Expansion of AR Gaiters

 In 2004, I started sewing my own gaiters for trail running and adventure racing. I made a few pairs here and there for friends on request. In 2008, I did the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge for the first time and learned how regular mini gaiters are no defense against the desert sand that finds its way into your shoes through the mesh in the front. In 2009 I was back with version 1 of my Desert Gaiters. I refined versions 2 and 3 at the Namib Desert Challenge, Fish River Canyon ultra and another year of Abu Dhabi. 

By this stage my mom was helping me by sewing the AR Mini Gaiters and then the AR Desert Gaiters. It must have been by 2012 that we had the AR Adventure Gaiter, with shin protection, for orienteering and adventure racing. It was around this time that my mom took over handling all the orders and customer interaction too. I didn't have much to do with AR Gaiters for the next 10 years. She brought out the AR Hiking Gaiters by about 2020 after making a number of pairs for her friends with hiking boots.

AR Gaiters has has a slow-and-steady, organic, word-of-mouth growth. The first 10 years were fairly quiet, the next five picked up and the last eight years have been busy. On reaching the point where she was sewing seven days a week, we found cutting and sewing assistance for my mom.

With massive changes in my life, I've jumped back in to AR Gaiters to expand the offering and take over the admin of handling orders and enquiries. I've revamped the website to have an AR Gaiters eShop (www.argaiters.co.za) with our AR Gaiters and complementary products that suit our customers' activities of trail running, hiking, orienteering and adventure racing. The eShop structure also makes it a lot easier for customers to select and order the fabric print for their AR Gaiters.

We've had a few recent enquiries about custom prints and just this past week completed our first custom order with our own design for a customer that was sublimated onto fabric. It came out perfectly. I've got another three projects on the go for custom prints. Very exciting.

I've got a number of plans to roll out over the next few months and look forward to continued growth in our offering of in-house products as well as those from trusted brands and suppliers.

A new product: AR Face Gaiter (face mask)

On Wednesday, I received an urgent request from a dear friend for a batch of face masks for her 50 staff at a company involved with medical testing.

I quickly checked with my mom, who makes all of our AR Gaiters, to see whether she had enough cotton fabric on hand. She uses lovely cotton prints to make little pouches for the gaiters. She did and so we got cracking on Wednesday afternoon.

Making face masks is a perfect re-purposing of our AR Gaiters production line. Face masks are very much 'gaiters for the face': they protect your face, are made from fabric and they require the same skills (sewing and attention to detail) to make. We've now got a new product in the AR Gaiters line - AR Face Gaiter.

We found a bunch of recommended patterns online, selected one and made a prototype to check fit, sizing etc. We then made some modifications for a better fit as well as the addition of a third layer and a more comfortable and adjustable tie. Our version also has a 'pocket' that can accommodate those regular hospital masks for yet another layer.

I was tasked with cutting out the pieces from the various fabrics -  a labour-intensive task. My mom began with the pinning and stitching.

There are easier masks to make, which are fine for popping into the shops. These masks are for people who will wear them most of the day at work. With the two masks that I've been using, I find that my glasses fog up and the one, which is a good shape, has slightly too-tight elastic squishes my nose and is too close to my mouth so I can't talk properly. The experience of wearing these helped to improve the one that we were to make.

We put in a good 6 hours on Wednesday afternoon and into the night and then a solid 12 hours on Thursday. As we were using materials on hand, we didn't have enough cord for the ties. I turned tee shirting into tee-yarn, which I think I prefer to the cord because of the stretch it offers. But cord is definitely much easier and faster to cut to size!

We recruited help from a local friend on Friday morning and the three of us got the production line working beautifully, from assembly to sewing, ironing and threading. Once my tasks were done, I got promoted to sewing.

By 2pm on Friday, the masks were boxed and ready for delivery to a branch of the company in Potch, kindly taken by a friend who had to go through to fetch meds.

The box has already been delivered to my friend in Jo'burg by their driver and the masks are already being handed out to the people working today's shift.

I made contact with our local fabric shop in town and will be able to get fabric and other supplies from them on Tuesday morning. There is a great need all over as the wearing of face masks in public is now compulsory, which makes sense.

We'll also do a less labour-intensive version of face masks - the pleated design. I've had one that my mom made for me a few weeks ago. We'll make a few improvements to her original design first. This style is much faster and easier to make so it will be cheaper. This makes it great as an item to buy and gift to other people, especially if the mask does not have to be worn all day for work.

Liz, the AR Gaiters elf

This is my mom, Liz aka The AR Gaiters elf.

Liz wearing a pair of AR Hiking Gaiters over her hiking boots.

I started making my own mini gaiters back in 2003 and here and there I would make a pair for friends.

After the AR Mini Gaiters came the AR Desert Gaiters (a few different versions tested at events in the Liwa Desert of Abu Dhabi and the sands of Namibia). My mom jumped in to help me sew for teams. I then needed to replace my orienteering gaiters and I had design improvements to make on those I had bought overseas... Thus the AR Adventure Gaiters. By the early 2010s, Liz was doing all of the sewing and she later took over handling orders and enquiries.

I just help with media stuff - my mom really is everything behind AR Gaiters, including the AR Hiking Gaiter, which she created because she often wears hiking boots and she had requests from friends.

With coronavirus lockdown, events may be cancelled or postponed for months to come but your opportunities to get outside and to go walking, running and hiking are still there (once activity restrictions are lifted).

