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| Where I was heading - Near the end of the Juc cliffs |
Ah, the power of Facebook. Two weeks ago I was going home to
the Surf Coast for a family engagement. I was due for a longer run and I was
keen to hit the trails. I was desperate for a run in the Dandys but it was
never going to happen. What was a man to do?
A few months ago I had joined a Surf Coast Trail Runners
group on Facebook and had been keeping in touch with the regular updates. A few
days before we left for home I put on a post asking about a track from Torquay
to the famous Bells Beach that I had walked years ago. Was it still there? Has
anyone run it recently and was anyone keen for a run on a Sunday?
Well, as luck would have it a member of the group was
planning to run it at 7:00 am on Sunday and I was more than welcome to run with
him. Awesome! He was planning a 25km out and back trip for 50km, I’d do the 8km
to Bells and back for 16km. So at 7:00am on a Sunday, I was meeting a complete stranger
for a run at one of my favourite sections of beach in the world. The weather was
perfect for running; clear skies and just a touch of wind.
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| About half way to Bells |
We took off along the start of the new Surf Coast walk, a paved
path that I now think goes all the way to Anglesea. We then ran along the cliff
tops by Jan Juc SLSC, along the path past Birdies rock and followed the
undulating trail to Bells. The track is all well made, not the single track I
was hoping for.
The views were just brilliant. We ran beside Aussie scrub,
up and down various steps, across the sand all while the section out had epic
views of the rolling surf to our left.
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| Near Birdies Rock, on the way home. Ran along the beach below! |
45 minutes later we had chatted our way over 8 perfect kms.
I had really enjoyed the run, at a moderate to quick 5km to the min pace. We
met another runner at Bells and the two of them took off as I made the return
trip home. This time I stopped for happy snaps of the coast and trail. I also enjoyed
a 2km stretch along Torquay and Jan Jun beaches.
If you’re ever in Torquay with time to enjoy a run, this one
gets a big thumbs up from me.
Cheers and happy running,
The Fish
