The Great Ocean Walk

I had always heard overwhelmingly positive reviews about the Great Ocean Walk 100km event, and was determined to be a part of it in 2014. After the night of my 30th birthday, I had an alarm set for quarter to six to get up and register as soon as entries opened - it had sold out every year, some times within days and I wasn't leaving it to chance that I would miss it this year. I managed to get in and accepted that day and was set to target that as my "A race" for the year. That was, until the miler came up. After the miler I had achieved what I wanted for a while, and was more than happy to just run for the enjoyment of it and not push any new limits. SCTR night runs were a brilliant social catch up, many members were also jumping on on other ad-hoc runs I was doing and having an enthusiastic and determined runner to coach was very inspiring. I drifted, albeit quite happily, through August and September with some decent long runs, but not a great deal of training for GOW. I was quite casual in my lead up to the event as it was "another 100" - I should have realised this was quite familiar...

I was lucky enough to car pool to accommodation in Apollo Bay the night before with my Anglesea running buddy, Chris and got a nice meal at rego, all checked off and a reasonable night's sleep. The morning came around and everything was looking pretty good. A nice start onto easy urban trail for the first few kms, then hitting up some beaches and then the real heart of the trail. It was a beautiful place to run in and I thoroughly enjoyed the views of the amazing coastline. I was lucky enough to run with Lucy Bartholomew for a bit again as she was running this one pretty easy. I smashed out the downhills and eventually pulled ahead, not competing but just enjoying smashing downhills way too much. My head was definitely in the right space as I was just out to enjoy the run and experience of running with other like minded people, but I think I was enjoying it a little too much.

I made it through to the end of Johanna beach feeling okay, but starting to get pretty warm and really feeling the effect on my legs from all those downhills I'd been a little too enthusiastic on. I was still in good spirits, but unfortunately that didn't last too long. After the highlights of the early parts of the course I was starting to struggle to keep moving and see the rest. All I wanted was to see what it was like and in my mind, I already had. Four big issues were coming together to derail my run: lack of sleep, failure to cut out caffeine, no desire to finish and insufficient training. Any one or two of those would have been reasonably manageable, but when all you want is a coffee and your staggering after each hill climb in the heat, you have no clear reason in your head why the run is still important and your body isn't handling the demands of the course, you start to hit a wall.

That wall was nothing like I had expected. I had been targeting bigger and bigger events to see what it was like when my body wanted to give out and to know whether I could beat it by throwing every ounce of determination at it. This was different. This was me losing sight of what I wanted and letting everything haunt me because I could see no reason in finishing. I literally lay down to rest 3 or 4 times before finally staggering in to the 80km aid station. I was done. I felt I had no energy left to continue and could see no reason to do it. The first half of the course was quite reasonable with longer climbs and descents but not too steep. After Johanna beach it was a series of rough short and steep climbs and descents, constantly taunting you. I remember thinking so many times "why the hell did I need to climb that if it's just descending immediately" and on it went, again and again. The support at the aid station was brilliant. They would not let me quit and despite remaining there for half an hour, after a coffee, some soft drink and refilling one of my bottles with cola, they sent me out of there to finish what I'd started. Less than a kilometre along I found fellow SCTR, Siqi, looking just like I felt. At that moment I'd found exactly what I needed to finish the race. We were going to finish it together if it killed us.

I made a pact with Siqi that we were going to run to the 12km mark and then stop and drink that flat cola with all the awesome caffeine it had to offer. No thinking about the 20km left, it was just 12km till our stop, with a nice little checkpoint 8km along. With small achievable goals set ahead of us we trudged along and eventually did make that 12km point and had that cola and it was incredible. Generic, flat, warm cola. There wasn't anywhere to really sit there, so we just sat on the side of the road and enjoyed it. Feeling finally within reach of our goal, we stood up and made our way along the final trails to the finish at the twelve apostles. I had just wanted to the make that point in the daylight so I could have seen them and we were within reach of that goal. Despite Siqi having a nasty spill, he got up, kept moving and we finished it together in 13 hours and 32 minutes, 3 full hours longer than my Surf Coast Century time, but having learned so much to take away with me. The post race atmosphere was incredible back at the hostel, with many competitors, including the elites, sitting around chatting. This continued as we all had breakfast together before the race presentations the next morning and was a real highlight of the event.

