The finishers left at the after party, Unreasonable East 2022; one of the highlights of 2022.
Right, numbers for 2022. Overall I’d give myself a B+ for distance, good enough to break 5,000km’s for the year, by one kilometre, but what could have been. Earlier in the year I was on target for my initial 6,000km total but after the No Time to Die Frontyard ultra I dropped off the pace and did very little training in between races. Average of 96 kilometres a week but take out the 2000km’s of racing and the training weekly total is a lot less, significantly less, more around the sixty km a week.
Another statistic that sums up my stop , start year is the number of actual runs , only 229 for the year. This is my lowest total since 2010, twelve years ago. Basically I’ve ran less but when I have ran it’s been longer distances, down to running ten ultras of course.
Last three years I’ve been an Ultra racing machine, 21 races in the last three years including 18 in the last two years, and one marathon thrown in. Lots of racing culminating in 10 ultra’s in 2022 alone. I was either tapering, racing or recovering; very little training. It was working until injuries started to affect my training from September onwards. Only downside for the year has been my lack of pace and some personal worst racing results including the Feral Pig 100 miler and the 6 Inch Ultra. I struggled in both of these events but was happy to finish and not embarrass myself.
From my running spreadsheet, you have got a running spreadsheet right ? As a backup for Strava, you never know when the next Russian mafia group will try to blackmail Strava and wipe all their data ! It happened at Garmin and those Russian hackers are always looking for their next pay day. Please note my Mum said I am not allowed to pay hackers any blackmail albeit I’m not sure www.runbkrun.com is high on their list of possible targets.
Another surprise for 2022 is no double digit weeks for runs. Back in the day I’d regularly run 13 or 14 times a week, I say back in the day I’m talking about five years ago. Double days unlock running dreams, one of my favourite quotes. These days I just can’t get that morning run in, I’ve lost that discipline to get up every morning before the sunrise and run an easy 10km before breakfast. I’d then cycle to work on my Elliptigo (or Bionic) , run lunchtime and then Elliptigo home. Four separate exercises a day, I was a cardio-machine. The results followed so if you really want to improve just run more than you are running now, and don’t get injured. Running is simple.
Bionic Gen1 , this thing is a monster !
Ten ultras, three wins, highlighted in yellow, and many top ten finishes. Plenty of running early on in the year but injuries after the No Time to Die Ultra killed off the second half of the year and I limped, literally, to the finish line in 2022. I’ve joined the Valetudo gym ( https://www.valetudohealth.com.au/ ) and go three times a week currently to try and finally get my flexibility back, maybe touch my toes for the first time this century ? It was a tad daunting at first but starting to feel the love for gyms again now and not being as weight conscious as I was in my marathon days I can put a but of muscle on, it’ll keep No1 Wife happier as she was never a fan of my Schlinder’s list extra look.
Its been a few months since I’ve posted my nine golden rules so with the end of 2022 upon us this seems as good a time as ever.. I wrote these six years ago but they are timeless, in my view.
Run Further. Add distance, not speed.As you can see from the table my weekly average has steadily increased year on year with this year being the first I will break the 100k a week average for the year. In 2012 I was injured with a nasty calf knot, that I didn’t treat, which explains the delta compared to the previous year. 2014 my training had plateaued which is why I turned to Raf ( http://www.therunningcentre.com.au ) to train me in 2105 where my distance increased by 10%. I have taken this training forward and will probably increase another 10% this year. Distance first, everything else comes once the ‘foundation of distance’ has been achieved.
Run Faster. This is about adding pace after you have got your foundation after rule 1. 2011 was a break out year for me after 3-4 years of building a good running base. I had ran 3 Comrades campaigns in 2008-2010 ( http://www.comrades.com ) so my distance foundation was well and truly complete. In 2011 every time I put on a bib I was confident of a pb. It was a wonderful year. Unfortunately in 2012 I had a nasty injury which set me back but towards the end of the year I was able to train consistently again and in 2013 I was again rewarded with a magical year of running.
Don’t get injured. This is the hardest rule to obey as you always want to do more of rule 1 and 2 which can result in an injury. (I even hate typing the word!) In 2012 I succumbed to a calf knot which took me out for over a month. I struggled to recover from this and as you can see from the table I only ran 3 pb’s for the year compared to 13 the previous year and 10 the following year when I recovered. If this doesn’t back up this rule nothing does.! Don’t get injured, so easy to type but in reality one of the hardest thing for a runner to do, period.
