69 replies to this topic

[Pasty]

Trailwalker Melbourne 2009 registration opens this morning.

Team Purple Toed Sloths have already entered for the next round, and recruited two new team members with long credentials.

Anyone else got their team sorted out yet?

[Ourimbah]

Up at 12.01am and entered,a long way to go for a training run though.

Maybe a good excuse to have a weekend away down in sunny Melbourne

[gogirl]

Ourimbah, on Oct 1 2008, 09:40 AM, said:

Up at 12.01am and entered,a long way to go for a training run though.

Maybe a good excuse to have a weekend away down in sunny Melbourne

I guess you will be having a nana nap this avo Darrel.   Just run more than 52 reps of the Skillion, you'll be right mate!

[Ourimbah]

I am feeling the pressure.

Someone  asked the cheapest way to buy your "Gu".

This is it ..........do Oxfam.

[Cl@rkey]

Team Muttley will be lining up again.

But I see the boys from Running Upstream have installed themselves as the early favourites..... blurb

Purple Toed Sloths have registered again
The Girls are back in town..... are back....

Who else is in a team? Post your team name / number.
Ourimbah - which is your team?

Only 24 weeks....

Edited by Clarkey of CP, 11 October 2008 - 06:07 PM.

[Maggot]

Clarkey of CP, on Oct 11 2008, 06:02 PM, said:

Team Muttley will be lining up again.
But I see the boys from Running Upstream have installed themselves as the early favourites..... blurb
Only 24 weeks....

Hi Clarkey. I think our esteemed captain of Team Running Upstream has possibly got ahead of ourselves as self-proclaimed favourites I sure don't see it that way. Team Muttley are the deserved boys to watch, and we may see a gun team from anywhere such as Sydney Striders or offshore Ghurkas etc enter.
How is Wighty going? He has had a massive year, apart from the disappointment of Western States.
Cheers, Mgtman

Edited by Maggot, 16 October 2008 - 11:10 PM.

[Cl@rkey]

hehehehee  Maggot - I figured it was all a bit tongue in cheek by the shy one.....

Team Muttley is a bit like Dad's army at the moment, possibly only Rohan is 100% fit, but he might debate that after a great but not quite to expectations effort on Sunday.

Lucky there is still 23 weeks to go.....

[milov]

I have gotta say... all that business about a 10 hour finish is my fault... I told the guys that I was expecting a 100km pb out there and they took it seriously. They would have put down 8 hours but the registration form wouldn't accept a single digit number!

Oh well... I guess we have our work cut out for ourselves!

[Emrun]

Clarkey of CP, on Oct 11 2008, 06:02 PM, said:

The Girls are back in town..... are back....

The Girls are back in town indeed, gearing up for our second tilt because it was just so much damn fun this year.

About 2km from the finish this year I told the other girls, please give me 3 months before asking if I want to do this again.  However by the time I woke up in my comfy bed on Saturday morning after just a few hours sleep I was ready to go again and my mind was made up.

So Emruns, Duckgirl, JayKay and our mate Jo will be lining up in 2009 and looking to improve on this years time of 20 hours 52 minutes.

I hear the Natural Confectionary Company are stepping up production of jelly snakes in anticipation.

I encourage anyone who has always though "maybe, one day...." to get a team together and take the plunge, it's an experience you won't forget, worth it for the hallucinations along the Warby Trail alone.

[DuckGirl]

Yep definitely looking forward to this one again.

Best part of last year was keeping track of team Muttley's progress as the day wore on. At each checkpoint we only had two questions.......where is Team Muttley now....and where are we. It was great fun.........even the hallucinations!

and btw em wasn't it 20hrs and 49mins?

[EatEm]

Em .... did the hallucinations include visions of 'buster' ???

[chilliman]

pastyboy, on Oct 1 2008, 10:13 AM, said:

Team Purple Toed Sloths have already entered for the next round, and recruited two new team members with long credentials.

Wouldn't that slow them down pasty ?

We spotted a few teams training at Lysterfield on Sunday, one group even with a number on.

Happy training all.

[Pasty]

Chilli,

Nah, that wasn't us.  Though we have run Jells-Belgrave twice now already, I wouldn't be seen dead in either a TW t-shirt or with a number on. I thought race t-shirts were only for bragging at other races?

We are running Jells-Belgrave again on saturday am if anyone is interested.

[chilliman]

pastyboy, on Nov 12 2008, 08:31 AM, said:

Nah, that wasn't us.

I didn't think so pasty, they were all females by the way.

[Jaykay]

chilliman, on Nov 12 2008, 12:39 PM, said:

I didn't think so pasty, they were all females by the way.

