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.

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/07/04/delirious-west-february-2022/

 

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 ?

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/03/27/herdys-frontyard-ultra-2022/

 

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.

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/04/30/lighthorse-ultra-24-hours-2022/

 

 

 

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.

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/05/16/kep-v2-ultra-another-win-well-first-male/

 

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.

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/07/08/unreasonable-east-200-miler-done-and-dusted/ 

 

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.

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/03/27/herdys-frontyard-ultra-2022/

 

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.

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/09/25/no-time-to-die-it-wasnt-and-i-didnt/

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. !

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/10/04/how-not-to-run-a-marathon-melbourne-2022/

 

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.

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/11/17/beating-a-pig-feral-2022/

 

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 ?

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/11/18/back-to-back-milers-and-grand-slams-hysterical/

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.

 

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!

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’ !

 

 

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