This is the unedited, uncensored and loooong version of my race report...
The Six Foot Track Marathon is a bit like a trail running equivalent of Ironman. There is a lot of hype and excitement, you have to qualify by first completing other events within a cut-off time, the finish line has an incredible atmosphere with plenty of emotion and the finishers t-shirts are worn with great pride.
The trail is 45 kilometres off-road from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains. As it’s longer than a traditional marathon (42.2k) it is technically considered an ultra marathon. But the hard part is the hills – there’s over 1500m of climbing and 1700m of descending, which is apparently more than you do going down and back up in the Grand Canyon.
An oft-cited rule of thumb is 1.5 x your marathon time, but due to the big hills and varying terrain it’s hard to predict and a lot depends on what happens on the day. I had a secret goal of finishing under 5 hours, but I wouldn’t have admitted this to anyone beforehand, and if I had, they may have thought I was being a bit optimistic.
I started in Wave 3 and had a nervous chat to friends Bruce and Brian before the gun went. I was shocked at how steep, rocky and narrow the start is. I didn’t jostle for a position, but just ran comfortably until the start of the stairs. The stairs go for about a kilometre and were wet, slippery and uneven, but fun. It was a walking pace conga line here, but I wouldn’t have felt safe going much faster. 
Bruce got in front of some slower runners and he disappeared from sight but a few ks later on the firetrail Brian and I saw him again. We had a nice chat but they were running a little bit fast for me at just under 5min k pace.
My right leg started hurting very early on in the run. This had come up on an easy run Tuesday before the race and I hadn’t run since then, hoping it would settle down. It was sore but not slowing me down, and I was just worried about it getting worse.
After climbing the stile and crossing the Megalong rd (8k) I slowed down and was soon enjoying the beautiful single track descent to Cox’s River. I really loved this section, it feels like mountain biking and I enjoyed every step. There was no conga line and I had no trouble passing people when I needed to. I had a good chat to a lady in groovy red shoes and started passing some of the very senior runners from the early wave.
I reached the river (15.5k) in 1.29 which was on pace for sub-5 hours. I didn’t feel exactly fresh, but I was glad to be at the first milestone and one third through the distance. I had planned to take off my shoes to cross the river, but at the last minute I didn’t want to risk hurting my feet so I kept them on. I crossed the waist-deep river quickly using a high knees technique. I didn’t pick up too much sand and decided I could stop later, but I never needed to. (At this point I have to say thanks to my socks. They are sports wool and were brilliant for this race, my feet never felt wet despite numerous creek crossing and I got no blisters. Love em!)
From the river its up up up up to the Mini Mini saddle, down down down to the Alum River, then up up up up up up up up to the Pluviometer. Climbing up the big hills I walked more than I had planned, but I really power walked and I was quick, passing lots of people. All but the top runners walk parts of this race and at times it felt like being on a bizarre bushwalk with a bunch of people in skimpy outfits, rather than a running race. I tried to really use my bum and thighs (my biggest assets!) and stuck my bum right out. This must have looked a bit strange but it seemed to work and I never felt like the hills were that bad. I took it pretty easy on the descents and was caught by Bruce who is a good downhill runner.
I finally arrived at the Pluviometer (26k) at 2:55 and thought okay Zoe, sub-5 is a real possibility now, so go for it. For the first 5 kilometres of the (relatively) flat Black Range firetrail I didn’t feel very good. My leg was still hurting and I was running, but not very quickly. Brian was alternating running and walking here as he was cramping so we kept passing each other and he gave me lots of encouragement. Bruce kept catching me but then stopping to empty his shoes again.
From the end of the Black Range there was 10k to go and I had X minutes to do it. It was hard and I was hurting but I was on a bit of a roll. I walked some of the nastier hills, one nicknamed Insult Hill which I actually laughed out loud in disbelief when I saw. I was starting to feel very slight twinges in my calves like I could cramp at any minute so I was running gingerly and trying to keep a steady pace. I knew it was going to very close to 5 hours but was sure if I ran too fast I would blow it. With just under 5k to go another runner asked if I thought we could get under 5. I replied loudly and firmly that Yes we could and we would.
Bruce and I were running together on and off now and encouraging each other. At one point I remember I tried a deep and meaningful spiel about how lucky we were to be able to run and in such beautiful surrounds. Bruce is usually a talkative guy, but all he said in response was “Does not compute”.
The last 2 kilometres are insane. You’ve already run 43 kilometres and its very steep, narrow and rocky straight downhill. Who’s idea was this? I kept thinking that my body was never going to forgive me. A lot of passing happened here with a mixture of walking wounded and flying desperados. At one point a lady fell sprawled onto the track right in front of us. Bruce and I both stopped to help her up but she had a severe cramp in her leg and could hardly stand. We were both torn between wanting to stay and see that she was okay and the urgent desire to get off the side of this mountain as soon as humanly possible.
The finish of the race at Jenolan Caves is amazing. The bottom of the narrow and steep valley is a natural amphitheatre and as you descend you can hear the cheering crowd coming up to greet you. Once I hit the concrete path with 500m to go I starting grinning and shouting with excitement. Just before I could see the finish I heard the announcer say over the loudspeaker “Here comes Zoe Cameron from Dulwich Hill, and she is going to break 5 hours”. From there I relaxed and enjoyed the finish line, got my medal and gave Tom a sweaty kiss.
I finished in 4:58:05, 18th woman and 8th in my age group. I was thrilled with this because I think its exactly what I was capable of. I also think I can improve in the future with more training. I definitely want to do this race again. I was also part of the Sydney Striders team that won the Female Teams trophy, which made me very proud. I am only new to Striders but I have already made some really good friends.
Nutrition wise it was all good. I carried my own gels (I only like Gu) and had one every 45 mins, six in total. I drank at least a cup of water or sports drink at every aid station and had Coke in the last 2 hours. I tried to eat half a lolly snake at one point but almost choked on it – I have never been able to run and chew at the same time. I needed to pee for the first 2 hours, but I never did and then I didn’t need to go until an hour after the finish, so I was probably a little dehydrated. If it had been hotter I would have needed a lot more to drink.
y recovery has been fine. I felt sore for a couple of days and just did a few gentle runs and some swimming. One week later I did a team multisport race where I paddled, biked and swum. total of about 5 hours. I felt strong but not fast. After that I decided to have a complete rest week which has been good, but I am looking forward to getting back into things now.
