Tag: Yurrebilla

Yurrebilla can be many things. For many people, just an awesome day out with great food and fantastic company. For others, a chance to push themselves to the limit. 2016 marked the 10^th edition of Yurrebilla and it was always going to be a special
day.

This was my second time tackling this challenging event. Last year was my first and you can read all about it here.

My preparation this year was, admittedly, not the greatest. Last year, after running the Gold Coast Marathon in early July, I focused all my attention on getting myself prepared for Yurrebilla. This year, I have done way more big events and therefore found myself very underdone in the trail running department. After UTA100 in May I
didn’t even run a trail for over 3 months while I focused on my 2 marathons and
trying to let my hamstring recover.

My only Yurrebilla training run, 3 weeks ago, was a 41k which covered the last 2/3 (and a bit) of the course and took me 6 hours. I was hoping for a sub 7 hour Yurrebilla, which looked pretty far from reality after that run! (Last year I ran 7:07 and did ‘waste’ a fair bit of time stopping at checkpoints. Realistically all I had to
do was cut down a bit of time at the stops to get my sub 7.)

A week and a half before the event, a freak storm hit Adelaide and washed away parts of the trail, and even one of the roads we were meant to run on! Amazingly, within a
very short space of time, the organisers redesigned the course to bypass the
unsafe/inaccessible sections, and ensure the race would go on! There was some
debate among people who were familiar with the usual course and the new bits,
as to whether it was going to be faster or slower.

A few informal training runs took place in the week leading up to the event, introducing people to some of the new bits. I decided it was best to stay in the dark – I
had run UTA100 having seen only a small section of the course, so I didn’t think there was really anything to gain by getting a preview!

Despite taking it relatively easy in the week leading up to Yurrebilla, I had done 46km prior to race day. Tuesday I did my fast run for the week, followed by a ‘bonus’ 5k trot
with The Running Company Run Club on Wednesday evening, where we were joined by Yurrebilla ambassador (and all round top chick) Lucy Bartholomew. Thursday’s
regular run was meant to be an easy one but ended up being a bit faster than planned! On Friday, rather than the speed training I’ve been doing, I went for a gentle hill run with my running group. Then on Saturday I did a very cruisy parkrun in the rain. I realised after that, that after Yurrebilla I would have done 99.5km for the week. So I did what any sane person would do – went for a quick trot around the block in the rain to make sure I reached that magical
100km milestone – it’s pretty rare that I would get close to 100k in a week so
of course I had to!

This year I had opted for the 8am start wave instead of 7am like last year. Having completed last year’s event in just over 7 hours, I was confident that 9.5 hours would be more than enough to complete the course (the cutoff time is 5:30pm regardless of start time). 

I had originally entered Yurrebilla in the
super earlybird period prior to Christmas, and had selected the final, 8:30 wave. I had thought, if I’m going to start at 8, I might as well start at 8:30 with the elites, what’s another half an hour? (Plus, another half hour’s sleep!) I was convinced by regular running buddy Gary of the merits of starting at 8. In the 8:30 group I would surely be one of the slowest, and therefore
would be on my own for much of the day. 8:00 would be a happy medium and I
would have more chance of having company out there, as well as eventually
overtaking some of the 7am and 6am starters. Decision made. I was starting at
8!

For the 8am start I needed to be on a bus near the finish at Athelstone at 7. (The 7am start bus ended up being at 5:30, due to the size of that particular start group! Another
good reason for me to start at 8!)

I hadn’t settled on my kit until the night before. I had a few parts of my outfit organised but there were a few pieces of the puzzle that still needed to be put into place. My black lululemon skirt over Skins shorts was a trail running standard – black
being the most practical colour for what promised to be a muddy run, and the skirt has a zip pocket plus a couple of waist pockets to stash snacks. I had my Salomon Speedcross 3 shoes and black Nike socks (the socks which would probably be due for the bin after Yurrebilla, having run through some pretty stinky mud over the last few months – at least I hope it was mud!) I did have a BEAUTIFUL new pair of trail shoes but decided this was NOT the day to break them in! My usual white hat was in the kit as well as a buff.

I ended up going with a green lulu T-shirt which I’d done one long run in. Normally I run in a singlet but it was to be a cooler day and also a T-shirt would make reapplication of sunscreen a lot easier. Then I added my signature rainbow arm warmers and blue Compressport calf sleeves. In addition I decided to wear my
cycling gloves that I’d worn for UTA. I was reliably informed that the climbs at the end were a bit brutal and I thought I might be on hands and knees at some point! Plus, if I did fall over (which, let’s face it, was not out of the realms of possibility) the gloves would save my hands.

I had opted to wear my larger Ultimate Direction backpack rather than the smaller one I’d used last year. This was so I could carry more in the way of food and drink, and thereby cut down the time spent at aid stations. Food-wise I’d packed 2 ‘Snickers’
sandwiches (peanut butter and chocolate spread on white bread), 2 nut bars, and
a bag of almonds and Lifesavers (which I didn’t end up touching!) I didn’t need
much in the way of food because there was plenty of good stuff at the aid stations, but it was good to have something to eat in between stations, especially when climbing steep hills when I’d have to be walking anyway. Hydration-wise I had 2 500mL bottles of Gatorade, plus 3 extra scoops of
powder. In my bladder I had around 750mL of water – I don’t tend to drink much water at all during runs and with the cooler weather I thought that would be ample.

