Well here goes – my third Hunter Valley race but 1st race report on this event…
After finishing the HV Marathon in 2012 and 2013 (4th and 3rd place respectively), I was pretty hyped to see that in 2014 they had introduced an ultra marathon distance (53km), and immediately signed up. I found the marathon to be a great event in this part of the world – you get to run through some very scenic parts of the Hunter, do some kangaroo spotting and (with the exeption of the quite horrific out and back section of Debeyers Road), its an awesome and challenging course!
The full Marathon is actually 2 laps of the half, and the ultra was the same, but with the added 10km course thrown in for good measure. So, I knew straight off that I would have to get up the famous “Audrey Wilkinson Hill” 3 times – awesome! In terms of the distance I was pretty confident, I had run a steady 50km night run a few weeks back and a 35km the weekend before with no issues.
So – to race weekend. Saturday proved to be fairly relaxing but I probably had a little too much wine given the impending ultra – but what can you do when there so many great wineries around? We were staying at Cypress Lakes which is a nice spot, and I have to briefly mention the awesome guys at Brokenwood, who were our last stop on the way home and although they were effectively “closed” still let us in to pour us wine and hear me prattle on about running…
Saturday night was not so great – I had planned to get an early night and plenty of sleep but my baby son had other ideas, and I would approximate my sleep time at around 2 hours – with all of it being broken sleep. So on race morning it was safe to say I wasn’t feeling the best.
The usual cold snap greeted all the ultra runners and thanks to the organisers we got off on time and didn’t have to stand around too long. As we set off, I recognised the front runner as last year’s marathon winner who ran a damn fast race – so my immediate plan was to try and stick with him – and perhaps try to push him to marathon pace (for me) for the first hour and hope that he wasn’t a usual ultra runner and might struggle after 45 kms or so.
The first lap was uneventful, the ascent up to Audrey Wilkinsons winery was fairly easy, and after a rapid 10km, we settled down into something more akin to 50km pace and I tried to keep the leader in my sights. He was slowly stretching away however, and by end of lap 1 he was out of sight. I was also overtaken by 3rd place, and he looked very comfortable indeed. I was feeling good after 21kms, but was wondering how I could possibly catch the front 2. 🙁
On reaching the hill for the second time, the wind had kicked up and it was a bit of a fight to keep going, the wind had a real chill to it as well so it was very draining. I decided to bank some energy and walk half of it while chewing down a Mars bar and some energy drink. This was a good move, I felt pretty good on reaching the top and set off again. On getting to Debeyers Road on the out and back section, a little fatigue started to set in – the wind had stayed around and it wasn’t helping, plus this is the least interesting part of the course for me – the road is so straight and long you can just see forever and it really is strength sapping just to look down the road and see how far you have to go (and come back). It’s also a slight downhill, so you just keep thinking how you have to trudge all the way back up – ugh… I caught sight of the leader (going the other way obviously) who was probably a good 7 or 8 minutes on me already, and second place who wasn’t far behind and still looked strong – damn.
Strangely enough, by the time I had got to the McDonalds Road section, one of the marshals gave some encouragement and said “well done – keep going you are in second place”! Huh? what had happend to 1st or 2nd? I thought maybe one of them had run too quick on the first lap and had to bow out, or maybe the marshal was simply wrong – but then the next one also said the same thing, so someone had definitely dropped out. Anyway, it gave me a little boost and I flew into the gardens for the end of lap 2 and began the 10km course. By this time, there were a lot of slower runners/walkers on the course doing the other distances (thats not a criticism at all by the way) and it helped A LOT. Passing people is always a confidence booster no matter what and many of them shouted words of encouragement which was fantastic. In fact the enthusiasm of all the runners in this event is awesome and one of the main reasons I love this one so much – everyone is just so happy!
Anyway – its safe to say by the time I reached “the hill” for the third time, my legs were getting tired as hell. My hip flexors were pretty shot, and my knees were starting to hurt a little, so again I used this section to walk for 1 minute and absorb some sugar/carbs/liquid. Again, it proved to be a good idea, once at the top I was able to settle into a run once more. It was getting very painful now, but all the other runners on the course pushed me on – it was great. Hearing people cheer – “here’s an ultra runner, wow you guys are amazing!” just perks you up when you feel like you want to stop, and there was plenty of encouragement. By the time I was on the home stretch I knew I wouldn’t have to stop I could now keep pushing to the finish.
I was over the line in second place, and told that the front runner had actually been disqualified for using an iPod. It was stated on the rules, and also at the start that they were not allowed so I had refrained from using mine (i normally would use it in an ultra and especially one with multiple laps as it can get a little flat at times – and I did use it here for about 20 mins), but apparently he was warned multiple times by the marshals. I also had some communication from the race director who said he took the DQ very well, and accepted the decision graciously, so that’s good to know.
Also, the timing mats had screwed up, and since my Garmin had decided to to drain its own battery the night before, I had no idea what time I had finished in. I would guess approximately 4hrs 15mins…? (now found out from official time it was 4:13).
There was also further drama to come during the presentations when the winner and I were shocked to hear 2 other names called out for 1st & 2nd place! Eventually this was straightened out though, and obviously the faulty timing system was to blame here.
So, another great weekend at the Hunter and another great event I will be back next year to chase that 1st place that I just can’t quite seem to pin down, but given that I have now finshed:
2012: 4th
2013: 3rd
2014: 2nd
2015: ?
Pattern dictates that 2015 will be my year! 🙂