King Alfred's Way 2023
Stoked to finally tick off a 200 miler … completed the King Alfred’s Way 350km race over the weekend, starting and finishing in Winchester (England). With a bonus of finishing in third place ! I was ably supported and crewed by Eric Bremner, who was just amazing. DNFs were high – of 42 starters, just 14 finished the journey. My time of 67:45 probably isn’t worthy of a podium, but you gotta finish it to be in it! The course was stunning. Look up “King Alfred’s Way cycle route” for details. The terrain would be tough on a bike, and a lot of it just wasn’t suited to running. Which likely explains the attrition rate – RD said most people pulled out due to foot issues (I had one smallish blister, only discovered after removing shoes, so happy my foot care strategy was on the money). And there were only seven checkpoints (ranging from 25km to 56km), so doing this without crew (as many did), meant nutrition and hydration would be a struggle. We were blessed by warm and dry conditions for the most part. There were many fields to cross and large parts of the track would have been wet or muddy if the rain hadn’t stopped two days prior. So very grateful for that! I’d say “sign up and give it a try”, but it was a one-time only event. That said, the RDs (Mark Cockbain and Richard Weremiuk) were very friendly and professional (although kinda tough!) and the volunteers were just amazing – look these guys up if you’re ever looking for a UK-based race. A huge thanks to Rob Donkersloot who’s coached me for the last couple of years and really changed the way I prepare and tackle these events. I’m a much better runner for what I have learnt. Photo Gallery
Rain Jackets
This was originally written as a post on the A Run for the Ages Australia Facebook group immediately following the run on the weekend of June 3-5, 2023 Monday was a great opportunity to properly test out some rain gear (it rained, a lot!). I took three newish jackets with me for the weekend, all of which claim to be "waterproof and breathable". Thanks to the four storm-fronts experienced during Monday, I was able to compare them side by side in some pretty damp conditions: Jacket CostThe North Face Men's Anotora Jacket $150Macpac Men's Lightweight Prophet Rain Jacket $440Salomon Men's Bonatti Trail WP Jacket $198The Salomon Bonatti is your typical "mandatory" race rain jacket choice - seam sealed, lightweight, packs down to nothing. Super comfortable, feels very light on the body. Has "Pertex Shield" branding on it, Elastic at the waist and wrist, with a hood perfectly shaped to go over your cap, and an 'expandable back' section that lets you wear it over a running pack. I'd say this is a great jacket to carry when there's only a low to moderate chance of rain, and when you expect you'll be moving quickly all the time (and thus stay warm). However, it's not ideal for the multi-day adventures or heavy coniditions as it didn't really feel like it would hold the rain out forever. Being a super-light jacket, it doesn't do too much to stop the wind. The TNF Men's Anotora Jacket was magnificent in Monday's conditions. Waterproof, breathable, seam-sealed with a DryVent (TNF branding) shell, it provide substantial protection from the weather conditions. The hood was large enough to go over my cap, and I was able to close the head opening so that only my eyes, nose and mouth were uncovered. The wrists are elasticated, and there's a drawstring around the waist. Front zipper has a strip covering it. It's not the smallest of jackets to pack away, but it sure as heck kept me dry and warm, and was super-comfortable to wear -- you can push the sleeves up and pull 'em down to control body temp between storms, and it also ties neatly around your waist if you can't be bothered putting it away in a pack. When I was getting changed at the end of the event, I was completely dry under this jacket. Macpac Men's Lightweight Prophet. I had really high expectations for this jacket, it cost a small fortune, was lightweight, with claims of 20,000 hoo-hars of water proofing and breathability. And, tbh, it did a good job of keeping the rain out and keeping me cool. However, the hood felt like I was wearing an elephant on my head, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to fit comfortably while running through the heavy wind and rain. The lightweight nature of the jacket meant it didn't really keep me warm like the TNF Antora. It used a velcro strip at the wrists, and had a drawstring at the waist, but neither were all that comfie to adjust. I'd say this is an excellent hiking jacket, and it'll replace my 25 year old Mountain Designs Goretex jacket for future multi-day hikes, but I won't be taking it running again. Photo Gallery
555 (2019/20)
