offroadwa

Commonwealth 24 hour Champs

2011-10-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

As the competition approached I was struggling with various littleinjuries. I was tempted to throw my hands in the air in despair but decidedsince time was short that I should cross-train. I was able to borrow awind-trainer which helped me get in some valuable fitness work without taxingmy legs too much. As time was short and cycling isn’t as good training forrunning as running I swapped 2x30min running for 6x 30min cycling. One obstaclewas overcome by staying postitive and not giving up. Not long after this Icaught a cold. I don’t really believe in running with a cold because it justmakes it take longer to get better so I stopped. I hadn’t had the best trainingyear with low energy levels so I’d pinned my hopes on a final 12 week trainingblock. This included 4x 50K training runs. When I caught my cold I was due torun my 2^nd 50K. This wasn’t ever going to be a good idea. After Iwas better I was able to get my 2^nd and 3^rd 50k donebefore getting a relapse. I remember telling some friends that God must wantall the glory from my race because I’ve done nothing.

I had two mantras in Wales : “NO Excuses” and thisbible verse :

1 Peter 4:12“Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering though somethingstrange were happening to you.” In other words expect that it’s going to hurtand prepare for it. Don’t be shocked and have a pity party.

In the backof my mind Wales was 3x 24 hour ultras. The flight there, the race and the flighthome. I’d booked the more expensive 6am Emirates flight because it made senseto me leaving around the time I’d normally be getting up and then going to bedwhen I normally would. The only difference would be a 7 hour longer day withthe time zone change. The flight to Dubai was brilliant as we almost all had awhole row to ourselves so I had a couple of short naps to make up for gettingup in the 3’s. 5 hours in Dubai tested my patience and pre-race positiveattitude. Of most concern was the B&B where I was staying had no check-insafter 10pm which looked like being a real struggle. The plane was chockers too.

Finallyafter nearly 22 hours we landed in Heathrow. I had about 30 minutes to get tomy accommodation and after customs and waiting for luggage I was already late.I bought my train ticket to the most expensive train trip in the world,4.90pounds for 1.8K to Hayes and Harlington Station and then saw it taking offwhen I was no more than 5 meters from the door. Nevermind only half an hour tilthe next. Meanwhile I decided to try and ring to let them know that I would belate. Only problem being that I didn’t have their number or a phone. Heathrowseems to be fairly lacking in internet access but I located an informationphone and asked them to look up the place for me. By this stage it was one ofthose days where there was no way they would be able to find it and of coursethey didn’t.

I finallygot the next train and after 5 minutes was walking (in the rain- it wasactually amusing by this time) to the B&B. When I finally arrived despitesigns requesting not to ring, the bell had to be rung. After much apologizing Iwas let in to struggle through 2x 2 hour sleeps.

Next morningit was great to be in London with just the train to Wales before I couldfinally go for a run. I had a great brekky of cereal and juice and a walkaround the local park before heading off an hour early to begin the 5 hour tripto Wales. When I finally arrived I was jumping out of my skin to go for a runand despite initially planning on heading out with the team for an evening jogI had to unleash myself on the local hill/mountain the Great Orme. It was anamazing run made even sweeter when the rain came in for the evening jog withJo, Anth and Rick. Dinner in the hotel was very nice and it was great to meetthe rest of the team and some of the Kiwis.

The next daywas spent making piklets for the race, shopping and then resting up for thefollowing day. We had a quick look at the course I was pleased to see that itlooked less cambered than the online picture. Finally at our last pre-racesupper the lack of sleep hit me and I headed upstairs for a bath and bed.

The middayrace start initially seemed like it would only increase the number of hoursthat runners needed to be awake but it was great not having to stress aboutsleeping in or hurry around race morning. Finally our goody boxes were loadedand we were ferried off to the race course. Our moment of truth had arrived. Wewere introduced to the crowd, and then the countdown began. Unfortunately with10 seconds to go an official informed me that my transponder was on the “wrong”way and as I moved to the side of the course to fix it the entire field were ontheir way with me at the very back. I must admit that one of the attractionsabout 24 hour running is not having to get off to a good start and this delayprobably helped me not go out too hard with the leaders.

I tried tosettle into an easy sub 6min/k pace and work towards my first goal of 65K inthe first 6 hours. It wasn’t long before the leaders were lapping me fairlyconsistently and at this stage I had no idea where I was in the field or whereI was likely to finish. Talking with other runners early on I met a 7.05 100Krunner (I have no idea who this was) and was informed the guy in the longtights lapping us again had run 240K in 24 hours. I paid very little attentionto the stats of how far I’d run how fast I was running or where I was in thefield until the all important 6 hour update. I had run 62.5K. This was wellshort of what I would have liked and when I next heard an update of the topWelshmen on the PA I was shocked to hear that one with around 61K in 6 hourswas 28^th. Not long after this I was chatting to one of the femalerunners about my daughter who usually expects a medal after each race I do andhow I would have to explain that this was a Championship and not as easy to winmedals.

Around 8hours I asked for a score update and found out I was in 20^th. Thesun had set and it was time to dress for the night. I put on a long sleeve topunderneath my Aussie singlet and some long skins hoping I could get through therace without another clothes change. I also changed out of my racing flats intomy lightweight Cumulus trainers. I haven’t tried my flats for more than 12hours and during that race my calves started playing up from 96K onwards so itwas always my intention to change shoes when I changed pants. Instantly I feltheaps better. My feet felt like I was running on clouds and my shorts skins hadbeen a little too tight so I was generally a much more comfortable runner.

The all important12 hour update came and I had amassed 118K and was in 17^th. I wroteoff 240K at this stage but was pleased that despite slowing down I had begun tomove through the field. I was now doing some solid laps with the Scottish girls,Debbie and Sharon, in their first 24 hour race. I was still holding off on theIpod saving it for as late as possible.

When I gotmy 14 hour update I spent half a lap processing the information and came to theconclusion that if I kept doing 9K/hour I was not going to be satisfied with226K. It was time for some music and to get stuck in. By the next update I hadmoved into the top 10 and suddenly after 17hours I was only meters behind 2^nd.

I’m notreally sure why the carnage was so bad. I know Jo Blake and Rick Cooke for theAussies were having a spewing comp and Matt Bixley for the Kiwis had torn acalf and showed amazing spirit to still run 200K. Anth was running stronglyafter a very conservative start and Jon Pearson struggling manfully with hamstringtendonpathy realized we might need him for a team medal and had picked up thepace.

Going intothe race I had guessed I was ranked about 10^th in the Commonwealth,which I was based on the 2010 World Rankings. Martin Fryer, Barry Loveday,Michael Lovric and one of the British runners hadn’t made it to the startline.Jo and Jon were having bad days which left Jon Pares who was well out in frontof his home crowd and Chris Carver and Pat “Paddy” Robbins who I had recentlypassed. However Paddy wasn’t finished with and when the 19 hour update wasgiven to me he had re-passed me and I was back to 3^rd. With nearly50 runners spinning around the circuit it was very hard to keep track of whereyou stood until you were able to put a face and name to someone in close proximity.Pat was now a marked man and over the course of the next few laps I chased himdown. Then there was the small matter of trying to get a lap for some comfort.

Over thecourse of the next hour I was able to get a lap and had a chat to Pat as I lappedhim. He seemed unaware of our rivalry but for the next 2.5 hours the gap stayedlocked at just over a lap. It would start at 1 lap plus 100m and then every laphe would take about 10 metres off me, then just as I would start to worry thatat my next walk and eat break he would pass, he would disappear. We must havebeen on very similar schedules. Despite the fact that I would have beenecstatic with a bronze before the race started I refused to even find out wherethe 4^th runner was. In my mind once I started to go backwards Icould easily miss a medal altogether.

With 2.5hours to go I started to think that we were almost there. However then Irealized that we still had 2.5 hours to go which is a fairly long run. So Icomforted myself with the fact that I only had 5 more half hourly walk breaksto go. By now the PA was back on and I discovered 4^th was quite along way behind. This was comforting but I still had no idea who the 7.05 100Krunner was and remembered stories of Tim Cockrane running 30K in the last 2hours of a 24 race.

The rain hadheld off all race but after some sprinkles I ditched the Ipod and despite nowhaving 2 laps and a little bit on Pat once again he seemed to be running fasterthan me. I knew that if I needed a toilet stop which I had avoided for thewhole race for the first time I would lose a lap and I didn’t really want toget involved in a sprint finish.

