TransEspana
Tomorrow at 9am local (GMT+2), I set off with 23 other runners on a 1080km, 18 day journey, across Spain. Each day we’ll be covering between 45-76km, predominantly on the road, and lodging overnight in hostels and sports halls. There’s 10 more runners joining us for the first seven days, and a small army of volunteers and organisers taking care of us. I’ve been following this event since 2022, and in December ’23 expressed an interest to participate in the 2024 event only to learn that it wasn’t being held that year. As soon as entries opened for 2025 though, my application was in. Anxious. Scared. Terrified. Imposter. These are some of the many feelings I’ve had over the last days, weeks and months. I’m going into an event that has some of Europe’s best multi-day runners, and my experience is limited to a couple of back to back ultras. I know everyone has to start somewhere, but choosing an 18 day event, as the only native-English speaker, in a totally unfamiliar situation and knowing nobody, has seen me filled with doubt and worry. But, yeh, it’s just a run. Another ultra. I’ve trained for this, and all I have to do is get to the start line each morning, and to the next aid station, and then the next, all under cutoff (which is all based on a most generous 5.6kph minimum pace). I’ll try to do a daily post after each leg. With lots of photos (otherwise I’ll forget all of the details). There’ll also be updates on the event’s website & facebook page. Here goes nothing! Photo Gallery
24h IGA Ultra
To prepare for our upcoming 24Hours for ME run, Glen came up with a slightly unhinged training idea: a route connecting 10 x 24-hour IGAs, with one strict rule. All of our run nutrition had to be bought en route, and we were required to consume something at every stop. Setting off at 7:00 PM on Saturday, we spent the night looping around the Swan River, living on a steady rotation of late-night snacks. By midnight, it became clear this was going to be a much bigger challenge for our stomachs than our legs. Still, fueling a night run on convenience store finds was the perfect mix of fun, suffering, and solid training. Was it the smartest strategy? Probably not. But it was an absolute blast and a great way to log some serious time on our feet.Stop Distance Location Glen AlexisSTARTManners Hill Park, Peppermint Grove1 12.5 The Good Grocer, Myaree Custard & Apple cup Chicken/Avacodo sushi roll2 +8 The Good Grocer, Canning Bridge Ham & cheese croissant Ham & cheese croissant3 +3 Preston Street iGA Ravioli & Chocolate Santa Japanese Iced double expresso4 +3 The Good Grocer, South Perth Blueberries & iced coffee Croissant & Red Bull5 +11 The Good Grocer, Mt Lawley(3rd best store) Mars bar & ginger beer Mars bar & Red Bull6 +4 The Good Grocer, Leederville Jelly cup w/ Fruit & Bundy ginger beer Jelly cup w/ Fruit & Bundy ginger beer7 +8 The Good Grocer, Boulevard Bounty & coconut water Pine/lime splice ice cream8 +6 The Good Grocer, Wembley(2nd best store) Overnight oats w/ Apple Fruit salad9 +5 The Good Grocer, Shenton Park Bacon scroll Croissant10 +4 Taylor Rd IGA(Best store) A huge rasberry/choc muffin & coffee Jam dony & coffeeFINISH +4 Manners Hill Park, Peppermint Grove Coffee & Cinnamon scoll Coffee & Cinnamon scollPhoto Gallery
Perth Postcode Challenge
The challenge In teams of two, visit as many Perth postcodes as you can (in either 6h or 12h) Sounds easy right? Well, we can't have that .... You'll gain or lose points according to the following rules +5 visit a new postcode-8 points for crossing between adjacent PC (i.e. 6031 to 6030)-8 points for visiting the same PC more than once+2 points for every donut shop (on approved list) visited.+1 point for every 2km travelled If you do this solo, points will be reduced by 33% You must record and upload your run to Strava by end of the day, and make your Strava activity accessible You may start from ANYWHERE within the Perth metro area. You may not use any mode of travel other than your feet - i.e. walking/running only. Train, bus, ferry, scooter, Uber is all strictly prohibited. No bikes. No skateboards. No rollerskates. No stilts. Unless we find a better map, then this one showing WA postcodes will be the default used for reviewing your activity - https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit... The run Glen had planned our route, apparently optimising it for maximum results, there was no possible way we could lose, or so I was told. We set out from South Fremantle, then straight into Fremantle for a stop for a famous Levis Donut at the Fremo Markets. Through White Guym Valley, Palmyra, Oconner, Willagee, Kardinya, Winthrop, Myaree, Booragoon, Alfred Cove, Ardross, Mount Pleasant, Brentwood, Rossmoyne, Bull Creek, Willletton, Riverton, Wilson, Waterford, Bentley, East Vic Park, Kensington, Vic Park, East Perth, Highgate, North Perth, Perth, West Leederville, West Perth, Subiaco and wrapping it up at Shenton Park. Many donuts were consumed! And while I can't speak for the other teams, I'm pretty sure they all had a great time too. The results The disorganisers wish to acknowledge the following winners of the 2024 Perth Postcode Challenge: In first place (men's 6h) was Mark & David ; they ate more donuts than anyone else, and their focussed approach to this event suggests they are a future-force to be reckoned with. So many donuts, so many km's. It's almost as-if they were taking the event seriously?! In first place (mixed team 6h) was Kirsten & Bryan ; so much focus on the true meaning of the event (posing in front of adult stores). In the post-race debrief, I heard that they were taking things quite seriously, to the point that Bryan was told to leave his shirt on for the whole day. What's with that: there were at least 40 points on the table for the first topless* photo during the run. Oh well. In first place (women's 6h team) was Sarah-Jane & Kelli ; a happier pair of runners you will never find. They were the only team to even attempt to bribe the organisers, and although the squished half of a rainbow donut left a lot to be desired, they showed a lot of potential (hint for future events: turkish delights are an automatic 10 point bonus ...) In first place (solo women, north of the river) is Harmony ; 10 bonus poins for trying, -10 points though for no actual donut