Friday 6th October 2023
Sonja and Paula drove up to our house late afternoon and parked Paula’s car in our garage as I had offered to drive us up to Mykonos. We left just after 15h00 and arrived in Langebaan just over an hour later. Sonja had secured a second floor two bedroomed flat with under cover parking for us which proved it’s weight in gold. So super super handy to be able to move into a furnished apartment with most amenities supplied. Once unpacked we made our way over to Club Mykonos where a good amount of folk had gathered to collect their race numbers. And this is where it get’s interesting. I approached the ladies at the collection table and gave them my name. Within minutes I was told that someone had already collected my number? I said that couldn’t possibly have happened as no prior arrangements had been made to do so. But they were adamant. My number had been collected. After a caucus with other volunteers manning the tables they came up with an envelope ensuring me that they had found what belonged to me. So off we toddled to Cape Town Fish Market and at that time of the afternoon it was still pleasant enough to sit outside and have a drink. We then moved indoors and ordered our dinner which was utterly lip smacking delicious! Hats of to whoever managed the kitchen. The orders took their sweet ass time but what they delivered was truly scrumptious. Now it was home time and with that said, we took a slow walk back to our digs, changed into comfy clobber, put the kettle on and Paula was the TV queen. Far too complicated for me and Sonja had taken to her bedroom. We called it at around 22h00 and the three of us slept pretty well.
Saturday 7th October 2023.
Race day. Yes indeed. Once up and dressed we were off down to Mykonos once again, but this time dressed to represent our club. By this time the uncalled for wind was picking up with promises of a gusty run. At the start we met up with Mad Mike Kellett and a couple of sloths from the sloth master Elton’s group. However only Bulelwa would be running as Kat is a social member. At 08h00 on the dot Sean Falconer let us know that it was now time to put foot. There was a combination of both the 21km and 10km runners taking off at the same time but at a certain point in the race the 21km runners would divert adding more distance to their day. It was a good route, and without harping on about the confounded wind, it could have been quite exceptional. Although I don’t look up much when I run there was plenty to see and loads of runners to chat with or listen to. Sonja had taken off with much enthusiasm having Paula hot on her heels. On the other hand I took it relatively easy with equally happy with my time over the finish line. The second last km would separate the faster runners though as this almighty steep incline lay ahead. With that out of the way, it was pretty much down hill from there with a little trail work overlooking the ocean. Quite beautiful it was. Once into Mykonos it was plain sailing and over a small wooden walkway which led to the finish.
There to meet and greet me was Sonja and Paula…..and of course Sean Falconer who announced that Jill Snyman had just crossed the finish line. Much confusion now! Jill Snyman versus Gill Koch. Our names bear only one similarity and that being Jill or Gill? Anyway I put it aside and after catching my breath it was time to head over to the coffee van and make our way back to our apartment.
Being organized – as we are – it took a matter of minutes to gather our belongings and make our way back to Cape Town. A pleasant uneventful journey just the way I like it.
That evening however, I decided to check and see if the results had been published. And to my dismay as large as life – Gill Koch – DNR. What?? So back to the drawing board where I penned a message to the Finish Time Support email. The response I received confirmed what I had thought all along. It went like this. . . . . .
Hi Gill
Yes, there was a lot of confusion amongst the ladies at the entry tables. Jill Snyman was initially assigned your race number, then the error was noted and she was then assigned her correct number for the 21km. However around the same time you collected your number and the ladies could not remember who collected except that it was a “Jill”.
Anyway, I have correctly assigned 1069 to you and your time is now reflecting. Apologies for all the confusion. Regards Chris.
So all’s well that ends well. Hope to see you next year Mykonos.