The Tip Track Marathon 2018

I wasn’t supposed to be running in this event. I shouldn’t have put on my shoes, grabbed a water bottle and headed out to the start of the race in time for the canon to go off.

image source - Sharron Came Thanks very much

I’ve only just started recovering from a stomach bug followed by the flu – which kept me bed ridden for a week. It took three days before I could hold down food, and it took me all day just to eat one apple. So it’s fair to say I was not in top form.

I had decided to pull out of the race and just turn up to film it, and see if I could make a nice promo video and try some things out with my camera. So I messaged Brad, the race director, and told him I was out. It would be stupid to try and do the race when I still had difficulty breathing.

On the Friday before the race I really wanted to see how bad things had got, so I went out for a gentle jog around my 10km circuit. I completed the circuit in less and an hour (just) without too many problems. I could feel my legs turning to jelly at about the 9th kilometre, so I knew my endurance just wasn’t there at all.

So what to do? I really wanted to participate in the race, but doing the full course might do some real damage and set back my recovery by months. So I thought I’d try for a Fun Run – only three laps (21kms). I could quit at any stage and then just film for the rest of the day. That sounded like a plan.

So, first thing in the morning I got up, prepped for the race and headed off to the Tip Track for the ultimate stress test of my heart, lungs and legs.

I’m not saying it was a smart thing to do.

I arrived and signed in, and then stood with the other runners, of which there was quite a few. It was surprising just how many crazy people there were at the start line waiting for the canon to go off.

Yes, that’s right. They had a real freakin’ canon!

The fuse was lit and we all watched it burn down and disappear inside. There was a nervous few seconds as we all wondered if it would go off. But just as we were all thinking it wasn’t going to fire, it burst into life with a boom and a ball of flame.

We were off!

The first part of the track is quite steep, so we weren’t off very fast. That suited me fine. I slotted into the crowd and just plodded uphill as fast as my heart would let me. By the time I was halfway up the first lap, I was nicely warmed up and feeling quite good, so I pushed hard on the flatter section, trying to make the best time I could.

The second steep section turned out to be a bit more difficult however. I was still running, but now I was wheezing quite a lot, and it was becoming harder to breathe. The top was not far, I told myself, and then I’d have a nice long downhill to recover on. All I needed to do was hang in there for a bit longer.

I reached the top, and gratefully turned around for the first descent of the day. On checking my watch I found I’d run the first ascent faster than I’d ever run it before – a PR on my first leg. Happy with that!

I took it a bit easy coming down, trying to get my heart rate down, and get some recovery. Other runners were flying past me, bouncing from rock to rock at a speed I could only dream of. Not everyone made it up and down safely. Blood was spilled and I saw a few people in later laps running with bloodied patches on arms and legs. Respect the track or it will bite you.

I made it down and turned to head back up. At this stage I was feeling the fatigue, but I felt there was enough left in the tank for a couple more laps. So it was back to the uphill grind again.

It was actually really cool to be passing other runners coming down, and then runners going up, as I headed back down to the start. Everyone was encouraging everyone else, and all the time with a smile. It was amazing to me that people who were pushing so hard, could be so generous with their support.

I tried to call out encouragement myself, but after a while I had no breathe free for a ‘Good job’ or ‘well done’. Not even ‘you’re nearly there’. I tried to grimace in a friendly way and clap them past, while doing my best to get out of their way.

By now my legs were starting to come apart and things were starting to hurt. I knew when I got to the bottom for the second time that I’d only have one more lap in me. Trying to go for more would just mess me up really badly, and there was no point in hospitalising myself trying to complete something my body just wasn’t capable of.

I started the third lap walking. This was the telling point for me really. I’d run the first two laps, but now trying to run was getting harder and harder. Still, I ran the bits that I could as well as I could and cheered on those who passed me.

At the top the third time we were greeted with something a little odd – there was a newly dead possum in the middle of the track. It certainly wasn’t there the other two times we hit the top. And no-one coming down had reported it. One of the guys shifted it to the side of the track as we speculated how it had gotten there.

I was hoping it was not an omen, as I turned to head back down to the finish of what would be my last lap. I ran the descent pretty steadily, not pushing hard, but also not walking. I knew I’d get to the bottom before the race was finished. I wouldn’t win, but I also wouldn’t come last. So all in all, not a bad result.

I hit the gate at the bottom and gratefully stopped my watch. I was done. It had taken me 3 hours and 18 minutes to complete the Fun Run. That’s about 18 minutes longer than I’d have hoped for if I was fully fit. So not too terrible in the end.

Having completed my run, I then stayed around to film the other runners as they came through the aid station. Again, I was amazed at the smiling faces of these people as they pushed their bodies super hard, and then turned around to head back up for another lap.

I tried to get a clip of everyone I could until the battery on my camera ran out, and then it was time to head home. There was just enough juice to catch Tim Sutton hit the bottom gate to win the race in a time of 4 hours and 7 minutes. That’s an insane time!

Well done Tim and also well done to Jean Beaumont – first female finisher in 4 hours 52 minutes. You people are just legends!

I’d like to thank Brad and his team for putting the race on, and all the participants for making this such a fun day. You are lovely people to run with, and you make events like this so special. This is what makes running in the capital the best thing ever.

So now it’s time to recover, find a way to get my quads to work again (hanging the washing out today was hard!) and start training for the next race. Summer is here and it’s time to get out and make the most of it.

Check out the video of the day

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