A week after the 24 park runs in 24 hours I threw my hat back into the competitive ring for the True Blue 100k ultra. This was formally known as the Australia Day Ultra and I had finished the 50km race once, and the 100km version three times. This race was never on my radar after completing the back to back racing weekends last year and swearing never to do something so stupid again. In my defense I held my resolve until Thursday evening before the race before texting Ron, the Race Director, and getting a cash entry; to be paid at the start line the following evening. What’s that about old dogs and new tricks ? Or is it old dogs doing the same stupid tricks all the time ?
Another reason for my race entry was to test my new once a day training program with Pilates and the gym thrown in instead of my second run. I had also been taking Creatine, HMB and Leucine and was curious to see if these would make a marked difference to my race. Best way to test out my new approach was to enter a 100k race a week after a 24 hour event surely ?
Ron , the RD, and Chris, the timer, prepare for a long day at the office, midnight start for the 100k and 75k runners.
As I mentioned earlier in the post this race wasn’t on my calendar until late Thursday evening, post a good recovery run from Yelo. The recovery week so far had been two trips to the gym, one easy run and a progressive, of sorts, run with Aaron Pyke at Yelo. This run had given me some confidence and add to that the FOMO (fear of missing out) and by Thursday evening I was on the laptop looking at previous posts on the event and watching my first ever 100k ultra video shot by Rob Donkersloot on Youtube. (
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The video by Rob documented my first attempt at this event back in 2017 where I ran just over eight hours for a second place finish and I retired instantly. Of course I was back the following year to run a sub eight hour finish, 7:47, and planned to return the next year but caught a bad dose of man-flu the week before. This led to a five year absence where life and COVID got in the way. Last year I ran a 9:34 albeit it was a week after the 24 Park runs and I suffered, silly not to do it again right ?
I had no strategy this year bar finishing, I knew I was probably under done training wise and the legs would not have recovered from the previous weeks beating. My good friends Simon Bennet and Adam Scott were also running and I decided to stay with them for the first lap before dropping off, putting on the shokz and cruising to a finish. As it was the boys went out far too hot and I left them at the fist turnaround to go and powder my nose, actually an excuse to leave them and take stock.
The course is a 12.5k out and back loop, eight times, totally flat , with an aid station at each end and in the middle. This is good for continually passing people albeit at the start you are soon alone with your to thoughts, which I quite like. Throughout the event other distances come and go , for example the 50k runners start at 3am, the 25k runners start at 6am and the 12.5k runners start later than that? Either way it gets busier from 3am until around 9am , the next morning, where it is back to the 100k runners.
As you can see from the Strava image below showing my pace continually drop until halfway and the sunrise that would eventually save me. As I said earlier I had gone out way to quick with Si and Adam and started to pay the price. I was running alone at this point and starting to think about pulling the pin at 50k, four laps. In an ultra you go through bad patches as I had many, many times over the last few years. Last year was a similar story, starting on tired legs, coming close to pulling the pin at 50k and then finishing strong. Could I do it two years in a row?
The image shows my death spiral before the sunrise woke me up.
The low point in my race was just before sunrise at the middle aid station. I was done and sat down waiting for the sunrise, this was the only chance. As I have always said when the sun comes up the running terrain changes completely. All of a sudden there’s a spark of ‘maybe I can finish this’ , life is instantly so much better. It worked last year, could it work again now ? Only way to find out was to get up and run. Simple really, just keep moving forward. Surprising I started to pick up the pace and ran through the 50k point back out onto lap five. This was a big mental test, it would have been so easy to pull the pin at 50k, still a very reasonable effort after the 24 park runs the previous week. Moving onto lap five felt , with the sun in my face, felt so much better than the previous lap in the dark. The early hours were cooler and after a few ibuprofens and another nodoz I felt so much better. (don’t judge me.) All of a sudden I felt like I could finish and that was all I needed to move through laps five and six, picking up the pace kilometre by kilometre.
Starting lap 6 and I can smell the finish.. nearly.
In the end it was a similar story to last year, a good negative split and a 9:45 finish ( slightly slower than 2024) , good for a fifth place finish. Out in 4:59 and back in 4:45. I’m putting this down to a few things, firstly the midnight start which is not my favorite time to start a running race. The Feral Pig 100 miler is a similar start time and I always suffer on that race too, albeit the gradient and temperature are also factors for that event. The late , or is it early start, means to get to the witching hours (around 2am until sunrise) totally spent and sun rise is a big mental boost, enough to get you a few laps at this event which puts you two laps to the finish. This is enough to kick start the legs as mentally the sun is out, you’re over halfway and all of a sudden the finish line is in sight.
The eight lap format is also a big factor as you break the race down into eight smaller segments. Getting to halfway , in the dark , is the challenge. Sleep depraved the finish feels such a long way away (funny that?) but when the sun awakes and you get over the halfway the final four laps seem to finish quicker. Laps two through five define this race, especially the dark laps. If you can get out on lap six with the sun on your face you will finish.
Another negative split finish.
So what did I learn from the True Blue Ultra 2025. Yet again I learned the lows in an Ultra event are real but if you just keep moving forward things will get better, add in a sunrise , hydration and nutrition , and things will improve. This year, like last year, I was dead and buried at the halfway stage with a DNF looming on the horizon , instead a sunrise got me over the line, literally. Was it easy ? Hell no, it was bloody hard and it’s getting harder but that’s the point . It will continue to get harder until eventually I will stop and accept a DNF or at least stop dong back to back events , whichever comes first. I turn fifty eight in three weeks and the one person you can’t outrun is Father Time. I’m hoping the new training, less running but more strength training, will get me a few more events before I start to look at cutting back the racing calendar. Of course I’ve been saying this for a few years now and retire constantly but something keeps me coming back for more. Is is the high of the finish or the mental low, and pushing through, that keeps me returning to the scene of the crime ? I honestly couldn’t tell you , I need both to finish an event and that’s running, albeit compounded with ultra running of course.
Done and dusted. 5th place, 9:45. Very stoked.
So what’s next ? In less than eight weeks its Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra, ( https://herdysfrontyard.com.au/ ) the event I ran 47 hours back in 2012 which at the time was an Australian record for an assist, to the great Phil Gore. ( Watch the YouTube video here :-
) Since then Phil has gone on to run over 100 hours and break world records where as I have struggled to reach that number again. It has been a goal of mine ever since to get to 48 hours, 200 miles, can I do it this year ? I won’t have the Delirious West 200 miler beforehand this year as it’s moved to April, so I should be on fresh legs (if there is such a thing for a runner my age?) I have a crew of three to four other runners also aiming for the same goal so it could be on, if not I’ll have fun trying , until it’s not of course. After Herdy’s it’s the big dance, Delirious West 200 miler for the sixth time. ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) This is my favorite race, a week of beautiful trails surrounded by like minded people and Warwick Crapper, perfect. This year is going to be massive with a big field taking on the Delirious beast.
Simon and I ran most of Delirious West 200 miler together last year, expect the same this year.
Finally shout out to my good mate Rob Collins who scored a top three finish in the 25km race, Rob ran a great race and although he’s been troubled by injury of late he held on for a solid podium. He’s already talking up a faster attempt next year, hopefully we can reproduce this image for 2026. Financially also a good move as Rob and I can share the cost for shouting coffee at Yelo on Thursday, a tradition for us Yelo runners.
Rob and I show off our medals. Rob was third male in the 25k.
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
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 ?
Team Gore at PR 1, 2024 …Aaron, Myself, Gemma, Tom, Bradley, Phil and Sarah.
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.
Meticulous planning, down to the last minute..Simple, as long as you know where you are going ?
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.
Garvey Park Run , number 1 of 24. Let’s go ! ( a record turn out, over 200 runners)
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.
Kadina Trail, PR4, with my good friend Conor. image Andrew Yeatman
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)
Selfie with the volunteers at Kadina Trail. Image Andrew Yeatman.
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.
Early afternoon , post lunch, it started to hear up but, thankfully, at least ten degrees cooler than last year. Still a good excuse to get the top off.
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.
The boys came out to support me at Perry Lakes. Mark, Champ, Jeffrey, Rob and Bartsy.
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.
Back to the core group at Homestead park run. No stomach issues this year post Macca’s.
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.
Sunday morning , very early. Calleya Park run.Shelly PR and the sun is rising. If you get to daylight you will finish. Three more to go after this one.
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 ?
The final members of the Team Gore Fun Bus, PR22 , Tu-Tu PR. Cameron, Gemma Phil and IAll the tu-tu’s at Edinburgh park run. We can smell the finish…
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.
The crowd for the final PR start at Clairsebrook Cove. Hallelujah.
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.
Done and dusted and instantly retired from this format, at least until next year.The magnificent seven, James, Dane, Shane, Cameron, mick and Daniel.