Nutrition, nutrition and nutrition… Did I mention nutrition. It’s all about the proper fuel. So underestimated by so many runners. The number of times I hear the old ‘I run xxx kilometres a week so I can eat what I want’ . Not true, imagine putting low grade fuel in a Porsche, eventually the head gasket blows and you are faced with a serious bill, not to mention a misfiring engine. The human body is a finely tuned machine and should be treated as such, we all know what is good food and what is bad (normally the nice tasting stuff!), avoid the bad and put in the good, easy really. (bar the odd Yelo muffin of course, we are after all only human.) I’ll be exploring nutrition more next year when I have one more go at a sub 2hr 40minutes marathon.
Weight. So important, use to believe because I ran 100k+ a week I could eat what I wanted. Not true. This is another golden rule so often ignored. Runners can run so much faster is they hit their racing weightrather than a running weight. My go to man , Matt Fitzgerald, when it comes to everything running even has a website dedicated to this. ( http://www.racingweight.com/ ) If Matt has a website dedicated to this subject it must be important.
Baseline, document and evaluate everything. If it isn’t on www.strava.com it didn’t happen. Once you set a goal you have to be able to know how far you have come to achieving this, small steps but constant feedback. So buy a Garmin and start recording , everything !!! Contentious subject here. I’m a Strava addict and I know it but the purest will be horrified. You need a baseline to see improvement, set new goals and realize your goals. Buy a Garmin and to quote a small clothing company ‘just do it’.
Sleep. So underestimated but the bodies way of refuelling and preparing for the next day of running. Common sense but so often ignored. Sometimes the most obvious, common sense tips are the ones ignored. Sleep is when your body repairs itself, the more sleep the more repairs can be completed. It really is that easy, go to bed and dream about running.
Consistency. No point running 100k one week and then nothing. Marathon fitness is built up over time and this works hand in hand with rule number 1. I feel the figures from my running log back this up. I’ve steadily increased the duration consistently year in, year out (bar injury) and have reaped the rewards with 2016 being my fastest year yet as I move towards my fifth sixth decade. (Thanks Dave Kennedy) Running is all about getting out there on a regular basis again and again and again. Time on feet initially and then add pace before targeting certain distance with different run types, most important thinkg to note though is always consistently putting on the trainers and just running. ‘If you build it they will come’ type approach, keep running, build the foundation and the personal records will come. (This also works for baseball pitches apparently.)
It’s all in the mind. After 32k a marathon is down to mental strength and the ability to persuade your body you can still perform at your desired pace without falling to fatigue, which is the minds way of protecting itself. Never underestimate the power of the mind in long distance racing. Finally another massive part of running, the Noakes ‘central governor’. I’ve talked about this at length in various posts on this site. With experience I believe I can mentally finish a marathon stronger now then when I first started. I know what to expect and to this end can persuade my old friend fatigue to stay away for longer allowing me to achieve better finishing times. The mind is such an important part of running and needs to be trained as much as the body. When you race a marathon you will spend time in the ‘pain box’, the runner who can spend the most time in this little box of joy, before opening the door and embracing the old enemy fatigue, will run the fastest. I spoke to Steve Moneghetti after the Perth Marathon this year after he ran the 3hr30min bus and asked him how the professional athletes are so much faster than us recreational runners. His answer surprised me as he replied that a professional runner can stand more pain and this gives them the advantage need to push through and achieve the faster times. Again turning off the ‘central governor’ and spending more time in the ‘pain box’ avoiding fatigue and thus not slowing down. Common sense really, thanks Steve.
Me and a legend, Steve Moneghetti.
So what does 2023 hold for me I wonder. I’ll start the year with the Delirious West 200 miler in early February ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/race-information-2022/ ) and then Hardy’s Frontyard Ultra in March ( https://herdysfrontyard.com.au/ ) , followed by the Lighthorse 24 hour race in April ( https://lighthorseultra.com.au/ ) before the big one in June, all of June actually… Run Brittania. ( https://ratracerunbritannia.com/ ) . After that I have nothing locked in as I’m not sure what sort of state I’ll be in after running 1,000 miles the length of the UK. ? Truth be told I could have done with a ‘down year’ after eighteen ultras in the last two years but when Run Brittania became available I had to take it, you’d be mad not to surely. ?
As always I give a shout out to three of my favourite products… fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered. It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.
Fisiocrem is a must have in your ultra box of tricks…
Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-
As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.
In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.
In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.
BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!
BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!
Great hydration.
What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !
