MY WORDS my viewpoint

I am a father of two and a medical doctor with serious FOMO for races. I moved from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth with my family in June 2018. The Department of Health accommodates us in St George’s Park.

A couple of months later I found out that the Valley Burn Vertical Trail Challenge would be held in Settlers Park, about a kilometre away from my new home. I entered.

My overachieving self went for the 20km with an elevation gain of 1,000m. Mind you, the only trail I had done at this point was the 8km Biogen Night Run at the PWC Bikepark, and