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
This Saturday at 8am it’s the start of the 24 Park Runs in 24 Hours in Perth. I ran this event last year and had the best time albeit the 40c temperatures, and humidity, made the event challenging. At a few points I questioned my life decisions (I say that a lot when I talk about my ultra races funnily enough ? ) I’ve attached the post on the event below for your amusement. It was such a great event last year but that had a lot to do with the company in the Phil and Gemma Gore ‘fun van’. Aaron, Tom, Bradley, Phil , Sarah and I just had such a laugh in between park runs with Gemma keeping us on the straight on narrow, literally. Unfortunately it looks like all of my partners in crime are not doing the whole 24 park runs this year and , as last year, I haven’t found transport yet, albeit I haven’t really looked, nothing like last minute planning.
The main reason for this post is the event is for the homeless so if you have some spare coin for a good cause feel free to click on the link in the post below and donate a few dollars, each dollar makes a huge difference. For anybody living in Perth I have attached the schedule of events below and a map of the park runs. There’s little time for mucking-about albeit there is time for lunch (30 minutes) and dinner (an hour) and even a small break at two in the morning for a snooze ?
There is also events kicking off in Bunbury and Bussleton (same time 8am this Saturday) albeit both of these events are running the same park run on the hour , 24 times. Missing out on the best bit, the driving and banter between runs, but still better than not running at all of course, and it is for charity. As well as Western Australia it seems NSW, SA and Tasmania have also jumped onboard the 24 in 24 bandwagon. Check out the website https://www.ultraseries.com.au/24-parkruns-in-24-hours
Four states have jumped onboard now.
The start of the chaos that is a 24 in 24 event.
The Park Run route for 2025.The list of the 24 Park Runs for 2025
Here is my post from last year on the event….with a link to the charity website for donations.
Running in a furnace for a great cause. 24 Park Runs in 24 hours.
On Saturday I ran the 24 Park Runs in 24 hours in Perth for the On My Feet charity, helping homelessness. ( https://www.onmyfeet.org.au/ ) The concept is simple, run a park run, drive to the next one, run that park run and repeat 24 times over the course of the 24 hour period. This gives you around thirty minutes for each park run with a small break for lunch, dinner and an early breakfast. Sounds easy right ? Wrong as Perth decided to present us with the hottest day of the summer so far with temperatures hitting 42c ( over 107F) and staying around the 40c for most of the early afternoon into the evening, chuck in brutal humidity and it became a challenge.
The donation page for the 2023 24 park runs event has now closed so the best way to donate, if you so choose, is to log on to the charities website ( https://www.onmyfeet.org.au/ ) and donate there. They also sell cool socks which would be a nice gift for any runner, donating and giving , a win – win situation.
Right , off we go. I had decided to run this event while training in the Perth hills the day before. It had been on my radar since last year but I had made no effort to prepare for it and in the end just ignored it. It wasn’t until the chat started to build and FMO (Fear of Missing Out) started to kick in that I eventually caved in and put in my charity donation to the On My Feet fund. (link above , just in case you missed it) I was in but had no food and only a few hours to get ready the morning of the event. I had managed to snag a seat on the best ride in town, that of the famous Gore family van with Gemma and Phil driving, ably supported by Bradley. All I needed to do was turn up to each park run , cruise around in less than thirty minutes and eat and drink in the van while being chauffeured to the next run, simples. Well as with all best laid plans, and in this case there wasn’t even a plan , things started to go awry when the temperature began to heat up.
The plan for the next 24 hours.
Even at Park Run number one, Garvey Park, you could feel the heat and by the end of the first park run you knew you were in for a long day. We started at 8am but as soon as you ventured out into the sunshine you were rewarded with a reminder of what was to come, heat and plenty of it. On the plus side I was about to run 22 park runs I had not ran before so it was an going to be a sight seeing tour of Perth , in a heatwave, with some running in between long stints of eating and drinking while a member of the Gore family, or Bradley, drove. How bad could that be ?
Team Gore at PR 1…Aaron, myself, Gemma, Tom, Bradley, Phil and Sarah.
One of the major surprises of this event was the laughter , in the back of the van there was a lot of it and the six of us just had the best time together. Although we all knew each other spending 24 hours driving around Perth in a heatwave brings you all closer together, literally. Conditions were cramped but I’d managed to snag myself the seat behind Phil with my own door, that doesn’t sound special but trust me it was like being upgraded from cattle class to first class, I was stoked. We had the right combination of characters and the time in the van was just ace, well it was for the male occupants. Sarah did leave us just before midnight citing space concerns when Gemma joined us but truth be told I think we had worn her down with our ‘special conversations‘ and theories regarding Stephen Hawkins and many other subjects that shall remain between the van crew only.
High jinks early on in the back of the Gore Van. Sarah, Aaron, Tom and Bradley.
The thing with this event is if you have a good bunch of runners sharing a ride it becomes even more epic and I had a great crew sharing a ride.. so much laughter albeit it’s best it stays within the members of the van..
The legend himself Phil Gore.
As well as running every park run in under 24 minutes. (get it, 24 park runs in 24 hours, all finished in under 24 minutes..) Phil also drove the first three or so allowing me to ride shotgun. Once he stopped and Bradley took over I was moved back to economy class in the back, albeit I had a window seat with my own personal sliding door, luxury.
Things heated up very quickly and it was ‘ suns out, guns out’ ; albeit my guns disappeared years ago.
Over the twenty four hour period there were only a couple of times I really struggled and doubted I’d finish. The first time was Carine Park run at 3pm. The heat was incredible and close to 42c. We had just finished Whitfords park run and assumed the temperature would drop , unfortunately we had not taken into account the sea breeze which had cooled us the park run before Carine, this breeze was well and truly now gone and all we had were Sahara like conditions. I had arranged for my Wife and Mum to meet me at Carine and hand over a Brownes Mocha Chill ( basically a protein drink with a kick and full of sugar) . They both witnessed me stumbling about sucking up icy poles like my life depended on it, actually at that moment in time it may have. Karen has seen this many times before and knew to leave me to it and not get involved, probably the best thing to do. They both left and I was escorted back to the van, we had a schedule to keep.
The furnace that was Carine at 42c. Save by icy poles at the end. All bravado at the start, not so much at the finish !
After Carine we ran the Yokine Park Run which was better as there was some shade and I had recovered a tad by the time we were ejected from the air conditioning heaven that was team Gore’s family van. I just had to survive two more park runs before a good break for dinner but better than that if I could survive Maylands, the next one post Yokine, there was a twenty minute drive to Applecross, in that time I could neck the Brownes Mocha chill. This was a risky move as 600ml of milk can go either way on a upset stomach, it really is a kill or cure move. Luckily in this case it was a cure and I ran Applecross better than all previous park runs finishing ahead of Phil, albeit I had started earlier due to worrying about what was going to happen.
Fueled on Brownes Mocha , I was back at Applecross.
Post Applecross we were eleven down with thirteen to go and hopefully better conditions. We had a good break for dinner and managed to find a Pasta Cup outlet which is built for runners doing this kind of event, carbohydrates in a cup and lots of them. I never finished the portion but it gave me the energy I needed for another six or seven hours of running. As I said earlier I had no real nutrition plan , mainly brought on by having no nutrition. I was surviving on Bix products and any sweets available in the van, thanks Tom, Bradley and Aaron.
A runners dream as we started our journey through the night, carbs and lots of them !
As you can see from the image below I was a new man after my pasta meal, a similar story after my Mocha Chill, with ultrarunning it’s all about hydration and nutrition, get these right and you’re halfway there. Unfortunately getting the mix right is difficult and it takes experience to judge the conditions accordingly and tweak your plan. In this case the humidity was a killer and we were taking onboard at least a litre of electrolytes an hour. I would run the park run , head back to the van and just drink as much as I could stomach before the next one. Alternating between electrolyte tablets and powder, all supplied by Bix. ( https://bix-hydration.myshopify.com/products/bix-active ) I made it through the night but for the last few park runs I couldn’t stomachs even water, the end was in sight so I knew I was ok for this one but for longer ultras I use more ‘proper food’ rather than hunting just calories and sugar.
Leading the charge at Edinburgh Oval, fueled on pasta cap meatballs.
The evening park runs became harder and harder with my average pace slowing accordingly. The meatball hit lasted a few hours but eventually the body starts to crave more calories and I knew I wasn’t providing them. My only saving grace was my bix powder which was full of carbs. I actually felt better when I was running and the journeys to the runs started to become the problem. As soon as you stopped you started to sweat and then sitting in an air conditioned van made this even more profuse, luckily my towel protected the upholstery (well it was better than nothing?). While in the van you had to prepare yourself for the next run as time was always against us. You had enough time to update Strava, maybe a quick post on facebook and then drink and eat as much as you could stomach before charging your shozk headphones and iphone. Once you arrived at the next location you had a few minutes to prepare whatever hydration you’d need and then off you went. Changes of clothing or applying sudocrem was a luxury you’d rarely have time to think about, it was that tight on time. I did make sure I used fisocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com/ ) every four hours or so and it helped big time, combined with a couple of nodoze and a few paracetamol, don’t judge me.
