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This was my third shot at the Hurt 100, and I got to run this on their 20th anniversary. After falling short last year, I wanted one more try.

I landed in Hawaii a week out from the hurt 100. The purpose to acclimate and check out the trails prior to the race.

I had a 3 hour session on the Saturday and a 4 hour session on the Sunday, which I’d decided to take up to the trails both days but different parts of the course. The first day I ran from the hotel to the nature centre heading up hogs back to Moana cliff trail. The course had taken a beating from the weather in the lead up and trails more closely resembled rivers. There was a tree down across the turn off to the cliff and I just couldn’t get past. I continued to the flats and hung a right to take an alternative route to get there. On the way back to the nature centre there was another massive tree down just after the bamboo forest. There was no way around, so I went over. The tree was slippery and I lost my grip a banged my head hard. I gathered my thoughts and finished the run back to the hotel.

My first thoughts on the course was that it was way harder than last year.
The second day was much worse, I ran from the hotel to Moana falls then off to nu’uanu. Again, the course more closely resembled a series of small rivers that an actual track. I was shaking my head all the way to nu’uanu. When I got to the river crossing, it was white water rafting worthy. I crossed the river and almost got washed down stream. There was a homeless gentleman (with no teeth) on the other side who with a kind heart extended his hand to drag me out of the river. We exchanged a laugh and continued on. I had every intention of running back via the trails, but I’d seen enough. The Pali Highway was my alternate route back to the hotel.

My brother and his wife (Grant and Leslie) landed mid week. They were here for a holiday and to help crew and pace for the event. Straight off the plane he wanted to get a run in. We selected diamond head as an alternative location (at the Hurt trail was soaked). On the way back down, we ran into seasoned veteran ultra runner, Kuni Yamagata. Kuni yelled out to us and we had a chat about the race before we continued. On the way down we also collected some tourists who wanted to run with us.

We had a light jog scheduled for the next day, where we were fortunately able to be joined by Anna Albrecht. Anna was also competing in the race, but had broken her arm in the lead up to the event. Note: Anna came 3rd last year but ended up taking line honours this year. Such an amazing person and very generous with her time.

Friday morning was trail marking day and I dropped Grant up to the trails then went for a quick jog.

The afternoon was the race briefing and bib collection. I went up – it was great to reconnect with the community. I paid my respects to John and PJ. I also had a quick chat with Ken who I’d asked to pace me on lap 5 (the final lap). This event is not only one of the hardest races in the world, it’s also one of the hardest races to get into. Even if you do satisfy all the criteria, it’s a lottery. There is always 500-600 applications for 125 spots. So in short, just because you want to get in doesn’t mean you will. Ken has been selected and participated in the race for the last 10 years. This year the lottery system didn’t fall in his favour. Without a doubt he’d rather be running, but switched his focus to helping others. I was honoured to have his help.
There was a new sign to kiss and the course was not amazing, added to that the section from Moana falls (Paradise park) car park to the waterfall was noted to be like ‘peanut butter’. They had been doing maintenance works and had just laid a fresh layer of top soil to ‘assist’.

That night I surprisingly got a good night sleep but felt lethargic in the morning. We arrived a 5am for a 6am kickoff.

It was hot as balls out there……..the locals were wearing jackets.

I’d decided to try to stick with a liquid diet for as long as I could, with pre loaded Vitatgo, protein shakes and Pocari Sweat available in my drop bags.

I had a conversation with Coach Tim Ballintine (Koa Bespoke coaching) a couple of nights before to go over the race plan. Don’t go out too hard and stay out of the aid stations was the call. Reality was the the work had been done and it was up to me to deal with the challenges ahead. I had aimed to stay mid pack.

Lap 1

As I lined up, I found myself slightly pushed towards the front. We all held hands on the bridge, shared some thoughts for people that had passed. Then the race started.

I normally try to find a local athlete to follow through the course as they usually know the right lines. As we headed up hogs back, I started following someone and it seem they were taking a difficult route. I asked her where she was from – Costa rica….. I had find a new first lap buddy.