With aboutan hour left it looked as if the rain had cleared so I asked for my Ipod backand convinced myself that I didn’t need my last walk break with 15 minutes togo. Therefore I was going to run for 45 minutes straight for the first time.This seemed like a mountain to climb at this stage but I was still running hardfor the WA record and I just couldn’t justify walking to myself with so littletime remaining. As the finish approached I actually felt like I got into abetter rythym. I took another lap off both Jon Pares and Lizzy Hawker andactually finished with close to 11K for the final hour. About the same as hour1.

In my postrace funk I heard that I had done 235.9 which was oh so close to anothernegative split but sometime later I discovered it was actually 236.9K so Iended up with a 118/118.9 split. My last 2 24 hour races I’ve gone in expectingto slow about 10K over the 2^nd half but actually ended up with about1K more. Now I need to work on getting more done in the first half.

Meredith hadalso run a great 2^nd half and snared a bronze medal to add to thewomen’s team silver. Sharon at no stage seemed to be running in comfort evenfrom the first hour so to get to almost 200K was a Herculean effort. Susannahput in another solid run for her country and was great company during whilstgetting ready the day before.

Our men’steam unfortunately fell 499 meters short of the Kiwis to finish in 4^thoutside the medals. Unfortunately too for Anth he was only meters short of the220K milestone. Along with Anth and myself Jon Pearson helped pull back nearly20K on the Kiwis in the last 2 hours to get us so close.

Blog Update

2011-06-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog a 100K race seemed worthy of a post. Now I haven't even left one on my last 24 hour run of 223.636Km.
In the next few months I will endeavour to rectify my lack of commitment. I am writing a book as trailblazer suggested back in 2007 and will share some adventures from here.
I feel like my passion is waning for this journey of running but some things still need to be done including the Commonwealth 24 hour Championships. I am a little nervous about running hopefully 230K + on the cambered roads but it will be run without thought for tomorrow. So my loyal legion of fans that's it for now stay tuned I'm going to remember my password.

Painathlon 2010

2010-08-08T04:35:00.000-07:00

Challenge 1 complete I was straight on the bike in =2nd having run in my helmet and before long 3 of us were in a lead pack thanks to a handy red light. We had a chat on the ride and within 7 minutes the bikes were racked and we were heading up Raeboldt Hill a 1K climb of about 8% on bitumen. The adrenaline was still pumping after missing the start and I was running faster than intended but I was also keen on achieving goal number 1 getting some help for the 30K ride to The Truth into the wind.
I left Raeboldt Hill in 3rd but arrived at Kings Park 1st after the others took slower routes on the bike.
Michael was running quicker and he caught me near the top of Cardiac hill 1.3k at about 5% and we climbed the 80 stairs of the DNA tower together having a chat. On the way down the hill virtually the whole field was running up and I shared some high 5’s with those I knew. It was then on the bike to Mount Street or Mount Pain for 3 laps of 270m at about 30%. I decided to just take these easy as very little time could be made or lost. After 3 comfortablesclimbs it was back on the bike for the longest single run of the day The Bridges a flat run of about 10K.
Unfortunately I missed a turn and added a little to my ride maybe 3-4minutes. When I arrived at the Bridges I was well off the pace so based on my drafting plan for the following first big ride I just ran around at a comfortable pace finally getting caught by 4th insight of the finish.
Jumping onto the bike in unison it was quickly established that Kiwi and me would work together I quickly downed my 2nd muesli bar and fought off my 1st cramp of the day.
On fairly busy roads we set a good pace into a decent headwind. Not long after we were caught by a fellow rider on a flash looking bike but he whizzed by with cars beeping before we could get on his wheel. However he never made it out of sight and we almost caught him before he turned right when we were going straight.
The ride through Swan Valley was slower as the wind picked up. With barely 5k to go we were really pushing into it and I was hanging out to get off the bike. I was actually looking forward to The Truth. With a K to go I dropped off the back to try and get ready for the run. There was a short climb just before we arrived and I grabbed a drink and started shuffling uphill, for 20minutes! There was a few people in front meaning we’d either taken a longer route or just cycled slower. Josh passed me as I had a toilet stop atop the hill. Josh is training for the Hawaiian Ironman so I’d been waiting for this moment. My cycling training had started in June with very little in the 4 years prior. I found out later Josh had 3 flat tyres. 2 to that point.
The Truth is about 20% and after my 20 minutes climbing there was still 5 minutes down followed by 5minutes up before we turned around and headed back down. I punched my race card had a cup of water then started the descent. Cruelly the steepest climb was on the way back but once that was done it was just a roll down the hill back to my bike.
Transition was a sorry looking place as bodies started to complain about the punishment.
Being an ultrarunner I was aware of the time that can be wasted at aid stations so merely filled my bottles and got going. Josh was there when I arrived and still there when I left. I decided to have a muesli bar and wait him to share the work for the 15K to the Zig-Zag. Unfortunately when I tried to ride with him I would just cramp up so I had to let him go.
I had taken my directions out because I didn’t really know where I was going for the next few challenges.

Perth 12 Hour Track Race

2010-04-10T05:54:00.000-07:00

Day dawns bright and clear, not cool but an absence of warmth which has been our companion for the last week.
Race starts and we set off in a pack running about 5.30/k. Susannah Harvey-Jamieson drifts off the back. Nathan and I are in front with Steve and Dan just behind.
I’m cruising around having Endura every 30 minutes and food and water every 30 minutes, alternating so I’m taking something every 15 minutes.
All is well as 50K comes in 4.58. 5.15 is Endura time and I’m looking forward to sunscreen and a sit-down at 6 hours. 5.20 to 6 hours is 40 minutes not 10 minutes away. I was thinking it was 5.45 Endura time. I’m quite disappointed. It’s heating up, I’m still running but Nathan begins to establish a lead.
Dan is walking regularly now, support crew at his side. Steve has planned 20K in 2hrs then 8k/hr for 100K. I’ve had a chat with all except Susannah who has headphones on running her own race.
Mike arrives to lap score for me. Rolf has done a great job. Bernadette has been racing around keeping me cool which makes a big difference in this weather. It was hard work crewing. At one point Bernadette comments that she needs electrolytes just crewing
and she’s sweating after our 1 lap chat. The breeze is enough to keep me dry but when I stop each 2hrs to apply sunscreen I’m wet with perspiration.
Nathan stays just in front until lap 178. We planned to run together for the first 6hours but I haven’t seen him in ages. With similar running speeds and different nutrition arrangements when one of us stops we seem to stay half a lap apart.
Once the 6 hour starts my plan is to run with Rob. Unfortunately after he legs it to catch up with me I’m due to step off the track to apply sunscreen. When I get going again I quickly join Rob and he drags me up to 6 min k’s. After a while Jon joins us and we’re cruising around having a chat 3 wide. I’m on the inside so life is good. A good song comes on over the PA and the others oblige me by picking up the pace so we can hear it better. It doesn’t feel too bad going faster and having company the time goes quicker.
Around 7 hours I realize it’s cooling down. It may still be 35C but it’s only going to get cooler now. I’m taking on all the positive feed back I can get. I’m doing some singing when inspired, friends and strangers aren’t complaining. I’ve begun to really enjoy this track run. Most of my friends are here and I’m doing what I love. Also the sun will be going down soon and I can take my shirt off. I love running at night.
80K comes up in 8.20. I need to do 4 55 minute 10K’s. I end up doing 4 55 minute 9.6K’s. At 9 hours or 6pm the 3 hour gets underway. It’s still really hot. We’ve been playing guess how hot it is. My prediction was 35C at 3pm and dropping 1C every hour from then. The wind has died down. Official reading was calm at 8 & 9pm.
Bound for Glory the Angry Anderson song comes on over the PA and I’m sharing the joy of the lyric "as the pain made me strong". I’ve started filling my hat with ice and pouring ice cold water on myself. It feels great although the ice is a bit too cold in my hat. It’s great to think I won’t have to put sunscreen on again. About 5 pm I start pouring water on my arms as well, the UV should be low enough to keep my skin safe. I’m still doing good song fartlek and playing count the airplanes flying overhead, 18 is my final count, though I lose interest when I start to run faster.
With 2 hours to go I need 24.4K to reach 300 laps. It seems a bit tough but after my 12K win the weekend before I know I’ve got heaps of speed. I can always steal a few laps in the final dash for the line. I try and jump on the back of one of the 3 hour runners. Unfortunately he is going too fast and I only last 3 laps.
100k comes up in 10.22. 1.38 seems quick to run 20K at this stage. I’ve been discussing how long since we’ve peed with Dan. It’s been 3-4 hours. When I feel the urge with 80 minutes remaining I take this as a good sign. Renal failure has been averted. After my last walk lap I head to the toilets. When I emerge I feel like I might have blown my chance. I’ve only done 1 lap in the last 7 minutes. I take off my shirt so now I’m clad as I would be for a speed session. Off I go.
The rest of the race is pure running. No stops, no walks. Lap splits are all over the place as quick as 4 minutes a K as slow as 6.30/k with most around 5 min/k. I haven’t given up hope of 120K. As I hit 11 hours I need 13.2K and I’m going for it.
The numbers I’m given suggest I need 6.8k in the last half an hour but I’m trashed. I decide to just cruise until 20minutes to go. This cruising is around 2 min/lap but somehow with 19 minutes to go I still need 13 laps. I time 13 laps when I do tempo runs and my best is 19.13. It’s all over for 120k and I revise to 297 laps. My cruising now is slower and before long I have to up the ante to secure 296 laps. I pick it up needing to run just under 4min for the last 2 laps. I run 3.30 and almost steal 118.5 in the final sprint. 9 meters short but I’m happy and very nauseous all of a sudden.

