I made it ... and came 12th!

Big relief - I made it through without falling over from cramp or fatigue!! I also came 12th overall and missed the previous course record by only 4 minutes! Stoked. Official place - 12th (2nd in my age group) and official time 2:34:32.

My prediction for 1st place was bang on - Tucks won in 2hrs 17mins (13 mins ahead of last year's winning time). Somehow Terence, who was with me for a few km's before and after Wattamolla, had an incredible second half and came in 4th. Poor Tiger (the mad bastard) limped home in 3:17)

What an incredible race though. It was a perfect day and the track was in pretty good condition. SO hard though - picture the most difficult terrain types you could think of, and they're all thrown into this course. You couldn't stop concentrating at all, meaning that it's mentally draining as well. Despite the steep hills, steps and soft sand, I found running through the long grass the toughest. You just couldn't get a rythm, and were constantly at risk of falling into a hole and spraining an ankle. There were a couple of guys absolutely flying along these sections though, so clearly I just need more practice. I didn't mind the metal walkways, though I was careful not to slip, and I really enjoyed the rocky sections that reminded me of the top of North Head.

I started in the 10th wave of 2, but caught a lot of people up the first hill. I followed the Tiger down the palm jungle, and took my first (and only) stack. After the palms, I lost a few spots through the grass, but picked up some more up the hills/stairs leading to Era. I actually didn't mind the downhill-beach-uphill-rocks cycle, but it clearly took it out of me. Around 20km, Terence and some sponsored dude left me, and I felt like I just got slower. The last 4km were torture - mostly on soft sand. With 500m to go, there was a little steep uphill, and my legs felt like they were starting to cramp, reminiscent of 6 Foot Track. Thankfully, I made it to the finish and smashed some salt tablets to get rid of the cramps!

Mom, Dad and Annabel were brilliant. Dad even ran along the course to give me water bottles! Fantastic day out, and definitely one to do next year.

Some photos and the link to results:
http://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/RaceTecResults/Results.aspx?CId=1&RId=575&EId=1

Running into Garie - supersupporter Dad in the foreground

Running out of Garie - lonely on the soft sand!

10 metres from the finish!