I found one, Bree Brown says pass ‘if you want I’m a climber not fast on the down hills’. I responded the her pace was perfect and I was happy to stay where I was. I stayed behind Bree for most of the first lap. We spoke about triathlons, my coach Tim. We also shared some memories about my cousin Craig Percival. Craig was an amazing iron man who unfortunately passed away after knee surgery post completion 8 iron man events in 8 days.

From then on I known to Bree as Melbourne. Oh, Melbourne doesn’t want to pass. He’s happy to follow, she would tell others.

True to what was stated Moana falls was like peanut butter to run through. This also made rocks extra slippery due to the mud on your feet. As an obstacle racer, it reminded me of the mud mile. I also know that with so much mud, cramping would be a factor.

I was in and out of Moana falls in less than 30 seconds. Even stopping to give Jacqueline a hug. She was volunteering at the aid station and later pacing for Kana Yamamoto (my favourite runner out on the course). I knew her from previous Hurt appearances.

I was off to nu’uanu to grab my hiking poles. Again, a quick turnaround and the volunteers were brilliant.

I was doing well on the hills (surprisingly). When I reached the pipes, I was glad I had the poles. More for stability than anything else. I flew down that section. I have a love hate relationship with the pipes. Joking at times that it should be concreted over (I’m not joking).

I came in in just over 5 hours. At least 30 faster than previous years, but felt easier.

I could feel some calf cramps coming on. I knew it would. I took some apple cider vinegar to calm things down. Leslie was taking care of all things crew related and she was bloody brilliant. She has crewed for my brother an I on many occasions before and it was a pleasure to have her steering the ship on this one.

Lap 2

On lap two all was going well until I took 2 nasty falls coming down the switch backs whilst heading to the aid station. The second snapped one of my poles clean in half as I fell hard on my knee and hip.

Judy was on hurt patrol and I showed her what was left of the pole. She said that it was lucky it wasn’t my leg.

Right near the waterfall I ran into some legacy runners which included PJ, who I gave a fist bump and some kind words before continuing. So good to see the legacy crew out on the field. True legendary efforts.

I now had a problem. I had I hiking pole and I was banged up on my right side. I left the broken pole with Leslie and continued to complete lap 2.
The rest of the lap was uneventful, but by using the pole on one side I could feel my previous back pain kicking in due to twisting on one side.

Lap time: 6 hours 36 minutes

Starting lap 3 before dark was a new concept. Grant had been discussing my broken equipment with Jacki who very kindly offered to lend me her spare. I ran behind Jacki in my very first attempt at the HURT100 in 2018. Jacki finished the race that year and continues to volunteer and race direct HURT events. One hell of an awesome person as well.

Lap 3

It was lap 3, I had 2 poles, a pacer (Grant) and a headlamp. Cramps were still an issue, so I smashed down some mustard to assist.

The pressure was on Grant as my lap 3 last year was 8 hours 20 minutes under his watch. We moved quickly until the Moana falls switch backs were I was still gun shy from my previous fall.

Bree was coming up as I was descending. ‘Melbourne’ is that you she yelled. Yep, I responded. Keep going, you’re doing well she said.

I had a blister coming on my right foot which Grant took great pleasure dealing with my feet. As we left Grant grabbed a cheeseburger to fuel his trip.

All went well down to nu’uanu, but on the way up Grant hit some stomach issues. I took the lead while he got himself right. At the top of 5 minute hill he was on hands and knees praying to the gods.

Grant struggled through the rest of the lap, but I was able to pace him back to the nature centre to have a breather.

Sure enough, he did the job though with a lap time of 7 hours 30 minutes.

Lap 4

This lap really was going to test me out both mentally and physically.
Grant couldn’t continue, surprise – no pacer. Jacki convinced me that as I was moving well, a pacer wasn’t essential. I grabbed some more batteries and fuel and headed up hogs back.