Reading all of this you might think it's quite a hellish event and only for extreme competitors, but I would say this certainly isn't true. It's a tough course, but I made a lot of mistakes that I paid for. This is the advice I would give to entrants: the first half is easier, save yourself for the second half; don't underestimate the impact the heat will have on your day and train in the heat if possible; get plenty of sleep in the week leading up and quit caffeine - you can't afford to be falling asleep on your feet; use caffeine to pick you up when you are flat, it really is a wonder drug for trail runners; and finally, have a compelling reason why the run is important. For me the run became important when I realised that despite it being my run, it could mean a lot to other people as well and if I am to enter a race, who does it help to if I fail? At the very least seeing me DNF might put them off entering.

Now I have no delusions of grandeur or self-importance, but we are all part of a community and I believe that finishing that run was in some way a small part of my contribution to that community. I know that reading about others that have completed runs, particularly in tough situations, has inspired me and some times people need that as the kick to set their own ambitious goals so that made it worth trying. And to have some company for that final 20km and finish it together turned the whole race around and gave it a very special way to finish. I highly recommend the event to anyone considering entering, but respect the event, pace yourself and be prepared. These may all sound obvious but it is so easy to miss some of that without really thinking about what you'll need to finish the event. Above all, find what you need to finish the event and keep it with you until the end - no matter what the race, you're definitely going to need it.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/617723775
https://www.strava.com/activities/210306808

Enjoying the Accomplishment While Moving Forward

After Surf Coast Century the previous year, I knew a little of what I would be in for after the miler. The loss of direction and emptiness that follows and practically non-existent interest in running. This time I didn't fight it. I enjoyed what I had done, and just sat contented with that for a while, not running until two weeks later. This worked out well with my body, especially as I had picked up top of foot pain in the left foot from running 160km in 3mm drop shoes I was only just getting accustomed to. I ran a beautiful 34km with two great people, not worrying about where my running was at or what that fit into. All I wanted at this stage was to focus on the people around me as I wanted them to find what I had out there, and that seemed far more important than trying to find any new goal. I ran the Bellarine Rail Trail Run, but in reverse, lining up my second half, with their first and tagging along with a relatively new SCTR and enjoying keeping him moving along for the 17km we ran together.

I had been looking to try and lend help to anyone that could use it, be it with my experiences in a run, or nutrition, or whatever made them feel a little better about trying to do this crazy stuff we call fun. A fairly new but determined SCTR, Erin, was asking for advice on training for an 80km road event, having never run 50km and not knowing whether it would be feasible to train for something like that by November. I jumped at the chance to help somebody do something they thought impossible. It quickly became obvious she was more than capable of running anything she set her mind to and the week after the BRT run, we set out on her first 50km run, comprised of a whole collection of Anglesea trails before meeting up with an SCTR group run. It was an amazing experience to help someone achieve something like that, and if you ever have the chance to be involved in somebody's training like that you really should. We ran quite a few long runs together as my next run I'd locked in back in May, Great Ocean Walk drew nearer.

In September I was crewing for Dion at Surf Coast Century and really didn't have much idea of what it would involve other than a 15 hour+ day. Dion's training had been going really well, so I had no doubt he had what he needed to bring in the 100km, but I knew that pushing to this distance his state of mind would be crucial so I tried to run through as many different scenarios in my head as possible and be prepared for anything. The day started out really well and brought back many familiar memories of my run the previous year. He started out really well and nailed the first leg along the beach in good form and spirits. He was a little ahead of schedule so I cautioned him to dial it back a little for the second leg, especially as the sun picked up on those exposed trails around Eumerella many people get dehydrated and have a pretty tough time. It was so great to see many other SCTRs and familiar faces coming through at each checkpoint and help them out where I could.

By the end of the second leg many people were having a pretty rough day. There were a few with stomach issues, some feeling the impact of perhaps getting carried away and others that were struggling mentally to find the reason to continue. I was fortunate enough to help a few through before Dion came in. He had a fairly rough patch for a while and was feeling it, unsure of how the rest of the race was going to pan out. Being well over 6 foot, the thought of having to clamber under the tiny bridge just out of Anglesea was fairly daunting, particularly if you're already cramping. Fortunately he managed to crab crawl his way through problem free which immediately lifted his spirits and he set off onto the second half looking great.

