39 replies to this topic

[slowmo]

Only a couple of weeks to go until this great event but there didn't seem to be a thread for it.

For those who haven't done it before the course is mostly along Lady Carrington Drive. Easy wide track with a few ups and downs, beautiful bush scenery, lyrebirds, specially organized echidnas - plus a great atmosphere courtesy of the very friendly Sutherland Club folks.

Enter online at the SDAC site: http://www.sutherlandathletics.com/.

Hope to see lots of CRs there.

slowmo

[Jogger]

yes it's a top run. 1pm start is pure old skool and worth supporting just for that reason alone! a half marathon on Lady Carrington drive is hard to beat.

[tofoz]

Thanks for that Slomo & Jogger.

Yeh, we’ve had the event in the CR calendar for a while and we’ve been marketing the event in a few places, but hadn’t started a thread so far.

Same format and timetable as last year – with 2k, 3k, 5k & 10k runs, as well as the Half itself.

As well as on-line entry, there an Information Sheet and FAQ’s available on the Sutho Club website: http://www.sutherlandathletics.com

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Tofoz

[Glenrunner]

It is a great event - have done the half 3x. Wondered if there age categories, would be great to have results in categories rather than open. Will probably do the 10 this year.

[MountainMan]

Looking forward to this event. Love the afternoon start time.

Does anyone know if you have to enter the national park to access the start area? Just wondering if I have to pay park entry to park near the start/finish area...

Cheers,

[NickW]

Should be a great event - not too many muddy sections on Lady Carrington at the moment, and Audley has been cleaned up nicely since the recent flood damage.  Hopefully the rain holds off over the next ten days or so.  

This weeks Sutherland Atheltics 12.4k at Temptation Creek will be a nice lead-in too

MountainMan, on 09 August 2011 - 11:33 AM, said:

Does anyone know if you have to enter the national park to access the start area? Just wondering if I have to pay park entry to park near the start/finish area...

Yep - you'll need to pay.  $11 for the day.

Edited by NickW, 09 August 2011 - 01:40 PM.

[Quinkin]

Tough course Temptation Creek with its own heart break hill. It used to be a 8 mile course with two laps that started near the old tramway museum, followed the railway line.

I was planning on doing the Royal HM, so I better get organised.

[NickW]

Quinkin, on 09 August 2011 - 05:50 PM, said:

Tough course Temptation Creek with its own heart break hill. It used to be a 8 mile course with two laps that started near the old tramway museum, followed the railway line.

I was planning on doing the Royal HM, so I better get organised.

I'm pretty sure Saturday will be a 2 lapper starting at Grays Point school.  Planning for it be a damn hard run

[BeesKnees]

I will be there for my 3rd Sutherland 1/2. Haven't run very well at my previous 2 attempts, the 1pm start time makes for interesting nutrition dilemma, do I eat lunch or not?

SMC presentation night that night so do worries for eating afterwards.

[TFive]

slowmo, on 06 August 2011 - 08:04 PM, said:

Hope to see lots of CRs there.

slowmo

See you there Slowmo
Ps
Wishing you a very Happy birthday for tomorrow

[wildcoyte]

Unfortunately I won't be there this year as I have made the NSW team for the National Cross Country Championships in Canberra. If I hadn't of made the team I most probably run the 5 or then 10 as I'm training for the Blacknores Half Marathon in September. My mum is one of the people always there writing the names of the finishers she is very disappointed that she cannot be there this year! This year will be the first year that we have missed this event since joining Sutherland back in 04 or 05 I think. This is also where I did my first half marathon in 09 at 16. So a little upset but I want to represent my State which I will not be just representing my State but my Club and family! So I'm really excited! This will be my second time in the national stage and I'm going to do my best I can on the day!!!!! Hope you all have a lovely day down there!

[slowmo]

TFive, on 09 August 2011 - 08:32 PM, said:

See you there Slowmo
Ps
Wishing you a very Happy birthday for tomorrow

It will be lovely to see you again TFive - twice in one year !

And thankyou kindly for those good wishes.

slowmo

[AaronR]

This might be a possible, but it depends on my wifes movements. If it pans out it will be a race done with no.1 son in a jogger. I have sent an email to the organisers to ask if this is ok, but I thought I'd ask here if anyone has seen in prior years people using joggers. Thanks in advance.

[Quinkin]

Half Marathon Mania

I have entered:

Royal Half

Hidden Half

Sydney Morning Herald Half

Coffs Harbour Half Marathon

You won't see that sort of race program in a Highdon of Pfitzinger training plan. And not even a taper for this little black duck.

