The Six Foot Track Marathon - race report from a trail running noob - Part 3

After a stressful week stressing about the race, comes….

…Race day…

It was a chilly 12 degrees when we started. The sheer number of runners in such a small vicinity at Explorer’s Tree created this electrifying atmosphere. My “twin” came along to the start with me and even she was impressed. “No wonder why people get all hyped 
up about it! I'm not even running it and even I can feel it!” she said enthusiastically.

The start - courtesy of my friend's FB page...

The average finish time for this race is between 5 to 6 hours. I know I have the capacity to finish within the average range based on my 40km effort some weeks ago, but perhaps only just. I even told my friends that I will be back around 1:30pm, corresponding to a 5:55-5:59 finishing time. Let’s hope I run as I promised.

The run started off well – I was situated in the last (slowest) wave so for me it was a comfortable meander down the Nellie's Glen stairs. The stair felt great this time. My last descend back in January was quite unpleasant and my knees were not feeling great afterwards. It did take us a good 20 minutes to get to the bottom though, but it was a nice warm up for what is to come. Single track was next. My training buddy and I were planning to run it together at least up to the Pluviometer (top of the main hill that everyone dreads – apparently there is a rain gauge there…I didn't see it though…) and then do our own gig.

Those crazy stairs at Nellie's Glen!

But if I remembered correctly I passed this person, shortly later there weren't anyone behind be any more. I called his name out and only hear a distant muffle. I thought – great…well I just keep going and hope he will catch up. He can’t be that far right? Eventually the track opens up and I was able to accelerate and settle into my normal pace. I was able to get into a good position and followed the congo line towards Cox’s River.  It was a nice “cool” crossing to the other side. The river was sitting quite low, given the rain the few days before. Remember to smile to the camera person!

That's the Cox's River crossing!

There was a line of 5 chairs for runners to sit down and clean their shoes from the river gravel. The volunteers asked for our shoes for cleaning. That was luxury! It was the highlight of my run! Wished I had a photo taken there instead!

The supply stations were very well stocked. An abundant amount of bananas, watermelons, lollies and gummy snakes, salted caramel GU later on in the run, and the usual electorate stuff and water. I found the GU brew stuff wasn't very nice (I think it was GU Brew...) – they tasted a bit bitter…but I drank it anyway...

The hike up the Pluvi was not as bad as I thought. Partly because I been on it during the Megalong Mega training run a month prior. As planned I power-walked my way up. No dramas. I was also amazed how many people I overtook over the 10K hill….it was crazy. I cannot believe it myself. The prep notes to the race was spot on – it is the over taking up the hills that counts, not the rush down to the river. I gain enough grounds up the hills to ensure a very comfortable 5:30-5:45 finish.

At around 37km I started to feel a pinch in my left calf. Cramp. Great. I think it’s either from dehydration, fatigue, poor form and/or inexperience on uneven trails.  From that point onwards I was forced to slow down a lot, dropping to a shuffling 7 minute/km pace. 5 kilometres to the finish a friend up ahead called out to me to hurry up. So I sped up a bit but, because I was tired, I didn't lift my knees up enough, and smack bang – down I went (again!). This third time I weren't so lucky and my RIGHT calf cramped up and was stuck on the ground for a good minute (and the embarrassment….eekkk!). I think my cramp in the end was really a blessing in disguise. If I was crampless I would have went quite hard and THEN I cramp and smash my face down the final 2.2km of downhill or even rolled off the cliff...

All in all I would have finished 5-10 minutes faster, but I am ecstatic and perfectly content all the same as I have finished in 5:42 which was a good 15 minutes faster time than expected. Hooray to us trail noobs!

Gears I used on the day:

2XU team race top, Lululemon shorts, Balega hidden comfort socks, Pearl Izumi N2 trails

I carried 8 gels – SIS Gel and ended up using 5.

I also carried my Chapstick with SPF15 – I don’t like sun burnt lips. I also find that stuff doubled as "zinc" when I needed some sunscreen on my nose.

That’s all you need really. The supply stations were very well stock of lollies, drinks, coke watermelons and bananas and gels. I was quite happy that I carried the SIS gel as they are quite watery and I could take them when I was feeling thirsty.