This year the organisers had seen fit to give us all 2 bibs, one to be worn on the front
(with timing chip) and another one, just with our first name, to be worn on the
back. I really liked this idea and I hope they keep it going in future, because it meant we could yell out encouragement to the people we were passing, and people passing us could also encourage us. I think it really adds to the community feel of Yurrebilla. (Unfortunately a lot of people didn’t wear the back bibs, or they put them on the back of their shirts and then put a backpack
over the top!)

The night before, I had an early night, after having had a delicious vegan mac and cheese and a glass of red for dinner. I got up at 5:30 for the standard brekky shake
(Weetbix, oats, cacao, chia and almond milk) and getting all my gear together.
I had opted for a drop bag at Morialta (around the 35k mark) purely because the
course promised to be wet and muddy, and I thought a change of shoes and socks
would be wise. I also threw in a change of top and arm warmers, and some more
Gatorade powder and a sandwich. We also had the option of a drop bag at Cleland
(22km) and at the finish. I did have a finish drop bag which was mainly warm clothes, sandals, and my 2016 Yurrebilla singlet which, superstition dictated that I could NOT wear before the race!

At 6:30 I was at Gary’s place to get a lift to Athelstone. Gary’s partner Christine had already started, in the 6am wave. Fortunately she had managed to get a lift to the start at Belair, otherwise she would have had to be on a bus at 4:30!

It was only a small group on the bus, I think there were 17 people booked but a few of them didn’t show. There were a few familiar faces – Uli, Josh and Leon among them. I didn’t see anyone that looked like my pace – they were all quite fast! However, I had always planned to do my own thing so that didn’t bother me!

We arrived at Belair Railway Station with about half an hour to spare. I had my energy drink, put on some sunscreen and did a quick portaloo stop before taking my drop bags to the correct places and getting my bib scanned to ensure I received a finish time. And a quick selfie with a couple of guys in bright rainbow outfits.

And before I knew it, we were away!

Echo Tunnel was about 2km in and it is one part of the course I never enjoy! It’s quite low which means I have to duck to avoid hitting my head, and also very dark, even with the lanterns that were there to light it up. I had my hand torch on but that didn’t even seem to do anything! I hoped no-one behind me was wanting to run because I was walking with my hand on the wall the whole time, until I could literally see the light at the end of the tunnel and with relief I started running again!

I had printed out the estimated splits at all the aid stations for my goal 7 hour time, laminated it and attached it to my backpack, so I could see how I was tracking. 

Aid station 1 was at Sheoak Road at 5km and other than a quick selfie and picture of my watch, I didn’t stop. I was 4 minutes ahead of schedule. As per tradition the volunteers were all in onesies and seemed to be having a great time!

Then we hit the awesome fun of the switchbacks which were a bit slower than last year because of the mud and general slipperiness – it was a bit early to be falling over! Thankfully I didn’t, and heading down Brownhill Creek Road I started following
a guy in a bright orange T-shirt (and no back bib!). We got off the road and onto the trail heading up to the next station at McElligott’s Quarry. I saw him stop to a walk and then head into the bushes so I decided to stop following him at that point! Eventually he caught up and we ran together for a bit. I didn’t get his name but he had a Spanish-ish accent. I think from memory it was his first Yurrebilla and he was aiming for about 6.5 hours. After the quarry I didn’t see him again.

I reached the quarry in 1:03, 12 minutes ahead of my cheat sheet. Again, I didn’t need anything other than a quick selfie and watch photo! A few of the people at the aid station were laughing at the whole selfie thing and saying things like “You know this is a race, right?” but it was really only for my records, just so I could look back on it afterwards and see where I could have done things differently!

The next stop was Kavell’s, where my parents were going to come and see me. Not long before this the first of the 8:30 runners started to overtake me. The first one took me by surprise, and the second one was a familiar face, Andrew, who passed me just as I went through a gate, so I thought I’d hold the gate for him!

I reached Kavell’s 10 minutes ahead of schedule, luckily my parents were early otherwise I would have missed them! I grabbed one of Maurice’s famous vegan brownies and went to have a quick chat and photo with the folks. I also reapplied my sunscreen at this stage – Mum finally managed to find the little bottle in my backpack which saved me the trouble of having to take my backpack off!

From there it was up Mount Barker Road into Cleland. The course had changed a bit there – the Waterfall Gully to Mount Lofty track was closed, and part of that track is part of the Yurrebilla Trail. Before reaching the Cleland aid station I was passed by a few familiar faces, Mick and Dej, who both seemed to be in great form. I also caught up to regular parkrun buddies Liam and Tom who were both struggling a bit. I ran/walked with them for a little while before taking off.