Moving on to the end of leg 3 was great, based in Moggs Creek picnic ground. So many familiar faces and so many people that had found their way again since early issues in the race. By this stage many really didn't need much help and knew exactly what they wanted and what their plan for the race was, but it was nice to try to lend a hand and see them in the middle of something I'd only ever been a participant in before. Dion came through looking fantastic. He had hit another major slump, but managed to pull through and was feeling great, especially once he met up with his wonderful family again (who aren't as short as they look). Erin was volunteering at this check point and had finished her stint, so we headed out after Dion to see how he was feeling in the run and spur some other runners on (okay, there was definitely a little "really need to run!" in there too). Dion was doing great, and team McHen were looking good as well - a husband, wife and friend team who had the insane idea of running their first 100km all together. What is even more crazy is that they did it and nobody was killed! So many things you get to see when you're on the side lines that you miss in the event itself and I was enjoying the day far more than a lot of events I'd been in.

After our run we hung around for a bit to check on the other runners before moving to the finish line. We were fortunate to see a lot of friends who had already finished and some as they came over the line. I waited until roughly when I expected him to be on the 4km beach stretch, then got dropped off (in jeans and t-shirt but at least with trail shoes) at the end of it, planning to run back and team up with him if he wanted. Some how I managed to miss him and ran 7km before getting picked up and brought back to the finish, but he had finished the race and nailed his goal of almost 2 years in the making. It had been an incredible day and there is no way you could pick a single aspect of all of that which made it what it is, but I now understand how so many volunteers keep coming back to be a part of it all, and what an amazing experience it can be. It certainly is a long day though, and all those committed volunteers have my utmost thanks for the sacrifices the make and effort they put in to make our runs so great. I had learned so much about running from this day, and that the head space I needed to run in these events continues well beyond and from well before the day. Having the right focus before and after an event helped me to have the right perspective and get so much more from all the fantastic people involved and hopefully give something back as well.

Becoming "Hardcore"

After Buffalo Stampede I was feeling great about what I'd achieved and was wanting to find the next big thing after completing a 100km and a Skyrun ultra. It was announced that a 100 mile event would be added to the You Yangs Trail Running Festival line up (the "hardcore 100") and I was instantly sold. I signed up and received confirmation a few days later that I was in. Now that the deed was done I had to come up with a real training plan. Marysville was almost a disaster without training sufficiently. Buffalo felt like it was almost a fluke off what I had put in for it (although there were some tough long runs in there), so this needed some real commitment. I planned out just over 1000km of mileage throughout May and June and tapering back in July. This would see me ideally hit a few 120km weeks and even a 160, to prepare my body better for what was to come.

May training actually went quite well, with an 80, 100, 100, 120, then a cut back to 50km week. June started out well, but I was rapidly losing motivation to run the 15km+ of every run, especially as many were early morning or at night (as night running experience is crucial to any miler). Seeing the wheels about to fall off I went with another crazy strategy, leverage off the success I'd had for Buffalo - run mostly only long runs, but this time, make them all 42km+. Four marathons in a month. A good mate I run with in Anglesea a bit, Chris, suggested that for the SCTR Surf Coast Trail Marathon training event that we run from the finish point and rack up 70km, so I figured what better way to kick off the June long runs? That run went surprisingly well, averaging a moving pace of 6:05 min/km and feeling pretty okay afterwards. The next weekend I followed it up with 2 loops plus an extra Flinders Peak of the miler course at the You Yangs to get a feel for what I'd be running around 8 times! It felt okay, but I could already tell that the runnable would be the problem for me, not the hills. I finished up June with the second half of the Surf Coast Century course for 51km and fore running the Surf Coast Trail Marathon for 45km.

