Western States 100 Endurance Run 2024
My incredible hosts in San Carlos had clearly planned years ahead of my arrival by having a blazing hot series of trails at the top of their road – therefore within an hour or so of landing on the Sunday before the race I was hitting a big climb in the mid afternoon heat – and getting completely freaked out by all the lizards scurrying around thinking they were all snakes. The perfect start to the week leading in – lots of rest and burritos.
Got to the beautiful hamlet of Alpine Meadows on Wednesday – just a short drive from the Western states start line. It sits at 2,000 metres and the altitude change was immediately apparent when carrying the suitcase up the stairs to the accom. You suddenly feel so unfit! Found an amazing trail – nearly landed right on a little snake (a real one this time!) up around 2,300 metres. Beautiful trail – and a teaser for what the alpine section of the race would be. ( if curious, my VO2 MAX dropped by 5 points over 48 hours just with the elevation change.)
Got back to digs with the news that my pacer for the final 60kms of the race had been diagnosed with a major illness just that day – cannot travel let alone run (update: he is OK and will pull through because he’s champ). It’s Wednesday evening and I’ve just lost my pacer (who was also going to help crew early on and had a car) – yikes!
The race has an online portal to help you find a pacer. After a quick search to find someone who matched my projected finish time and had a bit of experience I came across Canadian athlete Claire Heslop and hit the ‘request’ button – and hoped for the best! It’s a big ask to find someone who is happy to run 60km at two days notice but sure enough, the next morning Claire gets in touch and is totally on board. Stoked!
A little shake out run with other runners on Thursday morning was really cool – amazing too see how many people had travelled a long way to the race just to be a part of the weekend – no affiliation with any runner. Don’t see that much back in NZ!
Friday check in – OFF THE HOOK – you get so much stuff at registration it’s ridiculous – backpack, HOKA slides, socks, a buff, gel bottle, magazines – other stuff I can’t remember. The whole village is packed with so many excited people. I popped into the UD tent to ask about new bungie cords for my vest – the bottle holders had broken after several milers – and the fella there was very apologetic and said he didn’t – but also added ‘hey you’re running tomorrow aye? Here, just have a new pack mate and all the best’. Amazing – 5 stars for UD!
Met up with some mates – the two Urbanski brothers – I have, through good fortune more than talent, beaten both off them in races before – Matt is running Western this year with Jeff pacing him. He said he’d go for 17 hours so I said ‘cool man, see you at prizegiving!’ My hoped-for goal was 21 to 23 hours. My new pacer Claire had driven me to rego and hung around for the briefing – already proving to be a totally awesome part of the team.
Now. THE RACE!
Part 01 – The High Country – 0km to 50km
I started near the back of the field – forcing me to go easy on the first major climb. The escarpment is a long steep climb and to be honest, you’re walking most of it. The views are epic, the crowd at the top is amazing – hundreds of people (they have woken up in the cold small hours to be at the top in time for the first runners)
Into the alpine section – there is very little snow this year – last year there was 22 miles of snow – we had about ten metres in total! What this did mean though was dust – so much dust! I got caught in the back of a few trains and I could barely see the ground. In an attempt to get some clear air I tried to pass a group of people – this put me slightly off to the side of the main trail and of course my foot found the only root sticking out of the ground and I took a full stack into the dirt – luckily, after attempting to dust myself off, realised the damage was minor (although the humiliation was strong – stacking mid-overtake is never cool!)
I started using ice as early as possible. I had an ice bandana from T8 and it worked miracles – used from 16 miles all the way to 90 miles. Melt times varied throughout the day – at canyon two it would only last about ten minutes. Scorching.
The first 50k of the course is, for the most part, all above 2,000 metres. It is technical and has two huge climbs in it (the second was surprisingly long). I was really surprised by how much of a challenge it was – certainly not as easy as some of the top times would suggest. I was holding back on pace hugely as well – mostly out of fear of screwing up this potentially once-in-a-lifetime race. I came into Robinson flat – the 50k aid station – exactly on plan – 6 hours and 30 minutes – but I had worked much harder than I thought I would have to – it’s no joke!
