Glasshouse Mountains 50 mile Trail Report

I was really looking forward to this year’s 80km after having such a great experience at the 100 miler in September last year. This race would be on the same trails but very different, starting at 1am.

I flew up on the Saturday afternoon arriving in Brisbane at 6:30pm. Dave McKinnon and fellow team “mellum” member Whippet waiting to pick me up. We headed straight back to Dave’s place and relaxed before heading out for some dinner. Screaming Knees (Dave) and crewing daughter joined us for a delicious meal at an Italian restaurant.
Back to Dave’s place for an hour or so, more AFL on his humungous TV and then it was lube up and prep time. I’m always way impressed with Whippet’s diligent stretching routine before a race, yoga mat out and stretch them ITBs.

We headed off for the Glasshouse Mountains around 11pm arriving there an hour later. It’s a weird time to start contemplating running all night; my body was all but shutting down after dinner telling me to go to bed! On the way there we stopped at the BP in Caboolture to pick up some batteries for Dave’s headlight. The stares we got from the locals as we walked in with full ultra kit, gaitors, tights and polypro tops on, priceless!
We met up with the rest of the 80kers at CP5 registered and joined in on the pre race banter. Ian “Glassman” Javes was looking rather pasty suffering from a bout of gastro, but still he soldiered on with the race organisation. There was a lot of headlight comparisons with the Princeton Tec Apex coming out a clear winner. In fact, as it transpired it was the only light being used at one stage as others around me turned their inferior lights off. J

Fatbloke and Prewannabe flew off into the distance making a statement from the off. I was half tempted to go with them but thought better of it, deciding instead to run with Whippet and Roger Guard. We completed the 3.5km loop at 5 with the field already strung out, unlike last year where runners apparently stayed together for the first 20km or so.
The first 31km of the race this year also involved at trip out toward 1a then up and over Hamburger Hill to 2 and then out onto the bike track to 1, with a U-turn at Moffats Rd. Back to 1 and then to 5 completing the 31km. I ran this section with Whippet keeping me company and making the trip pass by a whole lot faster than if I were alone. In fact I felt the pace was a tad too rich this early on but we felt good and stayed with it.
The turn around at Moffats road (graciously manned by Bill Thompson) allowed us to check on everyone else’s progress. Not long before the turnaround we saw Fat Bloke and PWB coming back, probably about 1.5km ahead of us.
Shortly before we arrived back at 1, I tripped and grazed my arm hands and left knee. A momentary lapse in concentration and before I knew it I was sucking dirt. Came out of it pretty well with just some cuts and grazes but was not happy with myself for not wearing my gloves, the one time I haven’t for a while.
Vegie Girl and Davo were there, they gave me some water to wash the gravel out, but I didn’t want to hang around too long. I grabbed some pumpkin soup and a biscuit and left for 5.
On the way to 5 we noticed Dom was lurking not that far behind. Every now and again he would turn off his light. Whippet and I commented that he was doing a “Paul Every” not wanting us to know how far back he was, running under the bright full moon.

We pulled into 5 in 2hrs52mins, feeling pretty good and looking forward to the next 50kms, more soup, watermelon and biscuits and a camelback refill.
I wore a thermal under my coolrunning tritop from the start with the intention of dropping it if I felt it wasn’t needed and at times I did feel hot during the first 30km. There were some cold air pockets where I was thankful to have the extra layer and later on (4-6am) glad I didn’t dump it.

The track to 6a skirting Mt Beerwah was shitty, eroded and very dry, it paid to have some remanence of grip left on your soles. I was wearing my Nike Pegasus, which definitely didn’t have much of the latter. Whippet did his thing, absolutely hammering the downhills, once again defying belief. Dom and I hung back cautiously treading our way down only to catch Whippet on the ups and flats. We stayed together for the most part to 6 enjoying the early morning mists. A halo of light and water droplets combined with the dust being kicked up makes for some surreal headlamp running, great stuff.

At 6 we could look back down the hill to see more lights in the distance telling us that there was not a huge gap between the next pack and ourselves, it was 40km into the race, and we were halfway in 3:56, too fast? We quickly made for 7 where the terrain was heaps better, with smooth and sometimes sandy forestry trails that seemed to go on forever.

