I've ran most of this route on seperate occasions so doing the whole route in one had to be done!
After some great times already being set I knew I would need to have a good day!
I set off at 0845 20th November 2020 from Crown Lakes which is literally 1 mile from my house so I could drive and leave my car there for the duration. I set off at a controlled pace and was averaging around 5.50-6.00 mins per km. I got to Ferry Meadows and filled up water bottles at the same place as Paul when he created the route. Once I had filled water bottles it was then smooth all the way till I got to the train crossing. I had to wait for about 2 minutes at the crossing, I was hoping to be able to cross behind a vehicle in front but was not quick enough!!
I got to the half way point (34k) in 3hr 28 mins and was feeling confident at bagging a sub 6. As soon as I got to 40k I hit a bit of a wall and my stomach started to hurt a little. I had to drop the pace to 6.20-6.40 per km but kept plodding on. From around 50k onwards my pace had dropped to around 7.00 min per km.
From marathon distance and beyond it was just a slog to get to the end. It's always the same with these longer runs, just got to dig in and get it done.
I kept eating as much as I could but towards the end just relied on a few sweets that I had left in my bag.
I of course gave it the beans at the end and my dad was waiting for me with a can on Stella, winner!
An all round good day, stomach issues always occur but happy with how I dealt with them today!