Train had passed but warning signals on the crossing hadn't stopped yet, that is what I heard from one of the top elite males.
In the end the weather was a lot better than it could have been, no rain before the race but we (non-elite full flingers) started in a very cold highland drizzle which had people shivering at the start line. The track conditions were mainly good, dry and loose in places only getting damp towards in the end when the rain was picking up into proper rain showers and the half flingers had already been through as well. But still no real mud, just slippery roots and rocks and the odd bit of squelch.
Stayed cold the whole day, my Garmin read an average of less than 11 degrees for the whole race, creeks were as deep as normal despite dry weather before hand. Drizzle made it impossible to see through glasses and everything got coated in sandy grit. Tough day to stay motivated, props to 100 milers especially the one and only girl who battled on and finished despite the rain getting a lot heavier after lunch while she was still on course.
Course had a few changes on last year, mainly in the middle stage but roughly the same distance. A few bits of extra single track too
Big shout out to the The Fling crew for the usual awesome event, despite the weather we had heaps of support on course from guitar playing groups in the back of truck to singers sheltering in harmony under a marquee. The post race feed was AWESOME, getting a hot fresh burger from the school tent was greatly welcomed - YUM, much preferred over the meals the past two years.
My only complaint: 4pm is way too late for presentations for a Sunday race, especially for those of us with a long drive home. But at least reduced numbers meant an indoor preso ceremony was possible.
EXTRA BIG THANKS: to the local RFS, who despite the time and effort they have spent in the past few weeks fighting fires... they were out there in rain jackets supporting us!