Dwellingup 100 Miler #2 2009

2009-11-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

Well I started slowly with Rob until 35K at Waroona Dam as planned. We went through Nanga (16k) in 2.02 and then arrived at the dam in 4.25 where Kate made me a sanga and a had a banana. Picked up the pace for the 15k to Willowdale Rd trying to run it in 1.30 which I did almost to the minute despite this section offering some tough hills including 1 monster I took 13minutes to walk (though heaps faster than the 17 &19min times of 2007).I ran through the 2.7K single track near Willowdale hoping to make enough noise to scare any keen Tiger snakes away. (I'm sure the dugites will still be hybernating) I had a fall on some leaf litter with no damage done I ran through to Kate and Nate for some water a change into a short sleeve shirt and some more food leavin ghere about 6.20.I was now reallly looking forward to running with my daughter Hannah from 60-81k and the approaching AFL GF which I planned to listen to on the radio. This section went smoothly with the lowlight being a full bladder (Nate had given me 1.5L for 8k ) and the highlights meeting Bernadette for a few k and then Hannah bolting out to meet me at the 60K aid station.

I sat down at 60K and ate a tin of Spaghetti eventuallly leaving 15 minutes late with Hannah and the pram. Despite having a few puddles to negotiate we made good process and I listened to most of the 1st quartere of footy before being put on story duty. Hannah soon fell asleep so I left the radio off plannning to turn it back on for the 2nd half.A few rough sections necessitated slowing to a walk and I was continually looking for the best line but overall it was great to have the company. However with about 3k to go to Nanga we ran into another 4WD (bout 8 altogether) who informed us we were approaching a mud hole he didn't think we would be able to negoitiate. Well that was all the challenge I needed. We had to sidestep across a mudwall whilst Hannah held my hand and I got her across without much trouble but then I had the pram! I was able to "drive"the pram up the 6ft vetical mudwall (this was once an old railway I believe) and the climb it with the help of a tree 1 handed whilst still holding the pram. From here it was fairly straight forward bush bash with pram before "driving"it down the other side of the cliff and continuing our journey. A lot of steep (though short) climbs tested the arms in the last few k before arriving at Nanga in 10.01.

At Nanga I took 15 minutes listening to the end of the footy, eating and packing away the pram for Bel. Also had to refill the pack with food and water which Nathan did for me at all other stops. Finallly I got away at 10.16 and was feeling really good as I ran through Nanga at a reasonable clip. After about 20 minutes I ran into Rob again. I was informed he was coming up by the same guy who had doubted our ability to get through the mud puddle.We had a brief chat and told him Geelong had won.I think the next section was the key to my race. I was running quite quickly and probably would have just pushed hard until I ran out of energy. However as is often the case with these long ultras I started to chat with God and he told me to do some more walking.I was feeling guilty about long walk breaks when I was feeling good but then when I would start running I was flying (around 5min/k) and I eventually saw the point of the strategy. At Caboolture I had gone out hard (too hard) and had dropped back onto my heels rather than the midfoot running I have been doing this year. This caused my achilles problems I believe which troubled me right until the week of the 100 miler. Once I got this revelation I started running lots more and was really enjoying it. Pretty much just running until I wanted to walk and walking until I wanted to run. I passed the hut 20 mintues quicker than with Hannah but I still had the long gradual climb to Nanga rd. I began to get a sniff of 20 hours which was very motivating and when I came out at Nanga Rd I had made up about 5 minutes on the first lap despite running mainly uphill.

I arrived (103k) about 12.41 and after a brief stop to check my water and grab my headlamp I took off for the short section to Willowdale rd. My goal now was to try and negative split each section. If I could do this by a total of 16 minutes I was on for a sub 20 hour race. I arrived at Willowdale rd (111K) in 58 minutes despite another largely uphill section and eating at least 2 muesli bars. From memory this was about 3 minutes slower but I made that up by running straight past Nathan and arranging to meet at the other Willowdale rd crossing. I flew through the short single track section with my headlamp on. I felt no pain I was just steering and flicking the occasional branch out of my face. I pulled a negative split of a few seconds and sat down to drink my first caffeine.The next section was going to make or break my 20 hour push. I had run the easy direction in 1.30 and now had 2 large hills to ascend as well as a steep long descent which would slow my progress. I was also really looking forward to running with my wife, Bel, who was going to be my pacer from Waroona Dam to Nanga. I was seriously starting to doubt her ability to keep up if I continued at the current pace but also wondered if the pace felt so fast because of the K's in the legs and the darkness. She has regularly run sub 2 hours for a half marathon so 18k in 2.25 seemed very easy even with some long hills.

I put on my Ipod and took off into the night. I have a great play list that I basically just copied off Nathan and despite it's incredible difficulty this section was quite possibly the most enjoyable.I arrived at Waterous picnic site determined to run as much as posssible up the approaching 5K ascent. Nothing seems as steep in the dark and this helped as I was able to make good progess. Down the steep descent I was amazed the quads were pain free but I had the serious face on as tried to take the best line and avoid any hazards. The hill up the other side is shorter but steeper with some soft sand sections just to add some variety. I don't know where I lost all the time but when I came out at the Waroona Dam trailhead I was already late with about 2k still to run to the aid station. I dropped my pack with Nathan along with instruction on how to fill it and ran the road section with just a small bottle of endura.Consequently it was a very short pit-stop at Waroona Dam. Bel hopped out of the car and asked for a 1 minute warning which I gave her straight away. She was freezing and had to be persuaded to remove her jumper. We started off walking as my legs were feeling the effects of the bitumen rd but before too long we were running slowly again and Bel soon warmed up. I had warn my skins all day and had changed back into my long sleeve shirt after dark.After about 2k of slow running my legs were feeling better and I put my foot down (both repeatedly in quick succession). I told Bel we had a long climb coming so we should try and make up some time. Unfortunately when we hit the climb I didnt feel like stopping and powered up putting a big gap on Bel. I waited for her to catch up and then just tried to run as fast as she could. This section was only supposed to be 6K. Bel thought we were running around about her 10k pb pace (48.50) but still it took nearly an hour. By the time we hit the road where Nathan was meeting us she was finished. I suggested she have a rest in the car and meet me at the top of the 4K bitumen hill. When I reached the top she wasn't keen but I'd slowed significantly and was able to talk her into it.We had another 4k down a slight hill that I thought she could comfortably run with me. I was pretty shattered and would run until the pain kicked in then have a short walk break, still trying to keep perpetual forward motion. Finally we finished this section and I grabbed some more energy drink and waited while Nathan tried to find my gloves.

Eventually I could wait no more and with a sense of urgency took off down the trail. I had the Ipod back on and the second song was Shannon Nolls classic "Lift". By this stage I had basically given up on 20 hours and was thinking either a negative split (20.17) or 20.30 being more appropriate goals. But the music did it's magic and before long I was flying down the track with the lyric "let them know that you took a good shot and you missed" going through my head, thinking that I should at least give the 20 hour beast a shot. I flew through the 4.5K in 20-22minutes and meeting Nathan I yelled out for a drink of NRG before contiuning running through Nanga and into the finish straight of 16K (mainly uphill). The equation was simple 16k -1.40. I just had to run 6 minutes K's and I even had 4 minutes up my sleeve to walk the 2 steepest hills.History was repeating itself as I trashed myself on the long slow climb out of the campsite. I was running with very little walking but it seemed an eternity before I finally came out onto Murray Valley rd which is majestic in daylight. I flashed my light through the trees trying to see the river below. I could take it easier now 20 hours was dead and buried, unless I could run 5 minute K's uphill on trails in the dark. I mentally switched off a little but doing the maths I still somehow needed to do about 8k in the last hour to break 20.30. It wasn't going to be a picnic yet. There was also the matter of 3 tough hills, the least steep one of 1.7K I was going to have to run. I set myself with the goal that if I could run it's whole length 20.30 should be a shoe-in.Mentally all I had to do for the last 6 or so K was run. It seemed easy but physically this is one tough section. I finally made it to 157K with no more scary hill climbs to negotiate. Nate's dog jumped out the window and ran with me for awhile. I asked Nate to drive alongside and I turned my headlamp off. I was enjoying this once more as my speed picked up again. Halfway up the last hill with 1500m to go Nathan left to go and meet me at the Caravan park finishline. I negoiated my way through town proud I was nearly there. But as I ran the last 300 metres through the caravan park it felt anti-climatic. There was no doubt I felt too good.I arrived at the back of the chalet where we had started but Nathan was out the front. The was one advantage of having heaps left. I was able to recreate the finish for Nathan 4 times as he tried to get a good shot.