On my way up to the road I crossed paths with May who was struggling. I told May to stay with me and we’d make it to the road together. At the road crossing (middle of the night mind up) May and I encountered a pick up truck with 6 guys / 6 dogs that were hunting wild boars. The drove down the road then turned around and drove next to us asking all kin’s of questions about the race. Weird….. I really don’t think I was in a position to say as what I was doing isn’t exactly normal. May and I ran together until the top of Moana fall switch backs. At this point I politely declined to run down then with May. She thanked me a continued her journey.

My knee was killing me from the earlier fall and I was just trying to get through the section to reunite with Grant to round off lap 4. When I arrived at the aid station I was informed that Grant still wasn’t ready and that they’d found a replacement pacer. I was absolutely gutted and all the wind had come out of my sails. Jeff asked if I wanted some company but I was still trying to figure out what was going on. Grant said he needed a little more time and would drop in next. Jeff asked what I needed and I responded ‘just walking’. Self pitty was high, my knee was killing me and Jeff paced way differently to Grant which mentality was not helping me. We made it down to nu’uanu and I was at my low point. Grant switched in and as we left the aid station I undertook a power vomit of epic proportions.

We passed Kuni Yamagata who told us he fell 75 feet off a cliff and landed in a tree – fracturing ribs, collar bone and a chip out of his hip. I asked him what he was still doing out here and he said just trying to get back to the road.

I was moving but extremely slowly. Any hours that I’d banked from earlier laps had been chewed up. More and more runners were passing me. On the way back to the top of nu’uanu I passed Duane who was pacing someone for the final lap. Duane had finished the HURT100 last year and was well known in the ultra community. Top class bloke to boot. He slapped me in the back and told me to go get it.

On the Moana cliff trail we ran into the boar hunters with their dogs. Grant tried his best but mentally the race was getting to me. My knee was quite bad a this point and I reflected on my cousin Craig and his passing , how bad was the damage, could I be making it worse. So many questions with no answers. I was also crunching numbers. ‘There’s no way I can do another loop and make the cut off times’ I thought. I can’t even run or shuffle. As I was coming down pipes is where it all started. I can’t do it, I’m going have to pull out. Grant said, let’s just get you in before the cut off time. The cut off time to start the last lap was 11am. I was still 20 minutes ahead of that.

Just then Grant yelled ’runners’. I turned to see Duane with his runner Brian – wrapping up their 5th lap.

Moments in time can make all the difference. Duane stopped, hugged me and said ‘you’ve got this, get the fuck back up hogs back. What if he was right, was there still enough time.

I still wasn’t sure. Meanwhile Grant had been messaging down to Leslie discussing my impending drop out. As I came in I looked a Ken and said sorry. Ken said ‘I know, here’s what we are going to do’.

They pushed me far enough away from the seating so I couldn’t sit. We can make it happen but we need to work quickly, said Ken. The crew worked together giving me food, water and gels. I wasn’t getting a lot of options here.

Jacki came over and said ‘I want to see you finish the fucking thing’. She was right, if not now, when?. I reflected on all my training partners that had help me get here, the work had been done, the sacrifices that my family had made and all the effort everyone had made during the event. I would regret it if I didn’t at least empty the tank. I didn’t know if I had anything left but I was going to give it a red hot go.

Lap time: 9 hours 15 minutes

Lap 5

Time to get it done – Tear’s were shed as I set out on lap 5. My family, community, my friends had all banded together to make my dream a reality.

Having Ken on the last lap was an absolutely brilliant move. He’s such a good person to run with both physically and mentally. He was ready to talk, but additionally I now had made a choice to listen.

As we left, Ken said ‘ this is going to suck, but we can do it’. He stepped me through the process of exactly what we needed to do and how we would do it from hydration, to nutrition.

Coming up hogs back Ken asked if I’d like to be introduced to Mike. Naturally, I said yes. He told me the Mike finishes this race every year, but you don’t want to be behind Mike. Gotcha, Mike was now my benchmark (coincidentally Mike finished the race with seconds to spare).

