Running 24 park runs in 24 hours was a concept thought up by the infamous Shaun Kaesler, him of the Ultra Series event juggernaut.  ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) He ran it in 2018 with the great Phil Gore and also attempted to run each park run sub-24 minutes and drink a beer after each one. He got to 17 I think before the wheels started to fall off and the beer was sacrificed for sanity.  ( https://www.ultraseries.com.au/24-parkruns-in-24-hours )

The onmyfeet charity joined soon after and became the benefactor of this event with participants encouraged to donate. ( https://www.onmyfeet.org.au/ ) I ran this event last year with good friends on the Team Gore fun bus and it was such a laugh I had to sign up again in 2025. Helping a great cause and also having so much fun while doing it , how can you not sign up ?

The concept is simple , run a park run , get in the van and then drive to the next one and repeat 24 times in 24 hours. There’s a few hours for eating, driving (over 240km total) and even a buffer ; planned to the minute as the spreadsheet shows below.  Last year it was over 40 degrees most of the day so traffic wasn’t a problem, most sane people were either at the beach or cocooned at home under their air conditioning units. You can read how that went in this post :- https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/01/15/running-in-a-furnace-for-a-great-cause-24-park-runs-in-24-hours/

I do remember retiring after the brutal conditions nearly got the better off me at around three in the morning last year but all that has been forgotten over time, which is a great healer apparently.  It certainly works for ultra runners who finish the race swearing never to rock up at the start line ever again and then 24 hours later,  when entries open,  they’re first in the queue to sign up again. Ultra runners, stubborn , mental tough , resilient but not the brightest people in the world , luckily for event organisers I suppose.

One of the major differences in this event compared to most , actually all other ultra’s, is the amount of driving involved. As you can see in the agenda there is nearly six hours set aside for driving and this year it seemed we needed every minute. As I said earlier last year was a lot hotter resulting in less traffic on the roads but for some reason this year we always seem to leave on time but arrive with literally a few minutes to spare. I’m not blaming Gemma’s driving either because bar one small hiccup , where we arrived at Mundy park run nowhere near Mundy park run, her driving was exemplary ? Can only put this down to a new route with new park runs maybe further apart than the previous year.  I know of a couple of runners who missed out because of tension between the runner and the driver, forcing the runner to put their marriage before the event,  and also a forced called of nature meaning the runner reappeared and everybody had left and he missed the next start.  I was very happy with Gemma who maintained an air of calmness in the chaos that is a 24 in 24 event, and also had to listen to a lot of trash talk about all things non-running related, which will stay within the ‘Gore Fun Van‘ members. This is another reason this event is so special, the travel time and all that entails.

If you are contemplating this event make sure you have a competent driver  whose good under pressure , a calming influence and with a bad sense of smell.

So 2025 off we go. As is tradition (and as you know runners love tradition) we start at Garvey Park run.  This is at Shaun’s insistence and he was the creator of this beast so it’s cool to start here. This year we had two hundred recorded finishers at the only official park run of the whole event, and many more, myself included , who ran through.  This was a new record for Garvey so a great way to star the event off in 2025.  We even had Channel 9 come along and do s small segment for the evening news albeit they must have missed me as I wasn’t asked for an interview ? Once Mel, the RD,  did her bit we were let loose and the event officially started, 8am Saturday morning. We had until 8am Sunday morning to finish all 24 park runs.

One of the major changes this year was adding Mundy Park Run , at one time the hardest park run , using elevation as a guide, in Australia. I think now it’s still top three. This is a beast of a park run tucked away in the hills. There’s two monster climbs that are just about walkable and with road shoes I felt like Bambi on ice.  (The weather variety not the hard drug!) Luckily we got this event thrown at us as the third one and were given a generous forty minutes to finish. It was actually cool to run a trail five kilometres as the other twenty three were mainly road or part trail at best.  I got some video if you want to have a look on my Strava profile.  (link at the bottom of this post)

I was maintaining close to 5 min/k average for the first few park runs , bar Mundy of course where I was happy with a 6:21 min/k average, when you know, you know ! Andrew Yeatman got some great photos at park run four, Kadina Trail before Woodbridge which is totally exposed to the sun and things were starting to heat up quickly. Averly was next and it was into the singlet after a thirty minute break for a donut and some down time.  Wanneroo and Joondalup were next and at this point I thought I was two or three runs ahead of where we were, must to the delight of my fellow runners in the van.

At Carine park run, number ten, I was joined by a few running friends who skipped along at what they would consider a jog  but after over nine hours it was threshold pace for me. I did appreciate the company but I kept the conversation to a minimum, and if you know me you know that’s rare. Yokine was next before an hour break for dinner. A decent chicken burger and salty chips hit the nail on the head and we were off to Lake Monger for the first run with a head torch.

I was joined by running friends for Monger,  Perry Lakes, Applecross, Lake Claremont and Bibra Lake and this got me well into the night and early morning, where it was back to the core group of runners attempting the full 24 park runs. Running with these guys certainly helped as it’s incredible how far a five kilometre run can start to feel like when you run a few, as your pace slows the total time running increases of course. Each one starts to feel like a mini-marathon, I could start to understand how the uninformed would talk about running a 5k marathon. 

We had another break after Champion Lakes at 2am and it was into a Macdonald’s restaurant. It was open and I was very nervous about ordering food as last year a dodgy Macca’s nearly derailed me. I don’t eat junk food normally so my stomach had no idea what to do and ejected it very quickly ! This year I opted for a hash brown, small portion of chips and apple pie. So normal food with extra salt and an apple pie for the sweet sugar hit. It turned out great and I ran Homestead park run with no toilet stories or upset stomach, winning.

After Homestead, number 19, I knew it was only two more hours until sunrise. Once you see sunrise you will complete this event unless something breaks. I got my head down and just did enough to get through Canning River and Shelley and then it was park run twenty two, tu-tu run, at Edinburgh Oval and the job was almost done.

Seeing the sunrise in ultra marathons is just a surreal moment and your whole demeanor changes , you suddenly find all that extra energy you never knew was these, the struggle seems easier , life is good and suddenly all those negative thoughts disappear with the night.  To add to the good vibes we get to put on a tu-tu for park run twenty two, even if I put mine on inside out apparently ?

Post Edinburgh it was Burswood park run which is one of my least favourite and I struggled big time but knew the end was near so did enough to get through it before the last trip in the Gore fun van to the final destination, Clairesbrook Oval. After a great speech by the organisers we were off and , as with last year, I was reinvigorated for the final five kilometres, coming home with the wind in my sails.

So that was 2025, in the end seven of us finished , just shy of the nine the previous year in more testing conditions. The Gore fun bus got another two of us over the line and is still 100% when it comes to participants in this event, you get on the fun bus you finish, simple. Of course I retired from this event in similar style to last year but typing this post I can’t wait to go again, remember what I said about ultra runners earlier, not the most intelligent breed.

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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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