I had achieved my goal of four marathon (or longer) long runs in one month. I wasn't feeeling too terrible and all of them had been run reasonably well, so I was feeling fairly good as the final two weeks rolled around. In that time I only ran twice again for 15km (of hill repeats) and 31km with the SCTR You Yangs training run, but it kept my legs fresh and with everything else going on at the time, it seemed alright. The day finally rolled around and conveniently it was only a 30 minute drive and a "late" start of 9am. I was quite happy with my gear selection, this time opting for the lighter Salomon pack (as I would pass an aid station every 10km, and every lap of 20km I would have my own bag drop at the start / finish. Having run my previous Roclites past 1000km, I opted for the lighter and racier model, the 243s to succeed them, which had less cushioning and a 3mm drop. I adapted to these over a month or so, and loved them so I chose to run them on the day, especially as the tread was newer and they weren't so worn out. Fueling would be identical to Buffalo and I a whole pile of backup gear in a waterproof bag for any conditions, as well as a portable charger to make sure my watch went the distance.

It was quite a cold start, but fairly good conditions for running a miler. We all started off at 9am on the dot up our first of eight Flinders Peaks and then down and around the perimeter of the You Yangs to the entrance and back up along the 87 walk (via Big Rock to Turntable). The first lap ended up a little quicker than expected, clocking in at 2:05. The next three laps I held together pretty well, only dropping back 5 minutes per lap to 2:10, 2:15 and 2:20. I'd hit half way by 6pm and was feeling pretty good. I was enjoying most of the course and was sticking to a strict rule of running everything from the top of Flinders Peak to the start of the 87 climb. My heart rate was looking good, body was feeling great, and I had developed some great strategies throughout my training for zoning out by humming tunes, counting, etc. As the night settled in things got a bit tougher, particularly the 5km horse track loop which is three long stretches of very straight, very flat open trail. I was still managing the descents quite well, averaging 5 min/km or better down most of it.

On my fifth lap, I'd just struggled through the horse track section and came out to hear two guys saying they couldn't find anyone to pace. I had no plans for a pacer but joked "you can pace me if you like!" As it turned out it was two good friends from SCTR and that's what they did. It was great to finally have some company and they ran with me back to the end of the lap. At that stage one stuck with me to the entrance again, and the other headed down to the horse track to get me through the second last round of what was becoming a recurring nightmare. At turntable at the end of lap 6 a friend had mentioned that I wasn't far off the podium. This wasn't something I'd even considered as it just didn't occur to me that I would be anywhere near the pointy end of an event like this. After my third last Flinders Peak I passed the guy in 3rd place as he was coming down. I'd now moved into 3rd place and the pressure was really on.

As I came to the eastern boundary, about 6km into the last lap I could see a light moving up on me. Chris and I picked up the pace and even changed my head torch battery on the run to save time to try to keep the position. We "charged" down the eastern edge at just over 5 minute kms before I dropped it back for the new undulating mountain bike track at the southern edge. Finally I figured "well, this guy is really going for it and he deserves it" so I eased off to let him over take and have it. As it turned out it was Kathy Macmillan, who had stopped for food at the end of the last lap so I wasn't aware she was then behind me. Knowing that the pressure was back on, I ran with Kathy most of the way to the horse track where she stopped to change her head torch battery. I managed to keep a decent pace up the hill and run most of the final lap solo to meet my wife in the last few hundred metres. I managed to pick up to a decent run with her and finished my first miler in 19 hours and 2 minutes.

This run will remain a benchmark for me for a long time of what it's like to have everything come together in a run. The gear, fueling, my mind, body, even surprise support from friends all came together perfectly for me to complete 160km at a 7:11 min/km average pace, never once hitting a real low where I wanted out. It's a run that I always think back to and it is difficult to compare it to any other and gave me an experience that I didn't expect, but one that I will always be grateful for. None of these experiences would be possible without the support I've had from friends and family, particularly my wife, and the incredible running buddies I've developed through this amazing sport.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/545209923
https://www.strava.com/activities/168241522

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
https://www.strava.com/activities/133616290

Where To After One Hundred?

When I finished the Surf Coast Century back in September, 2013, there wasn't any where near much on trail and ultra running (or at least that I was aware of) as there is now. What some of you will now be familiar with is the overwhelming slump you hit after completing your long term goal. There are so many things that I think come together to cause this: not sure what to tackle next, can't face the idea of training again, built up exhaustion in both body and mind, but what I think makes this the hardest, at least for me, is the loss of such a meaningful goal to channel your energy into. All of a sudden you a floating adrift, unsure of what to do from here. You know that whatever you decide to do won't be as significant, and to everyone it will be "just another ultra" now that you've done something in their eyes at the height of insanity already. So you fumble your way through the following months trying to find some meaning in your running.

