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Jonathon's Racing Attacks and Adventure Packs!

Amazing racing and training adventures on roads and mountainous/hilly TRAILS, freewaybikehike and triathlons. Dreams of a SIX FOOT 45km finish,(DONE 2011,2013,2014,2015!),then ULTRA-TRAIL AUSTRALIA (50km DONE 2016! 100km DONE 2018!!!), memorable Melbourne Marathon and Gold Coast racing. Over a decade dreaming of a SUB 3HR MARATHON, sub 18min 5k, sub 38min 10k, sub 90min Half marathon etc...(shattered? or still realistic?)

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Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia


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42.2km SB; 2004; 3.55 2005; 4.02 2006; 4.18, 2007; 4.10 2008; 3.55
2009; 4.11 2010; 4.05 2011; 4.02 2012;3.49 2013; 4.12 ... 2014; ; 4.08 ...2015; 4.00
2016; 4.11 2018; 4.15 2019; 4.25 2020; 5.38 ... 2021; 5.44 ... 2022 DNF at 37km
More ongoing GOALS;
***PB's pursuit; 5k 21.49, 10k 41.01 21.1k 1.41, ...42.2k 3.49

MM and the G!...

In recent years I have been enjoying races like;
December; 6-INCH(46km offroad)2005;--6 hrs 25 min...
2006; 7hrs 04 min 2008; 7hrs 00min...2009; 6hrs 16min
...2010:--5hrs 49min..2011:---5hrs 30min..2013---7 hrs 24min... 2014--- 7 hrs 06min 2015--6hours 43min ...2016---6hours 41min... 2017--7hrs 3min?... 2018-7hrs ... 2020 8hrs 19 ... 2021 8hrs 51
October; Melbourne Marathon 2007; 4hr 10 . 2008 DNF at 23km..
2009 4hrs 11. 2010 4hrs 05min...2011;4hrs 02min...photos
2012; 3hrs 49min 52secs PB!... ..2013; 4.12 2014; 4.08 2015; 4.05... 2016; 4.53
Rottnest Marathon 2004; 4hr 32min ... 2013; 4hr 16min... 2019; 4hr 41min 59secs
August; City to Surf most years since 1997 see HERE for details,photos.
PERTH C2S PB's; 4K;17min 25 (2002) 12K;52min 52 (1997)
21.1K;1.54.20 (2007) 42.2K; 4.00.20 (2015) (2010 video..45secs into it)
Perth City to Surf Marathon finisher 2009,2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019.
June/July;
GOLD COAST; 2012 HALF; 1.44 2013 HALF; 1.47 2014 HALF 1.49
2015 4.11 ..., 2016 4.11..., 2019 4.25
PERTH Marathon(42.2km)
2004; 3hrs55min
2005;--4 hrs 02 min. 2006; 4hrs 18min 2007;4hrs 33
2008; 3hrs 55 2009; 4hrs 41min 2010; 4hrs 30min
2011; 4hrs 12min 2012; 4hrs 6min 2013; 4hrs 19min 2014 4hrs 48min 2018 4hrs 15min
2019; 4hrs 28min
2021 5hrs 44min
May; Ultra TRAIL AUSTRALIA;
2016 50km 9 hours 50min 956th
2017 100km DNF CP4 57km
2018 100km 24hrs 33min 15 913th
2019 100km DNF CP3 46km 2021 CP2 DNF (severe back injury)
April;TWO DECADES of Bridges racing; 1997; 43min 43 1998; 41min 01
1999; 47min 29 2000; 46min 47 2001; (5km) 30min 01 2002; (5km) 22min 48
2003; 42min 40 2004; 48min 50 2005; 44min 40 2006; 48min 07 2007; 49min 16
2008; 50min 42 2009; 49min 54 2010; 48min 39 2011; 52min 55 2012; 47min 02 2013; 54min 45 2014; 48min 47 2015; 49min 53 2016 52min 20
March;6 Foot Track 45km;
2011; 6.53 2013; 6.54 2014; 6.47
2015; 6.14!!! 2016 DNF


