2010 Cradle Mountain Run - Feb 6th

I had such a great time at last years Cradle Mountain Run that I had already decided soon after the finish that I'd have another crack this year. Having completed the run last year there is no question that The Overland Track wasn't a complete mystery but how well did I manage to take in what I learnt last year? One thing for sure was that the weather conditions were going to be completely different. According to some of the locals last year was one of the wettest Cradle Runs but this year was to be very dry. I was little concerned during the rangers briefing on the Friday night when he said that there wasn't much water out on the track, but I was reasonably confident that given the cool conditions I should be able to get by using the water tanks at the huts. At least this year I knew exactly what to expect at the huts.

I had a reasonable sleep Friday night and woke up at my standard 2 hours before run start on Saturday morning, thus I was up at 4am. I went through my usual ritual of having a strong coffee, breakfast, putting on the running attire and loading up my pack with food. Next I had to wake up my wife and mate Cliff as they were my ride to the start. With 20 marathons and a couple of ultras under his belt, Cliff has dodgy ankles that wouldn't quite be up for a full Cradle Run (they squeak...seriously they do!). So this year he wanted to check out a part of The Overland Track by catching the ferry from Cynthia Bay to Narcissus, walking out towards the Windy Ridge Hut until he met me and then running with me to the finish.

I arrived at Waldheim a bit before 5:30am but there really didn't seem to be much activity considering the first roll call was supposed to happen at 5:30am. As it turned out we didn't end up having the early roll call, rather we simply did it at the start of the track only a few minutes before the run start. It was cool to cold for the start and with only a few clouds in the sky it was shaping up to be a brilliant day weather wise.

Like last year, on announcement of the start the fast guys took off lightening fast. I reckon that the lead runner was at least 300 - 400m ahead of me before I even started running on the duck boarding.

This year my goal was to run 13 hours so I definitely ran harder in the earlier stages. I knew what the climb up Marions Lookout was like and I wanted to get up to the top in good time. The climb to the top starts out steady but eventually turns into clambering up over boulders whilst hanging onto a chain. There was a light breeze and it was a touch cold but the view was sensational. Light cloud covered the peak of Cradle Mountain and the sun was just sneaking up over the horizon. Thanks to the fantastic conditions there were views as far as the eye could see.

There really is some tough running up the top and it seemed every bit as difficult as last year. I feel that there may have been some more board walk this year but overall the rock hopping that was required made for some very slow going.

Kitchen Hut was passed and I then started running with Liz who is an accomplished marathoner and was struggling a bit on the rough terrain. Whenever we got to the good sections she would leave me for dead but I would catch up in the rough stuff.


I had some relatively uneventful running through Waterfall Valley (10km), past Lake Holmes and through to Windemere Hut (17.4km). I absolutely love the highlands of the Cradle Mountain area which in my opinion are easily the most spectacular sections of the Overland Track. I love the openness, the sense of seclusion and the uninterrupted views.




A few kilometres further down the track I arrived at the River Fourth Lookout (19.7km). This is an area where you go from running in open country to a short section of dense bushland. For me this part of the track feels very eery as all of a sudden you are all closed in and the track is very indistinct and difficult to see. You need to keep an eye out for the next trail marker before you move on. No other part of the track gives me that sensation. I caught up to Liz during this section and continued on through to Froggs Flats (27km).

About 500 metres before arriving at Pelion Hut (31.5km) when I was casually eating a Mars Bar I managed to roll my ankle, feeling a bit of a pop as it rolled. I couldn't believe that I did it here as I rolled my ankle (same one) only a couple of kilometres earlier last year. It was quite sore but I could manage to run without too much of a limp. Just like last year I started to analyse how I'd make it another 46km or so to the end. I made it to Pelion 47 minutes before the cut off, which was faster than last year so I at least knew I had some time up my sleeve.

As I left Pelion I met Paul, a runner who I hadn't seen at all on the run so far. This was Paul's first run of this type and he was finding it much more difficult than he originally expected (as all first timers do I think). We ran together for a while but eventually I told him to venture off ahead as my ankle was slowing me down through the rough stuff. Another runner who I seemed to be running with quite a bit was Steve, but even he was running much faster than me at that stage. One thought that was in the back of my mind was that Cliff was going to meet me in between Windy Ridge and Narcisuss so that motivated me to move along a bit quicker.