In November 2015, Rob proposed a run from Perth to Albany, via Clackline and Bluff Knoll, mostly following the Great Southern Highway, as a training event ahead of his attempt at the 500km Vol State ultra. Initially over 600km, Bluff Knoll was dropped from the route (due to the risk of a fatigued runner falling off!) an the overall distance reduced to approximately 555km. Rather than setting a fixed route, Rob set down some rules for the journey, which I’ve ammeded slightly:You cannot travel along, or cross over Albany HighwayYou cannot travel along or cross over Great Eastern Highway to shorten the journey if it significantly shortens the race distanceYou must pass through ClacklineBut Why? I’d wanted to do something epic for ages. The last couple of years, I’ve had injuries and setbacks with my running. As I write this today, even though this journey seems crazy and insurmountable and maybe even impossible, I feel strong enough to give it a go. I’d rather try and fail than sit on my butt wondering what might have been. 2019 has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster both at home and at work. If I can’t clear my mind through ten days of mindless perambulating (and truck dodging) then there’s really no hope for me! This is not a fundraiser. I’m not trying to raise awareness of anything. I’m just doing this for some type-f fun Day One - Perth to Wundowie 26/12/2019, 62.76km in 11:54 Joanne dropped me off at Yagan Square in the centre of Perth at the crack of dawn. We took a few photos, then at 6am on the dot I set off. I was joined by a few friends, including Hoffy, Michelle and Mel on their bikes. First half was easy. But then the sun engaged beast mode and it was a real slog. I stopped off at Maccas in Swan View for some cold drinks, ice and a bite to eat, and then again at the Stoneville IGA. Was desperate for food and a cold drink at Chidlow, but everything was closed. So had a siesta instead to allow my heart rate to come down (was racing and weak, so probably early signs of overdoing it in the heat). As I'd decided to be "self-dependant", I veered off Kep Track at Wooroloo and headed to the motel at the old El Caballo site. After checking in, I wandered over to the servo and demolished a huge burger and a few cold drinks. Lesson learned for upcoming days: carry some calories don’t be depending on shops and pubs! Day 1 Gallery Day Two - Wundowie towards York 27/12/2019, 56.25km in 10:44 Hard to put into words the ups and downs of Day 2. I didn’t get a great night’s sleep at El Caballo, waking several times through the night. I was definitely dehydrated after day one, and focussed on getting a clear wee before starting again … a lot of water was consumed in the evening and overnight, and I eventually celebrated just before hitting the road. Although I felt ok when I woke at 3am, I definitely wasn’t refreshed. After covering up my blisters and adding some Engo patches to the hot spots in my shoes, I shoved everything back into my pack, grabbed a large choc milk from the fridge, and was on the road at 4am. Pitch black walking along Great Eastern Highway was certainly an interesting experience, but thankfully not too much traffic at the time. I turned left after not too long to head back to the Kep Track, thinking to myself how nice it was to be out at that time of the morning and not to have to worry about sunscreen and hydration etc. Though it was really humid at the time. 10km later, I patted my leg semi-automatically to check for my money and cards, only to feel nothing there. Ahhh, that’s right. As I was attempting to fall asleep last night I had this thought that I should put my money somewhere safe in case my room was broken into, so left it in the bedside drawer. Doh! Well, not much I could do at that point, I could hopefully use Apple Pay at the bakery to buy some breakfast when I got there. Thankfully that worked (the lady behind the counter had no idea what I meant by Apple Pay, but the terminal looked modern, so I took my chances!) One sausage roll and a gatorade later, I was back on the track. Once again, first half of the day went well (in the cool of the morning). I made it a real focus to consume a lot more liquid in the early parts of the day, and can report that I was wizzing every 30minutes or so, which was a relief. Sorry if that’s TMI, but it was a big deal for me! Kelli & Kirsten had arranged to meet me at Clackline, and attempted to retrieve my money from the motel on their way up. We had a bit of a miscommunication about where to find the key, so that didn’t work out! I did eventually get it back though after phoning reception a little later in the day, and Jo collected it on the way past. HUGE thanks to Kirsten & Kelli for providing support from Clackline, both running and providing the best hot-weather mobile aid-station a person could hope for! You ladies are my heros, thank you so much! It was super-awesome to throw my pack in the car and just carry a water bottle – we managed to run a few bits, though for the most part it was just walking. During the 16km to Spencers Brook it really heated up a lot — in the 30min between car stops, the water in my hand bottle would go from super cold to room temperature warm. At Spencers Brook we had a little picnic, with Zooper Doopers, chips, water melon, chocolate, the list goes on. It was awesome. I had been expecting them to leave me at that point, but they volunteered to continue along for another few hours which was so super appreciated. The day continued to get warmer, with the highlight being the little bubbles of bitumen forming in the road as it melted. In the end, the heat stopped my progress. Temperature jumped from 33 to 38/39 