Surf Coast Century 100km Race Report - 3 Sept 2016

I was nervous all week, even feeling a little bit sick this time around. The last few ultras I have raced have all worked out perfectly and I was almost thinking that my "good run" would have to come to an end somewhere. Was this the one where things go wrong? My Coach Brendan Davies, who has been coaching me for over 2 years, reassured me that I was ready for this race. My nerves settled when we arrived in Victoria and the day before the race Nathan and I checked out some of the checkpoints, trail and the amazing scenery. I packed my checkpoint bags and was thinking back on some of the first ultras I had raced and the enormous amount of stuff I packed unsure of what I may need. This time it was just a small bag with some spare shoes and socks for after the beach run, extra clothes in case the weather would change and my nutrition (Mainly SIS gels and GoHydro tablets).

It was an early morning beach start and the Anglesea Beach was packed. 100km Solo and Relay runners and the 50km Solo runners lined up, not sure how many all up but there were 217 Solo 100km Runners which included 63 Females. I have always been a cautious starter but this race had a much different elevation profile and the first 21km were pretty much beach running. I had changed my plans around to go out much harder than usual and see if I would be able to maintain that pace throughout the race.

Leg 1 "Coastline Crusade" with the spectacular line of the Anglesea Cliffs on our left and Ocean on our right past the famed Bells Beach but it was too fresh and I didn't see any nudist at the optional clothing beach along the way. This leg worked out harder than I anticipated, there were many more reef platforms, coastal rock, soft sand, rock pools and knee deep water around the rocks but I was able to get to "Danger Point" Torquay only a few minutes behind my estimated time.

 

 

A quick sock and shoe change and I was back on the trail for Leg 2 "Ironbark Basin". This section I enjoyed the most, beautiful scenery, single trail and lots of people on the side of the trail cheering you on. I was able to hold my pace and felt comfortable pushing without overdoing it. The end of leg 2 was back at the Anglesea Beach and also the place where the 50km solo runners finish.

 

Only spending a few minutes at the checkpoint I was back out for Leg 3 "Currawong Falls" and crawling underneath that bridge everyone was talking about. Only about 80cm high, we had to crawl on hands and knees underneath the bridge and trust me after 50km of running this is not the easiest thing to do. On the other side we climbed up "Heartbreak Hill" to the top of Mt Ingoldsby which was the first of the bigger climbs. This leg was the hilliest of the legs but with still about 45km to go I didn't push too hard. Descending down and back up some slippery clay 4WD tracks, lucky we didn't get much rain, it looks like it could get pretty messy out there. On the other side was, as they called it, another rather epic hill. I cruised my way through to the end of leg 3 at Moggs Creek Picnic Area.

 

 

Leg 4 "Black Diamond" only 23km to go with plenty lookouts and lighthouses. I was running under my target time and still feeling pretty good. I wanted to finish Sub 12 hours and was thinking about anything and everything that made my push to get it done. At this stage I had no idea what my position was in the field but felt great and I kept passing people which made me even more determined. After the lighthouse we went back down the beach and had another 7km of beach running before heading up the last few stairs to get off the beach onto Melba Parade and Surf Coast Walk. Getting close to the finish line and I ran through a little town, people had dragged their chairs out on the footpath and were having parties in front of their houses cheering runners on as we were running past. That was AWSOME!!

11 hours and 32 min, I was stoked!!! 5th Female and 4th in my age group 20-39. Sub 12 hours and received the Big 1 litre Sub 12 hours Beer Stein.

As always I couldn't have done this without the support of many people. The best crew "WaterBoy" Nathan, you've got these checkpoints pretty much under control and getting through it within a few minutes without any stress is awesome! My Coach Brendan who keeps pushing me to strive harder and has helped me believe that there are no limits. And many of my running friends from Rocky, Blue Mountains, Kingaroy and other parts of the world. I spend most of my running hours solo and I very much appreciate all your support and company on trail and on those long RRR road runs. You all rock!!!