The kilometres kept on accumulating and my ankle seemed to be getting better the further I went, although it still slowed me down through the steep and rough terrain. I was soon taken by surprise when I came across a hut that seemed to be in the wrong place, but I realised that it was the Kia Ora Hut (40km). I had become so focussed on getting to Windy Ridge that I had completely forgotten about the Kia Ora Hut. How is that possible? Steve was here filling up his water bottles. I filled up mine and off we headed towards Windy Ridge.

The next 10km would turn out to be my most demoralising section of the whole run. I ran briefly with Paul, Steve and also a couple of girls (Karen & Karen I think were there names). Eventually they all out paced me and I was alone. I knew I only had to cover 10km to get to Windy Ridge but the kilometres seemed to be taking forever to pass. I could not remember this section from last year and I just didn't seem to be getting anywhere. At one stage I even had silly thoughts going through my head that I had taken a side track and had gone around the hut, even though I knew there weren't any side tracks. Eventually I arrived at Windy Ridge Hut (50km), but it sure did seem like 20km as opposed to the 10km that it was. Steve and the girls had already gone but Paul was at the hut filling up his Camelbak.

I left Windy Ridge before Paul and was now getting a bit excited because I was really looking forward to meeting Cliff somewhere between Windy Ridge and Narcissus. I wasn't sure when I would run into Cliff but it did give me some extra motivation to keep pushing on. This section of the track actually has some pretty good running and although it did seem to take a while, eventually I met up with Cliff. We said a quick g'day and he then filed in behind me on our way to Narcissus. For the next few k's we made some reasonably good time and I must say that it made a difference to be running with a mate who you talk to on runs about anything and everything. Other than the fact I had run 55km it felt just like any other run that we do together.

I didn't feel like running a whole lot as we got closer to Narcisuss. I knew I was going to be well inside the cut off time of 5pm, and I was content just to get to Narcisuss where I could finally relax and not have to worry about missing the cut off. Not long before the suspension bridge over Narcissus River Paul had again caught up with us and we all ran into Narcissus Hut (59km) together. We were greeted by the support crew and a bunch of tired and broken down runners. Narcissus is a welcomed stop as there is Coke, tea/ coffee, ANZAC biscuits and fruit available. I sat down for a couple of minutes to rest, have some Coke, an ANZAC biscuit, Cliff filled my water bottles and then we were off.

As we left Narcisuss there were around 5 runners still there and 5 still out on the track who hadn't reached the hut yet. Cliff had been talking to the support guys at Narcissus and they were telling him how difficult the last 17km section is. I knew it was tough but the memories of last year had somewhat faded so my recollection wasn't great. I remember lots of roots, small undulations, dark conditions and log hopping. Cliff did ask me if I thought I could better last years time for the run but my mind was pretty much only content to just let me do only what I needed to get to the finish, so I replied with "I don't care what time I finish in, I just want to get to the end".

I was really starting to have trouble eating. Anything I thought about eating seemed unappealing and anything I ate tasted like absolute rubbish. I would take a small bite of a bar and roll it around in my mouth like a little kid trying to get down a Brussel Sprout! A dash of water helped but I still found it really hard to eat. Bite by bite I managed to eat some food and get some calories in. Nutrition is something I definitely need to work more on.

I was now at the point of just maintaining forward motion. I did provide Cliff with some amusement as I would break into a run, and he would keep walking. Well I felt like I was moving fast! He also chuckled when I picked seemingly stupid places to run but I ran when I felt like it rather than when it was appropriate. My mind was so one track that I didn't blink an eyelid when he rolled his ankle or got taken out by a tree branch and almost busted his sunnies. Sorry Cliff but I think you would have had to loose a limb for me to show sympathy at that stage! I also knew I was going silly when I had to ask him if Paul was behind or in front of us.

Echo Point Hut was the next milestone and it took forever to come up. Cliff didn't believe me when I told him "It's just up the trail a few k's". Other than the toughness of the terrain in this section, because the forest is so dense and the light is low it has a touch of a depressing feeling about it. You feel all closed in and at the time we were running through it, with the sun going down you feel even more depressed; kind of like you a losing the battle with the track. Occasionally we'd get some rays of sunshine in the few open parts and it was like a breath of fresh air.