degrees within a few km, and I was getting a bit delirious. Joanne had taken over road-side duties from K&K and she expressed her concern about me continuing in the heat. Although I had been determined to finish out the day despite the heat just a half hour earlier, her worry (and my fragile mind!) saw me jump in the air conditioned car without too much hesitation. I ended up pulling out 11km before reaching York. We headed to Lake Leschenaultia for a cool down, and then home for a good night’s rest. Calf is sore af, resulting in a bit of a swagger when I walk. Will try to get that sorted before re-assessing if I’ll continuing from Day 4. I set myself a pre-condition of not running in 30+ degree days; Saturday was forecast to be 37 degrees, with a 33km section in the afternoon with no opportunity for ice or refilling water. After today’s experience in the heat, I knew that was not something I could realistically achieve without vehicle support along the way. Day 2 Gallery Day Three - Brookton to Cuballing - 29/12/2019 58.45km in 11:52 This is Day Four, but actually Day Three … I called today (Day 3) off (York to Brookton), due to a 33km section in the afternoon with no water stops and a forecast max of 37. After the first two days I realised that I need a lot more water during the heat of the day than I’d planned for (was thinking 500ml/hr for 5h, but day two I was drinking over 1l/hr, and I just don’t have capacity to carry that much and keep it cold). Plus, anything over 30 degrees, on the road, in the heat, is just plain dumb. I would not have made it far past Clackline without the wonderful support of Kelli & Kirsten, two absolute legends. Thank you ladies for the great company, motivation, ice, cold water & all-round best hot-weather aid station a person could ask for. I spent the night in Brookton at "The Brookton" hotel. It was being renovated by a couple, beautiful building and they were doing a great job. I think I was the only gueset that night, and was very fortunate to be invited to join the owners for a roast dinner - they fed me so very well! So, to Day Four (Day Three!) – so much better today. Got my shoes sorted (thanks Annabel for the good catch, and Glen for the quick fix). More running today with the nice flat roads. Had wonderful support from the amazing Melanee. Need to eat and sleep. Soo tired. Day 3 Gallery Day Four - Cuballing to Piesseville - 30/12/2019 50.12km in 8:14 I definitely didn’t hydrate well overnight, and felt a little rough for first two hours to Narrogin. Took a couple of attempts to find some open toilets, and after locating the Italian grocer, had a bite to eat. Once the council cleaner had chased me off with his noisy leaf blower, I headed out again towards Highbury, with Melanee joining me just after I left town. It was super awesome to throw my pack into her truck and just have the one carry bottle. Mel met me every 5km or so, sometimes I’d just grab more water and keep moving, other times would stop for a 10min chat, throw on sunscreen, or have a quick bite to eat: it had a bit of a C2K feel about it, with aid available from crew at regular intervals! The day started very early, waking at 3am (15min before alarm darnit) after a shocking night’s sleep at the Cuballing Tavern. While the food there was good, the noise and the quality of the room and shower facilities were pretty basic, and I never sleep well in a new bed. During this stretch I received a call from Water Corporation, as I’d reported a leak along the pipeline early Sunday morning. The fellow was trying to locate it, and although I’d provided precise location via phone (including “200m north of the brook named xxxx”), I couldn’t for the life of me remember the details. I hope he found it … The story though is that during the previous afternoon, a cyclist had stopped me for a chat on the side of the road … and it turns out it was the same guy: probably the only person I’ve spoken with on this trip so far who hasn’t called me insane, crazy or stupid ! The final few km into Highbury (30km mark) I was feeling pretty flat, but after an ice cream sandwich and a banana (and a long chat to the local shopkeeper about his 90s era POS terminal which looked to me like it’d been written in Clipper), the next 20km flew by quickly. Speaking of those 20km, the amount of litter by the side of the road was terrible. The main culprits being flavoured milk & gatorade plastic bottles. If I had been counting, it would have been several hundred, easily. Our plan today had been to keep moving until midday, and then call it. My groin has been feeling pretty sore and I had no intention of pushing things too hard. Conveniently, Piesseville was about 49km into the journey, so I added a little out and back to round it out to 50km I’m taking a couple of days off and will resume on Thursday to complete the journey from Tenterden to Albany, hopefully in the company of Shannon & Justin. I’m not going to hit 555km, it’ll end up being around 333km, which is ok by me. This has been a great journey of self-discovery! Day 4 Gallery Day 5 - Cranbrook to Porongorup - 2/1/2020 64.68km in 11:12 Longest day so far, and probably the best! Started at 5am from the wonderful Nanna Vick’s Cafe