From then on whatever Ken asked of me I tried to do. He was checking off sections of the course that we’d never need to return to. The trail up to the Moana waterfall was riddled with tourists and surprise a tree had fallen over night creating another obstacle. I made it to Moana falls aid station in my second fastest leg time of the race. I was focused on crossing off the checklist that Ken put in front of me. Then, something magical happened. I started passing people that had previously been at least 8 miles a head of me. I was a massive confidence boost.

When I passed my favourite runner Kana Yamamoto at the top of five minute hill on the was to nu’uanu, I knew things were back on track. We hit nu’uanu, we were in an out quickly. I took a fall in the river which was actually quite refreshing.

I was climbing very well and passed several more people on the way up. Ultimately, finishing position means very little, but was a great confidence boost. I passed Kana one last time we bumped fists and she said ‘see you at the finish line’.

Ken even tried to make me run up five minute hill. My legs started to blow up immediately. So we strategised back to a hike. At the top of nu’uanu we took a moment a Jays bench and I enjoyed some history and sounds. Every hiker we passed Ken would let them know what mile we were up to and the cheered and applauded.

We hit the pipes and Ken lead me through, I’d started to speed up I almost ran into the back of Ken. ‘You’re slowing me down’ I said. Great, take the lead was the response. As we approached the nature centre, I’d caught up to Bree. ‘What’s going on here, is it a race to not come in last’ she said. We laughed ‘no, Mike’s behind us’ Ken responded, and kept with the momentum. I ran it all the way in. The feeling of the finish was truly incredible. Emotions were high and I celebrated with the team.

I’m sure I’ll never be able to fully repay the selfless acts by everyone that helped make the dream come true, but I’m forever grateful for there energy and efforts.

Leslie and Grant crewed amazingly and went above and beyond whenever needed. Truth be known, they probably worked harder than I did and it was amazing having family there to share this accomplishment.

Additionally, the manner that Ken got me around the course was nothing short of phenomenal and I actually learned a few things about hydration and downhill running in the process. My hat is off to Ken, he did a good thing and I’ll cherish those times on the course together.

I’d finished, but now I was interested in seeing Kana wrap up her journey. Seeing her finish was one the most inspirational things I’ve seen in quite some time. She was so emotional and on wobbly legs. I’m so glad to share the journey with her.

A moment in time can make all the difference, all it takes is one moment.

I ended up winning the “Run, Sue Lohr, Run” award for being the last person to start the fifth lap and still make the cutoffs.

Lap Breakdown

Probably not the best strategy, but I’m sure it happened like this for a reason. Out of the 3 times I have run this course, this time was by far the most gruelling.

Lap 1 – 5:03:23

Lap 2 – 6:36:13

Lap 3 – 7:43:24

Lap 4 – 9:15:32

Lap 5 – 6:44:58

Average – 7:04:42

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.

**Thanks to https://www.augustodecastrophotography.com for the awesome photos.

After a DNF in my first attempt, I’d made it a focus to get another shot at this amazing event.

On the 19th January 2019, I took on the HURT 100 mile race (161km) in Hawaii.

The race itself has 5 loops of 20 miles (32 km) and 4,900 feet (1.5 km) of accent / decent each loop. The race participant finishing rate is less than 50%.

The preparation

The journey was great in the lead up, I had three awesome races and clocked up some impressive mileage:

• March 2018 – Gone Nuts 101km Adventure race (Finisher), 18hrs 8 min
• July 2018 – Adelaide 24 Hour (Finisher) – 151.80km
• October 2018 – Ned Kelly Chase 100km (Finisher) – 11hrs 11min

It’s not enough just to run ultra marathons, through the entire journey, the Aussie Mudders have supported great causes through the process. Total funds raised across the journey: $28,860.00. The following are some of the main charities close to our heart that we have raised funds for:

• Cancer council;
• Camp Quality is the children’s family cancer charity;
• National Breast Cancer Foundation;
• Depression2Extinction;
• Ambassador Athlete for Depression2Extinction;

I also took the time out to give back to the ultra running community, volunteering my time at various events and forums.

