Rebel 12 Foot Track Report

I was treating this run as a final hitout and gear check for Western States having recently purchased an Ultimate Directions twin 600ml bottle waist pack, which includes a little bumbag for storage. With hot temperatures expected over there I figured it would be cooler to haul a waist belt around rather than a Camelbak. This would be its maiden voyage.



I had a vague plan of going out more conservatively than recent years and then assessing how I felt at halfway.
With an earlier start at 6.17am, Virtual, Horrie, Inganbangan and myself set off, with Koala1 kindly transporting our bags to Megalong Rd (those handles make us all sound like a freak show hey?).

It was still dark as we descended the stairs of Nellies Glen so with lights switched on we gingerly picked our way ever downward. It was cold but not as cold as we expected. I wore a thermal long sleeve under my tritop and donned a beanie, which I would drop at the tree hollow on Megalong Rd. Virtual and I pulled ahead early on and then once we reached the Nellies Glen sign, I switched the headlamp off, found a good rhythm and pulled away. I was fidgeting around with my pack trying to find the best position on my hips and the appropriate amount of belt tension; this was very distracting and annoying. I figured once I got to the top of Pinnacle Hill I’d pull over and fix it properly for the descent to the river.
The early climbs went by easily, I trotted some and power walked others. At Pinnacle hill I flaffed about for a good couple of minutes readjusting the pack, reminding myself how much I dislike waistbelts. I did however use the opportunity to have a look back across to the Escarpment, spectacular it was, the valley draped in a low lying fog that caressed its gentle slopes. How different it would look in 10hrs time.

The run to the river was divine, kms of singletrack, whip birds and bell birds singing away whilst wallabies scampered off in the distance. It doesn’t get any better I thought to myself. I noticed the waist belt had found a “less bouncy” position half twisted on my hips and was happy to leave it there. I reached the river in 1.32 a full 7 minutes slower than last year, but that was fine.
I rock hopped with ease and headed straight for the climb not bothering to stop at the tank. I still had two full 600ml bottles and figured that would see me through to Deviation Campground.
On the climb I passed several groups of young bushwalkers, hauling huge backpacks. Once past the cattle yards and on the two steeper climbs I immediately noticed the track had been graded. The deep ruts and crevasses had been filled in making the going a lot easier. I thought this would be especially nice on the return trip in the afternoon.
Split at the top of Mini was 2.10.

Little River was next with three more creek crossings and then the climb up Pluvio. I felt strong on the climb passing more bushwalkers arriving at the top in 2.57. I stopped and had a bite to eat and another adjustment of the pack. I figured on 5 hrs to the Caves House at current pace and wondered again how it felt so much more comfortable during 12FT v 6FT in March?
I ran well along the Black Range splitting 3 minutes faster than last year pulling into Deviation in 3.53. Along here I bumped into Bernie who was doing an out and back-Caves Rd to Pluvio. I stopped at the water tank for a refill and chatted briefly with another bushwalker. I can’t recall seeing so many walkers on the track before.

And once again on the climb out of Deviation to Caves Road I bumped into another couple of runners. One of which was training for the Marathon Des Sables. I would see them again later on the climb up Nellies.
Caves Rd split was 4.15 so sub 5hrs was on for the first half. I enjoyed the run down to Jenolan, pushing hard on the downhills in an effort to maximise the training effect for the downhills of Western States. How different the arrival at the Caves House is compared to 6FT, very serene, and just a few tourists milling about the place. I hit the lap button on my Garmin, 4.54:59. I was looking forward to some hot chips but arrived too early, as there was none ready. I asked the guy how long to cook some, he replied just a few minutes. I declined and opted for a focaccia instead. Whilst waiting I emptied my shoes which had picked quite a few small stones. I filled my water bottles at the tap by the fence and was back climbing the hill just before 5hrs had elapsed.

The climb up Mt George was tough and I stopped a few times to catch a breath. Although trying to stuff your face with focaccia and power walk up a steep climb wasn’t helping. I didn’t know who to expect to see first because of the two separate start times. I figured some of the 7am starters may have caught Brendan and Horrie but first into view just after I’d reached the top of the climb and started running again, was Virtual and Shogun, who was on track for a 5hr halfway split. They both looked strong and fired up for the day ahead.
On the way to Caves Rd I would see Inganbangan, Horrie, Dog and Paul (in that order I think). Bernie was parked at the Caves Road crossing; I stopped momentarily for a quick chat and then pushed on. Split was 6.01.