Running is all about traditions , runners love doing the same thing over and over. That may be training routines, entering the same races or just spending time with friends going to the same location for runs. After a while all these routines turn into traditions, and then they have to be adhered to, it’s tradition. The 6 inch ultra trail marathon ( https://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) is one of many traditions that the lads and I love to adhere to, albeit it use to be a family tradition (yes, you can involve the family) but the kids all grew up and no longer wanted to spend time with old runners. We took that on the chin and just stopped inviting them, it had now morphed into a lads weekend away. (I say ‘lads’ in the broadest sense of the word, our average age is well over fifty these days. It’s lucky Michael Kowal is still scarred by the escalator on his one and only 6 inch attempt a few years back or the average age would be in the sixties!)
To get a feel for the event I recommend trawling through my blog to get some old posts , I’ve attached a few links here. This will help with the post I’m about to recount.
Right now you’ve caught up with the history of this event it time to way lyrical about the 2022 edition. Due to various reasons we have a small starting line up this year. We lost Marky ‘Mark’ Lommers to a twisted ankle, Adam to gastro, Bart’s to a family holiday he had to take in Noosa and Scotty to long term injury. This left Jeffrey , Jon and I to toe the line at the start with Rob (poorly achilleas) again driving us to the start Sunday morning at some ungodly hour. (Remember it’s a point to point and we stay at the finish) After I persuaded Jeffrey to drive (remember we lost Adam to gastro and apparently if he can’t go to the event his 7 seater Prado can’t go either, a tad selfish me thinks!) we were off , high noon on Saturday, the day before the event. Jon would be joining us down there as he loves to hoon in his BMW and would prefer to do it alone apparently, less eye witnesses is probably safer for all concerned.
6 INCH ..Road trip ! Boys all smiles while I practice my influencer pout.
Right back to tradition, for this lads trip there are a few. First we always stay at the Jarrah Forest lodge , Jon always books the family room , and pays, thereby ensuring he gets the double bed (being the smallest) while the other room is shared with the lads (there’s two bunk beds). This room has the benefit of air conditioning in both rooms. I always stay in room 16 , a single room with a bunk, the farthest from the toilet block. This has no air conditioning, actually just a bunk bed, you get that prisoner cell block H feeling about the place. It’s clean and that’s all we need for one night. We use to go the pub the night but the meal portions are so large that it affected the running performances the following day. Bart’s was still eating his chicken parmi post race Sunday afternoon. I was above this of course and always take my own meal for the Saturday night, it’s tradition.
My favourite tradition is watching run fatboy run after bib collection on Saturday evening, we must have seen this movie at least five times but it still gets the same laughs in the same places, so good. Due to the set up at the lodge it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to nearly an hour to get the video working. There is an amp, a switcher box, a projector , at least two DVD players and cables everywhere. Things were looking good this year when Jon got the DVD talking to the TV, with the right input, in a matter of minutes but , as is tradition, things didn’t go that smoothly and the DVD had been played to death, literally. It was finished so after a brief interlude we selected another DVD, Will Ferrel in Semi Pro which , although not a run fayboy run, was a pretty good alternative. Never fear thought we have ordered Run FatBoy Run on DVD so will be watching it next year and we will bring all our own equipment !
Post DVD the boys scuttle off to their luxurious, for Dwellingup remember the town has a population of population 524, family room complete with air conditioning while I hit my jail cell, alarms set for 3am. This year I was lucky enough to have a very keen runner next door to me (?) who had set their alarm for 2am as they were catching the bus. Great, I get to get up an hour or so earlier than planned. It gets better, I was also next door to a snorer and the walls are paper thing, it felt like we were in the same bed ! When you hear someone snoring you cannot unhear it. Let’s just say I was sleep depraved while I ate my weetbix and drank my cup of sweet tea in the communal kitchen at 2:15am. Not ideal but I’m a big believer in it’s the night before the night before which is the important time to sleep, anything on the evening before the event is a bonus. Once the boys rose, an hour or so after me, we all got into the car as planned at 3:45am for the twenty minutes or so drive to the start and check in. The drive to the start is always a tad worrying as Kangaroo’s aren’t car friendly and if we were to hit a roo it wouldn’t end well for any of us. Luckily we didn’t see any albiet last year we’re sure Bart’s killed a bandicoot on the way to the start, something he still denies.
The drive to the start at 3:45am, looking out for Kangaroos !
As the image below shows we were last to arrive at the pre-race check in but we have a car so the drive to the start was only a few minutes away and we arrived with minutes so spare, more than enough. Unfortunately we were carrying a goody-pack for my mate Tristan who was running the 12 inch. This is another tradition of runners running from the finish to the start the night before (47km) and then leaving with the race at 4:30am and returning for the medal, another 47km; hence the name 12 inch. We managed to get Tristan his drop bag albeit a few minutes from the start, sorry buddy, it obviously wasn’t a problem as he ran the 12 inch in around 13 hours.
