Local running on the coast path

It doesn’t always go according to plan!

Since I’ve got plenty of free time at the moment I decided that I would run from home to Mordialloc along the beach path, and I did that yesterday. It was great, and there was quite a bit of the coast path beyond Ricketts Point that I have not run for a long time so I had forgotten what it was like. I think they have even built a new surf club building down at Mordy. The path was a bit busier than I expected for a Monday, not just dog walkers but runners too. Between Black Rock and Ricketts Point you have to run by the road for a couple of kilometres and beyond Ricketts Point the path is quite discontinuous until you reach the nicer part at Beaumaris. The part I looked forward to the least was the long flat beachside kilometres through Mentone and Parkdale; that’s a great place to run but the timing of that section when it comes towards the end of a long run is difficult, as it’s so flat and seemingly endless.

I went to Main Street for breakfast (bacon and eggs in a Turkish sandwich) - I’m sure there are other cafes but I always go there - and then got the train/bus combination back home. It was just a touch under 20 kilometres of running.

I liked that run so much that I wanted to do something similar today but not quite as long because I have a marathon coming up this weekend and didn't want to overdo things. So I planned to run to Black Rock, do a short loop around a bush reserve and then go back to Black Rock for breakfast and get the bus/train home. It seemed a good plan.

I ran down the coast path to Black Rock, today detouring down to the beach by the Cerberus so I could get in a hill climb. The path was way quieter than yesterday. I had a nice tailwind most of the way. When I left home the weather was awful, really gusty wind and it had been/was going to rain. Yesterday I ran in tights and wrapped a sweatshirt around my waist; today I carried my tights and sweatshirt in my ultra vest to keep them dry in case of rain so I would be able to put on dry clothes when I stopped running and be comfortable for breakfast and the trip home. 

So when I got to Black Rock after 15.5 kilometres I put on my clothes (it hadn’t rained and the sun had been wanting to come out) and went to an extremely popular cafe for breakfast (scrambled eggs on toast); in fact it was so popular it was hard to squeeze inside.

After a very leisurely breakfast I ambled over to the bus stop, well actually I had to amble over to several bus stops before I found the right one, and unfortunately the bus had just gone; the half hourly, maybe hourly bus. So what does one do in this situation? One runs home. 

It was a novelty to run after eating eggs on toast and sitting down for well over an hour. At first I felt sluggish all over but then I just felt tired in the legs. I kept my tights on and that was a good move because I had a big headwind which was also cold. I know this is useful training for long ultras, both the eating while on a run and the long distance. But I took a short cut to get home sooner, making it 10 kilometres exactly. On the plus side I am 10 kilometres ahead of schedule for the week so I can take some easy days.

Surf Coast run

I had a great run along the Surf Coast Walk over two days. It's either 44 km or 46 km in total because the map is inconsistent, broken up into about twelve stages. The trail is in sight of the ocean almost all the way, sometimes right on the beach or just above it on cliffs, and often passing through low scrub. So it was very varied, with fire trails, single track, beach and walking tracks. It was more hilly than I expected and I had to cope from time to time with a strong headwind.

I did the trail over two days because it is not possible to get to the start at Point Impossible by public transport (of course!). So I ran from Torquay out to Point Impossible on Sunday, ran the first two sections of the trail back to Torquay (Point Danger) and stayed overnight, doing the bulk of the route (40 km) on Monday. It was a lucky decision because I would have copped some rain had I continued running on Sunday.

I had run from Torquay to Anglesea on this trail before, a long time ago, and done bits more recently. The part through Jan Juc and by Bells Beach is often by the beach and I saw lots of surfers but no actual surfing. The detour through the forest to Ironbarks picnic area was very pleasant, flat and quiet, lots of birds, and sheltered from the wind. Then I came out to Point Addis and after that I had a one kilometre beach to run into the full force of the wind. This made me alarmed about the later beach section that would be four times as long. From Point Addis I could see the lighthouse at Aireys Inlet (close to my destination) dimly in the distance.

I had decided to stop for coffee in Anglesea, mainly because I’ve never stopped for coffee in the middle of a run before. At that point the sun had come out and the cafe was a bit smelly (of food) so I had my coffee on a bench by the inlet. The weather was changeable all day, sometimes looking as though it were about to rain, then the clouds blowing away and the sun shining, and it wasn’t at all cold.

Not far from Anglesea, past Point Roadknight, I had the 4.5 km beach to run to Urqhart Bluff. At first I was going headfirst into the wind and I braved myself for a long trudge. But once I passed the rocks along the beach, a section I had to walk, the cliffs seemed to shelter me from the worst of the wind. That was a real blessing. I had also timed my arrival well since that beach would not be fun to run at high tide. As it was I could run close to the water on fairly firm sand. But it was still quite challenging and when I arrived at the far end I felt cooked. There followed a lovely few kilometres of single track, mostly winding downhill. Sunnymead Beach was deserted and pretty, and I’d never heard of it before.