Eventually we got to Echo Point Hut and I rewarded myself by sitting down for 60 seconds. The next milestone was 13 hours and I again rewarded myself with a 60 second sit down. Around about now the girls passed us as we left before they departed Narcisuss. I saw a few horrendous splits on my GPS, with 15min k's and even one 18min k showing up. Yep, things were getting tough! Although strangely my ankle had completely stopped hurting so that was one positive. I got to a stage where I thought to myself "This is ridiculous, I'm never going to get to the finish." This spurred me on a bit and the pace lifted a fraction. We soon arrived at the end of the dense forest and entered the more open bushland. It made a massive difference to lose the claustrophobic depressing feeling and actually see some light again. I definitely remembered this section a knew that the end was near.


Even though we had made it to the road section of the track I couldn't be bothered running much, rather a power walk was mostly what we were doing, with the occasion 100m or so or running thrown in. We could now now hear the cheers and I could soon see the finish line. It was such a relief to see the finish line and my wife waiting there for me to finish. My official time was 14:09:26, putting me 5th from last in 52nd position. It doesn't bother me finishing at the back of the pack but I was a touch disappointed that I didn't better last years time.

I must thank Cliff for heading over to Tassie to run the last part with me. It definitely made a difference and did spur me on. It was great to have a good mate encouraging me to get through to the end.

So what did I learn about the Overland Track this year? Well here it goes:

1. It's NOT easier running it the second time.
2. Having run it before does NOT guarantee you'll run it faster.
3. Good weather does NOT mean that you'll easily take off time compared to running the track in the wet.
   
4. A dry track is a LOT tougher on the body. I was much sorer post race this year.
   
5. If you have dodgy ankles then TAPE THEM!!!
6. The Cradle Mountain Run is a brilliant, challenging and very rewarding run.
7. The run was just as well organised this year.
   
8. The Overland Track is even more spectacular in good weather; and
   
9. It reaffirms to me that the point to point secluded nature of this run really makes it what it is.

To sum up this years run, I do feel like the Overland Track got the better of me this year and that I have some unfinished business left out on the track. I guess that means I'll be back!

cheers
Glen (aka Wida on CR)

2009 Cradle Mountain Run - Feb 7th

I first read about The Cradle Mountain Run in late 2007 when I became interested in going beyond a marathon, as they had become somewhat routine for me and I was after more of a challenge. It just sounded like such an awesome run and the things that made it sound attractive included the brilliant scenery, completing The Overland Track in one day and that the run is fully self sufficient. Also, there is no vehicular access to the track meaning that there is no easy bail out until you reach Narcissus, where you can opt to jump on the ferry for the last 20km if you don’t have enough in the tank to finish, are injured or if you miss the cut off time. It sounded like such an adventure and after the completion of the 2008 Cradle Mountain Run, I made my mind up that the 2009 run would be my goal. 

The Cradle Mountain Run is known for having one of the most stringent selection criteria of almost all other trail ultras around. I had a number of good marathon times that met the entry criteria, but I needed to gain some experience out on the trails as that was something that I didn’t have. Luckily, about 2 weeks after I decided that 2009 would be my goal, the South Australian Road Runners Club (SARRC) announced that they were putting on a 56km ultra along the Yurrebilla trail in the Adelaide Hills. Brilliant, I now had a local trail ultra that I could use as my short term goal! I pretty much completely stopped my long weekend road runs and did all of my long runs out on the trails. Not only was I gaining valuable experience out on the trails but I began to love running trails much more than running on the road. The other trail event that I focused on was the SA 50k Trailblazer, and running with a more accomplished runner and on a very hot day it taught me many valuable lessons about what can happen out on the trails.

 Whilst I trained hard I eagerly waited months for the 2009 Cradle Mountain Run entries to open, and I was so keen to make sure I got a spot on the run that I entered at the first available opportunity. I had just a bit over a week of waiting and thinking whether or not I had done enough to have my application accepted, when I received a call for Alec Hove the run director letting me know that I had. I was in. I pretty much booked flights and accommodation the next day and finalised what my training program would be for the next 3 months. 

