Falls Creek: A Column By Len Johnson

By Len Johnson

 

One hundred and thirty five millimetres of rain fell on Falls Creek on New Year’s Eve. I know this for a fact, as it seemed about 134 fell directly on us as we moved from dinner to after-party, and from after-party to home.

Things rarely happen by halves in Falls Creek, Australia’s premier alpine training venue (whatever they may say anywhere else). Echoing the sentiments once expressed by the first Australian to break 2:20 for the marathon, Rod MacKinney, people are either “flying” in training, or they’re “in a hole” and not training at all. Atypical storm events aside, the weather is either warm (not hot), or clouded in, for days at a time.

There are either more than enough places to relax and get a coffee between runs, or, as is the case this year, bugger all. There are either few runners or hundreds. Snakes are seldom seen or encountered in slithering sixes and sevens. And, as mentioned, it either doesn’t rain or comes down over 100 millimetres in one burst.

Australians have been training at Falls Creek, on the edge of Victoria’s Bogong High Plains, for over 40 years. The first group _ accompanied by exercise physiologists from Melbourne University, came in the mid-1960s in quest of suitable training venues to prepare for the high altitude 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.

Ron Clarke and Ralph Doubell were among the pioneers. Chris Wardlaw, who has done more to promote Falls as a training venue than anyone else, first came in 1969 and has been coming every year since _ even throughout a seven-year sojourn working in Hong Kong.

The year of 2009 brought more changes than just a rainstorm. Through the 1970s and early 1980s the 30-or-so kilometres of road from Mt Beauty at the base of the mountain to Falls, was gradually bitumenised. Now, the road over the top to the Omeo Highway has finally been surfaced. No longer can approaching cars be detected a mile off by a tell-tale cloud of dust. As a bonus for those of us who no longer come to Falls solely for serious training, the trip across the High Plains and down to the wonderful pub at Anglers Rest, where a huge counter-lunch can be enjoyed alongside the fast-flowing Cobungra River, has been transformed from an expedition to a pleasant drive.

If you’re a distance running fan, though, you don’t need to drive 50 kilometres through the mountains to get a warm, pleasant feeling. You just need to go for a run, or even a walk, around 9am or 5:30pm. At Langfords Gap and around the Village Aqueduct, you are likely to encounter anything up to 100 athletes out training. From (Youcef) Abdi to Jordan Williamsz, it’s an A-Z of Australian distance running.

Falls has always had its devotees, but in recent years it has been boosted by the staging of annual junior camps around the Christmas-New Year period. That brings anywhere from 20-30 athletes in, and with coaches such as Nic Bideau, Ken Green, Ian Hatfield, Gregor Gojrzewski and Richard Huggins among those bringing large squads up, the numbers swell well beyond the 100 mark.