2025 December Tan Time Trial Results

Don’t forget the Annual VRR New Year’s Eve Fun Run
Date: Wednesday 31st December (naturally)
BUT: 7.30am in the MORNING !!
4 & 8 kms
Starting from the same spot as the monthly Tan Time Trials (Pillars of Wisdom on the Tan – just up from the Swan Street Bridge in the Anderson Street direction)
Spot Prizes after the event, plus lots of food, refreshments and post event banter.
You’ll have to complete an entry form for this event on the day (no pre-event entries) and we charge an entry fee – so allow yourself a little extra time to get this all done prior to the start.
OH, and most important of all, this event is open to both VRR members and visitors – all are very welcome, so invite your friends.
Entry Fee Prices
This Year the NYE IS ON US 
NO ENTRY FEE
(but a donation – cash in the blue bucket or EFT would be nice but not compulsory)

This event was a FRAUD!!!

Now let me tell you why.

We set off in Whitehall Street, Footscray, facing I thought in the wrong direction, that is back towards the city. Isn’t the tunnel meant to be the secret underground passage way the west? The alternative to widening the West Gate Bridge to 95 lanes both ways.

Regardless, your intrepid correspondent being ever compliant joined the happy throng and commenced this 8k event in the second wave at 07.10.

We ran, shuffled or walked for approximately 212.26m on the flat before the road began to head skyward up and over a bridge. Up and up, AND UP AND UP, AND UP AND UP (you get idea) over the highest bridge in Melbourne, or probably Victoria, maybe Australia, even the World, nah, we haven’t got that sort of money.

Fatigued and out of breath, if I had a mind and looked left surely I would be looking down of the Eureka Tower.

Once this massive piece of infrastructure had been scaled we were rewarded with a run down the other side to be greeted with a drink station, brass band, and many hi-viz attired smiling official types augmented by an impressive display of witches hats of a similar hi-viz hue. This elaborate congregation was all in an attempt to coax us to make a U-turn and scale this mammoth structure once again, but on the opposite side in the opposite direction.

Looking across to the participants on the other side of the bridge they all seemed to mirror the same confounded and puzzled look that my fellow 2^nd wavers bore, “Where’s the tunnel?”

I should point out we had run 3k of the allotted 8k away from the tunnel, although the event was billed as a run through the West Gate Tunnel, and we hadn’t even seen the thing yet. The chances of running through it appeared remote.

The return leg over the bridge to “The Lower Firmament” and at 6k completed an entrance to the tunnel emerged. We descended steeply into the gloom (well a brightly lit gloom) for a mere 250 metres, to be turned around and sent straight back out again!

That’s right, a mere 500 metres of tunnel in the entire 8k event.

This event was incorrectly named, and should have been entitled the

“Run to the West Gate Tunnel after a very long and difficult Bridge Run”

This lack of tunnel was the hot topic of conversation in the Bag Collection queue. Should I ask for my money back? At least 15/16^th, being the unexpected and misrepresented bridge portion. The proceeds went to a local charity, so probably not.

I chose to enter this event to complete the set, as I had completed the Mullum/Melba East Link tunnel run, and the Domain tunnels in the “Run for the Kids” event.

All in all, this was a very well organised event, and was a worthwhile once in a lifetime experience, and I was glad to be a part of it.

I also noted the flashing speed limit signs in the tunnel were set at 10kph, upon checking my watch post event,on the steep down hill section I exceeded this limit. Should I expect something in the post from our friends at Civic Compliance?

Thanks for reading

Tony Freegard
Agent 99

PS What is a runners’ favourite subject at school?
Je-ography
Don’t blame me, I didn’t write it, I only stole it