NOSTALGIC ARTICLE ON THE 1995 AURA DAMN TRAIL RUN

By Greg Wilson

I am getting my telephone disconnected. Just as I am happily settled into an injury-induced semi-retirement, Hookie rings. No doubt he is aware I haven’t raced since this time last year, when I tried to do two 24- hour races in a fortnight. Oh yes, with the Canberra 50km in between! Still can’t work out why I got injured.

What a sneak Geoff says he is holding a trail race in three weeks around the Healesville area. As I live within 15kms of the course, I agreed to run. Those familiar with my reports will not be surprised at my arduous training regime: Week 1 – 50km, Week 2 – 70km, Week 3 – 90km, Week 4 – NIL injured. The day before race day I ran a pain free 4km and so fronted the start line.

Now I promised I would never criticize those hard working, dedicated, unpaid, race organisers. So I will finish this report now…..

No, hang it all! Hookie said Kevin Cassidy would give him heaps and why should he have all the fun?…….

To set the scene, I must describe the idyllic setting. The start is at Fernshaw Reserve, at the junction of the Maroondah highway and the Watt’s River, just north of Healesville, Victoria. A beautiful spot. A flat grassed area, surrounded by tree ferns, a trickling creek and majestic Mountain Ash.

At 7.30am, 10 starters set off for 5km flat, on a winding track along the river. Safet Badic soon had the field strung out with Kelvin Marshall chasing and a bunch of Greg Wilson, Brian Simmons and Ian Clarke following. The others were behind me, so I couldn’t see them and later they were somewhere else?!

I think the first 5km was the only flat land on the course. A very steep “Goat Track” brought us up to the road and Dom Dom Saddle. I surged through to second place in this section, but was so tired hat I stopped to check with the blokes behind, that I hadn’t missed a turn-off – a poor excuse (I had already dropped my map).

Once we got off the goat track, Brian Simmons and Kelvin Marshall took off   and Ian Clarke joined me at a less spectacular pace. After some refreshments with Dot at the Dom Dom Saddle, we set off on an anti- clockwise loop of Mt. Dom Dom, to Narbethong and back. Clive Davies whizzed past as if he expected something good at the “Narby” refreshment stand. Brian and Kelvin were heading back up to Dom Dom, but we never saw Safet, so he was over 2kms in front after 15km.

Colin Browne fed and watered us, before Ian and set off to complete the loop. Heavy drizzle set in, causing my glasses to fog up, which in turn caused me to go over on my sore ankle a couple of times. I showed off my local knowledge by letting Ian know about the steady climb up to the saddle. Unfortunately the yellow ribbons turned us right, on a rough, flat / downhill track. Ian must have thought I was a real goose! A bit of a climb brought us out on the Maroondah Highway, nowhere near Dom Dom Saddle, where we were supposed to be.

I left Ian and chased Clive south up the highway, as a run official jogged by, letting us know of a course change. Clive and I reached the 20km aid station at Dom Dom Saddle, from where we had to run west, up to the highest point of the range (Mt. Monda and Mt. St. Leonard).

The officials at this aid station must remain anonymous to protect Dot and Robin’s reputations. As we set off, I head the fateful words “Over the gate and veer left”. I repeated these instructions back and was glad to be able to run fast on the old bitumen surface. I had built up a lead on Clive after the gate and was away, loping gently down through the majestic forest.

Slower and slower I surged, as the road meandered down and the alarm bells rang louder and louder. The realisation that I was on the old highway, which led us down to the starting point at Fernshaw, coincided with Clive calling out “This is wrong!”

Having lost over a kilometer, we U- turned and Ian Clarke ran into us, said something like, “Oh bother” and joined us. A few metres further on, confusion reigned. Safet Badic came flying down towards us, saying he had run 4kms or so on the wrong track, before asking a ranger the correct way to reach Maroondah Dam.

I told Safet emphatically that he had been on the correct track. He said “But it was all steep uphill” to which I replied, as we had to go to Maroondah Dam via the highest mountains around, the terrain proved my point. Frustrated but convinced, he turned around and was soon out of sight.

