Caboolture Part 2

I kept plodding away, trying to save as much energy as possible for when it was dark. The guy in front of me was going well but I had heard that he had blown-up a few times in other races after starting well - the race is 24hrs not 6 or 12hrs.

I started to struggle after about 9hrs and just couldn't stomach any food. It was getting a little cooler which provided some relief but the fact is if you don't eat, you're not getting energy and you can't run, so my progress was still slow. When 12hrs went by I sat down and was told I was at 97k, I was pretty disheartened about this and couldn't believe that I hadn't even done 100k yet. The MB100k only took 11:18 and that was on trails! I kept going slowly and started to re-assess my goals, I hadn't had much sleep so I was expecting to die hard in the last part of the race. All this made 100 miles the only possible target, but even that seemed a long way off.

Tim Cochrane had pulled out of the race by now which left Mick in front and I was 3rd. I started to do some walking and tried to eat some food, Shaz and Val were presenting me with all sorts of food and some things I was able to stomach but still nowhere near enough. I was getting most of my calories from liquid (up and go, endura, soup). As I walked I did some sums and worked out that I needed 5k/hour (10 laps) to get to 100 miles and as I walked I realized my lap times would give me about 10 laps/hour. This was the turning point in my race, I was feeling really down about how things had gone but when I realized that I could walk for the last 8hrs or so and still get 100 miles it perked me right up. My new plan was to continue walking and try to get my stomach right so I could eat again.

The runner in third had now pulled out which left Mick in first and I was in 2nd! Val was telling me that so long as I kept going we would end up with WA 1st and 2nd!!!! (I noticed she never told me how far away 3rd place was). I gradually started to eat more and my laps were getting quicker, I began going at 10.5 laps/hour, then 11 laps/hour getting some laps in the bag just in case. I found myself walking with David Billet who was doing the 48hr and it was good to have some company. He was smokin' (going fast, not puffing the magic dragon) and I had to really work to keep up with him, but I wanted to talk so I pushed myself. Before long we were going at 12.5 laps/hour and I started to realize that 170k was a real possibility.

My stomach had settled down a lot and after some soup, bread and chips I decided to start running. I remember saying, "I didn't fly 4000k's to walk around a track!" It's about 16hrs into the race and I was running really well, maybe too well and I knew I had to keep this 'good patch' going as long as possible. Shaz was telling me the same thing, "stretch it out, don't go hard just because you can, slow down and make it last longer." I began running 4 laps and walking 1 whilst taking on some food, which equated to food every 10-12 minutes. This strategy was working well and the Shaz and Val continued to pump all sorts of stuff into me, pain killers, caffiene tablets, magnesium pills, salt tablets, as well as food.

After an hour of running 4 laps at a time, I was shocked to realise that 100 miles was a certainty and I might even be able to go under 22hrs, making 180k a real possibility. That was my knew goal. To achieve 180k I would need to run the last 30k in less than 4hrs, normally easy but after running for 20hrs I knew it would be tough. I've learnt that you have to continue goal setting all the time, the ability to adjust your goals is vital in ultra-running, when things don't go as planned don't get depressed, just re-assess things. I was bouyed by the new goal and worked hard to get to the 100 miles. I went through 100 miles in 21:19.06, posed for a quick photo and then was off again.

4 marathons was the next goal 168k and that went by fairly quickly. I was feeling good very motivated, after 100 miles I told Justin not to let me sit down until I'd done 180k and he was true to his word. Someone who helped me out a lot in the early hours of the morning was Dave Waugh, he wasn't running but had been crewing for Tim and was now just helping out.

I continued to push and push until finally the sun was about to come up. I've heard that when the sun comes up things get a little easier so I was looking forward to that. Unfortunately this didn't happen for me, as the sun came up my eyelids went down and a wave of exhaustion came over me. I was virtually running with my eyes closed I was so tired. The problem was that I needed to continue running strong right until the end if I was going to make 180k. I told Justin to get me a ice cold towel and put that on and It was absolutely freezing! I had to wake myself up some how and the cold towel wasn't doing enough, so I went over to the tap, stuck my head under it and turned it on. Let me tell you the shock of the cold water all over my head and back was enough to wake the dead and I woke up real quick - mission accomplished.

I was now lapping everyone on the track (but with regular walk breaks), which meant I was running the fastest - a really nice feeling. The laps went by and I realized that I should get 180k in just under 24hrs. My running laps were getting quicker and quicker as I made my final push for the line. 20, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14 laps to go and it was really hurting. I had some blisters that I could feel but I couldn't treat them as I wasn't allowed to sit down until 180k. People were coming to the track in the last hour to watch the finish and that bouyed me a little and I increased my pace again during my running laps. It was warming up again and I was pushing hard, it was really, really hurting. It got the point were I just needed 5 laps to get to 180k, I started to run and wanted to just run the last 5 to get it out of the way. After 1 lap running I realised that my goose was cooked and I couldn't run any more. I walked and needed 3 laps in 35 minutes, so confident in my ability to walk 1.5k in 35min I decided to just walk it in.

As I went through the 180k mark I breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to the crew for a sit down. They wouldn't let me sit down! ''Get moving' they said, finish the race properly! So reluctantly I walked another lap, still not enough, there was a few minutes left so kept going very slowly, not caring about how many metres I gained at the end just looking forward to the end.

The siren went, I dropped my sand bag for the markers and found the nearest seat and sat down - AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Without knowing the official distance I'm guessing it was about 180.6k. Mick was first with 213k and Lindsay Phillips was 3rd with 126k - WA had gone 1-2. I must say it was a privilage to watch Martin Fryer in the 48hr - he is truly one of Australia's best ever Ultra runners and to run 393k was an amazing effort second in Australia only to Yiannis Kouros.

I went to Caboolture to run my first 24hr race, get 100 miles and learn a lot about 24hr racing. I came away with well over 100 miles and certainly learnt a lot about 24hr races. A huge thanks to Shaz, Justin, Val, Dave and everyone else who helped me during the race. Ultra running must be the only sport where you can go to a race with no crew and end up with 4 or 5 people helping you, the atmosphere is great. I learnt a lot especially from Val and Shaz who seemed to have a tablet or spray for everything (I remember at one point I finished a lap and Val handed me 2 different tablets and said take these, my first reaction was 'what are they and what will they do.').

I had such an amazing time during this race and it has shown me that I love this type of racing and I feel like I was born to run them. I think 200k is definitely possible and not too far off either, I just need to work on a few things for next time. I know I can last the distance and finishing strong this time gives me lots of confidence. A great experience and I can't wait until the next one. I just realized that I met every member of the 2008 Australian 24hr team at the one race (male and female), there was certainly some talent up in Caboolture this weekend and I was privilaged to be a part of it.

I haven't gone through my lap times for some specific stats but here's what I can remember.
3hr - 30k
6hr - 53k
12hr - 97k
100k - 12:19
100 miles - 21:18
24hr - 180.6k
Was awake for 35hrs straight without sleep and had only 5 1/2hrs in 55hrs between Friday and Sunday.


more stats to come.