Yarra River Trail Race

G’Day Westies! Here in Melbourne there is a 4km sand track circuit round which lycra clad Aussies run …. round and round and round and ……. after a few days of this the Wild Westie in me went mad and I ventured further afield, managing to see some hills called the Dandenongs, the Yarra River and even a wallaby!

All this time the Westies vest was squashed in the bottom of a case … no good at all! So, a race was entered to allow a proud display of the black and gold in the southern hemisphere.

I entered the first race of the Salomon Australia Trail Series. With the aim of raising the profile of trail racing, currently a minority sport here, and probably in a bid to sell more shoes, Salomon are trying to encourage Australian runners off the tarmac and onto the country trails.

The race was 10.8km around parkland on the banks of the Yarra River. Initially the ‘traily-ness’ was dubious with us running around a football pitch next to a freeway, however it improved with the trail twisting in and out of forest, up and over bridges crossing the river and, for the last 4km, on a narrow muddy track bobbling along the riverside. Definitely not a patch on anywhere in Scotland for scenery … but it was a good break from the city tarmac.

Happy enough with my 52 min time and delighted to be strutting the Westies stuff again, now just wondering if I qualify for any league points: pretty sure I was the only Westie there?!