Homestead, Champion Lakes, Shipwreck and Calleya came and went and by the time we hit 2am I was ready for a macca’s visit , albeit I don’t eat junk food but was hoping for a bacon and egg sandwich or a hash brown. As it was they hadn’t started the breakfast menu so I was left with a Chicken burger , fries and fanta. This was a mistake and it made the next park run, Bibra Lake at 2:31am, a real test. I started well enough but fell apart in the last few kilometres, I was not in a happy place. It’s amazing how long a 5km can feel , even after running 18 of them previously.
The early night park runs were fun but as the night progressed the fun started to fade.
After Bibra Lake there were five more runs to complete but the next two, South Fremantle and Cottesloe, were particularly testing with beach sections. As we lined up at South Fremantle I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to complete the run in time, it was 3:30am, and we were well into the witching hours. ( between 2am and dawn, the most dangerous time for ultra runners !) As it was when we started to run I found my rhythm early and actually enjoyed the time on the beach. Andy Baldwin got me through this park run together with Sarah and we ran the last few kilometres together , dare I say enjoying the moment. This was then duplicated for the Cottesloe run and then the sun rose and all was good. In any ultra make it to sunrise and you’re good for another few hours, guaranteed.
Canning River was a nice Park Run, a fast circuit and only one loop which I prefer.Bibra Lake was hard, a half eaten Macca’s nearly got the better off me.
Once I spied the sunrise I was never not going to finish. The final three park runs saw other runners join in as we were into early Sunday morning. As the numbers rose so did our energy levels and we could all start to see the finish line a few hours away. Claremont park run was number 22 so a few of the lads put on their tutu’s and skipped around full of the joys of spring ( or summer in this case) The morning temperature was a relief from the heat we had endured the previous day albeit we could feel the temperature start to rise by the minute.
As soo n as the sun came up it was game on. Cottlesloe looking resplendent.
Next it was Burswood before the final park run at Claisebrook. To comply with tradition all the nine runners who had completed all 23 park runs had a shot of Fireball Whisky, to warm the stomachs before the final park run, number 24. I’m not a big drinker in fact for 2023 I had two pints of Guinness after running Delirious West 200 miler in February and maybe a glass of red wine on the plane to Run Britannia in May, that’s it. That was probably my first spirit since the Tequila shots after finishing the Unreasonable East in 2021 ? I digress, the fireball went down well but must admit to feeling a tad ropey that afternoon although the previous 24 hours may have had something to do with that but I’m blaming the fireball.
A Fireball Whisky chaser before the last park run. Warmed the stomach .
So the image below shows the nine of us that finished all 24 park runs and I had to work very hard to get into it. In the end it was an incredible journey with good friends and so much laughter mixed in with some serious ‘pain cave’ time, mentally testing situations and an opportunity to find out more about yourself; what more could you wish for.
If I can ask if you’ve got this far then you show your appreciation by scrolling back to the top of the post and donating to the cause, anything is better than nothing, it all helps. I would really appreciate it.
Done and dusted, the nine WA finishers.
Finally a massive shout out to Team Gore for letting me hitch a ride in their van , which unfortunately should now be destroyed, six sweaty runners for 24 hours in one van does not end well for anybody. At the end of the event I promised never again but after a few days I can’t wait for 2025. Next year I will insist on an esky full of icy poles, avoid macca’s like the plague and bring my own food. Assuming the temperatures are lower maybe next year it’ll be easier, maybe ? I’ve already asked Phil for my seat on the 24 hour bus and I’m hoping the rest of the 2024 runners do the same, it’s tradition and runner love traditions.
Team Gore at the finish.
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.
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
The image below is one of my all time favorites capturing me running through halfway in the Six Ince Trail Ultra Marathon. It’s at this point , if you’re fast enough and running around the sub four hour pace, you run past the half marathon starters. It just came up in my Facebook feed from seven years ago and that year I ran a three hours forty-nine minutes, good enough for ninth place. Unfortunately that was one of the three years I got lost and I took Zac Jeps the wrong way with the finish line so close. We had ran with Nera Jareb for the first 37 kilometres , to the top of the Escalator hill, where we left her and stepped up the gears. Nera finished in 3:42, for first female, and I’m very confident I could have gone quicker maybe even putting fourth and fifth under pressure. No worries, now it’s a good story and I’ve not been lost since.
Last week I ran the event for the 15th time consecutively. (Only missing 2019 when it was cancelled due to extreme weather temperatures and a fire risk) I reversed the downward trend of finishing times with a run for the ages , again finishing in ninth place albeit this time with a four hour five minutes finishing time. Although the time may have slowed the love for the event and the burning ambition to do well is still there, fifteen years from the first event. Typing this I have that same grin on my face I had in the image below in 2017 and even the images of the first time we ran the event in 2008.
Seven years ago today., December 20th 2017.
I remember the first six inch race I ran in 2009, we had no GPX file of the course and my running mate, Brett Coombes, printed off a map of the Munda Biddi ( https://mundabiddi.org.au/ ) trail and laminated it. It didn’t help, we missed a left turn due to a large tiger snake sunning itself on the corner , startled, we ran right past it and that was it, our race was run. Funnily enough at the time I swore off trail running and ultra running and decided to concentrate on the marathon and shorter distances, road racing, which I did for the next ten or so years but always returning to this event at the end of the year, I was hooked
My first 6 inch, 2009. Back in the day when you only wore Asics, there was nothing else ?
In 2009 there was one aid station at halfway albeit the location has not changed over the years but Dave has added another one at the top of the Escalator Hill and also one around the 43km mark, and the volunteers even refill your water bottles for you. As you can below it’s was a self service offering back in the day.
Self supported aid station, the only one, at halfway.
I have watched the event grow from a fat ass (free entry and self supported) in the early days to a well oiled machine these days with coaches taking the runners to the start , multiple distances and catering at the finish. It’s come a long way from two steaks in the ground and some webbing for a fishing corral . Even before I first grew a beard in 2012 which has never left my chin since, I look like a young child. Believe me at the time Brett and I were over trail running and both looking forward to Comrades in 2010, but that’s another story.
2009, steaks in the ground and webbing for a finishers chute, old school ..
2024 was a stellar year , nine ultra marathons and two marathons while saving the best till last. Running a top ten at the 6 inch was probably one of my best runs in my career, so far, and I am still smiling like a Cheshire cat. If you have time feel free to read the post on the event for background . ( https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/12/17/sometimes-it-all-comes-together-with-unexpected-results-6-inch-ultra-2024/ ) You’ll understand why it was special
So to the point of this post, finally. How do I keep the fire burning, the drive to continually put myself in the pain box and normally find a way out, be that three or four days into a 200 miler or at the end of a marathon facing the infamous ‘wall’. Why run every day, or even twice a day in all conditions while juggling life, work and other commitments that come with being an adult these days (I say ‘adult’ in the broadest sense of the word of course ?) It’s for runs like last weekend, runs that you thought beyond you, chasing down runners you didn’t think you could chase down and slicing through the pack ahead of you like a hot knife through butter. The second half of the 6 inch ultra was just incredible, picking up the pace and running down so many competitors was intoxicating, with experience this has happened on only a handful of occasions and when it does you need to push on, dig deep and just enjoy the ride, it doesn’t come often.
I would say my finish this year would be up there in the top three of all my fifteen finishes and even getting to the pace of my PB finish in 2012 (3:38) ; that was twelve years ago. That’s how special that race was. Of course it was still bloody hard work but all the planets aligned , and when that happens it makes all the sacrifices worthwhile. It also stokes the fire and all of a sudden a sub three in July at Bibra Lake is on the cards, a Delirious West PB in April or even another Lighthorse Ultra podium (number 6?) , your goals are readjusted.
So what changed ? Post Sandman 50k I had only ran once a day but also joined the local gym and spent 40-50 minutes a day on a Pilates reformer following instructions on a screen. I have also been taking creatine for about a month religiously. It is well know that older runners should cut back on distance and concentrate more on strength training , maybe with a few additives helping the process. As well as creatine I’ll be looking at HMB and Leucine next and will add these to my daily supplement smorgasbord. I have been feeling stronger with the Pilates and not as ‘wiped out’ by running less, maybe all those scientific papers were right, as you age doing less is better than doing more.? Who knew.
I’ll report on progress next year when I add the HMB and Leucine to my list of ‘BK little helpers‘ but am expecting more performance enhancing results albeit I assuming these are all racing legal?
2024, a little older but still as excited about a 6 inch finish as I was 16 years ago.