After what seemed like an eternity I reached the Cleland aid station. First stop was the toilets, before heading into the station to fuel up. I was looking forward to some boiled salted potatoes but was a bit devastated to find that they’d run out! I did manage to grab a vegan brownie and some fruit cake and top up my Gatorade bottle. Regular running buddy Kay was there, in a bad way with cramps, and I thought that was the end of her day but in the end she got to 45km, unfortunately not quite able to make it to the end of her first Yurrebilla.

Another good friend Nat was there, volunteering her podiatry services and by
all accounts she was kept quite busy!

I left Cleland just a few minutes ahead of schedule. The next milestone was the 28km, or halfway point. At around that point, at a slightly tricky road crossing, were 2 familiar faces as road marshals – Shannon and Brian. I broke into the chorus of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” before crossing the road and heading back up the trail towards the Coach Road aid station. (That would be the only singing that I did throughout the day!)

I was a bit behind schedule when I reached Coach Road but didn’t really need to stop here so pushed on. I had thought I was still well ahead of schedule and I was getting close to where I thought Beck and Kate were coming out to cheer me and some of the other runners on, Norton Summit. So as I headed into the next aid station at Woods Hill, I quickly texted Beck to request a lemonade icy pole. This had been so appreciated last year when James brought them for us, but I had been doubtful as to whether it was the right weather this year for an icy pole! As it turned out, despite a few showers earlier, it had warmed up a bit and I had decided yes, I definitely wanted one.

I reached Norton Summit and couldn’t see any sign of Beck and Kate, so I gave Beck a call. Turned out they were a few kilometres up the road at Morialta Cottage, so I kept going. As I heard them yelling at me to hurry up, I could see two familiar backs in front of me, Di and Michael. They, along with Marc, had decided that it might be fun to start at Athelstone at 8pm the night before, run the trail in reverse, then start in the 6am group with Arwen, Michael and Toni. Hmm, yeah, that sounds like fun – NOT!

 Alas Kate had forgotten the icy poles but they did have some DELICIOUS vegan Anzac biscuits for me, along with Coke and water. I grabbed some chips and a sip of nice fresh water (the water in my bladder was by now warm with a delightful hint of plastic, so wasn’t very appealing!) before getting going again! As much as I would have loved some Coke, I was saving that for after the 40km mark. Having reread last year’s race report, I had wished I had started drinking Coke from around that point. I had been reluctant to start drinking it in case I then craved it. Consequently I hadn’t drunk it at all until the finish.

Apparently I was back ahead of schedule by the time I reached Morialta Cottage. At the official aid station I was excited to see potatoes! I quickly downed one, dipped in salt, and a brownie, and topped up my Gatorade. Nat was there again and got a pic of me stuffing my face!

I think it was here that I saw Graham, an distance running veteran, looking a bit shabby in the back of a station wagon and doubtful if he would continue!

Not long after Morialta I saw a very familiar runner – Terry Cleary, the Godfather of Yurrebilla (the one who started it all!) I caught up with him and had a quick chat with him before taking off. He said he was struggling a bit, and given that he lives in Darwin where there are NO hills, his training was a bit lacking!

The next aid station was Moores Road, 40km, staffed by the CFS fireys. After the bright yellow uniforms, the first thing I saw was that they had Coke! I was very excited by this and decided to have 2 cups because it was just so damn delicious! I was right on target – 40km in 5 hours. Just 16km to go!

Somewhere around here I saw a few more familiar faces – first there was Stirling, who looked like he was limping a fair bit and when I caught up with him he told me that he had torn his calf a week ago! Naturally, the thought of not running Yurrebilla probably hadn’t even entered his mind! Then I heard the familiar voice of Ziad, and ran/walked with him briefly.

The next stop was the bottom of Orchard Trail and I’d actually made up some time, according to my cheat sheet I was 2 minutes ahead of schedule. I think this was the station where there was a creek crossing just afterwards and I pretty much chose the hardest way across the creek and ended up on my hands and knees on rocks in the middle of the creek. Fortunately I didn’t fall in as there would have been plenty of witnesses and undoubtedly photos!

AND THEN…

That was when the big climbs started. First we had Orchard Track at around 45km, with about 30% gradient over 500m. Here, for the first time ever, I felt the need to pick up a big stick and use that to drag myself up. Around me at this point was a woman with poles and a guy who seemed to be doing it way too easily. From then on my ‘running’ joke was offering people $20 (all the money I had on me) for their poles. Surprisingly no-one took me up on the offer! I ditched the stick at the top of Orchard Track as there was a runnable section after that and I didn’t fancy carrying the stick while trying to run.

After Orchard, which seemed to go on forever, we met Boobook Track at about 47.8km which was a similar distance to Orchard and just as steep! As I saw the track up ahead I screamed out “NOOOOOO!” and said “I think I’m going to cry now”. (I didn’t – I needed every scrap of energy just to get up that damn hill!)

Next was ‘Ambers Loop’, the ‘sting in the tail’. At 49km there was a group of pirates, and then I saw a regular running buddy Paul who had started in the 8:30 group and had passed me earlier. I was surprised to see him as I thought he would have been further ahead of me. Turned out, he was on his way back down after the loop. He was WAY ahead of me! We had to go along a track where we met fellow runners on their way back out of the loop and heading towards the finish line. Although I hated the fact that we got that close to the finish STILL with over 7km to go, I did like seeing other runners who I wouldn’t otherwise have seen – the likes of Karen, Sue, Christine and Gary (Gary was ahead of Christine, unlike last year when Christine finished just ahead of him and MC Karen took great pleasure in announcing that fact!). 