Eventually the time had come to head over to Tassie for the run. I was fortunate enough to ride in Dale and Keith Lancaster's car up to Cradle Mountain on the Friday afternoon. Dale has completed the run 12 times and Keith twice, so it was extremely valuable getting 90 minutes of question time from two runners with a wealth of experience. 

We soon arrived at the Cradle Mountain Lodge ready for the pre run briefing, which all went smoothly apart from when the ranger gave us a forecast for Saturday as being hot and approximately 32 degrees. This resulted in a lot of sighs amongst the group; this was not the weather that we wanted for an 80km run. I had my mandatory gear checked, had some dinner and then we were off to the cabins at Waldheim. 

I was slightly concerned about how good the Waldheim cabins would be and what is was going to be like sleeping in a cabin with 6 other runners, all most likely having their own pre run routines. The cabins were very tidy, having a gas stove, kettle, running water/ sink and a fridge. The running water was untreated and boiling was recommended. I had my own bottled water and didn’t need to worry about that. 

I met all of my cabin mates, everyone did some race preparations, there was a little bit of chatter and before I knew it people were heading of to bed and it was only 8:50pm. I had nothing left to do and figured I may as well hit the sack too. At least I was going to get a good chance of getting a few hours of sleep before my 4:15am rise time. It wasn’t long after I went to bed that it started raining and at times there was some very heavy rainfall indeed, and this continued throughout the night. I’m a light sleeper at the best of times but in between the heavy rain I managed to get some good sleep amongst my tossing and turning. 

I woke up at about 4am and just lay in bed waiting for my alarm to go off. My alarm went off and I figured that the others in my group heard it so I got up and started getting ready. I didn’t turn on the light and I assumed the others would start getting up soon but they didn’t. I thought I was making more than enough noise to wake them up and I was surprised that no one else had set an alarm. Eventually it got to 4:45am and I thought I better make sure the others all woke up as the 5:15am roll call was fast approaching. Everyone was up in a flash when they realized what the time was. 

Before we knew it, it was time for the first roll call and to have our race numbers written on us. It was raining quite heavily and at this stage the rangers forecast seemed to be rather incorrect. 6am approached and we all headed down to the start of the track where there was another roll call and not long after the countdown to the start of the run. The run had started. It was quite an uneventful start with the faster runners disappearing into the morning darkness and the slower runners fitting in behind them. I made sure that I was near the back as I didn’t want to get stuck running with guys faster than me. I needed to pace myself as this was my first attempt at running 80km. 

It really didn’t seem like we had been running for long at all when the track started to head up for the climb up to Marions Lookout. I let a few faster guys pass me and it seemed like there weren’t a lot of runners behind me. I found myself running with some guys around my pace as we headed up to Marions Lookout, and the weather seemed to turn for the worst. It was getting very windy, quite cool and also started raining. As bad as the weather was it was still quite spectacular running on the top of Marions Lookout. 

Kitchen Hut was passed and now we were running around the base of Cradle Mountain which was an awesome sight. The terrain so far was quite rocky and some sections required rock hopping. I think the term “track” has been quite loosely used here! 

We then headed down past the Waterfall Valley but not down to the campsite. I almost got the map out here until I saw a runner on the other trail. I followed them. 

The running through to Lake Holmes, Lake Windermere and Windermere Hut was quite straightforward with a mix of trails, including a good amount of duck boarding and board walk.

Heading through Pine Forest Moor the track conditions started to become a lot more difficult and I soon discovered what people are talking about with regards to the tree roots and mud that the Cradle Run is famed for. The mud didn’t “suck” any of my shoes off, but at times I could feel it having a good go as I tried to pull my foot out of mud deeper than ankle deep! “How much worse could this get” I thought to myself? If it wasn’t muddy or tree rooted then there was so much water running along the track that it seemed like we were running down creeks. I was running off an on with a 68 year old veteran of the Cradle Run who has completed the run 11 times, and he said that the track conditions were on par with the worst that he as seen. 

Frogs Flats was next and I stopped to adjust my sock that had slipped down a bit (I wear two socks). I also tried to fix what felt like lumps under the balls of my feet but I couldn’t sort that out so I continued on. 