I'm back

2009-11-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

Had a great run at Relay for Life Mandurah. Ran 40k in 3.10 but was lapping around 4.15/k for most.

Revelation in Running

2009-08-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

I have experienced God in a Protestant Church setting and often it has been profound. However there is something about running for over 8 hours which strips the soul bare and encourages communication with the Almighty.
Episode 1
My first attempt at running over 100K was at a 12hour track race in Bunbury. Then the only organised opportunity to run such a distance in WA. Ten days earlier I was out on a regular short training run when I rolled my ankle. As I walked home lamenting the poor timing, God spoke “ You will run 107K, Nathan (my brother-in-law) will run 96K”. This came to fruition on race day.
Episode2
Running around a track is great to test yourself but my heart lay on bush trails. My first 100K trail run was from Mundaring to Jarrahdale, largely unsupported and carrying a pack. Having basically exhausted myself the previous day umpiring footy I arrived atop of the first hill at 18K “spent”. After a conversation with God around 60K where he encouraged me to continue, I enjoyed finishing in the dark after 14 hours.
Episode 3
Since my childhood marvelling over the 1000K Sydney to Melbourne footrace I had longed to run great distances. In 2005 I read about 100 mile trail races. I dreamt for 2 years, then I began. At 70K 100 miles seemed a long way off. My wife ran out to meet me and after praying for me I was transformed. The rest of the race was a joy, and I won.
Episode 4
The Mandurah Relay for Life (R4L) was a training run for a cause (Cancer Council) where my “team” consisted of 1 runner. I started from scratch walking every 7th lap not so much for the Godliness of the number but because I was counting laps on a cricket counter and there are 6 balls in an over. After a long while in the hot sun I decided I would be content with 100K and wouldn’t complete the 24 hours.
After many hours I became somewhat of a spectacle. “Who’s the 1 man team running the whole way?” One teenage girl decided she would run a lap with me. She had never run more than 5K before but over the course of 2hours we ran over 12K together, and shared life and faith.
Episode 5
Narrogin Relay for Life was special because after some trying times I was looking forward to a more hopeful future. I also put on my 1 man spectacle and met some great people whilst walking through the early hours of the morning. I was grateful that after being injured and unable to run all week I managed 118K of running and walking.

Episode 6
Mundaring to Jarrahdale Round 2.
I’ve read and re-read my training diary to see why this run went so well and there are reasons both physical and mental why I ran 3 and a half hours faster than the previous year. However the memory that reminds me there was “something else” going on is from the 22K mark. I felt the beginnings of fatigue in my legs and thought “ This is going to be a long day” but almost instantly it melted away and the race was almost effortless. (Well relatively) I later learnt one of my students had prayed for me throughout race day.
Episode 7
By June this year I had improved enough to be targeting a 100K time of 9hours 15 minutes. However it wasn’t my day and I felt tired and unmotivated from early on. I wanted to pull out or at least walk but God kept telling me “Don’t quit” and I was grateful when I finally finished my 100K from Mundaring Weir to Northam under 10 hours for the first time.
Conclusion
This like the bible is a far from all inclusive “highlights package” of God’s interaction with man (one man). There has been other God moments in my life but as a wise philosopher once said “He who suffers remembers”.

Cape to Cape

2008-09-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is a run I did back in 2003. The report took about 2 years to write so unless I can find it online somewhere. I will finish it briefly in the future sometime.

Some years ago I stumbled across the Cape to Cape walking track. It seemed like a great way to find some secret surf spots. Shortly after resurrecting my running career I tested a few sections and thought it would be great to be unencumbered by surfboards. For a while it was one of those persistent dreams that you annoy your wife fantasising over.

Eventually I decided I had to make it happen. This year was the year and I started making a list of candidates to invite. There was Marcus, fellow surfer and aspiring Comrades runner; John, an ex-race walker; multi-sport veteran, Alysha Blackwell; and local identity Graham Maier. Gradually, however, they fell away, mainly due to a lack of fitness and Graham’s half decent excuse of only three days to recover for the Bunbury 50km. This was a blessing in disguise, however, as it meant I could run at my own pace and start mid week.

I purchased maps and made firm plans. Rather than test my gracious wife’s support crew patience it was decided that two days would be the go, not three. The route was planned was Cape Naturalist to Conto Springs. 47km to Grace town on day one, and 39km to Conto’s on day 2, 86km all up. An interesting part of these plans was writing little mud maps for each rendezvous with my wife. These came straight from my head and apparently had one or two minor errors. . .

Day one began with a drive from Busselton to Cape Naturalist. 7am, running late, strap on bottle, where does this stupid track start? Obligatory before photo taken and then it’s off. Sixty seconds in and I find the real start of the track, oh well the other photo will do. It’s off at a frenetic pace. I haven’t run since a 5km race 3 days ago and the excitement combines to increase the speed. Bewildered looking roos look on as I wiz past. The weather is beautiful, cool, offshore wind, light rain just finished. Three minutes in and I see the first surf. It’s one of those medium-sized days when everywhere looks a treat.

My first goal is to make Bears before Bel does. We’ve arranged for my wife to start running towards me when she has driven to Yallingup. I know the section she’ll be running, but not mine. I want to avoid a three km beach section by using the 4WD track, so I must run at least 8km before we meet. In the end, I’m worried she’s got lost but we meet and jog a few kms together enjoying the one part of the track I know well. I’m impressed but not altogether surprised considering that I’ve had a sore throat and cold the last few days that I’ve drunk a whole litre of water.

I’m not feeling that well as I have breakfast at Yallingup. I’m keen to keep warm and start running again. I spend about 20-30 minutes eating Weetbix and apple juice. I consider letting my food digest awhile then just decide to run slower and I’m off. It’s only 8km to the next refuelling stop so I’ll rest later. One kilometre in I hit my first beach section – the whole of Smith’s beach. There’s not much wind and it’s getting pretty warm. When I hit the hard the hard ground again I’m keen to pick up some speed. The next 5km is probably the slowest 5km in Australia and it feels very snakey. The first section is a maze of uphill bolder hopping. You get a bit of momentum going then stop and look for the next Cape to Cape sign post. Following this the track hits a very windy narrow (about 6 inches wide) path through scrub, it then turns into loose limestone rocks. Running through the rocks I slam on the brakes as I spy a reptile parked in the middle of the track. It’s only a bobtail and it hisses at me as I hurdle it. I continue on trying to make more noise.

There’s an epic look out and I appreciated it for a full three seconds. I feel there’s plenty of time to appreciate scenery in 10 hours of running. Shortly after I run into two walkers on the track. I comment on the snakey feel of the track and they encourage me that they saw one the previous day. I feel pretty safe with the only two people within coowee. They then realise that we’re lost. I retrace my steps and follow a path down a cliff face. Halfway down I see the familiar sign and yell to follow. The familiar sight of Wyadup car park is within sight and it’s a bit relief, I thought I’d be there by now. I decide to take the road rather than the track to save time and avoid any snakes. It turned out to be a pretty good idea. About 1km down the road I’m stopped by a man in a hard hat. Not your average 8km run. I’ve had 3km of soft sand, boulder hopping, scary narrow tracks, loose, slippery limestone rocks, hills, steps, a lookout, a cliff, descent, the only walkers I’ll see in 70km and now nearly an hour in I’m stopped. A number of thoughts go through my head, terrorists, did my wife get through and is there any water if she didn’t (no!)

