – especially for me; I think they’re more in the mind than physical. So long as you’ve got a strong mind that keeps you ticking over, your legs will always make it. Mentally and emotionally – I’ve done so.
I know the nights are going to be cold and dark, and lonely sometimes; but the sun always shines the next day, and everything’s a whole lot better.
How do you deal with sleep monsters?
Sleep monsters are a bugger. They catch you when you least expect it. I can always feel when I’m getting tired; and I can keep going, but then, suddenly, it hits, and you literally fall asleep on your feet or on the bike. I don’t always plan my sleeping – if you do, sometimes when you get there the conditions aren’t conducive to a good sleep, like a noisy race village where there are people walking up and down the whole time. You’re just wasting your time.
So I usually just wait until I can’t anymore, and do a power nap. Eventually – when I’m really, really tired – I’ll do a two-hour sleep somewhere where I can sleep. And that will keep me going for another night.
How would you encourage people to test their endurance levels?
Just go and do it! Pick an event, and go and do it. If people tell you you’re crazy… they are the crazy ones.
Sheesh, there’s a whole world of events out there – from shorter ones, to longer ones, to super-crazy ones I haven’t even touched on yet – and if you get out there, you’ll see anything is possible. And you can do it. You’ll see the most amazing places…
Nicky’s Top Endurance Tips
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Nicky’s Top Endurance Tips
1. You can do a lot more than you think you can; everything is possible.
2. Do your endurance rides with one or more of your buddies, so you always have company.
3. Build yourself up slowly for long adventures.
4. If you feel like giving up… don’t! Stop and sleep for a few hours; you’ll always feel a whole lot better.
5. Don’t make it easy to quit. Don’t have supporters or friends meet you along the way! It’s always nice seeing them there, but they’re also an easy exit if you’re really suffering. The more difficult you make it to give up, the easier it will be to finish.
6. Keep going. One bit at a time.
What’s the key to success, over multiple days?
You’ll always have good days and bad days. You’ve just got to keep on moving.
I never really think of how far I still have to go – I just go from aid station to aid station. And you always see happy people there; they’re just so motivated to cheer you on and help you, you can’t help but feel better. It’s easy to break long events into smaller bits, and just do them section by section.
Enjoy where you are and what you’re doing. Because there are a lot of people who’d love to be doing what you’re doing who physically just can’t do it.
Why do you keep doing events like this?
Jeez… South Africa is a beautiful country. My highlight was definitely finishing running all four legs of the Freedom Challenge; my best adventure to date. We saw places not many people will ever get to see (unless, of course, you do the Freedom Challenge!). It was a mind-blowing experience, one I will treasure forever.
And then there are the Munga events… both the bike ride and the trail run version really show you what you’re capable of doing.
Endurance Legend
Nicky Booyens, 45
Munga legend (200km bike version and 400km trail run version). Has run the full length of the 2 150km Freedom Challenge. In bike time-limits. In winter.
Based in: Pretoria
Follow: @turbo_mamb
Nicky’s Top Endurance Tips
READ more
Nicky’s Top Endurance Tips
1. You can do a lot more than you think you can; everything is possible.
2. Do your endurance rides with one or more of your buddies, so you always have company.
3. Build yourself up slowly for long adventures.
4. If you feel like giving up… don’t! Stop and sleep for a few hours; you’ll always feel a whole lot better.
5. Don’t make it easy to quit. Don’t have supporters or friends meet you along the way! It’s always nice seeing them there, but they’re also an easy exit if you’re really suffering. The more difficult you make it to give up, the easier it will be to finish.
6. Keep going. One bit at a time.