Let the bright fabrics of our AR Gaiters not only lift your mood, but protect your socks from seeds, and do their work in preventing grit and trail debris from getting into your shoes. Once you've worn a pair of AR Gaiters you'll wonder why it took you so long to adopt something so fundamental to improve your outdoors experience.

Love your feet like I love my mom.

(Visit AR Gaiters on Facebook xxx)

A weekend away, 30 minutes from home

Celliers wanted to go away for this past weekend. I didn't. We're going away with friends in March and I had a lot to get done so I didn't want to miss out on Thursday and Friday and then be stuck in a car for five-plus hours to get somewhere.

Instead, I booked us one night away, at a most fabulous spot in the Vredefort Dome - less than one kilometre from the Forest Run start venue.

The week before I'd been out in the Dome, meeting with my start venue - the Venterskroon Inn - so go over details and also to get suggestions from Leon for other accommodation venues in the area to add to my list. He passed on a few names and the next day I phoned them, checked out their websites and added them to my map and Accommodation page on the Forest Run website.

Most of the places are self catering but the one, Desiderius per Flumen, offered dinner, bed and breakfast. I dropped Rassie a note to see whether I could book one of their four double rooms for Saturday night. "Yes," came his reply.

We went through in the afternoon after helping at our friend's trail run in the morning as marshals and route sweepers. Rassie warmly welcomed us before we headed through his most beautiful garden to gaze at the Vaal River. The house and garden overlooks the river. We then spent a few hours lying on wonderfully comfortable garden chairs, under the shade of a large tree, while we read, dozed and listened to birds chirping.

Rassie cooked us a delicious dinner - he is a whizz in the kitchen. If you ever stay here, ask that he makes you his potato wedges! We enjoyed a solid 10-hour sleep in the absolute stillness of the location and were treated to rusks and tea (for me, coffee for Celliers) and double-cream yoghurts before a delicious home-cooked breakfast. He sent us home with the rest of his early-morning, home-cooked pot bread.

After just one night away, we felt like we'd been away for days - and only a 30-minute drive from home. Celliers had no idea about what I'd planned so it was a nice surprise for him.

We then spent the rest of the day on the Forest Run 16km route. I had not taken Celliers up there before and wanted to show him the protea forest and the trig beacon. Even though I know the area like the back of my hand, there were parts that I totally did not recognise because of all of the vegetation growth - so different to this time last year when it was sweltering and dry. We will have loads of grass cutting to do come early May, to get these trails run-ready.

A couple of photos from the route.

Celliers at the trig beacon.



The Vredefort Dome is a meteorite impact site so the geology out here is amazing. We found this interesting rock. This section is not on the Forest Run route - we were exploring some other tracks.



Last year, there was a track straight through here. We'll have loads of grass cutting to do ahead of this year's Forest Run on 20 May 2017.



What a win! We saw a number of open protea flowers in the 'protea forest'. Online it says they flower October to January but it looked like there were still loads of flowers just waiting to open over the next week or two. That would be really wonderful to see.



Green and lush out on the Forest Run route. This is one of three steep downhills on the 16km route. Walk, take care and enjoy the view. Fortunately, it is short.



My new 'watermelon' AR Mini Gaiters. Visit AR Gaiters website for the available prints and colours. We encourage you to go wild with cool prints. Once you've worn AR Mini Gaiters, your life will never be the same. Transform your runs, sock longevity, reduce blister risk and foot comfort on trails and dirt roads.

Wearing gaiters, a winter run and bush orienteering

John Vonhof this THE foot guru and his book 'Fixing Your Feet' is the best foot care resource for runners and hikers. This wonderful guide is in its 5th edition and AR Gaiters feature in the book. John also writes informative and educational foot care blog posts (subscribe to his feed for free) and his most recent one is about the value of wearing gaiters for blister prevention and a host of other foot-care related reasons.

On Saturday morning we've got our annual AR Club Dead of Winter Emmies to N1 Run. It looks like we're in for a chilly run, which is unusual because our Dead of Winter Run has been warm and sunny the past few years. Well, it is a Dead of Winter Run and we've been angling for a frosty morning. Looks like we'll get our wish this year. 

And then on Sunday morning AR Club is hosting the second Bush orienteering event of the season at Hennops, which is North of Fourways on the road to Hartebeespoort. There are a bunch of courses available for all ages and levels of experience. It really helps us for you to pre-register on orienteeringonline so we print enough maps. It's free to register on the site and makes pre-entry quick and easy.

A good week

I have had an absolutely blazing week.

OK, so I haven't been able to run (still resting knee after really bad whack this past Saturday) so I've turned my energies to a bunch of projects that I've needed to get on to for more weeks than I care to mention.

It's always easy to deal with tasks that can be done relatively quickly. Those that I know will take hours and hours - and ideally uninterrupted hours... I put them off.

With an open week, I made good use of blocks of unbroken hours to made some headway.

On Monday afternoon I did some 'cleansing'. The problem I have with organising events is the packing away. I'll pack some stuff away and then I 'dump' other bits. On the floor. Any available space. Crates, maps, droppers, boards, flags... Between this and that I put them away. It can take a few days to get clarity again. On Monday I wrapped up the results from Metrogaine, sent them out and cleared away the bundle of clue sheets and other stuff lying around.

Cleansing is contagious so with that done I got into some cupboards... and other crates... and piles of paper.

