THE Tower Trail Run is done and dusted for another year, with some good results for Limestone Coast runners in the major event – the 56km ultra-marathon.
Millicent’s Brad Tilley claimed the honours in the long run, while Penola’s Justin McDonald finished runner-up.
To complete the picture, McDonald’s wife Kate won the women’s 56km event, with an impressive sixth overall.
In the 42km marathon, Mount Gambier’s Adrian Elliott-Smith finished top of the podium for the men, ahead of Cobden’s Zachary Nowell and Mount Gambier’s Matthew Scott.
However, the trio was upstaged by female athlete Bronwyn Young, who was first overall across the line.
Race director Phil Ackland said over 200 runners competed, with conditions almost perfect for the event.
He said many competitors commented about how challenging the course was, with laps of the Lakes area providing little respite, with the vast majority of the courses up or down hill.
For Tilley it was a pleasing result over the inaugural 56km distance.
“It is my first ever win in a race in my life really,” he said at the finish line.
“I have always been slow and worked out I could go long, so had a perfect day really.
“My nutrition went well, my legs felt good and it was nice weather.”
Tilley said with around about 2000 metres of elevation, the event compared with runs in Adelaide and other major centres.
But he said the mental side of the race was the toughest.
“You have four laps and you know what is coming,” he said.
“The last one was hard, I started to get some cramps in my hamstrings, but I slowed down a bit and just managed it, walking up some of the hills.”
While Tilley said he had prepared well for the event, competed in several ultra marathons and even 100km events, this was a tough day on the trail.
“I have been trying to do one run at this distance every month,” he said.
“I run five kilometres every day, but it is pretty flat around Millicent.
“I do get out to the Mount Burr range – it is nothing compared to this, but still a good workout.
“Really, I was just happy to finish it.”
Justin McDonald was just as pleased to finish runner-up behind his good mate Tilley.
“It is the longest I have ever run, he said after crossing the line.
“I prefer five to 10 kilometre races, but our good mate Brad Tilley from Millicent has got us into some longer runs and my wife and I have done a couple of marathons.
“Brad is like a mentor for my wife and I, so we thought we would do an ultra.
“I kept up with Brad for the best part of two laps, then his experience got away on me.”
McDonald said going into the race he held no real ideals about a podium finish.
“Ideally you want to do as well as you can, but when you are doing something for the first time, just to cross the finish line is all you can hope for really,” he said.
“I did that.
“At one point, with about five kilometres to go, both my drivers cramped up at the same time and I thought I wouldn’t finish.
“It didn’t last long and I got moving again.”
Kate simply said she felt amazing being the first woman across the line.
“It makes me cry thinking about it,” she said.
“It is the first ultra I have done and it feels amazing to even get that far.
“It is a very tough course, so that’s where you get a lot of satisfaction from it because you know you have worked really hard.
“It is not just the same as a road race where it is usually just a flat road – this has those really big hills in it.”
While Kate said she only saw her husband on the opening lap, she kept an eye out for his progress throughout the event.
“Every time I got to to a check point I would ask how he was going,” she said.
“Also Brad – I just found out where they were both at.
“I knew Justin would go out fast so I kept checking he was okay.”
Kate said she never expected the result for herself, but did think Justin could gain a podium.
“I thought Justin would get on the podium, but you just never know in these kinds of events,” she said.
“For me, I knew there were a couple of women who had come from Adelaide and I knew they would be good runners.
“But I knew I had trained hard and we run five kilometres every day, so I knew my condition was right.
“You just have to hope to do the best you can and see how it goes on the day really.”
