Date: Wednesday, 4 March 2015

From: Wendy

Postcard from Hillston Outback Triathlon

The story of the day belongs to Lucia I think. She had some friends to stay over the weekend (not your average feral athletic types who can't resist an event). She managed to persuade them to have a go at the micro event - he rode the bike, she swam in the lake and Lucia did the run. They were rewarded for their effort with a take home medal to show off to the neighbours and a fun day was had by all.

Date: Saturday, 28 February 2015

From: Brendon

Postcard from Wangaratta Marathon and Fun Runs 2015

21/2/2015

On the road to Wangaratta the afternoon before the 2015 race with Rodney leading the way. Brendon was riding shotgun with Half Marathoners Aiden and Derek in the back. Closely following behind was Vince who was cruising in Rodney’s draft improving his fuel economy as each kilometre passed. Nicole, Simon and Fiona were passengers and each had the 10km race on their mind.

We almost pulled up at Jerilderie for a loo stop before realising Anthony Salmon hadn’t joined us this year and we’d no need to consider his thimble sized bladder so we pushed on. In hindsight the break from Rodney’s “Dad” jokes would have been welcomed.

After dodging a herd of cows that weren’t mooooving too fast (very funny Rod), Rodney made a last minute decision to turn onto Yarrawonga Road he almost ended up with Vince in his rear end, lucky for all concerned Nicole’s back seat driving expertise swiftly guided them out of trouble.

We soon arrived at our accommodation and found the pool for a quick swim, then off for a meal in literally one of Victoria’s hottest restaurants. 35 degrees outside and about 45 inside, on the upside it helped us acclimatise to the forecast high temperature for race day.

The discussion at dinner included how to best measure the serving size of a pasta dish, the quality of the “Coles” garlic bread on offer, how Aiden was going to get thought the small cow he’d just ordered and race strategy with Vince “Waterhouse” offering odds on any given result for the following day. The value bets were quickly taken up by those in the know.  

22/2/2015

The alarm sounded at 4:45am to awaken all for a bite to eat and the five s’ (shower, shave, shampoo, s#!t and sunscreen for those with fair skin) with Derek proving best at item four, even the exhaust fan laboured extracting the thick odour.

We arrived at the track at 6:00am for a warm up and the race briefing with Brendon first away in the marathon. Derek and Aiden were off at 7:00am with the rest away ten minutes after.

Easily recognisable in our club tops there was plenty of support on course from spectators and competitors alike. And in true Feral style as each jogger finished one by one they stood trackside to cheers on their fellow Ferals over the finish line.

It was apparent conditions were tough as competitors were carried unconscious off course to awaiting paramedics and the visible blood stained shirts associated with ANC (Acute Nipple Chaffing). However we all came through relatively unscathed and stronger for our achievements.

After freshening up we hit the road and called in to see our good friends at the Terminus Hotel in Yarrawonga for the traditional post-race lunch and refreshments. Special of the day was Parmie and a Pot, they must have known we were coming.

The take away refreshments left Derek with a severe case of hiccups which we believe were corrected by an unknown technique performed by a gentlemen at those public toilets in Jerilderie.

17 Ferals competed on the day and we placed 13^th out of 46 in the community team challenge. We came away with fond memories of a great weekend, some with impressive PB’s, others with unfinished business to be added to the 2016 agenda.

Results

Date: Wednesday, 25 February 2015

From: Carmel

Coloured Girls in Canberra

A group of Griffith Ferals attended the Colour Run in Canberra weekend of the 22^nd February. It was a great weekend and everyone had a great time. We stayed at the Breakfree Capital Resort in Civic and the venue was only 1km away. Really recommend the accommodation. We walked to Commonwealth Park early Saturday morning to collect our bibs and when we arrived back at the Capital Towers, everyone was ready for breakfast and then shopping, as you do on these sort of road trips. Sunday started with huge enthusiasm, smiles were abundant, the weather was perfect and the atmosphere was buzzing. As you can see there was heaps of colour around and we would not hesitate to attend another Colour run. Looking forward to the next weekend away.

Members involved were Carmel, Linda, Carissa, Venera, Emma, Louanne, Melissa, Donna and Hailey.

Carmel

Date: Saturday, 21 February 2015

From: CJ O'Neill

Feral Postcard From the President of the Melbourne Chapter

Mein Gott, time goes quickly. Hot off the press is that our favourite Zimbabwean import (Hansie) is married to a german girl, living in France, working for the UN in Switzerland and has 3 cats and a dog. Either that or he's a spy and just thought he'd feed come ludicrous story and I'd believe it. The last I caught up him was on a caldera (look it up) in Northern Sumatra, having omelettes laced with 'medicinal' mushrooms, so I'm willing to bet the 3 cats and a dog line is false.

The O'Neill's of Caulfield North are no longer, given that Kate found herself 'in the family way'  once again last year and we had to decamp to Murrumbeena as the brood expanded once more. My miserly engineers wage now has to feed five hungry, whinging mouths, but thankfully the 5th is Archie the wonder-dog, and he doesn't ask for much. Kate's going well, off this year again with baby Anna, but still working for our state's finest. Alex has my good looks, charm and wit, so I'm sure he'll go far in life.

Running is mostly a hazy memory, but I did do 6 k's on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, I felt like I'd given birth, so I've decided not to pull on the runners for a few weeks to let the swelling go down. 

Work is good. I'm in India once a month and keeping out of the papers. Caught up with that cheetah-like embodiment of fitness, Ben Chopping, in Sydney a few weeks ago. I'm happy to report, he knows how to down an iced coffee and two doughnuts just like the old days.

I don't have an e-copy of my family portrait, but found this one on the world-wide-web, and I think you'll agree, the resemblance is uncanny (That's me, second from right, or far left, I'm not 100% sure).

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