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Cradle Mountain Run Completed 2003

Article by: John Lindsay

I lean into the freezing gale to keep from being blown off course, as I climb the relentless hill leading up to Marion's Lookout. I'm 30 minutes into the run, and it had been cold and windy most of the way so far. The rain that fell over night has stopped, but the clouds hang low, obscuring the peaks towards which I am climbing. The wind cuts through my waterproof jacket and two thermal layers like a knife, and makes my bare thighs bright red.

Some background to this event …

I first became interested in the Cradle Mountain Run about 5 years ago. I knew of the 85 km Overland Track which the course followed. I knew it to be a rugged course and that most people take 5 to 7 days to walk it. So the notion of running it in a day had considerable appeal.

I called Bruce and Sue and discussed my intentions with them. I proudly told them of my achievements in having run a dozen or so marathons, and having completed the 46 km Six Foot Track a couple of times. I'll always recall Bruce's comments when he said "You'll find the shorter distances like the marathon won't be enough to ensure success in this event. Why don't you build up to something a bit longer for a year or two, and then we'll talk again".

You could have knocked me over with a feather. Up until then, I had thought that the marathons WERE the longer distances. Then he told me I'd need to get a couple of previous Cradle runners to vouch for the fact that I was capable of completing the event in 15 hour, and that I could survive in the bush if I was caught out unexpectedly overnight.

Of course, rather than putting me off, this made me want to do it all the more. The Cradle Run became one of those events I really wanted to complete. Being over 50 and a relatively slow runner compared to the sorts of people who normally do these events (and getting slower by the year according to all the age charts I read), I had to get it done sooner rather than later.

So in April 1999 I went to Cradle Mountain and ran to Frog Flat and back, a distance of something like 60 kms. I started in the dark and finished well after dark. It took me heaps longer than I expected, and I gained an appreciation of what Bruce had been talking about. This was one tough sucker of a course.

The run did something else for me. I saw Cradle Mountain in all its glory. I happened to run in a night with a full moon, and I still have a photo taken by a disposable camera of the moon reflected in the pre-dawn blackness of Crater Lake - two moons in the one picture. And then when I crested the hill beyond Marion's Lookout and was confronted with the massive image of Cradle Mountain and beyond that Barn Bluff jutting above the treeless plateau, all bathed in the golden glow of the just-rising sun, I formed a lasting attachment to this part of the world.

So in 2001 with my application accepted, I had the chance to do the run. Unfortunately, I had selected a year when the temperature on the plateau would rise to the high thirties, and cause a third of the field to drop at Narcissus. In my case, I failed to make the 11 hour cut off by a whopping 1 hour 41 minutes, and joined a large contingent of fellow non-finishers for a boat ride back to Cynthia Bay.

So I'm back now in 2003 to see if it was the heat which stopped me that time. Realistically I give myself no better than a 50% chance of making the cut at Narcissus. The guideline is that you need a marathon time of around 4 hours to get there in 15 hours. My best marathon time in the last couple of years is 4:19, which computes to around 17 hours on that formula.

… now back to the run.

I reach Marion's Lookout in 38 minutes, and Kitchen Hit in just on an hour. The wind is still ferocious, but the sky is starting to clear and I can catch some glimpses of Cradle Mountain's jagged profile through breaks in the cloud. Last night it poured on the tin roof of the hut I slept in, and it blew a gale. There's plenty of water on the top of the plateau, and it's not long before my feet are soaking wet.

I'm "Tail End Charlie" at this point, and sweepers Dave Cole and Rod Barnes will be my companions until Pelion Hut, where they'll then take a 2 hour walk out to a parked car and meet us at the finish.

I run along the base of Cradle Mountain and down the steep descent to Waterfall Valley. I get some water from one of the creeks, and continue on to Windermere Hut, where I once again top up with water, mix up some more carbohydrate, and quickly eat a couple of cheese wedges as I watch the campers feed the potoroos. It's 3 hours and I'm feeling good. From Windermere, the trail continues over flat and undulating alpine moors scattered with small lakes and streams, before descending through the boggiest section of the track down to Frog Flat and then on to Pelion Hut.

Just past Frog Flat I catch up with Amanda, an ironman triathlete running her first trail run. I reach Pelion a few minutes ahead of her, but she charges on past Pelion without even stopping, while I take 10 minutes to fill my bottles, have some more cheese, remove my long sleeve thermal top, and put on some sunscreen.

