2022 – rossm

The Adventure

Those who know me might know that I’m a bit of a sucker for adventure and done just a little bit of cycle touring (wayyy back in 2018 – https://thetravellingbeancounter.wordpress.com). I had dreamed up this baby a little while after getting back from Japan – the idea of cycling from (new) hometown to (original) hometown. With a good mate’s wedding the weekend following, the stars finally aligned and I set off on the 2nd of December.

Sport	Date	Title	Time	Distance	Elevation
Ride	Fri, 02/12/2022	Day 1: Sydney to Warners Bay	5:57:24	147.40 km	1,381 m
Ride	Sat, 03/12/2022	Day 2: Newcastle to Scone	6:49:35	168.59 km	1,579 m
Ride	Sun, 04/12/2022	Day 3 – Scone to Tamworth	6:08:54	142.22 km	1,107 m

Highlights (and Lowlights):

Highlight: Fueling up at Manly bowls before starting for my Finance Christmas party at Amazon. Also noting the bike way atleast 80% lighter than what I was riding around Japan on
Lowlight: Crazy traffic and psycho drivers from Manly to Palm Beach Ferry
Highlight: KFC with Rolly on arrival into Newcastle
Lowlight: Gear cable snapping literally halfway into the 2nd day
Highlight: “Day for it” good weather all round, especially when going through the Hunter Valley
Highlight: Powering up the Great Dividing Ranges without stopping until reaching the top
Lowlight: Currabubula Markets had millions of cars on the small rural roads when I was so close to home
Highlight: Accomplishing the trip! Especially with no injuries (besides an aching gooch and dead quads).

Signing up for Noosa Tri (2021)

About 2 years ago I signed up for almost every race in the continent. From a 2K Ocean Swim in Coolangatta to a 50K trail race in Warburton Victoria. Included in that was the Noosa Triathlon in 2021 which was actually out of normal tickets so I opted to run for a charity.

Noosa Tri now lays claim as the largest Olympic distance triathlon in the world and is consistently ranked in the global top-ten triathlons by athletes. The 5-day festival – which includes 11 events in all – hosts over 13,000 competitors supported by more than 30,000 spectators on race day.

It was an easy pick in terms of which charity to run for as my niece has heart problems as a kid and HeartKids support kids like her and do all kinds of good research in that area. I raised just shy of $2.5K and actually topped the individual fundraisers for the Charity, something I never expected and very proud of.

2 years later after 2021 was closed for interstate travellers due to COVID19, the time had come. I had never set my goal to get a podium as that would be so unrealistic. I just wanted to complete the event and give it a good crack. Before race I was expecting ~30mins in the swim, 1.5hours on the bike and ~40mins in the run.

Race Day

Swim – 28 minutes

Went in not too nervous but also not completely confident
Started getting ‘tired’ and a bit more nervous after a few hundred metres but went away after I realised I was able to keep up with the people around me
After the halfway point I knew I had it in the bag and walked out 28mins
Key Takeaway: I should definitely train for ocean swims with real ocean swimming

Bike – 1h 21 elapsed (1h 18m moving)

The bike makes a real difference. I don’t care what each tradesman says
I was on a hybrid and thought I did very well averaging ~30kms/h
My biggest mistake was not reading the rulebook as I drafted someone after like 2mins of riding and copped a blue card and a 3minute sin bin. I actually think most people were doing this and it’s just luck whether you get caught or not
I was destroying the average riders uphill which felt good. But those good riders were just next level. Considering the bike is the longest leg, this is where a lot of opportunity is

Run – ~40mins

Did very very well here and made up a lot of time. I was flying and think there was only 1 guy on course who was running faster than me in my line of sight

Results

Final Thoughts

Great and fun event. Highly recommend doing it.
I think even for the non-podium people you can very easily get caught up in the competition aspect and forget to enjoy it
I’m not one for crowds and it was very annoying trying to get out of the area
I beat Spencer (my old colleague) and that was my only time goal. Accomplished.

BTU110

Leading into BTU110 I had done a few long runs on the weekend and started feeling some pains in my knee in the exterior of my left knee but just like under the knee cap. It only started to feel these pains when I bent it and only after maybe 3 or 4 hours of running. I thought I was just imagining and kept pushing on.

09 July 2022 at 5:00am the race began and I was in the top 5 or 6 people. I just happened to be running a similar pace with a legend – Alexi. I was feeling great even with the steep and constant undulation until around the 40k mark or ~4-5hour mark the similar dull but consistent knee pain. I tried to run it out for another 10Ks until it started becoming unbearable – I had made it to one of the larger aid stations and rested for a few minutes and downed some noodles. Started running again and within 2ks it had come back. At the top of a hill I decided to let my position slide and try to shake it out for 20-30 minutes with squats and stretches. It killed me just to let people pass. Similar to before, the pain came straight back but faster and worse than ever. I knew at this point that I was pulling out.

The walk of shame back to the aid station was the worst part as so many people were so encouraging and checking in if I was okay. At last I made it back to base and got a lift down to the bus stop with a nice support crew.

