My original plan had been to aim for selection for Team GB for the World 24 Hour Champs which were meant to be held in Romania at the end of May. During my taper for this, the girls were all going up to the Blue Mountains to take part in Ultra Trail Australia (3 running the 50K and 3 running the 100K), so I had offered to go and and be support crew/cheerleader. For one of the girls, it was to be her first Ultra so I was going to be her roomie/bag carrier/dogsbody for the weekend and offer sage words of wisdom (not!) about the madness of a 50K on trails with lots of ascent/descent and steps!!!
When it came down to it, the World Champs were postponed until October, and although my plan was still to go up and support them all, the girls convinced me to enter one of the events in order to avoid bad FOMO. I was really undecided about it, as I felt that I wasn't giving the event the respect it deserved, having not trained and tapered for it (in fact, I was working the day before the runs), but as I drove up to the mountains on the Friday afternoon, I decided that the worst that could happen would be that I'd have to pull out partway through, so I should just give it a go and enjoy a beautiful course and put no pressure on myself.
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| The 5:20 Chicks hit the Blue Mountains |
I had been put into the first starting group for the 50K, but at least we started just after the crack of dawn so I didn't need to wear a head torch (though I did have to carry one in my compulsory kit.......though when I thought about it, if I needed to finish the run using it, then something seriously bad would have happened to me....but rules are they to be obeyed so I dutifully carried in). It might have been a daylight start but it was still freezing cold, and so I was wearing armwarmers, gloves and a buff round my head.....and my jacket until right before the off!
The first two startgroups of the 100K went off ahead of us, but as the first section was a (very "undulating") out and back on both sealed and gravel roads, I got to see the leaders of their race coming back towards me....along with a couple of other friends who had started in these groups. I know that I started way faster than I should have done, but I just wanted to get warm.....and I also was enjoying the nontechnical nature of that first 5K!
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| Slightly chilly running those first few road kms |
Soon after that we headed off onto the single track trails that wound up and down along the edge of the escarpment......and when I say along the edge, that was just the beginning to lull us into a false sense of security. The field had spread out by this point which was quite a good thing as it was hard for people to pass each other when the trails were narrow, twisty, muddy and consisted of rather a few steps. After passing one of the most famous viewing platforms of the Blue Mountains (the "canonical" view of the Three Sisters) we were sent down a very long steep rough staircase to the valley floor.
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| The Three Sisters from the viewing platform |
The trail along the bottom was so pretty as it was lush rainforest-type vegetation, but unfortunately we only had about 1km of this to enjoy before we had to climb past up to the top again. I knew that the race finished with a climb up about 900 steps from bottom to top of the cliff, but I hadn't quite figured on doing something so similar so early on in the run. I really doubted I'd make it round as I felt so exhausted going up this section and we were only just over 10K in. Several parts of the climb were wide enough for people to power past me, and I was more than happy to stand aside and watch them all go, and even when we reached the top and the route became more "runnable", I had to force my legs to move faster than a snail's pace.
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| How I came to hate steps.... |
The 16K aid station came and went but I didn't need to refill my bottles as I'd not actually drunk anything as yet as it was still rather chilly. I had a few moments of doubt of my navigation skills when I couldn't see other runners (all those overtaking had disappeared off into the distance), but luckily it wasn't too far between route markings. I tried to switch off as to how far there was to go and just enjoy the beauty of the trails. I ran with a guy for a bit, so it was nice to chat away to someone just ahead/behind me.....but it was rather funny that just as he was commenting on how much friendlier he found trail runners than road runners, a girl caught us up (wearing headphones) and nearly pushed me off the edge of the trail down a cliff in her eagerness to rush on past!
The guy told me that as long as I got to the next aid station, I would enjoy some non technical forestry road running afterwards, so I made that aid station my mental target. I thought the organisers were being deliberately harsh on us as in order to cover the last couple of kms to said aid station, they made us run along through sand and bush, up and down little gullies, parallel to the road that led there! Pah! When I came to the aid station, it was like heaven as there was food galore....and so I partook of several slices of watermelon, a cinnamon bun and some other lovely bakery treats. Although I thought I should refill my water bottle, when I got it out, I realised that I'd hardly had any of it....no wonder everything was tasting so bland and dry!
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| The weather did make for atmospheric pictures! |
Everyone who knows me, knows that I'm a "bit rubbish" at running downhill, and so although the next section was many many kms of forestry road rather than technical trail, I'd been told that the first 6 or 7 were steep downhill so I wasn't quite sure whether I should be celebrating or commiserating! I decided to just let my legs make the decision for me and run down as hard or as easy as they felt like doing.....which must have been at a fairly decent pace after all as nobody passed me but I caught and overtook a decent number of men who had been ahead of me.
A creek that we had to ford marked the end of the long descent and the start of a rather long spell of undulating up and down (which definitely felt like a lot more up than down) - and the first kick up after the creek nearly finished me off!! I have no idea what the elites do at the sharp end of the field, but there was no way that I was doing anything except walking up those steep climbs. For the hundredth time that day, I asked myself why on earth I'd agreed to take part and wondered whether I'd make it to the end. Such self talk and doubt is rather defeatist so I would try to shake myself out of that mood and spur myself on by spotting that every climb and descent brought me closer to the guys I could see ahead of me, and it was nice to share a quiet word (I should say an "encouraging word" but it was usually more like "not another hill") as we passed. It was still relatively cold, but I forced myself to drink from my bottles and to keep my mind occupied, to appreciate some of the beauty of the area, as you would get occasional glimpses of the cliffs above through gaps in the trees.