Part 02 – The Canyons – 50km to 100km
The first section out of Robinson is awesome – a short climb and then a really long 4wd packed gravel road where you can get some good pace on as it’s downhill but only slightly. Feel good through Millars Defeat, Dusty Corners, Last Chance and then into the canyons proper. This started to suck a bit for me – descent #1 was ok but the climb out I suddenly had nothing in the tank – and the heat was cranking. When I finally arrived at Devil’s Thumb (just under halfway through) I was worked and needed a moment. The good thing about running a race this important, is that when you start to feel a bit low you catch yourself with the line ‘bro, you’re running western states, get over yourself’ – worked every time!
The drop into canyon #2 takes about 7 years. Well, it felt like it. Full sun, no wind and no shade as all the tress were burnt out from previous fires. My left quad started to complain here as well – so I pulled back pace as I now know that once your quad stops firing you’re toast! At El Dorado Creek came sweet relief in the form of ice, ice and more ice. This is also where I broke the golden rule of don’t try anything new on race day. I had been given a Precision Endurance caffeine gel – in case of emergencies – by my pacer the day before and I decided after the last very-low two hours that now was ok to roll the dice – and I’m so glad I did. I half ran up the climb to Michigan Bluff and really felt a million bucks on the fast roll down into the 100k aid station at Foresthill at about 13:15.
Part 03 – The ‘runnable’ part – 100km to 161km
Foresthill is such a buzz. I met my amazing hosts here (Brent and Wendy – who is my wife’s cousin) and they had the chair, gear and cheer all set up for me. My first time to sit down for a minute – was nice! Since this was going to be my only crew point I took a bit longer here just to enjoy the company and the moment. Before long, it’s pacer time! Claire was ready to go and off we went. This first section out of the town was super fast and I felt great. There are few aid stations perched in precarious parts of the trail for more ice and fill ups, and with good banter the miles ticked over well. Until about 120k when my stomach started to complain a little. Not much, just when I ran for too long I’d feel a wave of nausea hit me. A little frustrating as I was still moving well, but had to take dozens of little walk breaks every few hundred metres as each wave hit.
The Rucky Chucky river crossing was a massive highlight. It comes at 125km on the trail so you’re pretty worked by then. But it’s epic! You cross holding onto a rope and there are volunteers standing in the (bloody cold) water every few metres to make sure you don’t head off downstream. They were so chipper! Positivity all round. It’s actually quite deep in parts and in the dark it’s kinda tricky but you feel so good afterwards. I did a shirt, shoe and sock change on the other side as there were drops bags there and I had developed two fairly big blisters on both my heels (that’s a new one for me – no idea why!) So Claire patched me up (did I mention she’s an ER nurse? Talk about lucky me) and off up to Green Gate we headed.
The run-walk continued until the end – the nausea never really went away. Fatigue was also setting in so I’m not going to blame my slower pace entirely on the stomach! Claire was fundamental in helping troubleshoot and stay positive – and some form of an answer came from a most unexpected place – at mile 90 is the Quarry Rd aid station – and who should be there but seven times states winner Scott Jurek – dressed as one of the three wisemen I think – with 2 times champ sidekick Hal Koerner also dressed up. From one tree hugging vegan to another we ascertained that the broth was good to go so I made sure I had a cup full at each stop from then on. Helped a lot and got salts back in. No I didn’t get the ultimate selfie – sorry!
Big climb from here including a vital left hand turn that Jim Walmsley infamously missed one year – I can see why – a couple of crucial turn offs have surprisingly small signage. Probably the only negative thing I could say about the entire event!
Crossing no hands bridge was eerie – in my mind from watching it online all these years I thought this was a busy aid station – but it was just a deserted, slightly overgrown crossing with flags from all countries flying on both sides, which, in the middle of the night, felt almost post-apocalyptic. NZ flag was first which was cool.
Another big final climb, ran straight through Robie Point and even ran up the final steep hill before finally rounding a corner and seeing the dreamy lights of the track up ahead. Those final 300 metres are surreal – you are floating – and it’s such a buzz to finish. Then, would you believe, sitting on a chair in front of me is Matt Urbanski ‘what took you so long mate I’ve been here for 2 minutes waiting for you?’ TWO MINUTES! I hadn’t seen him all day and in the end he was only just ahead of me – wish I had known! So I guess we’re even now. We’ll need a rematch sometime!