A big project on Tuesday was to set up a Facebook page for our AR Gaiters. We receive lovely emails and sometimes photos from people around the World who are using our AR Gaiters, especially the AR Desert Gaiters. But the AR Gaiter page on www.AR.co.za isn't really the best place to store the photos and stories. Facebook, on the other hand, is a fabulous platform.

So, I set up the page, updated the content on AR for the AR Mini, Desert and Adventure Gaiters and had everything up on Wednesday morning.

That afternoon (and finished it at night) I wrote up a media release for K-Way on trail runner Lucky Miya. He's in France to run in the Skyrunning World Champs on Sunday. I met Lucky earlier this year when he came through to some of our AR Club Summer Series events at Delta. He also took part in the April Metrogaine with orienteer Michael Crone, who is currently in Italy for the World Orienteering Champs. They won the Metrogaine and I really hope that they both have superb runs in their respective international events.

Having had such fun with the AR Gaiter Facebook page, I decided to create a Facebook page for my Metrogaine events. Again, Facebook has its merits and it is a great platform to share event info, photos and runner routes. It's content that is Likeable, Shareable and social.

And then on Thursday I jumped into website modifications on the FEAT website. I wanted to tweak images, backgrounds, colours and some structural elements. It isn't rocket science but it just takes time. Inevitably when you change one colour you need to change a dozen others to make it all look nice - like when you buy a new duvet cover and end up repainting your room and putting up new curtains.

There's one piece of code that I just haven't been able to find. I've been through almost every .php page and every .css page to look for it. I spent two hours yesterday chasing this one issue... I bet it is in the two or three .php pages that I haven't searched!

There are a few other tweaks that I want to make... but it is fine for now.

I've done well to get these big chunks done between regular smaller tasks.

I like new. I like change. It has been a satisfying week.

Namib Desert Challenge: Post-race contemplations

Home sweet (and cool) home. Now that the unpacking and washing is done I'm settling into customary post-race blues. That's the problem with a most wonderful week away with a most excellent group of like-minded people and nothing to worry about but running, eating and sleeping. Well, there's no better way to deal with post-race blues than to seek new adventures.

The second wave of runners waiting for the start of the final stage on Friday morning. Photo by Hannisze.

I thought I'd jot down a couple of notes - thoughts whirling around in my mind.

Desert gaiters
When you run in sand, you do need a shoe covering to prevent sand getting in. Desert sand is not the same as beach sand; it is fine and dry and it sneaks in through any and every gap in your shoe - the top, the mesh, the tongue. A desert gaiter is a shoe covering that is attached to the upper of the shoe and it covers your foot from the ankle to the sole.

You need to plan ahead as it is best to have velcro sewn around the base of the upper (the gaiter has velcro around its base). Glue is definitely not a good idea, especially for multi-day events as it wiggles into any little gap and lifts the glue. Any shoe repair shop will be able to do the stitching.

Desert gaiters are not that easy to find. Make your own or order online. Be sure to order the correct size (there are usually two or three sizes available). Too small gaiters will not fit properly and they'll pull up the front of your shoe creating toenail issues. There are a few options available.

Shooting the breeze with Christine (in pink) after Stage 3. We were looking up at the most beautiful blue sky, streaked with interesting clouds, through the branches and leaves of a shady Camel Thorn tree. These blue gaiters covered with fish were my super-dooper gaiters for this race. Photo by Hannisze.

Obviously I think that my Desert Gaiters are the best. The current version is my third evolution of the design, tweaked after three years of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge and my first run at Namib Desert Challenge in 2009. They're made from lycra, they come in two sizes and we make them up in your preference of colour and print - whatever fabric we can get our hands on.

Training
I am definitely not a good example for what training to do in preparation for this event... especially when I tell you that my longest run pre-race was a 15km in January... I generally average 40-55km/week. Although I had a comfortable race and I came out the other side with no stiffness on any day (I think my massage ritual helps with this) and good feet, more training and longer runs would have seen me being able to run faster, harder and longer. I've been running regularly for 20 years plus many long and multi-day races plus a mix of other disciplines every week so I really, really do not recommend doing what I do.

Runners like Marius, at the top of the field, runs 200km a week and spends a lot of time too on core strength. Asa, who had a superb run, clocked around 1300km since the start of the year (I think it was) and he also spent time running up and down a small sandy dune to build strength and prepare for the sandy stages. Excellent for building leg strength. He says that he thinks he only walked about 2km in total! Christine, who lives in Toronto, heads up to a cottage over weekends and she does a lot of long running. She gained bit by bit on me every stage - about 30 mins a day - ended up exactly 2hrs ahead of me overall. It does pay to put in the time and distance.

If you're a newbie, work your way through running programmes. Start with 5km and 10km programmes, move on to 15km, 21km and marathon. You just can't go wrong with a solid base. And later add in some trail for better proprioception and foot-ankle strength. But, don't rush your training. Take your time and get strong steadily or you'll spend more time at your physio than on the road.

Food & drink
This year delicious dinners were provided every night. We only had to pack in our own breakfasts, lunches and snacks for the run. The waterpoints really were superb and while I didn't eat much of the cookies and fruit provided there, I did drink loads of the electrolyte mix and iced tea. And to think that I only tried the iced tea on Day 2; I really missed out on Day 1!

