Saturday 24th January 2026
Timbercity Red Hill 42.2 Marathon, 36km Classic & 13km Challenge
Quite some time back I’d entered for the Red Hill Classic 36km. Not new to me as I’d run this race twice previously. We prefer to stay in Fishhoek overnight as it’s closer in the morning saving at least an hours drive of approximately 50km. This year I booked our accommodation at Sunshine Cottage preparing to arrive late Friday afternoon. Off we went and once in Fishhoek we parked alongside the beach and rang the hosts to let them know we’d arrived. Great confusion. The hostess declared that although our surname sounded familiar there definitely was no booking for the Friday evening. I checked on my phone to prove my booking only to find that I had booked. . . but for January 2027!!! I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Fishhoek had no available accommodation. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Niks.
Carl then checked accommodation for Simons Town and hey presto there was one available apartment now with our name on it. Lima House. Crisis diverted. We unpacked and walked into town for an early supper then back to enjoy our amazing sea views.
Up bright and early on Saturday morning after a good night’s sleep. Now we were a little further away than anticipated, so we left our apartment for 04h30. Driving through to Fishhoek was a breeze but then suddenly every man and his dog appeared and wanted to park on the sports field. Which meant the traffic had backed up for miles and miles. My best option was to get out of the car and walk. And that’s exactly what I did. Fortunately many athletes had the same idea, so I wasn’t walking down alone. I hadn’t even reached the sports field when the front runners were on their way up to Kommetjie Road. I joined in with them and after standing around for a while it was decided that the Red Hill run would be starting fifteen minutes later than the said 05h00. This of course was due to the traffic.
At 05h15 the gun went off and it was all systems go. I met a couple of West Coasters amongst the crowd, in fact there were quite a few of us around. The first leg of the run was congested with folk either walking or trying to push ahead and in between the runners. It was daylight now which made it a lot easier to see exactly where I was running to. First port of call was Kommetjie which lies on relatively flat land. Then on through Slanghoek – gee the very name is enough to make me nervous! But appartenly the resort offers family camping, safari tens and more. All of which in my opinion, you can keep!
On to Misty Cliffs. Wow the view was second to none. It’s no small wonder that Cape Town is the place to be. Misty Cliffs offered a slight sea breeze which went down a treat. I stopped there for photo’s and in turn took photo’s of other runners. Scarborough was next with lots of coffee shops open selling their wares. All this time the run was doable with nothing stressful such as nasty hills or declines. Gee I think I might just have spoken too soon. At the very bottom of Red Hill itself, there’s a 6km dog leg which makes up the difference between the 36km Classic and the 42km Marathon. I can honestly say thank goodness I’ve never had the misfortune of taking that route. No. Not me! It was now time to face the demon itself. Named that way because of it’s steep hill with red soil and rocks. The Red Hill ascents from 14 meters at the start to 261 meters at the top. Well this hill wasn’t taking any prisoners. The sun was out now with very little shade. The climb was endless, it just went on and on and on. This hill actually made Suikerbossie look easy (tongue in cheek) I passed runners, then they passed me and so on and so on. Dawie passed me on the hill running with the 04h40 bus having already run an extra 6km. Give this man a medal!
Eventually the top of the hill was in sight and more importantly the most wonderful refreshment table. Boy oh boy was I ever greedy there. Oh yes, not just one coke but honestly two or three. Basically from that point on it was downhill with a total of 247 ascending meters. By now my poor legs – calves in particular were screaming for me to stop. But like everyone else I mustered on, taking it very very easy indeed. Down down down we ran with the most spectacular views and once again a very slight cool sea breeze. At the bottom of the hill was another water table. Another table where I got greedy again.
Right. The hills were done. All hills were now behind us. It was now just a matter of running alongside the railway track on back to where we started. By this stage I was running, walking, jogging and only just moving. I was done. The Red Hill had won! This was the longest time that I’d taken to run Red Hill and managed by the absolute skin of my teeth to come in just under five hours. The same time that Mr O’s bus offered the marathon runners. I actually ran in with them and they had done six more km’s than me. Hat’s off!!
In a nutshell then, the Timbercity Red Hill is definitely not for sissies. It’s a true test of endurance. One that pushes one to the absolute limit….and then some! But the organization of this epic event was arranged with faultless precision. Down to the very last detail. There were refueling stations. There were refreshment tables manned but so many volunteers including the sea scouts. There wasn’t a shortage of anything. The traffic officials were helpful and patient. The marshals were encouraging and supportive. I simply cannot fault this race. And so it’s with a whole lot of gratitude that thanks must go to the FISH HOEK ATHLETIC CLUB which has been organizing this event for almost 50 years.
As always, I end off by saying that this is purely my point of view, a recollection of events from the day. It is not my intention of insult or harm any one, written without umbrage.