WALHALLA WOUND UP May 14th 2006
The 5th Annual Walhalla Wound-Up highlighted what a gem of an event it is by the extraordinary distances some runners travelled to participate in this event again after participating in previous years. Dan Kirby (Tumut N.S.W.) and Tim Cochrane (Mildura) being the keenest to return. Another highlight of this year was the awarding of the first Wally T-Shirts (Runners finishing 5 Walhalla Ultra Marathons) to Kevin Cassidy, Rob Embelton and Kelvin Marshall. Kelvin celebrated the occasion by winning the 50km event from Tim Cochrane. Although wet under foot the 63 entrants enjoyed great running conditions and the fabulous hospitality of race host Mike Leaney of the Star Hotel Walhalla. Mike again was race starter, provided toilets and showers and handed out 6 accommodation packages to all the outright winners. He also organised a four wheel drive to ferry the runners across the Thompson River while Bruttons Bridge is being repaired so the original course can be used. Race director Bruce Salisbury, his wife Margaret and daughter Shannon along with their band of helpers from the harriers kept the races flowing and did a great job again.
50km event- This event attracted 13 starters with Tim Cochrane setting the pace early. Tim suffered badly near the end having raced the Sandown 10km the day before and ran 113km at Wilson Promontory 2 weeks earlier. Kelvin Marshall the legend of Ultra Marathon’s ran his fastest time for this course to thoroughly deserve his win. After coming 3rd 3 times and 2nd once in the history of the race it was good to see such an adamant supporter of long distance racing have a win. Tim held on for second from David Bradford who was just in front of the fast finishing Sandra Timmer-Arends. Sandra had her 4th straight win in this race but this was probably one of her best. Not known for her liking to Cross-Country running the wet conditions turned a lot of the course into Cross-Country like conditions. Sandra ploughed through the course to be only 9 minutes short of her female course record set in 2004. Rob Embelton and Kevin Cassidy successfully completed their 5th Walhalla Ultra while Brian Glover pushed race director Bruce Salisbury all the way.
Results- 1st Outright Male Kelvin Marshall, 1st Outright Female Sandra Timmer-Arends. 1st Open Male Tim Cochrane.
1st Vet Male Kelvin Marshall, 2nd Vet Male David Bradford, 3rd Vet Male Ian Twite.
1st Vet Female Sandra Timmer-Arends.
Times: Kelvin Marshall 4:18:05, Tim Cochrane 4:27:57, David Bradford 4:28:03, Sandra Timmer-Arends 4:28:31, Ian Twite 4:47:06, Rob Embelton 5:02:10, David Styles 5:17:34, Nick Thompson 5:29:46, Kevin Cassidy 5:29:56, Gary Wise 5:37:20, Bruce Salisbury 6:32:33, Brian Glover 6:40:30, Peter Gray 9:41:37.
37km event- Small field took on this distance with a number opting for the shorter 19km event. Roger Maximiw cruised to victory from the fast finishing John Mackenzie. Robyn Fletcher cruised to her third victory in a row over this distance with no other female opting to have a crack at the 37km.
Results- 1st Outright Male Roger Maximiw, 1st Outright Female Robyn Fletcher.
1st Open Male John Mackenzie, 2nd Open Male Neil Griffiths, 3rd Open Male Shinichi Taniguchi. 1st Vet Male Roger Maximiw, 2nd Vet Male Peter Mullins, 3rd Vet Male John Langley. 1st Open Female Robyn Fletcher.
Times: Roger Maximiw 3:05:03, John MacKenzie 3:07:55, Neil Griffiths 3:09:01, Shinichi Taniguchi 3:15:32, Robyn Fletcher 3:39:17, Peter Mullins 3:42:57, John Langley 4:00:58.
19km event- A large field of 43 runners took on this popular event and there were many highlights. Cindy Nielsen in her first Mountain trail run set a new course record for a female. Remarkable in that Cindy along with second place getter Kathryn Ewels had ran a hard 10km race at Sandown the day before. Luke Yeatman renown for many fast sub 15 minute 5km runs on the track was equally impressive running the Mountain trail run. Although a lot longer than Luke is used he was still able to win from Darrel Cross and Murray Brady. Junior Lauren Isles did a great job coming in third female and Lavinia Petrie was first vet female home.