Marysville 50km

This fumbling led me to have a go at the Marysville 50km, just to have some focus back. My training essentially consisted of the short work runs and a weekend long run, usually around 30km, with one 50km on the rail trail thrown in. With the base I figured I already had I thought that should be enough to do alright and get through it fairly well. We drove up the night before the event and stayed in a cabin near the start and everything lined up fairly well. I had Perpetuem set to go and all the usual gear at the ready and headed off at the start into what I felt was "just another 50". I even forgot to start my watch until 3km in. Everything went pretty well until about 25km when I started to feel a bit over it all. The run was well organised and it was quite scenic, but I hadn't counted on so much climbing that seemed fairly runnable and on a harder surface than anticipated.

Two Bays 56km (see below)

By the time I'd done the main first climb I was pretty sure I'd overdone it somewhat. I figured I'd be okay once I hit the downhill but that was very loose and the legs fatigued to the point where even that felt tough. Hitting the bottom of the descent I started into run / walking until the finish line where the final 14km began as an out and back. I was very tempted at this stage to simply call it a day, but I'd never failed to complete a run before in any conditions and wasn't about to start now even if I'd stopped enjoying it. I struggled on up to Steavenson Falls with a group of other runners who were fairly cooked by this point as well. The falls were absolutely spectacular, and made continuing worth it, but I still had 9km to go before I would reach the finish. At the final turn around before heading back I ran into Claire, a fellow SCTR completing the half marathon and she was in a very similar state to me from all appearances. Rather than trying to salvage what was left of my run, I decided to stick with Claire until the finish - they do say misery loves company. :)


We both trudged with some occasional jogging along to the finish, completing the race but both having suffered considerably in the process. Despite all of this, on reflection I think these are important runs to have. You need to establish what doesn't work and what you need to get the most from an event in order to have better runs in the future, and setting a low makes every high that much better. I took a lot from finishing the run with a friend and decided to sign up for Two Bays 56km and run it with a friend out my way to run his first ultra on trail. While my training didn't pick up too much for it (especially narrowly missing out on a marathon a month for the year by gashing my head open on a low hanging branch at 39km in December), it was enough to keep me out there.


The event itself was quite different as we camped in Dromana the night before and for the first time I didn't have a shower before a long run (and haven't since). I just got out there with no particular plans, but using my tried and true combination of gear and fueling to get me through. We set a decent pace, but one that allowed me to take in a lot of the course, get photos and appreciate the wonderful region the course was set in. We moved along the trails well and up Arthur's seat, ringing the bell in Dromana together and trudged back up to run in the final (very long) flat-ish 15km stretch of the course. I don't know how much help I really was, but it was great to help spur my mate along and keep him moving well until the very finish, and having company for a whole ultra was fantastic and made for a much better experience than trying to smash out another course at an arbitrary pace. Having completed this run, my head was back in a much better place and I felt I could face the idea of aiming for something bigger again.

Running a Century in Day

In the week leading up I could hardly wait to pack all the gear. By Wednesday I had everything set aside and ready to go. For the You Yangs 50km I'd picked up a pair of Inov-8 Roclite 295s (the 6mm not 9mm drop version) and they panned out really well for that race, feeling much roomier in the toe box (especially owing to the "endurance fit") and having great traction, even quite reasonable on the rock pools along the beach. I'd also moved away from the Salomon pack due to durability issues and picked up an Ultraspire Omega, with a 12 litre capacity, single front bottle holder, but added flask and more versatile pockets. The rest was fairly standard fare:

• Nike tech shorts and Sphere top.
• Inov-8 Stormshell Elite 150 waterproof jacket with hood - nice and light and breathable.
• Injinji standard weight socks with Inov-8 gaiters.
• Garmin 910XT with HRM and foot pod.
• Petzl Tactikka head lamp.
• Mandatory first aid and space blanket.

