May 2011 Newsletter - West Australian Marathon Club

Darlington Half: What Goes Up Must Come Down
Darlington Half Marathon – 13th March, 2011
By Kevin Matthews
Kevin “Motor Mouth” Matthews celebrates another “win” (or
first beard). Photo credit: Christina Bartels
The Darlington Half is one of my favourite WAMC runs
as it brings everything I love about running together
in one race. It has the off-road trail to start and finish,
steep hills and long hill climbs and a fast finish with
gravity (and, this year, the wind) as your friend. The
most important element though is the feast at the
end (which is the best in the racing calendar) and the
chance to catch up with friends to talk about the day’s
events.
This event seems to get more and more popular every
year and nearly 300 people made the trip to Darlington
this year for another perfect race day. (How does the
WAMC organise these every year?) The start can be
a bit hectic and you need to watch yourself as 300
runners charge towards a single file track between
trees about 500m from the start. I always try to get
to the front and avoid the chaos that ensues behind
me. Once you negotiate this hazard you’re onto the
Darlington trail for the first 3km, and the field tends to
fan out from this point. Then you’re back onto the road
and into the first major hill, which appeared for the
first time last year. I’m not sure why the club decided
that the Darlington Half needed another hill but they
found a beauty. It was a surprise last year but this year
I was prepared and shifted down a few gears and took
it easy knowing what was to come.
Next came the steady climb, for about 8km, to the
turnaround point. This year we had a headwind to
make things interesting. I was racing in a group of six
and sat behind the lead group of three for the whole
climb. (I think it was Shane Joyce, Craig Berg and
Matthew Di Masi who did all the hard work for the
climb, thanks guys!) Me and Steve “Twinkle” McKean
and Simon “Biscuitman” Ward let the young guys do
all the work for the climb and then at the turnaround
stepped up for the gravity-assisted return leg. If you’ve
never run Darlington, a word of advice: save something
for the return leg because a good negative split is a
guarantee if you save the legs for the return journey.
At the turnaround I saw the usual suspects battling
it out for the lead. David ‘Sugar’ Cane and Stephen
Stockwell were both running well chasing the lead
pack with Gerard Hill and Liam Fury leading the way.
These guys compete in most WAMC races and serve
as an inspiration and target for all us “pack runners!”
After the climb comes my favourite part of the course,
the 8km downhill run to the finish. It doesn’t matter
how tired I am, I can always run fast downhill with
gravity as my friend (one of the benefits of long legs). I
left the group and made my charge for the finish line.
Due to the hard work of the younger runners in our
little peloton I was now ideally placed for a top 10 finish
but knew “Twinkle” would be close behind. He got his
nickname (“twinkle toes”) for sneaking up on runners
whey they were least expecting it and running past them
near the finish. (A tactic he used to his advantage later
in this race to get a top 10 finish when he surprised
Cade Zulsdorf a few metres from the finish).
Knowing I had Biscuitman and Twinkle in hot pursuit I
charged towards the finish and managed to hold them
both off for a good PB of 1:21:10 and a top 10 finish.
Mission accomplished.
The next part of the Darlington half is really my
favourite, food and conversation. Those who know
me know that the latter is something I do rather well.
(Hence the nickname in the hills running group of
“Motor Mouth” Matthews … I prefer Motor). Anyway
there was much story-telling and tales of hardship but
ultimately everyone agreed it was a perfect day.
So to sum up the Darlington Half: in my view the best
half in the club’s calendar and if you run it right it can
give you a great time. Add in the scenery, food at the
finish and good conversation and it has everything. I’ll
see you next year.
21.1km Male
21.1km Female
Place Time Name Age Cat Time Name Age Cat
1 1:14:06 HILL, Gerard M25 1:28:26 JAREB, Nera F25
2 1:15:48 FUERY, Liam M30 1:31:32 GLASS, Leah F25
3 1:16:25 THOMSON, Scott M25 1:31:45 PETTERSON, Susan F35
4 1:16:32 STOCKWELL, Stephen M45 1:33:20 VAN BLOMESTEIN, Eulalia F40
5 1:17:36 BAUGH, Ryan M35 1:33:34 TIBBITS, Jenni F25
6 1:18:21 CANE, David M45 1:34:26 JONES, Lauren F25
7 1:20:00 LEE, Mark M30 1:34:44 BARNDEN-BROWN, Sophie F16
9 1:20:40 RUMBOLD, Scott M30 1:35:56 STIRK, Kylie F30
8 1:21:10 MATTHEWS, Kevin M40 1:37:55 CROW, Caroline F30
10 1:21:32 MCKEAN, Steve M45 1:38:05 SIMPSON, Kate Unknown
8km Male
8km Female
Place Time Name Age Cat Time Name Age Cat
1 30:49 KONIG, Sean M20 33:45 WALKER, Amanda F45
2 31:04 MEZZATESTA, Michael M20 34:10 MALONEY, Amy F25
3 32:40 SCREAIGH, Kyron M20 35:49 FOLLAND, Rolenda F40
4 32:45 MAHER, Christopher M55 36:32 LEONARD, Fiona F40
5 32:48 HAMILTON, Rodney M45 38:54 MALONEY, Alex F20
6 33:24 FARRELL, Terry M50 42:19 MATEAR, Lorraine F45
7 35:40 WADE, Mark M40 43:51 O’DONNELL, Nicole F25
9 36:44 ANWAR, Zaki M30 44:23 SCHMIDT, Susan F25
8 37:47 GUYADER, Bernard M30 44:30 CLEASBY, Denise F50
10 37:55 PEARSON, Tim M30 45:21 CHAPMAN, Annie F40
Watches at the ready and smiles all around, runners prepare for the start of Motor Mouth’s favourite club half,
Darlington. Photo credit: Christina Bartels
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