Results- 1st Open Male Luke Yeatman, 2nd Open Male Murray Brady, 3rd Open Male Dan Kirby. 1st Vet Male Darrel Cross, 2nd Vet Male Richard Comber, 3rd Vet Male Jeff Van Den Brand 1st Open Female Cindy Nielsen, 2nd Open Female Kathryn Ewels, 3rd Open Female Lauren Isles. 1st Vet Female Lavinia Petrie, 2nd Vet Female Louise Mcmahon, 3rd Vet Female Annie Schaefer.
A Big thank you to all the helpers from Sunday especially Margaret Salisbury, Carol and Barry Summersgill, Shannon and Ben Bailey, Geoff Duffel, Belinda Issell, Letch and Girlfriend Catherine. Race Director Bruce Salisbury and Mike Leaney and Star Hotel Walhalla for their sponsorship and support.
Kevin Cassidy Walhalla Wound-Up Report.
In a town known for its rainfall, the law of averages clearly inform us that the sunny conditions of the previous four years were somewhat of a bonus that simply couldn’t last. Mother nature well and truly started squaring the ledger this year with a persistent drizzle that had no desire to let up.
Commitments elsewhere on the Saturday night necessitated a break with tradition and forcing an early morning drive from Melbourne. I’ve never grown weary of driving into Walhalla, a town steeped in history and utterly devoid of the crass commercialism that has so ruined our modern world. I even felt a tad guilty taking a
car into the area, strongly suspecting that a horse and buggy would have been more appropriate.
As always, the breathtaking autumn flora was the prominent feature commanding attention as the car park began filling up behind the Star Hotel whose owner, Micheal Leaney, so generously hosts this annual Traralgon Harriers event.
Just making it to the start was to be an epic in itself for me this year. Up until four weeks prior, I hadn’t run a step for two months courtesy of a lingering virus. Deciding that I had to sneak in some urgent training, I managed six or seven runs in the Dandenong Ranges in those final weeks but not before my fitness had dropped to the point where my belt had shifted in an outward direction to the tune of two notches, a fact with which I was miserable in the extreme. I tried to justify the sad situation by reminding myself how unfair it was that only one hole in my belt seemed to get all the action and sharing it around was the only fair thing to do!! Yes, a pathetic attempt at some sort of self justification.
With the usual suspects gathering on Walhalla’s main street, Race Organiser, Bruce Salisbury, issued a couple of quick last minute course instructions then announced the introduction of a “Walhalla Wally” tee shirt for those seriously demented souls who have so doggedly slugged themselves through all five events to date. Along with Rob Embleton and Kelvin Marshall, I guess I have to sheepishly admit to making up the trio that forms this “Illustrious Club”
In the early morning drizzle, Micheal Leaney sent us on our way with the traditional firing of a Bon-Bon. Approximately 60 runners headed northward toward the mining area and hit the spectacular trails. The 50 kilometre field totalled 13, another seven made up the 37 kilometre event while the 19 kilometre course lay ahead for the bulk of the field.
Twelve months ago, I ran the early kilometres with a talkative group whose main topic of discussion was old television programs and the various brands of ice cream! This year was to be a complete contrast when I linked with a group who somehow managed to turn the discussion to the subject of depression! As we negotiated our way through the valley and around the Thomson River, the discussion took on a variety of twists. Crossing the old steel bridge, the river meandered below in a shadowy chasm of saplings and rocks. Pushing on through to the 14km aid station, the group had stretched out, by which stage we had all quite distinctly qualified as grief counsellors!
Heading passed the lovingly restored Thomson Railway Station, I was alone with most of the field up ahead, a few behind and others heading in a variety of directions in the shorter options. Not expecting to see anyone again until the finish, I pushed on along the old tramway bed to Coopers Creek passing a large collection of bulldozers sitting idly in a muddy churned up bog. A slow shuffle up the consistent climb that followed allowed me some occasional sightings of Rob Embleton and David Styles up ahead but I soon lost all contact with them. Four kilometres of twisting muddy trail certainly made for difficult progress and I was suitably surprised to find myself passing Bruce Salisbury during this section. Gulping down some water and two jelly beans at 24km, the next hour or more involved a relatively flat dirt road with the “highlights” being the annoying and irritating noise of trail bike riders emanating from deep in the forest and, soon after, a couple of four wheel drive vehicles cruising passed bearing those moronic “I Hunt, I Vote” bumper stickers in a proud display of their redneck attitudes and vast tracts of vacant expanses between their ears. They
would not have looked out of place adorning the front cover of “Shoot em Dead Weekly”. For a brief moment, I feared the possibility of a “deliverance” episode.