For breakfast I went for FutureLife with added protein powder. I'm not going to be eating this again for some time... During the day I popped a couple of gels and ate some of my snacks, like cornnuts and roasted nuts, dried mango and home-dried banana. In the afternoons I ate my two-minute noodles with tuna. And then it was dinner time with veg soups, salads, pasta or rice.

In terms of volume of fluids we were all drinking a lot. I was almost flattening my water reservoir by the time I reached each waterpoint. That's around 1.5l. Plus, I'd leave the waterpoint having consumed about 750ml there and then. And then we'd all be drinking more in the afternoons after running. That's a lot of liquid. By the end of the week I was feeling quite puffy. Heat, salts, fluids... all contributing factors.

Here's an interesting one... On the 4th and 5th days I was peeing frequently, even out on the course. On the long day I made three stops during the stage! Definitely nothing wrong with my kidneys. On Saturday, post-race, I wasn't drinking much as we were on the bus for hours yet I had to go on the bus (there was a loo onboard), when we stopped in Windhoek and again at the airport not long after we arrived and again before boarding. I probably hadn't consumed more than 1-litre that day. And this continued all through yesterday. The good news is that my body is no longer stock-piling fluids, I'm not as puffy and I'm no longer bouncing up every half-hour to go to the loo.

Travel
It's easy to get to Windhoek with regular flights from Jo'burg and Cape Town on SAA, Kulula (British Airways) and Air Namibia. Transport by bus to Sossusvlei was provided and organised by the event - it's a 4h30 trip, mostly on a good quality dirt road. If you've got the dosh, you can fly into and out of Sossusvlei by charter.

Bye bye
I always get a bit sad to see my running buddies depart. To some we say goodbye at Sossusvlei if they're staying on; others go different ways at the Windhoek airport as they board other flights; and some are off when we land in Jo'burg.

Events like this present an opportunity for the coming together of people with more than just running in common. It's what burns in our hearts that is more unifying.

I'm fortunate in that I've been in this adventure / ultra / multi-day game for a long time and the people I hang around with the most are much like me. Running three back-to-back marathons plus an ultra plus a 'short' 24km stage to top it off - over challenging terrain and under extreme heat conditions - is not considered 'crazy' or really out there. Rather, I'm sent off with a wave and well -wishing text messages saying, "Enjoy the race". And they can relate to what I'm going through because they've done similar events - in some or other form. So, when I get home, I merge back into a similar environment surrounded by similar people.

But this isn't the same for all the participants. Many stick out like a sore thumb among friends (and families). I think it is far harder for them to re-integrate after such an experience, one that can literally be life changing.

[Not quite a year after I started adventure racing I deregistered from my Masters studies and turned my back on seven years. I have experienced first-hand the life-changing effect that hard, challenging, multiday events can have.]

Thank goodness for Facebook and being able to easily connect with the people with whom you have shared the experience.

What's next?
This was probably the most common question flying around camp. Some of the runners have got some good events lined up over the next year.

On the racing side I don't have much planned. I'm organising Metrogaine Jo'burg for 11 April; then I'm writing for Expedition Africa in early May (not racing because of being away shortly afterwards); and then I'm off to Argentina in mid-June to mid-July for intensive Spanish lessons -  an adventure dream I've had for almost eight years now.

Participating in races will be taking a back seat for a bit and with a number of projects that I had on the go from the beginning of the year to shortly before the race - Forest Run being a big one -  now out of the way, I'll focus a bit more on running training (I heard recently about a speed session group on Tuesdays near home) and aerial disciplines (another class in the pipeline).

That said, I'm cruising various websites, keeping an eye on what is on. I have a race in mind that I'd like to do much later in the year. For this one I'll really need to tune in my focus on running - I'll definitely need to do runs longer than 15km in preparation for this one, especially if I want to do well and feel great. For sure, squeezing in more running between other odd activities and circus classes is possible but ultimately something will have to give - for a few months at least. We'll see what the months bring...

Keep an eye on www.namibdesertchallenge.com for details on the September running of this superb event. Absolutely superb photos by Hannisze are on the NDC Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/NamibDesertChallenge/photos_albums.

Packing for Nam.

I'm off to Namibia on Saturday for the 5th Namib Desert Challenge, a 230-kilometre, five-day staged foot race.

I fly into Windhoek on Sat and I'm staying at a B&B near the hotel from where the race bus departs on Sunday. We drive to Soussusvlei -  a long, long drive - and we start running on Monday.

Daily distances
Monday: 42km
Tuesday: 46km
Wednesday: 44km
Thursday: 56km
Friday: 28km

What I most remember from then I ran the inaugural edition of this race in 2009 was the incredible variety in terrain. Rocky hills, open plains and, of course, the desert dunes. I really loved seeing gemsbok out there. There's a nice description of the terrain of each stage on the race website.

Training
As always I haven't done any specific training for this run. I just jump in and do it. My training through Dec, Jan and into mid-Feb was solid and I've been running steady and well with nice mileage weeks. In the week of tagging the routes for Forest Run (two weeks ago) I spent about 26 hours on my feet over three days - and about 80km. That was good for my feet. This week I'm just ticking over with 6-8km local runs.

With races like this I find the first day to be the hardest and I usually enjoy the longest day the most.

I've been short on sleep for a couple of weeks and on the go non-stop so this week I'm taking care to chill out and to sleep good, full nights. Luckily I have a low-intensity week on the work front, which helps.

Sleeping
We sleep in tents provided by race organisation and they will also hang on to our sleeping rolls and sleeping bags - fortunately we don't have to carry these with us.

