Manly Dam Trail Series – Race 1

“Leaving the road behind” is the motto for the Manly Dam Trail series, a 10, 12, 21 or 30km run. The Trail series saw its origin in 2012, and is held as yearly event, with a Covid cancellation in 2020 as an exception. But in 2021, things are looking fine again (at least in Australia, which seems to be less affected than the rest of the world). So, on the 21st of February 2021, we were happy to join our first trail running competition, the half marathon Manly Dam Trail run.

The trail series is a series of 3 races loosely around Manly Dam, not far away from Sydney. Being at the Dam makes you forget you’re in Australia’s largest city, and it’s great that there’s still so much nature and green left. Besides a great run, Manly Dam also provides great mountain bike and hiking opportunities, and if the weather permits, even a swim in the lake is a possibility. You can check out our previous running adventures at Manly Dam if you want to know more.

20 Feb, 20:00 – Prep night. 

Running our first 21km takes a bit of preparation to make our run a little bit more tolerable. The most important things are of course our clothing and to bring water. For this I have a Salomon running vest. Equipped with 2 liters of water and 500ml of BCAA mixture, I should be fine. There are water options on the track too, but I prefer to be self-sufficient. Besides that, bringing some snacks and gels for extra energy is not an overly luxurious feature. Luckily, they fit well in the running vest. Some sun protection, some after care (bananas, and after validating the setup using our trailrunning checklist, I’m happy to go to bed.

4:00 – Wake up

It’s race day. Maybe it’s the nerves, maybe it’s something else, but I haven’t slept a single minute. This is gonna get rough. I get out of bed, have some oats (oats, raisin, some honey), get into the running outfit, and drive off at 4:30 to pick up Gareth.

5:15 – Arrival

The BIB pickup is at 5:45, but since we didn’t want to rush things, and we didn’t feel like stressing for a parking spot, we arrived early. One might say: very early, since the organisation is still setting up the tents for late registrations and BIB collections. A good time to mentally prepare, have a bit of a chat, and maybe even get a bit of shuteye before the race.

5:50 – BIB pickup

I find myself accidentally in the BIB pickup line, and I’m one of the first to get their BIBs and race number. Credits to the organisation for providing pins, it makes things a lot less of a hassle. Thanks to the BIBs, we can start at any time, since the time registration will only start when crossing the start line.

6:30 – Start of the race

It’s almost race time, and the group of around 250 runners is split into different waves. The first two waves are considered the “Fast” waves, the waves after that the “Steady” waves, which gets a bit of a chuckle. What a gentle way of saying we’re slow! 

6:40 – We’re off!

Our moment is there, and together with another 50 passionate runners, we’re off. It’s an amazing crowd to be part of, and in a big queue we’re all off on our 21km race. As a warmup, the first kilometer of the track is in the parking lot. This was a great way to get the muscles warmed up a bit. After this, the track leads us to a more off road track. The off-road track is a single track full of inclines, declines, stairs, rocks, etc. It’s hard, if not impossible, to overtake people, so it’s important to find the right starting wave. 

I’m running with music in my ears to make the 3 hour run a bit more interesting. However, I had a hard time finding the right tunes, and I decided to let the sounds of nature take over instead.

After the single track run, we end up at open fields. These were also the only flat surface on the track, but it’s a welcome one at that. After this, we end up at the mountain bike trail, which has some (man made) obstacles of its own. Since we ran the same track last week too, we know that some of these obstacles aren’t the most stable. So, it’s best to avoid them when possible to prevent injuries. 

During the race, Gareth and I are split, and Gareth is way ahead of me. That’s fine, since I feel everyone should run their own race. Sometimes I’m faster, sometimes it’s Gareth, and this time, it’s definitely Gareth, until almost the end! 3 kilometers before the finish, I see a familiar runner, and it seems I’m getting closer. Always good to have a bit of a target, and I decide to give it a little bit extra, and run up to Gareth. We run a good 500 meters together, but our paces don’t line up, and I head off.

By this time, I’m aware that I have a hard time even feeling my legs. I’m conscious of not making a misstep and injuring myself, so I slow down a bit myself too. Only 1 more kilometer to go!

9:20 – Almost there

We’re running on familiar terrain, and I know the end is near. Well, the end of this run anyway, and the psychological effect of seeing the finish line gives me at least 3% more energy. I give all my body has left, which frankly, isn’t a lot. 

In the last 200 meters, I see my girlfriend waiting for me at the finish line. It’s a heartwarming sight. I’m really happy that I get the support from her to have my weekly training runs, and it’s amazing she’s here to see me cross the finish line. Babe, thank you for that!

I cross the line with a time of 2 hours and 39 minutes, and jump into my partners’ arms. I’m half expecting to fall to the ground, but nothing like that happens. Maybe my years of gym training (never show your weakness) help in this, but I feel pretty good. I’m a bit tired and certainly overheated. So, I undress, jump in the lake, and armed with a cup of coke have a well deserved recovery. 

Conclusion

It was great, it was amazing, and it was hard, but I’d do it again anytime. Lucky for us, we have 2 more runs to go. It’s is something to look forward to, and hopefully, in the meantime, I can do a few more training rounds. A 25km perhaps? Thanks for reading, and see you in a month hopefully!