After that section we ran downhill for about 2km. That can’t be good – “What goes down must come up”. And boy did we come up!

I had met Ambers Ridge once before but didn’t remember it. I won’t forget it now!

It is way worse than Black Hill, the normal big climb towards the end of Yurrebilla. It is a climb of about 1.5km, mostly on Besser blocks (a bit like Black Hill). The slope is up to 38 degrees. Here I met James, who I’d done a few trail runs with since the Adelaide Marathon. He had started at 7 and was still looking pretty strong.

He’d been to a wedding interstate on Friday and had entered Yurrebilla semi-last minute when he realised the wedding was not on the Saturday as he had first thought!

Also on the climb I ran into Tim, who was a fellow 8am starter who I’d done a couple of group trail runs with. He was also aiming for 7 hours but had pretty much decided that was out of the question (this was the point at which I decided that I wasn’t going to be able to crack 7 hours, and decided to stop looking at my watch except to see the kilometres tick over).

The whole loop, from when we first met the pirates to when we saw them again, was around 5.6km. And it was a looooong 5.6km!

Then we were back onto familiar territory, the usual descent back down to the finish. That is a technical steep descent of around 1.5km. I wasn’t able to run it as quickly as usual because I’d smashed my legs on the climbs, plus it was a bit slippery and of course I didn’t want to fall over, because I highly doubted I’d be able to get back up!

 Somewhere around here I passed Simon, who was an 8:30 starter, having passed me much earlier. I said as I passed him, “I’m just going to pass you, because then I can say I passed you, feel free to pass me again!” (He didn’t, but he still managed a sub-7 hour time)

And then, after the challenging descent, that finish! What a great feeling, getting called across the finish line by MC Michelle, and then seeing both my parents there to watch me finish. My watch showed 7:19 on the dot (around 12 minutes slower than last year) and my official time was exactly the same.

Then came the best part – celebrating with friends, and watching others finish. 

Beck and Kate presented me with a glass of sparkling wine which I gladly accepted, and the long-awaited lemonade icy pole!

It was great to see that Graham had finished. He had been picked up by Liam and Tom after being on the verge of pulling out, and ran/walked most of the rest of the course with them. Whe I saw him he was wearing a T-shirt that said ‘Everything hurts and I’m dying’ which summed it all up nicely!

I stayed until the cut off time of 5:30. Karen’s husband Daryl, who had walked with Mike, made it with half an hour to spare (last year he made it by mere minutes). We were standing around anxiously awaiting the last 2 Yurrebilla Legends, John and Terry, who both made it within the last 10 minutes. All the other Legends had already finished. Not long after those two, Kristy finished with running buddy Uli, who had long since finished but went back up to run the last little bit with her. I saw a fair bit of that, lots of people crossing the line in pairs or threes, and people going back to finish with their friends. MC Michelle even went back up to cross the line with her husband Mark.

Once the finish line was closed I made my way back home, as a few of us were going out for a Thai meal. I find that spicy food is an excellent recovery meal so I went with a green curry which was delicious, along with the best part of a bottle of Jansz sparkling – I’d forgotten that last year I’d brought a bottle of Jansz to the finish line! I guess that’s tradition now! I managed to manoeuvre myself into my compression pants, which I would leave on for a good 24 hours to aid recovery.

So – time for a quick bit of analysis. According to Strava I got 15 personal records (ie segments faster than last year). I was on track for a sub 7 hour until the 44km mark. The ONLY thing that stopped me was those f***ing climbs at the end. And that’s just a training thing. My lack of hill training really found me out. Considering the
training I’ve done, I have to be really happy with that run.

A MASSIVE thankyou to Race Director Barry McBride, MC and general legend Michelle Hanlin, and all on the Yurrebilla committee for making this event the brilliant day that it always is, especially given the massive challenge of having to change the course at the last minute (yeah, maybe not so much thanks to Barry and Matt Angus and any other sadists involved in devising the last 12km!!!) Thanks also to the fantastic volunteers and supporters, the fabulous Race Ambassadors Majell and Lucy, and last but not least all the wonderful runners/walkers for the brilliant camaraderie out there – according to the results it looks like we had 464 finishers, a big jump from last year’s record of 400!

So, what’s next?

In 4 weeks I’ve got the Heysen 105km ultra where I am confident of a PB. Before that, I’ve got the McLaren Vale half marathon in 2 weeks where I am the 2 hour pacer. I’ll try to sneak in a few nice long trail runs too!

Next year – that sub 7 hours will be mine!

I’ve talked about Yurrebilla 56km ultramarathon before but for the uninitiated I’ll bring you up to speed. It is a 56km course through Adelaide’s hills, from Belair to Athelstone, where you’re never more than 12km from the Adelaide CBD. (There are places on the course where you can be running through beautiful bushland, feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere,  then look to the side and see the buildings of the CBD… a stark contrast!) Each year more and more people take up the challenge, with over 400 people lining up this year. It is a wave start, with waves starting at 6am, 7am, 8am and 8:30am (the last group is the ‘racing’ group – only people who enter this group can be considered for a placing). All groups have a 5:30pm cut-off, the idea being that the people who expect to take longer to complete the course will start earlier, to give them the most time.