Another way to keep the fire burning is to surround yourself with like minded people, people who get ‘you‘ but also people who feel the same way, as passionately as you do, about running. Every Thursday I get to spend time with the Yelo crew, 5:30am, and the running is secondary to the banter, coffee and just having a good time with like minded people normally laughing a lot. Yelo time is special and all runners need to find a Yelo in their life. Runners are a pack animals and should seek other like minded runners to make that Sunday long run not feel quite so long. Conversation makes miles disappear , even quicker that Taylor Swift serenading me on my shokz headphones. ( https://shokz.com.au/ ) You haven’t got time to worry about the distance markers when you’re engaged in some quality political or scientific conversations with fellow know-it-all’s albeit these days most arguments can be ended (or started) by google. (normally over the coffee post run) Every group must have a Dr. Jon Pendse (his Doctorate was from Google apparently) who understands (and encourages) all conspiracy theories and is convinced 99% of them are true. (Arguing with Jon can make a Sunday long run either disappear or drag on forever, it’s a fine balancing act. )
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
The crew at Mark’s house. Adam, Mark, Veronika, Rob and Myself.
I first ran the 6 inch trail ultramarathon as a ‘fat ass’ (no entry fee and totally self supported albeit I think there was one aid station?) in 2009. Bar one year, 2019, when it was cancelled due to extreme temperatures’ and fire risk, I have ran it every year since. It has morphed from a family weekend away with young kids to a boys weekend due to all the kids growing up and totally not interested in spending time with parents in small Australia towns. Undeterred we’ve embraced the new format and all the boys look forward to the weekend when we all become eighteen year old versions of ourselves without the alcohol.
If you read all the posts on this event you know it’s all about the traditions and we make a big effort to continue them. First is the photo leaving Perth and then a photo outside the Truckers Lounge at the Baldivis service station. The last two years we also ventured into the truckers lounge for another photo. Luckily the lounge has always been empty.
Photo outside the Trucker’s Lounge, tick.
Next is the top of Goldmine Hill photo, tick.
We then scurry to the Forrest Centre in Dwellingup where we book one of the family rooms before a excursion and then dinner. The excursion does change on a yearly basis albeit this year we all went to the Scarpe Pool and had a great time so that may be added to the tradition list for future years. The water was actually quite warm and laying on the hot rocks afterwards was invigorating. Its not often I post images of elderly men topless on my blog so I will apologise in advance if anybody is offended. (Apparently you need to do that these days ? )
Five men behaving badly.
The night before there is a talk at the Forrest Centre and a last chance for a bib pickup before the morning of the event. I’ve been on the panel a few times over the years but this year I was going along as a member of the audience until Michael Carroll decided to message Dave he was running late. Always happy to talk about all things running Dave added me to the panel as a stop gap. In the end Michael turned up so the four of us talked about all things running. In the end it was a pretty good panel with Michael grabbing second, Milan fourth, Petra eighth and ninth for me, four of the top nine.
The pre-race panel of experts and Me.
Right after very little sleep , another tradition when you share a room with three other people, we set off to the start line at Goldmine Hill for the 4:30am start. As this event is a Perth summer you need to start as soon as the sun peaks it’s head over the horizon, or in this years case a few minutes prior. (Hence the darker than usual start line photo.) Luckily this year we were blessed with perfect conditions , the days prior to the event we’d seen very hot temperatures but , similar to last year, we got lucky with a dip in temperatures for the Sunday of the race. Not sure how Dave, the Race Director, does it? Another bonus was the local Council had graded the biggest hill of the event, the infamous Escalator, (You know the hill is bad when it gets its own nickname!) It is normally heavily rutted due to four wheel drive damage and unrunable, sometimes only just walkable. This year it retained its steepness but the surface was a lot more forgiving and most runners ran the downhill section, albeit gingerly.
Traditional start photo, in the dark, albeit it’s not normally this dark.34 finishes between us., Nate is now on 19 and I’m on 15. Hence the numbers.
Right, to the race itself. I had set myself a goal of finishing around the four hours twenty minutes, after a four hour thirty five minute finish the previous year. I was in better form with a lot more racing under my belt in 2024. The only worry was a four hour thirty five minute Sandman 50k four weeks prior after a 100 miler two weeks before that. Had my legs recovered ? In the weeks prior I had ran 10k a day but no more and rather than do a double day went to my local gym and did a Pilates Reformer session and some weights. Would this help or hinder my endurance running ? There really was only one way to find out of course.
As with all races within our local Yelo group there was banter, I assume this is the norm for any group of people doing any sport together, be that running, tennis or non contact tiddly-winks? This year Adam, Andy and I were all thinking around the four hours twenty minutes while Mark was aiming for his first sub four finish , after a good Sydney marathon , and training block, confidence was high. Scotty was just wanting to enjoy it without blowing out too much and Bartsy just wanted to finish, and anything sub six hours would be a bonus. We all had our goals but there was also the added bonus of a ‘ bum tap; if you went past anybody. Rob was doing the half so did not partake in the ‘full marathon’ banter, this also resulted in his exclusion from a number of photos.
Goldmine Hill starts the 6 inch ultra and it is a seriously nasty piece of work. Long and steep when you are not even warmed up is not a good combination for a hill. I’ve said it many times this hill has ruined many a good runners race even before it’s started. You need to start slow and build into it, do not go out too fast and blow up in the first three kilometres. After fourteen previous events I know this hill very well now and have raced it, walked it and jogged it over the years. This year I was going for the jog option but went out quicker than planned trying to keep Mark in view. I also had Andy for company initially but never saw Adam after the start. Scotty and Bartsy took it very easy and dominated the back of the pack, mainly walking, I wouldn’t see either of these two again on the course.
Once I got halfway up Goldmine Hill I decided to try and keep Mark and the sub four bus in view, so picked up the pace ignoring all the alarm bells in my head. My Hoka Mach 2x road shoes felt good and the nylon plate was giving me a little bounce , even though they were well past their sell by date carrying over 500 kilometres in them. I didn’t consider the 6 inch worthy of a new pair as it wasn’t really an A race as such. I was more worried about the shoes letting me down but bar one stumble they performed very well.
I lost sight of Mark and Andrew after Goldmine but kept up the pace and was running 19th at the first aid station and feeling pretty good. The first half is harder than the second in this event so as I quickly refilled my water bottle at aid station one I made up my mind to roll the dice for the second half. I break the race (something I recommend everyone does for all races, smaller achievable goals rather than the complete start and then finish race goal ) down into start to aid station one, about 23km , and then a 15k section to the top of the Escalator Hill before a 9k run to the finish. I was confident in my ability to hold a reasonable pace even if I blew after aid station one so moved through the gears and started to push the heart rate up.
I bumped into my old friend Stephen Stockwell just before aid station one after first recognising his running style before recognising him. Stephen and I go back decades but I’ve not seem him race since the Perth half in 2020, I hardly recognised him with a full beard. He mentioned his daughter was a good way ahead so I set off to catch her, at the time Kathryn probably had ten minutes on me. The half runners start at the bottom of the Conveyor Belt hill and they had started about five minutes before I arrived so I was faced with the back markers initially and then, as I moved through the field, faster runners. This made seeing, catching and passing full marathon runners difficult as all the bibs were different colours (Dave was reusing bibs from previous years?)
Between the first aid station and the escalator was probably my quickest splits. There’s about two kilometres from aid station one to the bottom of the Conveyor Belt hill which is a good climb taking you to the highest part of the course. It’s very runnable if you have something left in the legs and I did. The best bit is after you summit there is a glorious few kilometres of quality downhill to recover. I was now passing the half runners and this kept you on your toes and also gave you a lift as my pace was so much quicker than theirs. I continued to pass runners right up to the top of the escalator, really feeling good. I even managed to pass a few full marathon runners and I was closing in on a top 10 finish (I was 19th at halfway) . The good thing about the escalator is it’s an out and back loop so you get to see your competition on the way in , and on the way out. Of course this works both ways but I was feeling good enough not to worry about runners behind me.
Nearly at the top of the Escalator Hill.
As I scaled the Escalator I bumped into Mark near the top , just after Rob sped past on his way to the bottom at a good pace, Mark didn’t look great and was well behind his sub four hour finish pace. This was noted as I continued to the top where I found Andy playing with his Shokz headphones, again I had not seen either of these guys since the start and now I had two bunnies to chase, which is what I do. I rushed through the aid station , just filling up my water bottle and downing a Bix Gu, I had runners to catch ! I was pumped chasing Mark and Andy, I would have expected both to beat me quite easily when I started, now it was a different story and a couple of good ass-tapping’s ( if you run past a Yelo runner you are obliged to tap their ass, just to let them know you are the better runner, it’s all fair in love and war.) were there for the taking and I would move heaven and earth now, this is why you race!
I was fully charged coming down the now runable Escalator..
The final stage of the 6 inch is a about nine kilometres with one nasty hill about the forty kilometre mark, this one is a kicker and if you’re not prepared, coming so close after the Escalator, can derail you and leave you stumbling to the finish. With experience I know this bad boy is coming and caught Andy walking halfway up the hill (it really should have a name ?) , a quick ‘ass-tap’ and a few words of encouragement and I was on my way, I now had Mark well and truly in my sights. I caught him just before the 42km mark which is a nice right hand turn with a lovely downhill section, this is one of the final markers where I can really start to think about the finish. There is a final aid station around the 43km mark but I never stop here , just cruise past, this then leads to some really good single track where with about 500 metres to go I passed Rob, another ass-tapping, my cup was full !
