68 replies to this topic

[KevinCassidy]

I've just found race two of the "Cartwright" series on the Queensland calendar.  I'll be in Caloundra that weekend and thought I might plod my way through this event.  Something a bit different from the usual Victorian events sounds quite appealing.

Am I correct in assuming it is quite a scenic course?  And do they get many starters?

[blair]

There's also the Sunshine Coast Cross Country on 30th. Bellthorpe can tell you all about that

[Bellthorpe]

KevinCassidy, on May 21 2010, 11:52 AM, said:

Am I correct in assuming it is quite a scenic course?  And do they get many starters?

It's a very nice course, on a pathway (partly planked) around the foreshore.  Gentle undulations, and twists to the course. So it's not particularly fast, but very scenic.

The first race of the series had 148 finishers.

These races are renowned for the great spread at the end. There's junk food, such as fresh fruit. And wholesome runners' food, such as scones, cream and strawberry jam.

I placed 2nd in M60+, and plan to do each race in the series. Hope to see you there!

And as Balri said, I also hope to see you at Sunshine Coast Cross Country the next day. This race will be at Mooloolah, and is the most 'cross country' like course of the series. Here's a thread on it.

How long are you staying at Caloundra? The Foreshores run on 6 June is also a small but great event.

[KevinCassidy]

Bellthorpe, on May 21 2010, 02:13 AM, said:

It's a very nice course, on a pathway (partly planked) around the foreshore.  Gentle undulations, and twists to the course. So it's not particularly fast, but very scenic.

The first race of the series had 148 finishers.

These races are renowned for the great spread at the end. There's junk food, such as fresh fruit. And wholesome runners' food, such as scones, cream and strawberry jam.

I placed 2nd in M60+, and plan to do each race in the series. Hope to see you there!

And as Balri said, I also hope to see you at Sunshine Coast Cross Country the next day. This race will be at Mooloolah, and is the most 'cross country' like course of the series. Here's a thread on it.

How long are you staying at Caloundra? The Foreshores run on 6 June is also a small but great event.

Thanks guys.

Bellthorpe, I am definitely going to run the Cartwright run on the Saturday.  I will be in my usual all black shorts and t-shirt.

I'd love to do the cross country but am doing a swim event at Moffat Beach then flying home the next day.

The last time I ran a Qld cross country race was in 1999 at Ormiston.  It was the state 12k championships if my memory is correct.

[blair]

KevinCassidy, on May 21 2010, 01:02 PM, said:

I'd love to do the cross country but am doing a swim event at Moffat Beach then flying home the next day.

Enjoy the swim. I was going to do it until I realised that my tri squad's end of season party is the day before and I might be a bit delicate. If I am up to it I might do the cross country instead

[Bellthorpe]

It's a pity illness kept you away KevinCassidy. Met up with Whale Boy for the first time. He enjoyed the run.

Numbers were a bit down because of the rain (go figure!) but it was as usual a great race, and the weather wasn't too bad by the end. Scones cream and jam were delicious.

And I took a decent chunk off my 10K PB, so I'm pretty happy.

[AndyP]

Nice one, BT. I expect a course PB at SCXC now.

[KevinCassidy]

Bellthorpe, on May 29 2010, 08:00 AM, said:

It's a pity illness kept you away KevinCassidy. Met up with Whale Boy for the first time. He enjoyed the run.

Numbers were a bit down because of the rain (go figure!) but it was as usual a great race, and the weather wasn't too bad by the end. Scones cream and jam were delicious.

And I took a decent chunk off my 10K PB, so I'm pretty happy.

Well done BT.  I stayed in cold and rainy Melbourne and coughed my way through watching my footy team lose in a tight finish..GRRRR

[SillyFatWanker]

Hey folks, I'm thinking about doing the 10k on the 26th June before heading to Bris to watch the Wallabies flog Ireland Are these races beginner friendly? I've only done a few self timed 10ks ~ 60min so I'm looking to get an official time so I can have a PB and work on smashing it.

Cheers

-Mike

[Bellthorpe]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'beginner friendly'. So I'll say 'yeah, they are', and you won't be entirely sure what I mean.

