Bush Capital Bush Marathon Festival newsletter 25 July 2011
Weather update
The weather forecast for Saturday has been changing over the last few days but is currently as follows:
Friday: Fine with frost. Min -4, max 14
Saturday: 90% chance of a shower or two. Min 1, max 15. Winds averaging 15kph to 25kph. 1 to 5 mm of rain.
Sunday: A little rain. Min 3, max 14.
See http://www.bom.gov.au/act/forecasts/canberra.shtml and http://www.weatherzone.com.au/act/act/canberra
The implications of this forecast of probable cold, wet and windy conditions for those doing the longer courses in particular are that there is a significant risk of hypothermia if you do not stay warm. It is therefore strongly recommended that you bring protective clothing to wear during the event and a towel and warm clothes to change into after you finish. Protective clothing during the event would include a lightweight waterproof windcheater, gloves and a hat or beanie to keep the head warm. Skins or tights for the legs may also be advantageous.
The forecast is similar to what happened at last year’s event where the sun would come out for 15 minutes then a shower of light rain would fall for 5 minutes, then it would fine up again and the cycle would be repeated. The wind created significant wind chill.
Course drink stations and marshal officials have been instructed to tell any competitor showing signs of hypothermia or significant dehydration or other physical distress that they must withdraw from race.
If it is raining on the day, the Bush Capital Bush Marathon Festival will still be going ahead. However, if there is a period of very heavy rain, the start times may be delayed until the storm passes over.
Courses
Please read the updated event information and maps on the Bush Capital Bush Marathon website http://www.mountainrunning.coolrunning.com.au/events/bmarathon/2011/index.php All the courses are now fully off road to avoid a previous kilometre on road for the marathon and 60km runners.
The Festival’s 2k, 5k, 10k, 16k and 25k courses in Mt Ainslie and Mt Majura nature reserves are unchanged except for a minor change immediately after reaching Mt Ainslie Road to now follow the trail behind the gun club and another after 8.4kms turning on to the trail over Hackett ridge.
Course hazards to be aware of
a. Road crossings:
i. The road crossing of Mt Ainslie Road is 2.8 kms after the start. This has little traffic on a Saturday morning but all traffic has right of way. A race marshall will be at the road crossing. Runners and walkers must wait until the crossing point marshall says it was safe to cross.
ii. The same applies to a road crossing at Hayley St, Campbell located 500m after the start; this crossing is also 500m from the finish.
b. There is a very small possibility of a horse rider being encountered on trails. If you continue at normal running speed, you can spook the horse and cause a serious accident. Therefore, if a horse rider is encountered, please stop and walk around the horse at a safe distance before resuming your run.
c. There are also mountain bikers on the 4WD trails. Take care when passing.
d. Because of rain in recent weeks, some short sections of the course are muddy and may be slippery. If it rains heavily during the week leading up to race day, the 4WD dirt road surface in some sections of the course may turn boggy. You should be able to run just off the edge of the track to maintain shoe grip.
e. Off road trails by their nature have stones and bumps and other unevenness. Please concentrate on where you are putting your feet as your run or walk along.
Sports medicine on the day: There will be a Sports Medicine Australia (ACT) centre at the finish if you do suffer an injury such as abrasions from tripping over. Fortunately there have only been a few cases each year at the event, and some of these have been hamstring pulls from sprinting the final 100 metres. If you are out on the course and suffer a minor injury, try and make it to the next drink station or marshal. That person can ring the finish officials to seek transport assistance to come and collect you.
It is essential that if you withdraw during the race that you advise a race official at the finish. We do not want to unnecessarily organise a search and rescue operation.
Race numbers and T shirt orders
Race numbers have been posted to all people entered to date but make take a few days to arrive in the mail. If your chest number does not turn up in the post, a replacement can be provided at the registration tent. T shirts ordered can only be collected from the registration tent on race day. A small number of extra T shirts will be on sale for $35 (please assist by having correct money).
Pre event injuries and ill health
Last year some runners started the events with pre-existing injuries which they managed by taking pain killers pre-start and while out on the course. The Sports Medicine attendant on the day said that this was extremely dangerous, both to health and to masking pain from an impending stress fracture or muscle or ligament failure. Please DO NOT START in these circumstances. I am very happy to provide a refund (less admin cost charge of $5) to anyone withdrawing anytime up to Wednesday 27 July. You can also swap to a shorter distance or do one of the bush walks if those are manageable within the constraints of the injury.
Having a bad day on the day
If you are doing one of the longer events, you can cut short and just complete a shorter event and go in the results for that event. However, you must advise the finish recorder you have done this.
Toilets
There will be 3 portaloos just near the start/finish. There are also men’s and women’s toilets across the oval on the ground floor of the Campbell High school gymnasium.
Parking
There is an orienteering event from 10am to 2pm on the eastern side of Campbell High. (You are encouraged to either try this, start times 10am-12noon, or watch to see what is about, if you finish your event before midday). The orienteers require parking in the school carpark on the Nature Park side of the school.
We also do not want to upset the War Memorial by filling up its carpark. Alternatives include Euree St, Reid only 100m from the registration area, Treloar Crescent, and the CSIRO carpark off Limsteone Avenue.
Campbell High School security system
We only have access to the ground floor of the gym, accessible from the oval. Please do not walk close to the building in other areas as this sets off the security alarm.
Start arrangements
All competitors in each event must be at the start line 5 minutes before the start for a compulsory pre-race briefing. This is a compulsory requirement in respect of the event risk management procedures agreed by the ACT government approval agencies.
Finish arrangements
STEP 1: There will be a finish shute of witches hats funnelling you to a finish recording tent. In that tent you must go to the finish recorder for your event and have your chest number recorded. If you have timed yourself with a GPS or stopwatch device, please advise your time to the recorder if there is not a significant queue. This helps double check times.
STEP 2: Take off your chest number and go to the Registration tent, hand in your chest number and collect your race mug and a Carmans breakfast bar.
Results processing
The Bush Capital Bush Marathon Festival is wholly organised by volunteers who have real jobs and are doing this in their spare time. We try to keep entry fees low and do not hire an electronic chip company for timing. However, this means it can take a couple of days to process and double check the results before publishing the results as a news announcement on the website www.mountainrunning.coolruinning.com.au Please be patient and don’t post complaints on forums such as Coolrunning about the delay.
Helpers
At this time I am still short of helpers. If you have a spouse/supporter who can help out on the day for a period of time in return for either a bottle of wine or Coolmax Bush Marathon T shirt, that would be appreciated. There are easy jobs available such as handing out race mugs to finishers, handing out pre-ordered T shirts, helping marshal finishers etc. Please click on the Volunteer button on the event website and fill in the details of the helper.
John Harding
Race Director
Australian Mountain Running Association