Narrabeen Allnighter

I'm am almost certain that most people would think that I was certifiably crazy to even consider a 12 hour overnight run, never mind finish it the morning of a 24 hour flight back from Australia to the UK. It was not exactly how I'd imagined spending my last night in Australia, but as my friend Rod was doing it, I figured that I wouldn't get much sleep if I went to the start to see him off, supported for a bit and was then there for the last hour or so (especially as it would take me the best part of an hour to get there) so I might as well enter it. It started at 8:30pm and finished at 8:30am - I'm quite clumsy when running in daylight so I was rather worried about falling over in the dark as it was officially a "trail race", and I've never run continuously for that long before. There was an option of a midnight marathon, but that would be wholly in the dark (as you'd hope to finish before dawn) and would probably just involve me hanging around stressing about it after the overnighters set off, so I thought it probably wasn't a better option.

The route was an out and back loop of just over 5K along the edge of the Narrabeen lakes, and to get over one of my worries about how gnarly it might be, we took the kids for a bike ride round the lake whilst we "ran" alongside. That proved to me that the course was nothing to be scared of - 500m of it was on a paved cycle path and the rest was groomed trail/path with the odd metal boardwalk, sharp corner and a little incline or two. My main worry was not physical but rather mental, but Rod told me to stop worrying about it and just get on with it, as he was sure I'd be fine and do well!

My favourite volunteer role!

On the Saturday morning I couldn't lie in, so was up early and went to volunteer at North Sydney parkrun. I marshalled at an interesting corner (runners come at you from 2 direction on all 3 laps and you have to direct them round 90 degree bends without them crashing into runners going the other way) but spent half the time doing an interesting "mosquito slapping" dance as I was under the trees. My main role at parkrun was actually manning the fundraising cake/cookie/icy pole stall. Most people will have heard about the terrible bushfires sweeping through Australia so we were having a fundraiser sale of homebaked (and purchased) goods for the rural fire station at Rainbow Flat, which had itself been destroyed when flames rushed through the town. The twin brother of one of the runners I know is a "firie" there....and the support was amazing. Not only did people buy the cakes etc but many of them made considerable donations, including from family members overseas, eg in the UK (it was definitely a bonus having a creditcard reader there), and we raised over $1500 - which apparently was just the start of it, as several other parkruns then followed suit over the next few weeks - brilliant work!!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing (trying to sleep but I'm rubbish at that when I know I "need to" so mainly watching TV) in front of the fan (as it got up to 41 degrees), carb loading.....and obviously worrying :-)

Leftover cakes became the aid station

We headed over to Narrabeen at about nice and early for the 8:30pm start but there still weren't any parking spaces nearby, dropped off a chair and some bags (containing a change of shoes, towels, snacks, jackets etc) not far from the start/finish turnaround area, made up some drinks bottles and left them on a table and tried to register. It was all rather disorganised, but eventually we got our numbers (and a free visor etc which I immediately donated to my friend who was selling the rest of the day's fundraising cakes), chatted to a runner or two and generally milled about waiting for the briefing and the start. The briefing (which in itself was a non event as you couldn't really hear anything and he didn't say much) and the start were both rather delayed, as the timing company arrived relatively late and then had to set up. Most people had their own support crews or were running the 2 person relay event, so there was not much of a general aid station.....in fact, it appeared almost as if this was a first-time event, not one which had been running for several years!

The "trophy" table set out at registration

Although it was almost dark by now, it was still in the high 20s so I actually stripped off my vest and decided just to run in a crop top and running skirt, though left my vest near my water bottle in case I wanted it as it cooled off later (wishful thinking maybe!). We all set off together (solos and relay runners) so had to be careful not to trip over the timing mats, and then there was a crush over the little footbridge that was really only wide enough for 1 or 2 people. The path from the footbridge suddenly turned a right angle to the right, and so we were all slightly confused as to which way to go, but everyone headed in slightly different routes across the grass straight ahead and over a rooty/sandy section back to join the trail path as it returned to the lakeshore. What made this section slightly more confusing it that we had to pass a BBQ area where a large group were having a party with alcohol, music and disco lights. When I first heard the noise, I had thought that it was entertainment put on by the race organisers but it son became apparent that it wasn't, especially as they got rather more inebriated as the race went on (but in a nice way as although you sometimes had to run round them, they were all trying to be encouraging to the runners....in their own special way, whether that involved waving drinks bottles, cheering or trying to high 5 us!!).

Rod and I started off running together which was really nice as we could chat and it meant that we set off at a nice steady relaxed pace (though I did worry that I was holding him back) and the light from his headtorch was good enough for the initial dwindling light that I didn't even need to turn mine on for the first couple of laps. We stuck together for the first 4 laps (each lap was just shy of 5.3K) hardly more from a pace or two apart which was really nice as the field was initially quite crowdy and you had to be careful not to crash into other people, trip over the odd stone and then duck the occasional low branch. There were a few twists and turns on the course and a small incline that I was sure would feel like a major hill later on.

At the end of the 4th lap, I stopped to grab something to eat at the aid station and then carried on round the turnaround cones and over the timing mat. Rod had stopped for a fraction longer than me, but I was sure he would catch me up just as he had on all the previous laps when I rounded the 180 slightly quicker than he did, as his basic stride length and pace was greater than mine. I spent all of that run out expecting him on my shoulder, and I thought that everyone I heard coming onto my shoulder was him. It was really hard to work out what was going on race-wise, not only as we had so long to go, but because some of the relay runners were swopping every lap, some seemed to be doing a few laps each, and some people had obviously changed the event they were in - stepping up or down from relay and solo, and still others had taken the places of those who'd pulled out so there were some men running with ladies' names and vice versa.

