City 2 Surf Race Report

Long overdue I know, but a bout pre & post race flu has knocked be about, leading to dire neglect of this blog. Apologies.
Preparing for the C2S was like fumbling around in the dark. I had never run the race before, I had nothing to compare the race to, and the unique topography of the course makes predicting a first off time difficult. Heartbreak Hill plays havoc with your times, as does any race that is not flat.
Add to the above the terrifying prospect of a race with 63,500 other runners! After submitting race times I managed to get a prized preferred start just behind the seeded runners. The race starts at a 4 way intersection at Hyde Park and heads hell for leather down the road to a tunnel at Kings Cross before turning left towards the harbourside suburbs and some great views.

In the week preceding the race I filled the equivalent of North Pine Dam with run off from my nose [snot], a 7km cross country on the Wed before, a 12 hour drive to Sydney, and more rivers of the lemon curd to fill half of Sydney harbour.
Having a preferred start saved me from lining up for too long before the start. I was able to warm up in a park before taking my place 15min before the start. I filled a few bins in the park with tissues trying to get as much mucus out of the orifices of my head before the start so that I didn't share it with fellow competitors.

Making my way to the start down Oxford Street was a culture shock. As I'm walking down the road in my running gear ready to flog myself others were pouring out of bars and lining up outside nightclubs [early morning clubs]. I guess both cultures revolve around punishing your body? I would like to think my form of flogging results in good?
Near the start I chanced upon Adro's Army [he of Biggest Loser fame], a group of oversized runners getting ready to take on C2S. Yo respect! At least they were having a crack. Adro has fashioned a faux military uniform with camouflage style hat and T-shirt.

It became clear to me after lining up at the start that staying alive was the first priority of the start. Falling meant certain death, either that, or 60 odd thousand footprints all over your face and torso and barely alive. Once the gun went off the mad dash was on. At one point 50m down the road the bloke behind me stumbled and grabbed onto my right shoulder and started pulling me back. If its you reading this I hope my elbow didn't do too much damage!

Once we reached the tunnel things got a bit more orderly as the hills always sort out the wheat from the chaff. Talking of hills, much of the focus is on Heartbreak Hill, which is aptly named. However, there are more than a few hills on the way to Heartbreak which achieve the same purpose: lactic & terror!

By the time I reached the base of Heartbreak I realised that I was in for a fairly neutral day: not very fast, not too slow, nothing to write home about other than a half decent 56 minute finish and a first C2S under my belt. Now that I have my first under the belt I can plan on a return to avenge my ordinary day and at the very least get in under 55min preferrably further down into the early 50's.

The view from halfways up Heartbreak across the harbour is worth the climb. Once Heartbreak is over its pretty much downhill, and the body needs to adjust to stopping gravity rather than struggling to overcome it. The run down into Bondi is spectacular and even though the finish seems so clos but so far its a great way to end a race.

For a race that has so many competitors the logistics are superb. Not sure my racing calendar next year will fit this race in. I will never drive to Sydney again for a race, that is for sure, its not good for your legs! If I was to choose between Bridge to Brisbane or C2S I think I would go for C2S, just a tad more exciting and beautiful!

Kokoda Challenge Report

Well it was about time I finally got around to writing this report but you'll be pleased to know I've narrowed this down to a few paragraphs rather than the 22.20hrs it took our team to finish.
Kokoda was a 98km cross country / mountain / mud challenge which I started with my team of 4 and finished much (much) later still intact (well almost) with the same team of 4 and a much greater appreciation for mateship and teamwork. We had 36 hours to finish it but our goal was 23.

We arrived at 5am on the Saturday morning ready for the 7am start and the rain arrived at the same time. We had been warned all week of the impending rain forecast for the entire weekend, yeah right it hadn't rained solidly in months... until then! Cold, dark and wet we joined 96 other teams from all over the country, checked in and got nervous. The rain was constant as we threw on our back packs, gave last minute instructions to our support crew, listened to the ode and the Last Post, and then the gun went off.

Everybody took off and headed right. We looked at each other and took off to the left. Laughing we found ourselves in the lead (not for long mind you) and heard the confusion as the teams all realised they were heading in the wrong direction. Imagine having to navigate 98km and going the wrong way in the first 50 metres. Pretty funny really!!! It didn't take them long to catch us and the challenge started.

