Saturday 18th May 2013 - The North Face 100 - Blue Mountains
Lining up at the start at 6:50am watching the first waves go off was the usual pre-race mix of nerves, legs feeling like jelly and stomach doing back flips. On the plus side, I had slept with the electric blanket turned up high and my back was feeling better than it had done for the last two weeks, I knew I had put in some decent kms on the trail and I had a plan for a 24 hour race mapped out.
Whilst I could never have finished without the help of my support crew I should have written the splits for the first half of the run on my left hand rather than getting Sara to write them on my right.
There was a bit of MTB sledging from the MC as we waited for our start and then we were off. All the advice was to treat this leg as a warm up and thanks to foot traffic the first offroad section was an enforced walk where we started to work out who was aiming for what time and tips were shouted to the runner who could not turn on her borrowed GPS. Just in case any of us had forgotten we were helpfully advised by a gentleman in his dressing gown that "it is a marathon not a sprint".
After 7km we dropped down into the bush and made our way past the scenic railway to the first testing climb of the day at the Golden Staircase (16km) and up to CP1 at the 18km mark. Due to traffic, crossing the landslide area and the stairs it was a hard leg to get any rhythm on but overall it was a good leg for me - I was 10 minutes down on my planned time but I felt fresh and after refilling bottles and stocking up on food it was onto Narrow Neck. Absolutely stunning views in all directions as we made our way along to the Torres Ladders and the drop down into the Megalong Valley. For the race they fix extension ladders which aids the descent but if you want a bit of a thrill give the metal pegs a go sometime.
The crowd had thinned out at this stage so I only had to wait a few minutes at the ladders and then it was rolling along the valley to CP2 (38km). Played cat and mouse with a couple of runners as I out climbed them and then they steamed past me on the descents (the benefits of youthful knees) at least it kept me entertained and we kept it up through to CP3. CP2 was another chance to fill up the bottles and grab a handful of snakes whilst resisting the urge to lie on the grass and admire the scenery. The freshness and style were starting to fade at this point but it had been a good leg. 10 minutes ahead of plan and managing to stay out of the lactate region (following the sage advice to keep those cookies in the jar for when you need them). The only downside was I had no appetite and eating was already becoming an effort.
CP2 to CP3 takes you over some private land and onto the Iron Pot Ridge for a 1km out and back section. The out and back was a great opportunity to check out fellow runners and judge where you are sitting in the overall scheme of things (apart from near the back which was fairly self evident) - but it was good to see people entering the out and back as you are leaving and see that they are a) running b) don't look in too bad a shape and c) as you are 2km ahead of them you might also be running and maybe don't look in too bad a shape. Didgeridoo players and clapping sticks were a nice distraction as we enjoyed the views.
CP3 was always going to be a big physiological point on the run for me, at 54km you have covered a lot of ground but you still have over a marathon and the two biggest climbs to go. It is the first place you can get outside support and you know that it only takes a moment of weakness and you are in a warm car and on your way to a hotel bed. My target was to arrive there in daylight, stay for a maximum of 20 minutes, get in some proper food and get on my way. I had texted Sara about 2km out and she was waiting with a chair, cheese and vegemite sandwiches, walking poles and the Ayup head torch, all set up in a perfect spot right next to the timing mats. Support messages were passed on and Sara kicked me out after 19 minutes - food was still not going down well but I left with a cheese and vegemite sandwich and a brownie to walk and chew for the first km.
CP3 to CP4 is a brutal leg that takes you from the valley floor back up to Katoomba via the six foot track and Nellies Glen. At 11km long it is one of the shortest sections but you gain about 500m, most of it over 2kms via stairs. The game plan was don't stop - slow the pace when the pulse peaks - but you are never going to do this without getting into some serious oxygen debt so you just need to ride it out. The air was blue as I swore my way up and onto CP4 (65km) at the Katoomba aquatic centre.
CP4 was in the luxury of the basketball courts at the Katoomba Aquatic centre, warm, out of the wind and before the longest leg (25km) of the run. The game plan here was a complete change of clothes for the night ahead, new battery in the Ayup and pretend that it was the start of a 25km training run. I was really struggling to eat by now and I had only drunk 1/2 of the fluid I had planned on the previous leg. My scheduled time here was 20 minutes but it slipped out to 30 minutes as I tried to get in some food, Sara attended to some early hotspots on my feet and made sure I left with long pants on and full water bottles. The next leg was the crux of the run, I had allowed myself plenty of time and I knew that if I made it to CP5 (at 89km) before the cut off I was going to finish.
