This is a Sydney Striders DIY training run for members & guests.
 Start: 7am on Sunday 27th December 2009.
Location: Garie Beach, Royal National Park, South of Sydney NSW - view map & get driving directions
Pronunciation: It is "Garie" as in "Scary".
Basic info on the area: from Wikipedia and photos from flickr.
Basic info on the run: We will all start together and head off in the same direction. It is a group training run not a race. BYO drinks (likely to be hot) - but don't over do it as there are a few opportunities to refuel on the way. Feel free to hang around after for a swim and relax (bring a cold drink for the finish in case the Kiosk is not open). More information and runner questions are on the dedicated CoolRunning discussion thread Royal National Park Access: The main road in the park is open 7x24 but the boom gate at the entrance to Garie Beach (approx 2-3km from the beach) is closed overnight. The advertised opening hours are 7am-8.30pm but in summer it is approx 5.30am to 9pm. You need to pay $11 per access to the RNP if you don't have a pass, but the toll booths will be closed. You can buy them at the Kiosk on the beach post-run if it is open.
Options:
13km - view mapmyrun map - A loop from Garie Beach, past Era to Burning Palms, up the escarpment and then immediately back on the firetrail, past Garrawarra car park, until you hit Garie Road, then straight down the road to the finish (a slight detour to look at the awesome view from the lookout).
18km - view mapmyrun map - A loop from Garie Beach, past Era to Burning Palms, up the escarpment and drop down to Werrong Beach. Back up the eascarpment and return to Garrawarra car park via firetrail then back down to Garie. Whilst this is not a lot longer than the shorter option, it is definitely a higher degree of difficulty. 29km - view mapmyrun map - It is a loop from Garie Beach, past Era to Burning Palms then up the escarpment to Otford (this section all bush) then uphill via Road to Helensburgh township, then into the bush for a loop to Helensburgh Station, a quick nip thru some roads, then skirting Helensburgh Dump and back into the Royal National Park and follow the De Burgh Track back to Era then to Garie. Quite hilly but not excessively, with a mixture of road, single trail, firetrail etc so something for everyone. Certainly EXCELLENT training for Six Foot. Downloadable maps: See below attachments. MS-Word and PDF (MS-Word gives way better quality when printing so use that if you can). Do not fear I will bring some maps to the start, but I can't guarantee to have enough. If you are capable of printing/getting a good copy then its best to bring your own. Refueling options: Water at Burning Palms Ranger Hut, water at Otford, Helensburgh town, then a bit later at Helensburgh station.Helensburgh town has other stuff - cold drinks, fruit etc. On the return, there is sometimes water at Era Surf Club. There is no water at Garrawarra car park so don't even bother looking. |
