ar_junkie's blog

I've been planning on getting back into trail running (for a bit of X-Training) and I've been a massive fan/user of Salomons for a good 9 years. Needless to say I decided to scope out the Net to see what was new on the trail shoe tech front and came across something rather different in the form of Vibram FiveFingers.

After missing out on the Angry Doctor, the Highland Fling was last big MTB marathon race on the calendar for the year so all my prep/training was aimed at a having a solid crack. I had a conservative Scott 24, a good Around the Bay (roadie), a good Sydney to Gong (roadie again) and various training rides with Steve 01/02/03, Bruce and Gaz in between.

As with most races, the last couple of days before the actual event is almost as draining as race day...
From having organised transport, date/time of departure by Wednesday, I came to the realisation that Killingworth was not just over an hour way. This threw a spanner in the works as the idea of travelling through on Sunday morning suddenly lost its appeal. This also resulted in me changing the departure date of the Midnight Express (That's Midnight Black not Blue Rob ) to Saturday but unfortunately leaving Gazza in the lurch. Apologies again mate!

So Whisper; Supagav and myself met up at the track on Saturday arvo for a couple of practise laps as we were all Killingworth newbies. After the first lap we were all grinning from ear to ear for despite the fact that there were a few damp spots on the course, it was one of the most 'flow-ie' courses I've ridden in while. With most of the course consisting of single track, a few gentle climbs, bridges (wooden and mesh) and a bit of techie stuff, this course was going to produce some quick times... Top marks to the course setter(s)! I think the only reason we stopped on Saturday afternoon was because we were running out of light.