photos. In first place (solo women, south of the river) is Fee. I don't think anyone has ever come first in a category with negative points before, but that "donut" picture you shared will forever be the pinnacle of how not to impress the RDs First place (solo men) is Chemie. Not really sure how far he went or how many donuts were eaten, but heck, he posted photos and played along, which we respect. First place (mens 12h) goes to the race organisers. Even if someone had actually, genuinely, beaten them, they wouldn't be recognised: there's an unwritten rule that the RDs cannot lose. Or maybe "you only get acknowledged if you bribe the RDs with Turkish Delights" or something like that. I dunno. Basically Glen was not happy to hear that Hoffy and co had scored so highly, I believe the rules will be updated in the future to be clearer about this. And finally, the real winners: everyone who played along during the day . We didn't get the kind of participation numbers that we'd hope for, but it was genuinely a fun way to spend the day. The weather was absolutely perfect, the donuts were delicious, and I think we all saw parts of Perth metro we'd not been before. Will we be back? Who knows ... Thanks all for being part of the group. Photo Gallery
555 (2024)
Time to give the 555 route another crack (read more about the origin of this route, and my first attempt at running it, check out this blog entry! I first attempted it over the Christmas/NY break in 2019/20, but succumbed to the heat. At the time, some locals in one town suggested that April might be a better time to try it - cooler conditions and all that. So, without too much preparation, I made plans to run this during the school holidays in April of 2024. I was fortunate to recruit some helpers for the first few days and would meet Joanne & the kids in Katanning at the end of the 4th day, where they would accompany me to the end. Day One - Friday 29/3/24 78.39km in 11:47 Joanne brought me to the city for an early start at Yagan Square, getting underway at 5.58am. I ran alone for the first 27km before meeting Rachel in Parkerville who accompanied me to the end of the day (finishing about 2.5km before Clackline). Rachel then very kindly drove me all the way home for a good night's rest! ###Day Two - Saturday 30/3/24 71.34km in 11:01 Jo dropped me at Rob D's house early in the morning, and we made our way to the point where I'd finished the night before. After passing through Clackline, I took Rob's suggestion to slightly modify the route and instead taking some farm roads, cutting a corner off the Spencer Brook road section. Although a couple of kms were saved, it was fairly undulating but filled with great views. We passed through York, and then wrapped up the day in Beverley, staying at a small tavern. Day Three - Sunday 31/3/24 70.88km in 11:16 Another early start! Rob handed me off to Kelli & SJ mid-morning, who remained with me through the day. Had a great surprise during the day with Shannon & Darlene popping up out of the blue, and we shared some chips, a cold drink and a few laughs in Pingelly. Wrapped up the day in Popanyinning, before being driven down to Narrogin where three three of us stayed in a small chalet at the local caravan park. I was feeling really fatigued by this point. My quads, calfs and adductors were really feeling it. Unfortunately, I didn't get a great night's sleep. Day Four - Monday 1/4/24 47.3km in 7:17 Kelli & SJ drove me back to yesterday's finishing location, and I got the day underway. Mid morning, Randy took over support-duties. We stopped in Narrogin for an early lunch, and spent a good while chatting and catching up on life events. Then, a further 10km down the road, my achilles decided enough was enough, and I was unable to run any further. The heavy vehicle traffic had become crazy by this point (triple road trains every five minutes), and there was very little road shoulder. So, each time a road train approached, I was moving off the road and experiencing a lot of camber, which I think really triggered the achilles issue (along with the overall fatigue and poor sleep from the night before). I had to hobble around 4km to meet up again w/ Randy. I called it for the day, and Randy drove me to Katanning where I met up with Jo and the kids (we had rented a huge house there for a few days, which was to act as their base). The following day it became clear that getting underway again wasn't an option, so I called it all off. Overall, 267km completed over four days, made it to around the half-way point. It was a fabulous experience, and I spent the next week relaxing and holidaying with Jo and the kids which turned out to be a great decision. Photo Gallery
Mole 2 Mole
Glen & I wrapped up 2023 on the eve of NYE with one slightly wacky run: 100km between North & South Mole lighthouses in Fremantle. Separated by less than 500m at the entrance to Fremantle harbour, we chose to run a slightly longer route! Running through the night, we followed the waterways inland, crossing Canning River in Shelly and the Swan River at Garret Rd. Starting just after 4pm on Saturday afternoon, with views of the open water, and the North Mole lighthouse "just across the river". There was no real plan in terms of time or pace, and we were both carrying fairly minimal food and water - the idea was to take advantage of whatever shops or servos we came across during the night to keep us going. The route required following rivers and estuaries of Perth, staying on the South until crossing for the return from Garret Rd. It was pretty darn warm when we started, and the heat through the night was oppressive. There wasn't really any relief until about 3am. Many highlights, including random fireworks, marriage proposals and the world’s best cinnamon scrolls for breakfast (I'll never forget those scrolls ... we could smell them from about 500m away, our stomachs churned and we were blown away at just how good they were!) This one liner from Glen really summed up the whole adventure - less than 1km from the end he said “bloody lighthouse still isn’t any closer than when we started!” Definitely capped of a great year of running adventures with friends new and old. Excited for what 2024 may bring , and looking forward to being fast asleep when the clock strikes midnight. Photo Gallery