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Within 4 hours of meeting each other for the first time, Liam and Jas decided that it would be a fun idea to run the entirety of the Canberra Centenary Trail together. Jas had run all of the trail piecemeally over the years, and it was a long awaited bucket list item to put everything together into one big effort. And for Liam, this was going to be great training for the 24 hour track ultra that is coming up next month. After a month of bubbling excitement the day to run finally arrived; the running vests had been packed (gels, water, lollies and some warm clothes), shoes had been tied and these two silly kids were jogging out the door to embark on the grand tour of Canberra and an adventure of a lifetime.
The decision to depart at midday was strategic - as this simulated the timings of the 24hr track ultra. We decided to run the route in the anticlockwise direction, starting with Mount Majura before heading North through Mulligans Flat and along the Northern Border. We caught a beautiful sunset as we neared One Tree Hill, and it was only as we were descending into Hall, a marathon in, that nighttime properly arrived. After a quick pit stop at the public bathrooms in Hall, we made quick progress along the roads toward Belconnen. It was just after 7pm as we passed through Belconnen Town Centre, and seeing the conveniently placed Maccas on the trail, it was a no-brainer for us to stop for a quick dinnertime feed of nuggets, chips and Coke to break up the mundanity of gels and lollies. Progress continued to be fast as we headed over Black Mountain, through Aranda and the Arboretum. We hit the 70km mark as we emerged from the Cork Oaks at around 10pm, and turned on some celebratory karaoke that continued all the way until we hit Stromlo at midnight. It was getting colder, and we were both starting to get naturally sleepy, but after popping some more caffeine gels we continued to make strong progress until 90ks.
93ks was where the low first hit for Jas. It was about 1:30am, we had come off Mt Arawang and were jogging down Kambah Pools Road, and suddenly the motivation to run disappeared. The next 4km, which should have been runnable, were slow. However, after dragging our feet along for the next few hours and having yet another caffeine gel, Jas got a second wind and found the energy to cross the 100km threshold and run the last few kms along Red Rocks Gorge into Tuggeranong.
We arrive in Tuggeranong Town Centre at approximately 4am. Knowing that there is another Maccas on the trail and craving warm, salty food, we pick up the pace and make a beeline to the drive-through. Hash Browns, a Sausage McMuffin and Coke have never tasted so good. We stop for about 20 minutes here and unfortunately cool down a bit here, so pop on some more layers before continuing on our way back North. The next section is predominantly bike path, so we get a good amount of jogging in and make up some time. A number of nature reserves in Canberra have been closed between 6pm - 6am for Kangaroo shooting, and somehow we have perfectly planned and timed our route to avoid all of these closures!
Sunrise starts to emerge as we run through Wanniassa Hills, and has fully emerged by the time we get to Isaacs Ridge. Seeing sunlight again is a burst of energy and to celebrate we blast yet more karaoke! Vibes are BACK! We perfectly time our arrival in Red Hill to be 8am, where we pass Fox and Bow Cafe for a pick me up coffee and pastry. It was so nice to sit down in civilisation, the break extends past 30mins and we realise we should probably keep moving. We grab some more Maximus sports drink from the IGA before setting off on the final 20kms.
The final 20ks are slow. We managed to jog most of Red Hill and down Melbourne Ave. However, after reaching Parliament House Liam feels like he has cut his foot open. We hobble slowly up to Parliament House to sit down and check on Liam's foot. Turns out it was a blister that folded over in an awkward and sensitive spot. After some creative shoe padding we push on toward the lake. We jog slowly where we can, complain a bit heading up ANZAC Parade and finally reach Mount Ainslie. It is hot, we are tired, sweaty and ready to get home. We lock in on Ainslie and force ourselves to run as much as possible.
The wave of relief, pride and disbelief as we see the final gate on Mt Ainslie is amazing. What an adventure. We were slower than we would have liked, but this was so much fun and we will certainly be back to try and beat our time.
Water points: Mulligans Flat, Hall, Black Mountain Summit, Stromlo Forest Park, Tuggeranong Town Centre
Food stops: Belconnen Maccas, Tuggeranong Maccas, Fox and Bow Cafe Red Hill