RACE REPORT OF THE INAUGURAL SEA 2 SUMMIT (with Kym Williams)
HELD ON SUNDAY 4 JANUARY 2009
HELD ON SUNDAY 4 JANUARY 2009
The first long run I ever did was on the first Sunday of the year in Sydney many years ago - the 30km Palm Beach to Manly - up and down every headland on that northern Sydney peninsula. Palm Beach, Whale Beach, Bilgola Beach, Mona Vale, Narrabeen, Collaroy, DeeWhy, North Curl Curl, Curl Curl, Freshwater, Queenscliff, Manly. Such was the pain I encountered on that first run that the names of each of those beaches is still indelibly etched on my psyche. Prior to that run, the furthest I had ever run was a 17 km run a week beforehand and one or two 15km runs. I was hardly prepared to nearly double my distance. I remember nearly dying as I hit the hot concrete concourse at the north end of Manly Beach to discover that there was still 2 kms to go.
But as hard as that run was there was something about it that had got me in. It was in those dark distant pre-internet days and I found it impossible to find out any information at all about the run. By word of mouth I was told to be at Manly at 4.00 am, to find some other runners to share a taxi to be at the start by 5.00 am. I remember when I finished I had problems standing and let one of the officials take my running number off to reveal a blood soaked T-shirt - no one had thought to tell me about Vaseline or nipple rub. I remember getting home at about 9.00 am to find the whole family still sound asleep and no matter how much I tried to tell them that I had been to the mountain top and back, neither my wife nor any of the children refused to stir. I gave up and crawled back into bed to wake up hours later wondering if it had all been a dream - only the soreness in my legs convinced me that it had actually happened.
What do you ask has this to do with the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit run? Well, ever since that run I have dreamed of being able to inflict that same sort of pain on others. I decided that there was only one way to do it here in Adelaide. I had heard of the sea to summit walking trail devised by George Driscoll from Kingston Park to Mt Lofty that tried to follow as much bush as possible. That was the answer - the longest and silliest route from the beach to the top of Mount Lofty at the hottest time of the year. That would surely fix them, I thought. And just to make it really hard we would provide as little support as possible which would mean that I could add “race director” to my resume and not have to do anything but run it myself. After all, it would be hardly likely that any more than a handful of silly bastards would want to join me…
I put the idea to two of the silliest men I know - John Glowik and David Close and of course they said they would be in it. I then put it to Kym Williams and he said that he would do it but only if he got another T-shirt to add to his wardrobe full of old runner T-Shirts. In keeping with the spirit of the silliness, I suggested we put his name on every T-shirt and the “Inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams” run was borne.
Before we knew it we had people coming at us from all directions wanting to join in the madness - was it the thought of running 32 kms uphill in the middle of summer that attracted them or was it the irresistibility of Mr Williams? We had requests for people asking for different versions of the T-Shirt:
“I ran the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams”;
“I ran part of the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams”.
We even had a request from someone who will remain anonymous for “I didn’t run the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams”.
So on Sunday 4th January 2009 I finally got to bed and set the alarm. There is something silly about setting an alarm for 3.40 am when it is already well after midnight. I had gone to bed late because in a moment of panic I had decided to mark part of the course with flour and chalk. With the help of David Close, we managed to mark the winding trail from South Rd at Darlington all the way to Belair National Park. Word was out there that we might be expecting a crowd and I feared that I might get lynched for providing such poor directions.
Not very long after finally getting to sleep and even less time after the alarm’s ringing, I found myself with about fifteen others at the top of Mt Lofty to car pool our way to the start. It was still very dark and of course quite warm with an expected temperature of 33 degrees. After telling everyone to meet at the car park at 5.00 am we had been informed that the gates didn’t open until 7.00 am. John Glowik took on the Parks bureaucracy and they entrusted to him the car park key. (Very clever man, that John Glowik - silly but clever!). We tarried not long and found our way down to Kingston Park. Gosh that’s a long drive when you know you have to run back as soon as you get there!
We arrived at Kingston Park to find a crowd already waiting for us. And the cars continued to pour in as I stood on a car bumper bar to give the final instructions.
“Here are your maps. We take no responsibility for your silliness. If in doubt, head up… Ready? Over to you Kym, would you like to lead us out.” “Sure”, says Kym, “which way?”
