Up In The Brindies

Saturday:
Purpose: Long Run
Distance:  95.4 km
Time: 13 hours 51 mins 34 secs
Rate: 8' 43" per km
Altitude:  Gain:  3152 metres,  Loss:  2427 metres
Weather: mostly cloudy, some sun, temp range 10 degrees up to 18 degrees, humidity 70% down to 40%, wind cool southerly 10-15 kmph, calm high in the mountains

Week: 126.7 km,  Feb:  95.4 km,  Year:  618.15 km

It was a "Fat Ass" style run, not an official race as there was no entry fee, no official approvals & as such not many starters. However, with Martin Fryer as the leading ultra, ultra runner in Australia, as a competitor, it takes on a higher level of credibility.
Five of us started at Namadgi Visitors Centre at 6:00 am to immediately head up Mt Tennent. Very familiar with the Alpine Walking Track start to the top even in the early rays of daylight. It was cold so I wore 2 shirts and an old track suit top just to keep out the wind.
This meant I had an extra two pockets and could easy wrap it around my waist later on when & if the temperature climbed. However, with the climbing in altitude, the temp doesn't follow and it was very cool on top of Mt Tennent. Not a time to stop and enjoy the view. The view towards the west is where we where going, and I didn't want to know about that just yet.
Better off after a quick decent down the fire trail to turn on to Bushfold Flats for about a km or so to pick up the Alpine Walking track that took us past Booroomba Rocks to Honeysuckle Tracking Station.
This is wonderful single track and some of the best there is around here. Passed here by Dave Baldwin, Julie Quinn and another as they were off on a very long day out as well.
Martin had established a good lead on me along here and was almost 30 minutes in front at Honeysuckle after just a km in front after the top of Mt Tennent.
I was right on plan target, just 1 minute over at Honeysuckle, feeling good & running well.
A brief stop to get more to drink and eat from my crewman, Softshoe and down the steep ridge fire trail to Orroral Tracking Station. Lost a bit of time on this 10 km section taking 78 minutes as the first 3.5 kms is all up hill which I walked most of it.
The downhill is also very steep, but made up some time getting to the next drink station around 20 minutes late. A longer stop for a brief rest, a big restock of food and drinks cost me 14 minutes before I was off on the next 10 kms out to Smoker's Trail.
This has a long climb after 4 kms which I handled Ok, but lost time again on the plan target. It took me an hour 42 mins for the 10 kms, but I was still going well.
But the next section was unknown to me. I had never been past the intersection where Smoker's Trail heads north towards Corin Forest.
Signs up to say roadworks indicated the trail would be reasonably smooth. It was in good condition, a little soft in place due to recent rain but nice to run on and I ran the next 10 kms to the Cotter River bridge in 65 minutes. There was plenty of nice downhill here, so that pace was easy.
But what goes down, must go up. All this down was not good as we are climbing up to Mt Ginini at a height of 1700 metres, some 700 metres above where we are now.
That climbing is to be done over 20 kms, but the trail deteriorates for nearly all of that with too many rocks, water wash aways and generally rough. Not a fast section for me at all. I had planned on this taking 4 hours 30 mins, but I ran/walked strongly to get thru to Mt Ginini car park in 3 hrs 16 mins and made up all of the lost time plus more to now be in front of the planned 15 hours.
Softshoe met me coming in from the car park just after I went past Pryor's Hut where I had written in the visitor's book.
It was a couple of kms to the car park where I was due to be met by others, but the road after Mt Franklin is closed due to road works. So it is another 4 kms to run, but with company this time down the road to meet others plus race director Andrew and Martin who had already finished and was back having afternoon tea.
I still had about 16 kms to go, but being able to ditch the backpack and track suit, running was much easier. Stopped for around 10 minutes while having soup, toasted sandwich and a coffee, and it the final section to Bulls Head on a nice graded road with only a couple of short up hill parts.
Softshoe was still with me and we made good progress running nearly all of this last 21 kms in 2 hrs 43 minutes and making further gains on the target plan.
Finished at Bulls Head an hour and 6 minutes in front of target.
Martin finished in 10 hours 59 mins, I was 2nd, but wasn't a race in 13 hrs 51 mins, with the others in 15 hours, and 17 hours.
A very tough, long day. Not sure on how it would compare with North Face 100 km or an Alpine run in Victoria as I haven't ran those courses. Certainly tougher than an Glasshouse Mountains event.
A very nice day out, wonderful scenery and we were lucky with the weather, not hot & no rain which was fortunate.
Feel nothing worse than tired today, legs are Ok, fatigue level will come back in a day or so, then back into the training with Coburg 24 hour the next target event.
Next year, do it again? No, I will crew for Softshoe who now knows how it works. He was unlucky with a foot problem this year, so next year it's his to tackle.