The Tolosa Half holds a special place in my heart. It was my first-ever running race back in 2019 and the experience that got me hooked on trail running. I’ve returned many times since. It’s one of the fastest and most runnable trail races on the mountain, and my fourth time running it this past weekend did not disappoint.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have run at all. I had been sick with a cough for two weeks leading into the race, and a new sickness was starting to hit me on race day, but I was too psyched up to back out. Now I’m paying the price, sitting at home sick, a clear lesson I’m hoping to finally learn.

I filmed the journey and wrote all about the experience in this post. Read on for the full story or watch the vlog below.

📹 Watch the Vlog ⬇️

🗺️The Course

The enduro course is an elongated figure-eight that starts and finishes at Tolosa Park, covering a distance just over a half marathon. The first half is a steady climb, while the second half is a thrilling descent.

You begin with a climb up the North-South Track, dropping down Old Hobartians and continuing along Lenah Valley Track to Junction Cabin. From there, the course continues its gradual climb along the Lenah Valley Track to the Springs, which serves as the approximate halfway point and a small aid station.

The second half is a fast, undulating downhill along the North-South Track. Filled with twists and turns, it’s easy to get caught in the trap of thinking it’s all downhill from here, but the small climbs, including a particularly grueling one just before Junction Cabin, are a real challenge. After passing the cabin, you continue the descent on the North-South track, eventually taking a steep drop down Priests Fire Trail. A recent course change now diverts you onto the Beginners Luck mountain bike track, which adds a brutal uphill climb just before the finish line.

🎯Race Goals

My previous PB on the old course was 1:45. I went into this event with performance goals that I thought would be realistic but challenging. The course has grown since my last time racing so it makes it even harder to chase time goals. But I have also grown as an athlete so I decided to go after ambitious goals.

🏁Race Day

Preamble

I need to start with a preamble about my bodily state of affairs going into this event. If you’ve read my last update blog post you would know that I was sick. Well that was 2 weeks ago and the sickness is still kicking. I thought I was almost recovered by the end of the week. Then I went on an easy run with Ziggy and Justin on Friday and it ruined me. It felt like I was getting sick again. At least I got some good footage for an Instagram reel.

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A post shared by Joseph Nunn (@josephnunn7)

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling a full on head cold ravaging me. My previous sickness had only been a chesty cough, this felt new. I reckon I am double stacking viruses. Not ideal going into a race. This sent me into a day of indecision about whether to race or not. I did a Covid test, one of the ones that tests for all of the bad ones and I was negative. I foolishly took this as a green light to race.

Actual Race Day

I wake up feeling like someone has kicked me in the head then filled my nose with mucus. Despite my ill temperament I’ve already decided I will race. Shortly before leaving the house I take a couple of cold and flu tablets, this is not a great idea in retrospect, at the time it seemed reasonable.

At the race hub I grab my bib and go for a warm up jog with Justin. The warm up doesn’t improve my condition at all, I am feeling nervous, excited and unwell.

Up to the Springs

The start is brutal, a gradual uphill that everyone runs at a ridiculous pace. I am completely gassed after 500m. The front runners eventually spread out. I find myself sitting in 5th place, my usual position.

I move into 4th just before turning onto the gruelling climb up Priests fire trail. If I were in better condition I would try to run the whole way up but today I am lacking willpower and fall into a power hike early. At the top of this brutal climb is another brutal burner of a climb up North South track. The lower section of the track seems to have a higher gradient than the rest. It’s still runnable but hard. I push on and struggle.

I am wearing a heart rate monitor and check my heart rate every now and then to make sure I am staying in a sustainable zone. This metric is out the window today. I see my heart rate is 185bpm, typically I struggle to get it that high in the hardest of interval sessions. At this point I realise that the cold and flu tablet I took contains pseudoephedrine, a stimulant. It is sending my heart rate into the stratosphere and It gets me worried about the sustainability of such intensity.

Hiking up the steep climb to Junction Cabin I look over my shoulder to see Justin in the distance. A little later I look back to see him rapidly making up ground. I am fading while he is surging, I am certain that he will get me. By the time we reach the cabin we are mere metres apart. We set off up the gradual Lenah valley track climb together. Justin stays with me for sometime but after a while I look back and he’s now out of sight.

I love this climb, I can lock in and grind. The early fear of suffering has passed, I have transcended pain and am willing to destroy myself getting to the Springs in under 55 minutes. I closely watch the clock and increase the pace on the descent down to the Springs, I hit the lap button on my watch when I pass the aid station, it reads 54:48, I’ve done it!!

