Run 52. Late to the Flemington Party. 13/11/2019.
It was always my intent to run a lap of Flemington on Melbourne Cup day, unfortunately I was in Singapore on the day so had to delay the run. A week later and it appears the crowd numbers had dropped a bit so the run was a easier.
But whilst the crowds had gone, the lingering smell that the horses had been there still existed. Whilst running along Princes Hwy next to the course, it was clear that while I couldn’t see the stables, my nose told me they were nearby. It was a lovely run but by the time I got to the far side of the course I cut through the horse float car park. The evidence that horses had been here had now changed from smell to physical ground based evidence and it took a few quick steps to ensure I didn’t retain a souvenir on my shoes.
As it turns out, any souvenir would have washed off as light (unexpected) rain fell for some of the middle part of the run as I headed back to the city. But rain doesn’t really matter and apart from the restricted view from my glasses, I found my way back into the city and out the other side to Port Melbourne. Finished in 1:48:36 so the steady improvement towards breaking the hour mark is back in play.
My Three Learnings
Deserted race courses make good places for running.
Strong smells can define a course – but they don’t speed you up.
Unexpected rain doesn’t matter if you are already warmed up.