I Beat the Magalies Monster!

I Beat the Monster!

images: stillwatersports.com

In this case the Monster is a Monster climb. The FNB Magalies Monster Classic is a 70 km MTB race close to Johannesburg, and the 'monster' is a monstrous climb that comes after 20 km into the race. Just have a look at the elevation profile:

The total elevation for this race is around 1,500 meters, but what makes it so tough is the rough terrain. Rocks everywhere, and even the downhills are very stressful events....

I was a little "misbatched" as I had not done similar races in the last year. Here we use a national ranking system, so if you do well, you get to start in an earlier (and faster) 'batch'. Didn't matter too much though, as I used the race as a training, it also ensured I wouldn't start too quickly, which I usually tend to do.

In total it took me just under 4 and a half hours, fairly pleased with that. Here is me at a water crossing:

The next day I went back, to check on the Monster:

I can assure you it's still there, waiting for the next people crazy enough to go up this monstrous climb!

for more info: http://www.stillwatersports.com/event/fnb-magalies-monster/

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