2018 Gone Nuts 25K

I pulled up after last Saturday’s Tassie Trail Fest’s Derby Half Marathon in surprisingly good condition in comparison to 2017. Last year I could barely move at the end of the run whereas this year I could move relatively freely, so much so that on Monday afternoon, as we waited for the van to be serviced, Val and I walked around Cataract Gorge, and I even tried a little bit of easy jogging. It left me eager to get back into training but, and this is a big but, the Gone Nuts 25K is on this Saturday. Most of my soreness had gone by Tuesday, even though I have had it for months – with the exception of the right hamstring which is still a bit tender. As I looked over Val Warwick’s marvellous photos of Friday night’s “Dash for Cash” and Saturday’s events they made me want to do more than just the one run. I don’t know if we will be around for next year’s event but if we are I would hope that I am up to doing two or three different runs.

By Wednesday I was beginning to experience a bit of foreboding about the Gone Nuts 25K. I know I handled Derby quite well, except for the twentieth km, but could I repeat the effort, this time from Boat Harbour to Wynyard? Would my hamstring hold out like it did for Derby? Or would I end up hobbling to the nearest Aid Station? Strange how the mind can play tricks on you, so much so that I became hesitant about even starting. However, we went along to RunClub for our usual 20 Out/20 Back. I commenced by walking the first km, running easily the second, jogging the third and trying various paces for the fourth and fifth kms. My hamstring felt really good while running though my legs, feeling leaden, weren’t so easy to lift. That only gave me 60 hours to recover for Gone Nuts. At least I began to feel more positive about the 25K than I did earlier in the day.

On Thursday Val and I went for a hardish 6 km walk along the foreshore at East Devonport up to Tea Tree Lane. Again the right hamstring seemed to hold up well, even though it felt tight the following morning. All seemed to be in readiness for the following day’s big run. And I am already feeling a few butterflies in the stomach as I anticipate the event.

We drove up to Wynyard so I could register and attend the pre-race briefing, and the stomach began to churn again. At least it settled down once we had arrived and done everything we had to. It was great to catch up with some of our Devonport folk. After a hearty, carb-loaded meal lovingly prepared for me by Val, my greatest supporter, encourager and friend, I finished my packing and headed for bed, confident that I had everything prepared and ready for the 5.00 am alarm to go off. I planned to do a quick double check before we left after which it would be too late if I had forgotten something.

It was early to bed because the alarm was set for 5.00 am. However, even after Val and I had had our nightly reading I didn’t go straight to sleep. It wasn’t that I tossed and turned – it was just that I couldn’t get to sleep until at least 1.00 am. Perhaps it was a mixture of anticipation and concern over my hamstring, which I could feel when I straightened out my leg and stretched my toes. Not a happy chappie with that, so what will happen during the run?

Well, it was up at 5.00 am to the gentle sound of the alarm disturbing my sleep so I could make a pot of tea and my porridge, which included sultanas, a crushed Weetbix, home-made yoghurt and milk. After breakfast I weighed myself once I was fully dressed in my running attire and was 82.6 kg but was 86.7 kg with my fully laden Salomon pack. I threw in a banana to eat on the way and we left home at 6.20 am. I started eating the banana once we hit the Bass Highway but soon saw a flashing sign telling us to deposit fruit into the roadside bin because of the fruit fly that had been discovered in our area of Tasmania. Val quickly took the skin and deposited it in the bin while I ate the banana. We made good time, arriving around 7.30 am so we had a good hour to fill in with chatting to friends, having a coffee and a quick trip to the toilet before we were lined up on the beach, having already crossed the starting line. During this time Val had been wandering around with her trusty camera taking her great photos – and hasn’t she had some marvellous reactions and comments of appreciation from people over the quality of them. Sadly, though, the second battery hadn’t recharged so that was a possible issue for later in the day. It wasn’t till I looked back over some of her early morning Boat Harbour photos that I realised how beautiful a morning it was. And I missed it. I wonder why?