Volunteer at he Coburg 24 Hour Victorian championships

Responsibilities:

• Runner registration table;
• Runners hydration table;
• Event bump out;
• Grave yard shift;

Volunteer MC at Raw challenge 12 hour enduro obstacle race

Responsibilities:

• MC for the Event;
• Runner registration table;

Australian Ultra Runners Association (AURA)

• Current AURA Member;
• Committee meeting attendance and events;

I must admit, volunteering my services as MC at the Raw Challenge Enduro 2018 was incredible. The power of motivating other people was priceless. I met so many amazing people on that day. My whole aim for the day was to lift people up and make them smile as they passed the finish line for the next loop.

I decided to use my participation in this epic run to help promote Depression2Extinction (d2e) and the fund raise for their programs that aim to eliminate the STIGMA of Depression.

I really like the approach d2e are taking to address these issues, it’s completely different to what other organisations are offering in this space. I thought this would be a great opportunity to contribute.

Mental health issues and its impact in society is an ever growing trend around the world:

• 300 Million people of all ages suffer from depression globally
• 2/3 of people with depression do not actively seek nor receive proper treatment
• The total economic burden of depression is estimated to be $210.5 billion per year.
• 80% of those who received support for depression show an improvement within four to six weeks

Many people suffer in silence – the D2e programs focus on physical movement, mindfulness and human connection, which aims to change the way society addresses and perceives mental health and depression.

That being said, all proceeds for this campaign went directly back to supporting the 3 primary programs at d2e:

1. Everyday Ambassador Athletes
2. YourStoryMatters Small (Support) Groups
3. HEAL Events (Helping Emotions Allow Listening)

The lottery

There is not much to be said about the lottery. There were around 500 applicants and with 130 spots available – I didn’t make the cut. However to my surprise I was listed as 15 on the waitlist.

The waitlist allows spots to open up pending other participant drop out. I didn’t receive official notification that I had a place on the 15th November 2019.

Coaching

I realized that what I had done previously didn’t work, so I reached out to a family contact to get some help. Tim Ballintine, Founder of Koa sports had worked with my cousin Craig Percival. Craig was a well-known Australian Ironman athlete who passed away after suffering multiple heart attacks during knee surgery. Craig had two earned international attention in the triathlon world when he completed eight full distance-length triathlons in eight days in each of Australia’s eight states.

Craig, who inspired many through the sport, was also a popular coach. He regularly competed in long distance races for charity and raised $100,000 through his eight races in eight days attempt.

Craig always spoke highly of Tim as a coach, so for me, this was the option I turned to for help. The run up for the event wasn’t very long, and a quality approach was implemented. Tim and I worked through the needs of the race looking at all the data to lay down the right strategy.

The months leading up

Hawaii

The day after I was notified, I was due to be in Hawaii for a Jiu Jitsu competition that I had booked months earlier.

One of the local athletes had reached out to me and invited me along to his 40 mile birthday run (Duane), naturally I agreed. He has indicated that the pace would be “conversational pace”. At that time, I had just come of the back of a 100km race but had undertaken minimal elevation work. Needless to say, the conversation I had was mainly with myself. I ripped my shoe completely open on the trails and at that point, I decided to call it a day completing half the volume anticipated.

Always good to have a wake up call – The Hawaiian athletes are absolutely amazing, I felt very honored to spend some time training with them.

During my time there, I connected with various athletes and friends with a focus on some specific elevation training. There is something to be said in relation to the ability to train on the Tantalus trails, there is nothing quite like it.

By the way – I ended up coming third in the Jiu Jitsu competition with some coaching assistance from the good people at Uptown Jiu Jitsu. It was safe to say the Marines had my measure, but it was fun.

