I managed to adjust to the time and woke up at 5:30am. You could hear 100’s of birds out the window calling out to each other like a symphony. Looking off the patio from the apartment you can see the sailboats floating in the bay and a bridge in the distance, with mountains in the background.
It was a few hours before the race, so I took some time to do some stretching. Around 7:30, I messaged Frank that he could give me a ride to the start in a few minutes. We talked a little about the house. He said that they had built the house 30 years ago as an investment and that they moved up from Sydney about 10 years ago for good after he retired. He said that he worked at the airport for years and when he stayed up there he would have to leave at 2am and wouldn’t get home until 7pm in the evening. A few years back they built a little apartment in the basement and started renting it out for extra money. He said that he wished that his kids would visit more, but they have their own lifes.
Frank drove Elizabeth and I down the hill to the Killcare Surf Club, which was down the beach from the starting line of the Bouddi Coastal Run. We took the Mazada3, down the hill and passed the cars of the other participants, which lined the roads. While the airBnB was pricy, it was the perfect location for this race, because we didn’t have to worry about parking.
Frank talked about the cost of housing in the area, which ranged from $1-2 Million, was “owned by people with more money than sense” and that “50% of the time, the houses are empty.”
Frank dropped us off at the parking lot and we walked over to the crowd of people getting ready to start their race. They were all kitted in their hats and running clothes, lining up to get their bib. It was a much smaller setup than some of the races that I have participated in, in San Diego, but you don’t really need much. After I got my bib, Elizabeth and I walked over to the starting line and gazed at the beautiful cliffs.