Edited by Quinkin, 18 August 2011 - 08:29 AM.

[tofoz]

Hi everyone,

An update on our Half Marathon & Gala Day tomorrow:

As you may have noticed, it’s a little bit damp out there…

Whilst a fair amount of the course is still ok, there are several sections that are particularly wet and muddy and it will be obviously be slippery. It’s definitely more a cross-country course this year - bring your wet weather gear!

At this stage, the event is still on. One issue outside our control is the weir at Audley. If it floods and the RTA closes the road, then we may have no option but to cancel the event.
Please check the Sutherland Athletics website http://www.sutherlandathletics.com – we’ll keep this updated if there’s any change.

Tofoz

[tofoz]

Hi Aaron,

Just to answer your query about running with a jogger pram –
In other years, with a mostly dry course and good surface, you might be ok. However, the current conditions – as I’ve outlined above - would make it very difficult – no. 1 son would probably need to get out and push at various stages!

So unfortunately I’d advise against it this year.

[AaronR]

Yup, I had an email back saying that this isn;t the event for a jogger. Not to worry, I was looking at the couch and blanket as a very positive alternative this weekend. Have fun out there guys and girls.

[BeesKnees]

Thanks Tofoz for the update. I have entered and really want to run but I certainly don't fancy driving for an hour and more to discover I can't get across the weir.

Wull keep checking the website for details

[Rainlover]

Keen to do this event too and all trained up but also good to know in advance if on or not as have to travel a fair way. weather not helping with motivation but if conditions are such that it can't go ahead, I'll just have a nice extra long sleep in.

[NickW]

Ah crap - the weir is closed at the moment.  Weather down here is clear.  Hope they can get the weir re-opened soon...

Updates at http://livetraffic.r...au/desktop.html

[tofoz]

Yeh, heard that on the news.

One of our team is on their way down to Audley to check out on what's actually happening.

Stay tuned.

[negsplit]

Fingers crossed.......

[tofoz]

The event is ON.

If the road from Loftus is still closed by the time you arrive, head down to Waterfall, turn left onto McKell Ave and enter the Nat. Park from that direction (turn left again onto Bertram Stevens Drive to head north to Audley).

The flooding at the weir is minor, so the road from Loftus may well open later this morning.

The conditions on the other roads in and the Ferntree Flat picnic area where we meet are not too bad.

See you there.

[negsplit]

SweeeeeT! Time to test the dodgy hip!

[NickW]

Awesome - can't wait!  Thanks Tofoz!

[Rainlover]

tofoz, on 20 August 2011 - 08:00 AM, said:

The event is ON.

If the road from Loftus is still closed by the time you arrive, head down to Waterfall, turn left onto McKell Ave and enter the Nat. Park from that direction (turn left again onto Bertram Stevens Drive to head north to Audley).

The flooding at the weir is minor, so the road from Loftus may well open later this morning.

The conditions on the other roads in and the Ferntree Flat picnic area where we meet are not too bad.

See you there.

Report at 10.05am on the website provided states that Bertram Stevens Drive is closed in both directions.  Given my unfamiliarity with the area and driving on down to Waterfall with the chance of the road being closed, I've made a decision to give it a miss. Unfortunately all trained up and ready to go. Not wasted though as have plans to do the Blackmores Half in a few weeks. Hope the event today goes well for those that can get there. Will go out for a solid training session today instead.

Edited by Rainlover, 20 August 2011 - 12:03 PM.

[BeesKnees]

I drove for 3 hours today and ran for 0 mins. 3 hours driving is possibly a pb.Particularly no stop, revive survive.

The sign at Loftus said the weir was closed so carried on to waterfall, time getting close, driving back to Audley saw a sign that said 22 kms no way was I going to make it, thought I could be a cheer squad . Reached Audley at 1.15pm,missed turn Audley weir was fine felt very annoyed++++
kept driving on way home sign still said weir closed,

If I would have known the distance involved at least 30 extra kms, I would have left earlier but being unfamiliar with the area I didn't realise.

[negsplit]

Almost missed the start and was flustered after driving the long way round after seeing all the road closed signs....... however when i got there the weir was bone dry! Thanks RTA
A great event, but not a good run for me today. Just didn't have it in the legs, and struggled to hold onto second (10km) after an appalling 82sec positive split.
A big thank you to the volunteers who were extremely helpful with several pre race dramas that I had.
Great event in a great location.

[MountainMan]

Went the long way and made it in time, kudos to the organisers to delay the start to allow rushed people to get it together/calm down before the run.


