Banana Coast 2004 - Dave Criniti Race Report
From AURA
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Up and down…and back again?
An article about the completion of Australia's longest running annual road ultramarathon; the Bananacoast Ultramarathon; by participant David Criniti. Held 23rd May 2004.
There was no question that I'd be running 'down' this year. I couldn't do one and not the other. Last year I'd gone 'up', and I had to come back 'down' to really feel like I'd completed the event.
The event is the Bananacoast Ultramarathon. It is an 83km journey along the Orara Way, between Coffs Harbour and Grafton. On odd years, the event goes 'up' from Coffs, coming back 'down' from Grafton on the even years. By 'up' of course, I mean north, and hence south, by 'down'. Rest assured there are plenty of uphills and downhills in both the 'up' and the 'down' runs!
The race came about more than 20 years ago, when Steel Beveridge got thinking after passing a street sign denoting the 85km distance between the two towns (It has since been revealed that the sign wasn't entirely accurate, but that's another story). It is a distance similar to, though slightly shorter than, the world's longest running annual road ultramarathon - South Africa's Comrades Marathon.
Comrades is also run 'up' one year, and 'down' the next, although that's about where the similarities end. The Comrades Marathon, which started with a 'down' run in 1921 (and has been held each year since, apart from the years 1941-45 inclusive, because of WWII) routinely attracts over 14,000 starters, including a record line-up of over 24,000 starters for its 75th running in 2000. In contrast, the Bananacoast Ultra has been struggling to reach double figures in recent years.
Well, to be truthful, it has struggled to reach double figures since its inception, with a record field of only 16 starters, and one year fielding a starting line-up of just 3 men and a dog! (Yes, I'm serious). Nevertheless, the race has gone on. Even Mother Nature was no match for the resolve of Race Director Steel Beveridge, who quickly measured an out-and-back course from Coffs Harbour in 1996 when floods cut the road, preventing the full journey to Grafton.
In this, the race's 22nd year, it did again reach double figures, just, with 10 people toeing the starting line. However, only 5 of these starters were to complete the 83km distance, with 4 completing the 58km option to Nana Glen, and one, Jann Karp, putting in arguably the biggest effort of the day to make the 25km to Lanitza. Jann, who once weighed 129.5kg, is on a two-pronged bid to lose weight and raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. M.N.D (which refers to a group of diseases, which affect the neurones controlling the body's muscles, causing the muscles to gradually atrophy) recently claimed the lives of both Jann's mother, and a good friend. From all accounts, Jann's doing well on both counts, and used this event as a training hit-out to prepare for July's Gold Coast Marathon, which she aims to cover in about 10hrs. (For more information about M.N.D, check out www.mndnsw.asn.au)
With darkness slowly beginning to fade from the sky, we all set off from the Grafton Post Office for the journey south, just a couple minutes after 6.00am. The wide, tree-lined streets were all ours at that time of the morning as we headed towards, then over the still, glassy, Clarence River.
In a field so small, it's highly likely that many of the runners will spend much of the day alone, and after running the first three or four kilometres with ultra icon Kelvin Marshall, that's the way the rest of my day was to be spent.
BEFORE THE SUN CAME UP, I RAN BY THE LIGHT FROM KELVIN'S HEADBAND!
I'd arranged for my crew, comprised of my extremely generous friends Denis and Brad (official photographer!), to stop every 5km to exchange my drink bottle as I swapped between water and sports drink; and to give me food. They certainly did a good job, because I recall saying at the finish that it felt like I spent my whole day eating and drinking! With Mars Bars, Muesli Bars, hard-boiled eggs, Nutella sandwiches, bananas, jelly babies, and of course donuts all consumed en route, is it any wonder I've grown to love this sport with such an all-consuming passion!
The traffic was very light in the early hours of the morning, so apart from my brief exchanges with Denis and Brad every 20-odd minutes, I had a lot of time to enjoy the scenery. And there was plenty of it to enjoy! After the first 9 or 10km, we had passed through the outskirts of South Grafton, and begun our journey along the Orara Way, lined with forest and farmland until the small town of Glenreagh, just after the marathon mark. With the sun filtering through the trees to the east, and illuminating the rivers of fog drifting through the surrounding pastures, it was an awesome morning to be out running.
Unfortunately I probably got a bit too caught up in the scenery, and had gone out slightly too fast, covering over 15km in the first hour. As the fog lifted, I tried to focus a little less on the scenery, and a bit more on constructing a sub-6 hour race.
A pit stop at the Lanitza roadhouse just after the 25km mark, and what was possibly an over-conservative reaction to my first-hour's pace saw me reach half way in a little over 3 hours. After spending a couple hours concentrating on not going too fast, it seemed like all of a sudden I was behind schedule, and I wasn't going to have much time to play with if I wanted to get under 6 hours now. I lifted the pace at that stage, although I knew I had to keep it controlled if I was going to keep it up for another 3 hours.
SENIOR CREW MEMBER DENIS, HAVING A GOOD CHUCKLE AT MY RACE ATTIRE. SURE MIDRIFFS ARE IN... IF YOU'RE A TEENAGE GIRL!
