Bright 4 Peaks 2018
About the races
The Bright Alpine Club has hosted 4 Peaks event since 1979 with runners taking on one mountain a day for four days in a row. The mountains are Mt Buffalo, Mt Feathertop, Mt Hotham and Mystic Hill. Mystic starts and ends at the same point. The other three races start at the base of the mountain and finish at the top. It is a dream for mountain runners, especially those who prefer ascending to descending. I entered Mt Buffalo and Mt Feathertop for training purposes, as the Spartan Bright Trifecta was only 10 days after the 4 Peaks series ended. I had one day of rest on the Friday when I drove down to Bright. I had a cold and was destroyed after the first two days so did not do Mt Hotham or Mystic in 2018.
Mt Buffalo – Eurobin Creek Picnic Area to Mt Buffalo Chalet – 10.6km, 1340m ascent
My first impression on arriving at Eurobin Creek was that this is a massive party for mountain runners from all over the world. In the women’s field at least, this was definitely the most competitive mountain race I entered in 2018 including the Buffalo Stampede 20km Skyrun and the Hounslow Classic 21km Skyrun. The calibre of mountain runners was unreal. Having only had Friday off running, and at the end of a nasty cold, this was a struggle of a race, but the scenery was unreal.
The race is almost solely on single trail, following the Big Walk track up the mountain. About 50m after the start there was a narrow swing bridge followed by a steep 2km ascent on very narrow single trail. The course was super crowded and overtaking was difficult on the single track. I went out too hard and by the time we got to the fire trail at 2km I was already tanked and getting passed by people I had overtaken earlier. From 3-4km the trail becomes less steep, and the soft ground and ferns made for nice single trail running. From kilometre 5 to kilometre 7, the real fun starts, as the single track winds its way around the granite formations which Mt Buffalo is famous for. This is the more techy part of the climb and super fun with all the switchback climbing and boulder hopping. Although I was struggling, I was lucky to be constantly just in front of or just behind Penny Deacon who kept encouraging me despite me being unable to say much in return. There is then another couple of kilometres of running in shady single trail, with soft, rooted soil underneath. The last 1.5km is on the top of Mt Buffalo and relatively flat, so you can really take off and gain a lot of time in this section if you have anything left in the tank. There are fantastic views and beautiful river crossings (on bridges), and before you know it, you are running up the flights of stairs leading to the finish line at the Chalet. I overtook a few people in this section.
I am glad I had a go at Mt Buffalo, as I will definitely approach the race differently next time. There are four main sections when breaking up the race:
- Steep first section – take it easy, powerhike.
- Fire trail then flatter single trail in ferns – this is where you can get time as the fire trail is runnable if you didn’t flog yourself too hard at the start and the fern single trail is a great place to stretch out without pushing too hard.
- Techy granite section – try and flow through the switchbacks and boulder hop smoothly at steady pace.
- After techy part, last two kilometres to the end – this is relatively flat and fast, so you can go hard, just save a tiny bit for the stairs at the end. The race finishes at the Chalet so there is an unexpected extra set of stairs.
I came 9th female which is my worst result of the year but I was still glad to be able to race such an iconic mountain trail. There is a road to the top of Mt Buffalo, so we drove back down to save the quads. After the race we had a swim at Ladies Bath Falls. The La Sportiva social was at Wandiligong Pub that afternoon. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend the Big Walk, even as a hike, it is one of Australia’s classics.
Mt Feathertop via Bungalo Spur– 12km 1,652m ascent
This is a course I had practised earlier in the year in April, the day after Buffalo Stampede. But on that Saturday I could not reach the summit because of really bad weather (snow storm). I was keen to reach the top at Four Peaks. I woke up feeling pretty average with my cold still pretty severe. But I was staying in Harrietsville only 100m from the start line, so did not really have any excuse not to race. The race starts in Tavare Park and goes along a grassy oval before following a road upwards for about 1km where the Bungalo Spur single trail starts. This piece of road is great because it gives runners chance to spread out before the single trail. Despite the lead in to separate the field, the single trail was still very crowded for the first two kilometres. One good thing about 4 Peaks is it taught me how to overtake in crowded single trail situations, something I haven’t had much experience in before. Where I live in Canberra, there are so many trails to run on, it is rarely crowded, and even during races on single trail I have never had issues with overtaking.
The Bungalo Spur Track is an old donkey cart track, so although it is now narrow single trail, the gradient is consistently steep most of the way. The flora is stunning, starting with wet ferns and thick forest and changing every two or so kilometres until you get to the sub-alpine eucalypts and finally the alpine heath. Despite the runnable nature of the track, I was struggling, and frustrated to find myself power walking in parts that I had run up when I practised the course in April. My calves were not happy and my blocked-up nose and head made breathing difficult. By the ninth kilometre, we were well and truly in the alpine zone, and the track got progressively rockier and more technical underfoot. This was a nice change from the relatively even surface of the single trail up to this point. Federation Hut is soon arrived, and there were about 20 spectators at this point to cheer us on. The hut itself serves as emergency shelter and a place to have a lunch stop or shelter from the wind in winter where the area is very popular for back country skiing. Federation Hut is also where you can veer off to go to Mt Hotham or continue to Mt Feathertop along the Razorback. The Sprint portion of the race started here, ending at the finish line on the top of Mt Feathertop. I was not in a condition to sprint, but I definitely perked up as I love ridge running, and the last 1.5km is along Australia’s most iconic ridge with drop offs on all sides and some real rock scrambling. Mt Feathertop is at 1,652m and in November there were still large areas of snow that had not melted. Mt Feathertop has a very sharp and small peak, and it was so great to finish there. I have never been to such an awesome finish line. I love peaks that you can only get to by foot and the views are the best I have experienced in Australia. Truly 360 degrees. Better than Mt Hotham. About ten times better than Mt Kosciusko.
The summit party was also something else, with bells ringing, catching up with friends and playing in the snow. They say this is the closest you can get to European skyrunning in Australia. Just be warned about the jog down. It is 12km of continuous descending and you need more energy than you think to make it even at a jog or walk. Bring extra fuel. This is definitely a course where you need to be 100% self-sufficient. There are no water stations. The only way off is on foot or by helicopter, and the only place a helicopter can land is Federation Hut, and only in good weather.
I really underestimated how much of a taper I would need for these races. I rested on the Friday, the day before Mt Buffalo. When I spoke to my friends about how they tapered, one of them had not run for four days beforehand. Tapering is all about doing what works best for you, but I would taper more than you think you will need. I would also do much more power hiking practise for my next attempt at 4 Peaks. By the time you are running Mt Hotham it is really more of a hike than a run, and hiking efficiency can be important for getting a good time.
Four Peaks is essentially a massive party for mountain running lovers. If you love mountains you will love these races.