After all that excitement the man in the hard hat was just a council worker. He walked into the middle of the road put out his hand to stop. I took the time to shelter in the shade and drink some water. I asked what was going on and was told something about a new road After a couple of minutes the explosives hurled a massive rock and cloud of dust high in to the hair. The blast hit me like the bass of a cheap car stereo (it just made it) aand then I was told I could go. I left amid discussion of they should perhaps have bene further up the hill from the blast. I ran past where a rock had put a hole in the road and asked if they had put anyone on the Cape to Cape track. They said probably not, blamed someone else and I continued running. The couple I had just seen would have been in earshot but probably never knew what it was.

Six Foot

2008-09-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

Well my one reader, it's September not July as you predicted. Some very brief thoughts on Six Foot:
Ran downhill for 1K and then hit stairs. Walked down stairs for 1K as there was no point running it was a traffic jam. Flew downhill for next 13K. There were flat bits and even the occasional climb but mainly down. Got to river slightly behind 4 hour schedule but knew being half fit and never having run previously I was only going to lose time so stopped to tape nipple. Ran uphil for 2-3K kept chugging when everyone around me was having walk breaks. Hit the Min-mini saddle and then the steep bit. Took to walking some. Hit the top shattered and smashed my legs through 2K steep downhill. Got passed by 2 guys who left me standing still. A couple more creek crossings ensured I was cold and wet as I headed to 1500m altitide. Ran walked the pluvimeter. Not as hard as it was portrayed but still long and tough. Hit the top and just jogged. Legs were mush. Eventually got passed by a guy who sounded like he was losing a lung. Thought I should be able to run with him. Did. Pushed on together until 5K to go when we hit the downhil stretch and I picked up the pace. Cramped almost straight away. Was passed by another runner while I sidestepped. He offered me a salt tablet. Took it on the run with no water and was almost immediately better. Ran strong until the steep 2K downhill where I was super cautious but still going quick. Passed by super-speedy "Sloth" of coolrunning fame. Hit stairs and cramped again. Went down them sideways. Came good and celebrating across the line in 4.25.

Six Inch #3

2008-03-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

About time I updated this blog.
I thought I'd share a few thoughts abouts Six Inch back in December.
I started off running with Colin Francis the plan was to run comfortably and if feeling good make a bit of a dash late. Also if I could summon some strength on the hills I might push ahead at Oakley's Dam.
As the downhills started Colin was looking a little quicker and had cleared out heading into Oakley Dam. Unfortunately he missed a turn and was just behind me as we ran past a snake near the foot of the hill. We stayed together again until the top of the hill and Colin pulled ahead again. I kept him in sight and was running well until Marrinup.
Shortly after Marrinup I blew up completely and even had to throw in some walk breaks during the last 5K.
Finished starving hungry and ran to the shop for a couple of sausage rolls and a cherry ripe.
Time 3.56. Colin won in 3.46. We nearly cracked double figures with 9 runners finishing!

Beach to Bluff 2007

2007-11-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

We started from Cape Riche at 5am yesterday after 3 hours sleep in a tent that collapsed about 2.30am (so felt more like a body bag).Went to the beach to pick up a small rock for the summit cairn on Bluff Knoll (we now know there isn't one) and then started the climb. Running with Nathan's cheap Dick Smith GPS it wasn't long, ~10K, until we were reading 115 m altitude. (This was probably fairly accurate considering we read 1085 @ the summit which is 1096m)We ran for 3 hours before Kate and Denise met us 6K north of the South Coast Hwy. We could know well and truly see the mountains we were running to ~30K away.After heading back to the metropolis of Wellstead (it was just marked as a servo on my 2007 map back there actually is a few houses there) for breaky Kate and Denise met us every 5K and we had a break from our hydration packs.At 52K we had some food before heading down the Stirling Range National Park boundary fence and were out of contact for 19K. After battling the constant headwinds for another 2.5 hours we came out at Bluff Knoll road.8K of hot hilly bitumen awaited for the trip to the carpark and lookout. Nathan took off in front while I tried to catch up after doing some serious eating. Eventually I caught him as he walked the steep hill at the end of the road.Now just to climb the biggest hill in south west WA. Already well behind schedule I wanted to power this section but Nathan was struggling. After some signs of heatstroke I decided to stay with him. Eventually we crested the summit and took some photos. We had run from sea level to 1096m, a sit and enjoy was warranted but already we were looking at getting home well after bedtime. Kate caught us at this point having made a late decision to try and catch us. Nathan started his descent while Kate and I tried to find the Ridgetop walk. Giving up after 15 minutes we made our way down only to find Nathan had already been there 30 minutes.I love the concept of these Sea to Summit runs and I think it's something worthy of a regular spot on the ultra calendar.Other more exteme versions could include:There and Back!Same run but turn left at the Ellen Track finishing with Ridge-top Walk!!!

...And the runner is...

2007-10-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

David Kennedy. Sorry forgot to include that in my article. The race report is below. Make a cuppa and sit back as we run through the bush, with no effort on your behalf.

That's like Running from Williams to Perth!