Melbourne

When I returned to melbourne, my recovery program was just as important, if not more important as the workloads. I knew I would need some extra assistance in this area, and the experts at Fluid Health didn’t disappoint. They offered support in the lead up to the event to support the d2e journey.

I took full advantage of their facilities, utilizing the:

• Hyperbaric chamber
• Hot / cold recover baths
• Sauna
• Recover boots

I’m forever grateful for their assistance to hold my old bones together.

New York

Because I didn’t originally get in I had planned other activities and holidays. New York was freezing, I did most of my training on treadmills and stairwells.

I think this assisted my running technique somewhat, even though I’m not a massive fan of treadmill running.

On my last day there I decided to sack up, and cut a lap around central park. I was flying around it effortlessly. It had almost been two weeks of not running outside. There is something to be said to this cross training phenomenon.

Melbourne

I returned home to finalize my peak, with all the elevation work I’d been doing my – legs felt like granite. I felt running strong, I felt ready.

Race time

I arrived in Hawaii three days out from the event. My support crew and I caught up that night to outline the plan of attack. My crew had people close to me that I trusted to keep me safe:

• Veigo – my brother Grant (AUS)
• Coach JJ – Founder of d2e (TEXAS)
• Giltos – Long time partner in crime and his son (Giltos Jnr) (AUS)
• Kash – local mate with local knowledge and his Fenix 5 (HNL)

I’d already packed my drop bags back in Melbourne, so there wasn’t much else to do to get ready.

We attended the race briefing on the Friday ready for a 6am kick off the next day.

I didn’t sleep a wink that night, I felt like I’d rested with my eyes closed for 8 hours.

We were up at 4:30am to kick off at 6:00am. I had shook hands, hugged and fist bumped those people important to me and it was time to race. I believe it was at this point that I relinquished control around race strategy to the crew.

Lap 1

I was calm on the bridge and I saw some familiar faces from my visit in November (Anna & Wookie) which put me at ease.

The race started and I tried to stay with them for the first leg. Coming into the first aid station, I looked at my watch and I was 20 minutes quicker than my previous year. Now this was a problem, because we had planned a slower first lap (6 hours 30 minutes). I filled my water bottle and got out of the aid station straight away. At this point I slowed the pace out of fear I would get my ass kicked for going too fast. When I got to Nu’uanu I had my water bottles refilled and grabbed a bag of potatoes to go, along with my hiking poles.

It had been raining most of the time, the mud was slick but with 130 people running over the trails – it wasn’t going to get better.

The hiking poles were handy coming out of Nu’uanu due to the pitch of the incline and the ankle breaking pipes (where the night marchers reside) heading back to the nature centre.

On the way down the pipes I could feel some slight cramping in my calves and knew this needed to be managed asap. Time on the lap was 5 hours 38 minutes.

As I came down to the bridge I saw coach JJ and I just said “I’m struggling”, and then I could see Veigo (as he was yelling and screaming). I also saw somebody else, it was Jacki. I ran behind Jacki at the last HURT 100 (for as long as I could). She finished the race that year and is someone I have amazing respect in general. I high fived Viego and hugged Jacki then proceeded to the aid station.

This part of my experience was incredible. I sat down and my legs were so pumped, they felt like concrete. Now this may not have happened like this, but its how I remembered it. I was on the clock – I had 7 minutes to get what I needed and get out. I was wired, I couldn’t focus. I was look everywhere except where I should be looking. Veigo was changing my shoes and socks and then Coach JJ clicks his fingers in front of my eyes and said focus, pay attention – look right here. I immediately stopped; I didn’t realize what I was doing. He asked me how much I had to eat, so I told him. He responded – it’s not enough. At that point, Jacki came over and conferred with JJ then said you need to eat more “what would you like?” I asked for rice and potatoes. JJ started massaging my calves. Jacki returned with a rice ball and said, try this, if you like it I’ll get you some more. I ate it and nodded my head. Meanwhile the boys were fixing my legs, dressing me, filling my kit ready to go. Coach JJ was smashing watermelon into my face. Jacki retuned with a sandwich bag of rice and potatoes with the instruction that I was to start eating the contents and by the time I reached the top of the hill, the contents of the bag will be empty.