A sprint to the finish to keep ahead of Rob.
After passing Rob , with the finish line in sight , I sprinted to cross the line with the biggest smile on my face, just over four hours and five minutes, a time I thought beyond me and my fastest finish time since 2018. This one was special, managing to sneaking past Andy, Mark and even Rob was just out of my wildest dreams and finishing with such a good negative split and a top ten finish, I was ninth, was like a dream. Incredible, just incredible, typing this post I’m still smiling like a Cheshire Cat who just won the best smiler competition. All there was to do now was wait for the other runners and get a good finish photo, it is a tradition. The Yelo crew did very well. Andy grabbed 14th overall in 4:13, a massive PB by about forty minutes plus, Adam snagged 19th in 4:21 and Mark finished off the top 20 in 4:28. Four runners in the top twenty, not too shabby.
The head in the esky traditional photo…
All that was left to do was get the ‘head in the esky’ photo, a long standing tradition and the boys at the finish line before the final shot of the boys in the finishers shirts. All long standing traditions.
Boys at the finish line traditional shott, we even let Phil in even though he ran the half.Boys in the finishers shirts bar Bartsy who pulled a hammy and DNF’d at aid station one.
So that’s a wrap for the 6 inch trail ultra 2024 and the racing year. It has been a beauty with nine ultra marathons and two marathons. There have been many highlights but most importantly I’m as excited about 2025 as I have even been about any running year ahead of me. My times and distances are still slowing or decreasing , of course they are, I’ll be 58 in February but the first thing I think of when I wake up is my daily run and what it will entail and normally the last thing at night I’ll start to contemplate tomorrows run. The fire is still burning and I still love what I do and, as I always say, that’s the point.
I can’t wait for 6 inch 2025 and I hope to write a post detailing the event with all the photos and traditions that that will entail, after all, as I ask many times, what else is there ?
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
This weekend is the race that I have ran the most in my running career, the infamous 6 inch trail ultra, ( https://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) 47km of beautiful trails on the ( https://mundabiddi.org.au/ ) Munda Biddi trail, which runs over 1,000km from Kalamunda just outside Perth to Albany. We are truly based in Perth with the Munda Biddi and the Bibulumun track , the running version. ( https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/ ) . I first ran this event in 2008 when it was an fat ass , i.e. no entry fee and you look after yourself. I hadn’t looked at the trail and there was no GPX file available, needless to say I got lost and finished swearing to never run the event again, actually I tried to cancel my Comrades entry for the following year, I was done with ultra running. This seems to be a theme with races that I have either not enjoyed or DNF’d. The 6 inch, Feral and Delirious West are probably my three favourite events where as they all destroyed me the first time I ran them, go figure ?
This year we have Myself, Adam, Mark, Scotty and Bartsy in the full while Rob continues his love affair with the easy option and is entering the three inch. The word on the street is the biggest and meanest hill has been bulldozed , the infamous escalator, which is a real pity as you hit this hill around the 35k mark and it has destroyed many runners over the years including my good mate Michael Kowal, who has never ran tails since. Maybe this is the year for a good time ? Temperatures are looking good at the moment after a very hot period in the middle of the week. Last year we were so lucky with temperatures that would have cancelled the event on the day before and the day after, it looks like we will be lucky again for 2024.
The Escalator , bulldozed ! Such a shame.
This event is special due to it’s proximity to Christmas, it’s a final long run with friends before the madness of the festive period really kicks into gear. The finish line of the 6 inch ultra is a special place to be, everybody has just finished their last race of the year (normally) and it’s a time to either reflect on the year while also looking forward to Christmas and the next challenge in 2025, in my case that’s 24 park Runs in 24 Hours , January 11th. It’s also great to spend time with like minded people and because the event is in Dwellingup, a small rural town (village?) a few hours from Perth most people hang around for lunch afterwards, at the Dwelling pub. (Which does a Chicken Schnitzel bigger than Bartsy!)
The post from last year , 2023.
The 6 Inch trail ultra marathon is one of those races that you keep going back too for a number of reasons. Number one is Dave , the RD, gives you a red spike for 6 finishers ( a trophy for twelve), two is the unique atmosphere of an event so close to Christmas and three is the trail itself, just incredible. This year I was so close to missing out due to a hamstring tear but I was confident that I could finish after two good weeks of semi-reasonable training post a six week layoff. I was prepared to roll the dice because it’s the 6 inch and it’s tradition. As I have said many times runners love traditions, it’s in our dna.
This year we had Rob driving again with Adam, Bart’s , Scotty and I running. Rob was also giving massage’s at the finish line as part of his work with the Tribe and Trail shop ( https://www.tribeandtrail.com.au/ ) and The Long Run physiotherapy ( https://www.thelongrunphysio.com/ ) . If you’re a trail runner in Perth you need to look up both these businesses and get behind them.
The boys at the start of the weekend, all smiles at this stage of the proceedings.
Next on the tradition list of things to tick off was the stop at Baldivis BP garage and get a photo under the Truckers Lounge entrance. One day we might muster up enough courage to try and actually go into the Truckers Lounge but some things are better off unseen, for the moment we are happy enough with the photo outside. Maybe we’ll send in Bartsy next year , albeit I don’t think he’d ever come out ?
Traditional stop at the Baldivis BP garage for the Truckers Lounge photo.
Moving down the traditions list next we have drive to the top of Goldmine Hill and take a photo. For those who don’t know Goldmine Hill is the first hill at the start of the 6 Inch and it’s a big one with some serious vert sections. Just the thing you don’t need at the start of a 47km ultra. This hill has broken a number of runners over the years making the next 45 or so kilometres unpleasant. Back in the day I use to run this as Dave put on a KOM trophy for the first male to the top, those days are long gone and this year I walked the first kilometre for a very pleasant eleven minutes chatting to friends. With hindsight I could probably go a bit quicker next year but it was a nice change to amble into a race.
Next on the list of traditions is the Goldmine Hill cruise, chasing Barts to the top.
As you can see from the image below not all native animals survive on Goldmine Hill and this Kangaroo had seen better days. As Australians know a rotting Kangaroo is not pleasant on the nose and this bad boy was no different. I’m sure quite a few runners would have put on a spurt while passing ‘skippy’.
Road Kill and no, it wasn’t us !
Top of Goldmine Hill photo, tick, we were moving down the tradition list at a great rate of knots now. The conditions were warmer than we expected but luckily these disappeared over night and , for the event, we had perfect race conditions.
The top of Goldmine Hill photo.
After the traditional speech at the Forrest Centre by a panel of top runners it’s time to put on ‘Run Fat Boy Run’ and enjoy one of the funniest films we know with several scenes that just continue to raise a giggle. We even brought our own version down as the one at the accommodation had seen better days and we were forced to watch a different film last year. This did not go down well with the crew, remember, runners love tradition.
After the evening talk it’s time for ‘Run Fatboy Run’, a classic comedy that sets you up for the next day.
Post Run Fatboy Run we retreated to our room for the evening. Somehow Barts had snagged the double bed while Scotty, Adam, Rob and I shared two bunk beds next door. Needless to say four nervous runners sharing a room is never going to end well and I don’t think any of us got more than an hours sleep, albeit Barts had set his alarm for 2:30am so we were never going to get eight hours ! Rob also didn’t help the situation by trying to watch the English Premiership on his new iphone with the volume turned up. Luckily the internet is a new thing in Dwellingup and not very reliable so he gave up quickly.
Traditional start photo. of the runners. Adam, Scotty, Veronika, myself and Barts.
Next on the list is the traditional start photo of all the runners and then off we all go up Goldmine Hill and off to Dwellingup via the Munda Biddi trail ( https://mundabiddi.org.au/ ) Luckily we had our own cars at the finish line so drove to registration at the North Dandalup village hall before the short trip to the start line. Dave puts on buses to move the runners from the finish to the start as it’s a point to point event so it requires some logistical planning, we have always taken care of ourselves. There are some funny stories about this but not for the general public, lets just say if you’re going to run a point to point race do not leave your car keys , parked at the finish, in a bag in the car parked at the start. !
The tree at the top of the escalator.
The race itself was always going to be testing, it’s an ultra marathon after all. Add in the nearly thousand metres of vert over the distance and some hot temperatures and you’re in for a hard day at the office whatever happens. I was coming into the event off a hamstring tear so in the previous ten weeks had only ran three of them and really only the previous week of any note, distance wise. I had actually unregistered myself with the RD but with a few good weeks of run/walking was happy to roll the dice and risk my hammy for another finish and time with the boys. This was another reason for my eleven minute first kilometre, time spent socialising with friends rather than racing Goldmine Hill.
Eventually though I knew I had to kick on and left Barts and Scotty and worked my way through the field. I really had no idea how’d I go after my long lay off and injury. Initially I just wanted to finish, then it was finish under five hours and my top goal was break my time from last year, a personal worst time of four hours and forty eight minutes. Without the good training base I really had no idea what to expect. Undaunted I set off in pursuit of the next runner infront of me and used this as motivation to maintain a good pace but not too good leading to a blow out.
