I Came....I Saw....I Carcoared!!!

The course

I have often been "adopted" by running clubs and invited to share in their weekends away whilst on my travels and last weekend was no exception. The Kirribilli Runners (KRs) were going out to take part in the Carcour Cup which was a festival of running, including junior races, a 6k "dash", a 10k run, a different 10k walk, a half marathon, a marathon and a marathon relay for teams of 4. The KRs had two mens' teams taking part in the relay race, whilst my friend Angus had entered the marathon.

 During the week I decided to enter the marathon and join them for the weekend (but then regretted my decision after doing my first ever barefoot soft sand run and scraping the skin off my delicate British feet, to leave the underside of my toes raw and weeping.....don't worry, I will not post a picture of that delight!).

Love a DIY carwash!!

It took about 5 hours to drive to Carcoar from Sydney, as we had to go across the Blue Mountains and out into the dry land on the far side......but the journey was broken up with some playing in a DIY carwash (well, the temperature was in the low 30s)!

Early morning at the PoW camp

Pacing a speedy 9 year old

On Saturday morning we headed over to Cowra parkrun which was an interesting course around an old Japanese Prisoner of War camp.....and was rather hillier than I expected (especially when you had to run the hills twice!). After finishing.....taking a surprise first finisher token and new CR.....I went back and ran the last 1/4 with a lovely 9 year old girl, as she had been waiting for her mother and was itching to stretch her legs a little bit faster. She was amazed to hear where I came from and wanted to know what it was like to run in snow 😂

The main (and only) street in Carcoar

It was difficult to refrain from drinking too many beers whilst watching the rugby World Cup final in the pub in Carcour on Saturday as the entire village (the population is about 200) seemed to be there, including the local police officers, but as the marathon was due to start at 8am on Sunday, getting too involved wouldn't have been the most sensible option.

The marathon and team relay both started at 8am (in the main street outside the pub) with the other events starting slightly later in the day, though participants were being taken to their various starts on buses across the morning. As we'd stayed in the pub (I had been on a blowup mattress in the corner of a room) it must've been the smallest distance I've ever travelled from bed to startline!

A quick countdown and we were off, with the usual split of people haring off the front to local applause and the rest of us setting off at a more sedate pace (very useful as the bridge over the creek within the first 50m had large studs protruding out of it, which could have easily tripped up an unsuspecting runner caught in a crowd). The race itself was marketed as an off-road marathon......which was sort of a misnomer as it was all on "road" but most of the roads were unsealed gravel and dirt. It was also sold as rather a hilly course....which unfortunately was a more accurate description, as my watch recorded over 700m of ascent during the race (which also started and finished at about 700m elevation).

Hanging around near the startline

There was no real easing into the course as we had our first steep climb within the first mile (though admittedly this was just before the tarmac ran out). I guess this didn't bother me as much as those who had gone off at a fast pace as although I was initially chugging along as about 6th lady, I overtook a few going up that hill (oddly enough they seemed to be constantly checking their watches for their pace).

It was funny to see a "100" limit sign marking the edge of town, just as we hit the rough gravel.....and I really doubted that anyone would attempt to drive anything approaching that speed even if the road had been tarred as there was hardly a straight stretch as we wound up and down what seemed like every hill in the vicinity!

Waterstations were manned by local families :-)

I could vaguely see a Russian lady disappearing off in to the distance ahead of me, but she looked very comfortable and relaxed, and I had no urge (or ability) to go chasing after her (my main goal for the event was to finish within 5 hours which would qualify me for an iconic Australian run next year.....the 6 Foot Track....and I certainly hadn't trained or prepared for a good marathon race). I was actually rather glad that I wasn't much closer to her and a few men ahead of me when I saw some kangaroos decide to cross the road just as they were running past.....as they were very nearly taken out by them!

Not the flattest race profile I've seen!