I couldn’t think for myself to know exactly what I needed to keep enough fuel in my body. It was exactly the instruction I needed. I left the aid station within the 7 minutes with my bag of food ready for lap two. I also committed to slowing it down.

Lap 2

During the initial climb on lap 2, I met another Aussie, Lucja. I’m not going to lie; it was nice to have some company. Her husband had finished the race the year before. It was during this period, I coined the phrase “eating pace”. Eating pace is kind of like conversational pace, but more focus on not spilling your food. True to my instruction, by the time I reached the top of the hill all food had been consumed. Lucja and I stayed together down to the Paradise Park aid station.

Support crew could now attend aid stations and on my way in I spot Coach JJ, Chet then Veigo (who was still yelling and screaming). I felt amazing and coming into that aid station is something else. It’s like a celebration; it was such great motivational feeling.

My team is in the aid station, jacki is there and I’m cramming food in my face like its an eating completion. I believe it was mildly entertaining.

I remember looking over at Lucja, and she was still sitting down, but I was ready so I proceeded out. In hind sight, I wish I’d waited for her as the support was extremely beneficial.

Off to Nu’uana.

On the way up I connected with a runner named Patti who had injured her ankle and was talking about pulling out. I encouraged her to hang in there and make it to Nu’uanu, as I had some strapping tape in my drop bag that she was welcome to use. I take the lead and get to the river first. There about 20 people there cheering, which maded me smile. I’m crossing the river and there is a dog on the rocks, so I reach down to pat it. My calves start to cramp, and I fall into the river – I couldn’t help but laugh.

I hit the aid station and advise the volunteers that Patti needs my strapping tape. I see Jacki again, she was so instrumental in bringing me back online for this lap and I will be forever grateful. I leave Patti with the volunteers and head back to the nature center. I was a lonely trip back. On the way back up, I started vomiting on myself but kept running.

I had requested for one of my water bottles to be filled with Coke, half way back I tried to pull it out of my holder and the lid came off and fell on the ground. As I bent down to pick it up, half that sweet, sweet Coke drained from the container. The liquid gold spilling on the course gave me a massive chuckle, and I bellowed out NOOOOOOOOOO!

I came in for lap two in about six and a half hours. I now know, I can have a pacer on the course and it just got dark.

I hit the aid station and Veigo was kitted up and ready to go. Coach JJ looks at me and said you smell terrific. It must of been the vomit, for a moment I did consider bottling my Oder de vomit, but conceded that the brand may not take off.

Again it was a slick change over; Giltos was on smelly foot duty and Veigo smeared my legs with cream. I took some food with me with full knowledge that I couldn’t eat.

Lap 3

This lap was a blur, I thought I did well – but I couldn’t tell you where the time went.

Heading down to Paradise Park was so slippery; I slipped and fell once at the top which made me be more cautious and slower. At this point, stories where coming in about how many people had dropped.

At Paradise Park, I needed something to settle my stomach. I had some crystallized ginger and a cold turkey soup. Glycogen level were so low and I resorted to saying ‘put it in a bag, I’ll eat it later’, which really meant – I think the food wants to come for a lap of the course with me.

As we are leaving Coach JJ has a brownie in his hand and instructed me to eat it. I responded, telling him to put it in a bag. It was made clear that this was a non negotiable discussion, I was eating it, whether I wanted too or not.

Instantly I felt better and headed to Nu’uanu, It was pissing down with rain, the trails were super slick. I made it to the aid station. The guy in the Tiger suit that was dancing was amusing…..at least I think that happened. I sloshed across the river with disregard for the rocks that were elevated. I packed some more food and headed back out. The rain was hammering down. Again I sloshed over the river and I popped a blister. On the other side I applied some tape and turned to Veigo and said ‘get me out of this shit hole’.