Running at night in the bush is pretty special as for long sections you are on your own until the headlights pick up a pair of eyes in the bush or something swimming in a creek. There were some long sections with no marker tape so you needed to hold your nerve as you ran on confident the organisers would have marked any significant points.
The 700m climb up the 7km hill starting at 81km mark is all that was in my head as I went into the valley. By this stage of the run I was only overtaking people as I maintained a power walk up the hills and a jog down. The plan for the big hill was to break it into 4 sections (there are a couple of track junctions and gates to help) and keep up a steady pace with an allowance for 200m of slower pace in each km but again don't stop and ride the peaks in pulse rate. The organisers had thrown in a safety gear check at my first marker point so I had an enforced break whilst a volunteer engaged me in conversation, it was annoying at the time as it broke my rhythm but looking back he may have been judging my mental and physical state. The organisers were cruising this leg in 4WDs picking up runners and the dust and the cold wind played havoc with breathing and the contact lenses. Having said all that this leg was a blast and I made up over an hour on my planned time, finishing with a jog into CP5 to try and stretch out the legs after the long walk up the hill.
CP5 is a bit of a blur, I knew I had pushed it on the climb and well and truly raided the cookie jar but I also knew that I could just gut out the last 11km whatever state I was in. Another attempt to eat, more foot work and reapplication of Vaseline and I was out of there, 200m in I realised I had forgotten to bring my honey sandwich but decided that an extra 400m was too much effort at that stage. I thought I was at CP5 for a only a few minutes but it was actually 30 minutes looking at the splits.
My ability to do mental arithmetic had deserted me by this point as I spent time trying to work out pace / time, the race clock time, allow for my wave start time and work out what time I was going to finish. I knew I had started the leg about an hour inside my plan but I kept getting the sums wrong and coming up with a finish time outside the plan. After a km or so of distraction I gave up as I dropped back down the cliff face to cross the river under Wentworth Falls. The next section has some exposed cliff faces and I had been running for 20+ hours so the mantra for the next few kms was "concentrate and watch your footing". I didn't see another runner for the first 7km of the leg so the mantra was vocalised as I forced the concentration.
Passing the 4km to go sign on the easier track around the Conservation Hut I had another crack at working out a finish time and came up with 22 hours. But the course had a final sting in the tail as we dropped down and down a painful flight of stairs to cross over to Leura from Wentworth falls and as with all downs we then had the up and the 22 hours slipped out to 22 hours and 13 minutes before I was greeted by Jonathan who walked next to me as I broke into a jog for 10m on the only flat section of the course that I can remember and over the finish line.
For those who like a few statistics:
What's next?
Trailwalker is coming up in August - if anyone wants to check out the team and donate to a good cause you can follow the link https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/team/home/14474
It is the Inov8 Coastal classic in September (30km Otford to Bundeena) where I will be aiming for a qualifying time for the Six Foot Track next year and then the old hard tail gets the dust covers taken off for the Kowalski in September.
The Rogaine season is in full swing with the Paddy Pallin 6 hour event at Glenbrook in June as Moira continues her push in the Rogainer of the year competition.
Finally a very special thanks to the following people:
Sara for putting up with all the training runs and then crewing solo through the night - it would not have been possible without you.
Moira for the posters and the messages on the ziplock bags.
Jonathan, Joel, Jacqui and Kate for getting up at 5am to see me come in and all the tips and advice on running and crewing along the way.
Tania and her boys for looking after Moira.
Warning It's a long read but I had a lot of thinking time.
Lining up at the start at 6:50am watching the first waves go off was the usual pre-race mix of nerves, legs feeling like jelly and stomach doing back flips. On the plus side, I had slept with the electric blanket turned up high and my back was feeling better than it had done for the last two weeks, I knew I had put in some decent kms on the trail and I had a plan for a 24 hour race mapped out.
5:15am and it still sort of seems like a good idea.
