Date: Monday, 9 February 2015

From: Neil

Postcard from Penang

16 Nov 2014  Sunny, Hot, Humid

Little did we know that the weekend we lobbed into Georgetown, Penang was also the weekend that 80 000 runners also lobbed in for the Penang Bridge Marathon.  They had hotel bookings, we didn't!  So we ended up in three different hotels 20km apart over four nights.  The third night was at the Equatorial near the start line where we bumped into many of the runners enjoying a fantastic breakfast.

The Penang Second Bridge is 24km long, flat except for the lump the boats go under.  First event starts at 1:30am and the last 8am.   All the runs are out and back, not even the full marathon making the opposite side.  The most common comment "Boring!" but they all loved it and were bubbling!

Neil

Date: Tuesday, 6 January 2015

From: Gerald

A postcard from New York

As most of you know I have moved to Sydney now but still doing the running and the odd feral trail run. Decided I had another marathon in me and the biggest of them all was New York. What an experience. Yes 3 deg and 40 km/hr winds and a 3hr wait to start, but when the gun went off we went up the Verrazano bridge and the whole New York skyline in front of us was brilliant. And right from the start people cheering, screaming, clapping and as I ran along crowds grew, 6 deep in places.

2 million spectators along the course. Great way to see the 5 boroughs of New York. Felt like I was floating. That was until I reached the Queensboro bridge at 25km. Cramps in the thighs made it a painful walk/ shuffle to the end, many others also succumbed to cramps. The last 7km though difficult was fantastic. The absolute roar of the crowd was unforgettable. Through Central Park with autumn leaves, beautiful. The legs are painful and stiff as I write this. Do I have another marathon in me? Bring me back to New York anytime!

Date: Thursday, 4 December 2014

Just a short postcard from the top of Noorilla Street.

We met as normal at the bottom of Collina Oval and because it was his birthday we let Heff lead the training group of Adam, Derek, Rodney, Vince and Brendon. Things wore looking grim as we were led on a gruelling hill session consisting of Holmes, Doolan, Lawford and McNabb Crescents. The pack howled as he indicated right off Macarthur for a sprint up Mallinson Street.

At the top we headed west toward Noorilla Street and weren’t surprised when Heff entered his driveway, we figured he was done for the day, we were surprised as he ushered us into where, beautifully presented on the veranda, was freshly baked banana bread from the "Master Heff" himself along with fresh orange juice, the good imported stuff from Brazil as Vince pointed out. Brendon also pointed out the Brazilian stuff has no hair in it.

And now we know Heff's little secret about running "to all those out there that just don’t know the secret to improving their running performance...................stop half way for banana bread. I know my performance (motivation) was definitely enhanced when I was running toward the banana bread."

The pace on the run home was considerably slower (about 8 min/km) as those who have had a run just after eating would know!

Date: Tuesday, 30 September 2014

From: Rod

Reebok Ultra Beast

Date: Saturday, 20 September 2014

Lagoon to Lake

Wagga Wagga produced a cracker of a day for the 2014 Lake to Lagoon, a crystal clear day with a top of 17 degrees for the run.

There were 15 Feral Joggers amongst more than 1200 runners plus another 900 or so cyclists and as usual we were well represented on the dais.

Jessie Wythes (45^th) finished 2^nd in her category while Aiden Fattore and David Heffer (36^th) were 3^rd in their respective categories.

Aiden finished in overall 8^th and Rodney Savage was not too far behind in 10^th. Janet Mazzarolo finished just outside the medals in 4^th and Julie Duncan smashed her target time of 50mins by almost 90 seconds to finish 10^th in her category.

After the presentation it was off to the Union Hotel where the parmies were above par and the beers even more so.

In more good news, Aiden and Heff also now hold the record for the most long-necks consumed between Wagga and Griffith, well done fellas.