I always break down this race into three sections. The first section is the first 23k to aid station one. You then have another 14k to aid station two at the top of the Escalator hill and then the final 10k sprint (?) to the finish. I always enjoy the second half more than the first and post aid station one start to relax a bit knowing I have broken the back of the event. With the next aid station only 14k away it coms along a lot quicker then the first one and then it’s a ten kilometre section , albeit a nasty section, the the finish where you choose how much pain you want to endure. (Albeit sometimes this is worked out for you if the race has gone badly)
This year I was consistent the whole time, no walking bar the first kilometre and the Escalator Hill (which is unrunable) and just keep moving forward at a good pace but nothing that is going to lead to a blow out or hamstring damage. As I said earlier I just kept chasing the runner infront of me, I’d pass them and then onto the next one. This kept me honest and I really enjoyed moving through the field, chatting to a number of runners as I passed them.
Head down and it was time to think about the finish.
As the Escalator Hill is an out and back section you get to see whose just infront of you and can use this as either motivation if you’re chasing someone or a reality check, come warning, if someone is chasing you. As I Neared the top of the Escalaor I was surprised to see Sarah and Adam coming down less than three hundred metres ahead of me. I had written off any chance of catching these guys as they had set off with the lead runners and both were targeting far quicker times than me. Seeing them so close was all the motivation I needed to rush through the aid station and start my pursuit.
Funnily enough we had been talking about the race a few years ago when Scotty has passed Adam with two kilometres to go and gave him a pat on the backside as he did. Could I catch him and join this exclusive club ? This was all the motivation I needed, it was on like Donkey Kong. These sort of silly thoughts are sometimes all you need to switch through the gears and any thoughts of just finishing go out the window as the competitive juices start to flow. I caught Sarah on the next hill and ploughed on to eventually catch Adam with two kilometres to go, perfect pacing and timing, I couldn’t have been happier. Another tradition has now started, someone needs to catch Adam at two kilometers from the finish and give him a tap on the backside. If that someone is reading this please let me know the details, in 2024 Adam better watch his butt , remember now it’s tradition.
Bumping into TRC royalty.
After passing Adam on the final section of four kilometres or so, of slightly uphill , undulating , single track I bumped into Mr. TRC himself Sam Simsek, running his first three inch trails half marathon. Had to stop for a selfie with this legend as The Running Centre and Sam in particular have supported me for many years. ( https://therunningcentre.com.au/ ) Again runners in Perth get behind these guys, they are legends. It was then time to race to the finish and put number fourteen to bed, a raging success as I finish in just over four hours and thirty five minutes, thirteen minutes quicker than last year. I have Sam to thank for putting me into a pair of Hoka Mach X shoes which were brilliant for the terrain, although not a trail shoe the carbon plate protected my foot and the extra bounce helped keep my hammy in check. The trail itself is very runable and this explains the quicker finishing times of the top runners and also the domination of road runners over the years.
A consistent race.
I nailed the race with a no-expectation attitude and was never hurting too much, there were periods of self doubt as there are in any ultra but these are followed by periods of feeling great. Keeping on top of the hydration and nutrition also helped and it really was just about the perfect day. Even now as I type this race report the next day I’m looking forward to number fifteen in twelve months time, it’s tradition.
Finally we had the final two traditions to tick off the list, one is the finishers shot with all the runners at the finish line and finally the shot of all runners who completed the event in their new Six Inch Ultra tops. I must compliment Dave on this years tops, they are very good and I love the colour, very cool. Once we completed these it was off to the pub for a great lunch and the journey home, mission accomplished for 2023. I think this is now another tradition as the normal venue , the Blue Wren , upset us on Saturday by shutting early, we’re a fickle bunch runners.
Finishing line photo with all the Yelo runners.
Traditional photo of post 6 inch runners in this years t-shirt.
So that’s Ultra marathon number 46 which now matches my number of marathons I have completed , giving me a total of 92 events, eight more to go for the the one hundred marathons or longer total. If I have a good year in 2024 maybe I can reach the total at this event next year, that would be cool making the event even more special. Either way I’ll get to that elusive number sooner rather than later, why wouldn’t you ?
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.
The 6 inch post from 2022 with links to many more :-
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.
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
I always joke with my Daughter how ‘unfamous’ I am after years of dribbling on about all things running. The yardstick has been the feedspot top Australian blogs table ( https://au.feedspot.com/australian_running_blogs/ , please note when you click on this link I may be back with the pack but when writing this post I was third!) where I have languished year on year. Imagine my surprise when my Daughter searched today and found I had snuck onto the podium , just behind TrailRun magazine.
A podium, which is a good effort.
I checked the best 100 worldwide blogs and managed a respectable top half of the table finish, 42nd, which I’m happy enough with, gives me some room to move.
I often reflect on why I started this blog back in 2016 when I was still chasing the elusive sub 2 hour 40 minutes marathon finish. In August of that year I managed a 2:41:44 at the Perth City to Surf marathon but this was my last true shot at that time. I remember at the time I was running with Scott Thomson and Ross Mclean and we got to just past halfway heading into Kings Park running up a particular nasty hill. Both these runners were better than me at that point (and still are!) and I felt the pace was a bit hot so made a conscious effort to drop back and try to run more smartly. Do I regret this ? Now, yes, because I feel if I’d just got through Kings Park with them I would have held on or at least only dropped a minute or two. As it was I ran alone for the rest of the race and finished a credible fifth for my third 2:41:xx. Not my fastest, that was the City to Surf in 2013, 2:41;14, but close enough.
Work harder, not smarter.
That was one of those races when I just ran with the group rather than concentrating on a set goal or pace, and a group of better runners. I did this on two other occasions shortly after the marathon. The first time was the West Australian Marathon Club Peninsula 10k where I met a very young and athletic Zac Jeps for the first time. Zac would become a good friend but at this point I did not know him at all, he was just a very tall, athletic looking runner who left the start line like he’d been shot from a cannon. Again I decided to hang on and just run with Zac, to hell with the consequences not looking at my watch at all. The plan was to hold his shoulder for as long as I could, be that 5k, 2k or the whole event, I had no idea. Luckily this time Zac pushed me to a 10k PB, one I have never bettered, cheers buddy.
The following week was the Fremantle half and as you can see from my training spreadsheet below I hadn’t really thought about tapering post Peninsula. Monday through Thursday after the race were double days albeit I gave myself two days rest before the Sunday. I always remember I drove my mate Mike Kowal to the start and felt so fatigued I was close to becoming a DNS, rather than embarrass myself. In the end again I decided to run with the lead runners and see what happened, no end goal or looking at my watch, just run. In this case I ended up with Gerry Hill, Ross Langford and Tom Bakowski, three runners who regularly beat me but for some reason it was me setting the pace. Ross dropped off early and it was just me, Gerry and Tom with three kilometres to go and I was already thinking of witty antidotes while reciting my winning speech. In the end the boys stepped up and I was dropped to third place but a massive 50 second PB, which again I have never came anywhere near to , 1:15:00.
I continued to reap the rewards of big distance with a second place at the inaugural Rottnest half marathon , a 1:17 on a very hilly course, as I was racing the Masters World Games in Perth two weeks later. I managed a silver medal in my age group at the World Masters Games running a respectable 2:44 in hot and humid conditions, also good enough for 7th overall. This was followed by another win in a 16k event, which I defended the following year, a second place in a 4k and a great 6 inch ultra trail marathon top 10 finish. 2016 was special. Working harder, not smarter was working.
Work harder, not smarter.
So that was 2016, a great year with a lot of PB’s at 50 years old. The year started well enough in 2017 but a nasty calf year finished the racing year early and this was compounded by a nasty case of plantar Fasciitis in 2018. Coming in 2019 I was over fifty and two years of injuries had taken my speed, the days of PB’s were over for the shorter distances. Post COVID I found a passion for Ultra running thanks to Shaun Kaesler and the Ultra Series WA calendar of events. ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) and to this day this has been my main focus. With 48 marathons and 53 Ultra marathons I’m through the 100 finishes and still as excited about the next one as I was about the first.
That’s the point of this blog I suppose. Every day I get up and I think about my next run with the same excitement as my first, chasing PB’s for marathons and shorter races is a distant memory but racing these events is still my objective. In 2024 I ran two marathons , a 3:04 at Bibra and a 3:14 at Perth, and now the sub3 is the new sub 2:40 finish. The challenge is still there and I’m as excited about breaking three hours (for the 33rd time) as I was chasing the elusive 2:40 finish. This is the point, keep the fire burning and enjoy the journey.
As I’ve said many times the best runner in the world is the one having the most fun and I reckon I’m with a shot..
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
Done and dusted, the nine WA finishers, 24 Park Runs in 24 hours.
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/
Australia Day Ultra, 2nd place finishing in 9hrs 35mins.
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.
My longest and favourite event, Delirious West 200 miler.
