The Choo Choo run is one of my favourite events as it’s such a unique concept. The concept is simple, you start at North Dandalup train station any time you want but you need to be at Serpentine train station by 9:44am to catch the only train back to the start.  This year, the same as last year, the train service was cancelled due to track upgrades so we were actually racing a bus but the principal is the same of course, just a different mode of transport back to the start.

Over the years I’ve left with less than three hours to make the thirty three kilometres,  mainly trail running on the Mundi Biddi track ( https://mundabiddi.org.au/  ) , to Serpentine and usually make it with ten or so minutes to spare, give or take a few minutes.  This year I was nowhere near the fitness levels for a sub three hour attempt as my legs hadn’t recovered from the Cape to Cape miler five weeks previous (  https://www.cape2capeultra.com.au/ ) and I’d done little or no running since.  An added bonus was the chance of a storm front coming through while we were running and the BOM confirmed we would be getting pretty wet.  Because of this weather warning,  and also the train being cancelled again , there was a total of two of us racing the train (bus) this year.

A far cry from the forty or so who would normally run this event when the train was running.  No worries I channeled my inner Goggins sank a ‘can of hard’ and dropped a ‘few suck it up pills’. 

The bus was leaving Serpentine at 9:44am, which is earlier than the train which use to leave at 10:21am. Add in my earlier departure time due to my total lack of running fitness and I would be running up the scarp and onto the trails in the dark, and alone,  as Dave Martin, the other bus racer for 2025,  had started at 5:20am. With the BOM forecast I knew I would be getting pretty wet along the way so put on a thermal top under my running top with a Gore-Tex jacket as my final protection for the elements.

One more photo below with my beanie , headtorch and fully ‘weather ready’ before setting off. Looking at Strava ( you do have Strava right ? If you want so see the run in all its glory the link is here : https://www.strava.com/activities/15247879970 ) I left at 6:03am, giving myself three hours and forty minutes to get to Serpentine, more than enough time I thought ?

Off into the night I stumbled and I mean stumbled, after the first few kilometres I was reassessing my finishing time and doing mental arithmetic working out how slow I could run to make it , I reckon I had about an extra minute a kilometre up my sleeve, compared to my usual running average ,  so as long as I stayed in the six minutes per kilometre average I would be ok.  The first ten  kilometres is virtually all up hill as you rise up to the scarp , it’s then thirteen undulating kilometes across the top of the scarp before a good ten kilometres of downhill and flat coming off the scarp to the train station, simple right.

I was treated to a beautiful sunrise and conditions were perfect as I struggled up the road to get to the trail, five kilometres ahead of me. The road section is steep and you second guess yourself as you haven’t got your second wind, actually you haven’t got any wind, you just keep moving forward.  There was the usual flurry of cars coming up and down the road and they would have been confused seeing this runner with a headtorch that makes night into day , the Silva Exceed 4XT headtorch ( apparently you can see it from the Moon) ,  moving towards them. I made a consensus effort to bow my head and cover my head torch as I didn’t want to cause an accident and waste time saving lives, I had a schedule to keep.

The first five kilometres was testing and I was getting slower and slower as I started to fully realise  how little running I had done in the last month and how it had affected my fitness. I had also battled a nasty cold that was doing the rounds in sunny Perth and this had kept me restricted to basically a run a week, just enough to keep my Strava streak of some sort of exercise activity weekly.  I finally made the trail section where the gradient flattened out and started to sneak back into the high five minute a kilometre pace. I caught up with Dave around the eight kilometre mark which was a worry as he had started forty or so minutes ahead of me.  It turned out he had done the original longer course which has an extra four kilometres, so he was already ran twelve kilometres when I caught him.

I set the pace as with my experience I knew what was coming and Dave tagged along for the conversation and company. We had both ran Delirious ( https://www.deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) in April and the Cape to Cape miler in June ( https://www.cape2capeultra.com.au/ ) so had lots to talk about.

The weather took a turn for the worst , as expected, and I was thankful for my Gore-Tex jacket and beanie, without these it would have made for a rather unpleasant experience. I did make the rookie error of bringing gloves but leaving them in the car, silly boy.  The temperature never really improved and with the added bonus of torrential rain we were in for a beating , but that’s the point right?  Dave started to drop off the pace after a fall so I motored on to the 23k road crossing  point for the traditional photo, see below. If Dave had ran faster he could have been in it.

Doing the maths at the road crossing, with around ten kilometres left and a hour to beat the bus, I reckoned we were in a pretty good place.  I knew the hardest part was behind us and with a few kilomteres until we dropped off the scarp and some serious downhill running was confident we’d have ten minutes or more for  deli time  Unfortunately I had not factored in the fatigue which was building quickly and when it came to the downhill section I was still running in the five kilometre pace , moving towards the higher end as we reached the final three kilometers to Serpentine on the highway.

I decided to step on as much as I could so I would be able to stop the bus from leaving Serpentine if Dave couldn’t keep up. No looking back now it was on, we were racing the bus ! As it was I made the Deli with about four minutes to spare, got a random to take a photo of me outside and then saw Dave charging towards me, he was going to make it.  We snapped a selfie at the deli and then stumbled to the train station as the bus arrived just as we did, albeit it was two minutes early. Mission accomplished, just.

Only thing to do now would be a selfie outside the bus , all smiles.

One final selfie on the bus and racing the train (bus) for 2025 is done and dusted. Talking to the bus driver he assured us next year we’d be back racing trains so maybe me and Dave will get some company.

So we made the bus but it was close but that’s the point of this run, it’s race the bus not run to the bus and there is a world of difference.  We could have easily missed the bus if we had dropped off the pace earlier and save a marginally quicker burst at the end we would have had to beg the bus to stop as it left Serpentine on it’s way back to North Dandalup.  Quite a few runners decided against racing the bus this year so the bus company were expecting more passengers but given the conditions , and with no train, I can understand why so many pulled the pin. As it was I thoroughly enjoyed the time on the trails and the conditions were bearable as I was dressed for them, similar to the Cape to Cape miler weeks earlier.

Right that’s bus racing for 2025 albeit Irwin is talking about maybe going again later in the year when weather conditions  improve. I’ll certainly be keen. All aboard.

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Big shout out to fisiocrem , this product is just incredible for tired and aching legs. I use it daily and have noticed a vast improvement in recovery.

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’ !

Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.

Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )

T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in.  It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong,  storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)

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