As of October 2022; 37 road marathons finished (Perth x14, Melbourne x9,Perth City to Surf x7 Gold Coast x3 Rottnest x3 SunsetCoast x1)
Have also finished 20+ ultra races; 6 inch 47km ultra finished 12 times, six foot 45km ultra 4 times, Ultra Trail Australia ultras 2 times, Truth 50km ultra once within cutoff (and once outside cutoff), Lark Hill 50km ultra, 6hour track race, 24hr track race.
Also completed the Bloated Goat 31km (1500m Vertical gain) 2 times which is similiar effort to a 46km ultra.
DNFs in UTA100km, WTF50miler, WAMC40miler race, Truth 50km, Six foot and 6 inch.
The first 3 DNFs were after covering more than 42km, and with Truth one was a 25km DNF and the first one I finished the full 50km but was 19minutes outside cutoff battling an ankle injury for 36km.
In road marathons 3 DNFs one at 23km in the 2008 Melbourne Marathon due to severe ankle injury in the first 1km, and PC2S @ 30km, also 2022 Perth Marathon at 37km too fat and slow

Most races October 2009-October2020; >
30/10/2020 50th John Gilmour 10,000m track race 58min
20/09/2020 XTR Sunset Coast Marathon (#36) 5.38
30/08/2020 Fat Lamb PTS 20km
02/08/2020 Perth Half Mara 2.04
11/07/2020 Jumbuck PTS 3.39
08/03/2020 Darlington Half Marathon 2.07
01/11/2019 John Gilmour 10,000m Track race 51min
06/10/2019 Perth Marathon 4hrs 28min. #13 see here
01/09/2019 Rotto Biddi 3hrs.09.44
25/08/2019 City 2 Surf Marathon 4hrs 48min
17/08/2019 TW Parkrun 5km 24.29 (5th)
3/08/2019 Truth 50km DNF (at 25km in 4hrs 26min)
28/07/2019 RunMelbourne Halfmarathon 2hr 03min
21/07/2019 Champion Lakes R2R Halfmarathon 1hr 55min (32nd)
7/07/2019 Gold Coast Marathon 4hrs 25min
16/06/2019 Rottnest Marathon 4hrs 42min
18/05/2019 Ultra Trail Australia 100km DNF at 46km (CP3) 8hrs 58min
17/03/2019 Fat Lamb 20km 3hr 29min 49th of 70
02/03/2019 Lark Hill 25km 3hr 54 (Night race forgot headlamp)
24/02/2019 Swissmurdie 2hr 35
09/02/2019 Busselton Half marathon 2.13 (Late start actually 2.05)
20/01/2019 Chi Gong 1hr 58 134th of 158 finishers
16/12/2018 6 inch 47km 7hrs (12th finish)
21/10/2018 Rottnest Half 2hr 03 min
16/09/2018 Fremantle Half 1hr 58min
04/07/2018 Truth 25km 3hrs 11min 55 (PTS)
24/06/2018 Eagle 22km 2hrxx(59min officially, but 43min on my watch as started late)
17/06/2018 Perth Marathon 4hrs 15min
19/05/2018 Ultra-Trail Australia 100km 24hrs 33min 15secs 913th of 964 finishers
218 withdrawals
03/03/2018 Lark Hill 50km
17/12/2017 6 inch 48km 7hrs
06/08/2017 Truth 50km 8hrs 22min 59
16/07/2017 Jolly Jumbuck 21km 2hr 54min (94th of 129)
02/07/2017 King of the Mountain 16km 1hr 41min
20/05/2017 Ultra-Trail AUSTRALIA 100km DNF (at 58km and 10hours 38min)
26/03/2017 Bloated Goat 30km 5hr 18min
18/12/2016 6 inch 48km 6hrs 41min
16/10/2016 Melbourne Marathon 4hours 53min
25/09/2016 WTF 50 miler DNF at 55km
14/08/2016 Truth 50km DNF at 25km
3/07/2016 Gold Coast Marathon 4.11
14/05/2016 Ultra Trail Australia 50km 9 hours 50min
3/4/2016 My 20th consecutive Bridges fun run 10km 52.20 (hammy strain)
12/3/2016 Six Foot Track DNF at 30km 5 hours.
---------------------- 20/12/2015 6 inch 47km 6 hours 43min
15/11/15 Bloated Goat 30km Trails race (1600m Vert) 5hrs 43min
18/10/15 Melbourne Marathon 4.05
13/09/15 Fremantle 10km 47min 22
30/08/15 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4 hours 00min 20 secs.
05/07/15 GCM 4.11
24/05/15 R4R Half Marathon 1hr 46min 13secs
12/04/15 Bridges 10km 49min 53secs.
04/04/15 Perth Trail Series Truth & Consequences 50km ULTRA 8hours 49min
14/03/15 Six Foot Track 45km 6hrs 14min 11secs Smashing PB!!! (32min)
21/12/14 6 inch Trail 47km 7hrs 06min 30secs
12/10/14 Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 8min (8th fastest marathon in 25 finished)
14/09/14 Fremantle 10km 49min 26 (first K 3.47 5k split 23.02)
31/08/14 Perth City to Surf 42.2k 4hrs 34min
06/07/14 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1.49
15/06/14 Perth Marathon 4.48
01/06/14 Elleker Half Marathon 1.59.
21/04/14 40 miler DNF (28miles)
06/04/14 18th Bridges 10km 48min 47secs...since 1997
08/03/14 6 Foot Track 45km 6hrs 47min 02. (824th) A PB!!! :-)
09/02/14 Snakes and Ladders 15km 2.05
15/12/13 6 inch Trail Ultra 7.24
27/10/13 Rottnest Marathon 4.16.41
13/10/13 Melbourne Marathon 4.12.55
25/08/13 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4.13.28
11/08/13 Perth Half Marathon 1.54.05
28/07/13 Fremantle 10km 50.06 (very sick but first 1k in 3.55)
07/07/13 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1.47.29