For more info check out their page sixfoot.com or google their Facebook page - there's more updated info there.

Post script

Did the race lived up to the hype? Yes – the atmosphere was electrifying to say the least.

Will I do it again next year? Unlikely. Perhaps one day when I am stronger and faster...then quizás, quizás, quizás...

The Six Foot Track Marathon - race report from a trail running noob - Part 2

The training

Every Saturday we woke up at stupid o'clock to do these long bush runs. Yes – every-single-Saturday - over the course of four months.

Gawd they were tough.

That was the primary reason why I won’t be doing this marathon for a long time...or any long trail runs that requires substantial training.

As tough as they were, these runs were necessary in building our legs and mental strength. When I did the first 10K bush run on 8 November 2014, every 500 metres felt like an eternity. (I looked at my Garmin as was like – that wasn’t even a kilometre!)

18 runs later (including 7x30KM+ runs), 10 kilometres in the bush still feel like an eternity.  However, I can handle eternity much better now. Eternity also felt shorter when you have fun training buddies to suffer with. Lucky us!

Things are easier when we suffer together!

Cox's River...15.5km into the course...

Random tree that looks like that tree in Mordor...

Around 10K to go till the finish - see the Jenolan plantation on the right...

11K to go - a map at the Black Ranges campsite

I find the worst trainings were those where we have to commute to the race site (Nellie’s Glen, Megalong Valley, Jenolan). Due to the sheer distance to the site, early starts (we had to start early to avoid the midday sun), and the drive back – the sheer fatigue – we were grumpy but we were too tired to be grumpy. Pretty much your day is gone by the time you get time.

And you just HAD to do them. You just have to. No amount of reading and chatting to people will prepare you more than actually checking out the site yourself. The experienced ones that have ran the course might be able to get away with doing less bush runs, but for us noobs – no escape.

I think that’s the key reason why my friend and I were successful in completing the race. Because - we did every single training run. On occasions we did a different one due to logistics, but every Saturday – without fail –we do our long bush runs. We are forever grateful that we did all of them.

The Six Foot Track Marathon - race report from a trail running noob - Part 1

I know nothing about trail running.

And that’s one of the reasons I entered in this particular marathon to understand what the hype is about. The other main reason was that I was looking for a time-filler between now and Berlin in September. 

Well, other miscellaneous reasons include:

•    It’s one of “those” bucket list things (like the NYC marathon…)
•     I (just) qualified so why not
•     I thought it will be cool to carry a waterpack on my back and go bush bashing
•     It’s “romantic” to be one with nature (smell the daisies, the fresh air, hear the leaves crunch      under your feet!!! Oh la la!!!)
•      Trail runners comes in cool colours and I want a pair

Dog's impressed with my new kicks!

The Six Foot Track Marathon is a somewhat different from the usual bush race – firstly, you have to qualify – primarily to ensure you have the base fitness to complete the race (they did say they were not being elitist on their website…). The standard is perfectly achievable – the most accessible would be a sub 4:20 marathon. There is also a plethora of other bush races that you can use to qualify with too. So it’s not overly difficult like UTMB or Western States 100.

But the notion that you have to ‘qualify’ made it more prestigious for some reason. Exclusivity much?

Secondly, it has a mandatory cut off time of 7 hours. This is because the track is still open to the public and being such a well-manned race, you really do not want the volunteers to be out in the sun for too long. And 7 hours is quite generous, given my earlier point that you have to qualify to enter.

Thirdly, it is a race that is manned by firefighters! That’s pretty cool stuff.  In return all proceeds will be donated to them for their service. Last year I think they raised around $55K. There’s been a change in the race fee structure this year so perhaps it means >$55K. I am a sucker for runs for a genuinely good cause.

Fourthly, because of (3), it is known to be an extremely well stocked trail race (most of the other ones you have to carry your own supplies…or have a support crew to help you out etc.) Every aid stations are stocked with fruit (watermelon, bananas, melon), lollies, Cola, GU (depends on the sponsor), as well as other electrolytes and of course water. There might be other food that I might have overlooked…

Finally, the registration: if you think TNF100 registration sold out quickly in 2 hours? This race sold out under 15 minutes this year.

So I am about to find out what the fuss is all about.

Somewhere in Berowra...