Race Face!
Whilst I could never have finished without the help of my support crew I should have written the splits for the first half of the run on my left hand rather than getting Sara to write them on my right.
Sara's career as a Tattoo Artist gets off to a shaky start
There was a bit of MTB sledging from the MC as we waited for our start and then we were off. All the advice was to treat this leg as a warm up and thanks to foot traffic the first offroad section was an enforced walk where we started to work out who was aiming for what time and tips were shouted to the runner who could not turn on her borrowed GPS. Just in case any of us had forgotten we were helpfully advised by a gentleman in his dressing gown that "it is a marathon not a sprint".
After 7km we dropped down into the bush and made our way past the scenic railway to the first testing climb of the day at the Golden Staircase (16km) and up to CP1 at the 18km mark. Due to traffic, crossing the landslide area and the stairs it was a hard leg to get any rhythm on but overall it was a good leg for me - I was 10 minutes down on my planned time but I felt fresh and after refilling bottles and stocking up on food it was onto Narrow Neck. Absolutely stunning views in all directions as we made our way along to the Torres Ladders and the drop down into the Megalong Valley. For the race they fix extension ladders which aids the descent but if you want a bit of a thrill give the metal pegs a go sometime.
The crowd had thinned out at this stage so I only had to wait a few minutes at the ladders and then it was rolling along the valley to CP2 (38km). Played cat and mouse with a couple of runners as I out climbed them and then they steamed past me on the descents (the benefits of youthful knees) at least it kept me entertained and we kept it up through to CP3. CP2 was another chance to fill up the bottles and grab a handful of snakes whilst resisting the urge to lie on the grass and admire the scenery. The freshness and style were starting to fade at this point but it had been a good leg. 10 minutes ahead of plan and managing to stay out of the lactate region (following the sage advice to keep those cookies in the jar for when you need them). The only downside was I had no appetite and eating was already becoming an effort.
CP2 to CP3 takes you over some private land and onto the Iron Pot Ridge for a 1km out and back section. The out and back was a great opportunity to check out fellow runners and judge where you are sitting in the overall scheme of things (apart from near the back which was fairly self evident) - but it was good to see people entering the out and back as you are leaving and see that they are a) running b) don't look in too bad a shape and c) as you are 2km ahead of them you might also be running and maybe don't look in too bad a shape. Didgeridoo players and clapping sticks were a nice distraction as we enjoyed the views.
CP3 was always going to be a big physiological point on the run for me, at 54km you have covered a lot of ground but you still have over a marathon and the two biggest climbs to go. It is the first place you can get outside support and you know that it only takes a moment of weakness and you are in a warm car and on your way to a hotel bed. My target was to arrive there in daylight, stay for a maximum of 20 minutes, get in some proper food and get on my way. I had texted Sara about 2km out and she was waiting with a chair, cheese and vegemite sandwiches, walking poles and the Ayup head torch, all set up in a perfect spot right next to the timing mats. Support messages were passed on and Sara kicked me out after 19 minutes - food was still not going down well but I left with a cheese and vegemite sandwich and a brownie to walk and chew for the first km.
CP3 to CP4 is a brutal leg that takes you from the valley floor back up to Katoomba via the six foot track and Nellies Glen. At 11km long it is one of the shortest sections but you gain about 500m, most of it over 2kms via stairs. The game plan was don't stop - slow the pace when the pulse peaks - but you are never going to do this without getting into some serious oxygen debt so you just need to ride it out. The air was blue as I swore my way up and onto CP4 (65km) at the Katoomba aquatic centre.
CP4 was in the luxury of the basketball courts at the Katoomba Aquatic centre, warm, out of the wind and before the longest leg (25km) of the run. The game plan here was a complete change of clothes for the night ahead, new battery in the Ayup and pretend that it was the start of a 25km training run. I was really struggling to eat by now and I had only drunk 1/2 of the fluid I had planned on the previous leg. My scheduled time here was 20 minutes but it slipped out to 30 minutes as I tried to get in some food, Sara attended to some early hotspots on my feet and made sure I left with long pants on and full water bottles. The next leg was the crux of the run, I had allowed myself plenty of time and I knew that if I made it to CP5 (at 89km) before the cut off I was going to finish.