Last to leave for the start after the obligatory check in, me , Jamie and the volunteers left.
The plan for this race was to finish under five hours, not walk, bar the monster hills, enjoy the event and keep Jeffrey behind me to keep my 20 year or so winning streak. Jeffrey is now over 60 and running very well, he came close to pipping me to the post in Melbourne in October and had been training well since with Bart’s preparing him for battle. My running had been down the toilet since September due to over training (or over racing?) and niggles including tight hamstrings and a probable tear under my right knee. Weekly I was getting dropped at the Yelo Thursday morning gathering and my training runs in the hills had all been thirty minutes or so longer than last year. The smart money was on Jeffrey for this one. Jon was expecting another sub four hour finish but a nasty cough had me questioning his optimism.
The traditional start photo.
The 6 inch starts with Goldmine hill, a beast of a hill that has destroyed many a runners dreams. If you’re not prepared it can derail you very early in the piece, trust me if you are goosed after two kilometres the next 46 or so are challenging. This year me and Jeffrey decided to walk most of the hill with the masses, saving our running legs for the beating that was ahead. It was quite nice to enjoy the hill for a change, although I say ‘enjoy’ in the broadest sense of the word.? We summited full of beans and changed up through the gears cruising along in a group of about ten of us, mainly women surprisingly ? The event itself is held on the mundi biddi trail, a thousand kilometre offroad bike trail from Perth to Albany, so pretty good running. David Kennedy, the Race Director, reckons you can add about an hour to your marathon time to get an estimated finish time, he’s probably right.
The 6 inch has an aid station at 23 kilometres and then again at the top of the escalator hill, around 35 kilometres. There is also one with four kilometres to go but when you’re that close why would you stop? I ran with Jeffrey until the first aid station where he complained of a sore knee and walked into the aid station. This was my chance and , as all good friends do , when I sensed weakness I pounced or in this case left him. That was the last I would see of Jeffrey , or so I thought. My confidence was knocked by Mick Francis, the aid station captain, who mentioned I was limping and he’d pull me out if he was RD. A tad harsh I thought as I thought I was going ok ?
After aid station one there is another large climb to the highest part of the course, the 3 inch version of the Goldmine Hill I suppose. I half walked and ran this and took a few more positions as I started to warm up, after twenty years in Western Australia I’m now half lizard and love the heat. Once I get to the highest part I tend to flick over into finish mode and chase down the back end of the half runners and fellow full runners. As I mentioned at the start of this report this race was about finishing and having fun, as much as that is possible. I was feeling good enough to up the pace and started to move through the field albeit nothing to previous years but nice to be moving up the field none the less.
I climbed the escalator hill to the second aid station, filled my bottles and then started the last ten kilometres to the finish. It was here Jeffrey reappeared and all of a sudden my relaxed cruise to the finish changed to a very stressful run being chased by a motivated Jeffrey Wang. I managed to maintain the pace for the final ten kilometres and with the experience of twelve previous finishes I knew when you push and when to hang on. It wasn’t easy or pretty but I managed to finish in four hours and forty eight minutes and change. My new personal worse by thirty minutes but mission accomplished, sometimes it’s the journey that’s important not the time taken to complete it. As you can see from the smile below I was stoked.
Finish number #13, still smiling !
All that was left to do was the traditional esky photo, if you know, you know, don’t judge me. Thanks Nathan Fawkes for supplying the ice shower, may add this to the tradition for the esky photo, always keen to add more traditions ?
Traditional esky shot.
One final tradition is all the boys (and driver) who completed the course to put on their finishers shirts and get a photo. I have so many of these and enjoy looking back at all the lads aging gracefully and back in the day we’d even have a few kinds with us, they are all far too cool to have their photos taken with us these days of course. A small gathering this year but I’m confident there will be a bigger group in 2023.
Mission accomplished, what a great year 2022.
So that’s it for 2022, what a great year, ten ultra marathons and one marathon , I’ve been busy with over two thousand kilometres racing with a bib on my chest and another three thousand kilometres training. 6 inch number thirteen completed and I can’t wait until I;m back at the bottom of Goldmine Hill facing another 47 kilometres of the munda biddi trail , sleep depraved but excited about what lays ahead, why wouldn’t you, after all , it’s tradition.
As always I give a shout out to three of my favourite products… fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered. It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.
Fisiocrem is a must have in your ultra box of tricks…
Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-
As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.
In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.
In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.
BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!
BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!
Great hydration.
What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !
Right, 2022 was a massive year, following on from 2021 which was a massive year. In 2021 I ran eight ultras, Hardy’s Front yard ultra, Light horse 24 hour, KepV2 Ultra 100km, Birdy’s backyard, Delirious West 200 miler, Feral Pig 100 miler, Hysterical Carnage backyard ultra and the 6 inch trail ultra marathon.
2022 was all about doing more and I added the No time to die front yard ultra, the Unreasonable East 200 miler and the Melbourne marathon. I have added the posts for each of these events in 2022 as a review and also just in case you missed the posts.
First off in 2022 was the Delirious West 200 miler for the third time. It was 1-1 with a good finish in 2020 after a DNF in 2019. This year I had the run of my life and finished in just over 68 hours, good enough for a fourth place finish. Can’t wait to take this beast on for the fourth time in February 2023, already have the 2022 crew back on board.
100 miler club, 24 hours done and dusted . My 5th backyard ultra and always managed to get to 24 hours minimum.
In March I ran Herdy’s Front yard ultra for the second time after an assist in the inaugural year in 2021. Not quite the 48 laps (hours) I was after albeit I was very happy with the 34 laps I completed before not making lap 35. Found after two days post Herdy’s I had COVID so explained why it was more testing that I thought it would be ?
Third time lucky, finally joining the 200 kilometre club.
Post COVID and Herdy’s came the Light Horse 24 hour ultra. Another great Ultra Series event. With Rob Donkersloot ( https://mindfocusedrunning.com/ ) crewing me I managed 207km for the win in the 24 hour event, very unexpected and mainly down to Rob not letting me sit down.
Three weeks post Light Horse came the Kep V2 100km. Love this event, steeped in WA ultra running history. I was going to use this race as a long run with a medal at the end, leaving my poles at half way so I could cruise back to the start. Due to a small field I was lucky enough to pick up another win, well first male, so stoked.
Halfway through the year and I faced my biggest challenge yet, a 200 miler in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney. The first 200 miler ever attempted in that region. The Unreasonable East was a beast of an event with stunning scenary, brutal climbs and more stairs than I have ever encountered in an event ever. Add in some seriously cold nights and long distances between aid stations , on the shortest days of the year, and you had a monster to slay.
The 24 hour , 100 mile club. 10am Saturday morning.
Next was time for my third Birdy’s backyard ultra. Plan was to enjoy myself and get to a course PB, anything over 28 laps. In the end managed 36 laps (150 miles) before the impending storm hit and I scuttled off to my car for a well earned sleep. Love this event and can’t wait for number four in 2023.
The starting lineup of the inaugural ‘No Time to Die’ Frontyard Ultra.
After Birdy’s it was another backyard ultra, this time No time to die in Adelaide. Managed to pick up my first , and probably last, backyard ultra win. Managed 33 laps which was good enough to take line honours. After two assists it was so good to get the win and a surreal feeling, running sometime gives back in spades.
My only non ultra of 2022 was the Melbourne marathon , two weeks post No Time to Die. Running a 33 hour long run two weeks out from a marathon didn’t seem like a good idea and as it turned out it wasn’t. Ran with the sub 3 hour bus for 10km and was then unceremoniously kicked off the back, made the last 32km challenging to say the least. In the end finished in three hours and seventeen minutes, funnily enough bringing my average for the 46 marathons I have run to two hours, 59 mins and 59 seconds… a Don Bradman total albeit under my goal not over it. !
Post Melbourne I suffered, my hamstrings seized big time and no amount of anti-inflammatories or dry needling really helped. This was a problem with back to back milers coming up, why wouldn’t you ? The first one was the Feral Pig 100 miler , a beast of an event with over 4,000 metres of elevation. I had not been able to train pre-event and only ran it as I had nothing else to do that weekend and I wouldn’t get my entry fee back leaving it so late to defer. It was going to be brutal and it didn’t disaapoint, finished just over 35 hours, ouch.
Finally, so far this year, I ran the Hysterical Carnage backyard ultra, again in Adelaide, 5 days post Feral Pig. Back to back milers was the plan so I had to run at least 24 hours at Hysterical, in the end managed 27 before timing out on lap 28. Mission accomplished but not something I’d recommend. Lucky I have youth on my side ?
With one event left to run in December, the 6 Inch Trail ultra marathon, 2023 has been amazing, challenging, ace, ridiculous, stupid, inspiring, memorable and more besides. Can I top it in 2023 ? You bet I can.. watch this space…
As always I give a shout out to three of my favourite products… fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered. It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.
Fisiocrem is a must have in your ultra box of tricks…
Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-
As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.
In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.
In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.
BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!
BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!
Great hydration.
What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !
