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| Group Photo |
I was fortunate enough to be involved in another training camp on
the weekend of the 17-19, this camp was being hosted by Mountain Sports in
preparation for the
Buffalo Stampede being held in Bright on April 5 and
6.
The trails were being toasted by a heat
wave and the 28 campers were eagerly awaiting working with Brendan Davies and
Hanny Allston over three days on the newly sanctioned Sky Running course from
Bright to Mt Buffalo and back.
Firstly I will warn you, this will be a longish blog, I have so many
angles to look from on this one, why I was there, whom we were with, the
course, my expectations/goals, Sky Running and Bright. So I will start with Sky Running and go from
there.
Sky Running
Officially, Sky running is any race that meets set criteria,
criteria is based on length and vertical gain as well as terrain. Essentially a race must gain a large amount
of ascent within a set distance and the gain is massive. A vertical km race, which is the accumulated
climbing time on selected steeper sections of the course must achieve 1000m of
elevation within 5km, so it’s tough going.
As well as massive climbs, the race must be on trail, go up a mountain
and have something unique about it. This is something that until now has not
been held in Australia.
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| Mt Buffalo |
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| Climbing Mystic |
I have watched many clips on YouTube from Europe and America.
I can’t wait to see a few from home start to
pop up, I will be heading back to the net for study time on techniques and styles
when running the steep and technical trails similar to those overseas.
To me it is finding technical and beautiful trails, massive hills
and linking them together in the craziest and most challenging manner
possible. There were times I was cursing
Race Director, Sean Greenhill, over the 3 days, possibly the most was when I
had a threshold effort up Clearspot Hill, 2.1km and 600m up in around 26min
with a continual gradient of around 30%.
But it’s more than a challenging course, it is the ambiance of a town,
the nature of the bush, the aura of a race, it’s just got that something and
the Buffalo Stampede in Bright to me has it.
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| Mt Bogong |
Sky Camp
I was at camp as part of Team Mountain Sports, along with Mark Lee,
and we were there to check out the course, plan, prepare tactics and push each
other on the trails. Mark is a more experienced
runner than me, only by a year though, and is quick, bloody quick. I rate him very highly as a runner and as a
bloke and Mark is going to set some trails ablaze this year. As a team we are aiming to do well in the
Team Event at Buffalo and with Jo Brischetto and Ingrid Donald on board as well
I feel we be quite strong.
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| A top of Buffalo |
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| Kel a top of Buffalo |
I was so keen to learn, absorb, run, enjoy and climb at camp, this
was my motto in my training log, my goals for the week. I was so happy to have Kel with me and for
her to be back running again. I knew she
was going to benefit from the weekend and it was good to immerse ourselves in
this beautiful little town. Places like
the Ovens River, the Velo Café and the Brewery were regular hangouts for us
over the 4 days we were there.
The camp was modified and manipulated to fit in with heat wave that
was sweeping the Southeast of Australia.
We ran at night and early in the morning to beat the heat and tackled
the toughest of tough trails that I have ever run on (more on the course
soon). We were given amazing and expert
info on training, diet, nutrition, programing, racing, night running and gear
from Brendan and Hanny, both in seminars and on the run. Most importantly we were waited on by Mel
Parry and Sean Greenhill, the excellent preparation of food, provision of transport,
aid stations, encouragement, and wisdom were just a few things they provided
campers with.
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| Another switch back on Mt Buffalo |
From camp I feel all campers would have went home more confident,
knowledgeable, eager and excited about the Stampede in April. Yes slightly intimidated but massively
informed, it was a bit like getting the answers to a test, except these answers
can only be achieved with consistent, dedicated and specific training. I hope everyone can remain committed in the
buildup to the race so they all take their place at start line able to use the
advantage from being on course.
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| Switch back on Buffalo |
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with everyone at camp. So many people were there, all for their own
reasons but with the same goal, that is what makes running so unique, some run
to win and some run to finish, but both will celebrate their victories the
same. I enjoyed meeting new people, reaffirming
past friendships and developing a network of fresh Sky Runners.
Buffalo Stampede Course
It is epic! Marathon – 42km
with 3000m of elevation gain. Ultra
Marathon 75km with 5000m of elevation gain and loss!