I brought up the rear as we ascended the steps off the beach. 47 runners in front of me. I made 48. By the time we got to the top - I couldn’t believe it - they were already off track and had missed the path to the rail crossing. I shook my head as I joined 47 others climbing through the fence and crossing the railway line. It was like something out of one of those terrible State Rail TV commercials. “What time’s the first train?” someone asked. I shuddered as I imagined the newspaper headlines….
Soon the field was spread out and we were crossing South Rd and heading up to Flinders University. Somewhere around Bellevue Heights I got a call from a runner who had been well in front of me to say that he was lost and the blue shirt he had been following for the last ten minutes was a person walking his dog. He was now somewhere up on O’Halloren Hill next to a sign that said McLaren Vale.
Could we have asked for a better start?
In another moment of pre run terrors I had enticed a mate known to many, Piet Crosby, into providing some support. Piet was able to spare the time away from his normal Sunday morning triathlon training due to a recent accident on his bike (“You should have seen the other guy, says Piet, “they towed his car away”. Tough bastard is Piet!) - and there he was at the half way point in Hawthordene with cool drinks and snakes. He also was able to inform us that the lead runners had covered the first 16kms in not much over an hour. Sobering thought when we finally got to Belair National Park to think that these guys had probably already finished and were already onto their second or even third coffee. Piet was there again at the north east gate of Belair with more drinks and more snakes which were most welcome after the climb up through the park.
Not much further, past the Crafers roundabout, there was Frank from CoolRunning. He was in the shade of a small tree with his CoolRunning shirt hanging from one of the branches. He looked so suspicious with his table of little goodies that my first thought was to cross to the other side of the road to avoid having to buy anything. But as he waved us over I recognized him and realized that he was in fact there for us - with cool drinks, fruit, lollies, Vaseline and medication! Inspired by the conversation on the CoolRunnings web forum and not up for running the event this year himself, he had set up shop to help us on our way. Inspirational stuff and just what we needed to get up the last two kilometers.
Finally we were over the final lip and onto the summit concourse, ordering our own coffees, looking down on the plains below from whence we had come. Frank appeared again from nowhere and helped me track down the last of the runners - those still on the course and those still trying to find it.
Such is the unusual nature of this report, and indeed this run, that I still don’t know who got to the summit first nor in what time they did. I did hear something about the 31-32 kms being completed in 3 hours 5 minutes. I also heard that several of the first group home were gentlemen who had entered the seventh decade of their lives. That is truly inspiring for those of us a few years younger - we can continue to live with the illusion that we will improve with age.
And how did Patron Kym fare on the day? Well he ran the course in his usual running style - modestly, easily, enjoying himself, the surroundings and the company of those around him. After spending the whole day running the full course beside Kym, John Glowik says that he is having a personal version printed with “I survived running the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams”. It was a special moment to be on the concourse when Kym’s head suddenly popped up from the track to the loud cheer of his fellow finishers.
Thanks to everyone who helped to make this such a great morning. But particular thanks to Piet Crosby for his mobile support crew; to John Glowik for his emails, maps and looking after Kym all day; for David Close for all his support and for helping me to mark the course; to Sally Buckett for hosting the very enjoyable postrun barbeque; and to Frank of CoolRunnings (aka as the “SouthAustralian”)
All in all 70 people participated in the run - 48 starters from Kingston Park and 22 joining in on the way - runners and walkers. Perhaps this is another institution in the making, like the Fanatics Christmas Day run… the thing to do on the first Sunday of the year… to run off all that Christmas food and New Year drinks. Indeed maybe the size of the field has something to do with New Year resolutions…
Next year, by popular demand, we will be running the inaugural Adelaide Summit to Sea. We will be honouring a Victorian, Peter “Chilliman” Mullins, who has done much to promote the Yurrebilla Trail 56km Ultra. Peter, ultramarathon and trail runner extraordinaire, travelled over from Victoria for Yurrebilla last year and after showing us what a great downhill runner he is, was the first to suggest that we were running the course in the wrong direction. So join us for “A Dash of Chilli” at 6.00 am on Sunday 3rd January, 2010 from the Mt Lofty Summit. We will be booking the Surf Life Saving Club at Kingston Park and intend making arrangements so you can have an extended brunch after a swim.