Sending it Back Down

I dig so deep to hit my split, knowing I’m only halfway through the course. I can get back down in around 45 minutes, keeping my finish time goal in sight. The transition to downhill running is a welcome relief, and I feel better with every step.

I dodge and weave along the trail, having so much fun that I stay upright despite how violently I throw myself down the track. Usually, I only fall when my mind wanders, but today I am fully focused on one thing, racing as hard as possible. I lean in and surge up the undulations and the small climbs, even the big climb just before Junction Cabin. The “smelling the barn” effect kicks in, and I feel the finish line drawing closer, finding a deeper motivation.

I start to encounter short-course runners, and they are all courteous, jumping out of the way when they hear me yelling out “g’day!” I have a lot of momentum, and it’s building.

Once I reach Kangaroo Fire Trail, I’m ready to absolutely unleash. The final section of North-South track is one of my favorites, and I love the chance to “send it” in a race. I’m still in awe of the fact that I haven’t had a single misstep the whole run, and I’m thankful because a fall would be disastrous.

I spot a fleck of purple out ahead. It’s a person running much faster than the short course folks. I realise it’s Alex Hunt, 3rd place is in sight and within reach. I have no choice, I must chase. The “Alex Hunt hunt” begins and I try to squeeze out what little effort I have left. I am making up ground. But as we turn back onto Priest fire trail I am certain he notices me and his pace lifts.

My attempts at closing the gap seemed to be working but now I think he knows I am chasing and is putting his foot down. At the base of Priests we are flying down the fire trail. I check my pace, it’s 3:00m/km pace, I can’t physically go any faster and he looks like he’s cruising. Turning onto Beginners luck track is torture. The small climb back up the hill kills me. I am losing the chase.

Despite feeling like the chase is futile I keep trying. One of us will break eventually and it’s probably going to be me. As hard as I run the gap remains the same. When we reach the final climb to the finish there is a 50m gap and I give up hope of catching him. But I still push and finish as strong as I can.

At the finish I hunch over and try to talk to Alex but I am struggling to breathe. I remember that I am sick and my throat and lungs are burning. We have a brief chat and I stumble off in a daze. A daze that I remain in for quite some time. My body is in shock. I am already regretting my actions.

Justin comes through shortly after in 5th and Ziggy not long later. All of us achieved our time goals ✅

🎖️Results

I finished 4th in a time of 1:38:59 and achieved all of my goals except for getting on the podium. I got so close but didn’t have the speed to catch Alex in the end. Still super stoked with the result!

🎯 Goal Scorecard

Process Goals		Performance Goals
Consistent effort throughout	✅	Sub 1:40 finish time	✅
Film the journey with the little camera	✅	Sub 1:45 fall back goal (beat my old PB)	✅
No falls, lock in and focus	✅	Get to the springs in 55 minutes	✅
		Get on the podium	❌

⚙️Gear

Ideally I would run without a pack, but from past efforts I know that I get through 1000ml of water and still feel an insatiable thirst by the end. I don’t really have a good way of carrying that much water without a pack so I had little choice.

The pack also gave me a place to stow the camera when not holding it. One day I might get one of those super compact running vests for races. It is a bit over the top running with a 12l pack just to carry some water.

• 🎒RAB Veil 12 Pack
• 💧2x 500ml flasks (one with electrolyte the other with 80g carb drink mix)
• 😋1 x homemade gel mix
• 👟 Nnormal Tomir
• 👕 On shirt, kmart shorts and undies, Injini socks, Fractel hat
• 📹 Insta360 Go3s
• ⌚ Garmin Forerunner 955
• 💓 HR Strap: Coros HRM Strap

Wrapping Up

The dust is now settling and my body slowly recovering. I fully regret running this race, the fallout sickness has been horrendous. But I did have a lot of fun running and achieved almost all of my race goals, so I am still happy about that.

As I gradually recover I start to look forward to future endeavors. The next race in the series is fast approaching and it’s a brand new one up on Mt Nelson called Rialannah. Then the series concludes with Knockers. I should hopefully be toeing the line for these races, but if I am sick I might learn my lesson and watch from the sidelines next time.

Thanks for watching and reading!

Photo Credits

• I am unsure of the specific photographers for each individual photo
• These are all of the event photographers on the days Instagram handles
  • @photography_by_ryan_slater
  • @robert.groom
  • @venture2gether.photography
  • @soheekim_au