The ever dependable Margaret Salisbury spends each year handling the most remote aid station on the course.
“How far is this?” I asked as I mournfully trudged up to her table of goodies.
It was only when she replied bemusedly with “33km”that it dawned upon my forgetful self that I have asked her that exact same question every year!
I was also to learn that there were only three runners behind me and I was a long way behind anyone else. I trudged on down into the valley towards Bruntons Bridge thinking that perhaps a personal worst 5:30 finish may be something worth aiming for.
With the local authorities having condemned the old bridge at Bruntons, the river crossing was negotiated via the rather novel method of being ferried across by a four wheel drive vehicle. Such ingenuity by Michael Leaney [and the driver, whose name I didn’t get] is to be highly commended as this allowed the run to remain on the original course.
Gingerly and slowly climbing out of the vehicle and taking full advantage of the treats on offer at the 38km aid station, I braced myself for the final 12 kilometres which consisted of a steady 8km ascent to the top of the ridge with the final kilometres being the descent into Walhalla. Negotiating the continual upward trail afforded glimpses through a canopy of leaves of the gorgeously forbidding mountains and their disorderly ranks of trees, truly a sight to behold.
I soon had the surprise of catching sight of another runner up ahead and immediately recognised the blue attire as that worn by Nic Thompson. We chatted briefly and I pushed on ahead. Passing someone in the later stages of a run generally means you will not see that particular runner again, so imagine my surprise 40 minutes later while still dragging my body ever upwards, to have Nic re appear. We conversed and exchanged places constantly. I mentioned my possible hope of sneaking under 5:30 and Nic also seemed to think of it as a pretty reasonable goal for himself. A little further on, another blue singlet made an appearance in the distance with the wearer being the familiar figure of Garry Wise.
“Where does this mother of a climb end?” grumbled Nic as we pushed on ahead of Garry,
“About another 2km”I snorted back.
I’ve never been so relieved to have been wrong when only minutes later, we reached the top. Nic had well and truly gotten away from me as the roll down into the finish commenced. Slushing through the mud and narrow trails, I had given up on ever seeing Nic again but stranger things have happened. Being so familiar with this trail, I was well aware that barely 800 metres remained despite Walhalla not being visible through the thick scrub. Suddenly, Nic was again in view and I started a late charge to the line. Flying down the final bitumen road and almost shirt fronting a couple of highly startled tourists, I was closing on Nic rapidly but was still some 20 metres adrift as we crossed the finish. With my finishing time of 5:29:56 and Nic several seconds quicker, we had narrowly pulled each other under the mid race aim of five hours and thirty minutes which was sublimely gratifying in an odd sort of manner.
The inexhaustible Kelvin Marshall had pulled off a win in the dying stages with long time leader, Tim Cochrane, hitting the wall but hanging on for second from the fast finishing David Bradford. Traralgon legend, Sandra Timmer-Arends, stormed
home just seconds behind in fine form with my other “Wally” team mate in Rob Embleton just missing the five hour mark. Another local in Ian Twite was his usual model of consistency while David Styles also performed creditably after a lengthy injury induced lay off. Bruce Salisbury slugged it out to the finish while Brian Glover proved a picture of focus and determination charging home strongly. Peter Gray, in his 190th Ultra, rounded out the field.
Slumping my exhausted body onto the deck of the Star Hotel and feeling far from robust, I was oblivious to the fact that I had planted myself in front of a trumpet player with the local brass band who saw it as an opportune moment to partake of a vital practice session. The blast into my eardrums almost sent me reeling across the road and head first into the rotunda. “Oooh, Sorry”, she said in a confessional tone.
Hitting the showers and peeling off my filthy socks revealed numerous trickles of blood, a visual indication that a family of leeches had decided that my feet and ankles would provide an ideal picnic location. Still snoozing happily in my socks with their fat contented bellies, it had obviously been a veritable smorgasbord.
Sadly, the miserable weather put paid to the traditional post race gathering and very few people remained. A quick Diet Coke from the local store and it was onward back to Melbourne broken only by a stop to refuel in a suburb on the city’s south-eastern fringe where the local department stores clearly do a roaring trade in flannelette shirts.
The “Walhalla Wound Up” is an event to behold. A picturesque course, beautiful surrounds, plentiful aid stations and so much more. All this for a princely entry fee of ten dollars!
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