Lourensford Vital Run Half Marathon–1 Dec 2012

I almost gave this race a skip because of another sporting event the next day, but boy am I glad that I didn’t. This was my first run in these mountains – and wow what a beautiful route. The race takes place on the jeep tracks surrounding Lourensford Estate.
This is also the first ASA organised race that I’ve attended, that technically is a trail run. This is good in that it exposes the hordes of road runners to the sport – but not so good because it’s not really a true reflection of the experience of a trail run.
The race does, however, offer a unique experience that you won’t get in your traditional road or trail run – it’s more of a mish-mash of a well organised road run taking place in the setting of a trail run.
The organisers (Run Walk for Life & Co) really do go all out to make it a fun experience – everything from offering a swim in the local dam ; Scottish bag-pipers ; small cups of champagne – along with an excellent route that really is a joy to run.
The only damper on the day was trying to get out of the venue once the race was finished – took me an hour just to get out of the wine estate. A few experienced runners brought cooler bags & eats to stick around after for a bit – so if you’re attending for the first time this is maybe something you need to consider.
On to the good stuff: