Monday, April 25, 2011

Hellfire Pass

Wow, Kokoda Trail 2011 is going to be amazing!



A nice long trail run out on the Kokoda Challenge Trail in the Gold Coast Hinterland with the 4 team members and an extra. We started at 3.30am to get in a few hours of night training.


I had worked a full day shift, then a full night shift, then a drive and now a long run. We had planned for 40k and I was already tired!



Night running is the best, my favourite bit of any event. We started at Check point 8, following the road up a hill before heading off into the bush, right up the side of a huge hill. A couple of our group were learning how to use their headlamps and after a few stops to make sure everyone could see.... carrying spare batteries is a lesson best learned here :)



The trails were spectacular, lots of single technical stuff and some open fire trail thrown in. We quickly came to Syd Duncan Park (CP10) and a most gorgeous sunrise. After only a short stop here we moved on. It was already cold... how freezing will this point be in July??



Up the road a bit and then a sign "Hellfire Pass" and the steepest downhill I've seen for a long time! Not wrongly signed... What a great trail.


The last section was the worst. I got so tired I was ready to nap on the track, but a sneaky double espresso in a can (latest find in my arsenal of legitimate trail snacks) and I was ready for the last section!



We had a lot of fun, learned a bit about ourselves and trail running. Looking forward to TNF100 in just a few weeks time.

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