Once a year we run the underground event that is the Choo Choo race, runner versus train. The idea is simple you turn up at North Dandalup train station and run to Serpentine train station on the Munda Biddi trail, a distance of either 33km (the short course) or 34.5km (the original course).  The return, and only,  train leaves at 10:21am from Serpentine train station. You choose what time you leave North Dandalup, and hence the concept of ‘racing the train.’ Over the years we have left at various times after 7am but this year we decided we’d push the boundaries and leave at 7:25am. There was talk of a 7:30am departure but luckily , in hindsight, we decided against it and erred on the side of caution, we are getting older.

The rail line is used mainly for goods trains with the Transwa Australind train running once a day between Perth and Bunbury. It runs through North Dandalap, from Bunbury,  at around 7:23am and then returns via Perth  through Serpentine at 10:21am.

This year there was well over fifty runners and the car park was packed as is the norm for this event. We managed to find a spot on the grass and just off the pavement, honest, the benefit of a four wheel drive. Arriving late car parking is limited as the usual parking capacity is around twos cars at best. As I said before the station is called North Dandalup but I’ve yet to find the rest of it, it’s small !  There was seven of us booked to leave at 7:25am giving us less than three hours for the 33km short course. Lauren and Katt decided to leave at 7:15am to give themselves some breathing space which wasn’t needed as they both ran a quicker time than all of us.

As this was the latest we had ever left I don’t recall seeing the train returning to Perth before. The previous latest time was a few years ago when Mark Lommers , Jeff and I left at 7:22am , giving ourselves just less than three hours.  Last year we left twenty minutes earlier. There was talk in the week of leaving at 7:30am and it was only a last minute change of heart from yours truly that gave us the extra five minutes.  This was , in hindsight, a masterstroke.

We always love the photo of the watch with the time on it to prove what time we actually left North Dandalap but truth be told it’s always on Strava and in Strava we trust… ( http://www.strava.com )  In the photo below it’s Jon showing the time on his watch  and Adam confirming. Jeff has already started and Mark Oakshott is poised to explode. Mark ran the longer course and still passed us before half way, in our defence he is younger, more committed and just generally more talented than us ‘older runners’.

The first 8km of this run is all up hill , up to the top of the scarp, and some parts are steep. If you were to take your average pace for this part of the run you’d never make the train, if you left late enough. The next 15km or so is undulating running through some pretty good trail on the Munda Biddi ( https://mundabiddi.org.au/ ) , the best bit of course if coming down of the scarp. Ten kilometres of some seriously good downhill running starting with crushed limestone trail and finishing off with sealed road. It is here you make up serious time and catch the train. Of course it is also here you hemorrhage time and miss the train, you decide.

Every year we run this race we get four photos. The obligatory start photo, half way , all the runners at the deli and the same runners on the platform at Serpentine. I added in the runners in the train shot last year when TransWA gave us a carriage all too ourselves, which they did again this year, thanks TransWA.  The image below shows the guys at halfway, Mark Oakshott had just passed us so missed out, the one downside to being too quick. Myself, Adam, Jeff and Jon had run the shorter course.

At this point I had not looked at my watch , just assuming we were running well and would make the train if we continued at the normal Choo Choo pace which would include a fast finish, as is tradition. I remember hearing Jeff saying we had an hour  as we posed for the halfway photo and as such plenty of time. At the time I ignored him as I assumed he had that wrong but it turned out he hadn’t. I reckon Jon , being an accountant, did the maths as he left us here like a scolded cat. We all ran hard but there was never ever any talk of missing the train or even being close, this was probably a mistake or a good thing ?  A mistake as I could have gone quicker, maybe, or a good thing as I wasn’t stressed about missing the train. I really believed I would arrive at Serpentine with at least five minutes up my sleeve, grab a Brownes Mocha and enjoy the adulation of leaving last ( or close to last as Allistar Caird and Sean Ralphn left at 7:35am and made it easily!)