Clothing
We do have to carry any and all clothing with us throughout the race. I've decided to go with 3/4 tights, a short-sleeved top and armies for my race attire - topped off by my wide-brimmed hat. The more skin that can be covered up, the better. Plus, of course, sunblock and shades. My mom has made me quite a funky pair of desert gaiters, which will easily deal with the sand.

For post-run I've packed a pair of shorts (light weight) and a tee for sitting around in. I'll sleep in these too. I've also got a long-sleeved thermal as it can get chilly in the wee hours of morning - especially when your body's thermostat goes a bit wonky after a long day of running and high temperatures.

I love having fresh socks each day but this time I'll only pack in three pairs... I'll wash used socks each day. Same goes with undies and only two crop tops.

Equipment
There's the usual stuff to pack like space blanket, knife, whistle, headlamp, compass etc. In addition I'll take a trekking pole. While two are nice I've usually got something in a hand - map / route instructions / food.

I've got my small race camera packed too. That's probably it for gadgets...

And then there's the question of two-litre water reservoirs...

My old faithful Camelbak bladder, which I've had for about eight years, has a little hole. I'm going to try to patch it and will test it over the next few days. What concerns me is that the Camelbak bladder is old nowThis bladder weighs only 127g. The newer Nalgene bladder, from an Osprey backpack, clocks in at 328g - that's 200g more just for a water container!

My mom has my three-litre reservoir stashed somewhere. I'll weigh it when I get my hands of it. This one will definitely be lighter than the Nalgene-Osprey so it could be worth taking it but then only filling to the volume that I need...

I haven't decided on which backpack to use but I'm sure it will be my faithful Salomon backpack, which has been everywhere with me since 2006 (and I had exactly the same model in a different colour previously - ordered from the US in 2002). My other old 'n faithful 15l-expandable Salomon pack is probably going to be too small. I'll test once all my goodies are together.

Food
We're being spoilt this year as dinner is provided. So we only have to pack in breakfast, during-the-run munchies and lunch. We only have to carry each day's food; not everything for the five days. This really lightens our loads. I haven't been strict on the weight of my foods; I'm on around 760g/day.

I've gone with an add-water cereal (with protein powder) for breakfast and two-minute noodles for lunch (one packet is too little, two is too much so I've got 1.5 packets/lunch). Snacks include my usual salty favourites like cornnuts, salticrax crackers and nuts with dried fruit (mango and home-dried banana) and a scattering of sweeties. I always pack sweeties but I rarely eat them; so there are just a few for each day.

I do like gels so there are some of these packed too. Howz this... I go shopping yesterday and I usually go for the Vooma gels. I like the taste of the peach one and they're usually around R11 each. I'm not into gels that are chocolate, strawberry, mocha and other such flavours. Anyway, there was not one of my Vooma usuals to be found; only what looks like their new extra boosted one (more fancy and expensive too) in the revolting flavours of chocolate something and mocha something. *retch*

To my surprise I found the PVM Octane gels, which I used to love but could never get my hands on. At R18.95 they're pricey, especially considering that the imported gels are the same price! I treated myself to two of the citrus (green) flavoured ones.

I then moved over to the Gu offering. Same-same there; also at R18.95/gel. Then, to my delight, I found the Gu Chomps, which I first tasted at the TransRockies Run in Colorado in August 2009. I wouldn't have bought them before because they're also pricey but at R35 for a sachet, which contains two servings of Chomps, it works out a little cheaper than gels. The texture of this gummy sweet is good and the flavours are not too sweet.

Weather
It is expected to be hot. Hotter than it was in 2009 when we were blessed with unseasonably mild conditions. It's 32C at Soussousvlei as I type this and expected to hit 36C on Friday and then cooling down into the high 20s during next week.

At the moment sunrise is only just after 7am and sunset just after 7pm. We'll have full moon on Wed, 27th. That's going to be amazing.

Writing
I will be writing from the race daily and posting pics. I'm sure I'll get some fabulous photos. Can't help but get great photos in this part of the world.

Waterfalls, kloofs and maps at Highland Tracks

I haven't been to a weekend adventure race for ages! This past weekend I went to Team Lickety Split's event, Highland Tracks, as a control collector. This means that I got to go out hiking and playing while pickingup the signs at the checkpoints after all the teams have passed through the leg.

The race was held in the Dullstroom area and the organisers really discovered some amazing sites (and sights) that they incorporated into their race route. I only went out in the area used for the second hike (of three) and it was absolutely stunning!

On Saturday Mark Human (ARer and in this case the race doctor) and I went out to look for teams, find some checkpoints and to stretch our legs. We didn't find many teams but we did get some nice photographs. On Sunday morning I whizzed through a section to collect a bunch of controls - teams had only cleared the area late Saturday afternoon.

I was SUPER impressed with their maps, especially the Ama Poort Poort Hiking Map that Sue worked up. I've written a piece about this on www.AR.co.za. The post looks at what I appreciate in race maps and how Sue really got it right (see pics with captions below too).

Here are a couple of other photos that I took on the route.

Mark in one of the pretty little kloofs.

Alec Avierinos went out there as a solo, testing his Neverest system.

With Mark at one of the beautiful waterfalls.

Yay! Another checkpoint located.

I can't resist little yellow flowers!

Flying! Mark making like Jeb Corliss. Here we were on top of a big waterfall and the wind was howling on the edge - updrafts from the waterfall.