Pelion Hut (31 km) was now not too far away and I could see that I was not going to meet the 13 hour split time, and I was actually getting a bit worried of missing the main cut off time. This kind of threw me a bit as I thought I would easily get there in time. Given that I didn’t know how difficult the next 4km was it also added to my concern. Next I managed to twist my left ankle making things even worse. I’m known for having bad ankles so I hobbled on for a bit. Luckily my ankle seemed to loosen up but it did knock my confidence around and was probably a good wake up call, reminding me that I need to have 100% attention on where I’m placing my feet. I ended up making it to Pelion at 11:24am so I had 36 minutes up my sleeve, but I knew I had to run well and not loose much time over the next 30km. The furthest I had previously run was 56km so I was a little unsure how I’d fair getting to Narcissus (60km) considering what the track conditions were like. 

I was stilling feeling like I was in good shape and the track conditions and scenery were changing that much that I didn’t have any problems with my mind wandering. Some intermediate goals that I had set were to get to the first check point, half way (40km), to have been running for the longest time I ever have, and to cover the marathon distance. I like motivational tools likes this in conjunction with using my GPS.

Running through to Pelion Gap, along side Douglas Creek it was evident from the water falls about how much water was flowing as they were a raging torrent. The track continued with rocks, roots and more mud up to Pelion gap and through to Kia Ora Hut and the checkpoint at Windy Ridge Hut (49km), where I arrived at 2:58pm. This checkpoint had no cut off time associated with it. Alec Hove asked how I was feeling; I was in good shape but really starting to feel the pain come on a bit stronger. Alec told me that there was tea and other refreshments available at Narcissus so it was encouraging that he didn't seem concerned about me not getting to Narcissus in time. I had 2 hours to travel 10km so how hard could it be?

The track started to become a lot friendlier and it did seem like I was making good time, although I wasn't exactly moving fast. I started to have some rough patches along this section. Although it seemed like as long as I kept moving forward, eating and drinking then I'd eventually come good again. It seemed to get to a point where as much discomfort as I was in, it didn't get any worse and I could keep on pushing forward, albeit rather slow! Narcissus was approaching and although I could see I was going to make it under the cut off I wasn't going to have much time up my sleeve. I got to Narcissus (60km) at 4:38pm so I only had 22 minutes to spare, but it was a relief knowing that I could continue and couldn't be forced to take the ferry ride home. There was Coke, ANZAC biscuits and shortbread at this checkpoint and they all went down very nice indeed.

I set off on the last leg of the run and I split it up into manageable chunks to make it easier to handle mentally, and just focused on each section. I would aim for half way to the half way point, the halfway point, 10km to go and then single digits to go. If you look at the profile of this section on the map it looks flat but don't be fooled. Because the rises and falls aren't big enough to go over a contour line it looks flat but it isn't. The short ups and downs combined with having to jump over logs and deal with more roots and mud makes the final section quite tough.

I passed a runner going in the opposite direction to meet some else and he told me "about an hour to go". I was pretty much in a state of run, walk, run, walk but I didn't at all feel like I wasn't going to make it to the end. I pressed on, passing someone waiting for a runner to come through and they said "20 minute to go". I'm always weary of comments like this from bystanders, but sure enough I eventually arrived at the Hugel River bridge where I was told that there was only about a kilometer to go. I looked at my watch and noticed that 14 hours was rapidly approaching so I pushed hard. At this stage due to the emotions and adrenaline flowing through my body resulting from knowing I was almost at the end of my biggest challenge, it allowed me to run pretty much pain free. I'm not sure how fast I was running but it felt fast to me. It was definitely a bit more than a kilometer but eventually I could see the finish and hear the cheers. I crossed the line in 13 hours 58 minutes. The last 20km had taken me 3 hours 20 min which is pretty much what my marathon PB is! I finished 6th from last but I didn't really care, I was immensely proud of my effort. 

To sum up this run I would say that it's really a great adventure. The scenery is brilliant (when you get a chance to look at it) and the track is just so diverse. There aren't really any overly challenging climbs, but the difficultly lies in the rocks, roots and mud. I think I am going to have nightmares for the rest of my life about tree roots! You can read all day long about the tree roots on this run, but I don't think it's possible to get an appreciation for what they are like until you run the track.

I would really like to thank the efforts of the Cradle Mountain Run committee. Everything over the weekend was just so well organised and there was such a friendly atmosphere.

I will be back!

(Here are some photos that Buzz Burrell took on the day as well as his run report.)