16/06/13 Perth Marathon 4hrs 19min 55secs
My 10th consecutive Perth Marathon...Click to see -> how I became a SPARTAN...

19/05/13 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 58min 26secs 310th of 495.
07/04/13 Bridges 10km 54min 45seconds.
09/03/13 6 Foot Track 45km 6 hours 54 minutes 20 seconds. 740th of 804...blog post or ...photos! page.

24/02/13 Perth Trail Series Qi Gong 14km 1hr 37min 04 Placed 79th of 117 finishers.
09/02/13 Busselton Half Marathon 1hr 51min 58 secs 219th. full Busso results here
02/11/12 John Gilmour 10k track 47.17 ..see here
14/10/12 Melbourne Marathon 3hrs 49min 52secs ..(777.)
16/09/12 Fremantle 10km 47min 16
26/08/12 City to Surf Marathon 4hrs 42min 41 secs
15/07/12 Lake Joondalup 10km 47min 30.
01/07/12 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1hr 44min 49 secs. 1668th of 9035 finishers

17/06/12 Perth Marathon 4hrs 6min .. (post and photos here)
20/05/12 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 47min 01secs. (151st of 313 finishers)
15/05/12 Masters 5000m 21min 58secs
13/05/12 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 46min 45 secs. (76th of 240 finishers)
22/04/12 PTS Ellis Brook 21.8km trails race 3hrs 12min 28secs. 39th.
01/04/12 Bridges 10km 47min 02
25/03/12 17.3km (690m ascent) Swissmurdie trails race 2hrs 19min 17secs 54th of 60.
20/03/12 MastersWA 1500m in 5.56, 100m in 14.3, 400m in 76.4, 5000m in 23.33.
26/02/12 WAMC Swan Twilight 5km 24.32
26/02/12 Perth Trail Series Qi Gong 14km 1hr 44min 08 secs 70th of 102.
04/02/12 Busselton Half Marathon in 1hr 49min 31 secs.
18/12/11 6 inch 46km 5hrs 30min PB!
09/10/11 Melbourne Marathon in 4hours 02minutes 49secs...photos...

12/09/11 Fremantle 10km in 45minutes 50 secs.
7/8/11 Perth Half Marathon in 1hr 47min 46 secs.
17/7/11 Lake Joondalup 10km in 46min 33secs.
19/6/11 Perth Marathon in 4 hours 12min 54secs (351st of 547.)
12/6/11 Lake Monger 10km in 48min 09secs
22/5/11 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 51min 44secs 109th of 261 finishers
10/4/11 Bridges 10km 52min 55
12/3/11 6 foot 45km in 6hrs 53min 07 secs...819th...of 877...33 DNF's...4 outside 7hr cutoffRace Report and race photosPre & post race photos,initial ELATION
Note; Completing 6 foot is a major goal achieved which I have had in mind since 2005!!!!!!!