accomodation, after sharing a meal the night before with John-Marianne Barton who stayed at the nearby caravan park. The weather was much milder today, peaking around 23 degrees with the sun playing hide n seek behind clouds for most of the morning. I was through the first 25km to Kendenup on my own before John & Marianne joined me a little after 8.30am, and surprised myself by doing a lot more running with the pack on than I had previously (I hardly notice it on my back now: with water it’s probably 8kg). Morning tea consisted of a half sandwich of egg and tomato and a ginger beer, heaven! The next 30km was just me rolling along the road meeting J&M every 5k for a water top up and the occasional bite to eat – I am finding that whenever I start getting down it’s a good sign that food is required Towards midday the weather got gusty and wet. This was just after I’d spotted (and almost stood on) my first snake of the trip – a 1.5m dugite smack bang in the middle of the dirt road. Pretty sure he was more scared than me and slithered off into the bush while I did my impression of a scarecrow trying to dunk a basketball. The rain was nice though, and with the wind quite chilly, I was encouraged to keep running when I could so as to stay warm! When we reached 55km it was time for lunch, and headed to Mt Barker bakery for the obligatory pie and dessert, before completing the last 10km or so to Porongorup. Once again I felt a little sad during the last hour that the day was coming to an end, as it had been a great one, and joked about continuing to Albany without stopping! I’ve managed to score a family room at the Porongorup Village Inn: double bed, seperate full kitchen and en-suite, for $45! Totally awesome, though the walls are quite thin. Tomorrow we finish the journey to Albany, with a 6am start accompanied by Justin & Shannon. 50k to go — my feet will be pleased when it’s done! The weather is looking really cool, and probably a touch wet, so great for running. Day 5 Gallery Day Six - Porongorup to Albany - 3/1/2020 51.69km in 8:55 Lying in bed the previous night I could hear rain falling until midnight, and wasn’t particularly looking forward to the idea of a full day of running in the rain. It did eventually stop though and my spirits were buoyed. Justin & Shannon were ready and waiting for me as I emerged at just after 6am, and we sat around chatting for a while as Justin took some more shots of the area from his drone. I wasn’t in any hurry, for a change, knowing that the sun wasn’t going to be a challenge today, and we started a little later with Justin by my side and Shannon crewing from the car. The road was narrow, windy and narrow for the first 10k or so with beautiful views of the Porongorups to our right and farms to the left, and the Stirlings off in the distance. There’s nothing nicer than the smell of morning dew on the trees and the first couple of hours seemed to tick by quickly. Once out of the Porongorups we joined a busy road, playing dodge with grain & fire trucks – there wasn’t much of an edge to the road so a lot of time was spent running on the gravel gradient. We played enjoyed a game of “sunshine or squall” with rain rolling through at regular intervals. I was fortunate to have a rain jacket, S&J however powered through the rain without complaint (though I did seek shelter with Shannon in a local community hall when one particularly unpleasant squall came through!) Also had a big headwind the whole way – great for keeping cool, but tough to run into at times. The day seemed to tick by quickly – I felt in no rush to finish, so we walked, talked and ate a lot, while seeking out the “xx km to Albany” signs, counting down through 35, 30, 25 … etc until reaching King River roadhouse and enjoying some hot food. Then it was 12k to go, and we looked and looked for the 10k sign, never to be found (sad face) It was pretty exciting to suddenly see commercial buildings on the outskirts of Albany, and before we knew it Justin and I were climbing up steep roads and then even steeper trail towards the Anzac memorial, followed by steps at the very end! No stopping us now it was two steps at a time until the memorial was reached, placed my hand on it, stopped the watch and let out a wee smile! Wow! What a journey. Done!! Couldn’t be happier. Sure, it wasn’t the full 555km solo originally planned in 9 days, instead ended up with 344km across 6 days. Was super privileged to enjoy support from some wonderful friends along the way: I can’t thank you guys enough for helping out as you did – Kelli and Kirsten on day two, Melanee on days three and four, John & Marianne on day five, and Shannon & Justin on day six. Couldn’t have done it without you guys, or without that of my wife Joanne and my wonderful kids. And every day I learnt something new about myself – the power of mind over body, the ability of the body to recover and keep moving, how to treat blisters the right way, and so much more. Thanks all for being part of this journey. Your comments over the last 10 days were so supportive and motivating. I doubt I’d have returned after the first couple of days if I’d not felt so much positive feedback and motivation from this group. I never felt pressured, but I did feel empowered to keep on trying! Day 6 Gallery