After saying a huge thank you and goodbye to the incredible Claire (she just placed top ten at Hardrock so I’m claiming I helped with this training run of ours) I stayed at the track all morning – I finished just before 4am in 22:51 – just inside my goal time but most importantly under 24 hours for the coveted silver buckle. I didn’t have accom so found food and a chair and just clapped everyone else coming in (as well as falling asleep a few times!). This was cool and I’m glad I did this – really allows time to enjoy the moment. Excitement builds as we got closer to the golden hour of 29 to 30 hours (this is the final cutoff – it’s a tough line in the sand that they’ve made). An assisted blind runner missed the cutoff by only 30 seconds. Gutted! So many people there.
It’s now insanely hot and prize giving is under a tent that feels like a sauna – temps close to 40 degrees. As soon as I got my buckle I exited stage left and we jumped in the car and headed back to San Fran.
After all the nerves, the race and entire trip was a huge success and even a few weeks later the stoke is still high. Maybe I’ll enter that lottery again…. After all, I have one ticket now…..
Thank you Brent, Wendy and Claire – you are all legends and a huge part of what made this a success.
Fuel:
Bag of Pure race fuel
Half bag of naked tailwind
One nut bar
Two precision gels
Vege broth
A little watermelon and oranges but not much
Gear:
UD 6.0 mountain pack
Topo Ultraventure 3.0 shoes x 2 (Change at 130km after river) – perfect shoe choice for the race
Buff air sleeves for ice
T8 Ice bandana
T8 ultra shorts and undies
The mighty bucket hat
Special thank you to Shoe Science NZ for all the gear hook ups
THANK YOU FOR READING!
I took a million photos – here are a few:
At around the 47km mark we jump on a boat and fly across the water – all done without any fuss (and a good opportunity to get a stone out of my shoe and eat something) – it’s over very quickly and we are heading down to Rerewhakaaitu aid station at 52kms. A quick korero with lovely wifey who is just so good with motivation and off we go up the backside of Mt Tarawera. This is a pretty decent climb and the three of us drift apart a little but out of nowhere comes a lady by the name of Hannah McRae who, while flying past us, humbling announces that she ‘has no idea what she is doing here’ – a reference to the fact that this is her first miler and she is leading the women’s field. Off she goes and it’s the last I’ll see of her for another 100 kilometres.
All of a sudden we went from having the place to ourselves to being right at the back of the pack behind over a thousand other runners – who, thanks to the consistent rain, had understandably chewed the course up into a pile of deep mud from the Falls all the way to Millar Road aid station – 40 kilometres of single track carnage. Times fly out the window and moral takes a big hit. Just staying on my feet becomes the single focus for long periods of time. It’s no-ones fault – but it sucks. Andy Palmer passes me in the middle of this section looking very strong.
Suddenly I can run everything – even the hills. We’ve rejoined the rest of the field and I’m passing a few 100k runners when I spot a familiar figure – Mr De Monchy with super pacer Rob Bathgate – sorry fellas but I’m on a mission to finish this as soon as possible! I also pass Hannah just before the final aid station who has put in an almighty effort and will finish second female behind Sally.
Campervan time! One of the many cool things about Northburn is you can camp right at the start line and this year, since we had all the kids for the first time, we went big with a camper. This was great – roll out of bed and be at the start line in 25 seconds! Highly recommend. I’ve already done a race report for Northburn and the course hasn’t changed so I’ll spare most of the details and just write about the differences. In 2016 I ran the first loop in 7:04 which was good. In 2017 I ran it in 6:15 – which was BAD – contributing to my eventual DNF around the 105km mark (along with some serious stomach issues). So the goal this year was to split the difference – and at 6:35 I did – but it was probably a little too fast in hindsight. On the second loop the ‘death climb’ out from camp felt really tough with the temperature rising. I was halfway up this climb when Emma sent a message saying that our girls had won the kids race for their age group. There’s a 2km loop that has a decent climb in it that kids can do as part of the weekend’s activities and it’s brilliant. The girls had a BLAST and it was one of the highlights of the whole trip.
