I had a great run at the Marysville 50 km race. I always enjoy this one, despite the ferocious hills, but I was not expecting to do a PB on the course this weekend. Especially after having done the very hilly Carcoar Cup Marathon the previous weekend, where I felt good and thought I was running strongly right up to the end, only to find that I ran this one slower than last time in 2014. There were lots of similarities between the two races: lovely scenery, smallish field, enthusiastic aid stations and not much flat ground. The hills in Marysville are far steeper, and the trails are rougher.
My day in Marysville didn’t start out the best when I got to the first aid station and realised I was supposed to bring a cup with me. I have several collapsible cups but they were all at home. For the first two aid stations I was able to use a real cup that the aid stations had available for idiots who arrived without a cup. Between aid stations I scoured the roadsides for discarded bottles but saw none, just a few crushed cans. That’s a good thing really. Then at the third aid station I thought to look in the rubbish bag and I found a bottle which lasted me the whole day.
As in Carcoar I started out near the back of the field. I don’t like being there, so I saw it my duty to ensure that I wouldn’t be finishing back there. In Carcoar I managed to move up near the middle of the field, and in Marysville I was more confident because I know the course and how you can burn out before the final really steep hill.
The weather was perfect in Marysville, sunny and clear but not too hot. This was the tenth anniversary race. The first year it was stinking hot. One of the early years it rained and there was a lot of mud. The other years, with a new course which came as a shock to those of us who had done the old course because we hadn’t anticipated the new steep hills, it has been hot. So warm rather than hot was a pleasant treat.
I’ve gone back to running with music in races after a long break. I think I like it. I ambled along enjoying the scenery as we climbed out of Marysville and got onto Lady Talbot Drive, a long dirt road by the river. The road ends with a big climb and then us ultra runners do an extra bit that the marathoners don’t have to do. It was undulating and I pretty much ran it all, but there were many downed trees to clamber over. I thought the gradual hills would be a time to move up a few places and I managed that, only to be passed on the following long downhill. I also had lots of marathoners for company when I reached the downhill and I was a bit surprised because I didn’t remember this happening in past years.
After another session on Lady Talbot Drive, a stretch which has seemed endless to me in the past, came the second major hill. This one I always remember well. It’s a bit grassy and very wide and as I power hiked up I managed to pass some people. I knew there was a long downhill coming but I had forgotten an intervening undulating stretch. I think it really helps with this race to know the course. I was basically running as fast as I could on the level to undulating bits because I knew I would be walking substantial portions later on.
We followed the river back to race HQ and then set out for the trek to the Steavenson Falls and the big hill. The climb starts with a steep sealed road and ahead of me I could see masses of people; it looked very strange, like they were on an outing together but in fact they were a mixture of tired marathoners, tired ultra runners and random walkers.
I was anxious to get to the hill proper and see if I had the strength left to do my thing on it, ie hike up with purpose. There’s a long preamble to the hill, though, and even some downhill that I had forgotten. Eventually the main climb started. I grabbed a stick to use while hiking, then it broke to I got another one and used it until it too broke. Doc Lachlan, who designed this course and has been very instrumental in getting the race weekend started and keeping it going, came up behind me and I said to him "I love this hill, I look forward to it every year." I don't know what he said in reply. Hopefully he realised I said that for my own benefit, to keep things positive.
Some parts of the climb were really steep; vertical is the word that comes to mind. But I made it to Keppels Lookout, and I still maintain that it has never seemed as hard as the first year it was part of the race route. The undulations that follow are never pleasant because there’s more climbing and the ground is uneven. But I knew I just had to hang in there. In fact straight after the lookout I got a renewed burst of strength. I still did not realise I could do a course PB.
Getting to the Falls is almost an irritation in this race because of the two seemingly unnecessary detours we have to make to the lower and upper falls. I barely glanced at them, anxious to finish my run. But I have to say that I enjoyed the final kilometres, really noticing how they were downhill, and when I got back to the river bank I just went with the flow, not anticipating/hoping feverishly that the turnoff to the finish would be around every bend. I have found this last part very difficult in the past when the end never comes soon enough.
As it happened I got to the oval where we finish with Lachlan right on my heels and I could tell I wasn’t going to get a mention from the race compere if I finished at the same time as him. So I sped up, and I got quite a surprise when I saw the time on the clock: 6 hours and 3 minutes which was 13 minutes faster than last time.
The next day I went for a hike at Lake Mountain. My legs were soooo tired that I had to cut the walk short. I never do that!
