Toughening Them Up

Saturday was the Australian Long Distance Champs which for Andy was a 13km course in thick granite forest which translated into about 1hr40mins of running. So to keep the kids entertained Al and I decided to enter the easiest course. The only catch was that it wasn't that easy.......

The gang consisted of Makhaya (5), Ella (4.5), Max (4), Luca (3.75), Abby (3.5), Zoe (3.5), Katy (2.25) and Mira (1.75) and Al (who is 37 weeks pregnant) and myself. With Katy and Mira in backpacks, the plan was the rest of the kids to ride their bike around the course.

Ella, Abby, Max, Zoe, Luca, Makhaya

All set to go!

Now like I said, there were a few things which made this course challenging. First one was the fact the start was located just over 1km from the assembly area and mostly uphill. So it took us approximately 45mins to get there (an average length of time usually taken to complete a blue course!) On arrival we decided to remove some of the warm layers, have a drink and nibble as well as a toilet stop. Then we were off....

downhill straight to the first control.

We were about one third the way around when our course deviated from the bumpy track to follow along a fenceline. With the adjacent track overgrown in bracken the going got tough. We had no option of taking any short cuts with the lack of tracks and dense forest and so we forged on. The kids were great taking it all in their strides.

With the next third of the course following this fenceline, we came across a bare rock surface positioned about halfway along this tricky section- the perfect place for a picnic and rest (oh and another toilet stop - we were starting to contemplate and appreciate the carers at our childcare centre!!)

We had started to rotate carrying bikes giving the kids a break from trying to negoitate the rocks, bumps and bracken. It was obvious with several falls and some tears that they were all getting tired. The final third of the course was in relative friendly bush again adjacent to a fence but his time following a little sheep track so the riding became easier. We also came across several hay bale crossing and although we didn't need to cross them, the kids were keen to test them out!

As we approached our 12th control (we only had 13), some familiar faces appeared. Apparently several of the parents and our loved ones were concerned with our absence (we'd been gone for over 2hrs!). They'd whipped themselves into a worried state thinking that I was delivering Al's baby with 8 kids looking on!! Thankfully that wasn't the case.