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| The clearing for the final aid station |
By the time I got to the final aid station, I was hanging out for some more goodies such as the buns and watermelon that had been at the last one, but unfortunately all they had on offer was drinks. At least I could feel smug that I'd finally finished one of my waterbottles and so could eventually fill it up again. People reassured me that I had not much more than 10K to go and that there would soon be a "really nice runnable trail all the way along under the cliff edge", so that spurred me on a wee bit. The only problem with this "runnable trail" was that I had to climb up to the base of the cliff to get there...and every time I thought I must have finally made it, there was a switchback in the trail or it descended a bit before reascending! I had no idea what time of day it was by this point, so when a man called out to me "good morning" I replied that I wasn't sure if it was still morning and that I certainly wasn't feeling good!! A few long switchbacks later I came across him again (he was doing some trail maintenance so had just walked up a sneaky shortcut) and he cheered me up by saying that I might not be feeling good, but I was still making decent progress (I think he was being overly kind, when he said I was "motoring along" as I felt more like some old sputtering diesel engine)!!
I made it to the end of the forestry road and was back on the pretty single trail again - I mentally agreed that I would usually have called it a lovely runnable trail, but unfortunately my legs felt they had no running left in them, so it was rather a run/walk. One of my funniest incidents of the race actually happened on this stretch (although that is said with retrospect as I was rather less than amused at the time!). It had been touch and go for several weeks prior to the races as to whether they would actually go ahead at all as there had been considerable flooding and wind damage to the trails....but luckily most obstacles had been cleared in time/courses were rerouted. Unfortunately the odd thing slipped through the net - and one of these was a huge tree that had come down directly across the single track trail. I could not go through it or around it and so had to go over it - and the sheer size of it meant that the only way to do this way to prostate myself on top of it and try to get my far leg down to the ground on the other side.
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| Back on the single track |
Sounds good in theory but in practice my tired little body was having none of it, with cramp setting in just as I was spreadeagled across the log. I was completely stuck there, unable to move with neither foot on the ground and there was nothing I could do but lie there in my unceremonious position and wait for the next runner to come along and help me over to the far side - how embarrassing!!! On the bright side, at least he had the decency not to laugh...and I had had the chance to grab a bit of a rest! When I was finally unstuck, off and moving, I knew I was into the final few Kms of running so the end was near, though for anyone that doesn't know these races, there is an almighty sting in the tail as the last kilometre involves climbing up 998 steps (known as the Furber Steps) to the finish line at Scenic World!!
I had run that section of the route with the girls a few months earlier and so I knew that when I started to climb up steps, these weren't the "real steps"....just a warmup to lull you into a false sense of security. By the time I got to the base of the base of the actual climb, I was feeling totally drained and empty, but I knew that I "just" had to make it to the top to finish. That staircase must have been on the longest ones of my life, as I had to take a break every few stairs or so, as my body was failing me - not only did I lack any leg strength but I kept thinking that if I pushed myself at all, then I would end up vomiting. I did jog/shuffle the tiny flat section between the endless steps, and used my arms to help haul my carcass upwards whenever there was a handrail. I can honestly say that I didn't care how many people came past me on that section as I could barely raise a sarcastic reply to the poor photographer who desperately tried to get me to run for him.
You can hear supporters and a loud speaker at the finish before you get there - which under normal circumstances would be really exciting - but my only thought was to avoid embarrassing myself. This idea of selfpreservation kicked in just before I rounded the final corner and I was able to run the last hundred metres to cross the line so thankful for having made it, but having no idea of my finish position or time (and in fact, not caring in the slightest). There was a compulsory kit check just after the finish, during which time it was actually sleeting, and after watching me struggle to get out and show my thermal top and waterproof jacket, the marshals took pity on me and helped me to put them on (well they put them on me as I stood there like a helpless idiot) and then took me round the corner to the medical tent.
I felt absolutely rubbish as I had let myself get too cold to look after myself properly during the run, ie I hadn't eaten or drunk nearly enough (especially as I usually eat more than most people)......in fact I think I'd had a total of about 500-700mls in the whole event! The medics wrapped me up in a blanket with a hot water bottle and gave me food and drink and I began to feel slightly more human. After about 30mins someone suggested checking my blood sugar level - I did point out that this was probably pointless as I'd just eaten chocolate, lollies and nuts, but I did let them take my temperature - even after this time it was still reading about 34.7 so I wondered how low it had actually dropped!
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| Mon grinning her way over the 50K line |
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| Katie finishing her longest race ever at 50K |
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| The "50K girls"! |
By the time I left "medical" and made my way over to the drop bags to put more clothes on, it was actually starting to sleet, but luckily I had perked up enough to make it back to the finish and cheer the other girls in/help them get warm afterwards!
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| Jackie crossing the 100K line |
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| Anna finishing the 100! |
We "50K girls" were lucky in that we had the opportunity to go back to where we were staying and get showered, changed, eat/drink more and chill out before we headed back to the finish line to watch the amazing 100K girls finish......they were looking so strong when they crossed the line despite it being cold and dark (though surprisingly enough, it was warmer than when we'd finished as the wind had completely dropped) so it was generally a successful weekend all round (and an added bonus was finding out later that I'd finished in the top 10 and as first vet - what a total surprise - yippee!!!)!
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| Some surprising results! |
