2024 has been a good year for BK racing , I’ve so far ran eight ultra marathons and two marathons as well as a podium on a 12k, a runner for all distances and seasons.  The racing year started in January with 24 Park Runs in 24 hours and what a start to the racing calendar albeit this was more surviving rather than racing. The format is simple, you run a Park run every hour for 24 hours, while driving between locations cocooned in a mini-van with six other runners sweating your body weight hourly.  Luckily we probably picked the hottest day in the year to run this bad boy peaking around 44c at Carine PR in the middle of the day. I’ll never forget opening the car door and being knocked backwards by  the force of the heat, it was brutal turned up to 11.  The post is here https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/01/15/running-in-a-furnace-for-a-great-cause-24-park-runs-in-24-hours/

The following week was the Australia Day Ultra, a flat course with a midnight kick off, due to the heat. This year it wasn’t too bad albeit the top came off towards the end of the event.  Considering I’d ran the 24 Park run event the previous week I managed to do reasonable well picking up a podium for a second place finish. You can read all the gory details here https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/01/24/once-more-into-the-breach-australia-day-ultra-100k-on-tired-legs/ I was hoping to give the AURA 55-60 age group record a crack but missed out by forty minutes.  It’s on my radar for 2025 but I love the 24 Park Run event too much to miss it so will probably rock up to the start on tired legs again. It’s how I roll.

A few weeks after the ADU 100k it was February which means my all time favourite event the Delirious West 200 miler.  Continuing with the heat theme this year was scorcher for Delirious, the first day was over 40c and at times you had nowhere to hide from the oppressive heat.  I’ve written five posts on this event, it was 200 miles a lot happens. The first one is here https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/03/01/delirious-west-2024-post-1/ the rest are in the March 2024 link on the sidebar.  I started quick and worked my way back through the field finishing in just over 72 hours for a top 10 finish.  Another incredible adventure.

In March I took on Herdys Frontyard Ultra for the fourth time.  Coming weeks after Delirious and with a humid and hot opening day this was always going to be a challenge. I over compensated for the conditions and over dosed on electrolytes, effectively killing my appetite.  With an ultra you need to keep eating and drinking or the fuel tank runs dry and you stop.  This is basically what happened to me . I managed to struggle through 24 laps but in the end I was unable to make the lap times  and finished with a miler under my belt.  The full story is here https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/03/31/herdys-frontyard-ultra-2024/ In the end an 11th place finish from the biggest field in BYU history (nearly 400 runners)

After Herdy’s I threw myself into marathon training with the end goal being a sub three marathon in Perth in October. Before then I would use Bibra Lake as an indicator race to see how I was coming along.  Ran a three hour and four minutes race which was more than I imagined I could, fantastic result. It was good to be running around in loops with mates on the sub three bus before I was ejected with 16k to go. https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/07/09/bibra-lake-marathon-race-report/ This gave me hope for a sub three hour marathon in Perth, my 33rd sub3,  but unfortunately I had another BYU before then, this proved a mistake with hindsight.

Post Bibra I tapered for Birdy’s backyard ultra, my fourth time racing this event. With previous bests of 22, 28 and 36 laps I was hoping to go deep and maybe even nudge 40 laps. Unfortunately, (I seem to use this word a lot in this review post?) come race day my heart wasn’t really in it . Maybe it was a throwback to Herdy’s earlier in the year when I had an issue with food intake and didn’t really enjoy the event. Either way I got through the night but pulled the pin after the tu-tu round, lap 22. I really struggled after maybe ten laps and my head really wasn’t in the game from the start. This is rare for me but I suppose everybody has off days ? The title of my post sums up the event https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/08/07/backyard-ultras-an-exercise-in-masochism/

Next it was back to Bibra lake but this time for a 12k. The local council puts on cash for the 55+ age group so myself and the Yelo crew all traveled down and took home the coin.  Great event and it was good to race shorter distances. This was my first time racing anything smaller than a half marathon for five years, where does the time go ? Held it together and ran a well paced race for a sub 47 minutes finish and a podium win for the age group. Stoked.  https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/09/11/fun-run-not-sure-about-that/

As I mentioned earlier in the post things fell apart after the Bibra Lake marathon bar a reasonable run in the 12k fun run ( it wasn’t fun!)  After Birdy’s backyard Ultra I pontificated for a few weeks, running very little and eating too much. I wasn’t happy with my performance or mindset at Birdy’s and just fell into a hole.  When I did eventually put in a few weeks of training it was too late and you cannot kid a marathon. I was hoping with my 12k time I was still in with a shot of a sub 3 marathon time and invested nearly $400 on a pair of Nike Alphafly 3’s (albeit I don’t need much encouragement to spend money of runners?)  The shoes didn’t help and I was again ejected from the sub 3 bus but this time around twelve kilometres , where as at Bibra at least I got to 26 kilometres before being asked to leave.  After that my race went downhill quite fast, unsurprisingly given my lack of marathon specific training, culminating with me hitting the wall at 32k and limping home , literally.  Snuck in just under three hours and fifteen minutes. Ouch.  https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/10/08/perth-running-festival-when-marathons-go-bad/ I did manage an age group win only because my good mate Mickey Murray got cramp a kilometre from the finish line.

There was little time to rest post Perth marathon as the Feral Pig 100 miler was coming into sight quickly.  This event is brutal and it didn’t disappoint albeit wet and cool conditions helped but in the end my quads seized and I struggled home in 30 hours, good for a 9th place finish. Great time out on the trails with good friends, what not to like ?  Well four thousand plus metres of elevation is a challenge and my quads gave up with around thirty kilometres to go.  I have vowed never to go back but I’m sure in November next year I’ll be back at the start line, what else is there ?  https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/11/06/feral-pig-100-miler-surely-my-last-time-surely/

The final race so far this year was the Sandman 50, a 50k race on hard sand between two jetty’s under a full moon with a 2am kick off. This was just brilliant. Loved it, albeit two weeks post Feral Pig my legs were yet again cooked from the start. This does seem to be a recurring theme funnily enough.    https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/11/17/sandman-50-the-best-race-youve-never-heard-of/

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Big shout out to fisiocrem , this product is just incredible for tired and aching legs. I use it daily and have noticed a vast improvement in recovery.

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’ !

Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.

Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )

T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in.  It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong,  storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)

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