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JONES TAKES ON THE SURF COAST CENTURY
Contributed by Clifford Jones, AURA Member
SURF COAST CENTURY 50km, ANGLESEA (Vic), 17 September 2022
At the beginning of this year and with the end of the various lockdowns, I resolved to push myself, understand my limits and work out what I was capable of. To that end, I entered events that I knew would push me, make me work hard and force me to focus on and understand the training process.
To help me, I engaged the support of Joshua Duff who patiently worked with me, provided plans, inspiration and endless encouragement. Everything I achieved this year has largely been to the way he develops and works with his athletes.
First off was the Noosa 80km, then the Chiltern Ridge 50km, 3 Marathons in 3 Days with the last ‘main’ race being the Surf Coast Century 50km event. Held each year (COVID permitting) this event is located in the Surf Coast of Victoria, taking in Anglesea, the inland trails, before going down to the coast and following the coastal path back to Anglesea.
So with months of training underneath me, all was going exceptionally well. Whilst tired from the training program, I was confident that I’d be able to complete the course in a respectable time and do it well. What I had not considered was developing COVID 2 weeks before the event after a brief work trip to what seemed to be COVID central. Whilst my external symptoms were incredibly mild (thanks to boosters!) the internal fatigue was something I’d never experienced before. My ability to nap is legendary and I rarely pass the opportunity to ‘just rest my eyes’. This time however there was no sneaky catchup snoozes, this was total fatigue. Whilst this occurred in a taper week, we all know tapering does not mean total rest, but a gradual wind down to a race pace. I was concerned about my fitness, whether the wheeziness would persist into the event and would I get suddenly tired when not expecting it.
Whilst I had insurance and surely could have deferred, I decided to go anyway and just see what happened. The best part of the 50km event is that the cut-off is effectively the same as the 100km event and even though I can be slow, I was sure I could walk the whole course in that time. So flights booked, car hired and AirBnB organised, I departed to Melbourne, travelling one day ahead of my partner who was providing both physical and emotional support. This was the first time we’d been able to do an event like this and in the end it made such a difference.
The week before, I closely watched the weather forecast. Whilst I live in Cairns now, I spent 13yrs in Melbourne and knew full well what September could be like. Still, seeing ‘highs’ in the low teens, forecast winds and rain wasn’t something I looked forward to. However, you can’t change the weather and you need to deal with whatever is thrown at you. As Joshua says, when presented with lemons, don’t make lemonade, just bite down and deal with it.
The race briefing the evening before was excellent, with a fantastic Welcome to Country, but it was interrupted by another downpour with competitors looking for shelter. This did not bode well!
The start of the 50km event was 8.30am, very late for someone from FNQ where if we start an event that late, people die from heat exhaustion (kidding, but we really don’t start that late). The wind was picking up and the rain was intermittent. All the runners were keen to get started, so we could at least get some warmth into us.
There was talk of random gear checks throughout the day, however it would have been easy to check me as I was wearing most of it for the first 30km! Thermal top, rain jacket, buff, gloves, I was still cool as we started our run. The first hurdle was crossing the mouth of the river as it flows into the sea. I managed to only get one shoe totally wet but that one foot lost all feeling for the next 10km as it was so cold!
We ran through a local park, then gently out of the town, winding up to a small road section that led to probably the most epic mud running experience of my entire life. Even as an allegedly adult male, there is something childishly appealing about running in mud. Except in this case, it went on for kilometres, with deep crevices that contain Telstra and NBN fibre conduits. As an IT professional I was thinking about how I really didn’t want to be the person who slipped and took out the local internet backbone!
Once we navigated the worst of the mud, we were treated to spectacular forest trails, technical descents and some amazing scenery. The first checkpoint at 19km was a chance to meet my partner, take on some fuel, have a quick chat, pat some dogs and then move on. The next checkpoint was 8km away and I was able to surprise my partner and have some food and pat some more dogs. The legs were a little tired at this stage, but with over half the distance done, I was feeling good and happy.
The next few kilometres would be testing. The wind was blowing what seemed like gale force. The sun would occasionally come out, meaning the removal of the rain jacket when then needed to be packed away. Then there would be a rain shower, which with the low temperature and wind really needed the jacket back on. Coming down a ridge into Aireys Inlet, the wind was so strong I really expected to be blown over. I met another runner and we had a good chat as we ran into the last checkpoint. This required clambering UNDER a road bridge, with a cold river the penalty for a loss of footing! Entering CP7, I didn’t realise where we were and asked my partner how far and when she said ‘15kms’ I may have sworn a bit. One of the checkpoint workers later asked if I was OK, to which she replied ‘He will be’. She knows me well…
The last 15km were a slog. I didn’t do a lot of running here, mainly fast paced walking. I was doing okay and then we hit the beach. Nothing can prepare you for this. Most people just walked, the sand was soft, wet, the wind strong and the tide coming in. This was probably the longest 5km I have ever walked. The final indignity was the stair to get off the beach, which, with the tide coming in required some deft footwork and timing to avoid getting even wetter feet.
The last few kilometres were slow with some running, some walking and a lot of inward cursing! I met another runner as we got close to the end and I mentioned that we should probably run this in, which we did. Crossing the line with my new found friend was one of the best experiences I’ve had. Seeing my partner with her arms open was the icing on a very lovely cake.
Whilst I was taking part in the event, I was again full of doubt. I am slow, somewhat old and I constantly question why I do this. I am not going to win anything and sometimes even finishing feels doubtful. Yet still I do it. I turn up, I compete, I do my best. That’s all I can really ask for. I want my life to be full of memories, experiences and not to get to the end and think ‘I really should have done this’.
Next year? I will return. For the 100km.
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