2007-10-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

On the 6th October I planned to run a 100 mile trail race. In the US and over-east trail running is a rapidly expanding displine for ultra marathoners. In America there are over a dozen 100 mile trail races and some even have waiting lists to get a run. In Australia there is the Glasshouse Mountains 100 miler and the Great North which has 11 bonus K's. However in WA trail running is a very low-key sport where we organise our own races and advertise them on the internet. This one was my baby and I designed the course so as to allow plenty of access for support crews and also regular opportunities to fill up hydration packs with water. When we ran a test event on the course last year it was agreed that the main loop was 66K. Thus 1K further than the 65K advertised due to a detour to the shop that we all agreed to take. Latest maps however showed the course was 61.3K plus a detour to the shop, making each lap 62K.
We started at 6am at Marrinup campgrounds. The first section of 4.65km to Dwelling just being a tack on to make up the 100 miles. Unfortunately the official map was well out on their distances. Running with a GPS, by 60 km I was aware that we had plenty of spare kms up our sleeve. The 65K loop mentioned on the website being much more accurate than the latest map.
This first section passed uneventfully. The main thing of note being that Michael was running much faster than planned. We had read each others’ race plans the night before. You can’t just go into a race like this cold. For starters, you need to consider what food you will eat. Whilst burning the equivalent of almost a week’s calories, most people find it very difficult to eat this much whilst running 161km.
My plan had been to run with Nathan practically the whole way. We would try and run 100km in 12 hours and then do plenty of walking during the night section to hopefully finish under 24 hours. Michael had each section planned out to the minute and if both timetables were successful he would overtake us about midnight. However, with Michael’s faster than anticipated pace we started out running together.
Leaving Dwellingup we had a series of mainly downhills leading to Nanga. Having recently finished a tougher 100 miler in 22.48 hours we decided to take Michael’s advice and walk the hills. This seemed somewhat slack, but walking is a part of ultra running and was inevitable at some stage. The decision to walk the hills gave us a mental and physical break every so often whilst also saving precious energy for the rest of the race.
Nanga was our first support stop where we would fill up with food and drink for the next section. I was practically right on time, with Nathan just behind and Michael behind him. Unfortunately my mum and Kate hadn’t shown up. I sat down beside the road. Michael had flown over from Sydney to do this race and now we had no support. I quickly devised an emergency plan. We would split up our food so that everyone had enough. At the top of the hill Nathan would ring on his mobile and get them to meet us further down the track. We’d started out along the track when Nathan announced that they’d arrived. I ran back to meet them and motioned for mum to drive towards us. It was a distressing moment, but I’ve realised that in ultras it’s the things that go wrong which make them memorable. (Like my headlamp debacles.)
Resupplied we walked up the steep hill out of Nanga, all back together again. By the time we hit a long road section Nathan had forged a small lead. I put in some effort to catch him and we ran together again. Shortly after Michael came past and we wondered what had happened to the race plan. He could be in line for an exceptionally fast time.
Back on trails at last, we ran through the bush wondering if we’d see Michael again before Sunday morning. Eventually we caught him and great timing too as he’d just missed a poorly marked turn. We ran together for about 5 km into the shop as Nathan mused he may have bitten off more than he could chew.
Having run a 100km trail race back in April I was keen to not waste too much time at the refuelling stations. I sent Nathan into the shop to buy us each a sausage roll while I filled our hydration packs. He meanwhile had some blisters to attend to. Michael was ready to go and it was time for the decision I’d been discussing with Nathan earlier. He suggested he was unlikely to finish and suggested I run with Michael. I thought it was the best option and walked down to Waroona Dam eating my sausage roll. Having finished eating I ran ahead to Michael who was walking whilst waiting for me to catch up. For the next few hours we walked and ran together. By the time we reached Willowdale Rd our distance ahead of scheduled had ballooned out to 4km. I made the decision to take the shortest route possible. I told Michael and meant to tell Kate to pass the message onto Nathan, but unfortunately I forgot. This meant skipping 1km detours to Bidjar Ngoulin hut on both laps as well as skipping the 700m detour to the shop on lap 2.
Meanwhile just as we arrived at Willowdale, Mark our night support, showed up. It was arranged that he would meet us 6km down the track at the next crossing. Already fully loaded for a potential 28km run back to Nanga I wished I had followed Michael’s lead and left my hydration pack with the support crew. It was at this stage that my shoulders started to feel the strain of carrying a pack too, but fortunately I was able to clip up my chest strap which made it much more comfortable. Without his pack Michael flew down the 6km section. I just tried to keep him in sight aware that he’d be taking a longer break up the road.
We arrived at the crossing, Zig Zag Rd, and Michael was about 100meteres in front. It was here that we were offered the luxury of chairs to sit in for the first time. Mark had been intending to run the first 50 mile lap until injury curtailed his plans just a week prior. He was living the event through us and made every effort to help us get safely to the finish.
Leaving Zig Zag Rd we had 21km without access until we reached Nanga campsite and halfway. Following Michael’s plan of just walking the hills we would be in for a long run as 9km was downhill before undulating towards our next stop. All the downhill running which I find most difficult started to wear me down and I was just holding on to Michael until, Bel, my wife, ran out to meet me about 75km. I’d almost given up on seeing her and told Michael so and immediately she came around the corner towards us. The 3 of us ran together for a little while before I let Michael go. I did hold some hope that I’d be able to catch him at Nanga when he rested. As Bel dropped back with me I shared how I had just been hanging on to Michael until she arrived and was not feeling that great. She offered to pray for me which I accepted. Very soon I felt fine. My aching feet didn’t hurt anymore and I was feeling a lot more positive. When we came out into the campsite I picked up the pace til Bel was struggling to hang on. Some smaller but steep hills I would have been walking 5 minutes earlier, I charged up as if they were flat. Maybe I could catch Michael after all and prevent each other getting lost between 108km and 121 km where the track was a little hard to follow in the dark.
I arrived at Nanga and sat in a chair for a quick rest. Michael was doing the same and it was obvious he wasn’t doing the best. Without warning he had a spew. His apparent issue was a lack of salt, but having already drunk about 4 powerades I shouldn’t be having the same problem. With friends and family gathering supplies for me I was able to sit with my daughter on my knee and eat rice crackers. After probably about 10 minutes I was keen to get going again. I asked Michael if he was ready to go. After trying to keep up with his frenetic pace in a pit-lane throughout the day it was now me raring to go. He decided he needed a toilet stop and I said I’d see him later that night.
Refuelled and rejuvenated I set out walking up the big hill in front of me. It was a good opportunity to drink another powerade too. I’d been persuaded to put some warmer clothes on and I’d grabbed my headlamp. The sun was going down during the next section and the real action would start. Once Michael got away Mark drove to the top of the hill to keep an eye on him during the next long bitumen section. When I first saw Mark he said I’d left 10 minutes before Michael. When I saw him again my lead was out to 12 minutes. I was told after the race that during this section my lead got down to just 1km.
As always I was keen to get back on the trail and off the road and I had about 10 minutes of daylight left. Trying to save my batteries for as long as possible, after negotiating some narrow trails I ran up the gravel road in the near dark looking out for the turn we had almost missed on the first lap. Eventually finding it I spat two little pools of water on the road, my marker to Michael not to miss this turn again. I turned on my headlamp to run down the trail to Waroona Dam. I was still feeling great when I ran into Kate and Nathan on a short road section before the shop. Nathan told me he’d pulled out at 86km or the end of lap one, he didn’t want to finish in the dark. But I was glad, I’d been worried Kate wouldn’t see me at the shop and she had all my food and ICE COFFEE.
I don’t often drink caffeine but I find that it helps so much in the later stages of an ultra. For the 100 miler I decided to wait until 100km before having any. With no detour to the shop on the second lap I’d asked Kate to buy me an iced coffee. She’s got me a 1L extra strong. During the next 10 hours I would drink that, two V black cans andd take 2 espresso energy gus – equivalent to another percolated coffee. When I finally made it back to the caravan park at about 7am, I was way too wired to go to sleep and with Kate we went out to follow Michael through the last 10km.
Not expecting to see Kate at the dam and having had quite at feed at Nanga, and developed a stitch, I’d changed my planned meal to stop to just caffeine and snacks. I would eat another toasted sandwich walking through the single track where I was worried about getting lost at about 116km. I sat drank my iced coffee and then was off. Kate was going to meet me before I headed bush again so I took the opportunity to run without my hydrations pack for 3km.
The following section was the one I was most worried about getting lost in. There was about 1km of single track in fairly open bush and very few markers of the non-reflective variety. I made the decision well in advance to walk this part. As I t-ed onto a wider track, I revelled in the soft sand enjoying the change in surface. I knew I had a long uphill coming up so I ran all the way to it’s base. The night was dark with no moon at all. I’d run about 108km and as I walked up the hill I tried to remain focussed. I allowed myself a few quick looks at the stars but really wanted as much as possible to pretend it was daylight, which it was in the small glow of my headlamp. We’d taken 17 minutes to walk this hill earlier in the day so I timed my ascent again. I was happy with 19 minutes as I spent much of it drinking powerade and enjoying the rest.
The next few kms are downhill and I quickly began running again aiming to run all the way to the river below before having a snack and a walk. Once running again I was regularly encountering small hills. Whilst earlier we had been walking these I convinced myself that hills are easier in the dark because you can’t see how steep they are, so I kept running until a large hill leading up to the conveyor belt. I decided to have a gu to keep the energy levels up but still save room for a toasted sandwich not far ahead. As I walked up squeezing the contents into my mouth I found myself at the top already turning the corner. It was like the body was on auto pilot as I didn’t even know I’d reached the turn. Once again I cautiously walked the single track. I was now nearly at my next stop and very keen for a sit-down and some food. Arriving at Willowdale, however, I took my sandwich with me whilst walking through the last single track section before Nanga. I ran a few hundred metres carrying it until the road turned into a narrow track and I ate and walked. I finished it with some track to spare and then must have missed a turn because I came out on the Munda Biddi further south than I should have during the event. Fortunately I knew this place by the colour of the signs and was able to head back the right way. Finding the place I should have emerged I realised I’d only lost 200-metres. However, a little while later Michael was to run an extra 7km here and cost himself any chance of a win or sub 24 hour time.
I got back out to Willowdale Rd and had another short break. Was still feeling good and looking to have a proper break just before doing the 21K section with no access. Heading north from Willowdale Rd there is some single track and a long downhill section before another section along a gravel backroad. As I was running down the gravel road I started running more and more hills. Then Kate and Nathan appeared from in front when I was expecting to see them coming from behind. They were a little lost so I arranged to meet them at the next track crossing. I also used the oppportunity to save my headlamp for awhile and ran alongside the car while we were discussing our plans for the rest of the night.
At the crossing I had another quick sit down. Mark had suggested bringing some chairs earlier in the week and I had foolishly thought that I wouldn't be needing them as I was keeping rests to a minimum. Thankfully he had brought some along anyway. I'd since arranged to borrow one to go in Kaye's car as the gap between myself and Michael was now too large for the two cars to stay together. It was now only about 4K until Zig Zag Rd where I would be left in the dark by myself for the 21K run into Nanga. Sometime during the night I'd put thermals on over my skins and under my shirt. The wind blowing across the dam wall had been fierce and I'd even borrowed a jacket for the trip along it's length. In the bush it was alright because the trees blocked a lot of the wind, however whenever I stopped I would pull a jacket over myself to keep warm.
The course to Zig Zag Rd was all runable and I got there quite quickly. Meanwhile Michael appeared to be missing. Mark had called Nathan on his mobile and as soon as I was away heading to Nanga, Nathan was off to try and find him. I sat in the car because the wind was blowing down Zig Zag Rd. Nathan filled my bag with water to get through at least 3 hours. Then to go with all the snacks I had he stuffed two toasted sandwiches into my bag too. It was quite weighty but not too much trouble. I'd arrived at midnight and was away at 12.10am. I told them to meet me at Nanga at 3am and try and get their car in there so they could sleep by the track. The other option was to don all the warm clothes and walk the 500m in. If I was late or early this option wouldn't be much fun.
I'd left Zig Zag Rd keen to run until the top of the big hill. It was then 9K downhill and I'd give myself something to eat and psych myself up for the long descent. The climb to the top wasn't steep so I was able to run the whole way. After a short break I started running again but the extra impact of running downhill was making my light beam bounce all over the place. This in turn was making me dizzy and destroying my focus of trying to stay awake. I tried running a few times but 10 seconds was a big effort to maintain concentration. I decided that I would just powerwalk for awhile. Intially I made good pace. I knew that if I kept an eye out I would see the turn off to an overnight hut built along the track. This was almost exactly halfway to Nanga. When I arrived right on time I found a bank to sit on and closed my eyes for a short break. Resting the eyes can really help even just for a few seconds and I'd had a steely focus since the single-track about 108K just making sure I remained awake and didn't injure myself. I had something to eat and was aware that I'd probably be walking until Nanga.
As I walked on my light started to get less and less effective. Despite having spare batteries and a spare headlamp it didn't really occur to me to change either. By the time I eventually reached the bottom of the hill I was using the bushes on the edge of the track to help me make my way. The leaf litter showed a much better reflection than the track which was quite dark in spots.

