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TransAustralia Footrace - Melton Stage

It was a very significant day in the Trans Australia Foot Race when the runners ran from Ballarat to Melton (Melton being the hometown of Bryan Smith who tragically died on the 2nd Feb 2001 at Ceduna).

I went down there to try and help on the day, renew old Ultra friendships and make new ones. After talking to the local council, motel and newspaper I went to the Courthouse Square where several activities including a sausage sizzle was being set up by the local Fire Brigade.

It was about mid-day when I hopped into the local fire truck and was driven down the road to find the lead runner. I was on the look out for Kruglikov from Russia and knew he had fair hair. We went past one runner who was motoring along at a great rate (I gathered he was a fast local runner!). I then saw Kruglikov up the road, put my head out the window and after briefly identfiying him told him to follow the fire truck back up the road.

It was when I got Kruglikov up to the Main St of Melton I was informed that Derxen had already completed the Stage (albeit 200 metres further down the road due to a communication brekadown). So that was Derxen who I mistakenly thought was a Good local runner! Kruglikov finished at the correct finish line at Courthouse Square!

The runners came in over the next few hours to Courthouse Square. Bobby Brown finished third. George Audley finished in the top half of the race. He is defnitely the success story of this race and it's a crime if he doesn't get the recognition he deserves from the mainstream Australian press. Mick Francis finished well and Paul Every also finished in style greeting his wife with the usual kiss on the cheek! There was a fair crowd to greet them - but there could have been more.

All in all it was a great day. It was good to renew friendships and make new friends. The Ultra Marathon family is one of the Greatest sporting families around and it does deserve more recognition than what it is getting. The Trans Australia race is a unique event and it does deserve to succeed. I don't envy the organisers - they have done a magnificent job to get the runners this far.

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