Wasn't "The Girls" either Chilli.  We ran on Sunday from Olinda to Silvan and back.

And we're not going to reveal our outfits until the day  

[EatEm]

Jaykay ..... hope the Support Crew get a matching top ...  

[chilliman]

EatEm, on Nov 12 2008, 05:26 PM, said:

Jaykay ..... hope the Support Crew get a matching top ...  

You know what women are like Eat`Em, if they all turn up with matching outfits all 4 will have to go home again and change.

[Jaykay]

EatEm, on Nov 12 2008, 05:26 PM, said:

Jaykay ..... hope the Support Crew get a matching top ...  

Is pink your colour?  

[EatEm]

Is pink your colour?  

It could be ......    

Edited by EatEm, 13 November 2008 - 01:00 PM.

[Maggot]

Hi Melbourne Trailwalker hopefuls...
Just thought I'd bump this up again (oh, it already was up anyway, never mind )
Any reports on training progress? Any sightings of teams out on the trails?
Half of my team (Running Upstream) have been out recently training on the course and report scary speed . Milov (sydney-based) and I have been doing more actual racing / recovery. I see Ackers from Team Muttley is fronting up for Cradle Mountain Ultra again next month, and Rohan is in fine form too.
Pasty... any news? Ducky?
Mgtman

[milov]

It looks like Team Muttley have been overdoing their training. Three of their members have obviously burned themselves out after performing better than necessary at Bogan to Hotham. Only pretty boy Rohan has been saving himself for the April event.

milov

[JustinS007]

milov, on Jan 24 2009, 08:31 AM, said:

Only pretty boy Rohan has been saving himself for the April event.

That 'pretty boy' probably didn't do B2H as he won back-to-back at 2 Bays in a very nice time.  Looks like they all peaked too early  

J.

[Cl@rkey]

Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. Thanks for your concern.....

However there is a really fast team entered this year who is likely to disappear into the distance from all of us!

[JustinS007]

Clarkey of CP, on Jan 25 2009, 07:47 PM, said:

Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. Thanks for your concern.....

Clarkey of CP, on Jan 25 2009, 07:47 PM, said:

However there is a really fast team entered this year who is likely to disappear into the distance from all of us!

Who's that?

[Cl@rkey]

Look up Team #307

[Maggot]

Clarkey of CP, on Jan 25 2009, 08:55 PM, said:

Look up Team #307

Yikes! Sub-2:30 marathoners . Big difference between 100 kms and a 42.2k 'warm-up' though; Milov does those as pre-100miler race run-throughs .
Seriously, good luck to 'em, it will be great to see some teams from elite backgrounds.

[Maggot]

Clarkey of CP, on Jan 25 2009, 08:55 PM, said:

Look up Team #307

Hmm... I've just been perusing the Bogong 2 Hotham results thread.

3. Chris W - 7:47
4.
5.
6.
7. Michael C - 8:30
8. Bryan A - 8:31

And add Rohan in to the mix who is in good nick too.
Clarkey, are you sure you're not trying text-book diversionary tactics? i though it was only my team-mates that did that .
Mgtman

[Pasty]

Hey Maggot,

Yeah, a bit of training happening.  Maroondah in a few weeks after B2H warmup for us.  We are sadly one down though at the moment, with Karen out...and seeking a replacement.   Anyone feeling up to joining a 14.45hr team last year with a good track record?  We hope to go a bit faster again this year weather permitting.

But I must admit that Team Mutley look in great shape at the moment.....

[Whippet Man]

pastyboy, on Jan 26 2009, 10:42 PM, said:

We are sadly one down though at the moment, with Karen out...and seeking a replacement.   Anyone feeling up to joining a 14.45hr team last year with a good track record?  We hope to go a bit faster again this year weather permitting.

Hey Pasty, vague interest here. I haven't done Melbourne TW but have done the Sydney one. Just one question: would you be likely to beat Milov's team?

[Reg Delseht]

Seriously, good luck to 'em, it will be great to see some teams from elite backgrounds.
[/quote]

Maggot, I think you might be taking some serious poetic licence with the term ‘Elite’. Although it is a good way of diverting some attention from the 2 favoured teams.

As a general idea of where we sit in the running ladder our finishing positions from the Sandown 10km race last year,(well, 9.902kms to be exact ;-)  were 34th, 70th, 105th & 125th. This puts us in the category of fair to serviceable club runners. Yes, Steve Paine did put in a ripper of a 2:29 marathon but sadly his back isn’t strong enough to carry the rest of us. We know that the reality of an event like this is that you are only as good as your weakest link. Steve has been trying to whip us in to shape.

This type of distance is real unchartered waters for us guys but we are real excited about the challenge. I crewed for my wife last year when she did 22 hours and found the event quite inspiring and had ato have 1 go at it. Not just the competitors but the overall organisation and logistics of the event. I then managed to convince a few running mates to have a crack at this. We were all questioning our sanity on our last long run together.

Looking forward to March 27 and expect to be keeping a close eye on Muttley & Upstream particularly in the first half. After that it might come down to the experience of the true Ultra guys. What ever happens to us, I’m sure we will learn some serious lessons on the day.

2 months to go. Hopefully it cools down in Melbourne by then.

Reg

[Maggot]

Reg Delseht, on Jan 27 2009, 11:04 AM, said:

Maggot, I think you might be taking some serious poetic licence with the term ‘Elite’. Although it is a good way of diverting some attention...
Reg

Great to see you getting involved in the healthy competetive banter Reg. I know 'elite' has a tendency as a term to be used and abused almost as much as the word 'marathon'. Can I call you guys semi-elites?
It just helps the rest of us not feel so bad if we have a shocker on the day   he he.
Your training notes on your team page seem to indicate all is going well. At least you can all get together for a day...
Maggotman

[Maggot]

Whippet Man, on Jan 26 2009, 11:53 PM, said:

Hey Pasty, vague interest here. I haven't done Melbourne TW but have done the Sydney one.

Whippetman, a whole day of running  for 15 minutes of single track! Now that's what I call a trail junkie

[Cl@rkey]

Reg Delseht, on Jan 27 2009, 11:04 AM, said:

the true Ultra guys.

I didn't know any had entered a team

[rohan]

yep there's some true ultra guys entered...
try team orca.

background on two members here

[RobHall]

rohan, on Jan 28 2009, 11:56 AM, said:

yep there's some true ultra guys entered...
try team orca.

background on two members here

So Paul and I trained the last 45.5km on the hottest day and risked bush fires over Mt Little Joe on record for nothing?  If chaffing = character I certainly gained a lot of character on Saturday.

[RobHall]

Hey Guys, just been reading through the whole thread.

I've made a knob of myself many times and this wont be the last.  Just last week I forgot to put the comb on the clippers and now I have a bald noggin.  Don't take myself to seriously or I might stop having fun.....

[Maggot]

RobHall, on Feb 9 2009, 10:44 PM, said:

Hey Guys, just been reading through the whole thread.

I've made a knob of myself many times and this wont be the last.  Just last week I forgot to put the comb on the clippers and now I have a bald noggin...

Hey, you wouldn't be one of the Upstream guys would you? I hear they are all also-rans... all except for that little guy: he's the real deal . And modest too.
Glad to see you've joined the dark side. Having a bald noggin is an ultra initiation rite of passage.
Maggot

[Maggot]

RobHall, on Feb 9 2009, 10:44 PM, said:

Hey Guys, just been reading through the whole thread.

Rob, just to let you know if you want to send or receive messages via this forum ('PM'ing), i think you need to have at least 5 posts up.
Or how about I just send you an old-school email .
Mal

[Cl@rkey]

So, are you guys still on track for a 10hr finish??

[youngrunner]

I know its still six weeks away but do you think this will be impacted on by the fires? Certainly bits of the Yarra Valley, Churchill, etc are affected...

Jimmy

[Pasty]

There is a fire burning only a mile or two from the finish line at Wesburn Park.
The Age Fire Map

[RobHall]

10hr finish, err ummm well, we've been having a lot of weather lately.  

Nah , we've all been training for a time in the 10's (ie 10:00 -10:59:69.99) and I think were capable of finishing under 11 but not under the 10's, having said that, we would be needing near perfect conditions and we would all need our best form, well except for Milov who would be fine as long as he has at least one leg and doesn't come into contact with kryptonite. While I personally would dearly love us to win one year, I wouldn't bet on this year.  Realistically if we got under 11 I think there would be some others including Team Mutley that would be infront.  I'm basing that on the way Bryan towelled me over izzys trail(?) back in october, that was pretty fun, lucky I had a garmin 305 and Bryan had a 405 so he had to rely on me for navigation, but I digress.

If Mal wears ladies runners that may constitute a mixed gender team and we could get first place for that.......

So who else out there is trying to smash a PB? doesn't matter what it is as long as its better than last year....Cmon Trailwalker junkies, FIRE UP!!!!

