15th May 2021
I awoke in darkness wrapped in my sleeping bag, an aura of cold surrounding the cabin. I check the time, my watch displays 2am… another 4 hours until race start. I roll around in my sleeping bag in an effort to get warm and go back to sleep. The time ticks over to 4:30am, I embrace the cold and begin my pre-race routine. Eat a banana, drink a tall glass of water, toilet, recheck race gear, toilet, warm up exercises and a final toilet stop.
My watch ticks over to 5:45am, I rug up and make my way over to scenic world for my 6:20am race start in start group 1. On the walk over I bump into another amazing ultra runner from Canberra, Chris Wilder, we have a brief chat about our excitement for the day ahead and move over to the start line. We work our way into the middle of the 200 runners in an effort to break away from the cold wind, I spot several running friends and wish them luck on their adventures.
I need to note here that my wardrobe selection for the day was magnificent, highlight pink and blue races shorts which stood out like a sore thumb. These magnificent shorts are colours of the Ultra Mediocre Runners of Canberra (UMRoC), Chris had unknowingly worn the UMRoC race singlet with bright pink arm warmers and it looked like together we had a matching pair. I digress.
As the announcer begins his introduction over loud speakers, the crowd listens excitedly. He welcomes all the 100km runners, wishing us well and then says “And it begins in 10, 9, …
(the crowd shouts in unison)..3,2,1!!!!. Here it goes, it is underway. The Ultra Trail Australia 2021”.
All runners in start group 1 make their way forward, shouts roaring from the crowds, cowbells dinging away and claps heard all around. Within the vast amount runners I make my way under the start banner and onto the course for the day’s adventure. The first section of the race is a 4-5km stretch of bitumen road for the purpose of spreading out runners before they entered narrow single tracks. Chirs flew up the hill past many runners, me thinking he was getting in front of runners who may be less confident on the single tracks and beating them there I matched his pace. In this section we run an out and back along the bitumen, past scenic world again and where the crowds surrounded the roads sending cheers as we run by. Down the road turn right and down into the magical forests I descend.
The cheering fades and I can see sunlight peeking over mountains from within the dim forests. The noises are reduced to the sounds of shoes briskly stepping down stairs, runners wishing other runners’ luck, and the magical forests. A bundle of joy wells up inside, a smile is spread from ear to ear and I yell out a loud “Wooooooooooo!” happy to be alive. Before long Chris and I arrive at the landslide a 300 metre stretch of rough terrain which in some parts are a scramble. After carefully making our way through the landslide we continue further into the magical forests where I ask Chris “Are you up for running the entire 100km together?”, with a big smile Chris responds “hell yeah”. We reach the Golden Stairs 200m of elevation worth of stairs. As we are climbing I spot Lucy Bartholomew at the top of the stairs. We exchange a smile and she compliments my brilliant running shorts. We summit the Golden Stairs and continue onward up a steep road and meet open fire trails.
These fire trails open up to the expanse of the blue mountains where the beautiful scenery is a sight to see. I look to my left and admire the mountains and look a bit too far where I notice a man squatting his pants around his ankles most likely taking the most memorable shit he will ever excrete, I digress… The fire trails continue over undulating hills until Chris and I reach Checkpoint 1 (Narrow Neck – 11km) a small checkpoint filled with volunteers, fruits, snacks and water.
I give everything a pass as I stroll through Checkpoint 1 and wave to the volunteers. This is when I notice Chris is a little behind me and I slow my pace allowing the race duo to come back together. With Chris leading we continue along the open fire trails passing the 18.4km marker and then descending a ladderway, rough terrain and single track to Tarros Ladders (21km). Tarros Ladders is an exposed cliff face where extension ladders are attached and surrounded by ropes, it is only available to climb during the UTA. From memory this was my first time climbing these iconic ladders, due to the congestion at my previous two races I decided to use the authorised alternate route. The heaviness in my legs from the GUMBY was evident at this stage but I courageously slapped on a smile and carried on running while Chris and I chatted and share memories from previous races. In no time we reach Checkpoint 2 (Foggy Knob – 32km). The checkpoint is spread out around an open field, marquees set up with food and a water station. I grab pieces of watermelon and bananas, and fill up my two front water bottles. I mentally check in with my body, feet are good, stomach is good, energy is great and my quads were now feeling better than earlier. Chris and I meet Romain Richard running his first 100km (finishing in 11:43:10) at Checkpoint 2.