I was aware that there were plenty of pot holes on the track near Nanga and despite trying to avoid these I stumbled on at least two I didn't see. Around this time I stopped to get something to eat. As I looked down at my headlamp beam it started to fade. "There go my batteries" I thought, then I also felt myself falling backwards. " Hang On", I told my body, "You can rest tommorrow". I had a coffee bar I had been carrying around with me and made sure I stayed focussed. Michael would be the next person along here and he was now over 2 hours behind. Not a good time to pass out. Eventuallly the undulating hills ceased which was a sign that we were almost at Nanga. As I walked on I spotted headlights coming my way. This was either a crazy 4 wheel driver or Nathan coming looking for me. I was delighted that it was Nathan and walked on whilst waiting for him to turn around. When he caught up again I arranged for him to drive behind while I started running again. It was now 4am and the 3 hour rest had done me good. I ran all the way into Nanga and then Nathan set up a chair for me while I re-fuelled on water and food. I had my last V and was aware that it would be light before I arrived in Dwellingup.
When Nathan had arrived I'd taken my headlamp off and given it to him to carry. It wasn't until I saw the dull beam that it became obvious that it was the batteries that were at fault. In fact the event out-lasted many a battery. Michael eventually finished using his third GPS as the batteries had given out on the others. I put Nathan's headlamp on and was delighted with the result. I asked for a lift up to the toilet about 500m away. As we were driving I reflected that it was a little disappointing that I'd probably now go through 100 miles in 24.20. While I was getting organised though a thought materialised, "I could normally do this easily", as I thought about the 12.5K to the new 100 mile point.
We ran into Mark as we returned to the track. I was glad that Michael was still going strong but was now also anxious that I needed to get going, my lead was out to 3 hours with Michael getting lost.
As the run from Nanga to Dwellingup is basically uphill I knew there wouldn't be time for walking the hills. My plan was to give myself a couple of minutes warm-up and then just go for it. As I ran towards the footbridge a dog barked at me from the campsite. I hoped very much that it was tied up and thought about when I last camped out here I had left my dog off until he just barked too much and I'd let him sleep in the car. Once past the dog I let my thoughts hone in on the run at hand. 12.5K in 1.37 was the task in front of me. The new headlamp was an inspiration with it's bright, wide beam and I took advantage powering up the gradual incline. As the hills steepened I kept running hard. The pace wasn't fast so I had no breathing difficulties and my legs had long ceased hurting. I felt like I was going 5 min/K, maybe faster. The track was tight with bushes coming in from each side. It wasn't too narrow but resmebled a finishing chute. I raced up and down little hills for what seemed like forever, I was enjoying it though, loving it in fact. I raced through a fork in the tracks. I knew I had to stay left so I didn't even slow down, eventually I saw a confirmation arrow. Coming through this section a few months previously I been keenly watching out for termite mounds. Now I knew they grew in the middle of the track so I just stayed to one side.
Soon I was out on the river road. Hours (well almost a day) earlier this section had been stunning, now there was just a hint of morning in the sky and I had no time to enjoy the view anyway. I remembered this section being hilly but fairly short. A quick glance at the watch said I was on track. I'd told Nathan to meet me at the next road in one hour but I really wanted to be quicker if I was to go sub 24. As I raced on the road just wouldn't arrive. At last I found myself running up a large hill. This had to be it as the road crossing was atop a hill. I pushed up and the hill got steeper and longer. Soon I was thinking this was a joke, I've never run up a hill this bad despite having done this section 3 times previous. Near the top I spotted an arrow. What a relief, I thought I would have to make my own way out to the road.
I ran down towards Nathan's car taking my bumbag off as I went. I was lightening up for the last ~5K to the 100 mile mark. Then I would have 4.5K to the finish but this didn't worry me I could do that as slow as I liked. Asleep in the car, I woke Nathan up. I then asked him to pop the boot. Fumbling around for a coffee gu to get me through to the finish I gave up and took my hydration pack off. There was one in there somewhere. I chucked handfuls of things into my food box, "There it was". I refastened my pack and said goodbye. As I ran I sucked out the coffee flavoured gu. 1K downhill to rest and then a long uphill before I started the trail to the finish. I manged to run the whole hill finding out later from the map that it is 1.45K. After a false alarm I spotted the track crossing. It was light now. I still had my headlamp on but as I crossed the road I turned it off.
Towards the top of the hill it started to hurt. I'd been running as fast as I could for an hour now on top of my 149K warm-up. Hitting the last section of bush trail I was aware there was a big hill to come. If my memory was right I had some time up my sleeve now so I walked up. It was super steep but only about 300m long. I ran on for a bit and there was another twin peak. I ran some and then stopped to walk. All this walking wasn't good for the nerves. I was starting to worry I wouldn't get there in time. As the top approached I got going again. Steep down and then steep up was the pattern the next 3K would follow. The uphills were starting to hurt but the descents were worse as the pounding increased through sore joints and muscles. I ploughed onward nevertheless. I could almost feel the finish now. Finally there it was the flat straight leading to Linto road, the place I had fallen running in the dark a few months back. I looked at my watch "23.50" it said, I was a sub 24 hour 100 mile runner. I even thought I could crawl from here, but didn't need to. As I ran up to the road I felt victorious but unfortunately Kate and Nathan were asleep and didn't witness it. I banged on the car and saluted my performance. Nathan bounced out and congratulated me. He grabbed a camera to take the happy snap but unfortunately couldn't get it to work. Eventually figuring the thing out he asked me to run back and retrace my steps. "Don't worry" I said. I still had 4.5K to go and was keen to finish.
As soon as I hit the road I stopped to a walk. This was the place I'd worked out was 100 miles and I'd made it there in 23.51:07. Heading towards Dwellingup along Linto Rd there is a long and steep climb. I'd promised myself I could walk this and I did, but as soon as I started walking my feet began complaining very loudly. I walked the hill grimacing with almost every step. Nathan drove past telling me he'd see me at the next road. That was only a K ahead and I now thought I wouldn't mind a quick sit-down before finishing. After almost 15 minutes of slow walking, much uphill, I was looking on River Rd, but there was no Nathan. "Oh well I thought", "this is how you're supposed to feel at the end of a 100 miler", "not how I'd felt for the last 75K". I walked on. The next crossing was 2.5K. The pain had become so intense now I was almost grinding my teeth. I had nothing to take my mind off it now. I had no food, it was all in the car. I tried to run, it couldn't hurt anymore. It just didn't feel right so I stopped and continued my death march. It was still satisfying though, this was how I expected to feel at this stage anyway.
As I approached the last hill, 1K long, the rural numbering system began and so I timed myself to check my walking pace. I was just quicker than 4K/hour which was suprisingly quick compared to how slow it felt. Up at Pinjarra/Williams Rd Kate and Nathan were parked and waiting. By now I'd decided all I wanted was my pack of cherries. Apparently they have a natural muscle-pain reliever so I started eating. Within a few minutes the pain had eased so maybe they worked or maybe my body just quit sending pain signals as they weren't stopping me. It was now just 1 flat K to the finish. I thought about running but decided to just enjoy it eating my cherries.
I walked into Dwellingup Caravan Park and as I approached the pole which was the finishing line Nathan took about 3 or 4 photos, obviously making up for the missed shot at the 100 mile mark. Total time was 24.54.11.
Michael finally finished in 27.20. His 173K was a little too much for him as his achilles reacted angrily in the last few K. We sat around together the 5 of us, Nathan, Kate, Mark, Michael and myself and shared some stories from the night. What a race. I had only wanted to do "one" before playing footy again next year, but I couldn't imagine not doing another now, it was too much fun.
In the week leading up to the race I had memorised 4 verses from the Bible to help me through, for no particular reason other than because I was thinking about the race and the bible happened to be opened in front of me. I think this last verse sums up my feelings about the race the best:
"everyone who is called by my name" - As CHRIST-ians we are given God's name because we belong to him in very much the same way as a wife takes on her husbands name.
"whom I created for my glory" - God created me with the physical and mental desire and ability to run 100 miles in a day. In doing so I believe I reflect his glory and the greatness of his favourite creation - humans.
"whom I formed and made." - Here he repeats his involvement in our creation for the 2nd & 3rd time. He obviously takes a keen interest and I think enjoys running along with you.