(The shy one of team #65 currently running upstream, soon to be upstreamfoundation.org)

[RobHall]

heres a map of the burnt section from upwey fires.

http://www.cfa.vic.g...50_a3_22389.pdf

you can see that it comes close to birdsland but it is more that it burnt accross Dargon track.  I don't think that will be a problem as there aren't massive trees next to it.

[Pasty]

Quote

Cmon Trailwalker junkies, FIRE UP!!!!

It's hard to fire up when you are in doubt whether the event will go ahead because of the fires.


When is the correct time to cancel an event?

I have been wondering when the Oxfam TW team will decide whether this event goes ahead this year.   In thinking what needs to be done - I would guess that DSE/Parks Vic need to firstly have enough down time from current fire threats to be able to inspect the course, then clear any hazards (or deem the hazard unacceptable).  ALternate course needs to be devised (if required).  Then have weather and fire conditions that are suitable (*remembering that the event date came forward 3 weeks this year into March, closer to summer fire season, and clashing with 6 ft.).  Consider also that athletes travel to this event, and a cancellation needs enough time to for that information to be communicated.  A mid event evacuation of 2400 athletes would be a nightmare scenario for the organisers, and thank heavens the race is not scheduled for this Friday.

I feel pessimistic...

[RobHall]

you just have to assume it will go ahead.  I even made suggestions for an alternate route and they said to chill out and it is expected to be the same course on the same day, Call up Josh if you need some closure but this is a big event and they can't afford to damage its reputation.

Although if they did screw it up and damaged the event reputation it might mean some high flying teams would exit and give upstreamfoundation.org half a shot at it.......................

[rohan]

pastyboy, on Feb 25 2009, 05:02 AM, said:

It's hard to fire up when you are in doubt whether the event will go ahead because of the fires.

I feel pessimistic...

oh the glass is half full sunshine.
given their history, they tend to go ahead but alter courses, distance, or dates.

so while i don't exactly trust that we are training on the course we'll run on the day, i reckon there'll be some kind of long run to have a crack at.

[Kelvin]

They have changed dates before (Sydney 200?), so i admit i'm not as confident that it will be on that day but i'm sure it will go ahead.
Will admit with race cancellations i'm a bit "stir crazy", ultimately i'm a racer not someone who really just trains for the sake of it (not because i don't enjoy running but simply because when i do train i tend to take it out just that bit too far and hard, if i was a running coach fear i'd be way too sadistic), looks like i'll be doing a half marathon this weekend, just to make sure i don't push myself too hard training for Six Foot Track.
If it is confirmed there is a TW that weekend i'm defintely interested (best i've ever done is second in Adelaide 2003 believe me i'd love a win in won of these),
Kelvin

[brettsrun]

RobHall, on Feb 25 2009, 04:58 PM, said:

it might mean some high flying teams would exit and give upstreamfoundation.org half a shot at it.......................

Nah Team 4 x 2XU staying for the long run, sorry Rob    

Edited by brettsrun, 25 February 2009 - 08:16 PM.

[Pasty]

Rohan,

You know I help put on events - have you forgotten how hot it was in Geelong a little while ago?  It was interesting to hear the discussions about the 48.5oC day that you checked in for that race...and the contingencies in place (i.e. shortened race distance).  Ever talked to someone how they did at IMNZ 2006 - the fastest IM race ever?  I'm not pessimistic - just trying to be realistic and understand how the event organisers are thinking.

Trailwalker Melbourne's handling of course changes is terrible.  Has everyone forgotten how they felt after 2006 (bushfires, cut out the 1000steps leg, restart whenever you get to the next CP, preferably after a good snooze, feed and massage)  and 2007 (snow, wait until it clears, which is about the same time you had rigor mortis)?

Quote

When is the correct time to cancel an event?

But my original question remains unanswered.  How far before TW Sydney did they reschedule the event Kelvin?
Will I only find out the day before TW Melb because Total Fire Ban days are only declared the day before the event....?

I would much rather firm early decisions than the "wait and hope" approach.   5 days early is my suggestion, enough time to get a weather indication, understanding of the fires, knowledge of the course.

[RobHall]

Yes changes haven't been done well before, but for us hacks who litterally start training after GTR for the next melb trailwalker, anything that could possibly disrupt the performance of others is a good thing.  I hope they reschedule four times and change the course as frequently and its forecast 5 to 35 degrees with north easterly cyclones and hail on the day its run.

Kelvin, you don't want to win this, it would ruin the mystique of it all for you, and Melbourne is such a dangerous place right now with all the crime like on underbelly.....I'll buy you a slab, stay at home and watch some telly, it would do you a world of good and I'm sure it would make you a lot faster and more attractive to supermodels etc .  I am really just thinking of what's best for you.