Tarawera Ultra 100km 2016
Ultra running: if it was meant to be easy, everyone would do it. And everyone would finish. With smiles. But it’s not easy. It takes more than just training, guts and determination to get across that finishing line: the body also has to co-operate, the weather be in your favour, and it really helps if you’re prepared for the terrain. I ran for four hours yesterday (by ran, I mean tip-toed up and down gnarly, slippery, mud-soaked hills) thinking “that’s it, I’m out at 60k”, and the more I had negative thoughts, the harder it was to keep moving forward. Knowing so early in the race that my time goal was blown, with un-cooperative legs and all energy gone, I just kept thinking “what’s the bloody point? Running long races sucks!!” I just kept thinking “what’s the bloody point? Running long races sucks!!” Back to the beginning. The Tarawera Ultra Marathon is more than just another race. It’s a celebration of local culture that embraces the natural landscape. Paul Charteris, the event organiser has done an amazing job to get the entire community of Rotorua and surround behind the event, and it was such a joy to see landholders and government embrace it so positively. Part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour, the event attracted over 300 overseas competitors with around 1300 total registrants tackling distances of 60, 85 & 100km in both solo and relay teams. With everyone beginning at the same time, it was busy at the start line, and I found it difficult to work out where to position myself in the crowd. It’s self-seeded, which might be ok for a couple of hundred people, but with so many toeing the start-line, it was bound to cause some headaches. I was maybe 15m from the start line, but with the start line being 30-40 people wide, it wasn’t the right place to be. It took around 90 seconds to cross the start line, and I found myself in the middle of a large number of shufflers. The race starts slightly uphill on a nice 5m wide trail, and after maybe 600m turns left onto a 2m wide trail, before narrowing to single trail by the 2km mark. While I tried my best to get past as many as I could in the first couple of km, I wasn’t the only one trying and it became self-defeating to even attempt it, especially in the dark when footing off the trail was unknown. At around 2.5km the single trail weaves up and down a hill and there were some real path-hogs, causing frustration for many. I was alternating between “argh, this is annoying” and “hey, there’s no chance of me blowing up early at this pace”. I tried to stay with that positive though, but unfortunately the frustration was the dominant emotion. The first real fun came at 3km when there was a rather steep downhill bit. It was slippery — well, it was just mud, there was no chance of getting down in control of oneself. Now is probably a good time to mention the weather. It was wet. No getting around it. It started with light drizzle on Friday morning, and gradually got heavier during the day and into the night. The trails were slippery underfoot. That steep downhill I just mentioned: I paused momentarily, then saw one guy just take it on at full speed and kind of slip and slide down on his feet. This was while many were doddering about trying to get down the hill slowly but still with no control. Faced with a choice, I went for the cool option, prepared to eat some mud, and threw myself down the hill. It was AWESOME! I was totally out of control sliding all over the place, but somehow, I got to the bottom still upright, with a great big grin and powered along. With the first aid station at 16km or so, I worked hard over the next few km to try to make up some lost time. Coming out of the single trail at 4km (where we dumped our headlamps), there was a sweeping down, up, then long downhill on a wide fire trail. I took to the down hills with gusto, thinking simultaneously “whee, this is quick” and “dude, you’re going to smash your legs, back off a bit”. Again, the fun part of my brain won that particular battle, and I just kept powering along. Coming into Blue Lake we got to see a crowd for the first time, which was fantastic, and the track around the lake was mostly runnable and I was having fun. As I came into the Blue Lake aid station at 16.4km (after the pop-up “seam sealed jacket check point”), I was ready to grab my drop bag, quickly refill with tailwind, and push on. However I saw no sign of the drop bags, and when I enquired I got the reply “no, they’re at the next aid station”. Slightly confused, I just nodded, used my one spare tailwind sachet and pushed on. In hindsight, I think the guy I asked probably didn’t hear my question properly. I was most likely muttering. There was a fair amount of bitumen road through to the next aid station at Millar Road (22.8k), fairly easy going and I cruised along happily, looking forard to getting my drop bag and keeping on top of my nutrition. Coming into the aid station though, there were no drop bags, and I was out of tailwind. I’d been on-track to that point (200cal/hr), but the next 17km were going to be a challenge without my normal liquid calories. I took on some watermelon