For nutrition, I was aiming for 280 calories an hour fueling roughly 60% off perpetuem with a bottle per leg to suit the expected time frame (strawberry, orange, orange, cafe latte) and gels (apple cinnamon and tropical) and a hammer bar to make up the rest. This meant I'd be on almost entirely liquid fuel and hitting the caffeine with the final 22km to go. Since I'd cut out caffeine completely in the week prior, this should have a fair impact. Post run I had the standard protein shake ready to go to help recovery so I would be walking again some time soon. :P

Race day finally arrived after a fairly generous 5 hours of sleep and I was up and going at 4am. Dion, co-founder of SCTR and long time running buddy, was crewing for me on the day and drove me to the event. It was a strange feeling to finally be there, on the day I'd trained for and thought about for a year now. We moved down to the beach with all our gear and lined up ready to go. It had a great atmosphere with all these runners ready to run a leg, the 50, but so many 100km runners as well. I can't even remember the noise that signified the start of the race, but I definitely felt it. Everything felt real, and alive at that moment.

I started out running along side a few people and ended up next to Lucy Bartholomew. I figured since she had run a bit over 12 hours the previous year, and I was ideally aiming for 11 to 12, she might be a good person to pace with a bit. After 5km it became pretty clear that wasn't a great idea and she went on to take out 2nd for the women! I dropped back and began running with another woman from Sydney I believe that was first time on course, so it was nice to chat and try to offer some helpful advice on what the course was like and how I'd found it. We ran the whole leg together but I took a bit of time to get everything sorted and we split up from there. I needed the break though - I'd just cleared the first leg in slightly over 2 hours ahead of pacing and needed to ease up. I found out later the woman I had run with, Sonia Condron, took out 3rd place for the women. After switching Perpetuem bottles, filling up the bladder I was off onto a much cruisier second leg to try to compensate for overdoing it a little. I walked all hills but the legs felt so sore from 20 to about 35km I thought I was going to be in trouble.

I kept a fairly even pace through that leg and ended up clearing the first half in 4:46, feeling actually pretty good by that stage. After a very welcome, but brief, meeting with the crew again to top up, I headed off nervously to push past my previous longest distance of 55km just after the two big climbs on leg 3, Heartbreak Hill and Hutt Gully. On a walk recovery from the latter I took a photo to Facebook for those following away from the course. From then on the legs just felt pretty good - solid and strong despite the impact that had already been on them. I walked most of the main climbs on leg 3, but ran all the downhill a bit under 5 min/km and made up for it quite well. I hit the end of leg 3 a full hour ahead of schedule feeling fantastic, knowing I could literally walk it in to pick up the goal of sub 12 hours. Since sub 11 was now feasible, I was keen to push on and make the most of the time I'd already made up. The family had recorded a video for me at this point which my awesome crewman Dion had prepped for me and with that spurring me on to the next leg, I set off.

The final leg was time to break out the caffeine with cafe latte Perpetuem and tropical gel. By the time I cleared the Ocean Lookout, headed around Moggs Creek and across to Aireys Inlet I felt a bit spacey from all the caffeine but as it started to settle I felt strong again and kept a solid pace going. By the time I hit the trail after Sunnymead Beach I was feeling okay but keen to get it done. I held out well along there but the slight incline of the previous cliff top run and the endless winding of the trail was incredibly frustrating at that point. I was so happy to finally hit the beach stretch I ran straight into the water to cool my feet. Feeling a little refreshed I put my head down and locked in a pace along the 4km of sand and managed to catch up to a group of relay runners. I paired up with one of them and headed through the last section feeling okay but well and truly spent.

On the final hill I hit a downhill stretch assuming I had covered the main climb and started running but quickly realised it was only half way up. I kept pushing up any way and managed to run to the top and then cruise on down, slowly picking up speed again. Just before the beach I passed another 100km runner who looked completely done at that stage but as I headed along the beach he picked up and caught me and we sprinted together towards the finish. I can't speak for the other guy but I felt like it wasn't competing for the finish line, but pushing each other to pick up and put everything left into a strong finish. He pulled ahead of me on the final stretch but we both sprinted well into the finish line. My wife and daughter were waiting for me at the finish and when I collapsed on the ground after my sprint finish, they came over to help me up. It was all a bit of a blur after that, but as much as everyone was really happy for me and in no way am I ungrateful for all the support, the feeling of having achieved something great and exceeding my own expectations was incredible and after 31 minutes, 10 hours and a year of training, I finally felt relaxed and content.