I dislike the next stage, the climb up to Pelion Gap. It comes at around 6 hours when fatigue is making its presence felt. But I am rewarded at the top with a compelling view of Tasmania's highest mountain, the 1617 metre Mt Ossa. The presence of around 6 large backpacks at the turn-off to this mountain shows that there are climbers up there today.

It's a nice run down then to Kia Ora Hut, where I refill again and meet up with my new sweepers, Frank and Scott. Just before reaching the hut though, I come for a decent tumble. I'm watching the track as usual, but being fatigued I find myself clipping the tops of rocks every now and then. And this time I come a real gutser. I sprawl on my hands and knees accompanied by a venomous stream of abuse directed at the rock upon which I tripped. Fortunately I'm wearing light gloves, and this together with the two water bottles I am carrying in my hands, restricts the bleeding bits to my legs. But I bust my water bottle straps in the process and have to improvise for the balance of the trip.

Frank and Scott are great company. Frank knows this area well, and provides me with regular updates on how I am faring for the 11 hour cut off. This advice keeps me moving faster than I otherwise would, and I reach Windy Ridge Hut in 9 hours 23 minutes, just enough time according to Frank to make the Narcissus cut if I keep hard at it. It is now no longer a race to the finish - it's a race against the clock to reach Narcissus within 11 hours.

I'm running pretty well. The cooler temperatures help a lot. But so does the method I'm using to ingest sufficient calories. I have a real problem getting enough calories down my throat to keep me from "bonking" (to use a cyclist's term). I simply can't digest that much food on the run. Lately I've been training with double strength, neutral flavoured, glucose polymer powder mixed with water in one bottle, washed down by plain water in another bottle, and supplemented with a small quantity of cheese and fruit bars. This is providing me with 150-200 calories an hour, a lot more than I can normally take in. I regard this as the primary reason I have not slowed in the last few hours, compared to my previous attempt, even though it was much hotter last time.

About 3 kms before the finish, I pass Amanda and another person who are both walking. They run with Frank and me for a while.

I reach the swing bridge over the Narcissus River just before 4:45 pm, and Frank tells me that it is only 12 minutes to the check point. I keep going hard at it in case he is wrong, and at 4:44 pm, 5 minutes before the cut off, I round the bend and see Sue Drake there, and know I've made it. She offers me a coke and a cup of tea, and I eat some grapes, before reminding me that I must leave the check point before 5 pm if I am to avoid disqualification.

I head out thinking I'll walk for a while to recover from the last 3 hours which I have run at a faster than my normal pace. I stop to remove some rubbish from my shoes, and Amanda passes me again. She is a very strong walker.

I have a few brief stints at running, but I really can't be bothered. I feel elated at having made the cut at Narcissus, and running now just seems too much trouble for no return. It's not as if I'm likely to win the event or anything … other than someone else who DNF'd, I'm stone motherless last.

So I settle down to a fast walk to the finish with Graham and Allan, my two sweepers from this section. They are great company. About half way through the 4 hour walk, my energy returns in good measure, and I pick up the pace. I know the 15 hour time target means nothing to my finish, but I'd like to complete the event in this time if I can. So without announcing my intentions to Graham and Alan, I up the pace, and we cover the last 5 kms in around 9 minute kilometres walking pace.

I tell Graham and Alan that I want to run to the finish, and so with around 300 metres to go, I take off like a scalded cat, surprising myself how strong I feel. I cross the finish line, and Bob says "you made it just under 15 hours". I say "how much exactly", and he replies "14 hours, 59 minutes and 27 seconds". I think that's pretty neat.

John has also written the following articles that are published on CoolRunning Australia :

• [Sep 2005] Glasshouse 100 Miles - Success in 2005
• [Feb 2003] Cradle Mountain Run Completed
• [Dec 2002] The Kepler Challenge - New Zealand
• [Apr 2002] Marathon Des Sables - My Saharan Adventure
• [Mar 2002] Six Foot Track 46km and back!
• [Jun 2001] Wilson's Prom 100km (short cut)
• [Jun 2001] Great Wall Marathon
• [Feb 2001] Cradle Mountain Run
• [Oct 2000] My First attempt at 100 Miles at Glasshouse
• [Aug 2000] Mt Kinabalu, Borneo Run Up

Feel free to E-mail him at jlindsa1@bigpond.net.au.

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