Ou Jaar's 10km in Vanderbijlpark

Last night my mom and I hit the Ou Jaar's 5/10km in Vanderbijlpark for our welcoming-in-the-New-Year run. Mom did the 5km, I did the 10km.

We were last out here with a bunch of friends in 2011 and it was good to return to this quiet New Year's Eve road run.

The crowd was small and we had no other friends present, although I did bump into a lady I know from my old-old running club in Jo'burg (in the last 90s - we knew each other from gym too). We had a quick hello and then it was off to run.

People arriving at the venue. 

The route is a little different from in the past in that the route is a 2.5km loop. Mom had to do two loops; I had to do four. There's nothing difficult and it is mostly flat - a bit of a rise around the first bend. Previously I can remember running around the big open field across from the school (where the race starts) but this time we stuck to the blocks around the school. From an organisational side I can see the advantage of a course like this for marshalling, for walkers and the good number of children participating.

It's always a nice start to a New Year to kick it off with a run and lovely to be out there with my mom.

With my mom, Liz.

This December has probably been my worst ever for running. I've been totally lazy to run in this heat and while I've been commuting around town on my bike and paddling on Tuesday evenings, doing parkrun and odd runs, I need to up my game.

Welcome to January and this New Year.

Best wishes to you too for a year that is fun, entertaining, energetic and filled with adventures of all kinds.