SlowManiac

The hiking there is ridiculous - Milford, Routeburn and Kepler track all pretty close together and all pretty easy logistically. Milford track walk is unreal - a must do.

Gee I didn't love 'I am Pilgrim' at all. Just been on a 'book of the movie' spree - The Martian and now reading The Revenant. Both great!

Nice to see rotties with tails

Can't help with that but if you have any other questions about Sydney let me know

Here's our Rottie Zooey. She is a bit of a muttbag but we love her. Her favourite things are taking up the whole couch and any type of food. Oh and a bit of early morning barking... she's a bit older now than in this picture but still a bundle of fun.

Here is the link to the seller I bought from: http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/ozmobiles Lots of positive feedback, I suspect they are grey imports. Not sure of his international shipping rates (he is based in Australia)

Thanks, it's a pretty cool piece of kit I must say. Mine is made in Malaysia. Read up a bit about the made in Japan vs Malaysia editions. Some say Japan ones are reportedly a bit better put together but I'm pretty happy with mine.

I bought it from eBay (I'm in Australia though). Was about $260 AUD which is just under R3000 post zuma *** op ronts. Didn't get the stainless strap - was planning on changing the rubber one but it's grown on me.

I've got a skx007. It's my first mechanical watch and I'm stoked with it. Bought it because of it's cult following, and it's reputation as somewhat of a work horse. And I could afford it! http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81VdQ8%2BXJ1L._UL1500_.jpg

Hey! I got married on that beach! Its pretty stunning.

Oooo - I have just been rekindling my love of reading. Commando - Deneys Reitz was awesome. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn Mostly though I have been going on a massive sci-fi bender. I LOVE Ian M. Banks and have recently discovered Alastair Reynolds. Also got through all of the Game Of Thrones series but man there are A LOT of characters and a long time between story lines so found it quite hard going. Oh and I also re-read the Millenium series, super good read. Got the Martian (mentioned earlier) and Girl on a Train lined up for holiday reading.

I think that's probably the Hounslow Classic, goes through the Blue Gum Forest in the Blue Mtns west of Sydney. I've been out of the running world for a few years, personally I wouldn't be able to train for 2 sports (and I've now found cycling)!

I have done quite a few ultra's so I will give a few tips (more for the beginner). Go slow! If you think you are going too fast you are going WAY too fast. If you think you are going too slow you are probably still going too fast. Start training early. The kinds of adaptations you body needs to make take a long time. Train consistently. Listen to your body of course but try not to miss sessions. Long training runs should (IMO) be significantly longer than 2 hrs. After 2 hrs your body will start encountering the kind of stresses you will feel during the race. Don't give up when you feel it's impossible to go on. Recognise that it's actually possible to feel better as long as you keep a easy pace. Walk often and early, especially if your goal is just to finish You need to eat otherwise your race is over. You won't feel like eating but it should feel like you are eating almost constantly. I would want to be doing 80-120km weeks and aim for at least 1 or 2 50-60km long runs. These long runs should be done at least 3 weeks (and maybe 4 weeks is better) before the race. Enjoy - the ultra bug bit me super hard (though I mostly did off road ultras), it might bite you too!