I decided to enter this year’s event after volunteering last year and having just the BEST time! Despite having a fairly busy programme of events this year, Yurrebilla was always at the forefront, being the one event that I knew 12 months ago that I would be running this year.

I did all 3 of the training runs which covered the entire course. I did a number of other trail runs too including a new event at Belair National Park (where I was lucky enough to win a random prize draw for a pair of trail shoes!), several night runs, several 24k Cleland loops, plus 2 of the training runs for the Heysen 105k later in the year. So despite most of my training runs being on roads, I felt like I had enough time out on the trails to be ready for Yurrebilla Ultra Marathon (YUM for short – legendary for the fantastic food provided at the aid stations – its motto could well be ‘come for the food, stay for the run!’

I had paid for my entry 6 months earlier, having won a silent auction as part of a fundraiser for fellow runner Emma. I didn’t actually enter until much later but once I had forked out the cash I was pretty much committed! I decided to enter the 7am wave – 6am was way too early for me, given I would need to get up 2 hours earlier than that to eat breakfast and get myself to Athelstone to be on a 6am bus – plus there was the small matter of a very poorly scheduled but unmissable Sebastian Bach gig on the Saturday night… ’twas going to be a late night followed by an early morning! 8am was doable (and tempting) but I thought I might get caught up running with the faster runners and burn myself out early. Plus if everything was to fall apart, I would regret not giving myself the extra hour to finish. (Later in the week I was offered a lift to the start at Belair by regular trail and road running buddy Beck which I had no hesitation in accepting – I would still need to get up to eat at 5 but at least I would have time to be sure I had everything ready, rather than having to rush around too much!)

Having run City-Bay the previous weekend (a greater contrast you could not imagine), I planned a relatively easy training week in the lead-up to YUM. Tuesday was my fast run for the week – it was a bit of a struggle after pushing myself to the limit at City-Bay! I also felt a bit of left hamstring soreness during the run but nothing that I thought would impair me at YUM. Thursday was an easier paced run and Friday I opted for a brisk walk rather than a run. Saturday morning parkrun was a light ‘jogette’ with Beck and her daughter with more focus on socialising. By Saturday the hamstring soreness was gone and I was feeling fresh and ready and raring to go!

The most important decision was what to wear! The forecast was for a maximum of 24 degrees. Normally in an event, I’m done by the time the maximum temperature hits. On this occasion I would be out there until mid afternoon so most likely would be running in 24 degrees. That’s not hot,  but it’s warmer than I’ve been used to.

I had most of my outfit worked out weeks ago. On the bottom half it would be the black lululemon skirt (black as opposed to my otherwise identical white one, because dirt!) with one zip pocket plus 2 side pockets for snacks. Under that, Skins compression shorts, which I wear for all long runs and would also be good for my hamstring. On the legs,  blue Compressport calf sleeves to match my blue Salomon Speedcross 3 trail shoes – shoes nicely broken in with over 100km of trail running. The socks were black Nike – black again because DIRT! I also planned to tape my arches for blister prevention –  I did feel the beginnings of a blister there during City-Bay.

On the top I was tossing up between 2 tops (both lulu, naturally!). One was blue and one was cream – both coordinated nicely with the rest of the outfit and both had been tested on longish trail runs with the trusty Ultimate Direction Jenny backpack. In the end I decided to go with both – wear one and carry the other in case I needed a wardrobe change midway. To top it all off I had my rainbow striped arm socks and light running gloves ready in anticipation of a chilly start. I also had my white 2XU white hat… white not the most practical colour for a trail run but that particular hat had seen me run a marathon PB and good runs at City2Surf and City-Bay, so of course superstitious me had to go with it!

In the bag I had a compression bandage in case of snake bite, a few band-aids, baby wipes and ziploc bags I was really hoping not to need, and a small handheld torch for Echo Tunnel… that tunnel scares the crap out of me!

Given the buffet on offer at the aid stations I didn’t plan to carry much food. I had 2 nut bars cut in thirds, some Lifesavers and almonds, and a packet of plain potato chips. In addition I had a small bottle of Gatorade and one of water, which I planned to top up at the drink stops.

Most importantly of all I had left a nice bottle of Jansz sparkling wine and an icy cold can of Coke with MC extraordinaire Karen, to have there for me at the finish. I was sure that as I ran the tricky last few kilometres, that sweet nectar would be at the forefront of my mind…

I painted my toenails. I’m not sure why I did that. I never paint my toenails. I have runner’s toenails.  I guess I was anticipating that there wouldn’t be much left to paint after YUM, so I thought I’d do it while I still could!

Despite saying all along that I just wanted to finish and enjoy the day, I did have a goal of finishing in under 7.5 hours (people had said ‘double marathon time’ was a good guide – which for me was 7.25 – 7.5 hours. I wrote down the estimated times I expected to be at each drink stop. My parents wanted to come see me at the 3rd drink stop near their place so I needed to give them a rough estimate of when I’d be there. Missing the cut-off time was not a concern.

