AMAZING ATMOSPHERE AT BUNBURY TRACK ULTRA
Contributed by Ron McGlinn, Race Director, Bunbury Track Ultra
Where do I start? There were so many fantastic efforts by individuals and teams out there this year, that I thoroughly enjoyed myself from start to finish. The examples of mateship, love and compassion from each runner to one another was great to share in.
The support crews, family and friends were encouraging and really made for a warm beautiful atmosphere. Thank you from me personally, for really putting your best foot forward in the running community, I am so proud of all of you for making it a really successful event.
In the lead up to the Bunbury Track Ultra, I was plagued by computer and timing issues, which made it problematic and stressful, to say the least. Unable to sync the timing gear software to the hardware left me with a non-functional system and very few options. One option was to manually time the event with volunteers and paperwork, which would have left it problematic and unable to have any official records for this event, and the other was to cancel the event completely.
Mostly I was left sick with a decision that few race directors want to make at any time in their lives. To have their worst fears confirmed, and have to cancel an event in the days leading up to the race. We all know how much time and effort as well as mental preparation goes into these races and it was possibly the worst personal decision I had to make for quite some time.
While I was busy ringing the out-of-state and overseas competitors advising them to consider cancelling their flights, I was given a lifeline by Chris Lark from Belmont Squash & RunningWorks, who offered at the last minute, in the 11th hour, to come down and time the event. Truly one of the better days I have had recently I must admit. Chris worked on the timing system during those last few days and it was his hard work that largely got the event over the line.
Thanks Chris, you are a legend!
With those issues far behind, we now had an event. There were a number of other matters that do not rate a mention, although one of which was at 5pm on the evening before the event, finding out that the toilet block on the back side of the track (that we were relying on for our lights and power) had been disconnected permanently, pending building a new pavilion at some stage. A quick run around for more lights and the extra purchase of additional lights on Saturday morning after the event had started, I hoped fit the bill, as most runners seemed to be okay with what I was able to provide at short notice, and consequently we had no incidents which is always a good thing.
Having to drain so much power off the bollards we had on the trackside did cause a trip or two, but nothing that was not quickly corrected. I have since discussed the facilities and the possibility of upgrading them for all future events with the local council, and hopefully they will be able to fast track an upgrade at some point in the future. The facility is actually a hidden gem as it is a certified track, and there are so few of those out there.
In terms of the event itself, the inclusion of the 24hr Team event this year was a gift, as it provided an opportunity for a few truly great performances. One of these was the Treasure family being able to run it as a family, and smash out some great totals as individuals and as a team. Seeing family members run together and build memories would have to rate as my best running memory for this year. I felt very privileged and honoured to be able to watch that.
The other memorable experience was watching young Maddy Luscombe running the 3hr this year. In the months leading up to the Track Ultra, Maddy expressed a desire to run it, and after seeing the careful, structured approach to running that she was taking, it was decided that she could enter under the supervision of her mum, AURA member Emma Luscombe. With Maddy being a young teen, I was obviously worried about her ability to handle the run at her age, and was thrilled to watch her smiling the whole way on her journey to winning the Women’s 3hr event with 35.020km, and then continued to run laps to sneakily knock out an easy marathon distance.
So many people I could prattle on about who put in great runs from Darryl Howe, Rob Freitag and Sanath to Charlotte Rumney plugging away in Lane 5 for the 24hr Walk, I could go on all day. Then there were the people that assisted like Rob D, who dragged the trailer load of gear down from Perth, Frank who came to volunteer and runners like Warren who turned up early to lend a big hand to help get it set up, then kitted up and started running.
We all know that it is not a one person show, so I am very grateful to have friends and people who believe in what we do and help out consistently at each of these events. Thanks to those I have mentioned and those who I have not mentioned, you are awesome!
I just want to thank each and every one of you for the efforts you put in, and I hope that you accomplished what you set out to do and that you got out of the event what you were aiming for. We all know that it can be a sometimes tough job out there, so well done.
Pictured: Darryl Howe at this year’s Bunbury Track Ultra 24hr event. Photograph – Ron McGlinn.
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