Glasshouse100 (GH100) Race Report 13&14 September 2014

Last year I ran my very first Ultra here at the Glasshouse Mountains in September and I decided this year to sign up for the 100km. The trail is mixed from forestry road, slippery rocks, natural vegetation and badly eroded trail used by trail bike and 4wd activity. I spend many weeks planning my run with excel spreadsheets cut-off times and nutrition intake for each section of the trail. My goal was to complete the 100km within 15 hours. Nathan (My husband) who has crewed for me many times had it all worked out with gels, perpetuem, SIS tables and was prepared for a long day out in the bush.

It is 5.30am and the 100milers and 100km start together from the Beerburrum School. The first section is quite easy but I have learned from previous races that I always start to fast. I had my running buddy Mick Freeman from Kingaroy with me and together we cruised at the back of the pack while warming up for Mt Beerburrum coming up after the next checkpoint. Mick and I met up with Sammy Brown, he was running the 100 miler and made everyone smile with his happy flower bucket hat and we run together for a while.

Mt Beerburrum is about 1.5km up with a 16% incline. As this was very early in the race I decided to take it super easy and not to use too much energy, still a long way to go!! The view from the top of Mt Beerburrum was absolute stunning. I had to take it steady on my way down from Mt Beerburrum as 16% down is pretty hard on your legs. After about 20km Mick decided that it was time for him to “take off” as he set himself a much shorter finishing time for the race.

I know that I am not the strongest on the up so it was important for me to take my time on the ups and cruise down staying light and easy on my feet. The medical team was fantastic and you do have to get your weight checked at various points along the way. Apparently I put weight on and was fine to continue after checkpoint 5. Nathan told me I was well on track for my goal. After about the 30km mark I faced some more technical trail with steep downhill sections on this track which was badly eroded due to trail bike and 4wd activity. I was worried about the next section coming up from checkpoint 6 to 8. It was in the hot part of the day and underneath the power lines, no shade and some of the road was that badly eroded, I was running in ruts that were about 2 meters deep. I was told that if anything happens in this section it would be hard to get you out. I was lucky enough that it was started to get a little overcast and again took my time and paced myself through this rough section. 

Once I hit checkpoint 8 I had another medical and weight check. Checkpoint 8 was one of those where you could stay for a while, the volunteers were fantastic and couldn’t give you enough of their freshly made goodies. Gavin Bendall also from Rockhampton was crewing for his wife Raelene, who was running the 100 miler and gave me some tips to get through the next loop which would bring me back to checkpoint 8. From here I started the feel stronger and stronger, not spending to much time at the checkpoints slowly working my way further forward in the field. A hungry looking goanna made sure I kept my pace up. I needed to get back through checkpoint 6 & 5 before dark as some of the trail is pretty technical. On my way back to checkpoint 5 I was stopped by a massive snake in the middle of the road, lucky there were some friendly campers around who helped me get past the snake and I kept going. From here on it was pretty much downhill back to Beerburrum School. 
 

Nathan gave me my last gel and filled up my bottle for the last 11k. Headlight on ready to go for the home run. I was well on track to make it back within 15 hours and I just cruised home. I met up with a young fellow who started cramping at around 40k when he was still in the lead, I admired his drive to keep going and finish the 100km run. He could no longer run and we had a little chat before I set off to hit the finish line. I felt strong in on the last section and came home in 13 hours and 22 min, total elevation 2022m, finishing 6^th female and 30^th overall I was extremely happy with my result. 

 

Strava:  http://www.strava.com/activities/194058119

Congratulations to all runners especially Raelene finishing 2nd female in the 100 miler, Mick completing his first 100km Ultra and Sammy finishing the 100 miler and made everyone smile. Kathryn Austin finishing 4th in the 50km and Stuart Wright making it through to 104k in the 100 miler both from Rockhampton.

Special thanks to all volunteers who made our day awesome!!!!

Also a very special thanks to my coach Brendan Davies who helped me prepare for this challenging run. It has been amazing to have Brendan as my coach!!! Bring on 100km Tarawera Ultra Marathon (TUM) in New Zealand next year!!!

 

http://www.upcoaching.com.au/