And then we were off along the Boat Harbour Beach and heading for the slippery rocks, about which we have been warned because they brought a few people to grief last year with sprained ankles. I tried to catch Val’s eye as I ran past but I was lost to her in the large crowd of 288 runners, of whom four sadly did not finish the run. After we had run part way along the beach I looked at my Garmin in surprise because we were running at around 5.40/k. That was way too fast so I eased off the pace and let others go past, while still keep an eye on Darlene, who was ahead of me at this stage, as we had planned to run together. As we neared the end of the beach there were rocky outcrops, boulders and rocks, over which we had to clamber – some of them were covered with green slime, obviously meaning that they could be quite slippery. Then followed the much smaller stones, but these moved under the feet as we carefully walked on them. The first km ticked over at 6.40. We left these stones to head diagonally up the first hill, and farmers had done a great job of mowing the grass for us. They certainly made our run more enjoyable and that much easier – it meant less seeds and other things caught in socks and shoes. So up the hill we plodded, walking at times to conserve energy for later on. For the next km I had an elevation gain of 51 metres and a time of 9.52. And then it was down and up again giving me an overall decline of 19 metres, for a third km of 8.13. I think that it was somewhere in this section as, coming down the hill there was a farm family cheering us on. As I knelt down I received a high five from a little girl standing beside her mother and then from the little one in her arms. How encouraging to have these kind people taking time out to do this for us. And all the time I kept on sipping either my made up Staminade or water as I felt the need.

We followed both rough tracks and vehicle tracks through paddocks and as we continued to follow the coastline with its magnificent views. The sun came out from behind the clouds and it began to feel hot. But on we pushed towards our goal. We walked the hills – at least those around me walked the hills for I don’t know what the leaders were doing, though I presumed that they were running them. But we wanted to conserve our energy and strength so we could finish well. One of the farm families was manning a water station. I skipped the water but took two Snickers. A bit stuck in my throat that left me coughing and spluttering for quite some time. But they were a disappointment to me, as they didn’t have the positive effect that they had on Mr. Bean! Surely that is false advertising! The 5 km mark was past, so that was 20% of the race completed and here began the greatest success story of my limited trail running career. This success was that I not only carried gels with me but, unlike my two Derby Half Marathons, I actually began to use them. I had four with me, and I planned to have one at the end of every 5 km. So the first gel was successfully consumed. All the time I was carrying a printed plan of the elevation and distances so I could keep track of what was coming up. I’m a bit of a stats man. If I do it again next year I will also carry my kilometre splits – though just for the sake of comparison.

By the sixth km we were back on the shoreline walking over seaweed, rocks and pebbles. My feet slipped on one occasion but, fortunately, no damage was done. During the seventeenth km we left the rocks and stones and began a long ascent/descent/ascent (11.23/k for an overall ascent of 62 metres). We found ourselves on a farm road, which brought us to Tollymore Road where we had to put on our safety vests to comply with the requirements of using a section of public road. And there, standing beside a gate post was Val snapping away. I hadn’t seen her at first because she was obscured by other runners, though I had seen the car. We put on our best smiles for her to record for posterity. As usual, she shouted out words of encouragement. We followed Tollymore Road for a couple of km and the pace picked up because of the overall relative flatness of this part of the course. I was ahead of the girls at this stage because Darlene’s husband had stopped to supply them with some essentials. I slowed my pace, constantly looking behind myself to see where they were. As I left Tollymore Road a kind lady folded my safety vest and put it away in the pocket of my Salomon running vest. I was now at my tenth km so I took out another gel – won’t Val be pleased with me!!! Sadly, as I began to run down the driveway of another property one of the competitors was walking back up the hill, using a branch as a crutch because he had sprained his ankle. Running down this driveway was such a change as we were in the shade and the temperature dropped. That was just so good.

