The 4am wake up was my earliest running date yet, but I felt surprisingly invigorated with pre-race nerves. Equipped with bananas and vegemite sandwiches I met up with Bronwyn and we made our way to Maleny. The pretty drive from Beerwah seemed to involve a substantial gain of elevation, providing a suggestion of what may lay ahead of us for today’s run.
The race is an endorphin happy blur of many hills and gorgeous scenery. General impressions and learnings included:
• Maleny locals are friendly and welcoming and present as great race companions. The race numbers were small and encouraging. I would compete in this race again for the ease of parking, frequent and friendly Lions Club volunteers’ drink stations and no waiting lines for amenities.
• This was a race with the quaint echo of yesteryear characterized by pin on cloth bibs, a start gun and a multi race timer at the end of the race with your bib number and time being matched.
• The area around Maleny is beautiful running scenery-with rolling hills, rocky peaks of the Glass House Mountains and contented dairy cows lazing in the richly green paddocks.
• Chocolate melts very quickly and can make one appear a little incontinent if located in a bum bag. Alternatively it may end up smeared all over ones mouth (in the case of Bronwyn) Melted chocolate, none the less is a very welcome race supplement.
• The Mountain View Challenge is aptly named and makes any previous hilly events pale in comparison for it’s repeated climbs and ongoing ‘undulations’. I am pleased to report that a fellow competitor, who came in after me :), noted she had competed an ultra -Marathon (50km) a few weeks ago and found this event tougher. She reassured me that I would be ‘all good’ for my marathon in a few weeks!
• A positive associated with hill climbs is the accompanying descents.
There are a variety of attractive café options in the main street of Maleny. Monica’s café looked busy and the option of lounging in the upstairs loft enticed Bronwyn and I through the door. We both wearily ascended the stairs and made ourselves comfortable in cushioned comfort. Bronwyn kindly descended the stairs and ordered the Sweet Corn, capsicum, coriander and polenta cakes, layered with smoked salmon, smashed avocado and topped with baby spinach, dill and sourcream ($16.50). It was a wise choice and my plate envy extended to the look and taste of her dish. It’s been a while since I have selected the signature ‘Big Breakfast’ at our breakfast cafés. With the Garmin watch telling me I had burned 1539 Calories I felt the poached eggs, chipolatas, sautéed mushrooms, hash browns, roast cherry tomatoes, toasted sourdough and tomato relish was well earnt ($18.50). It was heartily consumed, however was let down by the overcooked poached eggs, greasy chipolatas and bacon which had the texture and appearance of having been sat in a bain-marie for a little too long. Not all was lost with a very tasty relish and sourdough as well as crispy hash browns and sweet tomatoes.
The Lions Mountain View Challenge in Maleny was a wonderful, picturesque and challenging run which enabled us to trial our running pace in a low-key environment. We learnt we could compete but still had some promise of even greater potential on the fast-approaching Marathon day. The café provided sustaining food in a wonderful and picturesque setting which also had a hint of greater potential. Overall, a successful day and satisfying finish in a welcoming setting.
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| Polenta cakes |
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| Big Breakfast |
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