At checkpoints I was told that third place, another top bloke by the name of Adam Keen, was too far ahead to chase down but at the finish it turned out only 7 minutes separated us – so close but I never saw him ahead so I didn’t know. Never mind! It was still a PB by 16 minutes (which really isn’t much in the grand scheme of things) but more importantly I had achieved the goal of back to back 100 mile races.
Easy listening hits waft across the PA, a polite countdown from race director Sean Greenhill, 5am, and we’re off!….. slowly…… There aren’t many races where every competitor is walking within the first fifty metres – clearly a sign that this was not going to be any ordinary event. We kick straight into the first climb to the highest point in the race – Mt Buller at 1,805 metres. Then super easy downhill for a few kms with everyone enjoying the fresh start and each others company. ‘Sweet’ I’m thinking, ‘we’re gonna SMASH that two hour estimate – Sean doesn’t know what he’s talking about!’
Lesson one: in Australia, never trust a log. No, not because it might be a snake, but because it is the slipperiest object known to mankind. It was carnage all around as one by one we all learned this valuable lesson. There was also no track. Well, not an obvious one. We just followed markers through the bush really. Very technical and you’d be mad to try and run. After about forty minutes I foolishly trusted a log, slipped and fell hard and managed to ram a cut off tree branch into the top of my foot. Serious pain ensued and I couldn’t bend my toes for around ten hours after that – seven days later as I type this it still isn’t great. Towards the base of the descent the track improved and I actually beat the two hour mark by eight minutes. Ha! See! Easy! Yeah right…
This is a big section but an enjoyable one. Very beautiful running beside the Howqua river. Then comes the main climb of 1,100 metres. It’s very steep and the first real taste of what the remainder of the trails will be like. Nearly all the tracks just go straight up the guts of the mountain – none of the criss cross traversing that we tend to prefer on our side of the ditch.
This is where things got really interesting. The ascent to Mt Howitt (54km) began harmlessly enough with a few meandering river crossings, then up we went through something that mostly resembled a trail – which was nice! Then came the ominous sound of distant rolling thunder. Not exactly what you want to hear when you are on your way up to an exposed 1,800 metre peak. Soon we could see the flashes as well, then it boomed right overhead along with heavy rain and hail. Fellow runner and all round good-guy-to-have-a-beer-with Simon Byrne and I hit the deck and threw our carbon fibre poles away – not great things to have on you in an electrical storm.
Absolute monster of a section. This took us 7 1/2 hours despite the fact that we were both in good shape. There was a 45 degree rock face to traverse and a cable ladder climb up out of a rock shaft towards the top of ‘The Viking’ (73km) – one of the best names for a mountain I’ve ever heard. A quick soak up of the view before yet another lightning storm started heading our way – here began a very very steep descent – especially tricky in the wet and wild weather – before we started making our way through the first section of the Barry Mountains.
This should have been fairly straight forward – a short leg and not too much climbing – but things are often not what they seem in ultras. The first moment came around the 100k mark where it became evident that I was moving at a quicker pace to Tom and a very reluctant parting of ways had to happen – I was really enjoying the company but had to accept that this was a race after all and why not try and go for it. So off into the dark and lonely night I went – for the first time solo – but it was not for long. 
An Aussie runner by the name of Dave Batho was wandering around just past the summit of Mt Selwyn (103km) and he was not a happy chap – I quickly discovered why – the trail markers were nowhere to be seen (they are reflective and can normally be spotted from a long way off). We split up and criss crossed our way blindly until finally a shout from Dave signalled that a marker had been found. But this was just the beginning of a very long and slow descent where we were constantly stopping and heading off in different directions to find the next marker tag. Really, this is not what you want to be doing at 2 o’clock in the morning. There a few rumours and theories as to why the navigation was so difficult in this section but I’ll leave that for another forum.
Quickly in and out of the aid station (no drop bag here) and I found myself in the company of Ross McPhee and Andy Turner – good blokes. Once again this section was much harder than it looked on paper (you can see a theme developing I’m sure – everything was harder than it looked on paper!). I knew there was this climb to something called ‘The Twins’ (121km) but the mountains before that were so tough I actually thought I’d already done it. How wrong I was.