and bananas, filled up my bottles with water, and moved on. Coming out of the aid station, I looked at my pacing chart and it indicated that a 12h finish was looking unlikely, but 13h was maybe still do-able (I’ll be honest – although I never intended to race hard, 12h seemed like a respectable time, somewhere around the 25th percentile for the previous year, and a target I thought would be well within my reach). The next 17km were just miserable. It was relentless single trail, through sloppy mud going up up up, down down, up up up some more. As I crossed the tallest part of the course (725m) I was completely spent, and had lost all faith in the ability of my feet to obey simple commands (such as “don’t step on that slippery wet tree root”). I’d twisted my right angle pretty badly about four weeks ago, and it was still a bit swollen entering the race. At this point, I was feeling overly protective of the ankle, my glutes were wrecked, my quads were shaking, and my legs just weren’t functioning as they should. I continued on with a great deal of trepidation, and by the Okataina aid station at 39.4km, I was in a bad place in my head. It had taken me 2h15min for 16.7km, and although my race wasn’t quite over, I was definitely on the edge of self-destruction. The Okataina aid station at 39.4km was a real relief. I took a moment to sit down, refill my bottles with tailwind (yay, dropbags!) and have a chat with Vince who was unfortunately done for the day (at least, I think it was at this aid station). I know I was feeling pretty wrecked by this stage, and probably said something along the lines of “I’m out at 60” to Vince, but I kind of felt that I’d be able to turn things around. This was the first aid station where I tried ginger beer, and WOW! it was the magic elixer drink that I’ve been missing. So much gingery goodness. With lots of watermelon and some chips and bananas on-board, off I went. With the next aid station a touch under 10km away, I figured how hard can it be? Well, remember the mud and the hills? It was a constant slog. The mud was not only slippery, it was also heavy under foot. Like running in soft sand, only wet. Every step sucked more energy than it should, and every time I thought my feet were drying off there’d be another mud puddle that would weigh down my shoes. The middle toe on my right foot wasn’t impressed by all this moisture and decided to cramp up, for about the next four hours (not really an issue, but it was sticking “up” while the other toes were pointing down, so it was rather weird and uncomfortable). The mud really sucked. I took 1h45min for that next 9.8km to the Humphries Bay aid station, and a further 1h21min for the 8.1km to Tarawera Outlet aid station. This has has not happened to me before, and I started to freak out. It was during that leg to Tarawera Outlet that my dark place became that much darker. At around 7 hours my brain slowly turned some random thoughts into a rational one along the lines of “hey, you’ve only peed once in 7h. That’s a little unusual for you”. I’m a “pee every 20min” guy – I know that’s a bit personal perhaps, but it meant that body-wise, things probably weren’t quite right. Although I didn’t really have a desire to go, I force myself to, and out came a rather pathetic, quite painful, stream of reddy/brown urine. This has has not happened to me before, and I started to freak out. I mean, I’d taken on around 4l of hydration over 7.5hrs, which seemed to be around the right figure. I’d not been doubling-down so much on electrolytes (there’s another story to that, but not relevant), so I was worried. I thought it was probably blood, which wasn’t a good sign, and perhaps there was my out to withdraw at the 60km finish point (where I’d still get a finishers medal and another ultra ticked off). At the Tarawera Outlet aid station, I didn’t want to, but knew I had to, ask to speak with a medic (hesitantly, because if they decided to pull me out, I was still 5km short of the 60!) But it was the best conversation I could have had. He listened, he asked questions, he nodded, he poked me, and concluded that I was probably just having an off-day in my digestive system, my skin showed that my hydration was ok, and that the humidity was likely just messing with me. He was kind, positive, and said I had nothing to worry about, but that if I was still concerned at the next aid station, to speak further with the medical team there. We both agreed at that point that tailwind probably wasn’t doing it for me, to switch to water and gels, to suck it up (everyone was having a tough day), and keep on going. And that was the turning point. I felt a weight coming off my shoulders. The 5km into Tarawera Falls aid station was not only a turning point in my head, it was also where the trail changed from muddy, hilly, sticky and just horrible (for me) to smoother, flatter, more runnable terrain. I wasn’t moving fast, but I was enjoying traversing the trail along this amazing river. It was crystal clear, rapid, noisy, and just beautiful. My eyes started to take in the natural beauty of the area, and I felt a weight coming off my shoulders. During this section, I cancelled any plans to withdraw at 60km, and started doing