RACV Marysville Marathon Festival - 50km ultra race report

"I've never seen that before."

Not the words you want to hear from an SES volunteer at 6:20am, 40 minutes before you're due to start an ultramarathon. Thankfully, they weren't directed at me, but to the woman two cars ahead of me, who had a length (measured in metres) of what looked like hair protruding from her car's exhaust pipe. Upon parking my car, the SES rep suggested they stop pulling it out after it reached about five metres long. The things you see at ultra marathon events...

The event in question, in this case, was the 50km ultra event held during the RACV Marysville Marathon Festival, organised by Brett Saxon of Trails+.

The ultramarathon course

Of course, that wasn't the only car-related fun to be had that morning. Between Healesville and Marysville lies the Black Spur, a 30km stretch of winding road, just perfect for dry, early mornings, with no traffic, a manual car and no kids in the back. I was reminded in part of the concluding pages of Hunter S. Thompson's classic Hell's Angels, although (1) I wasn't riding a chopper and (2) I was obeying the speed limit, even though it's difficult to exceed the mandated 80kph in most places (for me, anyway).

So, I'd had quite an eventful morning to that point and I hadn't even started the race yet. However, as much as you, dear reader, are no doubt impressed by tales of hairy exhaust pipes and torturous (deluded?) comparisons between a 1.4L Volkswagen and a 1,200cc Harley Davidson, what I hope you came here for were some of my thoughts on how the race went. So, without further adieu...

Pre race

• Caught up with DTR-regulars Nigel, Oliver, Ashley, Paul, Vanessa and Stuart.
• Brett and race patron Lachlan Fraser seemed quite pleased with themselves when they described the new climb up to Keppel Lookout towards the end of the race: "You'll get a chance for a nice rest when you're walking up there...", Lachlan told us.

Early stages

• Climb up Red Hill (900m at 10%) wasn't too bad.
• Lots of people passed me on the descent. 'Hope to see you later', I thought to myself.
• Ran for a bit with Stuart, exchanged ultra mantras (me: "I will not cramp!", him: "race to the finish, not from the start").
• Gradient picked up, I was feeling good so I pushed ahead alone.

First test

• Cameron's Cascade.... Oliver's pre-race warning was ringing in my ears: "Enjoy Cameron's". 1.6km at an average 17%. I kind of did enjoy it. Passed a couple of people which was nice.

Stocktake

• On the next out-and-back section I saw a very friendly face fly back past me in the other direction. It was Ashley, leading the race, smiling as always! I was also able to gauge where I was in the field - I made it about 23rd.

Ups and downs

• The good: we get to run (ok, walk) up Red Hill again and I'm doing well on the climbs.
• The bad: The 7.5km quad-busting descent before we got there. Yet another opportunity to liken my descending skills to pensioners with Zimmer frames.
• The ugly: the photographic evidence of me walking, not running, up Red Hill.

Taking it easy on Red Hill

...and the just plain cruel

• At about the 35k mark, ultra runners have to go past the start/finish area and head back out of town for the last 15km loop. Why do race directors take a sadistic delight in dangling the finish line in front of tired, sore, long distance runners who still have 10 miles to run?

Keppel

• A long, steep climb, most of it involving walking rather than running. Even though I was walking, I reeled in a number of ultra and marathon runners on my way up. Somehow, despite the gradient, I enjoyed every minute of the climb
• When I got to the top, I was greeted by some glam rock pumping out of a car stereo, and the day's best aid station accompanied by the day's best view from the top of Keppel Lookout.

The view from Keppel Lookout (courtesy australiantraveller.com)

"It's all downhill from here"

• That's what I was told by the aid station volunteers, like this is supposed to be good news! With the state my quads were in, negative gradients at this stage weren't something to be celebrated, rather something to get over with.
• That said, I made my way down what must be said was a very enjoyable track, on my way to Stephensons Falls.

The comparisons to Kilian are undeniable...

On the way home

• I gave up a few positions on the descent, unable to match the pace of some of the others, including another DTR member Morgan who was running well this deep into the marathon. 
• The flatter run in to the finish line, along the Steavenson River allowed me to stretch out and pick up the pace and I reclaimed a few positions.
• I didn't want to push too hard, because (a) this was shaping up as the first ultra I'd completed where I hadn't cramped and, (b) I knew I'd be slowing down at the end to greet my family, and maybe run with my boys to the finish line, so turning on a sprint finish only to stop before the finish line would look a bit stupid.

Morgan and I at Stephensons Falls

The finish line!

• This time, the finish line is here for real!
• As I ran onto the oval, I could see my wife and two sons waiting for me. My eldest (4yo) asked if he could run with me and, not wanting my youngest (2yo) to feel left out, I grabbed him in one arm whilst holding my eldest's hand. 'Just a few more metres', I think to myself.
• WRONG!
• I headed towards what I thought was the finish line, when a volunteer reminded me I still had three quarters of a lap to run, and here I was carrying a 17kg 2yo in one arm and holding my other son with my other free hand! The last few hundred metres were as big a struggle as any of the climbs as I laboured under the weight, getting passed ! However, it did make for a pretty cool photo when I crossed the line...

Thank goodness I can put him down!

Some final thoughts

I'd finished in 5:28, and later found out it was good enough for 15th place, although it's possible I could have made it to 13th if not for the last lap. One of my big goals in ultras now that I have done a few is to make up positions in the second half. Big tick on that front, given I was 23rd on that out-and-back section and probably ~30th or so a little bit earlier on the downhill/flat section.

As well as my family, there were plenty of DTR regulars at the finish line. Lachie was there straight away, having done himself proud by finishing 5th on a very tough 10km course. Bryan had finished fourth in the half marathon as last year's defending champion. Ashley had gone one better by reaching the podium of the 50k - third place in his first ultra on his birthday! Soon after I crossed the line, Stuart, Nigel and Paul all finished, together with Vanessa who was treating this as yet another training run for her soon-to-be run Alpine Challenge miler.

The atmosphere at the finish line was terrific. Plenty of runners, stalls and activities for the kids, plus the Freedom Sports Medicine team of Ross and Caleb (himself the winner of the 10km event) providing massages to leg-weary runners. This really was a community event to get behind.

So, my fourth ultra is now in the bag, the first without cramping, and the first trying out a new fueling strategy (I had used Tailwind Nutrition exclusively, mixed into a 1.5 litre bladder and 2x 500ml bottles of my Salomon pack). It certainly bodes well for the coming months, which will include Two Bays and the Roller Coaster as further training runs before next year's major goal: the 75km Buffalo Stampede Ultra SkyMarathon.

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End note: according to a quick internet search, it appears that Stuart Hughes' suggestion of the exhaust 'hair' being the muffler lining was spot on.

Photo credits: Thanks to Brett Saxon and his team for putting on the event, and taking/publishing the photos of the race I've included in this post.