Southern Highlands Challenge, 2015.

6km

6km event started at 11:00am this year; last year it was 8:00am.... so there was time for a nice sleep-in before Leah picked me up for the hour drive to Wingello State Forest where we followed directions to a far off fire trail for parking.  A real god-send this year was a shuttle bus to the start which was several kilometres away!  A much bigger event this year; seemed to be endless fire trails filled with cars and hundreds of people milling around the stalls, BBQ, donkey rides...tempted!; animal farm and lots more.
I haven't seen such superb organization of cars, people, runners of all different distances from ultra down to 4km, SES and volunteer fire fighters at every one of the hundreds of crossings through the forest and they were there from dawn and, I guess, to almost dark! 


Trails were in excellent condition especially after the recent heavy rain throughout the Highlands. Weather, the best.  The hills, and there were plenty of them, I walked!  Chatted with some Bowral parkrun runners and had a good run through some really spectacular forest scenery.


6km in 43:39
Avg. Pace 7:36m/k
Splits:   7:55;   7:47;   7:50;   7:15;   7:31;   5:18!!!  downhill!


..... and best of all results :  TE 4.3   Highly Improving!