Coming into Glenreagh helped buoy my spirits, as I was welcomed in by a couple of the town's younger residents, who formed a mini-cheer squad (Hey, Glenreagh's only small - seeing two people on my way through was a pleasant surprise!). It seemed like no sooner had I left Glenreagh, than I'd arrived in Nana Glen, and although I was pleased that this time appeared to pass quite quickly, I was bitterly disappointed not to see the town's resident celebrity, Mr Russell 'Rusty' Crowe. Despite this, I managed to amuse myself for the next few minutes by silently singing "I'd love to have a beer with Rusty" before thinking to myself that I'd rather have one with my Coolrunning compadres, many of whom were at that time just about to begin the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon. On the southern side of Nana Glen, with 4 hours now passed, and only a third of the race left, my confidence of going sub-6 was slowly growing.
I'd managed to keep enough in the tank to have a solid second half, and when I got through Coramba and to the top of Red Hill, with nearly half an hour left to cover the final 5km downhill stretch to the finish line, I knew I could once again enjoy the scenery; this time a view of the waters of Coffs Harbour, and its famous banana plantations.
I was welcomed at the finish by Brad and Denis holding the 'Finish' banner aloft on the footpath outside the Hotel Coffs Harbour. (As a friend of mine has recently opined, to finish an 83km footrace outside a pub is one hell of a pub crawl!) I'd gone under the 6hr mark with a 5:54.16 finish, but was still a few minutes outside Greg Barton's 1995 record of 5:49.14.
I was to find out the day after the event that my sub-6hr effort, as well as being a nice personal milestone, would also qualify me to become the third recipient in the race's history of the 'gold t-shirt'. Apart from Barton and myself, Queensland's Bruce Cook had also gone under the 6 hour mark when he clocked a 5:55.27 victory in 1985. Perhaps that's another similarity to the Comrades Marathon, which awards gold medals to its top 10 finishers each year, silver to those who finish in under 7:30, and a variety of other medals, based on time, for everyone who finishes before the official cut-off.
I'm not quite sure what it is that impresses me so much about this race, but something is really drawing me to it. Part of it, I'm sure, is its low-key nature. It's no secret that I certainly got revved up at my last long race - the Australian Ironman at Forster. I loved every minute of the run there; high-fiving spectators and screaming in ecstasy in front of thousands of spectators in the finishing chute. I'll remember it forever. But at the other end of the spectrum, I really loved the fact that I didn't even sign a waiver to complete this race. I sent an email to Steel saying I'd see him on the morning, and I did, no more than 10 minutes before the start! This low-key nature provides it's own challenges and rewards; and the solitude that comes with it, can certainly be both at various times.
ALONE AGAIN, WITH THE SCENERY TO MYSELF
Part of this event's lure is undoubtedly the scenery. From the Clarence to the banana-plantations on the outskirts of Coffs, there is certainly no shortage of spectacular views.
Part of it is Steel, and wife Lyn's, way of managing the event such that not only all the runners, but also their crew members, feel like they're integral to the successful completion of the race. In the minutes before the start, crews were presented with maps and fluorescent jackets and designated 'official marshals' (not exactly an onerous task with only a couple round-a-bouts and a t-intersection to negotiate before the beginning of the Orara Way). One of the luxuries of a race this small is that each and every participant is usually acknowledged in the race director's official race report, which Steel typically compiles and emails within 24 hours of the race's completion. All finishers are also given a personally engraved goblet, on which their name and time are recorded. Those completing their maiden voyage between the two towns are welcomed to the club with a first-timer's t-shirt. I think the fact that this is presented to participants who've just completed their first Bananacoast Ultra makes it feel more 'earned' than 'bought'; not just another t-shirt included in each year's entry fee. And despite the fact it's butt ugly, and I wouldn't wear it in a fit, mine is a cherished keepsake! We're given a shower (thankfully) and a nice feed at the finish too, which is a great chance to catch up with the other competitors and crew. At the bargain basement price of $15, it's also arguably the best value for money ultra I've ever done.
Unfortunately, with a five hundred odd kilometre drive back to Sydney awaiting Denis, Brad and I, there wasn't as much time to chat with the others as I would have liked, but I did have the pleasure of seeing Kelvin finish his 131st ultra, coming across in 3rd, just minutes after first-timer Dom Howard. Although Kelvin, a 3 time winner here, wasn't happy with his personal worst of just over 7:30, in 131 ultra's you're going to have some that are better than others. The following week turned out to be a better one for Kelvin, when he won the 67km Tambourine Trek Ultramarathon in his 132nd ultra. Freak!
It had taken two finishes, but I now felt like I'd completed the race. I'd gone 'up' in 2003, and come back 'down' this year. Will 2005 see me go back 'up' again? I hope so. And I also hope 2005 sees a few more 'comrades' making the pilgrimage up the Orara Way. Perhaps the race could see its 5th ever, female finisher. Perhaps we can best that overall starting line-up record crowd of 16. And perhaps, as Steel jokes, "we might even get the road closed for 14,000 runners".
