La Diag des Oufs' !: Dendy Park Trail run 2015

After the giant thunderstorm that hit Melbourne yesterday night, just on cue to welcome us back home from the Grampians and Great Ocean Road holidays, this morning is much calmer. The damage can be seen with some trees and branches fallen, and a few puddles, but we are lucky with perfect weather, if a bit cool at the start. We reach Dendy Park early, still in the dark, to get our bibs and chat with everybody before the 7am start.

Brett leads us a few hundred meters away from the line to start, to make it exactly 50km after the 27 loops of 1.8+km. We already have to run to make it in time to the start :-) And here we go! The first few loops are nice and cool, only problem is the portaloos being late, you have to go "off course" for toilets. My goal is to run the 50km in 5h or just under and finish fresh, as a training run for my upcoming 24h race in Portet-sur-Garonne.

The loop is nice and flat, a tiny uphill shortly after the start to get to the road, run along it briefly on concrete, then back on the sandy track, a crossing of the access lane to the carpark, with a volunteer on service the whole time, downhill around the BBQ area, and back to the start around the grassy area.

After an hour, the marathon starts and more people join us. At 9am it's the half-marathon starting, with a bunch of people in white T-shirts running for stem cell research. Apparently they're all from the same family, and other family members are running half-marathons on the 5 continents this same day, in a giant virtual relay for one of their (sick) cousins.

As the day progresses, there are more and more people in the park, walking their dogs, or their kids, or jogging. After about 12 laps, I'm getting a bit sick of it. I guess I'm paying for my "holiday" week and the 80km of running I already have in my legs. Plus I'm losing count of my laps, but that's when Robyn encourages me with a "15laps left!", somehow I thought I had more left than that, so the good surprise boosts me again!

And then Falk arrives from his house down the street, just in time! We run 5 laps together at a good pace, having good company will always cheer you up immediately. We see the 10km runners starting at 10am. There are now runners from 4 different races on the course, running at all different speeds. Not for long though, as Magnuss finishes the 50km in 3h18 (sic) after consistently overtaking me all morning.

And then Peter overtakes us around 10.30 on his way to smash his marathon in 2h38, always looking so easy.

I stop at the aid station every lap to drink some energy drink, and sometimes eat a lolly, in an attempt not to upset my stomach with anything bigger. KathyMac is volunteering and cheering at every lap. By the way, thank you all the vollies!

And then Falk is done with his 12km and leaves, and I take advantage to be alone again to take a pit stop. But then on the next lap as I have just passed Cathy chatting happily with Michelle and another girl Jo, I chat with them for a while but I'm running a bit faster, aiming to run it under 5h. I meet Falk again coming in reverse to see Cathy. I now have only 10 laps to go.

The 10km runners are done, then at 11am the 5km run starts. I'm feeling better now that there's not long to go, and the sun is out. It's actually pretty warm now. I pass a woman who encourages me with a comment like "I can honestly tell you that you look better than some of the 5km runners". That's about the distance I have left now, can't wait to be done, I'm counting the last laps. All the more when every time you pass the line, someone running along you might be done with their own race and stops, while you go out for yet another lap.

Tom is managing the timing, and tells me every time how many laps I have left. Not many now. I can already see that I will be just a little bit short for under 5h, but I really don't feel like pushing any harder to gain a few minutes. At 12am the final race starts, 2km for kids. I'm on my last lap, glad to tell the traffic marshall that he won't see me again. Sue and Mark are just ahead with another guy from the 50km, finishing their marathon a few seconds before me. Done in 5h03, feels good to stop!

Plus I'm welcomed by Brett announcing me second female in the 50km. And just in time to then see Tom smashing his own PB to win the 2km in under 8'! Before the proud eyes of his father :-)

The presentations follow, with the 50km female being last, waiting for the three chatty girls to finish hand in hand, leaving Brett with one trophy for three third place :-)

So I get a nice souvenir trophy for 2nd place and a pair of socks, just a few minutes after Kim finishing in 4h56. I haven't seen her the whole race, we were pretty much doing the same pace the whole time.