We wanted to hit the first mountain near the front end of the field as we knew it would be difficult to get around teams on the long (40min +) climbs so we worked hard the first 5km to hit the mountains in around 7th place. Still it was early day. Up and over the first few and we were feeling good and making good time. Our strategy was to walk up the hills (and down depending on the terrain) and run the flats. All was good until about 3hours in and the wheels started to fall.

Dave (one of my team) "blew" a calf which made walking painful. Not long after this he started to develop strong pains in his gut. As he would hit the hills his heart rate would max out causing him to stop every 5- 10mins and violently dry retch. This would settle briefly and he would restart the climb and repeat this until he made the top. On the downs and flats he felt average (apart from the calf) so would push as hard as he could, but the hills were his enemy and there were an awful lot of them! We would get to hills and Pete and I would try to lighten his load and help push him up until he got to the top and then we would keep moving. Dave would almost be fainting with pain and nausea on the climbs, but he pushed on showing amazing tenacity and incredible toughness.

For the next 6 hours it rained intermittently, the wind blew and the hills were relentless. Dave just kept going! We met our support crew every 4 hours and they fed us, attempted to warm us up, we restocked our back packs and kept going. We were still sitting in about 10th place and making pretty good time but it was getting colder and wetter!!! Around 4pm the rain came and stayed for the next 11 hours varying between solid and heavy. It was dark, the wind was howling, the rain was cold... very cold, we were wet and Dave continued, unable to run but keeping up a good pace walking. Each support station was similar. We would arrive and try and warm up (almost impossible), feed ourselves with hot food and soup (very difficult to cook under a tarp), restock and take off again trying not to waste too much time. It was impossible to put dry clothes on under a tarp and you were wet by the time you started again. We were starting to lose our sense of humour, but still enjoying the challenge nevertheless. Dave was tough! We would take off into the dark, cold and wet, Merryl leading the way making sure we followed the trail, and Pete and I making sure we still had Dave. The hills were tough. The rain had turned them into a big slide and it was incredibly difficult to climb up or down without sliding or falling. We felt for the teams following us as it would have been much tougher for them!

By 1am Pete was having trouble seeing on the downhills as the mist continually fogged his much needed glasses and he found his head lamp not nearly bright enough. He slid and damaged his knee on a downhill and showed incredible toughness to continue. We would get to a hill and help Dave up the hill then turn and give Pete as much light as I could to help him get down in one piece. The last 20km was incredibly long but the boys were tougher! They could have given up any time but our goal from the start was to get our team across the line together and thats what we were going to do. At 5.20am (just before sunrise) we walked into the finish, exhausted, cold, wet but very proud of what we had done. We finished in 12th place, second mixed team but more importantly, a team of 4!

We could never have done it without our support crew who had it tougher than us. They had to find the checkpoints before us, set up a makeshift tarp and kitchen in the rain and wind, and somehow have things ready for when we arrived, whenever that was. Then they would have to pack up and beat us to the next checkpoint. They deserve a medal for that.

Thanks to Dave, Pete and Merryl for an incredible experience. You are an incredibly tough team and we learned a lot about ourselves and what it takes to get through a course like that. You were all awesome! Would I do it again? Absolutely! I'll be back next year with some newbies in toe. If you want a life experience then try it.

Mary

City 2 Surf preview

I thought last years Comrades Marathon in South Africa had a lot of competitors: 16 000. However my eyes will be opened this weekend in the Sydney City2Surf, with a field of 65 000 runners!
The start is a logistical nightmare, with three main starting groups sectioned off behind barriers and strict rules governing where you need to be standing [on pain of disqualification].
Thankfully I have a preferred start which means I can head out in front of the majority of the pack, and hopefully will not have to pick my way through hordes of walkers and pram pushers [who seem to have a thing about lining up ahead of the runners].

The course is 14km long, winding its way from the CBD to Bondi. There are a number of hills along the way, with Heartbreak Hill being the most feared. Having done lots of hill sessions I now find myself looking forward to hills, even if that is merely a psyche trick on myself!

It's difficult to work out what your target time is first time around, as you have nothing to compare it to. Let's face it, how many other 14km races are there around with similar topography?

I think my goals will be to enjoy the spectacle of running in such an incredibly huge race, and not taking it easy on the big hills!
Race report will follow soon.
Stan