If you seek me out before the race, I'll be friendly to you, and introduce you to my buddies, and they'll be friendly to you.

Perhaps the friendliest aspect of these races is the scone/jam/cream afterwards.

So get your entry in now (online is cheaper than on the day) and I'll see you there.

It's a great place to have a race, by the way.

[SillyFatWanker]

Well that is definitely very friendly of you, I'll keep an eye out on race day!

What I meant by beginner friendly is do they welcome people of all fitness levels as it will be my first race.

I've been jogging around there a couple of times, definitely a beautiful place. Does it follow the same route as the sunshine coast half marathon? The course map is dead on the website.

[AndyP]

SillyFatWanker, on Jun 14 2010, 03:10 PM, said:

Well that is definitely very friendly of you, I'll keep an eye out on race day!

What I meant by beginner friendly is do they welcome people of all fitness levels as it will be my first race.

I've been jogging around there a couple of times, definitely a beautiful place. Does it follow the same route as the sunshine coast half marathon? The course map is dead on the website.

The running community as a whole is usually beginner friendly.  After all, most of these are fun runs.

It is the same course as the Mooloolaba HM.

[Bellthorpe]

SillyFatWanker, on Jun 14 2010, 03:10 PM, said:

What I meant by beginner friendly is do they welcome people of all fitness levels as it will be my first race.

Yes, they do. I can't recall any race I've been in that did not ...

[AndyP]

I've signed up for the 5k on Saturday. Bring on the scones!!

[Bellthorpe]

Don't you eat them all by the time I get in!

[AndyP]

There's some motivation for you to run faster.

[Bellthorpe]

Undoubtedly. But I'm not entirely sure that I can finish a 10k race before you finish your 5k.

I'll give it a good shot though.

[AndyP]

You've got a 10 minute headstart.  Okay, I promise I'll only graze until you finish.

[par564]

Had a great morning out for a very lazy 10km.

Best bits:
- seeing my friend finish with a big sprint to finish under the hour
- the great spread and
- all the friendly runners and seeing those in CR gear.

I'll out myself next time (at race 5) by wearing my hat  

[Bellthorpe]

SillyFatWanker, on Jun 14 2010, 03:10 PM, said:

Well that is definitely very friendly of you, I'll keep an eye out on race day!

As you did. Great to meet you. And glad I could introduce you to a few other CoolRunners. The grins on people's faces as I wandered around shouting out 'has anyone seen a SillyFatWanker' had to be seen to be believed.

AndyP blitzed the 5k, coming in a terrific second overall. Sterling effort.

Whaleboy passed me at 6k in the 10k, and put in a great result.

I had a disaster. At 7k I had to dart into the bushes to vomit and to have a dump. Apart from the time lost, I never recovered my momentum, and I'd gone out just a fraction to fast in any case.

You win some, you lose some. My last decent hit-out before Gold Coast 10k next week.

That was race 3 of a 5 race series, definitely recommend the races (and the scones/jam/cream) to all.

[SillyFatWanker]

Was great to put some faces to the people here. Great effort by everyone, especially AndyP for leaving some scones for me to bee-line to after the race. Was a really lovely atmosphere, lots of families in the park but some pretty serious runners in there too. I think i was at about 5k when I got passed by the leaders on the way back. I got in at 1:01:45 on my watch which I'm fairly pleased about for my first 10k. Can't wait for race #4, I plan on being a few kgs lighter and breaking that 60min mark!

Edited by SillyFatWanker, 26 June 2010 - 04:29 PM.

[AndyP]

par564, on Jun 26 2010, 12:36 PM, said:

I'll out myself next time (at race 5) by wearing my hat  

Yes, you should.  I may or may not be there.  It's too hard to race plan that far ahead.

Bellthorpe, on Jun 26 2010, 01:53 PM, said:

AndyP blitzed the 5k, coming in a terrific second overall. Sterling effort.

Yessir.  I'm rather proud of my effort, although not a 5k PB (it is a tough course though). The time was 19:19 or thereabouts. It was great to hear the reaction of the crowd there as I sprinted the last short section at the end to overtake a guy who I had trailed the whole race (and didn't expect to catch) in the finish chute.  I was only 4 minutes behind the leader too...