I must admit I was expecting it to be on a mix of sealed/unsealed road... don't know why. It was pretty rough and very muddy. Not sure what impact that had on my time, I was happy with my effort but a little disappointed with the time. Took a spill too, seems to happen when I run behind others at something other than my own pace...   Bit bloody but I'll live. My thanks to the other runners showing concern for me in my clumsiness.

All in all a great event and well organised. Thanks to all the volunteers and the Sutho Athletics club.  

[slowmo]

Came down with some lurgi yesterday so I was a non-starter.  Disappointed because I've run this event for the last three years and the Sutherland folk have always made it a great day. I was looking forward to a bit of mud action too

Never mind. Great to see that the weather was a lot kinder than yesterday. I hope everyone enjoyed it.

Very sorry to hear that you missed out after driving all that way Bees Knees. As a former Bundeena resident I got very used to using the McKell Avenue / Waterfall bypass but it does add quite a lot of time to the trip.

slowmo

[NickW]

Had a great and enjoyable run - very well organised, and the 15min delay of the start seemed to allow most of those forced to take the 30km detour to make the start line in time (sorry to hear you missed the start BeesKness).  

The first three kilometres on the paved roads flew by for me - I normally run to pulse rate, but the cool conditions meant that there wasn't enough sweat to form a contact with the pulse monitor, and I ran to feel, pretty alarmed at the pace I was setting (4.06, 4.06, 4.05 splits for someone with a ~41 min 10km PB) but felt fine so stuck with the runners around me who all seemed to be breathing harder than me at that pace (is the runner beside you always breathing harder or is it an auditory illusion?).

Going onto Lady Carrington drive, the field was still pretty bunched around me, and getting through the less muddy sections of the puddles was a bit of a crush.  I was running in a tight bunch of three runners, and it was a bit of a surge/ drop-back for each of use to use the same path through the big sections of mud.  I'd set a goal pace of 4.30 on the Garmin, hoping to get about 2 minutes ahead of that for a 92.30 finish.  The HRM was still not working, so I stuck to a comfortable 4.25 pace, putting more time in the bank and reeling off the kilometres comfortably.

I was starting to feel a bit tired at the turn-around, and grabbed a Gatorade drink and sucked down a High5 gel.  Gels in a half-marathon aren’t a necessity, but getting used to being able to down a gel every half-hour even when running hard is great  digestive training for the longer stuff, and having a gel does seem to help.  

An out-and-back course is great to see how other runners are doing, and seeing the elites flying past me going the other way before the turn-around as well as many familiar faces from the club after the turnaround makes the race much more social.

The back-course is slightly downhill (Google Earth shows the turn-around at 60m above sea-level with the finish at 20m) and I started to increase the pace, with each kilometre going by in around 4.20.  To compound the dicky pulse rate monitoring, increased cloud played havoc with GPS reception with a 6.12 km follow by a 2.50 and a 3.27.  When the satellite reception settled down, the Garmin was reading about 400m extra distance compared to the blue witches-hat markings, and I decided to ignore it entirely.  Thankfully I was running with a good runner (Klaus I think was his name) and we duelled well along the way back, with his longer legs giving him an advantage on the slight downhills and I took the lead on the slight uphills.

After a second gel at the 14km mark, the last few distance markers flew by, and the pace picked up.  Klaus took a lead that I couldn’t peg back, and we were both chasing down another runner that was fading.  Based on the GPS, a 91.xx finished looked likely, but the GPS and distance markers weren’t agreeing, and the end was a bit further along than I expected.  Finally crossing the line in 92.35, I was very happy with the time and the 27th place.  Linda was at the finish handing out drinks, and the kids were happy to see me and swipe the finisher’s medallion as soon as I was awarded it.  I'd only ever run once before at the half marathon distance (first ever race in 2009 with a 1.41 finish), so it was a pretty cheap PB .

Overall a great event despite the weir issues and the wet track.  The hamburgers and cakes at the stall were awesome, and the kids had a great time at their 2km race and playing around the river.  An added bonus was the $50 Bunnings voucher I won right at the end of the day in the lucky draw.  Well done Sutherland Athletic on an awesome day, and looking forward to next week’s season finale at Woronora.

[Rainlover]

BeesKnees, on 20 August 2011 - 03:33 PM, said:

I drove for 3 hours today and ran for 0 mins. 3 hours driving is possibly a pb.Particularly no stop, revive survive.

The sign at Loftus said the weir was closed so carried on to waterfall, time getting close, driving back to Audley saw a sign that said 22 kms no way was I going to make it, thought I could be a cheer squad . Reached Audley at 1.15pm,missed turn Audley weir was fine felt very annoyed++++
kept driving on way home sign still said weir closed,

If I would have known the distance involved at least 30 extra kms, I would have left earlier but being unfamiliar with the area I didn't realise.