4/3/11 3000m in 12min 40 (19th of 19 finishers)Momentum building a little,sub 13 done! :-)
18/2/11 5000m in 23min 31 (20th of 20 finishers...4 DNF's)..results
5/2/2011 21.1km Busselton Half in 1hr 51min 41 secs for 124th of 218 finishers.
19/12/10 46km 6 inch trails race in 5hr 49min (63rd of 79 finishers)
10/12/10 5000m in 22.43 18th of 18!
5/11/10 John Gilmour 10,000m in 47min 36. (23rd of 31)
10/10/10 Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 5min...2895th of 5027 finishers...
12/9/10 Fremantle 10km in 46min 53...a big SB and my best time since 2005!
29/8/10; 42.2km in 4hrs 15min for 537th of 830 finishers...my 6th best of 12 M. finishes.
19/8/10; 5000m in 22min 06.0 secs (SB by 0.6 of a second, & Stan did a SB also that night)
22/7/10; 5000m in 22min 06.6 secs. (SB and 17secs off my track PB)
20/6/10 Perth Marathon in 4.30.
13/5/10; Masters 2000m 7.55 (first sub 8min run since 2005) & 5,000m 22.42
22/4/10; Masters 800m 2.46 & 5,000m 22.29!~(2nd best ever track 5,000m, track PB is 21.49,)
3/4/10; Australian Masters 35-39yrs; 4th in 1500m 5min 34secs. see here...
28/3/10; Bridges 10km in 48min 39secs. 388th of 1646
25/3/10; 300m in 47.6, 600m in 1.57.0 100m in 14.6
18/3/10; Masters 1500m in 6.03 & 10,000m in 49min 35
28/2/10; 4th place in 6 hour Track Race at Coker Park; 45.003km
6/2/10; Busselton 21.1km in 1hr 52min 50 secs
20/12/09;6 inch 46km 6hrs 16min
15/11/09; Peninsula 5km 22min 5225th of 73.
6/11/09; John Gilmour 10km 48min 39
11/10/09; Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 11 min 33 secs
4/10/09; Freo funrun 5km in 22min 53 secs
... ...
2011; 5hrs 30min 6 inchPB!! 2012; 3hrs 49min PB(Melbourne Marathon)!!2014; 6hrs 47min PB! @ 6 foot!

The next big things racing wise maybe;


6 inch 47km
on 20th December @ 0430hrs, countdown (activated a few days before?) is;


Kathryn and I welcomed our daughter K into the world May 2015 A.D.!

Kathryn and I welcomed our daughter J into the world June 2010 A.D.!
Kathryn and I welcomed our son J into the world in late July 2007 A.D.!
Our challenge is to be good parents with the Creator Gods help!



... 2004 ...2005 ...2006 ...2007... >...2008...2009...2010 ...2011... 2012.

but for the most important thing in life;
there is only 2 ways to live!...Bible Gateway...

