Sometimes you enter a race without really thinking about it too much. And sometimes that's a good thing - it's better not to know (or otherwise you wouldn't commit in the first place). It seemed like a good idea after Trailwalker Melbourne that my partner kept training and did this race 6 weeks later. So we both entered and then looked at the elevation profile - yikes! After an injury prone lead up for me (and a quick result at TW for my partner), we revised our goal to cruise along and enjoy it. This was so I could ensure i finished, and so that Karen ensured she didn't hurt as much as TW.
It's incredibly hard to understand this course without running on it beforehand. Even though I misspent my youth climbing, hiking and canyoning in the blue mountains and have done 6Ft a number of times, I had trouble conceptualising the course and didn't understand the technicality of the trail in places and the climbs. Accordingly, training specifically for this trail is difficult. Yeah, runs lots, but run lots of tricky trail and find lots of stairs, and lots of long long climbs. This course will expose any weaknesses you may have. Slow on technical trail - you'll hate the first leg. Slow uphill - kedumba for you. Mentally weak - well the last leg will get you in the last 7km. Live in Qld - ha, the cold will get you. Train on the trail if you can. If you live interstate then train on your nastiest trail.
It was easy to criticise the mandatory gear list before the event (I did). It seems like a lot of gear. But the conditions proved the gear is required. I carried an extra long sleeve shirt, wore it and all my other tops, windstopper fleece, rainshell and wore 2 beanies. And was still cold. You need it all.
But the race is pretty special. Totally awesome views. We stopped and took photos. We stared at the view. We didn't care about time (i left my garmin at home on purpose). We stopped at Checkpoints and ate real food. We smiled as we climbed down Taros Ladders. We enjoyed talking to other runners.
Some bits are a bit soul-crushing. The Ironpots seemed pointless. Huge up, out and back, steep down. Out and back sections are always soul-crushing. The big climb before CP3 - didn't expect that. Kedumba seemed long (but we expected it). The last few Kms where you head down towards the valley floor (instead of up to the Resort) seemed like pointless tormenting of tired athletes. Ok, it's nice to run past Wentworth falls, but it's pretty dark and I really didn't care at that point (95k?).
But what was right, was the race organisation. Absolutely awesome course marking. Great response to any queries. Good event start/finish location. Some things can be improved - race timing at CP1, location of CP5 (i.e. indoors instead of outdoors), pizza. Not all of these were in the RD's control, and he worked hard to address them as best he could.
How did our race go - sometimes it doesn't matter. We were happy to finish together, still smiling. We swore during the race we would never come back; it was pointless, tormenting, and soul crushing. And today we are already planning for next year...