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.
The largest BYU field in history.
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)
Marathon number 47. 3:04 at Bibra Lake.
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.
Birdy’s backyard ultra was an ultra too far.
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/
An age group podium, over 55+
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/
Milking the crown in the Perth Marathon.
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.
The Feral Pig 100 miler is just brutal.
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 Sandman was just brilliant.
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/
The tree at the top of the escalator.
So one more race left for this year, the 6 inch trail ultra marathon kicks off December 15th, my 15th time running this race, it’s just such a good time with such a Christmas feel, brilliant. Then I’ll probably do it all again for 2025, why wouldn’t you ? Last years race report here for your amusement.. https://www.runbkrun.com/2023/12/18/6-inch-trail-ultra-marathon-number-14/
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
Two weeks post Feral Pig 100 miler I had another chance to pin a bib on my chest and race another ultra. This time with a tad less elevation, well actually no elevation. The concept for this event is simple but so brilliant. You start at 2am at the old Dunsborough boat ramp ( I assume there ‘s a new one somewhere?) and run 25 kilometres along the beach to Bussleton Jetty (Again I assume there’s only one as this is neither old or new?) , turn around and return to the start. As the event is on sand you are at sea level continually, perfect , zero elevation. The website explains the concept ( https://www.alongrunonthebeach.com.au/ ) and the two maps show the simplicity of the event. The race directions are pure brilliance, ‘First 25km , keep the water on your left. Next 25km, keep the water on your right’ To make a good event better the race director schedules the event around the full moon so for 2024 there has been two events, one in February and this one in November. (Next year I think the event is planned for December 5th?) The full moon is the icing on the cake, it gives the event it’s 11 status on the Spinal Tap rating. (When you know, you know.)
So how had the legs recovered from the Feral pig a few weeks earlier ? I took a whole week off running post Feral as I even found walking tough. My quads seized solid towards the end of Feral , just before the 36km death loop, and they took just about a week to recover enough that I could even thinking about running. As you can see from my Strava extract ( You are on Strava right? https://www.strava.com/ ) for the period once my legs did recover I was able to get a few runs in pre-event. Maybe the double days early in the week was a tad over zealous but as my good mate Dave Kennedy says ‘you don’t taper for an ultra‘, not sure there’s any evidence for Dave’s claim?
The red circles indicate races. Feral Pig 100 miler and then the 50k Sandman.
It was good to see so many WA runners embracing this event and especially good to see Matt and Chris at the start line. Chris had also ran Feral two weeks prior and was originally running in a duo but his running partner broke her wrist at Feral so he stepped up for the full event. Matt is an ultra running machine and he’s finished Delirious many times as well as quick Feral times over the years, he’d also ran this event in February this year so would complete the Sandman twice on one year, a rarity due to the timing of the full moon and the congested racing calendar win WA these days.
Myself , Matty and Chris. The usual suspects.. both multiple Delirious finishers and all-round good guys.
Right the race itself went about as good as you can expect when you’ve destroyed your legs two weeks prior running a 100 miler with brutal elevation. Of course the elevation wouldn’t be a problem this time, there was more chance of drowning then blowing out your quads. The hard sand was just that, hard and sand ! It was great for running and I reckon you could have gotten away with road running shoes easily albeit they would need the ability to drain water quickly as there were a number of water crossings. In the end my Altra Lone Peaks and Injinji socks were fit for purpose.
I started with the lead group and worked my way back through the field as relay runners sped past me. This was the only negative with the event , with the relay runners (in a relay of two runners) starting at the same time so you were never sure who you were actually racing. This came back to bite me at the end when two runners I assumed were relay runners pipped me by seconds at the end , when if I knew they were doing the event solo I may (and that’s a big may?) have been able to catch them, turning a 8th place finish overall to a 6th place finish overall and fourth male. ? I’ll mention this to Andrew, maybe different colour bibs? My goal before entering the event was a sub four hour finish and on fresh legs I reckon I can give that a nudge but on cooked legs it is a no-no ! Looking at my splits I maintained the sub 5min/k average until the first aid station but after that it all went south. Halfway I was thinking sub four hours fifteen minutes could be a good time but that soon went out the window too . I managed to finish stronger in the last five kilometres or so and I never blew out completely so overall a B+ effort. Next year the event is early December so if I run Feral (and that’s a big IF?) I’ll be better rested for Sandman. Am I doing it in 2025, hell yeah, this event is pretty special , running on hard sand under a full moon at two in the morning, I mean come on what a concept. This was the tenth time Andrew, the RD, had put on the event and I’m so surprised it doesn’t get more competitors, it really is just ace !
I’ve added images below of the event , mainly from Bianca Harding as I was too busy racing to really stop and look up. This was a mistake and I regret not stopping at least once to immerse myself in my surrounding rather than concentrating on a silly little light bubble infront of me ! The whole point of this race is to lose yourself in the moment, the full moon over your shoulder running on hard sand at 2am is not a place you find yourself often. Rather than chase the runner infront of you just embrace your surroundings. I would regularly pass small stingrays in the shallows , in both directions, and had to be careful not to step on starfish or crabs, I mean how often do you say that after a run.
The moon lightning up one of many groins along the route which normally means getting your feet wet, which as Andrew, the RD, says is all part of the experience. He’s right you know, it’s just fun to run through water with your shoes and socks on, there’s something childish about it. My Altra Lone Peaks were perfect for this and I would barely notice the water a few hundred metres post ‘paddle’. This gave you the confidence to charge through the water with gusto, further enhancing the feeling of being a small child again while splashing in puddles with your new boots.
The image above is the sun rise just starting to think about showing it’s face to the world. This is so good as one way you have the moon over your shoulder and on the way back it’s the sun, genius. This really is the course that just keeps on giving, also did I mention it’s flat and runnable.
The images never do the real thing justice and I really regret now looking at this image not spending more time just standing on the beach looking at the full moon in awe. In 2025 I will be quicker but also reserve so time to breath it all in.
I’ll say it again, this is the best race you have never heard of. If you run in Western Australia you need to enter this event , did I mention the start and end points, Dunsborough and Busselton, are incredible little tourist towns which would justify a visit even without the event, you also have Margaret River an hour or so drive away. One final recommendation Andrew has a book shop , Text and Co. , here you need to be careful. His collection of books are next level and you can easily spend a serious amount of coin on his wares as I found out , I’m just saying. This really is the event that keeps on giving.
Thanks Andrew, what a bloody ripper of a book.
Finally a massive shout out to Vici Richardson returning from a long injury lay off to take out the female win, and also kick my ass by five minutes, being part of the Yelo running crew it also means she buys coffee on Thursday morning. Beautiful trophy. Well done Vici.
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
Podium position, albeit only a few metres into the race.
I’ve ran the Feral Pig 100 miler three times previously. The first time in 2020 I got back to the start line at around 130km but couldn’t get back out for the final death loop, a 36k loop of probably the hardest trails of the whole event. You can read about the whole sorry affair here https://www.runbkrun.com/2020/11/13/another-lesson-learned-ultras-teach-you-stuff/
In 2023 the event was cancelled due to fires on the track,. a pretty good reason in my view, so my entry was rolled over to this year. This was actually ok with me because I had to pull the pin anyway due to a torn hamstring , I instead offered to volunteer.
For those readers to lazy to read my previous posts here’s a quick run down of the event. You meet up at the Perth Discovery Centre (PDC) in the Perth hills for check-in and then board a bus for a 130 or so kilometre drive to the start of the event, somewhere on the Bibbulmun track ( https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/ ) just off the Albany Highway. The bus leaves the PDC at 9:30pm and gets you to the start just before midnight. You are then given some encouraging words from Shaun Kaesler and off you go, back to the PDC , which you should encounter around the 125k mark, leaving you around 36k for the ‘death loop’. As the name suggest there is nothing fun about the death loop, it’s probably the hardest part of the course and you are forced to leave the safety and comfort of the event village to then go and run around in the dark for a very long time ! You can see why it’s called the death loop ! (or DNF LOOP)
The calm before the storm with Andy.
The Feral Pig miler is a very, very hard race, probably the hardest one I attempt. It’s a combination of the midnight start , elevation and the stinking hot conditions combined with minimum aid stations due to the remoteness of the location. It really is the event that just keeps on giving and not in a nice way but that’s also the attraction. With most other events, well all other events, I look forward to race day, it’s what I do but with Feral it’s a mix of nervous anticipation and fear, more fear truth be told. I suppose the ghost of the DNF in 2020 has never really left me even after two successful finishes.
Right better get into it then, strap yourself in for the Feral 2024 roller coaster.
The bus drive to the start is probably the most dangerous part of the whole day !
I always try and get some shut eye on the bus for a couple of reasons. One I need sleep as the midnight start means by the time you finish you’ll more than likely have had two days plus of no sleep, this can be a problem funnily enough. Secondly the bus driver is normally a wanna-be formula one racing driver who didn’t quite make it but still has delusions of driving large objects very quickly in confined spaces. i.e. large coaches on country roads. This year we were doubly blessed with a coach demister which seemed to have given up the ghost so the driver was staring into a small clear spot on the window while we assumed he was using the force to get us to the start, because he couldn’t be using his eyesight ! Best thing was to close my eyes and if I opened them later it was a bonus.
