Run 1:30:00 [3] 17.2 km (5:14 / km)
In Ararat for a Labor gathering, and headed out in the morning beforehand. It was my longest run since the Australian Championships, and turned out to be my best for a long time - probably since returning from Europe. Thought the signs were promising in the first 4km, mostly uphill into Ararat Hills Park, when none of the bits which have caused me trouble going up hills caused me trouble, but the run really got going on the next 5km - mostly gently downhill on meandering fire trails through the forest. Reached the end of the park, crossed the highway (on a road considerably less significant than the map suggested it was), and then came back along the railway line, only hitting the bitumen on the edge of town. This section was a bit hillier than I expected for a railway section, but coped with it well. Slight hamstring tightness later but that was only a small negative. Lovely morning to be out.
I think it reasonable to assume that the "Prescribed Burning Operations: Sep 2015 to Nov 2015" will not be happening.
Ararat acquired a certain notoriety a year or two back for having one of Australia's highest obesity rates (something I must say I've never really seen much evidence of on my visits here - and I don't think it can all be blamed on the excellence of the hot chocolates at the Vines cafe). This may have been a bit of a wake-up call to the council as I spotted quite a few bike lanes and signs for walking routes. Also spotted a couple of people engaging in healthy exercise, although in general there weren't a lot of people out and about early on a Sunday morning (the only vehicle I saw, other than in the first and last kilometre, was a campervan which was using the forest as an overnight stop).