We had had to climb over farm fences and folding aluminium ladders had been placed over them so we could get over safely. Even so, at one of them I lost my balance and almost fell into the fence. On another occasion there was a closed farm gate we had to climb over. Lisa managed to get her foot stuck and needed help freeing it. Oh, the joys and tail running. Then it was another steep descent before a two km section of equally steep ascent. By this time I was starting to do a little doubling back to keep an eye on one of my friends who seemed to be starting to find some sections a little more of a struggle. Yes, it was hard and still there were tougher sections to come. This current section included a narrow dirt track that rose up steeply and could have passed for a cow track through the bush, except that cows are more sensible than trail runners and wouldn’t walk straight up hill. By the time I started up it there had had many feet trampling over it. Even so, it was still not compacted. Everything below our knees became encased in good, rich red dirt – my poor white socks will never be the same again. By now I desperately needed a toilet as my bladder was finding it harder and harder. But, unlike Derby the previous week, there were so many female runners close by that I just had to hold on until we arrived at Table Cape Lighthouse. Runners were beginning to feel the strain and dropping off the pace but it wasn’t long before we reached Lighthouse Road. Those vehicles visiting the lighthouse drove along the gravel road so very slowly that I didn’t even put my safety vest on. I made straight for the portable toilets and then to the aid station where I took one piece of orange. Troy Reader, one of the 50K runners, was there as well. I didn’t want anything else so I pushed on along the Table Cape Walking Track to the lookout that perches high above Wynyard. As the fifteenth km rolled over I took out another gel and deliberately exaggerated my use of it just to let the ever supportive Val know what I was doing. I also held up three fingers so she would know that I was now onto my third gel. I think she was pleased to know that I had finally come to my senses – perhaps not possible for one who takes part in Gone Nuts – and was using them.

Now that I was on Table Cape Road I put my safety vest back on, and decided to leave it on for the rest of the run home. I was now in front of Darlene and Susan who had stopped at the lookout because Darlene’s support crew, her husband Greg, was there so I continued down Table Cape Road by myself, watching Troy slowly disappear down the road to the next farm driveway. Once I reached that driveway I slowed my pace waiting for my running mate Darlene to catch up again. Susan outpaced me when she caught up so she could take more of her wonderful photos and videos of the event. As we ran on up an incline there came, lifting over the horizon just in front of us a couple of hang gliders. They moved so effortlessly on the thermals as we ran on over the undulating grassy hills. Now, as we edged closer to the cliffs, stunning views again presented themselves to us. We were in clear open spaces running downhill when I again felt my watch vibrate, telling me that it was losing and regaining the GPS signal. I can understand this happening in heavily treed areas but not in the open paddocks. I began to wonder how much under distance my watch would record by the end of the run. At around eighteen km I felt my hamstring for the first time. Surely it isn’t going to go at this late stage! But no! It settled down and didn’t cause me any further concern for the rest of the race. I found my left hip was more troublesome, but there was nothing I could do about it. I thought of my friend Bec who pushed herself at times with hip soreness. Thus I would do the same.

Running through a an open paddock gate we found ourselves heading along a cul-de-sac, where new development was taking place before the ascent up Fossil Bluff that took its toll on some of the runners. One young lady was struggling with cramps but declined any offer of help. Then it was down Fossil Bluff along Golf links Road that ran beside the Inglis River. We were now so close we could almost smell the finish line – but no, that was the Inglis River! Again I did some doubling back so the three of us could stay together. Crossing the bridge we were, unlike last year when there was no marshal to direct people along the proper course, a marshal stopped us for traffic before letting us cross the road to take a bush circuit behind the Table Cape Primary School. I really felt like running faster and faster along this easy bush track with its undulations. At the end of the large loop we were back at the road crossing and we were on the home stretch. The Inglis River Walkway went through the Cape Bridge Reserve. We overtook a couple more runners; passed the Wynyard Cemetery; and then we were in the Richard Gutteridge Memorial Gardens, where the finish line was soon in sight. We quickened our pace for a final fast run home.