Tarmac? For 6 kms? No chance to fly though, it is a steep uphill – very reminiscent of coast2Kosci actually – suddenly the monotony of the road made me feel tired for the first time. Luckily it didn’t last too long – we then hit a juicy 1.5 kilometres of descent in the space of around 8kms. Really tough on the legs and I couldn’t go as fast as I wanted too. 
Somewhere along here Christian Stockle flew past like a man possessed – he eventually finished a remarkable fourth place which goes to show that if you’ve managed to save a bit in the tank for the end you can really move up the placings.
Yes, the final section is 34 brutal kilometres long and there are no water drops. I had been freaking out about this section since the day the course notes were released – and it delivered. The long initial ascent wasn’t too bad – it was the twenty million little bitey ones that followed that started to break my spirit. Up until this point I had been in a good headspace overall. Now for the first time it was getting really hot. It’s early afternoon on the second day, nearly 30 degrees and humidity is through the roof. Just before the high point at 159kms I had my one and only pity party. I was freaking out about the heat and our lack of water and I just wanted to get this thing over with. I expected a little sympathy from Rod – ha! I got none. Instead he said (and this is a very loose quote because I was a bit loopy at this point) ‘we’ve only got 20 to go. Lets break it down into 5k sections – theres only four of those. You’re going well, you’re in the top ten and we’re damn well going to stay there. Now get moving!!’ 
It was just what I needed. Good on ya mate. Then two merciful things happened – we started going downhill again and it started raining hard – a big temperature drop and we were moving at double the speed. I was starting to mildly hallucinate by this point – seeing pot plants in the middle of the track – and every dead tree looked like a signpost – I kept looking forward to seeing what was written on them only to have my hopes dashed every time! Anyway…. huge descent again and all of a sudden we only had three kilometres to go – and it was all flat. We looked back down a long straight and there was no one behind us so we knew we could enjoy the last few minutes. We joined a single track alongside the river and it was great to still be sitting on 6 minute k’s. The rain had gone and all was well when suddenly the runner Stephen Rennick comes flying by. ‘Where did he come from!?’ Rod and I asked each other. 
He was gone in a flash and we had no chance of chasing him down – full credit to him – i would have done exactly the same thing if I saw a catch that close to the line.
4:15am – alarm – brain slowly wakes up – what are we doing today? OH THAT’S RIGHT – wide awake now. The crew is already up and prepping. You feel immediately unworthy of everything happening – everyone in this little cabin by the ocean is here for you. They were also up much later than you last night sorting everything else out while you did your best to sleep with such a monumental task ahead. Your selection in this race also means you are expected to finish – if not, then someone else who missed out on a place will be mightily disappointed in you. It’s also cost a lot to get here, and the logistics of leaving kids behind during school term with multiple babysitters was a monumental challenge unto itself. And you’re the only one representing Aotearoa here.
5:30am – Start – Twofold Bay, NSW – simple countdown on the high tide line and we are off. Weather is calm and cool. Running is easy and the head is clear. The inevitable lack of sleep leading up to race day is forgotten. Ultra maestro and all round good bloke Stephen Redfern ends up beside me and we run along chatting away for the first hour through beautiful rainforest that reminded me of the blue mountains. There’s a pretty big hill in the middle of this but it’s barely noticed such is the grand scheme of things to come.
7:51am – 24.5km – 02:21 elapsed – Towoomba School – the first opportunity to see the crew – they were in great spirits having had a fantastic breakfast courtesy of the local school (their biggest fundraiser of the year). Quick bottle change (drinking mainly tailwind for 2/3rds of the race) and few nuts and a muesli bar and off. First opportunity to get a feel for the roving machine – crew cars start going up the road as their runners clear out of this checkpoint. Suddenly there’s an energy coming from the extra traffic and support. It’s fairly unique (I imagine Badwater is similar to this) and it’s really cool. You get to know other runners crews really well as the hours tick by – and everyone is awesome.