A refreshing wave flows over me and I feel reenergised as Chris, Romain and I continue running together. Together we run through the next 3km of mostly single track and upon approaching Iron Pot Ridge (34km) I yell out a loud “Woooooooooooo!”. I quickly receive a distant “Wooooooo!” from my mother, Jane Hiatt, who volunteered over 8 hours of her time out at Iron Pot Ridge directing every single runner who passed. Iron Pot Ridge is another iconic part of the UTA 100km, indigenous people are playing didgeridoos and tap sticks welcoming us onto their land as we run across enormous boulders overseeing dangerous drops on both sides. I pass my mother on the way out of Iron Pot Ridge, we share smiles and more shouts of excitement as I descend a near vertical drop of dirt single track. We leave the single track and onto fire trails deep in the bushlands of the Megalong Valley.
I notice Chris pulling back and I follow suit, he tells me he is suffering from cramping and I reassure him we are in this together. We alternate walking and running through fire trails, single track and river crossings until we reach Checkpoint 3 (Six Foot Track – 45km). This checkpoint is the first of the larger checkpoints with access to drop bags. Marquees are up, food is plentiful and crew/spectators are all around. I smash down several pieces of watermelon, bananas and a packet of chips, sit down with Chris and his family (wife Carly, mother Joe, father Mark and younger brother Shaun). We all share smiles while I restock my spring energy gels and carbohydrate drink, tailwind.
From my drop bag I pull out a card I wrote on earlier to spark thoughts and create focus within my mind, it read, “fall in love with the journey and every step will be a magical one”. This one message sent the fire in my heart ablaze and I knew there was nothing that was going to stop me from achieving my goal for this race, to simply have fun and remove the pressure I place on myself.
We say farewell to Chris’s family and are back on the trails. I quickly notice another running friend Thomas Allen (Thomas finished the 100km in 12:34:21) approaching from the rear and I yell out a loud “hey Tom”. Within a moment we are running closely on single track, we have a good chat and then Tom presses forward while Chris and I continue on our consistent pacing until we reach Nellies Glen. I personally call Nellies Glen a meat grinder, named for the number of runners it chews up and spits out at the Aquatic Centre, this section is a steep climb of stairs ascending close to 480m of elevation. Memories creeping into my mind about my first year running the UTA where Nellies Glen chewed me up for lunch. Chris and I climb consistently up Nellies Glen, passing several runners deciding to break at the side of the narrow path. We climb through magical forests with waterfalls at our side and green vegetation in every direction. The stairs finish as we run onto a 4WD road and then onto bitumen road past houses where spectators were waiting to cheer on runners. Continuing on the road for several kms we find ourselves rolling up to Checkpoint 4 (Aquatic Centre – 57km).
Checkpoint 4 has the highest dropout rate, which is no surprise as it is the most comfortable checkpoint with warm drinks and a break from the freezing temperatures. I entered Checkpoint 4, grabbed my drop bag and went looking for a first aid officer because my running pack was rubbing against my right shoulder causing it to chafe. The cheerful first aid officer taped up my shoulder and then I joined Chris with his family. I restocked my spring energy gels and tailwind, ate more watermelon, banana and potato chips and pulled myself up ready to embrace the cold winds awaiting me outside.