Flowers. Waterfall. Pretty.

It's incredible how many kloofs are in this area!

While control collecting on Sunday I found these hay bales. Beautiful scent. Reminds me of my childhood where I spent many a school holiday riding horses, hanging in stables and jumping off hay bales on a family friend's farm in Zimbabwe.

These two did really, really well. Two novices racing together. The didn't complete the last hike but nonetheless they can be really proud of their first race.

Pic from Mark. All colour coordinated with my custom pink O gaiters.

Pic from Mark. This is what the checkpoint markers look like.

A superb race map. Neat, pre-plotted checkpoints. Printed on waterproof paper. Customised so that only the map section needed was printed on the A3 page. Shading shows the area of the Ama Poort Poort Hiking Map.

I totally love what Sue did here. She enlarged this area from the 1:50,000 topographical map, added in the trails, trouts dams, some vegetation features and the farm's numbered 'tourist spots'. There is no way that these relatively close-together control locations could be distinguished on a 1:50,000 map so Sue did just the right thing to create this map. I believe that the farmer's original 'hiking map' was really bad. She has given this map to the property owner to use for his guests. 

Well done to William, Sue and your team for presenting this lovely race.

Flowers in the desert

I've gone for a really festive floral fabric for my AR Desert Gaiters for my 100km Namibia run this weekend through the Fish River Canyon. This full shoe covering is great for sand and river crossings. Gonna be good for this run - and colourful ;) With these err... loud gaiters, it's a good thing I'm not a wallflower.

Thanks to my desert-gaiter-making elf, Liz, for making these so beautifully for me. xxx

AR Desert Gaiters v3 (take two)

Zapped! As of this weekend, we have discovered a solution to the sticky adhesive problem we were having in sewing my AR Desert Gaiter design. Big thanks to my mom, Liz, for brainstorming this one to find something that works.

I've had a number of people email me to ask about desert gaiters for various races that are coming up. But it just wasn't possible for us to efficiently make them, without having to douse the sewing machine in turps every few minutes to get rid of adhesive from the Velcro. Our new technique solves this problem and strengthens the attachment of the Vecro to the lycra at the bottom of the gaiter. Neat.

So, they're sorted and available through AR.co.za. We will make up any colour you want, provided we can get the fabric.

 

Pic above - Chatreuse-coloured AR Desert Gaiters as worn by Team Mzansi at Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge. They were also worn by teams AR.co.za, Cyanosis and a local Abu Dhabi team. If they can keep the sand of the Liwa Desert out, they can keep sand from anywhere out!

Desert gaiters, v3

Since last year's Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, I've been cooking up modifications to make to my previous desert gaiter designs (2009 version).

Although my design last year worked really well, the main problem was getting to the laces and also the hassle of getting your shoes on and off. The thing is that the gaiter was stitched to the shoe - by hand. There was a velcro-sealed 'window' to access the laces. But, the design needed work.

This time I've gone with a more traditional approach of having the gaiter around the whole shoe, attached by velcro. We've had the velcro stitched around the base of the upper, by a cobbler.

In additon the gaiter has some neat innovations to accommodate different shoe sizes (we've made two patterns - the smaller one is good for up to a UK8.5 or so. The bigger one is from a UK9 and up) and to tighten the neck, especially for going down big dunes.

We've made four sets; for us (Team AR, white), for Cyanosis (cyan blue), Msanzi (a kinda chartreuse) and GRM Loggerheads (Abu Dhabi team of Aussies; a fun floral pattern).

On Saturday I went to my mom's place to help her finish off a new modification to the shape of the front. We were having such a nightmare because the sewing machine (a new one!) kept seizing and wouldn't sew a stitch. We were in a panic because we had so many to finish off.

We dismantled the holder that the bobbin goes into. Like the needles, which we were chaging regularly, it gunked up with adhesive from the velcro. We cleaned it up with turps and tried again. And then it seized again.

We couldn't figure it out because we'd been sewing these before without this amount of hassle. We wondered whether this was a different brand of adhesive velcro that our local store was bringing in? This whole headache took about two hours. I then got the idea to put the gaiters in the freezer to chill the adhesive, thinking that it was nothing more than the heat causing all the problems. It worked! The problem was that in the heat the adhesive was more sticky so it was gunking up everything and we could barely force the machine through a few centimetres.

We modified and completed 10 pairs in the next two hours with me cutting, pinning, sticking and running up and down the stairs between the freezer and the sewing machine. Hahaha ;)

Desert gaiter sewing is definitely best suited to winter.

Say "No!" to pricky socks

The following came out of a conversation I had with The Baron when I first put my AR Mini-Gaiters online. I'm about to remove this from the AR Mini-Gaiters page on http://www.ar.co.za/, to simplify the section, but I didn't want to lose this funny gem.

"Say 'No!' to pricky socks," I cheer.


"I tried to say no to my prickly socks, but they gave me that look and I just had to let them carry on scampering around the laundry basket," the trail runner responds.

"It's not prickly, it's pricky," The Baron clarifies, suggesting that we start a "Say 'No!' to pricky socks" cult.

As the appointed cult leader I explain: "Definitely pricky. Prickly would refer to a cactus, pear and porcupine. But pricky... that's something entirely different. It describes that irritation that you feel in one spot, caused by a grass seed stuck in the weave of your sock (despite numerous machine washes). You find it and remove it with glee, only to later feel another prick somewhere else on your foot. 'pricky' it is. And sometimes you can't find it at all and it just goes on pricking."

