trail

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!
WMM 2022 Final
Thank you Support Crew Dinner

I never really started running until I went to Uni. I had always thought of myself as too stocky or thicc to ever get into long distance – ‘it’s just the way I’m built’ I would tell myself. After years of mediocre attempts at running around the neighbourhood (just 5km or so in 25ish minutes) I started living with a guy who was actually good at running, Carl Puchner. Even though the guy ate a full pizza every night for dinner and KFC for lunch he had the perfect runner’s physique.

We’d often go on short jogs together on concrete around Chatswood where I’d just be slowing him down. One fateful day I was exploring the neighbourhood and found a nice little jungle path and thought to take it at some pace. I took Carl back here and thought we could do it together and found out I was actually able to keep up (or even slightly ahead) of this milo fiend. He even mentioned it after the run saying I was flying and he was struggling to keep up. Not sure if this is yet a law but I’m going to claim it

Ross’ Law - You find more enjoyment in activities you are good at

And I think this is where it all began. Next thing I knew my brother Thomas sporadically asked if I wanted to try the Tamworth TrailBlazer in 2019 (15K +900m elevation) back in my hometown. Obviously I signed up, and didn’t put in near the effort required for a decent time, worst of all my knee starting playing up about 10Ks in, so I ended up walking / hopping the remainder of the course – still coming in a respectable 14th, I knew this could be the start of something. 

Realising I gained so much enjoyment and accomplishment from the race, I started more recreational running around my local tracks – Lane Cove National Park, Boronia Park to North Ryde and more. I finally decided to buy a Sports GPS watch – however that was more for my Japan Trip. 

The Benefit of Running & Trail Running

  • Fitness (or you can basically eat whatever you want guilt free!)
  • Time saving vs walking
  • Health – heart training
  • Amazing views – more trails
  • Explore places you wouldn’t usually visit
  • Something you can do by yourself or with friends
  • Meet plenty of great people out there with the same hobby and interesting stories
  • ‘Find that place in yourself’ – I find this happens any distance over 30 minutes where you find a comfortable rhythm, you’re in like as Sherlock Holmes calls it – a mind palace. Where you think just what you are thinking and nothing else really matters. Like a moment of calm or clairvoyance. 

In 2021, I really started picking up Trail Running as an enthusiast (one day I hope to call myself an athlete), signing up for multiple events every month and even winning a few. 

Get out there, explore and enjoy it!