Chris and I leave Checkpoint 4 and are immediately met with a blast of cold winds sending shivers down my arms. We run briefly on foot paths and then to trails until we meet back up with scenic world where we take a left in the fork linking in with the 50km course, earlier that day we took the right in the fork. I check in with how my body is feeling, energy is good, mentality is good and legs are feeling strong despite the fatigue. As Chris and I run over the boardwalks to the Echo Point Lookout I smile and wave to walkers some responding with a smile back and others with confusion washing over their faces, we make quick work here and then descend the Giant Stairway into Leura Forest. I descended these steep stairs with little thoughts for my safety, I knew my body was safe, looking up I could see the vast mountain scenery and it is still beautiful as it was earlier. Leura forest is magical and ever moment I spent in the forests imbued me with uplifting energy, as we ran through the magical forest I yell “Woooooooooooo!” followed by singing about the magical forest.
Before I know it Chris and I arrived at the Fairmont Resort water station (69km), volunteers have water at the ready and spectators are cheering on runners, we spend little time here and move on. The winds are still blowing strong and cold as we run up and down uneven stairs. During most of this next section Chris and I keep to ourselves managing our own mental battles and body aches. The kilometres tick over and on our approach to Checkpoint 5 we pass the sweepers for the 50km race, sweepers have the role of unmarking courses, supporting runners who are struggling and ensuring runners are safe. I walk into Checkpoint 5 (Queen Victoria Hospital – 78.4km) my body cold from the wind chills. I pick up my final drop bag and find Chris’s younger brother Shaun with a picnic rug set up where I gratefully find a spot to place my tired ass. I open my drop bag, pull out a can of red bull and a peanut butter honey wrap. I take a few gulps of the red bull and several bites of the wrap as I search through my running pack for my thermal top. My body was shaking and teeth chattering from the cold, I slipped my thermal top on which broke the cold a little. More red bull and wrap goes down as I chat to Shaun. Time is oblivious to me at this point as my body shakes. Chris perks up, pats me on the shoulder and says “It’s time to go”. I hurriedly pick up my race pack and slide it on, pick up my drop bag and chug the remainder of my red bull. As we walk out of Checkpoint 5, I hand my drop bag to the volunteers and thank them.
It was here where I unknowingly made a rookie mistake…
As we set off from Checkpoint 5 my body shakes violently from the cold, Chris and I pick our pace up in an effort to bring warmth to our freezing bodies. We notice one of the 100km runners turn around heading back to Checkpoint 5, while passing they called out “I left my headtorch”, this small piece of equipment is paramount to finishing the entire 100km and it seemed another runner had made a mistake. A few kilometres later I search for a gel in my running pack, nothing in my front pockets and nothing in my back pockets. I quickly pat down my pack fearful of finding nothing…
I found nothing and then it dawned on me as if a little person had switched a light on inside my brain. I had forgotten to restock on my gels and tailwind back at Checkpoint 5, I yell out “aww shit” followed by “I forgot to pack my gels at CP5”. I turn to Chris with the distressing news and he reassures me he has extra food if needed, with this reassurance I pushed my worries to the back of my mind and carried on. It was here I realised there was still tailwind in the bladder of my running pack and there was also the emergency aid station soon which normally has a small amount of food.
Chris and I continue on these fire trails passing 50km runners who are still out running and are working hard to make it under cut off, I wish them well and congratulate them on their efforts to this point. From behind a 100km runner comes bounding up the fire trails pulling to the side of Chris and I. We introduce ourselves and he introduced himself, Ryan Crawford (Finished in 12:58:03), the winner of the Dead Cow Gully Last One Standing two weeks ago. Ryan ran 44hours on a 6.7km course and now he was out running the UTA 100km, this man is a strong runner and a force to be reckoned with in the future. The sun was setting through the trees and darkness falling all around, Chris and I switch on our headtorches to illuminate the fire trail in front of us. There are little words between us as we hold our consistent pacing along the undulating fire trails, the few sounds that can be heard are the shuffles of feet and words of encouragement between runners. I begin to think these fire trails don’t have an end, I do my best to stay positive by talking to myself “strong body, strong mind, strong heart”. We descend down another part of fire trail and I spot the lights of the emergency aid station (91km). As I approach the aid station, I ask the volunteers if they have anything sweet to eat and they direct me to the plentiful number of lollies on the table. I greedily grab a handful and scoffed them down. Several kilometres later the fire trail finally relents and opens up to an open grassy track, a timing machine beeps at us as we pass the Sewage Treatment Works Site (94km). We enter the dense bush on single track, darkness surrounding us and only our headtorches to guide the way.
