Thinking about a holiday destination

stats of the week:  run 18km, gym 7h

According to the doc I should have started running next week. So it seems I'm ahead of schedule.
Obviously my target can only be to somehow finish the London Marathon at 24 April. On the way to London I have entered the Half Marathon Berlin what will be a test for the knee to stand a longer strain.

With a week now being back home I am still reviewing the big South African impressions. We faced a country with more problems than one can imagine. SA has the world's highest AIDS rate, it has the world's highest crime rate. It has one of the world's highest road death tolls. It has serious energy problems that cause electricity scalings. This year it experiences the worst drought in more than hundred years only to be impaired by the weakest Rand ever. While some people donate bottles of water for the dry North others enjoy playing Golf on the perfectly watered greens. South Africa may be among the most developed countries of their continent. But it needs help to survive in peace.

Runners at the Red Hill Marathon that took place today pass the township of Masiphumelele on their route. Also if you run the world famous Two Oceans Marathon you get very close to that place before you tackle the famous Chapman's Peak Road.

In Masiphumelele there live around 40,000 people in tiny simple buildings and poor shacks very very close together, surrounded by the luxurious private estates of Noordhoek and Kommetjie. If you ever think about running in South Africa why not think about helping these people. Visit the website

Home for kids in South Africa:    www.hokisa.co.za

and look what you can do.

Escaped the danger at the Cape

stats of the week: run 10km, cycled 52km

Our last week in SA was more of walking than running, the knee was not excited. However, we are safely back home. Astonishingly the most dangerous situation was the face to face encounter with an almost 2-meter-long snake in Cape Point National Park. It turned out to be a Cape Cobra, one of the moist poisonous snakes of Africa. The dose rate of one of its bites is enough to kill 6 humans. The snake was less than 2 meters in front of me on the footpath. Anyway, C insists the traffic was more dangerous. Nevertheless we already booked for next year.

Bay to Bay - way too beautiful

stats of the week: run 16km, cycled 148km

I am still reduced to be a spectator what hurts especially watching such a grand race as the Bay to Bay is. This race goes from Camps Bay to Hout Bay and back which makes a 30K. The shorter option is 15K from Hout Bay to Camps Bay.

I was happy to be able to accompany C on her last 4 km to the finish. We have already decided to come again next year and do this run a third time. It's such a gorgeous route along the Cape Peninsula sea side.

Daily SA Agony

stats of the week: run 10km, cycled 168km

Another week survived on the roads of South Africa. Drivers are not aggressive like in Germany, SA drivers are just careless. They seem to be dreaming while driving. And I got the impression that they disobey cyclists. Even when there is enough space and no oncoming traffic they pass the cyclist with a distance of a hand. It's sometimes really scaring especially when it is very windy.

South Africa has about a tenth of German traffic but has a rate of more than 12,000 road deaths per year what is four times the German rate. We never cycle here without agony and already had to witness a deadly accident.

As you see I already started sort of jogging this week. It's a lap of 2.5km which I more or less hobble around every other day. I still have doubts that I'll ever be able to run properly again.

Kommetjie Strand

Spectator still at New Year's Eve 8K run at Green Point, Cape Town

The lady winner at New Year's Eve race. Last year German Sabrina Mockenhaupt was first home before all men!

Bush fires are a common sight in the Western Cape. Cycling below ash clouds at Franschhoek Pass.