Race day came and along with it the 5am alarm. My ears were still ringing andy voice a little hoarse from the EXTREMELY loud and EXTREMELY awesome concert the previous night. I mixed up and downed my breakfast shake (Weet-bix, muesli, rice milk and a little cacao powder) and got dressed. It felt weird putting sunscreen on at 5:30am but at least that would get me through the first few hours of the race. I got to the start at Belair Railway Station in plenty of time to enjoy the atmosphere and have a quick toilet stop. (The bus, as it turned out, was a bit late and got there not long before the 7am start!) There was a guy playing some kind of unidentified string instrument… nice and laid back for a Sunday morning!

It was a tad on the cool side so I had my arm socks on but not cold enough to need gloves. I had my XS Energy drink – normally I have that before a race when I want to run fast, on this occasion it was purely to counteract the sleep deprivation!

After a briefing from Event Director Barry McBride, at 7am we were off! I had planned to run with Beck, Kate and Alison but at the start Kate and Alison were a bit behind us (having arrived on the bus) so Beck and I did our own thing,  expecting that the other two would catch up.

Knowing that there was 56km to go, we tried not to set out too quickly but it was hard! The first few kms were just over 6 minutes… that was hardly sustainable over 56km but the terrain was downhill and maybe just a little uphill. The plan was that we would run the downhills, flats and gentle uphills, and walk the steep uphills.

The first hurdle was Echo Tunnel… I had my torch in hand and managed to get through unscathed… the organisers had even lit it with little candles (I think battery operated) which was a nice touch! Still, it was a relief to be out of there… weirdly that is my least favourite part of the whole course!

Before we knew it we were at the first drink stop at Sheoak Rd. I had safely tucked my predicted times into my backpack and didn’t look at them again, but looking back at it now, at 7 hour pace we were predicted to be there at 7:37 – we were 3 minutes ahead of this. It was a quick stop as we really didn’t need anything by this stage. The volunteers were all in onesies… I imagine by the time the last runners came through that stop they would have been getting a bit warm! (I had already removed my sleeves by this stage.)

Next came my FAVOURITE part of the course – the switchbacks at the top of Brownhill Creek Road! It’s so much fun flying down there, with aeroplane arms, and it’s early in the course so people are still relatively fresh! I later heard that there are often snakes there, and it was perfect snake weather yesterday.  VERY glad I didn’t know that at the time.

Running down Brownhill Creek Road it got a bit chilly – it always seems a good few degrees cooler here. It’s a great place to go for a run on a hot day! I almost contemplated putting the sleeves back on but I knew it would warm up soon enough…

Drink station 2 was at McElligott’s Quarry, around the 10km mark, around 7 minutes ahead of 7 hour pace. I was aware of the risk of dehydration especially since I knew I hadn’t drunk nearly enough the day before. I wasn’t thirsty but had a cup of the event sports drink – Nippy’s True Grit (lemon-lime flavour). I’d only tried it once before and quite liked it.

Stop 3 was Kavel’s Lookout where I was expecting to see my parents. I’d told them to expect me between 8:56 and 9:12. We got there at 8:52 – luckily they were a bit early! Here I had my first food since breakfast – a delicious vegan brownie! I also reapplied my sunscreen with some help from Mum to get the tricky bits on the back of the shoulders. (One advantage of wearing a backpack is that it covers that part of your back that’s really difficult to reach to apply sunscreen!)  Beck left me at that point while I chatted to Mum and Dad a bit more, I told her I’d catch up.

I left Kavel’s and sprinted (well, relatively speaking) up Mt Barker Road to catch Beck. It’s a relatively easy (by easy I mean runnable!) climb but quite tedious and long. I could see Beck’s pink top from a mile away and slowly but surely caught up with her. We shared the path with Sunday cyclists who were all very courteous. Some of them looked like they were doing it pretty tough… I was definitely glad to be on foot and not on 2 wheels!

Pretty early on after the start I thought I needed another toilet stop… I thought it was just psychological and tried to put it out of my mind. I did NOT want to have to resort to a bush wee! (We did see one girl emerging from the bushes early on). I knew there were actual proper toilets at Cleland and we were nearly there, and I also knew there was coffee there, and PIZZA! So we carried on up the road and into Cleland, and before too long we reached the aid station. First stop though was the toilet – there was no queue and we did not want to be wasting time standing in a queue at this point! That taken care of, it was time to hit the buffet!

Now in hindsight I could say we lingered way too long here. At the time I was all about enjoying the experience, and I don’t regret anything, but if time was an issue, this stop was the killer! After being ahead of 7 hour pace for the first 3 stops, we left Cleland at 9:48, 15 minutes behind 7 hour pace, and 4 minutes behind 7.5 hour pace. But having said that, if we’d rushed through that stop, who knows if I would have had the energy to do what I did from there on?