Saturday, December 26, 2015

6inch#9finisha6.43goodfirst3hours

Started in the traditional manner charging towards Goldmine Hill before sunrise, with Tom getting into some low level flying hitchkick long jump action also, as Josh, Matty (from NSW), Phil, Nathan, Jon Pe, Kevin and others struggled to keep up. After 25 seconds (strava says its 3.05 per K pace) we hit the base of the main ascent (168m of VERT to the King of the Mountain summit at 1.4km steepness 12%), where mentally as usual I came crashing down to the reality that I needed to walk up this hill like all the other years, and  so on, but still very pleased with my 12min 25seconds time for King of Mountain which is a PR... Saw Barb, Andrew and Martyn about this time, and knew I was going well... a few Km later we reached Scarp Rd (100% gravel) and the beginnings of the entry to Whittakers... Was trying to take it easy as my Saucony Peregrines have done more than 1000km and the tread on them is extremely worn off, so I knew it was broken ankle time if I attacked the tricky descents too hard... but hit the old Whittakers Campsite at speed still, and reached the exit trail at 5km in 35min 57secs... Running with Megan, Simon and then Tim during this time, and from the photo Harmony not far behind.  Soon after Chris HP and some other blokes caught me, and we traded spots quite a bit all the way to Del Park Rd crossing at 18km, went through that in 2 hours 00min despite taking it easy on the descents... so at this stage under PB pace of 2 hours 06min... Feeling pretty fatigued, and Chris HP and a few others pulled away going up towards Scarp Rd again, and I tried to respond, but fatigue blunted my alertness and with the dodgy tread of my shoes, it only took one small rock to have me on my face in the sharp rocks and gravel at 19km, with one hand bleeding like a river and the other hand, a knee, and a thigh also spurting out a bit. My left hand was a deep gash and I did antispetic on both hands, slapped on some bandaids, and tried to pull myself together and reload... A lot of people passed me there, and I lost some time, and confidence... The 5.30 PB was gone for today, and now I was shooting for maybe around 5.50-6.10... Belle came past me here, but after passing a pine plantation we hit the wide easy gravel scarp rd again, and with aid station 1 looming up at 23km mark I tried to get going again... Aid station 1 at 23km in 2hrs 39min, was still an excellent first half split, and If I was one of those runners that finishes strongly a 5.15 might be on offer, but I knew I would fade... However running with Harmony, Rachel, Cassie,  Alex (with the headphones), and others I have trained with a few times was good, nice to catch up with training buddies during a race...  One of the original 2005 runners did a good job at the aid station of helping me get to the water for a top up of my pack and hit North Spur Rd crossing moving well... The hill climb from there seemed sooo much easier this year, and when Harmony started powering up the main nursery of trees hill parallel to the conveyer belt after an initial burst from Terry and Phil (training buddies from my C-team days in JFNP many years ago, and fellow Spartans), I felt the urge to go with her pace.  Found a good groove, and PRed that hill, and then attacked after the phone tower on the downhill back to Scarp Rd hitting 27km in about 3.15.... 20km to go as I crossed the incredible scenery looking down the neverending humming of the conveyer belt.... no worries a couple of hours and a 5.50 looking maybe possible... tried to ignore my doomy thoughts of a fade coming up and the pain of my quadriceps reacting to the attack going down from the phone tower with my 84kg overweight body... turn off onto the trail after a steep descent, and my quads were pretty sore... pusHhed through the pain barrier for a couple of K's and got to 30km by Garmin 15 in 3 hrs 32min still on target for a sub 6 hour effort, but then I had to walk... Harmony disappeared into the bush, and I had not much left,It was walking, and jogging time, and sub 6 hours was out the window... out of the question and any chance of a good time was done and dusted.
However there was still a little matter of nailing the 9th finish to deal with... weather not very hot this year so that wasn't a factor much, but still needed to go faster than walking pace (10-12min per K) to the end to stay under 7 hours, although barring a major setback sub 8 hours and a finish was in the bag. Quads were pretty sore, and I was getting passed by people like J, K, and K. Good trails ultra runners, but not people I expected to be under 6 hours although to the credit of J she kicked on strongly all the way to the end to go several minutes under 6 hours!!! I knew the Rutted Hill aka Elevator aka Hells Gate was not far ahead, and aid station 2 at the top of it... Found it pretty easy to get up this year compared to the last 2 years, although it is a long steep tricky one no matter who you are or how you were feeling.... At the top I made the mistake of indulging in sugar cubes and lots of car lollies at aid station 2 about 36km... (almost 37km on my Garmin).... 4 hours 41min on the watch... They tasted delicious and my body wanted to eat a bucket of them, but I knew as much as the carbs were nice tyo have, they are not easy to digest, and therefore not conducive to sustained running IMO. Anyhow I walked a lot and jogged a bit here and there, jogged with K for a bit, as people like Mandy surged past... Saw a lot of people I know through this section which was nice... and it wasn't congested for me, although I bet it was for some others in the race.... By the time I hit the Marrinup Maze with 5km to go I had dropped a few more spots, and all I cared about now was trying to stay under 7 hours and beat last years 7 hours 06min... The Gurkha bloke that was in the Goat race last month came past me, and it was surreal watching him running past me in his Camouflage pants and Gurkha shirt, felt like I was watching a war movie and seeing enemy forces surging through the bush ahead of me... Then Rob (ambulance man insider joke from city to surf many years back) came past me walking very fast in his 7th ? finish.... When I spotted Jo and A getting visual on me with about 2km to go I decided it was time to jog to the finish, and got there in 6 hours 43min, pretty disappointing time in the end, but long run for December done, and 3 hours of high intensity racing banked as well, and an amazing overall awesome day on the Munda Biddi ... #9 done...The 3am hitchhike from Dwellingup to North Dandalup after I missed the bus to the startline by about 3min had all been worth it, plus the big risk driving my very worn out car up there... Nice rewards with race t-shirt and a nice medal, seeing the new entrants to the red spike club, and so many other reasons to be thankful for a fantastic morning on the trails.... The 50min of sleep made it slightly easier for me to stay awake on the hours drive home, in my tired old car with the CD player that has gone on the blink, and the radio that no longer picks up a signal anywhere near Dwellingup... I might be very poor, tired and worn out, but I had fun at 6 inch 2015 Anno Domini... Thanks God, thanks all!!!!!!!! Hopefully 2016 might, just might get a bit easier than 2015 and 2014 have been... Looks like I failed on my 2015 goals...
GOAL 1; sub 6 hour Six foot... Actual 6.14 (so 15min short)....
GOAL 2;  sub 3 hour marathon, (4.00, 4.05 and 4.11 was all I was able to manage)...
GOAL 3;  and getting my weight down to 74kg..  (made it as far as 78kg)...
Even nowhere near my revised goal of sub 3.30 marathon, but I did land a 32min PB six foot in 6.14 (about 15min short of my goal), got my weight down 7kg to 78kg ran a course best in the city to surf marathon of 4.00 (13min faster than before and my 4th best marathon time), and also ran my 8th best marathon (in 28 finishes) and a few minutes faster than last year in the Melbourne Marathon, and showed signs in the GC and Melbourne Marathons of finally cracking the 3.30 barrier, although at GC it unravelled from 15km onwards and at Melbourne from 30km onwards... Much better effort at 6 inch this year, and achieved my goal of finishing the Bloated Goat 1600m VERT in 31km race.  Also covered the full 50km in the Truth and Consequences 50km although it took me 8 hours 49min after injuring my ankle 14km in...on a very tough course....

