Pushing S##t Up-Hill

With renewed enthusiasm for trail running, I wanted to tackle something big. Having already ran 100km I knew this would be something which had to be a personal thing to me, not just something that looked good on paper. Up to this point I'd always hated hills and walked pretty much everything, saving the extra effort for a solid downhill run. So what better way to get on top of that than to sign up for an ultra Skyrun with just over 4500m elevation gain using the nastiest hills available from Bright to the top of Mount Buffalo and back? It was the inaugural Buffalo Stampede and the added appeal was that it gave you foundation member status with priority entry in the future if you wanted to run it again, so it seemed like the right choice, especially since I'd never ventured further than Lake Mountain into the Vic Alps, and never for running.

I had changed jobs in early Jan that year (just after Two Bays), so my daily 1.5km dashes in and out of work were out. I had grand plans for racking up some decent mileage for the event, but I didn't have the drive or motivation to pull it off. Instead I ran long runs fairly exclusively, usually 32km+ but at a solid pace that took a bit of recovery after. I focused on getting in as many hills as possible, forcing me to improve my hills strategy and adjust to spending a lot of time walking them. I "ran" the Wild Wombat Crossing Fat Ass event in early Feb in high 30s heat and while I started well, I pulled out and walked it in for the final 10km after 20km of smashing goat tracks. I think the cold can of coke I chugged (courtesy of the amazing Beyer support crew) was my undoing, but I don't think I was prepared in any way for those hills or heat, let alone both.

I had to bounce back from that, though, and mapped out 42km in the You Yangs with 2000m ascent to test me in more favourable weather (as Buffalo Stampede April was likely to be fairly reasonable). Fortunately that run was much more successful, averaging just under 7 min/km and feeling pretty good. I think that run was the turning point in my training for Buffalo and from there I stuck to solid l ong runs and circuit training up until the day. Unsure of this strategy and not entirely convinced of my preparation overall the event day finally came around. I had decided to move away from Perpetuem over the summer due to the logistics of managing it in the heat, and how it would taste when it warmed up.
My new solution (which is essentially what I am currently using as of writing) is Science in Sport GO! Electrolyte with BCAAs. I was taking them in tablet form. I was fortunate enough to be sharing accommodation with Chris and Shaun from Brewster's Running and Chris recommended one tablet per hour instead of the two I was going to take. Feeling fairly good with my fueling solution and with my trusty Roclite 295s getting out for their last event I felt surprisingly good. The new fueling meant I could prep concentrate of all the liquid without worrying about it spoiling and logistics were easier than ever.

We started out in the dark, heading away from Bright up towards Mystic Hill. I had planned to run this one with a friend with a similar race strategy and style, but I wasn't keeping up on this first climb and knew we had to do our own thing, so dropped back to a more comfortable pace and slogged it out to the top of the first peak. The view from Mystic (right) was spectacular and I knew I was in for something special. I continued on up to Clear Spot, trudging up some of the most insane hills I've seen any where. I remember times shuffling a walk up a hill only to look at my watch and see my heart rate was in the 160s and need to slow down even further.

I finally reached the peak of Clear Spot feeling amazingly good considering the horror stories we'd been told at registration the night before. After this one we descended on down into a valley through to Eurobin (with a smaller climb and descent on the way through), then started the (very long) climb to the top of Mount Buffalo. I was loving every minute of it, so I'd been in great spirits as I'd come through the Eurobin aid station, especially seeing the Milne and Beyer support team. As a result, the climb itself went reasonably well. It was quite steep initially (something around 18% average) for a few km, then eased back to around 10% average to the chalet. It took quite some time, but I was moving well and still enjoying the race. The views were simply amazing and I recall at one point (see the view of the mountains below) thinking that it is just simply impossible and stupid to think that someone could go from the ground level to this point on foot, but yet we all had.


 I reached the chalet feeling quite good, and headed on out to the Chalwell Galleries, which were a big reason I'd signed up. The photos I'd seen of them looked great, and reminded me a lot of the Grampians hiking we'd done so much of as a family when I was younger. It turned out that there was certainly no running through them, but it added a great experience to the race, despite taking a much longer than expected chunk of time to complete - it was practically caving! Finally exiting the caves and running back up to the chalet, now the real challenge kicked in.

Every moment to this point had been simply amazing and an experience I would always remember. The scenery was stunning, the variation kept it interesting and I believe I was pacing myself well enough to still enjoy it. From here on out (the 42km mark) it was all about completing the course and finishing the 75km ultra. So with that thought in the back of my mind, I headed down one of the toughest descents I've faced in any run. By the bottom of Mount Buffalo my quads were aching and I had to walk the flat for a kilometre before feeling good again. But it was done - the biggest climb and descent of the race finished and three main climbs left.

I wasn't moving spectacularly well at this point, but I was determined to keep it going and in relatively good spirits. I got through to the Clear Spot climb before the rain started, but at least it wasn't too heavy then. Flashes of lightning were lighting up the horizon as I walked expose along the ridge to Clear Spot, spurring me to get through there and hit the final ascent up Mick's Track. There is practically nothing that can prepare you for this track. Averaging over 40% gradient and consisting of rocks, loose dirt, ants and millipedes it was incredibly slow going. My calves hurt too much trying to walk it, so it was hands and knees. To add insult to injury, there is a flat 2/3 of the way up that makes you think you are done, only to turn a corner and keep going. But eventually I did clear it and was on to the final descent back to Bright. By this stage I was jog / walking the flats and only really running the descents. Fortunately I held together until the bottom and managed to even sprint across the finish, only 15 minutes or so before the sky opened up and it poured!

Despite my ad-hoc and unusual training pattern, it had all come together and I'd finished in 12 hours and 19 minutes. And although it was at times incredibly tough, it felt good the whole way through, because it wasn't just about finishing. Having seen the amazing area and pacing it well meant that I had enjoyed the whole race thoroughly and would take that away, reinforcing my desire to keep pushing the limits and finding new places to explore on future runs.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/474276420
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