In Case of Sanity:

2007-08-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

Spotted late Friday night:Nathan running along Freeway from Rockingham to Freo.
Quotes:"..about 2 hours 20 minutes in(2.00am) I was feeling very tired so I started alternating between 20 steps eyes open 20 steps eyes closed."
" After about half an hour of this I felt great."
"Got to Freo well before the first bus so I went out for another 1/2 hour run"

Thought I better post some of these classics before we become "normal people" and forget them.

Intro Post

2007-06-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

This blog is designed to be a collection of offroad or trail running adventures and possibly a place to advertise and promote these adventures.

Munda Biddi 100K

2007-06-22T04:16:00.001-07:00

Well here is a race report if the weather allows me a longer lunch break.
PREPARATION
I knew that this 100K would be unlikely to be easier than my last at the the 12 hour race because of two reasons. First I boundary umpired a WAFL game Saturday afternoon which almost always leaves me sore, and with only 12 hours to recover I was in for a long Sunday. Secondly I had a function the night before and despite doing my best to get away early I couldn't sleep and ended up with 2.5 interrupted hours sleep.
SET OFF INTO THE NIGHT
Based on our 12 hour experience Nathan and I predicted a 13 hour finish. To cater for this we needed to set off by 5am to finish by dark. Despite almost taking everyone the wrong way 100m in Mark saved us and we set off together 6 headlamps dancing in the trees. We were all together until I needed a toilet stop 5K in. While Nathan waited for me the pack forged on to get a handy lead. Heading in to the first climb at 11K it was light enough to turn our headlamps off and time for something to eat. We'd spotted lights ahead but the decision to walk and eat enabled the other runners to get away again. It was 1.12 on the stopwatch and already we were out at about 11 hour pace not leaving much room for slowing down later on and still finishing in 12 hours, our early goal. The chocolate bar did some good but I was already looking forward to my coke at 50K as the initial adrenaline wore off. After a short steep descent we continued climbing until about 18K. It was near the top of the hill that we passed Steve and Sally obviously not enjoying gravity with their heavier packs. Not long after Craig came steaming past keen to cut his run back to 42K rather than get a lift back from the 50K mark. It was now just Mark in front but we were already taking walk breaks so not too sure we'd catch him. We knew Robi was meeting Mark at Pickering Brook so we hoped we might see him here. Fresh footprints suggested he was still going strong and when we emerged from the bush there he was enjoying every ultra runners favourite perk the refueling stop. His offer of Coke was very tempting but a bit early still with possibly 10 hours to go. We ran on together after a drink of water and headed uphill to the next piece of bush. 100K still seemed a long way off so we just focused on the next goal to get to Carinyah Hut.
RAIN
The weather above looked ominous and about 35K in it started raining. By the time we got to Carinyah we were soaked. Kate was waiting here to run back to Brookton Highway with us. Not keen on a long break as we'd just get cold, we waited for Mark and then the 4 of us left together. After another 5K in the rain we reached halfway in the sunshine for lunch and caffeine.
.......and the following from Nathan who I ran with until about 96K.
Well the race (was it really?) is over and I must say that I have learnt a lot about Ultras. Dave and myself did run together so I'll take up the commentary from the Carinya Campsite, which is approx. 42km. As Dave mentioned, the rain had come and we were basically soaked from head to tail by this time. We stopped for about 15 minutes and set off just before the 5hr mark. Mark had caught up by this stage, so the four of us continued down the trail headed for Brookton hwy at 50km. We kinda ran at our own pace and I reached the hwy first in 5:42, Dave was about 1 min back, then Kate and finally Mark who had completed his goal of 50km's - well done Mark.After downing half of a sausage roll and sauce, some coke and powerade, we filled up the hydration paks and hit the road again just before 6hrs. The next section was 24km to Gleneagle picnic area at 74km's. It started out ok but Dave started to suffer from some foot and calf troubles and regular breaks were added in. I was feeling brilliant until I started to experience some knee pain at about 60km. I didn't think much of it and decided to just 'Run it out.' It soon became clear however that this theory was going to prove woefully inadequate.Dave had slowed down a lot and I was keen to push on because apart from my knee I was feeling great. This was the point when you realize that this is not a race, it's a run and we where going to do it together, so rather than push on we stayed together and got each other through. The extra time this added to this section proved costly as I hit the wall at about 69km, completely running out of calories - my how an Ultra can change so quickly - now Dave was feeling ok and was dragging me through. All I could think about was the redbull waiting for me at gleneagle. 45 minutes later we arrived only to find out that Kate (My wife and support crew) had forgotten to buy the redbull - WHAT!! I couldn't believe it, I was shattered and we still had 30 odd km to go. I sat down for about 20 minutes contemplating the situation. This was a real low point in the race for me, I was drinking coke and had half a powerbar, but it didn't seem to make much difference. The rain started coming down again and I decided we had to go. I felt terrible, exhausted, but I knew my race was not going to finish there - no way in hell I was stopping.We ended up at Gleneagle for aboiut half an hour before setting off at a slow pace. For the next 4-5km wasn't much fun to run with, barely saying anything and just staring at the ground in front, I was in desperate need of a kick. Kate was going to get us a redbull and meet us at a road crossing a few kms later, so that was something to look forward to.We arrived at Wungong campsite and while Dave filled up his pak, I had a coffee gu, they are loaded with caffeine and this proved to be the kick I needed. It was a good thing I knew this section quite well because the re-routing of the course completely confused Dave who started running the wrong way. We were both really tired by this stage and in some pain as well. The redbull was great and we shared it to give us both some extra energy. It was getting late (about 11hrs now) and we started looking at about a 13:30 finishing time. This is when a major problem presented itself, we didn't have headlamps, they were in the support car and we had forgotten to pick them up and with the phone battery dead, there was no way of getting them. Things we desperate, there is no-way you can run the Munda Biddi at night with no headlamps so we decided we just had to push as hard as possible before it got dark. We knew that Balmoral picnic site was 12km to go so we focused on getting there. This was going well until we came to the 2km downhill leading into it. The hill wasn't steep but my knee was shot, I had to slow to basically a walk and almost run sideways down the hill to reduce the pain. Every step was greeted with a seering pain that shot both down to my foot and up to my hips - in short things where bad. Dave was feeling ok by this stage (understanding of course that ok is very much a relative term) and he had a toilet stop while I continued walking when he caught up we thought that there was about 30 minutes of light left so we just had to push on as fast as possible, so we did. The pace started slow and then gradually increased as we warmed up a bit - it hurt a lot but it was either this or risk being out there for another 2-3 hrs walking to the finish. We took 10 minutes turns in the lead and the sun disappeared and it became darker and darker. After running solidly for about 40-45minutes it became too dark to run and we walked.Just as we started, the support convey came rolling down the track in the cars to see where we were, great timing so we got our head lamps and were off to the finish. This sounds great but I had had it, the 40 minutes of hard running (again a relative term) had pushed me into the realm of completely shattered, so after another 15 minutes or so of running with Dave I told him I was done, couldn't run another step and walking wasn't too easy either. Dave ran the final 3km or so by himself while I slowly walked in. The batteries in my head lamp basically rendered it useless by this stage so rather that following the track all the way in I decided to follow the road which, looking at the map is about the same distance but it was a much safer option. I managed to run the final 1.5km to finish in 14.28:44 Dave ran strong to finish in 4.06 and his time for the final 3km was pretty impressive. I was completely exhausted and once I sat down in the car I was out. Whether I passed out or just fell asleep really quickley I don't know but my body knew what it was doing. The wash up from the race is that I actually feel better than any other race I've done, except of course for my knee. It was quite swollen when we got home and is still a little swollen now (3 days later) although it feels 100% better. I remain convinced that my training was adequate for this race but the knee injury and the additional time took its toll, but this is the world of Ultras. Training is one thing, but on race days things go wrong and you have to deal with it.Reflecting on the I find that there were so many challeges, so many emotions, victories, defeats and oh so much pain. This is Ultramarathoning - it's tough in every way imaginable, but it's my sport and I love it.Well done to all who ran on the day it was awesome. Nathan