2 OUT OF 3 WINS FOR LANGHANS AT TWILIGHT TRILOGY

Contributed by Geoffrey Langhans, AURA member (Happy Valley, SA), 1st Male at Cosmos Run & Moon Run & 2nd Male at Star Run

GOODRUNNINGS TWILIGHT TRILOGY (COSMOS RUN, STAR RUN, MOON RUN), BRIGHTON (SA), 24-26 February 2023

The Twilight Trilogy is a series of 3 coastal events in Adelaide aimed to make the most of the last long summer evenings. Each event has a range of distances from 1km to 50km with most distances centred around repeats of a 5km loop and based at 1 of 3 beachside suburbs: Seacliff, Brighton and Glenelg. Although the 3 races formed a series, many competitors enter just one but I was keen for a challenge so signed up for each 50km race. I’d done a number of much longer ultras but had never attempted them on consecutive days and I was about to learn some important lessons.

Cosmos Run, Race 1 – I can do this

I’ve run enough ultras now that my routine is structured and clear. Control what you can control, prepare for want you can’t. Preparing for a 41°C day was not what I wanted to be bracing for though.

The start was delayed by 2 hours to 6pm and as we assembled on the start line the temperature had dropped to a more reasonable 33°C. In addition to my usual supplies, I’d stocked an esky with Zooper Doopers which soon became the highlight of each lap. The field was small and became smaller with entrants withdrawing due to the heat, or switching their registration to a shorter event or different day.

Other than the heat, the biggest challenge was keeping my pace down and not leave myself empty for races 2 and 3. If it was a stand-alone 50km event, I’d be targeting 4.5 hours but had decided 6-6.5 hours would be the aim for race 1. Making plans is a strength of mine…sticking to them is not. I was feeling good so ran faster than I’d planned. 5:28 after we started, I crossed the finish line in first place. It always feels good finishing any ultra and even better when you place well, but I would have to wait until tomorrow to see how much I’d short-changed myself.

Star Run, Race 2 – I chose to do this?

Everything between finishing race 1 and starting race 2 was about recovery and I was feeling pretty good. Not ‘ready for another ultra’ good but probably the best I’ve felt the day after a sizeable run and the forecast on day 2 was a much cooler 26°C.

In race 2 I was up against some fresh faces (and legs) and one runner from yesterday’s event. We started and after 2km it became clear I would be much more successful today at employing the run, walk, repeat strategy that I had only managed to follow partially yesterday. Not that I had any choice…I just couldn’t sustain the run stints for very long. Without any cloud cover, the direct sunlight took its toll and the run segments grew shorter and shorter.

I was in second place for most of the race, trailing the leader by about 25 minutes and in front of third by about 15 minutes. The sun set and my running picked up. The gap to first closing and that to third growing. My fastest kilometre of the race was my last and I finished second in 6:10, 10 minutes behind first. I was happy to be 1 of just 2 people who had completed both 50km races thus far, although anxiety about race 3 started to set in.

Moon Run, Race 3 – I don’t know if I can do this.

Even having invested everything into recovery I began to doubt whether I could finish race 3, or perhaps even start it. My body was sore and had had enough. It was forecast to be another sunny afternoon, just 24°C but with strong winds. I questioned whether I should just walk with a mindful eye on the Belair Marathon in a week’s time and decided to just listen to my body. No matter whether it wanted me to run, walk or quit, I would comply. Perhaps because it was race 3 and others had decided they’d had enough, or the clash of race days with Adelaide Trail Runners and Coastal Fun Run events, but only 2 of us lined up in the 50km race.

I was running against Hans, a German runner who was the only other entrant to have finished both other 50km races. Hans was a seasoned ultrarunner on holidays here (he needed to keep his training up for a 1,300km race across Germany in August) and at the start line informed me that tonight may well be his night. I liked his chances too. While he seemed to get better from race to race, I was heading the other way. The wind was coming from the southwest and provided welcome assistance while running north but made the southerly legs feel longer. Despite my earlier doubts, I settled into a strong rhythm and reached the 25km mark slightly quicker than I had the previous night.

I expected a wall at some stage and I thankfully couldn’t see it approaching yet. My pace improved as the night set in and the wind weakened. I soon realised that I would not only finish but that I was a good chance of beating my own time from race 2. Somehow, I was getting faster as the race went on and 5:56 after we started, I crossed the line in front of Hans who had run his fastest race of the trilogy.

151.21km and 51:53 after we’d started on Friday evening, I was done. A successful series, not just results-wise but also the lessons learned which I will draw upon in future challenges.

Thank you to Dawn and Rob from GoodRunnings for all of their efforts, support and time. The trilogy were a great series filled with kind and wonderful people across all distances and I was grateful to have been a part of it.