SillyFatWanker, on Jun 26 2010, 04:28 PM, said:

especially AndyP for leaving some scones for me to bee-line to after the race.

There were so many that I couldn't possibly eat them all.  I thought I may have over hyped them after a year away from Cartwright, but they still met my expectations.  Outstanding!  Well done on your race, outing yourself as a CR, and good luck in the weight loss and the sub-60.  Your run is probably worth less than the hour on a flat track.

It was nice to meet yourself and WhaleBoy.  I don't know if I can make the July race.  I need to look at the vascectomy threads again to work out recovery times.

[Bellthorpe]

These are nice runs, but they have the slowest results publication I've ever seen.

Not many different races, just a few hundred starters. The last race was on Saturday, no results today (Thursday). And no response to the email sent on the matter at 10am this morning.

[AndyP]

Bellthorpe, on Jul 1 2010, 07:34 PM, said:

These are nice runs, but they have the slowest results publication I've ever seen.

Not many different races, just a few hundred starters. The last race was on Saturday, no results today (Thursday). And no response to the email sent on the matter at 10am this morning.

Someone has edited the site today, because the Race 3 stuff has changed to Race 4.  I really want to know what my official time was.

Maybe the tallying of series points holds them up.  Are you anxious to see if you are still in first place?

[iRonnie]

Bellthorpe, on Jun 26 2010, 01:53 PM, said:

As you did. Great to meet you. And glad I could introduce you to a few other CoolRunners. The grins on people's faces as I wandered around shouting out 'has anyone seen a SillyFatWanker' had to be seen to be believed.

AndyP blitzed the 5k, coming in a terrific second overall. Sterling effort.

Whaleboy passed me at 6k in the 10k, and put in a great result.

I had a disaster. At 7k I had to dart into the bushes to vomit and to have a dump. Apart from the time lost, I never recovered my momentum, and I'd gone out just a fraction to fast in any case.

You win some, you lose some. My last decent hit-out before Gold Coast 10k next week.

That was race 3 of a 5 race series, definitely recommend the races (and the scones/jam/cream) to all.

Going out a fraction toooo fast may have done something to your vision tooooo.  
Hope things go bettererer at the Gold Coast.  
Cheers,
Ronnie.

[Whale Boy]

Hey Cartwright Runners,

SFW -  Here's a tip for a sub 1:00 run - stay away from the scone table - that way I'll get more!

Bellthorpe - About the results, is there a simple explanation of the series results, I noticed last month that I got more points tha someone who beat me home - he/they ran the first race and I didn't. I s ther some form of handicapping applied. I've searched the website for an explanation all to no avail.

It's a real put down when the guy you target to beat and do and feel good about it then tells you he had to "dump and burn" on course - still a minute off last month is still good news.

Par564 - I'll hopefully be there this month - come and say hello, I'll have my CR singlet on again.

Till next month,

Whale Boy

[AndyP]

Whale Boy, on Jul 2 2010, 10:16 AM, said:

Bellthorpe - About the results, is there a simple explanation of the series results, I noticed last month that I got more points tha someone who beat me home - he/they ran the first race and I didn't. I s ther some form of handicapping applied. I've searched the website for an explanation all to no avail.

WB, from what I can tell it works like this:

20pts - First
19pts - Second
18pts - Third
and so on.
Every competitor not in the top 19 would get 1pt for racing too.  Sometimes there aren't even 20 competitors in a category, but the points still work down from 20pts for each race.

[par564]

Whale boy

I won't make it to the July race (Bris mara the next day).  I will be a starter in race 5 (Aug) and I'll wear my CR hat.
I will definitely pluck up the courage to introduce myself.

Kim

[SillyFatWanker]

I'm a little disappointed their race dates clash with bigger events like bris running festival and now b2b seems like they're shooting themselves in the foot a bit numbers wise.

[Bellthorpe]

To some extent I think they attract different participation spectra. With some overlap, of course.

I'd rather run Point Cartwright than B2B.

Unless I were to do both ... there's actually no clash, they're on different days.