The very reason why I wouldn't have made it either not forgetting the stress factors. It's good for those that got there, know the area or want to put in all that extra driving (unexpectedly) but when conditions are as what happened, the feasibility of proceeding ahead should be carefully considered or more information given. In this case,how much further driving would be involved and the fact that signage was otherwise showing that the weir in both directions was closed (contrary to what the organisers were saying). Shame as I wanted to do this event but will just wait for Blackmores.

Edited by Rainlover, 21 August 2011 - 01:16 PM.

[bobbrand]

Excellent day! My first Sutho Half (and my second Half ever)! Was a little worried about the extra time coming via Waterfall (even thought I was coming from down south) but I needn't have worried since registration was well organised so I actually had more time to warm up than I expected.

A friend told me that the course with "nice and undulating" but I found it a tough course - probably due to the uneven and soggy surface but was happy to finish at all and under 2 hours (1:19) - and I wasn't last!

I was puzzled by the fact that, although the turn-around was at 12km, the 11k and 13km marks weren't level with each other and neither were the 10 and 14km marks, etc.  Maybe this explains the discrepancy with your GPS NickW.

I'll certainly be back next year and maybe bring the family too!

[MichaelD]

the markers didnt align because the first part over the bridge wasnt exactly 2 or four Ks.this was a good le training run for me with the uneven surface so I can do well in the wild races in the mountains

bobbrand, on 21 August 2011 - 01:26 PM, said:

Excellent day! My first Sutho Half (and my second Half ever)! Was a little worried about the extra time coming via Waterfall (even thought I was coming from down south) but I needn't have worried since registration was well organised so I actually had more time to warm up than I expected.

A friend told me that the course with "nice and undulating" but I found it a tough course - probably due to the uneven and soggy surface but was happy to finish at all and under 2 hours (1:19) - and I wasn't last!

I was puzzled by the fact that, although the turn-around was at 12km, the 11k and 13km marks weren't level with each other and neither were the 10 and 14km marks, etc.  Maybe this explains the discrepancy with your GPS NickW.

I'll certainly be back next year and maybe bring the family too!

[bobbrand]

MichaelD, on 21 August 2011 - 03:42 PM, said:

the markers didnt align because the first part over the bridge wasnt exactly 2 or four Ks.

That doesn't make sense though. If that were the case then the turn-around should have been between markers and not exactly at the 12k mark.
Still a good run though.

[tofoz]

Thanks to everyone who came on Saturday - we were pleasantly surprised how many did show – the numbers for the Half were actually slightly up on last year, although other events were quieter.

The closure of the weir at Audley was a major hassle. Even by around 9am on Sat, the flooding was only minor – less than 6 inches of water on the road - I witnessed one car and one motorbike make their way through without any issue. However, the road was not officially opened until late morning, causing a few late arrivals and obviously some confusion.

Bees Knees, sorry to hear about the travel traumas – it was very frustrating for all of us.

Mountain Man, yes a mixture of sealed / unsealed road is normally a fair description. Unfortunately, the surface of Lady Carrington Drive has degraded in recent years and so after heavy rains, it does turn a bit damp…

Not sure what happened with the km distance markers – it’s just under 3km back to the start, and the 12km should be just before the southern turn point - we’ll aim to have that double checked more accurately next year (the overall course overall is correct at 21.1Km – it has been measured by a qualified course measurer).

Due to the traffic dramas this year, we’ve decided on the following with respect to pre-paid entrants who did not get to run on the day: On request, we’ll either offer free entry to next year’s event, or if they wish, entrants will get a full refund.

Congrats to Andrew Cross 1st Male in 76 mins – despite heavy going in places - and to Magda Poulos 1st Female. Full results have been checked and should be posted onto the Sutho Athletics website later today.

[Financeman]

good event... quickly... how far is it (very rough ok) from the turnaround point (gatorade stop) up to the road... I assume it gets there at some point?

I live south and would preferably park and run from the other end for training...

cheers.. back next year

[NickW]

Financeman, on 23 August 2011 - 02:05 PM, said:

good event... quickly... how far is it (very rough ok) from the turnaround point (gatorade stop) up to the road... I assume it gets there at some point?

Very close to the southern entrance - about 350m looking at the Garmin route overlayed onto Google Earth.

[bobbrand]

Any idea if/when photos are likely to be available on the web?

[tofoz]

Photos are now up on the Sutho Athletics website - http://www.sutherlandathletics.com

Click on the 'Results' button, then look under '2011 Results'

Apologies for delay.