After climbing again I got another view of Aireys lighthouse and this time it was so much nearer. I hadn’t realised how close I was to finishing. The last bit to Aireys passed quickly, including running up to the lighthouse and skirting the inlet, but I didn’t go into the main centre. I continued on to Fairhaven Beach and the finish, just two kilometres. It was an odd place to finish, as there is nothing there apart from a long beach, a surf club and a sign with a map of the trail. And also a bus stop so I could get back to Geelong.

I didn’t have to wait long for the bus, so I quickly changed into my warmer clothes (which I was very pleased to have brought with me despite having to carry them all day). And it was fun to be reacquainted with the charms of the cafe at Geelong train station.

My run from Wangaratta to Bright

Just to do something different I decided to run the Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail from Wangaratta to Bright. It was a good way to be able to do a long run outside of Melbourne without having to go through the stresses of a race and without having to run on roads, plus the advantages of someone having worked out the route for me and, hopefully, put up signposts. I did it in three stages: from Wang station to Bowser on the edge of the town (about 10 km), from Bowser to Myrtleford (about 45 km), from Myrtleford to Bright (about 31 km). I carried minimal gear in my ultra vest: tights, fleece, spare running shirt, underwear, toothbrush, phone and charger, money and glasses, plus 1 1/2 litres of water and some gels and bars. The vest was full and my pockets were full. There was no rain on the forecast so I didn’t take a raincoat. I had the map of the trail on my phone. It turned out to be extremely well signed.

The train arrived in Wang after 3pm and I was pleased to immediately find signs for the rail trail. I followed the signs through town, crossed the river and found the trail start. The route through the outskirts of Wang was along a levee and around a caravan park and then alongside a road until I reached my motel for the night. I had anticipated that the motel would be in the middle of nowhere, so I was carrying some magazines to read and my breakfast croissants for the morning. 

The motel really was in the middle of nowhere, but right on the rail trail. I had to eat, and with no other alternative I got room delivery from Zambrero, and it was a slight problem because their minimum was so high that I had to get more stuff than I could possibly have wanted.

I set out at 8am the next morning. The rail trail was very nice, crossing farmland with lots of bush by the trail and lots of cows and horses. It seemed flat and there was no wind. It wasn’t especially cold. I had a long way to run so I broke the day into stages, basically thinking from railway station to station (although there aren’t stations there any more, just signs). The stations were generally 5 to 8 km apart. Some had toilets and shelters with seats, at others there was absolutely nothing. 

After 19 km I reached Everton which is a big junction on the trail. I chatted to a couple of bike riders - I had seen almost no bikes so far - and had a brief rest. After Everton the trail was closer to the road for a while and then returned to farmland. It was getting quite warm and parts of the trail were very exposed. I much preferred the parts that were away from the road.

The only noticeable climb came towards the last 10 km of the day, following a lovely stretch through forest, but it wasn’t hard. I had a steep few hundred metres then the trail crossed the road and went back into the bush for a long downhill. I wasn’t expecting this since I hadn’t realised that I had climbed much, but it was most welcome. Suddenly as I approached the final station site for the day, Gapsted, I was tired. But the rows of vines at the winery were pretty in the sunshine and there was music coming from the winery.

Past Gapsted the trail came out to parallel the road for the last few kilometres into Myrtleford. It seemed a long slog to end the run. Then the route took me along back streets through town and I picked one of the many bakeries to have a sit before finding my motel. I had a pie and a latte.

I hadn’t realised that Myrtleford was such a big place. I had a walk around the town, located the route start for tomorrow, had a rest and had dinner at the pub.

It was freezing cold when I set out at 8.15 after my breakfast of coffee and a kitkat. It was also foggy so I couldn’t see anything in the way of scenery. The trail was largely close to the road but the road was not very busy early on. I passed lots of cows, horses and llamas. The early kilometres passed comfortably and I think I managed the same sort of pace as yesterday. I wanted to have my first stop at halfway, Eurobin. There were kilometre markers all along and I happily ticked off the distance. I played a game of trying to run on the soft shoulder beside the trail but I always ended up running on the paved trail without realising I had moved back across. I saw more bikes today. According to the map the whole way today was a gradual uphill.

At Eurobin I had a sit, and a little chat with the Highway Patrol who stopped to use the facilities. They were surprised to hear what I was doing and commented that at least I wouldn’t overheat. I was surprised how long it stayed cold.

But by the time I reached Porepunkah, with only 6 km to go, the sun was out and I was warm. The transition seemed surprisingly sudden. I could see the mountains for the first time. I sat briefly by the river and then walked the part of the trail through the small town (which I had never visited before as the main road to Bright doesn’t come through the town). There were lots of people on bikes on the trail here.

The last part of the trail was alongside a back road into Bright. I crossed the river and looked forward to finishing. I'm sure there was an extra kilometre in there somewhere. Then I found myself all of a sudden in the centre of Bright; the place looked lovely in the sunshine and it was pleasantly warm. I wasn’t completely exhausted but I was satisfied to have finished my little adventure. I sat at a cafe in the street with a coffee before changing into warmer clothes and getting the bus back to Wang. Then I slept most of the bus ride.