Ken Graham put his arm around me as we left the Summit concourse together. “Funny things, us runners”, he said. “Look at them, all smiling, no matter how hard you make it for them, they love rising to the challenge.” Like moths to a fire, I thought to myself, “like moths to a fire!” Some people think that we can expect twice as many in next year’s event. I’m not so sure. Sounds almost too sensible to run it downhill…and there’s no way it could ever be as much fun! I just can’t wait until 2011 when we run it uphill again!
Terry Cleary
But as hard as that run was there was something about it that had got me in. It was in those dark distant pre-internet days and I found it impossible to find out any information at all about the run. By word of mouth I was told to be at Manly at 4.00 am, to find some other runners to share a taxi to be at the start by 5.00 am. I remember when I finished I had problems standing and let one of the officials take my running number off to reveal a blood soaked T-shirt - no one had thought to tell me about Vaseline or nipple rub. I remember getting home at about 9.00 am to find the whole family still sound asleep and no matter how much I tried to tell them that I had been to the mountain top and back, neither my wife nor any of the children refused to stir. I gave up and crawled back into bed to wake up hours later wondering if it had all been a dream - only the soreness in my legs convinced me that it had actually happened.
What do you ask has this to do with the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit run? Well, ever since that run I have dreamed of being able to inflict that same sort of pain on others. I decided that there was only one way to do it here in Adelaide. I had heard of the sea to summit walking trail devised by George Driscoll from Kingston Park to Mt Lofty that tried to follow as much bush as possible. That was the answer - the longest and silliest route from the beach to the top of Mount Lofty at the hottest time of the year. That would surely fix them, I thought. And just to make it really hard we would provide as little support as possible which would mean that I could add “race director” to my resume and not have to do anything but run it myself. After all, it would be hardly likely that any more than a handful of silly bastards would want to join me…
I put the idea to two of the silliest men I know - John Glowik and David Close and of course they said they would be in it. I then put it to Kym Williams and he said that he would do it but only if he got another T-shirt to add to his wardrobe full of old runner T-Shirts. In keeping with the spirit of the silliness, I suggested we put his name on every T-shirt and the “Inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams” run was borne.
Before we knew it we had people coming at us from all directions wanting to join in the madness - was it the thought of running 32 kms uphill in the middle of summer that attracted them or was it the irresistibility of Mr Williams? We had requests for people asking for different versions of the T-Shirt:
“I ran the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams”;
“I ran part of the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams”.
We even had a request from someone who will remain anonymous for “I didn’t run the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams”.
So on Sunday 4th January 2009 I finally got to bed and set the alarm. There is something silly about setting an alarm for 3.40 am when it is already well after midnight. I had gone to bed late because in a moment of panic I had decided to mark part of the course with flour and chalk. With the help of David Close, we managed to mark the winding trail from South Rd at Darlington all the way to Belair National Park. Word was out there that we might be expecting a crowd and I feared that I might get lynched for providing such poor directions.
Not very long after finally getting to sleep and even less time after the alarm’s ringing, I found myself with about fifteen others at the top of Mt Lofty to car pool our way to the start. It was still very dark and of course quite warm with an expected temperature of 33 degrees. After telling everyone to meet at the car park at 5.00 am we had been informed that the gates didn’t open until 7.00 am. John Glowik took on the Parks bureaucracy and they entrusted to him the car park key. (Very clever man, that John Glowik - silly but clever!). We tarried not long and found our way down to Kingston Park. Gosh that’s a long drive when you know you have to run back as soon as you get there!
We arrived at Kingston Park to find a crowd already waiting for us. And the cars continued to pour in as I stood on a car bumper bar to give the final instructions.
“Here are your maps. We take no responsibility for your silliness. If in doubt, head up… Ready? Over to you Kym, would you like to lead us out.” “Sure”, says Kym, “which way?”
I brought up the rear as we ascended the steps off the beach. 47 runners in front of me. I made 48. By the time we got to the top - I couldn’t believe it - they were already off track and had missed the path to the rail crossing. I shook my head as I joined 47 others climbing through the fence and crossing the railway line. It was like something out of one of those terrible State Rail TV commercials. “What time’s the first train?” someone asked. I shuddered as I imagined the newspaper headlines….