the sums in my head on finishing times. If things didn’t improve, I could always switch to the 85k (though if going really bad, 85km might not work out as I wouldn’t have access to my headlamp on that course). Coming in to the 60km finish area / aid station, there was no question of turning left and running through the finishers shoot – in my mind, it was not a pretty place: it was narrow, crowded, and didn’t look like a fun place to stop. I’d also realized “hey, if I finish at 60k, I’m going to go back to the hotel and do what? I’m not in any kind of rush. Who cares if the next 40k takes 8hrs, you’ve got nothing better to do”. It took me 1hr23min for a touch under 10km through to the Titoki aid station (72.2km). I wasn’t doing too badly considering how slow I’d been earlier. The tracks were much more runnable, and I’d found an nice rhythm in a run/walk strategy (basically run from one marker flag to the next, then walk to the following one etc). This aid station was the decision point for 85k vs 100k, and honestly, it was a no brainer by this stage. By then that I didn’t care how long it took, a 100k finish was a 100k finish, I wasn’t in any serious discomfort, and how much longer would an extra 15km take anyway? I loaded up again on ginger beer (so good!), watermelon, a handful or two of chips and grabbed a Hammer gel to take on the way. This was where I discovered the new Hammer gel that is basically nutella (hazelnut chocolate) – I used to like Hammer gels, but had gone off them (one too many apple cinnamon and vanilla flavours for my liking). But this nutella-like one was to die for! So good. And the gels were actually working, I felt like I had a lot more energy. My legs still didn’t want to co-operate, but my brain and legs seemed to have reached a happy agreement with the run/walk approach. I’d come up with goals for how long to the next aid station (taking into consideration hills etc). The next 7.7km I allowed 1h (it took 1:05, though that included a proper toilet break — thanks Hammer for waking that part of my body up) and a lot of pfaffing about at the aid station. Then came the dreaded out-and-back climb that I’d overheard many people saying was tough. I gave myself 45min for this 5km section, and honestly, it was a doddle compared to what we’d already done, and I knocked it out in around 35min. Feeling pretty positive now, and with under 20km to go (and no big hills, in fact, it was basically all flat or downhill) my pace picked up, knocking out the next 8km in 1h, then 5km to the final aid station in around 40min (bang on the goals I was setting myself at this point). That final aid station at River Road was amazing – Star Wars themed, there were cardboard cut-outs of storm troopers lining one side of the road and large quotes on the left (my favourite: “Do. Or do not. There is no try”). The vollies were all dressed up in theme, music was blasting away, and the atmosphere was party-like. At this stage, the 85 and 100km runners had merged, and there were a lot of people ahead and just behind me. Everyone walked into the aid station, I just looked, checked my bottles for enough water, and kept on going. As I counted down through 5 … 4 … 3 to go, I was passing people easily with my walk/run strategy, and was busting out longer run segments. Although I’d pulled out my torch ready for use, as I crossed the bridge into Kawerau, I tucked it away unused, and took in the surroundings. With the river flowing on my right, it was just as I’d imagined it would be(although a bit darker than I’d planned). I was moving along at a decent pace until I looked over my shoulder and saw one lady who I’d passed not to long ago starting to catch up. And when I heard a spectator behind me say “go on love, you can catch him”, I was off like a rocket for the last little bit. As soon as that finish line came into sight, I was sprinting (in my head at least, though I suspect I looked like a two legged dog dragging itself along the ground). Up through the finishers shoot, lots of clapping, something that sounded like my name over the loudspeaker, and over the finishing line, arms in the air, so so glad to get to the end. Paul Charteris was standing there, arms wide, offering a hug, and I took it gladly! He asked how I found the course, and I think the words I managed were “brutal. amazing. epic. thank you”. Kerry Suter was handing out the 100km medals, and he took the time to chat with me found about five minutes, it was just amazing! Just so stoked to finish, and I’m very very happy that I persevered and got to the end. 14:31:06, a couple of hours slower than I would have liked, but hey, who cares? At the presentations on Sunday, Paul made the comment that it was the toughest the course had ever been. I’ll take his word on it (I figured that perhaps the year of the cyclone would have been similar with the mud/wet factor). Certainly, the conditions were difficult – it rained pretty much all day, though I’m happy that it did so. It’s summer, and rain+heat=humidity. The humidity was as hard to cope with as the muddy, slippery terrain, and had a real impact on my body. There was a point around midday where the rain eased up and it started getting warmer, and I started