TRSA Mount Bold Race Report
Last Year
Last year, my brother in law, Chris and I entered all of the Trail Running SA Short length races. In October, it was time for the Mt Bold 10km race. Just before the race rolled around I came down with a cold, having missed a previous race in August due to COVID-19, I decided to push through. It was an awful time. My lung capacity was shot and by 7km I just wanted to call it a day and go home.
This Year
Obviously after that debacle, the smart thing to do this year was to enter all of Trail Running SA's Medium-length courses which range from 15-19km with a dizzying variety of elevations! The night before, just before bed, I went to fill up the two 500mL soft flasks I like to use in my running vest. My wife and I spent about an hour pulling the house and car apart looking for the damn things but in the interest of getting to bed at a reasonable hour, I finally bit the bullet and pulled a hydration bladder out of a cupboard (good thing I've got all the gear and no idea, I guess!)
Chris and I car pooled to the event and wandering around the vendors while we waited, I had a look at The Running Company's tent. Look at that, they've got 500mL soft flasks sitting there winking me in the face. Impulse purchase made, I decanted my bladder into my new bottles and dumped the empty bladder in my car.
Race time
After the race briefing everybody takes off. You could feel everybody's excitement as we follow the track. Now, I didn't so much forget about the opening hill as convinced myself it wasn't that bad! About 500m in to the course all the chatter stops as everybody starts hiking to the top of this monster.
After the (un)pleasant hike up the hill, though the course winds its way through a couple of kilometers of pine plantation and then as you crest another small hill you're treated with a gorgeous view of the Mt Bold Reservoir.
Halfway through, the course does a U-turn so for once, I saw Chris on the course and high fives were exchanged.
The weather was amazing and overall, the course was a really good mix of challenging climbs, sweeping descents and amazing views. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning! It definitely beats sitting around waiting for heart disease to catch up with me!
The good thing about a horrendous hill at the start of an out and back style course is that you get to do it fresh, then, once you're nice and tired, you get to stumble back down it! Once I managed to slip and slide my way down the steepest part, I found my footing again, and I started to pick up speed. And continued to pick up speed. I WAS speed. Maybe that "non-steep" section was still a bit steeper than I remembered! Finally I hit a little ford, nearly lost my footing, almost bowled a dude over and slowed down a bit. Wait shit, then I could hear the finish line around the corner so off I pushed again to cross the finish line.
I found Chris and traded war stories with him for a bit until the TRSA club giveaways started. There was an administrative issue and my name didn't get called in the end, so we grabbed a brownie and a handful of chips and headed home.
I think my knees are ready for a break! (Also the damn bottles haven't shown up yet!)