Did 37km of VERTICAL Ascent this year, and 286 hours of training AND RACING  (Training and RACING are two different things IMO or should be otherwise you are not peaking for races which means you are training your races and not achieving a race peak performance so underperforming in races)...Covered 2363km (not that km is an important measure IMO, especially for a trail runner, although I am still a hybrid road runner who does short trail ultras).... So to my mind thats a pretty big year for me... Certainly more ascent than ever before, and 286 hours has to be up there in terms of being one of my biggest training and racing years ever.

 Disappointing that I didn't land a big breakthrough road marathon time, possibly because I mucked up the taper for Melbourne, or some other reasons. My continued overweightness and financial mess also big handicaps, and of course the injuries I am carrying don't help, although don't think the latter was a big factor.

I did keep stats, but have not really compiled them much during the year, so its difficult to tell without a lot of time and effort (which I don't easily have access to... am more time poor than ever before in this digital information age, thats the tyranny of the internet and social media infested world which has its good points too, but that is one of the big down sides of life these days...)... exactly how my year was and my leadup to MM was compared to previous years... if I get enough free time I might have a look at it, but in any case I think the key is the weight. If I drop the weight the rest will come together and I am experienced enough after decades of training and racing to modify and refine my programming, training and racing to peak and race well... not to say there isn't still lots to learn, but I have basically switched from a manual "exercise book" training diary in former years to be essentially digitally reliant in the last 3 years since 2013... I still have the manual backup but internet issues this year have made it difficult to maintain the manual backup, and I am so used to doing things I don't need to monitor things closely...

If I have spare money (you have to pay for everything nowadays, fading fast now are the days of coaching for free, although I still do that a bit for people who share training time with me, and who I see as having potential) I could seek coaching from someone like Roberto, Ray or Ray or Simon, or Sarah,  or Mile27 or Sweat or SQUADron or some other fantastic coach, but unless my financials improve, I 1, can't afford it, 2. don't need it, and 3. would just get annoyed by impossible demands... I suspect, or maybe I should try and find a little money for that as well...  But at 41years after more than 20 years of experience I should be able to work out what to do myself. What I do want is groups where I can find training buddies to do good sessions with, so for that I am certainly willing to put a few dollars towards and have done occasionally on and off in recent years at Bt Bu and Fr. Also Phat for free.

Since I still find a lot of joy and meaning, and beauty in life worth exploring, like exploring the the beauty of amazing trails with mountain or hilly views... seeing some of the amazing animals the Creator Triune has blessed us with... If I stop racing altogether hiking on the trails or mountainbiking on them will persist if I can find a way to do either or both of those things since there is an insatiable unfathomable supply or amount of that to explore.