Looking back over the event there were so many things to take away from it. The gear was great with the shoes holding up beautifully and the layout of the pack brilliant for the nutrition strategy. The top of the bladder in the pack did rub a lot against the top of my back, but stuffing my jacket in there to pad it out not only fixed that but helped the pack sit even better. In terms of nutrition, I never felt weak or lacking in energy and the caffeine option in leg 4 proved to be a huge pick-me-up and I think made at least 30 minutes difference to my time, but more than that it kept my head in a better place moving like that. More than anything I realised that keeping your head in the right place is so critical to an ultra and while pacing well to avoid feeling really crap later on, using the right fueling and knowing the course all really helped, having my little green alien to remind me of the time and support my family had given for this event already and whenever I felt it getting tougher, I held onto it briefly and pushed forward knowing they were with me. Of all the runs I've completed nothing will compare to the feeling of clearing that final hill and being on the downhill stretch to the finish. Even running that same stretch now brings me back to that moment and how amazing it was to have done something that was fairly incomprehensible even to myself.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/380441643

https://www.strava.com/activities/133638770

Surf Coast Century - Getting to the Start Line

All my training up until the end of May had gone really well, with all my goals reached or exceeded. A solid 20 weeks of training had put me to a point where I was pretty sure I could run the event and finish, but I wanted to see how much further I could take it to not only finish it, but feel comfortable and enjoy the event. That has really always been my goal in training for an event - to exceed the ability required to finish so I wouldn't have to struggle so much that it would take away from the event. Ultimately my reason for running a lot of these events is to see new places and experience things, so I don't want suffering to get in the way of that.


Heading into June things started off really well with 51km over the second half of the SCC course. Our new addition to the family, Alexis, was nearly due, which is why I'd planned to get most of my training done before June, so I was back to very cautious dribs and drabs, but feeling very fresh. I knocked out a half marathon PB of 1:27:59 (4:10min/km average), 36km in 2:53:07 and a marathon PB of 3:22:27 (4:48min/km average). The training had definitely panned out well and now it was time to "rest" up with the new baby arriving on the 18th.

Apart from the 1.5km runs to and from work and a decent 34km at the start of July I didn't get any decent runs in prior the the You Yangs 50km, but the day went really well. It was an awesome event, and very different from Rollercoaster. I had picked up a new Salomon S-Lab Advanced Skin Set 5 pack and used that and now Perpetuem for that run. Prior to the race my lovely wife knocked up a little alien (of my eldest daughter's choosing) with "Go Daddy" on the front. It has accompanied me on almost every event since and is a great source of strength when it gets tough out there. The run was less ascent than Rollercoaster with 1500m but the extra distance and rougher terrain in parts did make up for it. The first 30km (which also makes up the 30km course) was pretty good but I probably put too much into that as by the final 15km I was starting to struggle. 12km of that was a seemingly endless progression of mountain bike trails in a plantation which seemed to all blend together. I made a deal that I would run until the end of "track 16" before walking, but that ended up going for over 6km! I was hoping to finish sub 6min/km, but was very happy to finish in 5:04:53 with a 6:04min/km average.

After the race I didn't have much motivation for training, so I booked in to the Ultra Training Australia SCC training camp to run the first and second half of the course each day of a weekend in August. The first day was pretty cruisy, knocking over the first half in 7 minute kms, and I felt surprisingly good backing up the next morning for the second, tougher, half in 6:09 min/km. Running with Shona Stephenson was a great experience and gave me a lot of insight into my nutrition, running form and strategies for surviving and pacing correctly over an ultra. Was great to run with someone who also loved smashing downhill technical trail and a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

After that weekend I started smashing out some hills and plyometrics and tempted fate by running a 34km in a new pair of shoes straight out. This resulted in some pretty painful foot issues in my left foot from 17km which I ran through and put me almost completely off running for the next 3 weeks. Not training wasn't an option, so I jumped onto the bike and started riding the 13.5km to and from work as often as I could and hit a 50km out to Queenscliff along the Bellarine Rail Trail. By early September I managed an easy 30km out on the first half of the course with some other SCTRs and a final 20km the weekend before the event. Not how I'd planned to lead up to the event, but it was all I was game to throw at it to make sure I wasn't injured on the day. Feeling good, but nervous about my shaky last 3 months of training, it was time to put it all into action.