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| Partway up Clearspot |
Seriously there are two major hills in the first 15km of the 35km
journey to Mt Buffalo. “Mystic” is
massive, up 500m in a short space of time from Bright then down a descent that
is so steep and loose. A gentle 2km
between the Mystic descent and the start of “Clearspot” allows you to very
quickly settle yourself into the next up and down which is in my opinion far
steeper and tougher than Mystic and is in fact the toughest climb of the race If your in the marathon, well done it only
gets better from here, if your in the ultra you have to do this in reverse
after 60km! I think it is slightly
easier going in reverse but after 60km and over 3000m of climbing and
descending in my legs I might have another view come April.
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| Clearspot to Buffalo |
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| Close to the Chalet looking back track |
The next section is relatively runnable track from “Buckland” to “Eurobin”
via Keatings Ridge. Sean Greenhill
described it as “3/4 pluvio” so it will be reasonably tough and if you’re
struggling it will be very tough indeed.
The ascent of Buffalo via “The Big Walk” is 10k long gaining 1000m of
gain, all on single track that changes as you rise up the mountain. It starts steep, a little like the decent
into Jenolan on the 6 Foot Track, then it flattens out and becomes a little
winding through beautiful woods that line the middle belt of the mountain.
After a quick crossing of the road you begin
to hit the exposed rock sections that can be seen from afar on Buffalo,
switching back and forth over technical rocky terrain. The trail begins to head towards the “Chalet”
and becomes more sheltered for a 1km or so, once at the Chalet the loop section
begins. A small out to Lake Catani,
involving a stair filled descent and ascent (think Leura Cascades in length)
followed by a loop that is quite technical and highlighted by the pass through “Chalwell
Galleries”. You then retrace your steps
back to the Chalet for the long journey back to Bright or the short sprint to
the Chalet depending on what event your in.
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| Seminar time |
On the return trip back to Bright the decent into Eurobin is long
and could be quick and potentially quad busting! The section after Eurobin to Buckland may be
easy on the way out and may feel as though it got longer on the way back,
especially as we will all know what lays ahead. The last 15km will be make or
break at the pointing end, with massive time gained or lost if people can’t
run/hike or descend effectively. For
those aiming to finish it will be an adventure, they will take so much from
this section if they do. I remember in a
post I wrote on the TNF50 about the Sublime Climb where I said if you don’t
have a good reason for running then this section may break you, well this is 10
times worse.
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| Looking back towards the finish |
The course is what it is, the profile shows it’s severity and Sean
Greenhill has outdone himself on this one. There are a few spots where jaws
will drop, people will question themselves and these sections will be balanced
by the beauty of the environment, the glorious single track, switch backs on Mt
Buffalo and the atmosphere of the race.
I love the course and the challenge it sets me, I just love it!
Goals/Expectations
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I took them all - tested and Talons
are my pick come race day |
I want to train well in the lead up.
I will be aiming to replicate the course in my training, specific
preparation to a plan will be key. I
know a few locations that have similarities (but on a much smaller scale), in
my opinion, places like Hassans Walls, Mt York, Mt Canobolas will make great
training grounds. I will use these areas
to assist with my preparation so when race day arrives I will be ready to do my
best at this point in my career.
I have no goal time, it is too hard to tell. I just want to run up well and back down
well, walking away satisfied with my performance and happy that it reflected my
training. Obviously if I do well then
that will be a bonus. Ultimately I want
a strong team showing, I want my team to do well, and I will be doing my best
to help achieve this.
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| Bright on dusk from Mystic |
I also want to see Kel prepare well and run strongly in the
marathon. I know she has the ability and
I really want to be apart of her Buffalo Stampede buildup and race. I think she is heading in the right direction
after her injury and know she is going to build in momentum in the coming
months ready to peak on race day.
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| With Kel before the night run |
I don’t think I will push the pointy end, I will be towards the front
but not like an STS event or local race.
This is the real deal and with the best of Australia and overseas just
testing myself against these athletes will be an eye opener that’s for sure.
I will finish off by giving a bit of time to Bright. A town surrounded by mountains in Victoria,
which has a great atmosphere and laid-back attitude. Highlighted by nature and its beauty with hangouts
that are warm and welcoming. It is truly
a special little place as mentioned by Sean and Mel, and I will back many times
in the future.
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At the brewery - made it there a few times.
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