The Baron agrees. "'No, No, No' I say to pricky socks!" he roars, sounding like a Dr Seuss character.

I have - over the years - perfected the way of saying "No!" to pricky socks; I wear self-designed and self-made mini-gaiters. They cover the top of my shoe and laces, preventing sticks, stones, grit, sand and pesky grass seeds from getting anywhere near the inside of my trail shoes and my socks. As a result, NO MORE PRICKY SOCKS. Best of all, my foot comfort is improved, chance of blisters is minimised and my socks last longer. Gone of those days of throwing pricky-infested socks in the bin.

Join our "Say 'No!' to pricky socks" cult by wearing AR Mini-gaiters.

Make your own mini gaiters

While we make the best AR Gaiters - we've had lots of practice - you can give it a try to make your own pair. We make three styles - Mini, Desert and Adventure - for different purposes in a range of colours and fun prints (visit our website and Facebook page)

Today I finished making sand gaiters for Team www.AR.co.za for our race in Abu Dhabi next week. My new 'Rolls Royce' design results from the many variations that I've made over the years. They're easy to make, especially this basic 'AR Mini Gaiter' design. You can sew these gaiters by hand (or even use fabric glue?) but they are obviously longer lasting if sewn by machine.

What you need

• 0.25 metres of 4-way stretch fabric (I use regular lycra)
• 1.5 metres 'panty' elastic (it is about 0.8mm in width)
• 1 metre thicker elastic approx 15mm wide and thicker and stronger than the 'panty; elastic (this goes around your ankle)
• 25cm length of velcro (2cm width)
• Box of pins, thread, sewing machine/needle, sharp scissors and possibly a friend with sewing skills...

STEP 1
Measure and draw this pattern on a piece of paper (you'll need to join two sheets together).

NOTE: This is an average pattern size. Because lycra stretches it generally works for most shoes. BUT... there are differences in fabric, even lycra (thickness and stretchiness) and this makes the biggest difference. Sometimes these things are a bit of trail and error...

STEP 2

• Fold your fabric in half, with right sides facing (in lycra, the right side is a little more shiny). Make sure the fabric is flat - no bumps and kinks.
• Place your pattern on the fabric and pin around the edges.
• Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut out the fabric (double layer)

STEP 3
Start with one piece of fabric (it's like maths... what you do to the one side, you do to the other).

• Pin a 45cm length of the thin panty elastic to the bottom of the fabric (against the wrong side). Tip: I pin one end first, then the other. Then, stretch the elastic (yes, lycra is a bit longer than the elastic) and pin in the centre. Then repeat inbetween the ends and the centre.
• Sew the elastic to the fabric

Tip: ALWAYS pin and/or tack before you machine sew. If you have an overlocking machine, use it. If you just have a straight sewing machine, then stitch in the middle.

STEP 4
You can leave the bottom as it is... but I prefer to hem it.

• Roll the stitched elastic base up, pin and straight sew. This makes a neat hem. ('Panty' elastic will now be 'hidden')

STEP 5

• Repeat the same pinning and sewing process with the thicker elastic. I check the length required by measuring around my own ankle according to how tight I'd like the top of the gaiter. You do want it snug, but not cutting off your circulation. Probably about 22-26cm.

STEP 6

• Fold the shape in half, right sides together. Join the sides. This is where an overlocking machine is really great. If you sew with a straight machine, or by hand, sew two rows. Remember to pin and/or tack first, before sewing.

STEP 7

You've essentially got your gaiter. Now to add the velcro - this fastens the gaiter to your laces.

Prepare the velcro by doing the following:

• 
  
  Cut a 9cm length of velcro - both the fluffy and hooked sides.
  
  
• 
  
  Cut another 3cm length of velcro - also both sides
  
  
• 
  
  Tack (rough stitching) the short fluffy length on top of the long hooked side - both facing up (not stuck together). Do the same to the other two pieces.
  
  

Now grab the gaiter you've made. With it turned inside out, flatten it so that the main seam lies centre. Tack the velcro (double layer part) to this bottom end; then sew by machine. I make an X pattern.

STEP 8

Now try them out!

• 
  
  Turn them right side out
  
  
• 
  
  Slip your foot into them (velcro towards your toes)
  
  
• 
  
  Now put your foot into your trail shoe. Tie your laces.
  
  
• 
  
  Pull the back down over the heel. It won't slip because the elastic keeps the tension. Then hook the velcro over-and-under your bottom-most lace and stick the fluffy side on to the hooked side. Et voila!
  
  

Repeat with the other piece of fabric to make the pair. You'll notice that the long parts of the velcro are opposites... so you can stick your gaiters together when not wearing them.

Happy sewing.

Wartrail: a winter wonderland

Leading up to Wartrail, which took place this past weekend in the Eastern Cape, I was quite apprehensive about "what to wear". Don't get me wrong, I'm no fashionista and this wasn't about whether my navy thermal would clash with my day-glo orange Buff. I'm talking cold and cold-weather clothing. Chilly conditions were expected and they were present; we set off in sub-zero conditions. I'm pleased to announce that my attire was suitable and got me through the 16hr trek from Lady Grey to Balloch warm and dry.

