SARRC Sea to Summit 32km
SARRC Sea to Summit, 12 September 2010
Location: Seacliff to Mt Lofty Summit, South Australia
Weather: 9-13 degrees C. Sunny.
Participants: Approx 100 people running the 32km event, and another 50 or so doing the 32km walk /16km walk or run.
Course Profile:
This was the first year this event has been run as an official (supported) event on the SA Road Runners Club (SARRC) calendar.
“The iconic George Driscoll Sea to Summit Trail climbs from the Kingston Park beach through O'Halloran Hill Recreation Park, Sturt Gorge ConservationPark, Belair National Park and Cleland Conservation Park to the Mt Lofty Summit. Traversing bush tracks and suburban streets, this unique trail is surely Adelaide's most challenging yet rewarding run with a total climb of 1,400m.”
The trail was marked with red and white flags and arrow signposting for major turns. All participants were also provided maps with instructions prior to the event, and these were available on the day. The course had aid stations approximately every 5km with water (and some later aid stations had Gatorade, lollies and Coke).
The race started with a stair climb, and we were led out by George Driscoll's son (who had come all the way from Sydney to run in the event). We wound our way around the side of the hill on a single trail (I heard someone liken us to sheep) until we got up onto the road where people could set their pace. We had a short stint on the road, but it wasn't long before we were back onto trails.
Shortly afterwards we hit our first big climb in O'halloran Hill reserve. I was glad to see there was no pressure to run up it and we all puffed along as the sun crept up over the other side.
Next we passed through a field of long grass and fennel and the smell was so nice! It was very peaceful and such a lovely morning out in the sunshine. It was one of those moments where it hit me just how much I love the outdoors and being able to run!
We passed through the back of Seacombe Heights and ran adjacent to the Southern Expressway. Heading under South Road and up through an underpass we spotted a handful of runners on the wrong side of South Road (and heading in the wrong direction at that!), so gave them a yell and pointed them back in the right direction. With McDonalds in sight I took the opportunity to take a quick bathroom stop (and got some curious looks from patrons as I burst in with a race number pinned to my front).
Back onto the course we made our way onto a track somewhere behind Flinders Uni and up towards Ring Road. At the top of this climb we found our next aid station - complete with lollies! I stopped for a chat and had a couple of cups of water, and then headed onwards as we looped around Bellevue Heights.
I was already starting to feel weary at this stage and we'd only done 12km (not a good sign!). I haven't done a lot of hill running and I was definitely starting to feel it. I caught up with a couple and ran with them for quite a while. Having company took my mind off being tired, and the man (who I referred to in my head as 'tracking man', with wife 'yellow shorts lady') was doing very well spotting our trail markers and keeping us on course. I ran with them for 15-20 minutes until the next aid station and then found myself out front.
I was now on trails that I hadn't been on before (somehow I must have missed these parts in my training runs!), and trying to navigate from marker to marker was a good distraction for a bit.
I spent the next 40 minutes or so running by myself navigating through mud and stream crossings (which there were loads of!) and passed a couple of people on the way. So far I had done very well at keeping my shoes fairly dry, so that was my new challenge. (I wasn't wearing trail shoes and I didn't know what sort of blisters I might end up with once my shoes soaked right through). This part of the course from Mountbatten Reserve to Craigburn Farm was my favourite. We wound along the stream and everything was very green and lush.
The course took us up past the Coromandel Train Station and alongside the track towards Hawthorndene. Waiting to cross Main Road a couple of other girls caught up and we made our way through some backroads. We had a moment of doubt about where we needed to turn, but after some quick hunting around saw a chalked arrow on the gutter and knew we were still on track. We passed the next aid station and were told we were in the first 60 (she must have been very bored to be counting!).
As we headed up towards Belair National Park I got chatting with a girl ('blue singlet girl') with similar running background to me and ran with her for a bit. She was great to chat with and that was another good point in my run. After I left her I was starting to feel very weary again...
The sun was warming up and I was starting to walk some of the smaller inclines now. As we headed through the park we hit the 20km mark and I was starting to feel very average. I got the familiar nauseous feeling that I get when I've pushed really hard and was having trouble shaking it off. I had another gel and more water and then half a banana not long after. We hit a really steep hill partway through the park and at that point even walking up it was a struggle! My legs were screaming by the top. I plodded on, and we followed a trail that was more like a river bed towards the top of the park. I tried to side step around the water and mud as much as I could so it was pretty slow going. I was feeling at my worst at this point, but it was also the point I agreed that I'd call Quent (so he had an idea of how far away I was from finishing). I figured at that point with 8km to go, I'd probably be another hour or so (depending on how much more walking I was going to do!). Knowing that I only had 8km to go gave me comfort, and I started feeling slightly better.
We headed up Sheoak Road, more hills, no surprise there, with one particularly long and steep one at the end of the road. Everyone in front of me also walked this, so again, no pressure - phew! The next few kms along Waverley Ridge Road went fairly quickly, as I was focussed on getting to the next aid station. I knew once we got to Crafers we were on the home stretch with only 4km up to the Summit.
The Crafers aid station was the place to be apparently. There was a congregation of people in their Yurrebilla merchandise and a few more of us that had caught them up. I didn't stop at this station for long as I was now eager to see the top! There were quite a few of us coming home together now and I could feel the mood change as we all anticipated the end. We weaved our way around the hill and had a few more steep little climbs. A couple of small downhills to mix things up (ouch my knees!), and we eventually came out on the main Waterfall Gully walking track. 400m to go!
I pushed ahead of the men that I was with (chicked!) and made my way up the final climb. This last bit is pretty steep and I didn't have gas in the tank to run it (nor did anyone around me thank goodness!) so I got my best walk on and tried to power up. I turned the final corner to approach the summit cafe (gave my feet an obligatory swipe through the shoe brushes) and jogged across the end of the trail onto the summit courtyard.
That was a damned good feeling, and my official time was 4hr29min.
It was great to have other runners waiting and cheering us on at the top, and also lots of the public and tourists that were up at the summit admiring the view. I tried to keep on my feet for a little while as my legs started instantly seizing up (the same feeling as they had after my marathon, which is not surprising since my time ended up being longer than my marathon time!). I had a bit of a stretch and some snacks and basked in the glory of my achievement!
It was such an enjoyable run and I'm glad to have ticked that off! Although my preparation was not great (my running has been very inconsistent in the last month), I managed it, and have pulled up alright afterwards.
Just to top off the day, my name had been drawn for the main Lucky Draw prize which was a $70 voucher for the Mt Lofty Summit Restaurant! Bonus! I was really happy with that.
A huge thanks to Terry Cleary and SARRC for putting the event on, and also to all the volunteers who helped with marshalling, aid stations, course marking and other tasks to make the event happen. I'd recommend this event for others, and SARRC also run the course in the opposite direction early next year (a descent from Mt Loft Summit to Seacliff).