Soon the field was spread out and we were crossing South Rd and heading up to Flinders University. Somewhere around Bellevue Heights I got a call from a runner who had been well in front of me to say that he was lost and the blue shirt he had been following for the last ten minutes was a person walking his dog. He was now somewhere up on O’Halloren Hill next to a sign that said McLaren Vale.
Could we have asked for a better start?
In another moment of pre run terrors I had enticed a mate known to many, Piet Crosby, into providing some support. Piet was able to spare the time away from his normal Sunday morning triathlon training due to a recent accident on his bike (“You should have seen the other guy, says Piet, “they towed his car away”. Tough bastard is Piet!) - and there he was at the half way point in Hawthordene with cool drinks and snakes. He also was able to inform us that the lead runners had covered the first 16kms in not much over an hour. Sobering thought when we finally got to Belair National Park to think that these guys had probably already finished and were already onto their second or even third coffee. Piet was there again at the north east gate of Belair with more drinks and more snakes which were most welcome after the climb up through the park.
Not much further, past the Crafers roundabout, there was Frank from CoolRunning. He was in the shade of a small tree with his CoolRunning shirt hanging from one of the branches. He looked so suspicious with his table of little goodies that my first thought was to cross to the other side of the road to avoid having to buy anything. But as he waved us over I recognized him and realized that he was in fact there for us - with cool drinks, fruit, lollies, Vaseline and medication! Inspired by the conversation on the CoolRunnings web forum and not up for running the event this year himself, he had set up shop to help us on our way. Inspirational stuff and just what we needed to get up the last two kilometers.
Finally we were over the final lip and onto the summit concourse, ordering our own coffees, looking down on the plains below from whence we had come. Frank appeared again from nowhere and helped me track down the last of the runners - those still on the course and those still trying to find it.
Such is the unusual nature of this report, and indeed this run, that I still don’t know who got to the summit first nor in what time they did. I did hear something about the 31-32 kms being completed in 3 hours 5 minutes. I also heard that several of the first group home were gentlemen who had entered the seventh decade of their lives. That is truly inspiring for those of us a few years younger - we can continue to live with the illusion that we will improve with age.
And how did Patron Kym fare on the day? Well he ran the course in his usual running style - modestly, easily, enjoying himself, the surroundings and the company of those around him. After spending the whole day running the full course beside Kym, John Glowik says that he is having a personal version printed with “I survived running the inaugural Adelaide Sea to Summit with Kym Williams”. It was a special moment to be on the concourse when Kym’s head suddenly popped up from the track to the loud cheer of his fellow finishers.
Thanks to everyone who helped to make this such a great morning. But particular thanks to Piet Crosby for his mobile support crew; to John Glowik for his emails, maps and looking after Kym all day; for David Close for all his support and for helping me to mark the course; to Sally Buckett for hosting the very enjoyable postrun barbeque; and to Frank of CoolRunnings (aka as the “SouthAustralian”)
All in all 70 people participated in the run - 48 starters from Kingston Park and 22 joining in on the way - runners and walkers. Perhaps this is another institution in the making, like the Fanatics Christmas Day run… the thing to do on the first Sunday of the year… to run off all that Christmas food and New Year drinks. Indeed maybe the size of the field has something to do with New Year resolutions…
Next year, by popular demand, we will be running the inaugural Adelaide Summit to Sea. We will be honouring a Victorian, Peter “Chilliman” Mullins, who has done much to promote the Yurrebilla Trail 56km Ultra. Peter, ultramarathon and trail runner extraordinaire, travelled over from Victoria for Yurrebilla last year and after showing us what a great downhill runner he is, was the first to suggest that we were running the course in the wrong direction. So join us for “A Dash of Chilli” at 6.00 am on Sunday 3rd January, 2010 from the Mt Lofty Summit. We will be booking the Surf Life Saving Club at Kingston Park and intend making arrangements so you can have an extended brunch after a swim.
Ken Graham put his arm around me as we left the Summit concourse together. “Funny things, us runners”, he said. “Look at them, all smiling, no matter how hard you make it for them, they love rising to the challenge.” Like moths to a fire, I thought to myself, “like moths to a fire!” Some people think that we can expect twice as many in next year’s event. I’m not so sure. Sounds almost too sensible to run it downhill…and there’s no way it could ever be as much fun! I just can’t wait until 2011 when we run it uphill again!
Terry Cleary