Date: Sunday, 2 September 2012

From: Brian

From Brian about his recent bit of work experience in Albury

Hi all

Had the privilege of working down in Albury last week and went on a casual run after work. It seemed like a good idea at the time and one of the locals said it was a nice course. That is running up to the war memorial that is on a hill over looking the main street of Albury. Took 15 min to get to the base of the hill then started the most intense uphill run that I have done in a long time. It just goes straight up. At about half way there is a little park and the gradient drops off for 40 meters then it's up again to road crossing so the legs get 5 meters rest before the final push to the top. Good lord it was obscene. Made it to the top, no stopping, then it's hard work coming down because it is so steep. Anyway did it again the next night just to make sure that I was not hallucinating the first night. Photo is the view from the top.

Date: Sunday, 19 August 2012

From: Anthony

Dateline: Wagga Wagga - August

Another road trip, another run. Wagga was the destination this time around and the Trail Marathon our target. OK, none of us were game to tackle the full 42k marathon but we were determined to do the Ferals proud.

Savage, Trefilo and Gullo lined up for the 10km "sprint" and showed the Wagga folk how it is done. Savage came in 3rd with a blistering time of 38:55min, beaten to the line by a couple of whipper snippers whose combined ages were still less than his! Interesting to note that one of those young guns is the younger brother of Australian Olympic triathlete Brad Kahlefeldt, showing just how good this field of runners was. Not to be outdone, Trefilo was not far behind in 4th with a time of 39:55min, pushing Savage most of the way. Gullo put in a brilliant time of 43:42 mins, one of his fastest 10km runs on record, and nailed 10th place as a result.  Getting all 3 Feral runners into the top 10 (from 93 runners competing) was fantastic. Great work team!

The half marathon saw Restagno lining up for his 2nd attempt at the title after coming so close last year (2nd place, but only after some dodgy course markings - no where near the quality of courses Adam produces on Scenic Hill)! One thinks that Vince's viewing of the movie Magic Mike the night before the run may have been an omen - he lined up at the starting line and pointed out the guy with shaved legs standing next to him. "Check out his legs - any bloke who shaves his legs can run. He will win for sure." And so it was. Whoever this guy was, he blitzed the field but Restagno still managed a very respectable 4th place in 1hr 32:34min, a great effort on one of the toughest 1/2 marathon courses we have tackled. The 1st 9km's was all up hill and the last 7km was a mixture of mud and sand as we followed the river bank back the Wagga beach.

I was happy just to finish. I managed to get over the line in 1hr 52:50min and 30th position (from a field of over 100) but my inability to walk as I write this postcard tells the full story! I've never tackled a run so darn tough. Lucky Restagno brought some Coronas for us to enjoy after the race.

The drive home was very tiring for everyone. Everyone that is except Vince. The last time we saw him was in Galore, overtaking our car, chauffeured by Nicole, stretched out in the passengers seat reading the Sunday paper!

Another great day and another town graced by the presence of the Griffith Ferals. Next run is the Wagga (again) Lake to Lagoon next month - anyone keen to join us for a little more fun?

Date: Sunday, 24 June 2012

From: Johanna

Dateline: Tibooburra - June

Charles Sturt Uni School of Environmental Studies Field Trip

Working hard, real hard.  Wish you were here (not!)

Date: Sunday, 13 May 2012

From: Anthony

Nail Can Hill 2012

The 2nd road trip of the year is complete. It should have been our 3rd but Yarrawonga was not possible due to the recent floods. This time we tackled the infamous Nail Can Hill in Albury, a hill we had read about but never really understood just how tough it is, until now!

Waiting at the starting line it was amazing to see local runners recognize the Griffith Ferals club. Just like at Falls Creek, as a group in our club shirts we are instantly recognisable and people stop to say g'day.

Adam & Sav led the pack of over 1500 runners early on, setting a good pace for the first 2km's before tackling the hill. Heff & Salmon were not taking the hill for granted and paced themselves ready for the challenge that laid ahead. And what a challenge it was. Over the next 2km we rose 150m, which may not sound like much but consider Dom's Dilemma is a 50m rise and you get a better idea. The gradient was quite steep, and as Heff noted "my legs were moving but I had to check that I actually was!"

The rest of the run was enjoyable. We followed the ridge line and then back down the other side to the finish line. Adam, although disappointed with his time, still managed a great result leading the Griffith team home. He came in 28th overall in a time of 46:16m. Sav was 39th in 47:38. The old blokes of Heff (91st 51:20m) and Salmon (241st 58:13m) did well, and even better in their age groups. Overall, we think we did pretty good given the toughness of the early parts of the course.

It was cold. Bloody cold. We stood at the finish line freezing, but lucky Salmon's brother lives in Albury and offered us a warm shower, that we happily (and separately) accepted! A quick trip to The Albion for a couple of schooners and counter lunch and the day was done.

Nail Can is a fantastic run and a real mental & physical challenge. Who is up for the trip next year?

Date: Sunday, 12 February 2012

From: Anthony

Falls Creek

Well we did it. Rodney, Adam, Heff and I went to Falls Creek to compete in the 9.4k (Rodney and Heff) and 1/2 Marathon (Adam & I) races on Saturday. We think we look pretty good in our Feral shirts and we certainly got a few comments too.

Rodney finished 3rd in his race, a great effort given the guy who came first is an Australian rep in cross country running. Adam did extremely well, finishing 8th overall in a field of over 100 1/2 marathon competitors. Heff & I were just happy to finish - it was a tough course given the mountains and higher altitude. Nothing a few beers last night didn't fix!