Initially the conditions were perfect, no wind and humidity levels you could cope with.
It’s normally quite chilly when you are kicked out of the coach, not this year, it was very reasonable, no need for a jacket although I kept mine on just incase. We had arrived to the start late due to roadworks apparently or the fact the coach driver couldn’t actually see out of the front window ? This wouldn’t be a problem as Shaun decided we would cut short the initial out and back loop , this way the half-an-hour delay wouldn’t be reflected in the overall time and volunteers could get home at a reasonable hour without working another half-an-hour due to a coach driver inability to work a coach demister ? I was stoked because it meant the aid stations all got about 2-3 kilometres closer.
The midnight start combined with the long distance to the first aid station, just over forty kilometres, and then another thirty kilometeres to aid station two makes the first night challenging. The first thirty kilometres pre-Mount Cooke is also very runnable and flat so you can burn yourself out very easily, you need to show some restraint. I normally try and get into a ‘train‘ of runners for conversation as it’s quite early in the race and people still have the ability to talk and run at the same time, later in the event this is not possible. On the bus I sat with my mate Andy Thompson who I had ran with the last two times I had finished Feral. He is a ‘bus driving‘ machine and I booked my ticket for the third time, funnily enough I didn’t actually run with Andy until around the 95km mark but then stuck with him , mostly, to the end with Glen Smetherham, Felix Meister and Tristian Cameron and a cameo appearance from Jutta Kober. In these events company is important, that or a good pair of headphones and the complete works of Taylor Swift.
The perfect conditions didn’t last too long, a few hours into the race the heavens opened which for Feral, ran in a late Perth Spring , is unheard off. By this time I had ditched the rain jacket and never stopped to put it back on, there was always a reason why I couldn’t stop and unpack my backpack to fish out my jacket. It wasn’t a problem initially but moving forward wet shorts would come back and bite me , painfully, later in the event. On the bright side , for the first time in four years, there wasn’t a typhoon on the top of Mount Cooke. It’s normally still conditions at the base of this summit and then you’re fighting to stay on your feet at the top, probably one of the main reasons I don’t mountaineer !
The perfect conditions didn’t last, pouring rain in Feral is very, very rare!
As I said earlier the first night racing Feral is brutal. The midnight start and the long distances between aid stations , runnable conditions and one brutal climb all combine to make the start one of the hardest in the Ultra Series calendar of events. I had a drop bag for the first aid station at Sullivan Rocks containing my weetbix breakfast, I hoovered this down and moved on chasing Glen and Felix up Sullivans Rock and beyond. The plan was to also change my top but the inclement conditions didn’t bode well for a singlet so I stuffed it inside my backpack, considering the Feral was postponed last year due to fires this year really was not expected.
Chasing the lads up Sullivans Rock after the first aid station and a good breakfast.
Eventually Tristan caught us and we all arrived at my favourite aid station in this event , Brookton Highway, to feast on a veritable smorgasbord of ultra running goodness provided by Shannon Dale. By the time you reach Shannon and his aid station you are famished and you gorge yourself on bacon, eggs, pancakes, and anything else offered. I managed a bacon and egg muffin and an Acai bowel, of sorts, which was very good. Unfortunately for Glen it was too good and he over did the nutrition, letting his stomach get the better of him. This would come bite to bite him on the next leg of our journey as he suffered the consequences of over eating and then running. Once you get past Brookton Highway the aid stations come thick and fast until the finish, with the biggest jump abut 15k from Allen Road to the PDC. Post Brookton it is was only 12k to Mount Dale Aid station and then another 11k to Beraking Campsite. A big change compared to the initial 41k from the start to Sullivans Rock and then another 30k to Brookton highway. I think that’s another reason you enjoy the food at Brookton Highway because you know you’ve broken the back of the event with the additional aid stations facing you.
The first Feral bus before Andy joined us. Glen , Felix and I enjoying Shannon Dale’s , and family, cooking.
As with all areas with a Mount in their name we had some serious climbing to do as well as some good running terrain. It was about this point I noticed some chaffing going on and this would soon start to become a painful problem. I had ran out of time getting changed at the start and didn’t have time to apply sudocrem to the family jewels. Rather than take the small tub with me in the bus I put it in a drop bag for Beraking , around the 95k mark. Problem was I was now around the 70k mark and things were getting very painful, very quickly. By the time I got to Mount Dale I was really suffering. Luckily Matty Peirce was there with a tube of Lucas Papaw ointment which got me to Beraking aid station and my sudocrem. Unfortunately by this point the damage was done and I was contemplating pulling out, it was bad. I did set off with the usual suspects but had to duck off into the bush and apply another good helping of sudocrem to the affected area. It was enough to keep me in the game but I would regret that small oversite for the rest of the event, and believe me that is a long time suffering. In an ultra one small mistake can have huge consequences.
Saturday morning was cold and overcast , I can’t believe I typed that when describing a Feral image.
The Feral rain in full flight, a thing of natural beauty.
Once I managed to get ontop of the pain in my shorts due to chaffing challenges the Feral train continued to Allen Road aid station. From here I was in very familiar territory, I’d probably ran this part of the course nearly a hundred times over the years. I left the train so I could get to Helena Hut, about four kilomtres away, to use the drop toilet. For some reason every time I have left Allen Road I feel reinvigorated, maybe it’s the quality tukka at the aid station or just I’m now in very familiar territory ? I was finally running at pace and decided to continue to the Perth Discovery Centre another eleven kilometres where I would pick up my pacer for the final 36k death loop. As the sunset I was flying and reeling in 50 mile runners quickly. I made the Discovery Centre, where the event started the previous evening, in around 24 hours, 9pm.
I think this is an Andy sunset image ?
Unfortunately this is where my race got totally derailed. I was running well into the Discovery Centre and my plan was for a quick pitstop to pick up some spare batteries for my second hand torch, change of shoes and straight back into the night for a longer break at the next aid station, Camel Farm, eleven kilometres away. This all relied on my pacer being there for me as I wasn’t keen on the death loop along. My pacer had other ideas it seems and didn’t show up as planned, this threw a curve ball into my plan and I decided I’d wait for the Feral train to catch me up, which they did about thirty minutes later. Add in their time to get ready and I was at the aid station for nearly an hour. In that time my quads seized probably due to insufficient nutrition or hydration , coupled with the brutality of the terrain, either way my race was now over for any sort of reasonable time. Instead I hopped on the back of the train and we hiked most of the next seventeen kilometers to the Kalaunda aid station where we would be reunited with Shannon Dale , his wonderful Wife, Darlene, Peta and glorious cooking. The image below shows the scene as we rested before the final push to the finish, now only seventeen kilometres away. I had the best pumpkin soup I have ever tasted albeit at that stage of the race all food tastes so good, but knowing Shannon it would have been incredible. Glen managed to keep his stomach under control this time, still harbouring memories of Brookton Highway aid station a lifetime ago.
Kalamunda aid station, very, very early Sunday morning.. best Pumpkin soup EVER !
On the way back from the Kalamunda aid station we were passed by Felix who we had left behind at the PDC hours earlier as he needed sleep and had walked int the aid station looking like a zombie, and a tired one at that. After he slept for thirty minutes he was like a new man and caught and passed us like a rocket, it seems sleeping is his EPO or I want a drug test so I can get some. Tristan also left us at Camel Farm aid station on the way back as he wanted a sub thirty hour finish. Andy and I had ran sub thirty hours in 2021 and had no desire to repeat the process this year, Glen just wanted to get back to the finish. So the train was left with just the three of us and we hiked, slow jogged to the finish, together.
Sunrise at the Golden View with Glen and Andy.
Couldn’t resist getting one last photo in the race at Golden View and it certainly lived up to its name with the sun just poking it’s head above the horizon, glorious. Coming into the Golden View my quads were absolutely destroyed, each step down was so painful, I was done, the tank was well and truly empty. The death loop had beaten me again, I had hiked most of it and would hate to think how long it took, it will be a very long time. I wonder what would have happened if I had ran though PDC as I wanted to do instead of waiting an hour ? The only thing that would make me think about doing this event again would be the opportunity to put the death loop to bed and run it similar to my 2021 effort. Also maybe try and get a gold buckle for a sub 26 hour finish, runners love buckles and gold ones are special !
The train back together again at the finish. Job done. Feral finish number three.
So the train got to the finish, lead by Andy for the third year, the boy is a diesel van of the highest order. Lock in a pace and distance and let him do his thing. Myself , Glen and Andy all finished together while Felix and Tristan finished thirty minutes ahead of us. Another good year for the Feral train, with all five of us making the top fifteen.
Before and after photos.The little tube of magic that got me to the finish, eventually.
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!
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’ !
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