11:20am – 57.0km – 05:50 elapsed – Bottom of big jack mountain – this is the start of the longest steep climb of the event – 6 1/2k’s at a decent gradient – it took me 70 minutes even though I was giving it a good push the whole way. Despite the time, I was quite surprised to reach the top when I did – I was expecting a bit more hurt – but there was plenty of that to come later so I should have been thankful. The top of big jack is the start of the higher plateau – and a lot of straight road running into a nasty headwind. It is surprisingly cold – it’s the middle of a sunny day in December in Australia and I’m wearing a jacket while running. Very unusual!
4:51pm – 102.5km – 11:21 elapsed – Big Dead Tree – this is the world-famous-at-C2K big dead tree. I am reliably informed it used to be much larger than it currently is, but being dead, bits have gradually fallen off. A significant milestone of 100k’s here. Very happy with time so far, I’m only 20 minutes or so away from the 30 hour split estimations. However, problems are now becoming evident. My left ankle is getting very sore at the top – like my laces are done up too tight but I have been checking them a few times and they are pretty loose. Currently a mystery that I would be unable to solve until it was too late. There is also a bit of pain developing behind my knees – both these problems are first time problems for me so I’m having trouble trying to work out what to do.
7:19pm – 119.4km – 13:49 elapsed – Top of the windmills – You can see these windmills for about four hours before you pass under them – but mentally it gets worse – once you reach the top you find the setting sun revealing a very, very distant mountain range on the horizon – the finish line is somewhere in there – and it looks impossibly far – just a faint outline over 100 kilometres away. What was I thinking? Look down. Don’t think. One foot in front of the other. Just focus on the next little bit. Technically this is halfway – but it’s not really!
9:45pm – 138km – 16:15 elapsed – on a hill somewhere – now there’s a new, very unexpected, problem. I am falling asleep. What!!? Already!!? This is not ‘I’m tired’ sleepy either – it is full blown staggering into the middle of the road while the asphalt makes Van Gogh liquid brush stokes in front of me. Shit. My other all-nighter race (northburn) I never felt sleepy for a second so this is a major surprise. I think the week of madness has caught up with me and it is putting its foot down. I tell Matt, who has joined me for pacing duties, that we have a problem. Up to this point I was holding a top ten position so it’s a gut wrenching decision (but, really, I had little choice) to jump in the back of the car and close my eyes. 20 minutes I tell the crew who show no sign of the disappointment they must be feeling. After 15 minutes I self woke. Again the brain slowly wakes up -‘where am I?’ then the loudest voice you could imagine in your head shouts ‘YOU’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RACE, GET UP AND GO NOW!!’ bang. out the door. Suddenly everything is clear again. I have lost valuable time and position but I am moving again and I am awake. A bit cold but I soon warm up and we make good time heading into the major checkpoint of Dalgety.
11:13pm – 147.4km – 17:43 elapsed – Dalgety – this is an actual town – with a pub! Which is now closed. But the town hall has opened its doors and put on a feast for the crews – runners are actively discouraged from entering but a few do. I was weighed here (identical weight to my registration weight – 68.8kgs – so no problems with hydration) and sent on my way with crew member – and Australian Army Sergeant Rod Foster – for what would be a very long night and morning of pacing duties. Pain behind the knees is getting worse and the ankle is also screaming. Ignore it. Move on.
1:10am – 161.3km – 19:40 elapsed – base of Beloka range – 100 miles! and a new PB by around 7 1/2 hours – although comparing the vertical in this race to northburn makes for an unequal comparison of time – nonetheless – I’ll take it! Very steep climb here – but relatively short – 3kms – I like these sorts of climbs as I can just keep plodding along fairly confident that nobody is going to come flying past me as running up here at this stage of the race is fairly unheard of. Nice gentle descent as we make our way towards Jindabyne. Despite running a reasonable amount of this, it takes forever to get there – lots of deceptive lights and roundabouts as we approach the town. I am, once again, falling asleep on the slower hill climbs. Dammit! A few ks out of Jindabyne and I’m back in the car sleeping – this time in the passenger seat and for only ten minutes. Once again I wake up without cue and am straight out the car – brain yelling at me once again GO!!