thinking “uh oh, this is going to be bad”. But no sooner had it eased, it returned with some intensity. Although there was never a time when I wanted to put on my rain jacket (it was high-teens to low-twenties for most of the day), there was a moment or two when I felt chills if I allowed myself to cool down too much. Honestly though, I enjoyed being kept cool by the rain. The mud, not so much. Just briefly, back to earlier when I peed red/brown. I’ve had some time to think on it, and have worked out the cause. I took several Shotz electrolye tablets, the fizzy kind, the day before the race. They were Berry flavoured, and therefore red. That’s why the reddish pee. And the lack of pee, it’s obviously how my body works: at the Track Ultra WA event last year, it was hot for the first 4-5 hours, and I remember distinctly that I drank a lot then, and got a really distended belly and wasn’t going. It wasn’t until the evening when things cooled right down when I needed to pee regularly. So there you go, I learnt something else about myself during this race too! Stats:Distance:102.8km Elevation: +2755m/ –3055m Time: 14:31:06 Position: mid-packish (160th when I last checked, still being finalised). Blisters: none Sore spots: none Chafing: none Falls: none Rocks in shoes: none 100k medal: ONE Hugs from Paul: ONE
Australia Day Ultra 2015
The inaugural ADU event was held on Saturday January 24th, 2015, on a 12.5km out-and-back course along the Australind foreshore (south of Perth). The brain-child of local running stalwart and race director, Ron McGlinn, the event has IAU Bronze status, and is one of only four road events in Australia with an official measurement – giving competitors an opportunity to set age-group records and/or qualify for Australian teams. Attracting a predominantly West Australian entry list this first year, there were 32 starters in the 50km event, and 11 for the 100k. With both events commencing at 3am, it was quite a sight watching the field stretch out quickly, with the front runners setting a blistering pace. Thanks to the local council who replaced several sections of concrete path in support of the event, the initial 3km’s were safe underfoot in the dark of the night and all competitors were quickly onto the bitumen section and heading to the turnaround at 6.25km. With parts of this latter section covered by trees, it was good to know there’d be some relief for those planning to be on the course past midday. With four out-n-back’s for the 50k, and eight for the 100, there were plenty of opportunities for high-fives! In the men’s 50km event, it was Andrew Wait who led the pack all day with Tony Smith and Grant Wholey around six minutes back at the half way point. In what was a finish to remember, Andrew collapsed with less than 300m to go, and struggled to get going again. His lead of ~3min at the last turnaround had been lost, and Tony reached him just as he started running again. Being the consummate gentleman, Tony asked after Andrew and queried whether it was ok to pass before they both kicked for the finishing line. Unfortunately Andrew again fell, with Tony crossing in 3:48:13, 20s ahead of Andrew. Grant crossed in 3:55:29 for 3rd place. In the women’s 50km, Andrea Harris had a comfortable lead throughout the race, winning in a time of 4:26:29. Amanda Bowman and Kelly Robinson remained very close up to the last lap, before Amanda pulled away to finish 2nd in a time of 4:42:56 with Kelly in 3rd in 4:45:28. With a much smaller field in the 100km event, the race was hotly contested between Bernadette Benson, Ben Treasure and Nathan Fawkes for the first 50km. Nathan held a 30s lead over Ben with Bernadette a further 18s behind at the half way point. Nathan maintained the lead throughout the next lap, but it was from there that Bernadette’s experience kicked in, leading by 17min at the 75km mark. She extended that to 40min by the end, finishing in an AUS & CDN W45 record time of 8:32:00. Ben and Nathan ran together through to the last lap, after which Ben powered on to finish first male in 9:12:31, with Nathan across the line in 9:15:59 (a new AUS M30 record). Barbara Fieberg ran a very strong race to finish 2nd female in 9:17:58, with Kate Bodill 3rd in 11:26:28. I ran the 100km event, and was supported by Jo and the kids. Looking back on it, the first 80km I got through in 7:54, but then the wheels fell off a bit. 90km in 9:03, and the last 10km there was a lot of walking, finishing in 10:30:18. My best ever 100km though. Ron did an amazing job of organising this event in a very short time frame, and expressed his gratitude for the high level of support received from the local Shire of Harvey. The Shire provided significant sponsorship in the form of signage, assistance in preparing a traffic management plan, and repairs to the footpath ahead of the race. For anyone looking to set an age-group record, qualify for the Australian team, or set a PB, ADU is positioned as a great season-opener. The next event is on Jan 23, 2016, with entries opening in July. And for parkrun fans, with a 3am start, you can run a fast 50k, and drive to Bunbury parkrun in time for 8am (kudos to Tony, Grant, Shaun and Ben Harris for achieving the double this year!)