Pre race
Got into Yarraman 7:30pm the night before and got to bed around 10:00pm
Race morning
- 4:30am rise
- 6:00am kick off
- Temperature 0.8 degrees Celsius
Race – First 23km to Benarkin ·
- Pace a little quicker than planned but comfortable.
- Lead the pace for the first 2km as the race leaders missed the turn off (#alwayslistentotheracebriefing).
- Kept it at a nice even 6:00/km
- Regular hydration and gels on point.
Race – Downhill 18Km to Linville
- Hydration restock / coke and a snickers.
- I was very mindful of the downhill section, as such the pace was tempered.
- Kept it at a nice even 6:25/km.
- A lot of people ran this section hard (some didn’t finish).
Race – 52Km Undulating to ESK
- The wheels fell off at about 70Km in.
- 29 degrees Celsius was cooking us.
- Headwind.
- Extreme calf cramping – Applied some magnesium gel.
- Moved to a walk run strategy.
- Started to have difficulty putting food down.
- Arrived at ESK did a full change of clothes.
- Ate a couple of potato cakes.
- Grant pulled out at this point.
Race – 67Km (first 10km up then profile down)
- Moved between a 10 and 12 pace.
- Couldn’t get any speed on a run, so I just walked.
- I grabbed my hiking poles to try to quicken the pace (maybe used them for about 20Km).
- Kept food and hydration up with plenty of urination.
- Two people past me running (both didn’t finish).
- Icy cold with a head wind – hands were frozen.
- Felt better once the sun came out.
Finish – 3.5Km extra to the finish line
- Concrete surface to get to the school ground finish.
- This annoyed me so I jogged/walked most of it.
- No food or drink available by the race organisers.
- No finishers medal or t-shirt.
- Mild hyperthermia when I stopped (which the crew quickly managed).
- Finished 16 overall and 10 Male home out of 34 starters.
- 26 hours 21 minutes and first 100 miler in the bag.
- Finishing Video (click here)
Positives
- Great trail for a run of this length.
- Support crew were able to intersect and check in regular.
- Hydration was on point.
- Mental conditioning was good.
- First 100km was around 12 hours.
Opportunities
- Heat and cold conditions knocked me around more than anticipated.
- Quads were very sore during running as well as tight ITB (but hamstrings and glutes fine).
- Any running efficiency after 100 Km was not great.