Monday, January 31, 2011

Stairway to Hell.


 The Marion coastal trail.


 The Twisted Sisters including Moi are now all well into our Summer training. Our first big distance event for the year will be The Southern Charity Classic in April. This is a 61 km. event through the Southern Vales of South Australia. Meanwhile we continue to compete in shorter 10 km. events.


Most of our training in summer is on well established fire trails. This makes for an easier exit if a bush fire starts. The weather is scorching hot and the last few days the temperature has been well over 40c or 105f. Right now on our trails it is also Snake Central and so being on the fire tracks enables us to see the snakes before we stand on them.

Susi No Bum, Tracy and their Chubby Hubby's are all training for the North Face Challenge in May. This is a gruelling 100 km. event which attracts elite trail runners from around the world. It is run over a 28 hour time limit through the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.
I have decided not to do this event mainly because I have difficulty with night vision. I can't go to the bathroom at night without walking into a wall, so climbing rocks and racing at night is so not going to happen without it turning ugly.
However we all continue to train together as much as possible.
Whilst the others are doing the North Face, Chubby Hubby and I are going over to Victoria to run the Great Ocean Road Marathon with friends Ros, Melissa, Ava, and Erica. Plus we are planning to do the Portland Marathon in November. Both these marathons are very hilly and challenging.


The Road Runners Trail run for January was the Marion Coastal Trail. A 21 km. return run between Brighton Beach and Port Stanvac. This trail follows the cliff line along the coast and whoever thought up this trail and built those 1,756 stairs has issues. I repeat ISSUES !






Mike, Daryl and Susi no Bum on the coastal trail.




 The stairs are never ending for mile upon mile and by the time we got to the second to last flight of stairs my legs felt like they were dislocated at the hips and I was coughing my lungs out.







 Mike and Daryl on the trail.





 This was a reassuring sign to see when you are on the edge of a cliff ! Which way to jump ?


 We also had to run across this rocky beach. Brilliant for the sore feet.


 So tempting to end all the suffering.


 Moi and Susi no bum soothing our feet at the end.

Thanks for dropping by.
Cheers for now
Karen.
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9 comments:

  1. Chookyblue......January 31, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    reading previous post you reminded me why I don't jog.........NOW I NEVER will.........lol........your a crazy lady.......40+, snakes and fire trail (just incase there is a fire).....and those stairs.........OMG......see when it is SO HOT you should be on the other past time you enjoy........STITCHING.........trust me there are no snakes and no fires........and it is COOOOOOOL..............I love my AIR CON..........

    oh and goodluck for the 61km...........you deserve to win with all this crazy training.........

    LOL

    have you done any stitching lately????

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  2. LeanneJanuary 31, 2011 at 10:09 PM

    Thanks for the heads up I might have wanted to take a walk along there but not after seeing the pics of those stops. Hope to see you tomorrow.

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  3. susie no bumJanuary 31, 2011 at 10:31 PM

    Hey those stairs aren't so bad, if you are blindfolded and can't see them.

    It doesn't seem too bad if you don't count the steps. 21 kms sounds better than 1756 steps.

    Keep climbing.

    Susie No Bum

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  4. speedygeoffJanuary 31, 2011 at 11:23 PM

    Wow, I must run the coastal trail next time I'm in SA, October probably. Looks great, thanks for the pics.

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  5. JohannFebruary 1, 2011 at 1:23 AM

    Those stairs are crazy! Sounds like a great trail to run though. You are tempting me into visiting Australia for a race.

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  6. Ali HoneyFebruary 1, 2011 at 6:45 AM

    To " normal people " who might walk; those steps are quite an accomplishment.( imagine building them! )
    Do take time to enjoy the scenery and be glad you are not wading through flood water.( cause the snakes swim I hear and other creatures much larger do too. )
    You are so fit - congratulations...look after your feet!
    Sewing?

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  7. CharFebruary 1, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    Talk about a killer step class. Bit what a magnificent view. I'm impressed that you'd even consider doing a race like this.

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  8. yvonneFebruary 1, 2011 at 12:08 PM

    You are BLOODY crazy!!! Please give me my baby sitting dates.

    ReplyDelete
  9. PatFebruary 2, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    Wow! That is a killer trail. I would be so sore and exhausted after climbing that, but it sure would be fun and exciting doing it!

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