Date: Friday, 27 March 2015

From: Anthony

Precision Timing @ Yarra-wala

Is it the consistently good chicken parmies at the Terminus Hotel? Maybe the thought of a cold beer after the run? Or is it possibly just the great companionship of a bunch of Feral Joggers?

Whatever the reason, the success of our “team” this year was outstanding. Read on to find out how our hero’s fared.

Running the Yarrawonga Splash N Dash has become a staple on the running calendar, so much so that this year we had 10 Ferals crammed into 2 cars, all excited about the days forthcoming events. I can’t say we were looking forward to the trip home though – 10 sweaty & stinky Ferals crammed into 2 cars!

The day was planned with precision timing, but with Salmon driving it was debatable if the team could pull it off (he does enjoy the regular pit stop). The plan was as follows:

4:50am Rise and shine at the Salmon household
5:34am Pack daughter Isabella into the car (noting not to forget her shoes
this year as they do assist with running)
5:35am Pick up Rodney Savage
5:36am Pick up Brendon Sinclair
5:45am Pick up Jeremy Woodhouse
5:50am Meet Vince/Nicole/Breanna Restagno & Simon/Fiona Fattore
at Bunnings

We nailed it! All time targets were met to the second, the precision of the whole team simply outstanding. Surely this was a sign of our impending successes?

The regular Jerilderie pit stop came and went, when Salmon surprisingly passed on a visit. Isabella and Brendon (continuing his Wangaratta form) did elect to stop though, resulting in a collective sense of thankfulness spreading across the car once this had occurred.

Upon arriving in Mulwala, the traffic was incredible. We took the tram across the river to Yarrawonga, much to the delight of the younger ones in our midst, as this was clearly the best form of transport at such a popular event and the roads being so busy. Driving to the start line would have given us no chance of a good parking spot. However, Vince ignored the traffic and our warnings and tried his luck at driving, determined to get the closest possible position to the start/finish line. His long walk to the start line may explain why he finished so high in the race rankings – he was certainly warmed up before the race started!

The rest of us, upon exiting the tram, went for our warm up runs. Salmon was pleasantly surprised to find 4 public toilets along the 300m warm up track and declared to all present that he had at last found the ideal place to retire.

The races themselves were well organised and professionally run. The prize money on offer was clearly an attractive carrot and the strong field proved this. Whilst the weather was mild and ideally suited to running, the ferocious head winds affected everyone’s times. Here’s how we fared:

10km Run

5km Run

3km Run

Breanna Restagno was first female across the line in the 3km run but this was not a timed event. She ran a great race and the result was well deserved.

Whilst we were keen to get to The Terminus, we had to stick around and collect our winnings. Savage was impressed with his winnings (though he later went missing when it was his turn to shout) but Vince nearly missed out when the ground announcer could not pronounce his name. Rodney, who had just collected his prize, quickly whispered to the announcer the correct pronunciation of Restagno, and proceedings continued.

Vince was ecstatic when he opened his envelope and found a voucher at the local skate shop. So off he rushed, Nicole and Breanna in tow. Nicole then became more excited than Vince when she discovered said skate shop also sold men’s underwear! She picked her favourite pairs, keeping in mind the presentation when adorned by Vince. She left the store quite pleased.

The Terminus was, as usual, excellent. We wondered why Fiona Fattore had come for the road trip yet not competed. We were even more concerned for her welfare when she failed to order her own chicken parmie for lunch. As it later transpired, Fiona & Simon are expecting their first child later this year. A darn fine excuse. Congratulations to them both – wonderful news.

The trip home is Brendon’s favorite part of the day. He likes to enjoy a few (well, a lot) of roadies and this time had good company with Jeremy. We are not sure of the events in Vince’s car, although the fact we had 5 pit stops on the way home compared to their 1 tells the story.