Puffing Billy Great Train Race 13.5km : Preview & Post Mortem : 2015 7th, 1st M40+
Now aged 53, average km/week last 100 days=130km...No predictions, let's see what happens. It will be great fun. It will be hilly.
The race has been run. I had a great day both as a tourist and as an athlete.
The race: The top 5 disappeared from my view up the first major climb to 3km. Two of those were off the back near the summit. I didn't dare look back but I was in a group 6th to 12th+ from the gun. I felt great the whole way. Very fast first kilometre down then up for almost 2km. I was just inside the top 10 at 3km. At the 2km dirt climb immediately after 5km one got away from me. I managed to get rid of everyone else by the 10km mark and was quicker with each successive kilometre split to the finish. They had to be as a bunch was very close. My last 500m was as quick!!
I've checked video from the 1999 race, the start is near to identical. The race route is as far as I can recall the same until 10km. An extra 300-500m was added near the finish (after 1999) which took the route to the right instead of left, along a creek and back to avoid the picnic ground. I don't recall that nasty bitumen hill at the finish but I am old. That being said my splits from today track very closely to 1999. I lost 33 seconds in the 2km up hill dirt section to 7km compared to 1999. That section is the same. On the whole I had better splits on the flat and down today. Splits: 1999 age 37 vs 2015 age 53: 6:35 vs 2:51+3:46=6:38, 3:43 vs 3:40, 3:10 vs 3:10, 3:07 vs 3:03 (16:35 vs 16:32), 4:05 vs 4:20, 4:23 vs 4:41, 3:07 vs 3:15, 3:41 vs 3:33, 3:46 vs 3:48 (35:40 vs 35:53), 3:29 vs 3:25, 3:06 vs 3:20, ?? vs 3:18...??vs 1:34
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