I now know we are getting much closer to the finish, I feel a surge of energy hit me and I push on a little harder than previously on the fire trails. I push upwards my light illuminating 50km runners ahead of me, they pull to the side to let Chris and I through and I wish them well on the rest of their run. A smile runs across face and I begin singing about magical forests while loosing awareness of my out surroundings, I am now focused on the way ahead and ensuring Chris stays with me. From my view it seemed Chris was suffering in his own way, keeping to himself and moving forward. I was looking back every now and then to make sure Chris was still there, then I caught a smile from him… after seeing that smile, I knew Chris was solid as a rock, a mighty warrior full of courage in the face of battle. I didn’t look back again, rather I just listened for his poles and footsteps sticking to my heels. This next section of single track seemed to fly past as Chris and I pushed strong on the uphills and run consistently on the flatter trails, we pass many 50km runners and a few 100km runners. I shout cheers of encouragement as we pass these runners and then run up behind Andrew Pearce (Finished in 12:51:08). Andrew leads our train of three runners as we run up stairs, around trees and through a magical forest. More shouts of encouragement are sent to the runners we pass, I let out a loud “Wooooooooooo!” feeling so alive and exhausted. Andrew pulls over to let Chris and I lead, we respond in kind and keep up the pace. The final markers start showing up, 5km to go, 4km to go, 3km to go and at 2km to go, I am feeling light headed and a little dizzy. I knew what this was, it was my body telling me it was depleted of glucose. After my 50km effort at Duncan’s Run I told myself I would never let myself get like that again in a race. I turn around asking Chris if he can spare some food, he pulls out a bag of gummy bears, I grab a bunch and shove them into my mouth chewing lots in an effort to bring my glucose levels back up. Looking back forward my gaze is only up, up the stairs ahead. On foot in front of the other, holding onto the railing next to me I use it to help pull me upwards. Next thing I know we are at the Furber Steps, 1km to go, I make a hard right straight up the steep stairs and push on. 951 stairs later Chris and I summit the Furber Steps. Our pace quickens as our feet touch the board walk, like gazelles we leap up the final few stairs and then we turn up the heat for the final push up the finish line chute. My ears flooded with cheers from the crowds as Chris and I crossed the finish together. Both our legs came to halt, we looked at each and embraced in a hug. With pride welling up in me I was greeted by my mother and personal trainer Kristy as I walked out of the finish line area. Shaun also greeted me with a congratulatory beer, the golden liquid was sheer bliss to my lips.
This ultra marathon was hands down the most fun and fulfilling ultra I have ever run and I don’t foresee anything matching it in the future.
As I write this I am filled with joy and gratitude.
Thank you Chris.
Learning Points
- With this being my first 100km with no crew I found it is more challenging to self regulate at the end side of an ultra marathon. Forgetting to restock on gels and tailwind could have turned much worse than it did and I am thankful my calorie intake throughout the day allowed me to hold on.
- The intention you take into the race with you will stay with you, keep it positive, keep it strong in your mind and keep it consistent. If you feel your intention faltering have cues to bring it back. In each of my drop bags was a card with cues to bring my intentions back.
Challenges
- My knees suffered a bit in this race, though not as much as previous times thankfully. Next time I run this race I will be scheduling in several long hill repeats.
Wins
- Running the entire 100km with Chris Wilder
- Seeing many of my friends in the running community and strengthening those relationships
- Running a 56 minute PB from my 2019 effort, despite the terrible weather conditions. I still had energy left in the tank when I finished and felt like I could keep going.
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