Up and up we went and I was “gone”. Hookie drove past and called out that it was supposed to be a running event. Presuming that Brian, Kelvin and probably everybody else were heading down to Fernshaw and who knows where else, I was now walking in second place! Just over halfway and anything more vertical than flat, I couldn’t run up.

Clive ran past strongly and then I finally arrived at the 30km aid station. My wife Sandy was there and sympathized when I pointed out that I was stuffed and had taken over 3 hours for a supposed 30km. I showed great willpower in resisting her offered car ride back home to the lounge room recliner.

A few minutes later, Sandy drove off, heading for work. Little did I realise that Hookie had told her that the other runners would not be along, as they had lost their way. I didn’t notice either that Ian Clarke was sitting beside her, instead of chasing me! On and up I plodded, alone in the beautiful forest and to buggered to appreciate it.

At Mt. St.Leonard there was a choice of around the road, or up the goat track. When walking a straight line is an easy choice. Halfway up I met Hookie and another race official and they asked if I had seen Safet recently. As they hadn’t seen him on Mt. St. Leonard, they were going to search down towards the main Healesville – Toolangi road, in case he had missed the mountain turnoff, which wouldn’t be too hard. Upon scrambling over the rocks to the peak, I came acoss Clive Davies, but no drinks, or officials. I soon passed Clive down the steep track and the fact that I was in front (I thought) kept me running. I knew that after 7kms downhill, I would have to walk the last steep climb, as I was very fragile. I pushed as hard as I could, but Clive kept in touch.

In the last kilometer before bottoming out at Donnolly’s Weir, he flew past. Through the weir picnic grounds he found a longer route, so we were together through the final drink station, with just 3kms to go. Clive pulled away on the flat beside the Maroondah Aquaduct and then ran away up the final hill. Ah! The hills are a problem if unfit.

Local knowledge let me down, plus no yellow ribbons! And I took the long low road around below the dam, instead of the hidden one across the wall. I reached the finish, below the dam wall and no-one was there! I stopped my watch and walked aimlessly around the grounds, until Hookie drove in and gave me a lift to the “other”finish line, in the car park.

Thus ended my experience of my first tail run. I explained to the race officials that appearances can be deceptive. Even though I was in Hookies car, I really was a finisher. Officially 3rd in 5:05:12 by my watch. Clive had located the finish a couple of minutes earlier.

That “will of the wisp”, Safet Badic, had overshot the Mt. St. Leonard checkpoint, before it had arrived on site. He won easily and should have obviously won by a lot more. Perhaps I should have encouraged him to the depths of Fernshaw also (verbal report has Safet being seen riding in a car down the Myer’s Creek Road during the event!!)

I was exhausted and went home half an hour later. Driving up the Myer’s Creek Road towards Toolangi, I stopped for a chat with kelvin Marshall, whom I had last seen near Narbethong over four hours earlier. Poor Kelvin had run all the way down to Fernshaw, then retraced his steps up the range. He had also done a Safet, without the car ride. After missing the turn, he ran out to the main road and then down the bitumen, to where he met me, on the outskirts of Healesville. He wanted to run to the finish, so I gave him directions and off he went, still in good spirits, after some 70–75kms!

His was one of the many inspiring performances. Brian Simmons, I didn’t see until work on the following Tuesday. It seems he beat Kelvin down to Fernshaw and then used local knowledge to follow a different route, directly up to rejoin the course. Of the remaining starters, a formerly reliable source (Hookie) informed me that two finished. I don’t know where they went and I am almost sure that they don’t either. Last reported passing through “the Bermuda Triangle”, formerly known as Dot and Robin’s Dom Dom Saddle Aid Station. I’m sure they visited the lovely Fernshaw a few times!

SUMMARY:

A challenging run over tough but beautiful mountain country, in the company of an extremely determined and confused bunch of ultra runners. Due to limited notice, there may have been a few teething problems. I believe Hookie is still picking his up after the runners finished with him! So long as one doesn’t care too much about the course, your time or the distance covered, it was a most enjoyable experience.

But come on Hookie, we Victorians are not keeping this one to ourselves. Com on you interstaters, send a team down and finish, if you dare! Do Hookie and his crew have a few surprises for YOU!

View the full set of results for the AURA Damn Run from 1995 to 2000 here.