Two Bays Trail Run 56km

Signed up this race last year after TNF100 and thought I would have time to train for it... Came November, only clocked 58km as I continued to use TNF100 recovery as an excuse to take it easy... Then December... started to "panic" a bit because highly unlikely to do any training between the Xmas and New Year period... So I went into the race with 2 targets in mind... (1) Meet the 28km cut-off time of 3hr30min; and (2) complete the race... Managed to achieve both and live to tell the tale... Here we go...

Day before Race:

Dropped Angel off at Ringwood (thanks Aaron & Yolanda!) and headed off to Get Down Dog Pizza in Flinders to meet up with the Reids for lunch... It was a very enjoyable meal topped with great company.

We then headed off to Cape Schanck lighthouse for a bit of stroll... Saw Rohan and his team of volunteers setting up the Start / Finish area... Anxiety started building up inside me... After a few pictures, we bid farewell to the Reids and checked in to the Eco Cottage at Shanibe Lodge, our home for the next 2 nights. The cottage was lovely and we really enjoyed our stay there. Highly recommend it if you were to take a trip down this end…

Steve & Oliver, Angelena & me, and Cape Schanck Lighthouse

After settling in, we headed out towards Dromana to pick up my race bib and check out what was to be the turnaround point for the 56km race.

Went for an early dinner at Rosebud Hotel and had an early night.

Race day:

Woke up at 4:45am and did all my usual pre-race routine. Jas (superb runner) and Kurt (ironman) picked me up around 6am and we headed off to Cape Schanck, which is about 3km from the Cottage.

Jas and Kurt collected their race bibs and we get our gears ready… After the mandatory visit to the toilet, Jas and I hung around the start to wait for the gun while Kurt did a few warm up laps around the carpark…

Power couple, Jas and Kurt

Me, Jas and surfer "George"

First 14km

7am sharp and 202 of us were off!!! No mad rush here... I noticed that ultra runners are fairly relax at the start as we know that it is gonna be a long long race… So there is really no point trying to jostle your way to the front (well, unless you think you have a chance of podium) to gain that few spots at the start…

First of the many obstacle

It was great to have Jas running alongside me… She is a superb runner and I knew that if I can keep up with her, I can make the cut-off. Both of kept talking and talking non-stop and we may have disturbed the serenity around us… Oops…

The first few km took us along Bushrangers Bay. The view was simply spectacular! Kept getting sucked in by the view… Luckily, my lack of concentration didn't cause me to fall or trip onto the person in front of me…

The first Aid Station (AS) at Boneo Road was about 5km… Was still fresh and decided to go past it… I have set my 910XT for feed alert every 45mins… We were about 6.8km when my alert came on… Decide to take a Winners bar to chew on it since I was still fresh… To my surprise, I could only managed ¾ of it and gave up… Not sure why... Maybe I was on a climb when I was having it and my mouth just didn't like it…

Made it to the 14km mark around 1hr32min… Very much within the required pace… Phew…

14km to 28km

My race strategy was to walk uphills, run the flats and race downhills… Arrived at the Browns Road AS around the 18km mark… Had a quick cup of coke while Jas topped up her water… 

We were happy with our progress until we hit the 21.5km mark at the Mc Larens Dam, the start of our climb to Arthurs Seat State Park… This 1km climb alone has an elevation profile of 140m and it took us a good 12mins!!! We continue to climb until around the 25km mark. By now, the lead group had turned around and was heading back to Cape Schanck… Respect… 

Time check, just under 3hrs… 30mins left for 3km of downhills… Sigh of relieve, I knew we were gonna make it… Finally, saw Kurt running up the hill and he was looking strong… Told us that he had taken a wrong turn… Oops, bad luck mate… Quick chat and he’s off…

Kurt already on his way back to Finish

From 268m in elevation, these 3km will take us down to Dromana of just 6m… This was also a preview to what to expect in the return leg… Will worry about it later, need to get to the turnaround point first!!!