I offered to be the thorn between two roses as, with Susan on my left and Darlene on my right, we held hands to cross the line together – even as I write this on Sunday evening the emotion of that moment has got to me and I have tears running down my face. Amidst the cheers and applause from those gathered along the finishing race I allowed the two girls to be slightly ahead of me to cross the finishing mat and have our times recorded. And my beloved immediately came up to me with a big congratulatory hug! Unlike last week at Derby where Darlene was handing out the medals and put it around my neck, these medals were just given to us. But not to be content, Darlene took my medal and placed it around my neck and then I did the same for her. The three of us shared hugs and congratulations for we had done it together, while running our own races.

But the day wasn’t over by any means. The run had taken its toll on each of us in different ways. Darlene had suggested that we needed to go back and run another friend home. So Susan and I ran back until we found her on the homeward stretch. Darlene joined us towards the end of that stretch and we had the joy of seeing her cross the line amidst the cheering and applause for another runner who had done so well. I offered to go back along the track for another friend who was taking a bit longer than his family had expected. I was fairly close to the bridge over the Inglis River before I saw him so we were able to run back together. His young son joined in running with him for the last couple of hundred metres.

So now it was time for a wash and change of clothes. I had brought a thermos flask with us with hot water and was able to give myself a good wash and get out of my wet running gear. That felt better. But we had a couple of friends doing the 50K run. Val was in contact with the mother of one of them so we had a bit of an idea where they were. At what I thought was an appropriate time I started walking back along the track to the bridge. I sat there talking with the marshal until I could see them emerging from the bush loop that was behind the Table Cape Primary School. I walked up to meet them and we walked and ran back together. Thus I could watch them cross the line amidst the roar of applause and cheering.

We didn’t want to leave until the first of the 101K runners had completed his run. He was a Japanese runner visiting Tasmania who had seen the run online and entered. In his interview he said that he found the hills easy – at least compared to Japan’s much hillier topography – but that he didn’t like running on the sand. He had put in an incredible effort, finishing some 35 minutes under last year’s time. So we said our goodbyes and headed home.

As I reflect on my run I can honestly say that it was enjoyable and, while I walked the hills, I didn’t find it too hard or demanding a course. Perhaps that was because I wasn’t pushing myself too hard. I was part of a team who started together and we were determined to finish together. Having completed this run I want to do it again. Knowing friends who competed in the 50K then I am sure that I could successfully run that distance but should I try the 25K for a good PB? Only time will tell. In the meantime, I have my sights set on a possible run in the Bruny Island Ultra marathon in December. Of course, that all depends on what happens in the next nine months. At least I would have my fantastic support crew with me all the way. J And even though this week must be an easy week for my body to recover properly all I want to do is to get out and run as free as the wind blows; run up hill and down dale; run across paddocks and along trails. It’s in the blood and I was created to run. The comments attributed to Eric Liddel, the great Scottish runner and missionary to China, who sacrificed his life for Christ, come to mind.

The main highlight for me was running across the finish mat with Darlene and Susan. Other highlights were running back with Lisa, Brett and then Danika and Lisa. Then there were the occasions of being able to give people a bit of a helping hand when they needed it.

The only negative I had was that Snickers bars might help Mr. Bean but they did absolutely nothing for me. J

I completed the race without any significant injuries. I did have one toenail that was almost off at the end of the race but it was nearly off anyway, so that didn’t count. The hamstring soreness that appeared at 18K soon disappeared while my left hip and quad were niggling away without causing any major issues. I did find that both heels were sore. That must have been brought about by the downhill running, even though I zig zagged down them as this allowed me to run them faster and more lightly on my feet. The only cramping I experienced was in the hands – firstly when uploading my run through Garmin Connect and then in driving home. Obviously, if you prepare well and take sufficient fluids and gels during the race then the body can handle it.