Change of plans for my Two Oceans Ultra Marathon 2013

Yesterday, Tuesday the 26th of March, 4 days before race day, I received a call from the Two Oceans Marathon Organization.
Since they know me from my 2012 Pace Setter activities, my name got into their mind, when they faced a challenging situation:

One of the runners at the Ultra is going to be the blind adventurer and motivational speaker Hein Wagner (http://www.heinwagner.co.za/). It's going to be the first Ultra Marathon in his life, after finishing several huge sports events, and also a preparation run for his Ironman 2 weeks later.

Now - his running partner who would have guided him through the race can't make it and they need a guide for Hein. And they did ask me.

I still get goosebumps from writing this. Because one of the themes of Two Oceans Marathon is "run for more than yourself".

For this year I had no special plans for my race, because I know I am not fit enough to run a personal best (sub 5h).Last year I ran for the group I was guiding as their pace setter.

It took a few minutes to make a decision:

I knew, that I felt strong enough to run a 5h 15min or slower and Hein's plans are rather a 5h45min which should be in my range anyway.
But it's a different story to run for a group that could carry on even without me as their pace setter - because they can run without a pace setter - and now having a person who would rely on me 100%.

If I can't run, he can't run. If I can't finish, he can't finish. That's a different kind of responsibility.

But, as many of you might expect, I accepted with pleasure.

I want to thank Stefanie from Two Oceans for giving me the opportunity to run for much more than myself and I want to thank Hein for his trust in me.

On Friday, the day before the race, we will meet for a short "test run".

Wish us luck!

And my finish time can be expected at 11:15 MEZ or 12:15 CAT after approx 5h 45 min.

More posts related to this topic:

1. Hein Wagner and Axel Rittershaus Test Run for Two Oceans Ultra Marathon 2013
2. FINISH Line Video with Hein Wagner and Axel Rittershaus finishing the 2013 Two Oceans Ultra Marathon 
3. Quick update - how did the race go
4. Two Oceans Marathon International Friendship Run 2013
5. How to run a Sub 6h Two Oceans Ultra Marathon (56 km) - Pace Charts and more from the official Puma Pacer 2012 Axel Rittershaus