2012 Flinders Tour

On Sunday 29th July I returned to the Glasshouse Mountains to race the 51km Flinders Tour trail run for the second consecutive year. Last year I had a pretty good race finishing 12th overall in a 50k PB of 4hrs 50mins. This year my goals were to place in the top 10 and record a new PB.

I have a lot more experience under my belt compared with this time last year. Since last year’s race I have run a marathon and 6 more Ultra's learning a lot about myself and endurance running in the process. After some disappointing results I feel that I have finally fixed my nutritional issues and have fine-tuned my pacing to the point where I am capable of producing some great race results.

I stood at the back of the pack at the start line feeling relaxed and confident in my abilities. As we waited I was chatting with a shivering White Caviar and introduced him to my mates Andy Sewell and the 'Tattoo Runner' Mat Grills who was standing in all his inked glory sans shirt and wearing his Luna Sandals.

With a holler and shuffle of feet we were off. Within a couple hundred metres we made a right turn from the bitumen path onto the gravel track that leads us to the imposing climb up to the summit of Mt Beerburrum. Almost immediately the field began to spread out with pre-race favourite Julian Spence taking an early lead.

By the time we reached the concrete path that takes us to the summit I found myself in 10th place with Marty a few spots ahead. This climb is short but very steep. I settled into a brisk walk / jog combination and passed a few people so that I made it to the summit in 7th, a few seconds behind Marty. That would be the last I would see of one they call "White Caviar" as he galloped his way down the hill, until the turn-around at half-way.

My strategy for the race was to run comfortably for the first 30 or 40km and then pick up my pace so that I finished strong. In the past I have had a tendency to start too quickly and end up fading badly, losing places and lots of time.

After passing the school for the anti-clockwise loop I settled into a comfortable rhythm. After about 5k I was passed by a runner who was going at a pretty quick pace. I was sitting on about 5mins/km and I was not prepared to go any faster to stay with him. A few kilometres later another runner passed me but again I resisted the urge to race him this early in the race. I went through the 10k point in about 56 minutes and felt relaxed and comfortable.

For the race I ran with two 600ml handheld bottles of water and had 6x Hammer Gels with me. My nutritional plan consisted of drinking a mouthful of water every 10 minutes or so and a gel every 45 minutes. It has taken me some time to dial it in correctly but this plan works really well for me and as long as I run at a comfortable pace I do not suffer from gastrointestinal upset anymore.

After about 20k I began to make up some ground on the two runners who had passed me earlier. They had only been a minute or so ahead of me for the majority of the race. I was still running at a comfortable pace around 5 to 5:15min/km depending on the terrain. I was feeling really good and had adjusted my goal to try and make top 5.

What I love about these events are the people, there was an option for slower runners to leave an hour before their respective race (25k/50k) if they felt that they were in danger of missing the course cut-off points. As I was nearing the turn-around I had a chance to see the early runners and leaders in my race and the 25k race, almost every runner had a smile or kind word to say. It feels so good to see people having almost as much fun as me and say hi as we pass each other.

At about 23k I caught the guy who had passed me around the 5k mark. He had slowed quite a bit as he reached for his drink bottles on his waist-pack and I went past into 8th place. I guess he was in racing mode because a short time later he caught me and then put on a little surge. Once again I ran to my plan and let him go. His early pace must have been too quick because it was not long before I passed him back, this time for good.

As I approached the turn-around at the school I had seen the leaders and counted back to confirm that I was still in 8th place. Julian Spence looked like he was really pushing it and was ten minutes ahead of me in first. Marty looked like he was running quick and was in 4th about 7 or 8 minutes ahead. I had been steadily gaining on the guy in front of me for the last few kilometres so that when he stopped to get a drink at the end of the first lap I turned around and moved into 7th while he was still at the checkpoint.

I had been running a bit quicker, with my kilometre splits dropping below 5min/km, as my energy and spirits lifted seeing all the runners in the 25k race who were well into the clock-wise loop. I was racing now and set about picking up two more places. It was beginning to get warm but I was well hydrated and my nutrition was bang-on so I started knocking out regular kilometre splits between 4:30-5min/km.

I refilled my bottles at one of the aid-stations, took a comfort stop and ran on as I sought out my next target. I caught the runner in 6th place at an aid-station around 38k or so. Again he stopped for a drink as I powered through without stopping. I was having so much fun and cranked up my speed to discourage him from any thoughts of trying to stay with me.

I was continually monitoring my pace and gauging how I was feeling. I told myself to keep control and refrain from pushing too hard. My right thigh was tight, similar to how it felt at the Gold Coast Marathon three weeks earlier, but it was not affecting my stride. I walked a few of the smaller hills and kept drinking and eating to plan.

