Special Event.....

Sri Chinmoy 7km Cross Country, Centennial Park, Sydney.

We left Mittagong around 5:00a.m. in fine weather & thought Sydney would be the same....wrong! It pelted down as we came into the city at 6:30a.m. after a quick run on the nearly empty freeway.

The park was dark & miserably wet so staying in the car was the only alternative until registration opened at 7:00a.m. Having done that, I buttoned up my jacket & set off on a 3.5km warm-up/slosh-up around the Grand Drive.

After the 14k runners had completed one loop, we 7km runners were off into the mud & puddles. The rain had stopped just before the start of the first wave but the 100% humidity almost undid me! However, I did get a very nice 1st place age-category trophy at the finish for my trouble! Time 48:49.

All up, it was a good run ... my first cross country race & I was pleased to have made the effort of answering the alarm at 4:00a.m! The course was clearly marked with red arrows upright in the ground so that not even I could get lost (though some others did!). Mostly flat on grass & muddy tracks, one short sharp incline. I wore #3 Frees which I was pleased with as they made it possible to step lightly through the quagmire & around the water traps!

Breakfast after : fruit & hot pancakes with maple syrup! Yum!!

Well done to Sri Chinmoy who always give us a great race & special thanks to the volunteers whom I watched, from the comfort of the car in the dark, as they set up the bits & pieces for the races in the worst of all possible weathers.