I love the run back down through Deviation. All right there are some hills but once you got them out of the way there’s the long gradual descent along Black Range before the fun begins at Pluvio. I was low on water at Deviation, probably 200mls left, so three bottles filled up there. This would be the first time I’ve run 12FT self supported. No aid apart from the drop bags at Megalong. Three 600ml bottles was just enough for the longer stretches but on a hot day, I would definitely carry more.
Food wise to now, I had survived on a muesli bar, a sandwich, a power bar and a focaccia. This seemed like enough as my energy levels thus far were fine. Split-6.22.

Along the Black Range Louie and Tom came into view. They were both running 6FT only; Tom our US visitor was impressed with the “hills” a far cry from the flatlands of Florida. My split at Pluvio was 7.16; I was now a good 20 minutes ahead of last year.
Again I ran hard down the saddle smashing the quads adequately in the process.
More trail bikers came flying past along here, which kind of ruined the solitude a bit.
My legs were feeling the pounding of the downhills once it flattened out along Little River, so I backed off and just shuffled along. The creek crossings were fairly uneventful apart from one full foot plant in a bed of mud. Squelch…ankle deep.
I didn’t wear gaitors and regretted not doing so as I was constantly moving debris around with my toes.
I ran a fair chunk of the climb up Mini stopping briefly at the top for more food. Split-7.58.
The descent was indeed as good as I had imagined it would be earlier on with the re-grading of the top surface. I made good time to the Cox River arriving there in 8.19.
I headed straight for the tank and refilled, took both shoes off and emptied them before heading for the river crossing. Another easy rock hop and then the final drag out of there. I found the trail that snakes and climbs along the river offered a welcome change in muscle groups after the long downhills. I trotted the gentler ascents and power walked the steeper ones falling into a very relaxed headspace, when all of a sudden a bee flew under the brim of my cap and stung me just above the left eye. Shit! I stopped and tried pulling the sting out with my nail just managing to grab it. A couple of bushwalkers appeared and asked if I was ok. I explained what happened and had one of them make sure I got the entire sting out. Just as well I’m not allergic to bee stings I thought, still my head throbbed for a while after this.

I passed a few mountain bikers running down from Pinnacle Hill and back out onto the track to Megalong Rd. My water was low and I longed for the coke, chips and “Up and Go” I had in my drop bag. My split at Megalong was 9.30.
I now started entertaining the thought of breaking 11hrs for the first time, given that I was a good 15 minutes ahead of last years split to here. Still I took a bit of time out to recover, eat and drink. It was getting cold now so I popped the beanie back on.

I had 1.5hrs to get back and figured if I ran all the way to the Nellies Glen sign this would give me a good shot at sub 11. The trail seem to drag on forever as it does, but I just kept chugging away on my coke, scoffing the odd S&V chip. I arrived at the Nellies Glen sign and decided to walk for a bit to break it up. I was feeling pretty spent but delighted at the realisation that I would finally break 11hrs. I ran into the guys who were doing 6FT in reverse from earlier, on the steps. They offered some encouragement as I passed. Finally the hugging post came into view, which signalled the end of the steps. I yelled back to the others that they were nearly there, and continued up the firetrail and finally the finish. It was nice not having to switch the headlamp on and I made good time climbing this year, I definitely felt stronger than previous attempts stopping the watch on 10.47, so a 25 minute PB.
Looking back at my splits I made up 4 minutes from Megalong to the finish over last year, with my split from the river to Megalong road identical both years. I made up 11 minutes in the first half and 14 mins in the second. Very happy with that!

Bernie, Tom, Louie and Nathan greeted me at the finish and I hung around catching up, staying there until 6pm but had to get back for babysitting duties.
A surprising result on a day when I didn’t specifically target a PB but so it transpired.
Western States training well on track, and finally taper time.

Splits:

Mega-0.48
Cox-1.32
Mini-2.10
Pluvi-2.57
Dev-3.53
Caves Rd-4.15
Halfway-4.55
Caves Rd-6.01
Dev-6.22
Pluvi-7.16
Mini-7.58
Cox-8.19
Mega-9.30
Finish-10.47


Sunday- Planned on running the Blacktown City fun run but a sleep in won out. I did manage to shuffle around later in the morning for an hour covering 10.3km.

Total for the week- 163km