Unfortunately we didn't run together again after that, but it was nice being able to recognise someone else when you were going the other way or passing them.....and working out relative separation distances lap by lap did help pass the time. The marathon runners started at midnight and joined the melee, adding slightly to the confusion. Luckily I had already passed the start/finish turnaround before they set off, so by the time I met them on my return leg, the field had spread out and we could all pass each other. Another few laps passed by as I waited to be overtaken by the leading marathon man! I was really glad that the marathoners had joined in to add another slight dimension to the run, as from about 4-5 hours in, I was rather "over it" and really wondered what I was doing taking part....and why o why I hadn't just done the marathon (I definitely would have done if you could have started the marathon at 8:30pm as I felt fine passing through that distance).

Not the most exciting of routes!

I saw Rod ahead of me on one lap and spied that he'd changed his shoes, and he confirmed that he had started to get blisters on one foot, but that the change of shoes had really helped. Soon after that I missed seeing him on a lap or two, and then I couldn't spot him any more. I had been secretly hoping that he'd suggest we call it a day and go home, but as I didn't see him again to suggest it myself,  I just had to hoped that everything was OK. I gave myself small targets to get through each lap.....at the end of this one, it may be starting to get light so you can ditch your headtorch (I was getting a headache from wearing it and it did make it harder to pour water over my head at the aid stations).....OK, so not that one but definitely after the next one!

Not sure if this was when
they realised I wasn't in my 20s!

Finally it got light enough (a kind of hazy red sun, from the smoke in the air from the bushfires) that I turned my light off, and thankfully put it down on a table as I picked up some crisps, cookies (yes, I had been eating crisps, cookies, sweets and small pieces of cake from the aid station as well as the occasional pieces of cut fruit!!) and my bottle. After running round the turnaround marker, I heard Rod shout - he came over from where he'd been sitting with our gear and would pick up the torch from where I'd left it. It was nice to see him again, but it only clicked into my tired brain after I'd headed back out again, that he might have stopped running completely and not just be taking a break. I decided I'd ask him when I came back the next time, but I couldn't see him anywhere so off I went again. This time I was motivated to run that lap, as it would take me over 100km, which was the >40s female record. 

In a way, I have to be thankful that he wasn't hanging around the start/finish area and had gone to get changed and have a little sleep, as if I'd spotted him, I would have gone over to ask if I could stop and we could go home, but as it was, I just had to keep going. Those last few hours did seem to stretch out away from me, even with my little "targets" (1 more lap for the overall female record, another for the male >40 record, now you might as well just keep going etc etc).

Cat and mouse...

As I passed the start/finish on one lap, the organiser told me I was "running so well, we'll have to get drugs testers"....it turned out that in the dark, he'd though I was a young runner (in her 20s....I think that's a compliment) that was running too fast and would then have to stop, but as it got lighter he realised that I wasn't so young (not sure that's a compliment) and so might run a decent distance! On another lap I was announced as the "race leader", only to hear him correct himself to "female race leader" as a guy passed me. The last few laps became a game of cat and mouse with this guy.....he would be walking up ahead of me, and I trot past (not fast but steady) and so he'd start running again and shoot past, only for the process to be repeated again and again.

Not such bad consistency
for the full laps!

The organisers had said that if we completed a full lap with enough time to get to the far end timing mat before the 12 hours ran out, we could go there and that distance would be counted, so I spent the last 90minutes of the event trying to calculate this in my head. In a way I kind of hoped that I would not have time for that final outrun, but my stubbornness wouldn't let me slow down enough for this to happen and I found myself pushing the last bit (well, as much as I could as that small incline was definitely a mountain by now!). When I came to the start/finish for the final time, I knew that I had just about enough time to get to the far end again, but the leading man had just stopped. Everybody yelled and whooped when I was asked if I was going again and I replied "of course", so he restarted running too. As we were running along the trail, I asked if he'd like to run and finish together, but he replied that no way was he finishing with a girl (again, it may have been a compliment to be called a girl by someone half my age, but it did seem to take away from the whole friendly supportive nature of all the other runners.....and it's not as if there were any prizes or anything!). 

Waiting for the results...

With the male winner

I was happy to let him go, as the worry that I might not get to the far end before the clock ran out (and so that rep would have been for nothing) kept me going. I have never been able to sprint, and certainly not against a much younger man with much longer legs, so we finished on the same distance, with him a few seconds ahead. 

I do have to thank him and his friend (a relay runner who also finished at the far end) though, because as we were painfully walking back to the start, they spotted some friends who had come to support them, and they kindly gave us a lift back to the start. I had been told by a friend who'd done the event previously that they cooked a fabulous breakfast at the finish, but unfortunately austerity rules and there was no such breakfast, so I just gorged on anything left over at the aid station before we headed home for a well-earned wash.....and then for me to head to airport after a brief nap!

How to finish a holiday :-)

What a way to end your holiday, but I'm glad I did it, as it taught me that I am mentally stronger than I think I am.....though by the time I was driving to work in the cold and dark at 8am 2 days later, I could hardly remember running through a 5am dawn in a crop top and running skirt!!