Bogong to Hotham

We arrived at the Mountain Creek hotel at about 3pm on Saturday. As I laid all my stuff out over the bed and got organised, the nerves that I had been feeling all day slowly slipped away. The logistics of the race in terms of gear, drop bags, nutrition etc. on top of the sheer challenge of running Bogong to Hotham had been weighing on my mind. What should I wear, what should I carry and what should I eat?

The beers prior to the race briefing helped as well. We relaxed and pondered what tomorrow would bring as we looked across the valley and up to Mt Bogong bathing in the afternoon sun on a beautiful summer's afternoon.

The briefing was pretty uneventful however I was glad we were only required to carry the light pack. We headed back to the hotel where final preparations were done. I chatted to Terry as the moon rose up over the mountains. As I told him about my lack of preparation, his face worried me. I had convinced myself that I had done just enough, but I was worried. The last 3 months mileage (132, 169 and 241) was not what I was hoping for. I had done 6 long runs (~30k) in the last 10 weeks (including a 50k) and 1 long cycle. However, there was nothing I could do about it, so I headed off for an early night.

Except I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned and then it began to rain. Sh&t! Finally fell asleep about 12:30 and before I knew it, the alarm clock was ringing – it was 4am.

As we arrived at Mountain Creek, the rain eased, but still was drizzling. After a roll call from spoonie and few words from Mike, we were off. My backpack needed some adjusting, so at the staircase turnoff I stopped for some alterations. When I was done, there was only a few people behind me. The aim was to get to take it easy and get to the top in 2:05, however my heart rate was high and I was losing ground to everyone – not good. I latched onto a couple of heels (old knees and Disco Dave) and did my best to stick with them to Bivouac Hut (1:18). The HR was high, but I had to keep pushing if I was gong to make the Langford cut. We passed brettsrun close to the tree line. He seemed to think we were on pace for a 1:55, but I wasn't so sure. I eventually made it to Mt Bogong in 2:05 which was the goal split, but my heart rate averaged 172 to get there!

It was cold, wet and without much visibility up on top. I considered putting on my jacket but was too cold to stop for long, so had a quick 'up and go' and headed off. I ran and walked my way to Cleve Cole hut and tried to bring the heart rate down a little. Blue Dog and Dave Byrne flew by and had already put 30 mins into me. I wasn't too worried as I arrived at Cleve Cole again right on the goal split (2:35).

From Cleve Cole, and down T-Spur, there was some good running and some magic views. My mind was on the job and I had to remind myself to try and enjoy the scenery. As we went down and down, the mountain in front got bigger and bigger. I arrived at Big River in 3:32. I must have passed 5 guys who were fluffing about trying to cross the creek. Then up I went - trudge, trudge, trudge up Duane Spur. Disco Dave (who I had got in front off) and Robin Cameron came flying past and I had my first bad patch. 4 hours into the race and there was probably 8 hours to go. I felt like I was losing time and just couldn't imagine finishing. But before I knew it, I caught Dave again and then he proclaimed that we had reached the top. I couldn't believe it, I was thinking we were only half way up. My lofty expectations and tales of other race reports served me well. We arrived at Roper's Hut in 4:44 which was 6 mins ahead of schedule. This really picked me up put a spring in my step.

On the way to Warby corner (5:14), Dave and I picked up Dave Waddington. Dave and I would end up running the rest of the way together, whilst we couldn't convince Dave to join us, instead he decided he would do the marathon.

After Warby corner, we picked the pace up and ran good portions of the way, pushing each other to Langford Gap. We arrived in 6:16 which was 9 mins ahead of schedule and 29 mins ahead of the cut. Dad was waiting for me. My main drop bag was at Omeo Road, so I grabbed as much food/drink as I could and headed off down the road. Damian was planning a longer stop, so I decided to just walk and try and get as much food into me before Omeo Rd.

The path to Omeo Rd is as flat as a pancake and I felt I was losing too much time walking, so I picked up the pace, reaching Omeo Rd in 7:08 which was 17 mins ahead of schedule and 37 mins ahead of the cut. I tried again to grab as much food/drink as I could. Damian arrived just as I was ready to go and we departed together off into the high plains. It felt strange. There was a silent satisfaction that I had made the cut fairly comfortably and I was heading off to Hotham. There was also some trepidation as I listened to my own words, "see you in 4-5 hours dad". Could there still be that far to go!

We headed out into the high plains and it started to rain and was bloody cold. There wasn't much talking between Damian and I over the next hour or two, but it was nice to have some company. I had another rough patch just before Pole 333. My guts had had enough and I just wanted to stop. I couldn't face any of the food I had picked up at Omeo Rd. We reached Pole 333 in 8:22 however and were still making good progress. A half a banana and some water seemed to settle the stomach and we ran well down to Pole 267.

The downhill to Dibben Hut hurt. My right ITB was screaming and my quads ached. Surprisingly, I was very happy to arrive at the bottom (9:16) and start heading up Swindler's Spur. It was slow and hard work and I stayed motivated by giving myself the challenge of not stopping, even for a second. Again I was expecting a long slog, some even saying that it is the hardest climb of the day, but it was over before I knew it. Running some of the flatter parts to Derrick hut was hard work. I was completely spent and was running on the smell of an oily rag.

We arrived at Derrick hut in 10:15 which was 45 mins ahead of my plan, but there was still a long way to go. Damian does a lot of skiing at Hotham and was doing a lot of talking about what we were seeing around the ski fields, which was nice to keep my mind of the slog. We could see the finish line, but it took so long to get there.

The finish line was cool - a bunch of crazies clapping you in for the last 20 metres. Mission accomplished in 11:12:50. Totally wrapped and very satisfied. It is great to set your mind to something and achieve it. It is a long way to go for a race, but I am already planning for next year.