The route seemed to do an awful lot of climbing with much less descending, and after passing another man, I was all alone so it reminded me of a lonely Comrades training run (except for the fact that most of it was on unsealed roads). Depending on corners and inclines, I would occasionally spy a runner ahead, but they never seemed to get much closer. The fact that there was a marathon relay did break it up a bit, as a fast second leg runner sped past me soon after her started and I watched him reel in those further up the road, but then I, in turn, passed a couple of relay runners, including one of the KRs.

Ups and downs...

Some of the climbs were very short and sharp but a few times you could see several hundred metres ahead of you. One of these sections was at about the 12 mile mark and so I decided to clock when the Russian lady passed a small dirt road junction....and measured myself as being almost exactly a minute behind her. I was feeling good at this point at we hit the tarmac of Neville and I gradually closed the gap. Being cheered on by the KRs at the next relay changeover helped (those waiting to run and those that had just finished running) as the first time I passed it, I was just behind her, and after looking round the "town" (about 7 houses) and passing them again I'd moved past her.

I remember people saying to me that when they pass someone, they try to pass them definitively and so make it look easy. I've never really done that before, but tried to this time, commenting that she was going well and looking great. The reply was more panted than spoken (with a string Russian accent)....."Are you Team? Not my competition?" I didn't really want to get into a whole conversation about it so I said I was running alone but racing my friends in teams :-)

Some of the views were definitely
worth the climbs

By the time we left Neville, I knew that I was a good 15 miles into the run, and though I thought I'd soon be overtaken by the Russian lady again (the next few miles were on road, and initially flatter before starting to undulate again) I managed to get into more of a rhythm. I felt like I was running really slowly but when I looked at my watch, it reassured me that I was going faster than I thought.....which was also borne out by overtaking another couple of guys, both solo and relay runners, and by getting a nice cheer from a relay team driving past to the next changeover.

As I climbed up to the final relay switch, one of the KRs was in the road looking for his runner. He reassured me that I had a decent gap on the next lady (which did surprise me) and I realised that their team wasn't about to catch me either, as their next runner wasn't yet fully stripped off!

Hanging in an honorary KR t-shirt

The final section was on forestry/gravel roads again, and contained the steepest climbs of the whole run. I was definitely feeling rather tired, hot and bothered by this point (and actually ate the only sweets I managed to take in on the whole run). The run was definitely less lonely by this point as I'd caught up to the tailenders of the half marathon (they started at Neville 45 minutes after we started). I can't say it was fun to be running in the dust churned up by the rural fire service sweeping their course, but at least they weren't going fast enough to stir much up. Passing these guys did make sure that I kept running (well, I guess you could still call it running) up even the steepest of slopes.....though all I wanted to do was walk. The road climbed and climbed with several false summits, and just as I felt that I had to give in and walk, I crested the pass at thankfully grabbed water from the last aid station.

The last mile doesn't look nearly
as steep in a photo!!

From here it was "mainly" downhill.....ha....whilst there were some incredibly steep descents (I was a bit dubious of my grip on the gravel and sand) there were also some definite "rises" to test your determination. Finally I hit the tarmac and knew I only had about a mile to go. I had no idea if I was about to be passed (either by the Russian or the KR B team) but I could do no more than I was doing. The road descent was rather steep and I was rather worried that my quads would give out, but I made it onto the flag and managed to summon on some more energy for the last 800m or so.

 

Crossing the line after a High 5
with the Race Director

Many people cheered me on that stretch, the KR A team who'd already finished, the KR B team awaiting their final man, locals, people I'd met at Cowra parkrun the night before, and several others. The race director was standing in the middle of the high street announcing every runner in and so I High 5'd him before heading for the line and some verb welcome water to pour over my head. I was just happy to be finished, uninjured......and the results were an added bonus!

 

Celebrating with the 2 KR relay teams

Angus had decided to call it a day at Neville so arrived back safely soon afterwards and we all went to the pub to celebrate as the KR teams had finished 1st and 2nd in the relay race with me actually splitting them in the results! What a lovely, if tough, race and atmosphere ......definitely a good weekend away!