So at Cleland there was a coffee van. Beck and I both went for a short black – I didn’t want to linger over a long black, plus it was getting warm so I didn’t really feel like a hot drink. It was pretty good too! There was also freshly made pizza – I couldn’t bring myself to have any of that but it looked and smelled amazing. What I did have though was some boiled potatoes dipped in salt… OMG so good, who knew? I also had some vegan fruit cake which was also delicious! I can’t remember what else was there but there were plenty of options, definitely something for everyone!  It was a bit overwhelming actually… like a Vegas buffet! Like at all the stations there were familiar faces volunteering here including Sally and Victoria. Sally had run her first marathon earlier this year and people had been trying to talk her into running Yurrebilla (exactly like what happened to me last year!) I encouraged her to volunteer if she didn’t want to be talked into running, and I was glad to see her out there. I have a feeling she’ll be running it next year…

Eventually we left Cleland, and for the first time since the start we saw Kate and Alison. They were behind us and we were walking up a hill… I think they were suggesting we were a bit soft for walking! All in good fun though… we ran together for a short time. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, both of them like me were ultra virgins. Also around this point we ran with local running identity Chris (aka Chicken – of The Running Company – best running store EVER) and his wife Megan.

Somewhere between the Pillbox and Coach Road stops we were passed by a guy with a white bib, an 8:30 starter. I looked at my watch, it was 10:26 so we were nearly 3.5 hours in and he had started 2 hours ago. That turned out to be race ambassador and eventual winner David Byrne (in a new race record time – 4 hours 20-something minutes for 56km – bloody amazing!)

As we got close to 28km I wished I’d brought my old iPhone with me… given 28km was the halfway mark I thought it would have been appropriate to play Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ at that point. (I almost always mentally sing the chorus at the halfway point of a race). What to do… the only thing I could do was sing it! 28km also happily was the location of a drink station, at Coach Road. Here we met up with a large contingent from the 6am start group, including fellow virgins Ali and Libby (and many more). So I burst into song… “Oh – we’re halfway there…” and a few people joined in. I did struggle to hit the high notes!

After we left that stop Beck and I did a few more songs to the amusement of those around us (OK it was mostly me) – ‘Eye Of The Tiger’ and ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’ were belted out with great gusto!

The next challenging section was the climb out of Horsnell Gully. I decided (to the probable horror of those around me) to ‘treat’ everyone to a rendition of Miley Cyrus’ ‘The Climb’. Running up a hill, while singing, is a bit tricky, I discovered! Once again the high notes were a bit beyond me. The distraction was good though because the next time I looked at my watch we’d passed the 30km barrier!

At some point before the next stop at Woods Hill, Beck spotted a koala in a nearby tree… well she HEARD it, and eventually saw it! It was really close to the road and quite low down, I’d already passed it but turned around and ran back to see it. It really seemed to be cheering us on!

The next (and as far as I know only other) proper toilet stop on the course was at Norton Summit, however as we approached, both Beck and I decided we didn’t need to go and could make it to the finish.  That was possibly an indicator that we weren’t hydrated enough – I didn’t end up going again until the post-race dinner!

At the aid station at Morialta Cottage, around 37km, we were greeted by James and his family driving by with supplies for us! James is a regular running buddy and had earlier messaged Beck to see if she (and I) needed anything. I had requested a lemonade ice block. I have not had one of those in YEARS but wow, it was sooo good! (James was also the one who had brought me hot coffee during the 6 hour event a few months back – once again he had brought me EXACTLY what I needed!)

Beck and I walked for a bit and ate our ice blocks. Not long after this (I think it was 38km – 18km from the finish) Beck said she needed to walk for a bit as her heart was racing a bit. After making sure she was definitely OK and had a phone in case she got into trouble, and promising to wait for her at the finish before cracking open the bubbly, I left her and went off on my own.

It was a bit weird running on my own after running with Beck for so long, but I quickly settled into my rhythm. 40km came and went without an issue – I NEVER felt that fresh at 40km in a marathon! Of course I was running a lot slower here,  and stopping regularly,  and eating. I was glad to have my snacks on board as there were times in between stations where I needed a little sustenance. I don’t do gels. Never have and don’t ever plan to. In road races I stick with sports drinks and in trail runs it’s actual real food.

The only really tough section for me was between the 42.2km and 45km marks.  There was a small station at Deepview (42.2km) with our lovely cocktail waitresses in fishnets and sexy cocktail frocks, serving drinks on silver platters. We had Sally, Sonja, Deb and Harry. Yes, Harry is a man and yes he was wearing a rather fetching strapless number. (And enjoying it way too much I might add!) In hindsight I should really have had a Coke here. I don’t often drink Coke and I didn’t want to start drinking it too early – so I resisted. But that sugar hit may have made the next section a little easier.

I don’t know why but the next 3 or so km seemed like an eternity. I was on my own for most of it, and I didn’t see any trail markers for what seemed like ages, so I was worried that I may have missed a turn somewhere! I knew there was a drink stop soon so I finished my bottle of sports drink, planning to top up at the next stop, at Moores Track. My spirits lifted when I saw the CFS truck and the fireys at the drink station! I clearly hadn’t studied the competitor’s manual enough though because the 45km stop only had water and Coke! Again in hindsight I definitely should have had a Coke here because the next stop was not for another 5km, at Quarry Track, at the bottom of Black Hill.

