Cape crusaders to hit red-dirt track
THE big wet might cut up the trails around Weipa but it won’t dampen the spirits of a diehard group of runners steeling themselves for Cape York’s unique marathon later this year.
Simone Hansen is one of a handful of runners in the mining town preparing for the Compass Club Marathon series event in May, taking athletes along 42km of red dirt road from Bamaga to the tip and back.
The race will be only her second marathon, a long way from starting off doing Parkrun events before the Weipa Running Group was formalised midway through 2017.
“We have a running group up in Weipa and we try to choose a couple of half marathons or full marathons to do each year,” Hansen said.
“It was put together maybe six months ago, because we just found there was a lot of us that run, but no real group saying when we were running or what we were up to.
“That’s why we formed the group, to be a bit more accountable and have other people to run early mornings in a town where there’s a lot of transient people.
“Having someone else to get up at 4.30am and run with you is pretty motivational.
“There’s a few people up here that do international runs, so we have people in the group who’ve done the Great Wall of China and New York.”
This time Bamaga will be the exotic attraction, although it won’t be a walk in the park.
“It’s going to be pretty hard going,” Hansen said.
“I think the hardest part is people who are coming up from way down south to run it, because it is quite humid up here.
“I guess there’s not many places you can say you’ve run to the northernmost point of the country and it’s such a beautiful community.”
Hansen, who moved to Weipa 13 years ago to be a PE teacher and is now deputy principal at Western Cape College, has been working towards the event from marathon runner Pat Carroll’s online training program
Members of the Weipa crew met him at the Great Barrier Reef Marathon Festival at Port Douglas last year, having signed up to the event after the planned Compass Club event was postponed.
Carroll said the trail running-marathon combination was always a tricky one, especially without knowing the course, but ultimately allround fitness would prevail.
“It’s hard to know how difficult the terrain is,” he said.
“If you normally run four hours for a marathon, this might take you six hours or something.
“There’s a bit of grey area there as to how long people are going to be on their feet, but I think fitness is the main priority and being used to running on off-road trails comes secondary.
“Your fitness is going to get you by in the end.
“There’s no point going out and running on trails if your longest run is going to be two hours and it takes you six hours to run a marathon.
“I don’t like people running close to four hours on a training run, no matter how long an event may take.
“I think 3.5 hours is really the maximum anyone should get up to for a training run.”
Carroll said an eating and drinking plan should also be a key component of the preparation, especially with the conditions expected up the Cape.
“Obviously it’s going to be ridiculously hot up the Cape in May, so a nutrition plan is just as important as your training,” he said.
“You need to have some sort of a plan in terms of your nutrition intake ... and you do a lot of trialling what works for you during your preparation when you’re going out for your long runs.”
The varied conditions of trails result in increased demands on our bodies and in particular, the lower body.
Inclines and declines place different loads on muscles and joints, with running downhill a particularly demanding action.
When starting out it is advisable to run up inclines or steps and walk down to reduce this eccentric impact. Once you have become accustomed to this you can start running down these slopes and steps.
Exercises such as decline board squats, single leg squats and eccentric calf exercises will help to strengthen your quads and calves to help absorb the impact from downhill running.
Hip and pelvic stability is important, with gluteal exercises like side bridges, hip thrusters and lateral step-ups all helping to build the strength required to handle the trails.
Another consideration hydration and nutrition.
When trail running you will need to be self sufficient, with no corner store around to pop into if your supplies run low.
THERE’S A BIT OF GREY AREA THERE AS TO HOW LONG PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE ON THEIR FEET, BUT I THINK FITNESS IS THE MAIN PRIORITY AND BEING USED TO RUNNING ON OFF-ROAD TRAILS COMES SECONDARY. YOUR FITNESS IS GOING TO GET YOU BY IN THE END
INCLINES AND DECLINES PLACE DIFFERENT LOADS ON MUSCLES AND JOINTS, WITH RUNNING DOWNHILL A PARTICULARLY DEMANDING ACTION
Tom Maher is the director of Cairns Total Physio. is