Exercise your brain and body with the SA Cross Country Series

As a passionate amateur athlete who has been swimming, cycling, running, mountain biking, hiking and going to the gym for a few years now, I did not realise how mentally and physically taxing car racing can be until I had the opportunity to experience it at a national level two weeks ago.

Having followed both rally and circuit racing for just over 15 years, I did not think much of the drivers’ and navigators’ fitness levels because they come in all shapes and sizes.

My thinking changed when I was invited by racing driver Terence Marsh to navigate for him in the final round of the South African Cross Country Series, as part of the Nissan Red-Lined Motoring Adventure Celebrity Challenge.

Other celebrities who have competed in the challenge include actress Hlubi Mboya Arnold, DJ Fresh and Jeannie D.

The challenge included learning about the car, a lesson on the theory of the navigator’s duties and a practical lesson with the driver in a race car.

All the pre-race sessions went according to plan. Nothing seemed physically or mentally taxing until the race weekend.

It is a mental challenge because during the race you are required to do this for almost two hours nonstop, while being rattled like a rag doll due to uneven surfaces.

Then, the physical challenge comes into play.

Precautions are taken to ensure both driver and navigator safety with correct seat measurements, four-point seatbelts, a helmet and a Hans device, which reduces head and neck injuries.

This, however, does not completely eliminate or prevent your head from swaying in all directions when the car goes through ditches and over humps and rocks at incredibly fast speeds.

I realised that a strong core and strong neck muscles are an important requirement.

This was one of the most challenging activities I have had the pleasure of experiencing. I even broke such a sweat in the race suit that I felt I lost one or two kilograms over the weekend.

The ability to focus for that long while engaging my core and carrying out all four duties required felt like a university exam on steroids! This was definitely an experience that tested my tenacity and endurance to the maximum.

I now know that car racing requires a different kind of fitness.

As a navigator, you have four tasks:

• You need to read the notes and instructions to the driver, guiding him around every single turn and obstacle on the road.

• Keep an eye on the odometer and reset it with your foot after each instruction. For example: 100m take a sharp right before the fence, through gate posts, triple caution rocks. Reset. 200m take a hairpin bend left after the trees, double caution narrow bridge. Reset. This continues with every turn for almost 200km at a time.

• Keep an eye on the GPS to ensure you are going the right direction on the prescribed route.

• Keep an eye on the road in front of you to ensure you read the instructions at the right time. Not too early and not too late.

Letshego is a fitness and lifestyle blogger. She is a qualified biokineticist and co-founder of PopUpGym. Follow her on Instagram: @letshego.zulu Twitter: @letshegom Facebook: Letshego Zulu

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