It was between 6 and 7 along these endlessly flat trails that I fell into a rhythm just before dawn, between 5 and 6am. I felt like I was in a trance, where there was no one and nothing around me, (maybe I fell asleep!) but all I know is I felt numb, no pain, no effort, smooth and effortless running here. I stayed in that groove occasionally looking around to make sure I was still on course. Dom stayed with me on my shoulder but Whippet dropped off here with ITB issues.
We rolled into 7 (48km) for a feed and more hydration. Vegie Girl and Davo making sure we had everything. Dom mentioned he was 30 minutes ahead of schedule and worried it might come back to haunt him. I left quickly as I found I was getting cold if I stopped for too long.

So it was off to 8, I recalled my run through here last September, a good trail, if anything a slight incline all the way to the cattle grid. I figured I should keep moving as best I could along here and then have a good stop at 8 to recover for the 8b loop. I turned my light off and knuckled down, grinding out the kms, the temptation to take walk breaks increasing. However, this was relatively flat stuff on good trail and had to be ran, the predawn light awaking the volcanic plugs in the distance from their slumber, simply spectacular.

I arrived at 8, dropped my Camelbak and light and picked up my handheld and a bag of salt n vinegar chips from my drop bag, filled the bottle with electrolyte and started walking up the hill. Up over the top and then the plunge on the other side, I didn’t recall this from September. Surely we didn’t drop down this far? I was looking for white tape in the trees hoping I hadn’t stuffed up. Eventually the trail bottoms out and there in front of me at a locked gate were big red arrows. Phew.. relieved, I made for the trail heading back north to the checkpoint. The climb was very tough; in fact I found the whole 8b loop to be far tougher than when I ran it as part of the 100 miler.

Once back at the CP, I asked the guys who and how far back the next guy was. I was surprised when they reported that Roger Guard was next and only 10 minutes behind! He was obviously having a great back half, as I was fully expecting Whippet or Dom to be behind me. I figured ok, 15km to the finish, I gotta get out of here and keep running. I put my Camelbak on and bid the volunteers farewell.

I started to see some of the 30km and 50km runners as I approached the turn off for the powerlines. It was starting to warm up and I regretted not leaving my thermal behind at 8. The powerlines section went by fairly quickly, it was tough but thankfully shorter than the trek through there in the 100 miler.

As I reached the top and the road the leading 30km runner passed me. I looked back down the powerlines to see if anyone else was behind. I could see a chain of bodies bobbing away in the distance. Every now and again I would hear footsteps behind me, thinking I was been run down by Roger or another 80ker, only to find to my relief it was yet another 30km runner. I pulled into 6 after another climb, I had been pushing hard even on the hills where I would have normally backed off a little and consequently was feeling pretty spent. I grabbed some more coke and watermelon and looked back down the trail. I could see someone running well up the hill thinking it was Roger, only to find it was Run67 running in the 30km. As I left for the final 5km I took one last look back and saw Roger in the distance. He was not that far away and 3rd place was going to have to be hard earned. I was hurting bad over that final 5km stretch but finally rounded the corner with the finish line in sight and realised I had it in the bag. I crossed the line in 8:31:40, delighted with my time and 3rd place.
Fatbloke and Prewannabe finished 1st and 2nd respectively in 7:45 and 7:52(?). Great runs from both of them. I was delighted for Fatbloke as he missed out on the 100 miler last year. Prewannabe showed what he is capable of with a very creditable sub 8hr finish.

Roger Guard ended up only 2-3 minutes behind me with Dom another 6-7 minutes behind him. Some fast times ran and a great day had by all. Whippet took nearly an hour off his time from last year and UCB making his ultra come back in style. Screaming Knees, a great ultra debut and Tanky cleaning up in the female division. Some great post race banter washed down with a beer (thanks PWB) and a BBQ lunch, all good. Well done to all who competed and/or volunteered.

Looking back at my race I have only one criticism, I went out too hard. I ran the first half in 3:52 so a big positive split. The second half is certainly tougher than the first but still allowing for that, better pacing should yield a sub 8hr run there in the future. Nutrition and hydration were fine, better use of drop bags, a mental note there, should of shed a layer at 8. Still I am very satisfied with the result and look forward to more Glasshouse adventures in the future. It’s all one big learning curve this ultra running, but what a ride.

Thank to UCB for his generosity chauffeuring Whippet and I around and to Ian and his helpers, much appreciated, hope you’re feeling well soon Glassman.

As a training run for the longer event in September, there’s certainly no better run than this one, highly recommended for all potential 100 milers.

See you in September.