Luckily my Lifesavers saved me and got me through to the last drink stop. There I was ably assisted by Diane and got my bottles topped up, and had a quick bite to eat. I also saw husband and wife Brian and Shannon who had been planning to do Yurrebilla together before Shannon rolled her ankle a few weeks ago. Brian ran it on his own instead with Shannon supporting him, but sadly he too rolled his ankle around Cleland and had to pull out. This couple clearly does everything together! I said it was the universe telling them that they were MEANT to do Yurrebilla together – next year guys!

I was happy with my time at that point. With 6km to go I was at 6 hours 19 minutes. Still 70 minutes inside my goal time of 7 hours 30. If I couldn’t do the last 6km (even including the brutal climb up Black Hill) in 70 minutes something was seriously wrong! I thought 7:15 looked like a better goal.

Black Hill is nasty but didn’t scare me. I started to feel the niggle in my left hip that normally comes much earlier in long runs. I had Voltaren on board but that would have required me to take off my backpack to get it, and I didn’t want to do that. Besides, anti-inflammatories + dehydration + heat is a bad combination!  So I pressed on and it soon went away.

Looking at my Strava times for the 3km of the Black Hill ascent I averaged about 10 minutes per km which was not too bad… I even managed one more little bit of singing, this time a version of ‘Running Up That Hill’ – I’d changed the lyrics to ‘Walking Up Black Hill’! I did walk pretty much all of it – it’s hardly runnable at the best of times, let alone after 50km!

Once I had completed that climb there was about 3.5km to go and it was just after 1:45 (6 hours 45 after I started). 7:15 was a no-brainer – I could almost get close to 7 hours! (Without the extended Cleland stop it could definitely have been sub-7!)

I LOVED that last section. All downhill,  a few tricky sections especially right near the end but just so enjoyable. I managed to pass a few people along this section too! 55km showed on my watch when I passed the awesome bell-ringers – they told me 1.5km to go, so obviously my watch was a little out, but still… 1.5km was nothing!

I remembered what race ambassador Tymeka Warburton had said at a ‘newbies’ dinner earlier in the year. Enjoy the finish. Don’t run, walk. Soak it all in. I was flying for the last km until a guy told me ‘200m to go’. Once I heard the crowd and saw the finish line I slowed down. I didn’t walk but I jogged. I heard MC Karen call me over the line, stopped my watch, got ‘badgered’, got my sweet sweet bling and hugged a few people (sorry I can’t remember who – it was a bit overwhelming!) I was pleasantly surprised to see Mum there – I hadn’t expected her to be at the finish! Luckily she was early because I was well ahead of where I had thought I’d be – my time was 7:06:48. I was STOKED.

It was just after 2:00. The next few hours were so enjoyable, watching people finish and catching up with friends everywhere I turned – runners, volunteers and spectators. It was such a perfect day to be out in the sunshine with friends. Beck finished under 8 hours as she’d hoped, and as soon as I saw her I cracked open the bubbles and poured us both a glass. Then I had a celebratory drink with Mum before wandering around with the bottle and a couple of glasses,  offering it to anyone that would take it! (I wasn’t driving, but even though it was Jansz I didn’t particularly want to drink the rest of the bottle myself!)

Later after Mum left I had a few more drinks with Mandy, Sue, Leanne, Lorraine et al who had several more bottles in their esky!

I had an AMAZING vegan pie floater from ‘Give Peas A Chance’. I had never had a pie floater before in my life! Soooo good.

I stayed till after the 5:30pm cutoff – tradition states that Yurrebilla is not over until the last person finishes. The last person across the line, with 2 minutes to spare, was MC Karen’s husband Daryl. I think there were 440 registered, and exactly 400 finishers. All 6 of the Yurrebilla Legends (those who have done all 9 events) finished.

Then it was on to the dinner – me still in my race gear (sans shoes and socks – I had changed into sandals earlier and was happy to see I still had all my toenails!) and wearing my medal. I put on my race singlet – superstition states that it is bad luck to wear an event singlet before finishing said event. I could legitimately wear it now.

I wolfed down 2 serves of vegetarian pasta and a couple of rolls. The tiredness was really sinking in by then. Once the presentations to the placegetters and the speeches were over, I eventually got home and showered, and spent the rest of the night catching up with Facebook posts from friends. It was nearly midnight before I got to bed – still wearing my medal!

A few people told me I had potential to do even better.  Graham told me I should consider getting some 1:1 coaching and I might really scare myself how fast I could go! Justin told me at dinner “OK you’ve had your fun now… time to stop just running and start RACING!” By that he meant no lingering at drink stops,  no singing, definitely no selfies! We’ll see… let’s see what hext year brings!

It was just the BEST day. And a perfect weekend – my Hawks winning their way into another AFL Grand Final, and finally seeing Sebastian Bach live (AND getting a retweet from him on Twitter – gobsmacked!)

Thankyou SO VERY much to everyone that made it possible!

Now I just have to wait 52 weeks for my chance to do it all again!

If you’re thinking about it – stop thinking and put it in your calendar for 2016 RIGHT NOW!