[glenda]

I am going to run the last race of the series...I have to go up to Kawana for my daughters rowing , head of the river, so I will be there anyway. My comeback (again) to racing after 11 weeks off running...with some luck I will sneak under 40mins for the 10

[Bellthorpe]

That will be great Glenda! See you there ...

[AndyP]

I hope I'm at the last one too, but I haven't planned that far yet.

[Bellthorpe]

Hey all, the first event of this year's series is on this Saturday.

Thing is, they're now only taking online entries, and they close at midnight tonight.

Got mine in a few days ago, see y'all there.

[SillyFatWanker]

You'll see me at least, put my entry in earlier today.

[AndyP]

I don't think I'll make any of these as they always clash with junior footy.

[Bellthorpe]

I thought you'd moved up to seniors?

[Bellthorpe]

Good to see a number of CoolRunners this morning. The Schots, Whale Boy, and SillyFatWanker. Rather an inappropriate name, he's not fat. Nor silly. Although he was silly enough to let me pass him (with a major effort) just before the turn.

As usual, yummie scones jam and cream after.

My registration went OK, and checking in was quick and easy. Not so for many runners, I think this race's systems still need work.

A perfect day for a coastal run. Now for Sunshine Coast cross country tomorrow.

[SillyFatWanker]

I didn't have any probs registering but the line for people with problems was a little lengthy. Great morning for a run, course is still beautiful and the food top notch. Tried hard to reel in BT but he'd taken too much of a lead. I'll know next race not to give him an inch!

Good fun all round and met some CRs. Cyas at the next one.

Edited by SillyFatWanker, 04 May 2011 - 06:15 PM.

[Sidewinder]

Completed the 1st race in the 2011 series and reallyenjoyed it, great scenic course, shame some scoundral moved the 4km sign though!  One question though, I am trying to enter into the 2nd race at the end of May and I can't seem to do this on the web site.  Any ideas anyone?

[Bellthorpe]

Yes, I noticed the absence of a 4k sign. Not that it mattered. I just run until I see a finish line. Then I stop.

This series has always had website problems. For example, they're saying that you need to use Firefox or IE, not Safari or Chrome. In other words, incompetent design.

Last season, the results were sometimes weeks getting up, and for one race, they never appeared. But series results were still tabulated (fortunately, as I got a rather magnificent trophy).

So when it says that entries open 1st May for the 28th May event, I'd take that with a large grain of salt. Entries open when they open ...

[Sidewinder]

Ok, thanks for the reply and the information.  I saw a photographer as well at the event, are these pics uploaded to the web site or found elsewhere?

[Bellthorpe]

I don't think there was an official photographer. You probably saw Cliff Clegg, who takes lots of photos of any event in which his wife runs.

[Sidewinder]

There was a guy with a large telephoto lense snapping away, just assumed he was a professional.  If you see any or know of any links can you let me know.

Thanks

[Bellthorpe]

That was Cliff. If you PM me your race number, and if he sends me any photos from the event, I'll send you any that I see with your number.

[Sidewinder]

OK, thanks, I need to post 5 times before I can do this so will do it soon, cheers.

[Bellthorpe]

Bellthorpe, on 04 May 2011 - 04:54 PM, said:

Last season, the results were sometimes weeks getting up, and for one race, they never appeared. But series results were still tabulated (fortunately, as I got a rather magnificent trophy).

This series has the worst results publishing I've ever seen.

Just got the newsletter reminding us that race 4 is next weekend. In that newsletter was:

"Check the updated Points                                            Tally page to see how your [sic.] going and who your closest opposition is".

However, with race 4 looming, the cumulative results have not been updated since race 2.

I email the race organiser frequently on this issue. He continues to say that it's just about to be fixed. But it never is.

Hopeless.

[SillyFatWanker]

Its a shame they fall down so hard on the admin side of things as they do a top job with the run itself. I'll still be there this weekend though and I have my teaspoon of cement ready. Aiming for a 46 something.

[Bellthorpe]

Yes, I enjoy the runs themselves.

See you there!

[Bellthorpe]

Waddya know. The cumulative results are now up to date.