If Aus Mtn Running Champs Were One Week Later...

Fresh Autumn snow blanketed kunanyi / Mount Wellington a couple of Sunday's ago.  It was exactly a week after our mountain hosted the Australian Trail Running Championships.  What if the snow and the championships coincided?  

Panorama Track

Settled snow would have been encountered at the event's halfway mark on the steep Old Hobartians track.  Front runners would have encountered fresh powdery drifts approaching knee deep in the lee of bushes for the final stretch along the Zig Zag Track.  Winds approaching 100kph would have greeted runners at the finish with apparent temperatures below -20°C.

Loo with a View!

I'm sure was not the only one having those thoughts as I reveled in the conditions and enjoyed the irony of the timing.  I passed several other trail runners and hikers en route but, with the road closed and some good timing, I had the summit area to myself.

Leaving first prints in fresh powder - My Salomon SpeedCross 4s

A particularly nasty snow shower had greeted one of my trail running mates for his arrival at the summit a little earlier as I was battling my way up the road between The Chalet and Panorama Track in relative shelter.  Timing was on my side as blue sky and sunshine accompanied the icy winds for my brief summit visit.  Running down the road from the summit invoked a strange, euphoric feeling as the freezing conditions on my exposed skin contrasted dramatically with my core which still felt toasty from the uphill slog.

Summit selfie

The euphoria lasted for half the descent before sudden demotivation shocked me at the junction of Old Hobartians and the North-South Track.  My phone battery went flat - no Strava!!!

My Strava track with tell-tale straight line indicating battery failure half-way home.

The trudge over what Kylie and I call Priests Hill behind our house became unusually arduous.  The steep descent on the other side lifted my spirits briefly before hitting the more gradual drops on our backyard trails.  These became a snails-paced grind as I got annoyed at my Strava-induced withdrawal symptoms.

Actual stats were more like 21km in 3:23 for a respectable 9:40/km with 1300m ascent

My final kilometre struck a happier chord as I went low-tech, looked at my trusty Big W watch and started running some numbers through my head the old-fashioned way.  Despite feeling much of my descent was a drag, the overall average speed for my outing was a respectable 9:40/km - not terrible considering the  harsh conditions and overall ascent.  I arrived home a very happy trail runner!

2018 Australian Mountain Running Championships

Happy finishers

Fine and mild conditions (by Tassie standards) accompanied runners as they ascended through the stringy bark (E. obliqua) forests on kunanyi / Mount Wellington's lower slopes in the 2018 Australian Mountain Running Championships.  After leaving Talosa Park fire trails gave plenty of elbow room as social joggers like myself were soon separated from serious contenders on the steep sections before reaching the single MTB track at the head of Lenah (Kangaroo) Valley.

Aside from mingling at the start I had no chance of seeing the elite males.  However ladies started 5 minutes later so it was inspiring to see the first two elite ladies scoot past at the junction Merton/Kangaroo junction.  It's a real buzz to see the elite runners.  For me this feeling goes way back to 1985 when the first Burnie Ten gave me the opportunity to 'compete' in my home town against Steve Monaghetti in the first of his many road running successes.

Upon reaching the North-South MTB Track a delightfully level(ish) kilometre of berms and turns led into the mossy-floored, broad-leaf scrub beside the New Town Rivulet.  After crossing the clapper bridge a cheeky marshal advised, "Savour that fast bit.  You won't see any more downhill for a long time!"

Organ Pipes

As the steepness of Old Hobartians started to warm things up light rainfall set in - enough to cool things down but not enough to be miserable.  Sandstone overhangs, waterfalls and several switchbacks helped distract from the incessant climb.  A cheer squad at the Hunters Track junction clapped and enthusiastically voiced their encouragement giving an additional morale boost.

At the only road crossing on the course a quick refreshment at the Chalet heralded the longest flat section of the course.  Two kilometres of Organ Pipes Track kept runners around the 1000m level.  The first half gave opportunities to glimpse fluted dolerite columns peering through the mist above and fleeting views through the snow gums (E. coccifera) to the city below.  Recent track work on the second half produced a challenging quagmire which felt like running on glue and added to the entertainment value of the day.  I loved this section which felt like flying compared with the earlier uphill grind.  The bouldery sections were delightfully familiar and the slippery slop most entertaining.

Above the clouds on the way back down

The Zig Zag Track should have presented the final hurdle - a 270m climb in little over a kilometre.  However, after completing that, the mountain had one more challenge in store.  Once the plateau was attained winds gusting around 65kph turned what should have been a fast, flat finish into a gruelling slog.  Those winds combined with a summit temperature of 8°C translating into an apparent temperature (wind chill) of -2°C making runners, both local and interstate, rush for their warm gear at the finish.

After a short break Kylie and I headed back down the mountain pleased that we had both beaten our PBs from the training runs of recent weeks.  Several runners had returned via the same route as the climb but we took the 1.5km shorter route down via the Panorama Track and arrived back at Glenorchy MTB Park with 30 minutes to spare before presentations.

Information about placegetters and complete results can be found on the Australian Mountain Running Association website.