Rudolf Naude: BSG Energade Vanderbijlpark

Yes, race day at Vanderbijlpark – my home town - so I was hoping for a good race. The weather conditions was ideal – very warm – and I usually perform well in the heat. I followed my usual warm-up routine and felt good even though training the previous week was hard.

The swim didn’t go as planned… I started at the wrong place and took the wrong line. I couldn’t even see the front pack during the swim. I then made an all out effort to try and make up some lost time. I lost about 25 seconds, but there was only 3 guys in the front pack and I made 2nd pack.

All of us worked hard on the bike trying to catch the front pack. We managed to gain a few seconds on them but not enough to catch them. The cycle was fast and flat, I knew running was going to be hard because of the heat and the hard cycle, but I was determined to give a good show for my home crowd.

As we entered T2, I saw the lead pack of 3 just went out. We gained about 12 seconds on them. I had a good transition and was 3rd out of T2 from my pack. Surprisingly my legs felt very good while running I knew that I could do well. I had a tremendous run the day … feeling as light as a feather. It must have been my Nike Lunar Racers 2 that gave me the edge. I finished 5th overall and 1st in the junior category. It was really a hard but enjoyable race. To my surprise, when I got to the finish my mom was waiting there for me with my dog, Macca. Happiness!!