I was in terrible shape. I felt as skinny as a raffle turkey. It had gotten to the point where Veigo had to give me micro directions – eat now, drink now, electrolytes now, run now, walk now. We powered up the hill and as soon as we hit moana cliff we ran all the way back passing several people in the process. I was vaulting over obstacles like I was doing pole vault (in my mind that’s what it felt like). Veigo and I have run countless races together and it was my absolute pleasure to have him looking after me. We cruise past the pipes and night marchers. Grab a quick snap for the memories and hit the aid station. I remember asking Veigo the lap time, it was 8 hours 22 minutes (insert sad face here).

I couldn’t tell you were the time went. Needless to say, you can’t drive the car on empty. I simply had no fuel in the tank.

It’s now 2:45am. Coach JJ is ready to go.

I smashed a protein shake, which was a-mazing. I’m sitting in that aid station and I remember turning to Jacki (who was getting ready to pace her athlete), saying I think I’ve cut it too fine. She responded that there was still time.

The crew changed me over and the medic patched up my blisters.

Lap 4

I had given lap four to Coach JJ knowing that it was the most difficult time of the race. He was armed with a bunch of topics; he even busted out a rap at the top of Tantalus which made me giggle. The reality was that I was moving, but just not fast enough.

My responses were limited to ‘yep’ and ‘I’m good’. I still wasn’t eating and now I wasn’t drinking.

Coming down to moana falls, I moved to one side to allow a runner space to pass and my foot slipped over the edge. All the while thinking to myself, that I needed to be coming up this section, rather that going down at this point. I felt it slipping away.

We hit the aid station and reality hit home:

• I wasn’t going fast enough to make the cut off;
• I wasn’t eating;
• I wasn’t drinking;

I had made it to the fun run (67.5 miles or 108 km) but I wasn’t going to make the cut off.

It was time to call it a day.

Coach JJ called the team, arranged collection and ensured I had appropriate monitoring at the aid station.

I feel that my support crew worked just as hard as I did to keep the progress going.

I got in the car and instantly I was shivering, so I turned the heater on full bore. I got back to the hotel and sat in a warm bath and started to nod off. I snapped out of it and throw myself into bed. I passed out for six hours.

The funny thing about that was Veigo’s hotel room card wasn’t working and he was bashing on the door. I heard nothing. He had to try to explain to management that even though his name wasn’t on the room he required access. All I could do was imagine his frustrated little face as he pounded on the door as I slept. This made me smile………brotherly love.

Summary and thoughts

• A massive congratulations to all athletes that were able to tame this course, my hat is off to you. That achievement is nothing short of impressive.
• You can participate in this event or you can go that extra step and actually be a part of the community.
• Another, DNF on the toughest course I’ve run. The 100 km fun run was achieved but not the 100 mile. Overall, I ran well but couldn’t keep any fuel in the tank to maintain the speed required to make the cut off. None of this is a negative, in fact I experienced some amazing things:
  • We raised some awareness and funding for Depression2Extinction.
  • I was witness to an amazing group of strangers that came together to try to get me to my dreams. Overwhelming at times. So a massive shoutout to Jeff Jackson, Grant Mannix, Cam Giltinan, Jacki Doppelmayer, Corey Kashiwa and the rest of the event volunteers, your friendship and assistance was priceless.
• The banquet was an incredible celebration of all aspects of the event, if you get a chance, you should embrace all aspects of the event. This has got to be one of the best events in the world today.
• This community has got to be my favourite in the whole world. Thanks Jacqueline Tellei for dropping off Nalo home made lemonade (recovery fuel) after the race.
• Lastly, but certainly not least thanks to everyone for their support. Sometimes you can lose sight on how many people you reach with a journey like this one. Hopefully, I’ve inspired people to take on a dream that’s hard to achieve. Just remember failure is not because you tried, you will always get something valuable out of it.
• Is there a chance of a race return….maybe one day I will tame the beast.