I remember reading in serious training for serious athletes book in 1996? that to be world class you need to do about 500 hours of training/racing per year... since I did 286 hours in 2015, I am still not far off, so if I can ramp things up to somewhere near the 500 hours mark in 2016 that might be part of the jigsaw puzzle that will help, especially if I am to get my weight under 70kg... My intention to go to a gym appears to have disappeared yet again for the second time in a couple of years, so maybe try again or maybe that environment is just not a worthwhile one for me... My goal of 7 hours a week in 2015 would have been 364 hours for the year and the new 12 hour goal works out at 624 hours a week... and 10 hours a week is 520 hours... so if I aim for 12 hours a week and come up short in some weeks I should end up somewhere near 500+, and if I can continue to manage my injuries (can't afford treatment, and doesn't seem to be anything seriously wrong at this stage for sure), then I should start to get into a position for a truly world class effort, maybe in the CCC or UTMB races although my finances for a start would have to improve a lot, and while I will continue to be on the lookout to do that, in the meantime I can at least try to maintain some sort of athletic progression... My marathon time has stagnated around the 3.55-4.10 sort of area for about 12 years now, although I sincerely think there have been many chances to go under 3.30, however I have never got into tru sub 3 hour condition as far as I am aware, and I still think the potential maybe there if my weight goes under 70kg... So I guess doing UTA 50km in 2016 is my way of having a little sneak peak at what is required to succeed on the Ultra Trail World Series, especially since a few of my training buddies while way ahead of me are either succeeding there or are close to doing so at least on the Australian and New Zealand legs of the series... Maybe Ultra Trail mountain running sky running is not for me, but I feel my road running days  are drawing to a close to some degree maybe... and its worth exploring for now especially since I am getting a little bored with SFT x4 and 6inch x9, although I certainly have not reached the top wave of either of those and am still in the slowest group... but my experience does help these days... ... so in 2016 hopefully around 10-12 hours a week (need to be flexible and not because its a LEAP ;-) year) will be a goal that helps me to progress towards sub 70kg... and world class performance.... given the history of the last 12 years my likelyhood of success is very low, but while I can still try I may as well give it a red hot shot...maybe... perhaps... well at least thats the new years resolution... shall see how long that lasts... but UTA gives me a focal point in the next 4 months or so, followed by Melbourne as per usual after that... not sure what else, but those two goal races are enough to give me a 2016 focus to work towards.... I hope...
Above is 11 of the 16 legends in the exclusive 6 inch red spike club. The people who have run 6 inch 6 times or more.
Bruce Hausted, me (Trailblazer), Martyn Flahive, Dave Kennedy, Phil Baker?, Simon "12 inch" Bonnick, Nathan Fawkes  Grantley "Slammer" Dunks, Paul Ankers, Rob Donkersloot, Grant "the machine" Wholey....
Missing from this photo include Kevin Matthews, Craig Berg, Rob Adams, Callum Law?,  and Brett Coombes.

In the week ahead its time to start my 2016 training....
Goals in 2016 will include (at this stage but subject to modification if need be);
1-enjoy a good race at Ultra Trail Australia 50km,
2- run a sub 3 hour marathon at GCM or MM.
3-drop weight to 69kg,
4-train and race 7 hours per week 364 hours annual10-12 hours per week (520-624 hours per year),,,
5- run 1km-2km of VERT per week (52km-104km of VERTICAL ascent for the year)...
6-explore some new trails races...or more likely new training trails as much as possible...
7.-possibly attempt an 80km or 100km or 12 hour or 24 hour race or sattempt a sub 5 hour 6 inch.

Will consider trying some new races, and plan to increase my trail running time even more, but retain some occasional road running racing, plus will consider the track races at the World Masters Games in Perth. Will aim for 12 hours training per week, hope to get fulltime work, and seek to be disciplined on eating again if things stabilise. Am really keen to make some big progress on my bills as I have done a little in recent months, since I got some casual work again from about June onwards, but every week is a struggle, and the last time I had annual leave was about 10 years ago.... ? Juggling increasing bills with mounting debts and unpredictable low income and 3 young children, is a tough mix, by the grace of God we have hung in somehow for another year...sincerely hope things get better, at least there is some significant potential for me to progress now I am working for one of the largest organisations in Australia... Hope it comes good, and the blessings from that continue to develop....If so I might be able to achieve something special in racing, but its getting hard to be motivated now... trying to provide a good future for my wife and kids is becoming more and more one of my main motivations now, and obviously serving the Creator Triune... am getting a little bored with racing, but its still fun, and beneficial so will persist for now... Will try not to push the retirement from running button just yet...