Arrived at Dromana in 3hr17min. Target (1) completed!!! Not only that, I was so happy to see Angelena, Lena and the Reids there supporting me…

My die hard fans

Angelena ringing the bell for my turnaround

Had a banana and refilled my pack with water… Took out my shoes and I swear I emptied at least 2 tablespoons of sand from both of my shoes... I could feel my left knee complaining a bit during the downhill… Hence, decided to pop 2 nurofen before I set off for the return leg… Jas decided to retire as she was not feeling well. In fact, she was carrying a cold before race day and she still chose to start... I missed her company for the return leg but applaud and support her decision… There is always another race and she has done a fantastic job completing the 28km in her off form.

29km to 42km

Left Dromana with Neil and had a good chat with him on the climb... I met Neil last year at various trails races and this guy is a machine! He is in his 60s and still races ultra and MTB… RESPECT!!!

The climb back up was mentally draining… Luckily I had Neil providing me with motivation words to block out the negatives that were building in my mind… Neil’s achilles was playing up and slowed him down… He is a very strong man and I have no doubt that he will cross the finish one way or another…

At this stage of the race, I have no more pressure… All I needed to do is to enjoy the journey and finish the race… I remembered the volunteer at the 35km mark telling me:”It’s gonna be all smooth from here, just another half marathon and you are home” Hmm… thanks, good to know…

Arrived back at the Browns Rd AS just under 5hrs… Quick chat with the volunteers and a cup or 2 of coke later, I was on my way… By this time, the field was well spread and I was running alone most of the time… I was enjoying the beauty of nature and counting down the km as I pass each of the markers…

42km to Finish

Time check: 5hr22min. With 14km to go, I would easily meet the 8hrs cut-off… Decided to ease off my pace a bit… My legs then became lazy and there was once that I caught some roots / rocks and nearly fell on my face… If I had got injured, I could have DNF… Out there, you really cannot take things for granted… That woke me up…

Received a SMS from Jas around 48km and told her I was 3km from the Boneo Road AS. Surprise! Surprise! Saw Jas about 500m from the AS… It was great to see a smiley Jas in the middle of nowhere!!! As expected, Kurt finished sub 6hrs… He did it in 5hr40min… Ironman not faze by ultra trail at all…

This is it, 5km to the finish… My spirits were up and I want to finish this race strong… During this last stretch, I actually overtook 4 runners (who’s counting :p) and crossed the finish line in 7hr13min! Another ultra trail under my belt.

Picture: fstop5

Race Summary

Weather: Perfect! No sun, no wind, low 20degrees... The sun was hiding behind the clouds the entire time! I had my sunnies on my head and didn't even need to put them on... Heard from locals that the wind was strong few days before the race and had died down on race day... We were blessed!

Course: Beautiful, spectacular, awesome and tough! Steep climbs, rapid descent, stairs, sand, rocks, tree roots... you named it, this course has it all... The course was well marked and well marshalled... Never once did I felt lost... Also, very well planned by the RD to have the 28km and 56km runners start in opposite directions... The split also created less congestion...

Aid stations: Good spread through the course. Water, electrolyte drinks and Coke were provided. There were also Powerbar gels. Volunteers at the AS were extremely helpful and provided excellent services!  

Volunteers: All of them were dressed in Hawaiian style one way or another. This is great because we can identify them straightaway... All of them did a superb job... Never cease to put a smile on my face each time I see them... Thank you guys!!!

Nutrition: Started the race with 3 GU gels, 2 Winners bar, 2.5 packets of GU Chomps, coke with chia seeds and 600ml of Gatorade. First 28km, consumed ¾ Winners bar, 1.5 packets of GU Chomps, half coke with chia seeds. Next 28km, consumed banana (at turnaround), 3 GU gels, 1 packet GU Chomps, half coke with chia seeds and an apple.

This race also allowed me to test out my new toy Salomon XA Advanced Skin S-Lab 12. Awesome pack, just need to be able to stretch and reach the pockets. A few times it was "compressing" me a bit when I eat and I have to loosen the straps... Then when I started running again, it rub my neck a bit and I have to adjust it... Think the bag too is big for me... Will just have to try again to make it work... Realised that both of my ribs are a bit sore, maybe the bottles was pushing into it all the time... At least now I have an idea as to how to fully utilise this bag for TNF in May. 

I had a wonderful weekend, spending time with my loves ones and good friends. Considering the amount of training (or lack of it) that I had put in, I am really happy with the result.  Will I be back for the 2014 edition of this race? Only time will tell…

P.S. More pictures from the race on my FB page.

Finisher medal/bottle opener