At the end of the day, I was sure I made the right call to pull out. It only kills me now as I look at the results to see and congratulate Alexi on coming overall 3rd. I still had a lot of gas in the tank and weirdly was walking fine, just couldn’t run.

I steeled myself and knew I had something to learn from this experience. Sharks can only move forward, I need to channel my inner shark.

What's up doc?

Without ranting too much about how long and drawn out the process was to see doctors / physios / radiologists / etc…. I decided I should get some specialist medical assessments.

BAD: MUST see a GP to get a referral. Seems to take longer than a week to get a booking…
GOOD: Opted in to get an MRI scan ($500 cost but $380 returned through Medicare)
GOOD: MRI report comes back with a lot of detail. but quite complex. Google and youtube help diagnose
BAD: GP is supposed to interpret the results but literally has no idea so just reads back the report word for word and suggests seeing a specialise.
GOOD: Youtube / Google doctors and physios have lots of remedies which I was following most of the 3 weeks prior to finally getting the MRI report.

The words ‘Chronic’ and ‘ACL’ scared me to see them here – however I know they’re most likely from previous injuries and I was running with them earlier. So ruling them out it’s surely ITB syndrome and Google diagnosis suggested.

Rehab = Stretching and Strengthening

Play

A few of the materials that really helped me.

Stretch ITD with towel/belt
Quad stretch
Strengthen for 1 legged squats
Ankle / shin flexibility and mobility

I try to do most of these every day even if it’s short – better than nothing.

1 month later...

I rested for almost 4 weeks and maybe 5 cancelled physio appointments before deciding it was time to test it out. The stretching has really helped and no pain although I’ll admit I’ve probably overdone it with almost 60ks in the last 5 days.

The Race

Preparation

Run, a lot
Buy all the gear you need – ensure mandatory kit
Bag pack – make sure it all fits
Eating bulk food leading in and during
Preparing listening materials
Walking Kelli through the plan – start hard, consistent throughout the night
Get to the start line EARLY

Start 9am Saturday 21 May 2022

Very happy with the starting first 30Ks. Blitzed it and got out in a solid leading pack.
Kelli said she saw me on the tracker in first place at one point, yay
The trail disappeared and terrain very tough
Literally one point saying ‘this can’t be the way, it’s too insane’. Turns out it was the way and my hesitation cost me ~20mins
Razorback ridge AMAZING

Aid Station 1: Standley Chasm around 630pm and dark

Currently in 3rd place
First time seeing Kelli ~8-9 hours in
Maybe in darker spirits knowing it was almost certain I was running all night.
The next 40 to the aid station weren’t as difficult as the previous 60 but I struggled to keep a running rhythm.
Cain (4th) caught up and boosted me through a Canyon. One of the legends last races as he gives back time to his family.
Once he left it was just myself… Bit daunting, so started LotR 1 audiobook. Scary witch kings, orcs, forest, barrow downs, willow.
Lost on the track then mr Speed Dealer (5th) overtook me. He was on speed big time. The aid station person put his condition down as ‘Hungry’

Aid Station 1: 103K and around 3am

Currently in 5th or 6th place
Kelli was asleep in the car
Final big aid station I did a shoe change and caught a 2nd wind then lost it. Then caught a final in the 10k end.
Views probably would’ve been amazing and that’s the real loss here. Esp. near the end on euro ridge where I could see nothing.
Kelli paced me the final 5 and almost took me down the wrong road lol
End at sunrise. Wasn’t completely dead.
Good time but feel I left a lot out there with the lost running
Results

Post Race

Snuck into a campground to shower – that was hard
Smashed a huge KFC feast
I slept in the car as Kelli drove us to Uluru for our flight back to Sydney the next day – what a legend she is!
Ankle / shin muscle or tendon issues plagued me for the next few weeks, next race is BTU110K in ~6 weeks post race!

Day 1, Mon 11th of April 2022 - Planning: 1 part strategic 1 part stupid

First international travel for ~3years. April 2019 we were in the north island of New Zealand.

We decided to book our trip the day after the most difficult race of my life (to date: 10/04/2022); The Tamworth Trail Blazer 60K with ~3,800m elevation gain. After pushing 165 heart beats per minute for 531 minutes pushing out ~5,700 calories and taking home both the course record, first place and days worth of pain to follow, maybe it was 2 parts stupid, 1 part strategic…

It was a great day and I was too high on adrenaline to feel it but I was chafing and cramping so much that the next few days on planes I thought would be a good time to recover. The worst part was the chafing… definitely going to fix that for my next ultras in May and July – it actually formed a scab on the flight over the Singapore.

Post-COVID Airports

This was actually the time when domestic airports were absolutely insanely understaffed and security lines went outside the terminals – mayhem. Luckily the international terminal wasn’t so bad (LINK). After flying strictly domestically the last 3 years you forget some of the procedures going international: taking out liquids (100ml max), passport photo not looking like you, 3hr check-in rules, etc. But you also forget the glamour of the lounges, luxury shops, duty free (~50% shops open).