5:00am – 183.2km – 23:30 elapsed – Jindabyne – really in the hurt box now. Managed to run fairly well into the checkpoint along the lake but the leg problems are biting now. I stop here for some blister treatment – thank you Emma! (honestly, she was amazing every step of the way on this journey) nothing too major, blisters, thankfully, weren’t a problem throughout the race. The Altra shoes have a wide toe box and the only blisters I had were between the toes – so no complaints there. Change of socks here…. wait….. that feels much better on my ankle…. WHAT! REALLY!!!? are you telling me that the socks elastic was too tight around my ankles and that’s why I’ve been in pain for the last 15 hours? Yep, turns out that’s all it was. Tendon is buggered now though and a change of socks isn’t going to fix that sadly. Rookie errors really (before the race I thought they were the greatest socks ever….). I have taken a while getting sorted here and I make another rookie mistake – I got cold and didn’t notice. As we head off again – Rod still pacing – dawn is arriving. It is beautiful with the sun rising over Lake Jindabyne – but the air temp is hovering around 0 degrees C and I’m start to get hypothermia. Rod had a walkie talkie but the car is too far down the road. Fortunately another crew is going past and we flag them down to go and get our team. Jump in the passenger seat, turn up the heating and throw everything on. Takes a while to reach what I considered an arbitrary acceptable temperature and we’re out again. Rod had fallen asleep with his head on the steering wheel but as soon as I said let’s go he was out the door faster than a bullet. Army training eh.
12:30pm – 222km – 31:00 elapsed – Charlotte Pass – Before reaching Charlotte Pass three major things happened – 1. I just about stood on what we think was a brown snake curled up on the side of the road (sorry – didn’t get a photo!). I never saw it but Matt, who had given Rod a break on pacing duties, sure had and he grabbed my arm and pulled me away just in time. Was a really close call! 2. I had to sleep again – it appears that the ten minute power nap buys me about 7 hours awake time. Pretty good return on investment there really but still frustrating to have to had slept three times. Same story as the other two – self woke after ten and was off. This was the last sleep until the finish – as I said to the crew during some of the darker hours – all I cared about was a pillow – not the finish, not a celebratory beer, just sleep. I guess I really was far too tired going into the race but there you go. 3. I started to be able to run the downhills and the flats again. It was under immense pain but I was sick of walking – so slow! Weigh in again at Charlotte pass – 67.7kgs so only 1.1 kg loss – no problems. Matt now had the big job of getting me to the summit and back. The pacer also has the rough job of carrying all my mandatory gear as well as his own. Thanks mate!
2:30pm – 231km – 33:00 elapsed – Mt Kosciuszko summit 2228 meters – Unbelievable views up here. Picture perfect day and you could see in all directions for miles – the ranges to the west seem to go on forever. A quick, and very difficult, climb up onto the rocky trig for the mandatory photo then off back down. No chance of running anymore. My energy and fitness is willing but the ankle and back-of-knee pain is just beyond anything I can tolerate. I figure, what’s an extra hour of walking on such a nice day! (ok, I was probably less diplomatic than that but absence makes the heart grow fonder…)
4:17pm – 240km – 34:47 elapsed – Charlotte Pass and Finish line – 19th Place overall – it is a strange experience to be suddenly at the end of something this epic. It’s not your standard cross-the-tape experience high-five. Kind of a bewildered ‘is it really over? can i stop now?’ feeling. I find a chair in the shade and try to let it all sink in. More people finish and it is fantastic watching the celebrations from everyone. The sun is shining, I have a massive jacket on and sleeping bag around my legs yet I am shivering. Time to go. On the journey back down the mountain to Jindabyne we pass other runners making their way slowly up to Charlotte pass. They have many hours ahead of them – a lot in the darkness of the second night and I feel nothing but admiration for the guys and gals doing it really tough. I pass out and wake up at our digs – beautiful lakefront – enough time to have half a beer, eat a burger and finally close my eyes for a proper sleep. My feet are incredibly swollen and I have tennis ball lumps behind both knees. The overall pain is monstrous. As I type this one week later I am only just getting to the point where the swelling has gone down and I can walk without pain again – that’s a long recovery time even for a run as big as this one. Many things have been learned.
The aftermath