When I tell people outside of running that I run ultra
marathons, they seem to think it is pretty crazy. Well lately, I have been
backing up this little piece of information with the very important statement
that there are people who do much crazier runs than me and I go on to describe
my crazy running friends who run around tracks for hours on end, anywhere from
6 hours to 48 hours. To me, endurance
track racing is something else altogether and something I still don’t know if I
ever want to try. The last 6 or so weeks has started to change my mind though.
I have started to wonder if one day, my body might be able to take that.
A week after Trailwalker, Tamyka and I flew to Sydney so she could go run around a track for 24 hours. My job was to sit trackside and provide her with food, clothing and the odd piece of advice. I also offered to mix things up by putting out some hurdles, but nobody seemed too keen on this. Tamyka stopped running in circles after 10 hours because her asthma has gotten really bad. I felt like I had let her down a bit as crew. Sure, I don’t think I should be able to come up with the cure for asthma, but I didn’t really do much to earn all the lovely Lululemon she gave me as a thank you, or even enough to cover my air fairs and accommodation.
It was a good thing then when Tam decided to enter Caboolture. This time though, she decided 48 hours was the way to go - crazy. So I sat trackside for both days and a bit of each night and earnt my new lululemon wardrobe from our last adventure. I had a team of crew this time. I had the whole thing worked out (except the coffee making). I could find any item of clothing or food within on lap and I even managed some descent lap counting.
Still though, I will need to toughen up. I will need to work on my running gait. I wouldn’t even attempt a track race until my legs stop aching after road running. I tore my calf muscle running a half marathon so who knows what I could manage when running in circles. Track running certainly requires a tough body and mind.
A week after Trailwalker, Tamyka and I flew to Sydney so she could go run around a track for 24 hours. My job was to sit trackside and provide her with food, clothing and the odd piece of advice. I also offered to mix things up by putting out some hurdles, but nobody seemed too keen on this. Tamyka stopped running in circles after 10 hours because her asthma has gotten really bad. I felt like I had let her down a bit as crew. Sure, I don’t think I should be able to come up with the cure for asthma, but I didn’t really do much to earn all the lovely Lululemon she gave me as a thank you, or even enough to cover my air fairs and accommodation.
It was a good thing then when Tam decided to enter Caboolture. This time though, she decided 48 hours was the way to go - crazy. So I sat trackside for both days and a bit of each night and earnt my new lululemon wardrobe from our last adventure. I had a team of crew this time. I had the whole thing worked out (except the coffee making). I could find any item of clothing or food within on lap and I even managed some descent lap counting.
Track racing intigues me. After a while, people develop a
lean. It wasn’t so bad at Caboolutre, because they change direction every hour,
and the track isn’t a perfect oval. Apparently it even has a hill, according to
participants, although I never figured out what section of the track they were
talking about. I am sure if I had to run around that track for more than an
hour, I would have felt that hill too. What I like most about track racing is
the added variable of laps. You don’t just think in mins/km or km/h, you also
think in mins/lap. You count the laps and the kilometres. There are more
numbers and more numbers to click on by. I also like the idea of having crew
every lap, and a flushing toilet and a McDonalds just up the road. Track racing
may have it all.
Still though, I will need to toughen up. I will need to work on my running gait. I wouldn’t even attempt a track race until my legs stop aching after road running. I tore my calf muscle running a half marathon so who knows what I could manage when running in circles. Track running certainly requires a tough body and mind.
Tamyka is made of pretty tough stuff. I already knew that so
I wasn’t at all surprised. She did it, one foot in front of the other for 48
hours. She barely slept. She barely complained. She just plodded on and clocked
up over 270km. That is like running from Brisbane to Yamba but only having 500m
of scenery to keep your mind occupied. She ran further than any other woman at
the Hysterical Village and became the National 48 Hour Champion. Everyone out
there was tough and strong. I think that is what I liked most about the race –
the people and the community. We are a bit spesh...
