Sixfoot 2010: 4:44:47

I don't know how it happened. I was standing there talking to Spud, when he indicated that I should get down to the start line, we were just about to start. I hadn't got undressed or put my stuff in to get transported to the caves. I quickly did that and rushed down to the start with Will. We were a long way back so did what we could to get up toward the front. Will and my Garmin's were both playing up and we were both quickly trying to get them going before the gun went off… and then it did… and so did I.

I was quite a way back and was doing my best to weave around the slower runners to get a good run down the stairs. Where were all the beer betters I thought? I kept looking around for Will but he wasn't there. Just as I was approaching the stairs, I saw a training partner, Dickyboy and thought it strange that he would start in Wave 2. And then it hit me. I think I started in Wave 1!

After jogging on the spot for a while thinking, "Should I go back to the start, should I wait for Wave 2? etc" I decided to keep going. I couldn't believe it. Running down the stairs I started to think about what this meant. DQ'd from the race. DQ'd from the beer bet, no racing the beer betters, hearing about it for the next 12 months!

I was still kicking myself when the Nellies sign came past in 12:15. Way faster than I have ever done before. Now I felt even more guilty. I slowly started to talk myself around and forget about it.

Just before I got to the first aid station, Mick caught me. I told him what had happened (as I tried to for every beer better that passed me). I couldn't believe he caught me so quick. It wasn't long before Rod caught me as well. Rod was blowing pretty hard at this point and as he ran off, I thought it was entirely possible that I may see him again later in the race. To his credit though, he pulled of a gutsy race plan, battling cramps and only a slight slow down to post an awesome time (4:34) and smash me on our little side bet. Rod, my shout after GCM.

I went through Megalong a bit quicker than planned (0.44), but was running pretty comfortably. Soon after that Cedric overtook me and then a km later Terry and Tallgeoff went past on top of Pinnacle Hill. The two top finishers from last year looked like they were keeping an eye on each other and their game faces were on. Next person to pass me was Dave. A bit of a surprise to see him at this stage to be honest, but he was looking very fresh and comfortable.

Then down toward the river. I love this section of single track. Perhaps I was loving it too much as I seemed to take the foot of the accelerator. Milov passed me just after the swing bridge (1.22) and Johnbo just before the river which I crossed a couple of minutes slower than the plan in 1.29. I was a little concerned that I had such a good start and was now 2 mins behind schedule.

Just as I started to climb Mini, Dan approached from behind as Cedric fell back. Dan and I shuffled our way up together. I was surprised this year that I was able to run much more than previous years whilst keeping the HR in check. Milov slowly edged away until I saw him no more. I reached the Cattleyards in 1.55, Mini in 2.06 and Alum in 2.19.

At the base of the hill I caught Dave and TallGeoff. I feared that Dave had gone out too hard, and whilst I didn't see him again all day, he held on for a solid finish and a big 60 min PB. The climb was going OK and it heartened me to remember last year when I was going backwards at a rate of knots. EXE came past and gave me company for a while before powering away to the top. I reached the top in 2.53. Game on I told myself.

My aim was to run the whole Black Range, but looking back, that was never going to happen. I counted 8 times that I had to walk, mainly in the first half. Run2work came past early on and I tried to stay with him, but he slowly drifted away. EXE came into view and we ran together for a while before he fell back. Just before deviation (3:44) Walshy bounced along side of me, looking strong. We figured it was just over an hour to go, and if we held it together we would run good times. We ran together till caves rd (4.06) and then Walshy took off. I couldn't stay with him as he tried to chase run2work. I hit the top of the hill in 4.33 and was hoping that my legs would not completely fall as they have descending this section in the past 3 years. All the downhill training seemed to help, however when SlowManiac passed me, I realised that I still have a bit of work to do on the downhills.

Seeing that I had a chance to break 4:45 I pushed the zig zags and finished with only seconds to spare. Miss Z gave me my medal however I didn't seem to be able to string two words together. Totally stuffed.

A great day and a great afternoon as well drinking a few beers with the beer betters.

This race is great, with so many more dimensions than your average road marathon. The beer bet just adds that something extra as well. Hopefully we can do it all again next year!