Megalong Mega 2008

Thanks Ellie for the photo of Ben and myself taken just before we headed off.

This was my one and only look at the Six Foot Track before race day. It was quite a good day for it, with cloud cover for the whole morning keeping the temps down. There was a good turn up too, with around 140 people running/walking.

The run down to Coxs River took around 45-50 minutes of mostly single file track. Being stuck behind others was a good thing to avoid going too quick from the start. The river was waist deep and refreshing. The climbs up to Mini Mini saddle and Pluviometer were certainly steep and long, as expected. Most of the uphills were at as fast a walk as I could manage, other than the odd flat bit that I ran, and the downhill to Alum River.

I made it to the top of Pluvi 2:30 from the start, and had a short break before rolling my way back down.

After the river crossing on the way back I took my shoes and socks off to empty out quite a bit of sand and stones, which felt good. I also took my pack off and had a quick splash to cool down.

Gruelling describes the climb back up to Megalong Road from the river quite well. It was really hard work, but I was trying to run as much as possible on the flat to slight uphills, but some of the steps were a real struggle after 4+ hours. There was some light rain through this section that was very welcome. I made it back to the start in a few minutes over 5 hours, which included about 20 minutes of stops at the top of Pluvi, at the river, and the odd stone stop here and there.

There were a few other streams to cross between Cox's and Alum, and after 4 hours of being wet my feet were suitably shriveled at the end, but thankfully no problems with blisters.

It was great to get out there and see the course. The scenery was certainly beautiful although I didn't get to take it all in during some of the tougher sections.

I was interested to see how the steeper sections compare to the local climb I've been doing up to the top of Jolly Nose Hill, and was pleased to find that it was certainly no steeper than what I'm used to, just longer. So I can see myself heading back to that hill for some more local hill sessions once my legs get a week or so to recover (that would be about now!). Some acclimatisation is in order as well, so I think I need to throw in a long run or two later in the day and in some more open sections. I'm used to a bit more of a closed canopy than there was on the course, and I usually head out in the pre dawn cool, so I'm not used to the heat so much.

I actually thought my legs would be a lot worse than they were afterwards. They are a bit sore and stiff for a couple of days, but not too bad really.
I'm glad that I have the Salomon shoes, as it felt like the rockiness of some of the sections would have left my feet bruised and knocked around a bit otherwise.

I decided that my plan on race day would be to carry a spare pair of socks to change into at the top of Pluvi once I've crossed (hopefully) all the water. I think I'll take my fuel belt with just two bottles for convenience, which is nothing compared to the hydration pack and 4 fuel belt bottles used in training.

I was trying to work out a time based on the two and a half hours from Megalong to the top of Pluvi, and figured that anywhere around the 6 hour mark would be just fine by me.