The Flight

Actually not that bad… and we were flying economy on Scoot. Worst part was the screaming babies but sitting down for hours on end, watching F1’s and Kimetsu no Yaiba S2, really not that bad. It probably helped that I was still exhausted from the run that I could actually sleep every few hours.
Total rest time: 24.5h
Tamworth to Sydney: 1hr
Sydney to Singapore: 7.5hrs
Singapore to Athens: 11hrs

Places and Maps

Planning Map

Highlights from each area:

Athens

Acropolis – especially the Erechtheion. Private tour guide was great. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey YouTube video guide just as good!
Food – Mousakka, Anchovies, bakeries, everything
Acropolis Museum was a bit of a let down. The Greek inventions museum was awesome though.

Meteora

Literally everything; Monasteries, food, people
E-Bike Sunset Tour
Hiking, turtles, tracks, photos
Via Cordatta
Hotel – buffet breakfast

Kefalonia

Cycling up Mt Ainos
Melisanni Cave
Shipwreck beach – although we had average weather

Rome

Appian way run
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is everywhere. Borgia tower, Mausoleum of Augusto, Coliseum, etc
Food – Pasta has never been so good. Gelato – Wasabi chocolate
Disappointment: air quality from street smokers

Naples

Pizza and portion sizes
The Tunnel Tour followed by the Catacombs
Pompeii was huge
Disappointing: trash and rubbish everywhere and Visuvio was covered in fog. Japanese food was also horrible.

Santorini

Sunset hike from Thira to the north
The Lost Atlantis
Disappointing – roads are not made for walking or cycling. Need better infrastructure. Prices also very high, recommend going to Lidl.

Set Your Ultimate Goals

By setting your race goals first you’ll be able to plan your calendar and races to achieve these. It’s usually best to set goals into Priority Tiers (A/B/C 1st /2nd/3rd).

For myself, my (current 01/01/2022) goals are:

Priority
1. UTMB – Ultra Trail Mont. Blanc
2. UTMF – Ultra Trail Mount Fuji
3. Western Mac Ellery 128K
Priority (or Qualification Races)
1. BTU 100
2. Tamworth Trail Blazer 60K
Priority (if it won’t impede my other events)
1. UTA (50 or 100K)

Race Requirements / Entry Process

There’s not much point in looking further into a race if you can’t even enter. Look at the official website and find out how to qualify.

My example is UTMB (170K) and from my research thus far it’s one of the most difficult races to qualify for (for the general public). So if I qualify for UTMB, I should be pretty safe for all other races (still worth checking each race though).

UTMB 2022 Entry Process lists multiple criteria just to enter the lottery.

‘Unique’ to UTMB: Runners who have collected Running Stones by participating in the UTWT circuit. One Running Stone will provide one entry in the lottery. You can have up to 9 stones. They must also own a valid UTMB Index for the distance of their choice (To enter the UTMB® lottery, runners must own a valid UTMB® Index in the 100K or 100M category).
More Standard: Runners who have acquired the requested qualifying points. UTMB: 10 points acquired between 01/01/2019 and 31/12/2021 (in 2 races maximum). 1 Entry for the lottery.
Charity: making a €2,000 donation to one of the charitable associations supported by the organization
Be an Elite (800+ ITRA score)

My UTMB Qualification

So it’s pretty clear that I will not be able to qualify for UTMB 2022. I have 0 stones, I’m ~120 points short of being ‘Elite’ and I only have 1 qualification point.

I will airm to qualify for the 2023 event.

The most efficient way to gain entry is through Running Stones as you can have up to 9 entries. I will opt for gain as many Stones as possible but also aim for qualifying points (as this will ensure I qualify for other events such as UTMF).

I have organised my races as below:


1	Race Date	Category	Purpose	Location	Name	Stones / Points
2	9 April 2022	3rd	Other	Tamworth, NSW	Tamworth Trail Blazer	0
3	14 May 2022	3rd	Stones	Sydney, Australia	Ultra Trail Australia (50K)	3
4	21 May 2022	1st	Goal	Alice Springs, NT	Western Mac Ellery (128K)	5
5	9 July 2022	2nd	Points	Brisbane, Qld	BTU 100	5
6	27 October 2022	2nd	Stones	Chang Mai, Thailand	Thailand by UTMB (54 / 110K)	9
7	18 November 2022	2nd	Stones	Cheng Du, China	Panda Trail by UTMB	9
8	26 April 2023	1st	Goal	Fuji, Japan	Ultra Trail Mount Fuji	3
9	22 August 2023	1st	Goal	Chamonix, France	UTMB	0

Finally, just because a race is not in the list now doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Just ensure it fits into your goals and plans.

Timing and Registration

Don’t miss registration dates!

UTMB registration: January 6 to 18: pre-registration for the lottery & registration for priority runners
UTMF Registration: January 7, 2022 – January 14, 2022 Lottery.
Western Mac Ellery Monster 128K: Online Registrations for personalised bib close: April 30th , 2022

Where you have a race that may impact performance of another, rethink and maybe cancel the lesser priority race.

Resources

Mile 27 Race Planning Podcast

Year: 2022