Pakenham Line. Hallam to Pakenham
HALLAM. 28/7/2018. 164th Run. 33.3 km.
Early start allowed me to see the blood moon and Mars outside the window at 6 am. Got a ride from Mary to Caulfield and that made for a relatively quick trip to Hallam. Only a few kilometres and a small detour to get to the school where my daughter Celeste teachers. Took a quick picture and sent it to her. Back to the trip home and only 7 km into Dandenong but got a bit confused by a few of the turns and round-abouts that meant a small backtrack a one stage. Easy to follow after that as I went along the train line with one cross over that I had to wait for the train. Got onto Heatherton Rd and then Dingley bypass. Again with the cross country so not my favourite way home. Got onto South Rd and one stop for a drink and final leg home. Finished the day with drive to Torquay and then back to Greensborough so lots of kms today.
NARRE WARREN. 2/2/2019. 205th Run. 34.7 km.
Another Uber ride to the outer suburbs as weekend timetable not very efficient to these areas. Had to take my selfie from outside the station as the platforms were locked and the lady at the station couldn’t unlock them. The joys of public transport. Nice temperature early on but started to warm up quickly. Made it to Dandenong and felt pretty good but previous experience meant I knew it was still 25 km to go. Ran along Princes Hwy and stopped at milk bar for drink. Got a discount from the owner as I think he remembered me from previous stops. Or maybe he just felt sorry for me. Finally onto North Rd where I saw the remains of a three way rear end on end collision. Plenty of people sorting it out so kept going. Around 26 degrees by the time I got home so glad it was no further. Only 5 more stations to go.
BERWICK. 9/2/2018. 206th Run. 39.1 km.
Another full week off with just a light midweek run to get some of the soreness out. Spacing the runs a bit more is helping. Uber is becoming my go to in an attempt to avoid the buses and inefficient connections to get to the further stations. So Uber to Caulfield and then out to Berwick. My train was very empty but the inbound 6:11 was surprisingly full. Bit of a zig zag to get started as usual but finally onto Princes Fwy. Comfortable run into Dandenong and the cool conditions meant no need to stop for a drink until I got to my preferred milk bar. No discount today as different person. Got to Sandown Park just as the rain started and stayed wet for the rest of the run. Felt better than last week due to the weather and two energy bars, but still tired at the end.
BEACONSFIELD. 13/10/2018. 183rd Run. 41.3 km.
Melbourne marathon weekend so decided to do a marathon length run. And yes I know a marathon is 42.2km but the logistics of getting to the start surely contributed at least 900m. I originally planned to do Lilydale at 41.7km (still a bit short of the full marathon) but more train issues / replacement buses/ weekend timetables made me give up. So I settled for Beaconsfield. Another long day but having done the back part of this run before the navigation wasn’t too bad. I even took another photo at my daughters school in Hallam as I ran by. Into Dandenong and a quick drinks break before the long haul along the Princes Hwy. Legs already a bit tired from 30km run only 4 days ago. I’ve got to space out the really long runs going forward. Was quite warm by the time I got home around lunchtime and as always - happy to see Ormond Esplanade.
OFFICER. 24/11/2018. 193rd Run. 46.1 km.
New long run record for this challenge. And there are only 4 stations longer than this one. Makes it sound easier when you say it like that - but it wasn’t that easy at all. First issue was there was no pad to “tap off” at Officer station so just gave up and went. Navigation simple, run to Princes Hwy turn left, run 32km and turn left again. Rain early on but slowly got better as I went. Stopped for first drink just after Dandenong in Mulgrave. Whilst drinking I noticed I was standing outside Daniel Andrews office - and it was Victorian election day. He wasn’t there but did have a good day. Labor smashed the Libs. Another car accident this time outside IKEA, resulted in big traffic delay for the cars but not for me. Only had a short 10 km run during the week so legs not too bad but give start to hurt half way along North Rd. Still two more stations on this line to finish so will see this area again soon.
CARDINIA ROAD. 9/3/2019. 208th Run. 48 km.
Longest run so far and second longest of the challenge. Only Pakenham to go to finish. Celeste’s hens weekend down at Torquay so no hurry to get home as I wasn’t invited. Caught an Uber to caulfield and then the 6:11 towards Pakenham, even the train ride is long. Helped an elderly homeless women who had had a fall on the platform. Felt sorry for her but nice station staff turned up to look after her. Little bit of zig zagging via a residential cut through to get onto Princes Hwy and slowly ticked off some of the previous stations out that way. Eventually got into Dandenong for first drink stop. Took a call from daughter Camille as I went to troubleshoot an electrical issue at the hen’s day in Torquay. I knew they should have invited me. All good after 10 mins on phone. Stopped for one more drink to have with the energy bar that I took with me and was glad I had it. Struggled for the last 5km happy to get a red light and have a break at the last few sets of traffic lights. Only one long run to go - same course as today but with a bit extra distance at the start.
PAKENHAM. 16/3/2019. 209th Run. 52.6 km.
After more than 2 years I was finally up to the last significant run. Only Elsternwick at 1.6km as last celebration run after this. Made a decision to run this only 7 days after the 48km Cardinia Rd station last weekend. Later in the run I realised that was probably a mistake. Usual Uber to Caulfield to get started and at Pakenham station just on dawn at around 6:40 am. No real problems during the first 25km although seeing a sign that said “Melbourne 56km” didn’t exactly lift my spirits. First sign my legs were feeling it was coming into Dandenong with around 26km to go. Spirits still not getting a boost. Some of the hills that I had run a few times before along the princes Hwy seemed a little steeper today but just kept creating little goals along the way. Under the freeway, stop for drink near Dan Andrews office, past Sandowndown Park, Centre Rd, the IKEA car crash site and the Macca’s on corner of North Rd. Good place for another drink stop and an encouraging phone call from my wife. Already the 7 day break felt like a mistake. It was a beautiful day for Grand Prix weekend in Melbourne but mood dulled by mass shooting at Mosque in New zealand - just terrible. Finally onto Nepean Hwy and 2km from home. Felt like crap but wonderful wife Mary showed up with cold can of Pepsi. Brilliant. Last 1500m was not too bad as I finally started to enjoy the moment. Over 4300km and 210 train stations. Mission Complete. I’ll admit, I did feel just a little proud of myself.