Stanley’s Mountain and Trail Run 2012
Text: Ugene Nel. Photos: Jacques Marais. Article from the February/March 2012 issue DO IT NOW Magazine.
The iconic 24km Stanley’s Mountain Run starts off from the High School’s sports field in the town of Ladismith, nestled at the foot of the Klein Swartberg mountain range in the Klein Karoo. About 1,5km outside of the town, the trail veers off the dirt road, crosses a stream onto a short section of jeep track and for the next three hours or so, runners will grind away on a single mountain track.
The trail is 80% runnable for the medium-fit mountain trail runner and is by no means a walk in the park. The total elevation from the bottom to the top of the trail is 792m (2,600ft), making it a stiff and challenging climb, but the views are second to none!
The 24km race isn’t recommended for novice/beginner off-road runners, instead there is a 13km trail run, which starts and ends on the same route as the 24km run and offers a less extreme mountain adventure challenge.
For the not so fit, youngsters and families there is a really enjoyable three-kilometre fun run in the koppies that overlooks the village.
We were fortunate to have Oom Stanley at the inaugural run in 2010. He arrived with some of the town’s folk and enthralled and inspired the runners with tales of his exploits up and down HIS mountain. The longing to go back up there is clearly visible in his lively eyes.
Born and bred in the Ladismith area, not to be confused with Ladysmith in KZN, Stanley was clearly a young man looking for adventure! During several trips up the imposing Elandsberg Mountain, he came upon the idea of building a light that could be powered by the stream that cascaded down the mountain’s steep rock face. So on 31 May 1963, he made his way up the mountain armed with cement, 200m of plastic irrigation pipe, a bike dynamo and six-volt light.
In those days, there were no paths of any sort and it took him about three laborious hours to reach the stream high up in the mountain. He went to work and devised a system so that the running water turned the dynamo, which in turn provided power to the light. In Oom Stanley’s words, “Daai straal water sal jou oor hierdie huis se dak skiet boeta,” (That jet of water is powerful enough to blast you over this house roof, my son!). This light shone day and night, and still does today. As you enter Ladismith at night, you’ll see this light from a long way out – as long as the mountain is not shrouded in fog or low cloud.
There are only two reasons why this light might stop working, either the light is broken due to baboons messing around with it, or the mountain stream is drying up. The latter would be of great concern to the town folk, as they rely on this stream for drinking water. After maintaining the light for 30 years and undertaking 278 trips, the job was taken over from Oom Stanley by local volunteers. The bicycle light has since been replaced by two 24V truck lights and the dynamo by an alternator. A solar panel has also been installed to keep the alternator going during periods of drought.
Not satisfied with just one light, Stanley made many more subsequent trips to install coloured lights further up the mountain, which were wind activated. However, these lights no longer exist.
This legend of a man also invented several other interesting gadgets over the years. One of them was an ingenious ‘Lotto number selecter’. It was a tin with 6 holes in it, which rotated around an axle and contained numbered beans. Before each weekly Lotto draw, he would rotate the tin and the first six beans, in the sequence they fell out, were selected. Whether his system was succesful or not, we don’t know. Oom Stanley also managed to secure a shoe sponsor from a shoe factory in Tulbagh, and to this day he receives his veld skoene (leather hiking shoes) from them, with the history of his famous light written on the shoe box.
He might be much older and less active these days, but if you happen to be in the area, visit the Ladismith Tourism Office and chat to Hettie Weymar. She might be able to arrange a visit with Oom Stanley, and if you are one of the lucky one’s to get an audience with him, just don’t forget to take some melk tert! Oom Stanley could easily be the inspiration behind many future adventures. In fact he could be the President!
Getting back to the race, there are loads of great accommodation options available to competitors in this quaint little town. While you’re in town why not go through to the Eko Festival, which takes place from 27-29 April 2012.
It’s a festival for nature lovers, horseback riders, 4×4 and motocross enthusiasts and is an event not to be missed.
DINfo box (i)
Date: 28 April 2012
Distances: 24km mountain run (limited pre-entries only), 13km trail run and a 3km fun run.
To enter: Visit www.quantumadventures.co.za and the Quantum Adventures Events facebook page to claim your place. The 3km fun run is organised by the Ladismith High School and runners can enter on the day.
Venue: Ladismith High School, Ladismith, Route 62, Klein Karoo
For more information visit: www.ladismith.org.za and www.ekofeesladismith.co.za
More info on the town of Ladismith | More info on the Klein Karoo area |
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