I was regularly catching runners in the 25k race but it wasn't until the second to last aid-station that I caught Jimmy, the runner in 5th position. I had been catching him steadily and when I arrived at the aid-station he was having a drink. There were a number of 25k runners who were running loosely together so that when I filled one of my bottles and took off it looked like I was briefly part of their group. I thought that I would be able stealthily sneak past with Jimmy thinking I was part of the 25k group but the aid-station volunteer called out my number as he recorded it on the running sheet.

All the 25k runners have numbers in the 200 or 300 range and all the 50k runners have numbers in the 500 range so when he called out 548 I thought that any hope of subterfuge was lost. So after I filled my bottle I took off at pace to discourage any thought of him following me.

I was convinced that he was marking my move but I didn't want to look over my shoulder. As a race tactic it is important to focus your energy forwards, unless you are marking a move in a sprint finish looking behind is generally a sign weakness, that the runner is struggling and worried about being passed.

I had run about 44k when I moved into 5th place and was confident that I could hold that position until the end. The faster pace on the second loop meant that I was getting increasingly tired but I wasn't slowing down too much and even wondered if I could catch Marty in 4th or Jeff in 3rd.

At 50k I started to slow as the quicker pace was starting to take its toll a little. I was still having lots of fun and remained upbeat saying hi to the 25k runners as I went past. One of my pre-race goals was to get a PB and after moving through the marathon point in 3hrs 41mins I knew that I would do it comfortably. I had thought that 4:40 or 4:45 was possible but secretly I was aiming for 4:30 to 4:35.

As I rounded a corner I ran towards the finish line giving my mate James' kids a high-five as I passed. I crossed the line in 5th place overall in 4hrs 30mins 58secs. I had done it, I had run a great race with good pacing, spot on nutrition and hydration, finishing strong and achieving my two pre-race goals. I was met and congratulated by Marty who finished just over 5 minutes ahead of me in 4th place in 4:25:26.

Jimmy Tee came in next about two and a half minutes later and I introduced myself as Marty and I talked about our races. After stopping I took stock of my condition and realised that my legs were pretty sore. I was tired but not overly fatigued. I was still on a runners high and set about getting some fluid on board before calling Mel to tell her my news.

Marty, who had travelled from Brisbane with his sister who was running the 10k, went and got something to eat as I chatted to third place-getter Jeff Hannah and waited for Mat and Andy to arrive.

It wasn't too long before Mat arrived with a huge smile in a fantastic new PB of 5:31. He had a great run in his sandals despite getting lost and running an extra 2km or so. I was pretty hungry so while we waited for Andy I grabbed my free vege burger, drink and muffin from the bbq area and found a cosy place in the shade. A short time later Andy came in comfortably under the six hour mark in 5:55:42. He was a bit tired and nauseous but had run a good solid race.

For those that don't know, I am newly vegetarian. I have been struggling with my general nutrition over the last couple of years and have suffered from regular bloating and other stomach problems. I gave up my addiction to V energy drinks in March and after discovering that I had recently developed an allergic reaction to seafood I did some research and read some books about benefits of a vegetarian diet on athletic performance and general well-being. I have not become a vegetarian because I don't like meat, because I do, I'm not a hippy now and I don't want to grow a beard and hug trees all day. It is still early days but I am committed to improving my health and fitness and will be a vegetarian as long as it continues to benefit my overall health.

Once again I would like to thank my wonderful family; Mel, Holly and Ethan who are always so understanding and supportive of my crazy adventures. I would also like to thank and acknowledge all my friends and awesome running partners who continually offer words of support, companionship on training runs and the continual inspiration to get out there and make great things happen.

I would also like to thank in particular the Sadler-Barker family for being great friends and an amazing family. Whenever I come down south to race they are always willing to put me up, even at short notice. I had a really great time catching up again and enjoyed seeing you all. Thank you so much.

My legs are still a little sore and to ensure that I recover properly I am having an easy week this week before I begin my final preparations and fine-tuning for my second redemption race, the Glasshouse 100mile. This is the second of my three major races for this year and I am really looking forward to recording my first 100mile finish. I did not really taper for the Flinders Tour running 63k earlier during the week and had a nice hour-long walk through the Noosa Headland area with the JSB clan the day before the race. I have a few training goals to achieve in my build-up and I will endeavour to post them on here in the coming weeks.

I hope that everyone can find an adventure or activity that they enjoy, remember to be safe, have fun and...............

Keep running.