CP4 - Still Smiling
CP4 to CP5 is the nicest section of the run (in terms of trail and ease of running) in the Jameson valley but it is combined with a descent of the Giant Stairway and the 700m climb from the valley floor to CP5 so it has a bit of everything.
Running at night in the bush is pretty special as for long sections you are on your own until the headlights pick up a pair of eyes in the bush or something swimming in a creek. There were some long sections with no marker tape so you needed to hold your nerve as you ran on confident the organisers would have marked any significant points.
The 700m climb up the 7km hill starting at 81km mark is all that was in my head as I went into the valley. By this stage of the run I was only overtaking people as I maintained a power walk up the hills and a jog down. The plan for the big hill was to break it into 4 sections (there are a couple of track junctions and gates to help) and keep up a steady pace with an allowance for 200m of slower pace in each km but again don't stop and ride the peaks in pulse rate. The organisers had thrown in a safety gear check at my first marker point so I had an enforced break whilst a volunteer engaged me in conversation, it was annoying at the time as it broke my rhythm but looking back he may have been judging my mental and physical state. The organisers were cruising this leg in 4WDs picking up runners and the dust and the cold wind played havoc with breathing and the contact lenses. Having said all that this leg was a blast and I made up over an hour on my planned time, finishing with a jog into CP5 to try and stretch out the legs after the long walk up the hill.
CP5 is a bit of a blur, I knew I had pushed it on the climb and well and truly raided the cookie jar but I also knew that I could just gut out the last 11km whatever state I was in. Another attempt to eat, more foot work and reapplication of Vaseline and I was out of there, 200m in I realised I had forgotten to bring my honey sandwich but decided that an extra 400m was too much effort at that stage. I thought I was at CP5 for a only a few minutes but it was actually 30 minutes looking at the splits.
My ability to do mental arithmetic had deserted me by this point as I spent time trying to work out pace / time, the race clock time, allow for my wave start time and work out what time I was going to finish. I knew I had started the leg about an hour inside my plan but I kept getting the sums wrong and coming up with a finish time outside the plan. After a km or so of distraction I gave up as I dropped back down the cliff face to cross the river under Wentworth Falls. The next section has some exposed cliff faces and I had been running for 20+ hours so the mantra for the next few kms was "concentrate and watch your footing". I didn't see another runner for the first 7km of the leg so the mantra was vocalised as I forced the concentration.
Passing the 4km to go sign on the easier track around the Conservation Hut I had another crack at working out a finish time and came up with 22 hours. But the course had a final sting in the tail as we dropped down and down a painful flight of stairs to cross over to Leura from Wentworth falls and as with all downs we then had the up and the 22 hours slipped out to 22 hours and 13 minutes before I was greeted by Jonathan who walked next to me as I broke into a jog for 10m on the only flat section of the course that I can remember and over the finish line.
For those who like a few statistics:
- Just over 1000 runners signed up and there were 703 fininshers.
- 100km with about 90% on trails, 3600m elevation gain (and the equivalnet loss as we started and finisnhed at the same place).
- I got through 8 or 9 liters of Endura lemon and lime sports drink and about 3 liters of water, probably 10-12 gels (mix of Gu and Endura), family pack of snakes and lots of trail mix.
- It got down to 2 or 3 degC during the night but never really felt that cold.
Two Hours sleep, coffee and a bacon and egg roll later
What's next?
Trailwalker is coming up in August - if anyone wants to check out the team and donate to a good cause you can follow the link https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/team/home/14474
It is the Inov8 Coastal classic in September (30km Otford to Bundeena) where I will be aiming for a qualifying time for the Six Foot Track next year and then the old hard tail gets the dust covers taken off for the Kowalski in September.
The Rogaine season is in full swing with the Paddy Pallin 6 hour event at Glenbrook in June as Moira continues her push in the Rogainer of the year competition.
Finally a very special thanks to the following people:
Sara for putting up with all the training runs and then crewing solo through the night - it would not have been possible without you.
Moira for the posters and the messages on the ziplock bags.
Jonathan, Joel, Jacqui and Kate for getting up at 5am to see me come in and all the tips and advice on running and crewing along the way.
Tania and her boys for looking after Moira.