We all put on the afterburners after the traditional half way photo (it’s actually about 20km but we were never any good at maths), everyman for himself as we each decided how much pain we would embrace to make the finish.  We passed our good friend Jon ‘Trailblazer’ Philips with about 7km to go and he was not in a good way. His chances of making the train were nil, or worse,  and I promised to send a car to pick him up and transport him back to the start. No one has actually been forced to run back to the start, we talk about it but that would be really cruel.  Jon had lost himself to chocolate of late and was moving towards a 100kg goal weight, great for mud wrestling not so good for train racing. He was probably regretting his fifth mars bar as he neared the top of the scarp and was faced with a sub 30minute ten kilometres to make the train ! Needless to say he didn’t and Sam Hoffman and his beautiful young family picked him up.

As I have mentioned the Serpentine Deli is one of my favourite shots but this year I was so late they didn’t wait for me and all the runners started towards the train as I was probably a few hundred metres away. It was at this point I realised I had probably cut if fine, very fine. I did manage to grab a few stranglers including my mate Cam who had ran with me on the Feral Pig 100 miler last November, his first ultra and he nailed it, a young man with a big future under the tutorage of Carl Douglas. As you can see from the photo not quite the fifty or so runners who completed the event but you get the idea. To add to my woes the deli had sold out of Brownes Mocha’s so I had to make do with an Up ‘n’ Go chocolate milk drink, good but not the same truth be told.

Once I grabbed my Up’n’Go milk drink I scurried off to the platform and organised the Serpentine train station photo with the help of Irvin, my partner in crime. It’s not all the runners as at least three were still on the way to the platform at this time , of which only one, Adam, made it. There were also other runners who had cars at Serpentine and left before the photo, rookie mistake. The numbers go up every year and so they should, it’s a great event and the best part its free, bar bringing some tukka for the post event debrief back at North Dandalup.

It was about at this point Adam turned up as we were boarding the train. Adam was one of the first runners to miss the train in 2020 when he kept on running on the Munda Biddi trail rather than turn off and head down the scarp to Serpentine.  In his defence the turn off is unmarked and he assumed the trail went to Serpentine, unfortunately it went to Jarrahdale, where he realised his mistake. He wasn’t the only one that year funnily enough.  This year he had ran with myself, Jon and Jeff as well as a couple of runners we had picked up on the way. The last 10km or so was an ‘every man for himself‘  type sprint to the train station, he was last and thus just made the train. I will say I have ran this event maybe eight times and this was the first time the train was anywhere near on time. I had always factored in 5-10 minutes , minimum, wiggle room, not this year.

Once on the train it was time for another traditional runners on train photo. TransWA had given us a whole carriage again and this photo just sums up the whole event, I mean how good is this. Where else in the world can you get to race a train and then return riding in a carriage to yourselves, for the cost of a single ticket, less than $9, priceless.

Once we got off the train at North Dandalup everybody got out their tukka as requested and we had a magnificent feast in the bus shelter as the rain that had been teasing us all morning decided to come in.  As always there was way too much quality food and  the conversation was flowing with everybody had a story or three from the mornings adventure. This is probably my favourite part of the event , like minded people chewing the fat over quality tukka, after fishing a great trail run and beating a train, it really doesn’t get any better. The rain came in big time later in the afternoon so we were very lucky to avoid it, bar a smattering while we ate.

As we ate the last runner was brought back to us. Cedric had started with us albeit a little late so he missed the starting photos. He was ahead of me when we reached the point where you turn right for the short course or continue on for the longer version. I’m not sure what course he wanted to do but , with hindsight, he chose the wrong one and went long. This cost him as he missed the train by about 500 metres, small decisions big consequences.  Luckily there was still people hanging around at the Deli and they took pity on a him and drove him back to North Dandalup, with a great story.  So this year the train claimed two more victims, I’m pretty sure the train driver now realises our little game and will be making more of an effort to catch us out from now on, and why wouldn’t he after all it is a race  right.

Finally some products that I endorse because I love them and they do what they say they  will do.. simple really.

fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I used this extensively towards the end of all 200 milers when my quads are hammered.  It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )  The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products)  can be difficult to digest later in the event.  From the website :-

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority. 

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance. 

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born. 

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work! 

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

What can I say about HumanTecar,  ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

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