Wartrail is a district in the Eastern Cape, overseen by Senqu Tourism; "Wartrail nestles in the Witteberg range of the Southern Drakensberg. This uniquely beautiful area is fascinating in its history and culture. From Dinosaur fossils to the famous railway reverses, early settler cave-houses to the exceptional Bushman paintings that have drawn archaeologists from around the world". And it is this area, through which this 3-day race passes, that gives this event its name.

This Salomon Wartrail Tri Challenge is a 3-day, 3-discipline event consisting of 65km mountain running/trekking,155km mountain biking and 70km paddling (although this year the paddling was reduced to 30km because of the low water level of the Orange River). The race has usually taken place around March but was set for 30 June - 2 July this year to take advantage of the winter environment. The event was initiated many years back by Skyrun founder, John-Michael Tawse, who was in South Africa this year for the event to guide the tv crew around the course.

The event can be done as an individual; you do each discipline, each day - or as a team; one person does each stage. This is what I did. I teamed up with Lauren and Daleen to make up a ladies team; I was assigned to the mountain run and Lauren and Daleen would do the bike and paddle together on the successive days. It's a nice way to take part; they drove the vehicle to Balloch - end of the run - on Saturday and I drove the vehicle to the checkpoints and end-of-day venues on Sunday and Monday.

The mountain run route is the same as the Skyrun Day 1 route; from Lady Grey to Balloch across the mountain ridges. Lovely, lovely, lovely. But what made it so special this year was the snow. Yes, real, fluffy, white snow! Absolutely delightful.

The moral of this blog, is not as much about the race - which is truly fabulous and highly recommended (Adrian, good work on another well organised event) - as about apparel; just what should you wear and pack for a mountain race in sub-zero conditions with snow decorating the mountains.

We had a 4h30 start. I wore the following:

• Salomon Trail Runner shoes; newish... had only taken them to Gauteng Orienteering Champs. If, like me, you've never settled into Salomon XA Pro 3Ds, then consider trying this model. I've been wearing Adidas TR Response shoes for years; the fit has always been good for my foot shape. The Salomon Trail Runner fit is similar; nice and snug.
• Falke Adventure Socks; I'm addicted to them and they're no longer on the market *sob*
• Lycra ankle gaiters; I make them myself - I loath trail debris (grass, seeds, stones, sticks etc) getting into my shoes. I do not go off-road without them. Worked well in the snow as it prevented snow getting in around my ankles and protected my ankles from getting cut by the icy edge of the crunchy snow sections (many runners has mysterious cuts; ice was the culprit).
• First Ascent Powerstretch Tights: these tights are the absolute best for cold conditions, but it needs to be cold or you'll bake. The only other time I'd worn them without overheating was in Patagonia, Southern Chile - it's cold and the wind howls, even in summer. Here I wore them the whole day and didn't freeze or cook. Perfect.
• First Ascent Quik-Wic long sleeve thermal; have had it for years; good, snug fit & nice and warm. Great base layer.
• Capestorm Puffadder: light-weight fleece. Great mid-layer (won it at the Capestorm Rogaine last year)
• Capestorm wind shell; I think it is an old version of their helium shell. It is very light, packs up tight and works to keep the wind out (I also won it a few years ago; has served me well).
• Accessories: 2 x Buff (one around neck, other around wrist to be used when needed), 1 x ear warmer (that kind of headband with the broader section that covers your ears) and 1 x pair running gloves (my hands get really hot so I didn't want anything too thick)

I had the following packed into my Salomon 30l backpack (I decided to go with the bigger backpack, instead of my 15l Raid Revo, because I needed more space for "emergency" stuff):

• Small first aid kit & space blanket
• whistle, glo-toob, knife
• First Acent AR-X sleeping bag
• First Ascent Firestorm 100 fleece
• GoLite Clarity Jacket and pants (wind and waterproof)
• Shorts (incase it got warm during the day)
• Food - lots of munchies
• 2l water reservoir

I'd decided to pack my extra fleece and sleeping bag plus waterproof gear just incase the weather up in the mountains turned bad; a cold front was expected to arrive late Sat/early Sun.
Difficulty is always what to wear when you start; you quickly warm-up as an exercising body produces a lot of heat. My Buff came off early, on the ascent to the tower. My Puffadder came off a little later. I kept my thermal base layer + light shell on the whole day. Just before nightfall the wind picked up and it got way cold out there. I then put my Puffadder back on, replaced the light shell with my GoLite jacket, added both Buffs (one around my neck, the other protecting my face from the wind) and the ear warmer and gloves.
It is interesting to note that a number of competitiors started off in shorts... and I even saw race winner Martin Dreyer (he won all 3 stages) in short sleeves at the start, and certainly for the duration of the race...
All in all I was very happy with my clothing choices as I wasn't too warm and I didn't get cold; layering does work. For the rest of the weekend, while the girls were biking and paddling, I stayed bonded to my First Ascent Extreme Glacier down jacket. You haven't lived until you've worn a down jacket... I was converted by a photographer friend at an overseas race; conditions turned bad and he offered me his jacket; I bought one when I got home - it's a must-have for cold conditions.

I'm off to Rhodes on the 14th July for the Rhodes Ultra. Also mountains, also snow. I'll be doing more running here (I trekked through Wartrail) so I think the thermal and light shell should be adequate to start, if conditions are decent.

I'm no longer as daunted by cold conditions; low temperatures are manageable when you're suitably attired. Hope this gives you a little guidance should you consider a winter mountain event.