The morning dawned none to warm and none to bright, but still at 7:00am about 150 people left the safe confines of the York Fairmont Resort in a bid to complete a 100km race in under 30 hrs.
The easy bits looked like this. Most people run it, but I think you waste too much energy jumping over debris. With this philosophy I always had energy to catch up to people walking up steep slopes
The course was grueling. Singlefile tracks decorated with rocks, tree roots and scree was a leisurely passtime, scrambling up and down rocky slopes so steep that sometimes even ladders were necessary was a norm, rivers crossings that ripened the feet for blisters littered the path and cliff faces dangerously close to track edges kept all competitors wary.
A ladder was necessary to descend some parts
At the start of the race I had a few goals. If I finished under 20 hrs I got a prize, finishing under 18 hrs recognised a goal of mine since 2004 - this was my main target. I also set myself an ambitious time of 16.5 hrs. This required moving at an average speed of 6 km/hr.
I managed to maintain a steady 7 - 7.5 km/hr pace up till the fifty km mark.
At this point I was tired, sore and lonely as I had just finished 5 km hill climb. Many people were passing me as I was mainly walking to conserve my energy even on the flats.
I ran into Checkpoint 3 1hr 40 mins ahead of schedule where I was able to meet my (shocked) support crew for the first time - my mother - and I left soon after ready to slog out the rest of the race.
This type of scrambling was usual, and also my specialty. Anytime I came across this type of terrain I would pass upwards of fifteen competitors.
By checkpoint 4 (66km) my pace had slowed to just under 7km/hr, but still over an hour ahead of my desired time. After changing into my thermals I decided it was high time to kick into second gear. I caught up to a few runners who I had been keeping pace with and we set off at a run. This 20 km leg was considered the hardest as it finished with a 10 km hill. I reached the hill with no worries, buy this stage chatting with a freindly female runner. I had three motivations to keep up - she was cute, she had trained on this part of the course so she new the way, and she had a working torch (mine had died). However my energy flagged after 6 km and I had to fix my torch and stomp away on my own.
This uphill was about 37km into the course. I walked passed lost of people who had overtaken me earlier whilst they were running.
With little energy I staggered into the last checkpoint, grabbed all the sugar I could stuff into my pockets and quickly left ready to face the last 14 km. I was exceeding expectations as I was 1.5 hrs ahead of schedule. I could walk slowly for the entire leg and still make my 16.5 hr time! I started off by pacing a few steps to work my muscles into gear expecting a two and a half hour slog to the finish. Then I realised how flat and nice the road was. At full steam I was suddenly tearing past particpants who had previously run by me - they were too buggered to run. I attacked all hills, up and down as fast as I could on sore and tired legs. Entering dangerous singlefile tracks didn't slow me much as I leapt over slippery rocks, sqealched through mud and sloshed through small creeks. I only slowed to walk after I tripped for the second time next a cliff, landing painfully in my hip.
I finished the final leg in 2 hrs - completeing the event in 15 hrs and 5 mins. Nearly 4 hrs faster than my previous best and shattering my ambitions goal. I came 37 in a group that contained many runners with world ultramarathon rankings (The guy who came third is in the top 5 world rankings for 50 km , and he isn't considered the best in Australia).
My prize for finishing under 20 hrs. Apparently now I the member of an exclusive club!
Three days on and the worst injuries I have are an incredibly painful stubbed toe - my left foot kept kicking big heavy rocks during the event (this is actually a bad injury as I can't walk properly yet) and the bruise on my hip when I fell in the last leg has me limping still. Any prolonged exercise also flares the tendonitis in my right knee, but that will be healed up soon.
Well thats one ultramarathon done this year, only two more to go...
It is a dream to ride. This bike makes my previous ride (2002 version of the same model) feel archaic. I feel as if Suzuki invaded my mind in order to find all the niggling annoyances with the old bike and fixed. Gear changes are infinitally smoother, the speedo is built into the dash and can't be removed easily, the brakes feel firmer, and it is even aesthetically more pleasing due the much sleeker body kit. Just to add a wee bit of cream to this already delectable ride it comes with an immobiliser, neatly shaving $80 off my premium. In fact the only complaint I had was that it felt slightly less powerful than the 2002 model. However, I have since found out the suzuki R series now has three different engine modes. Flick the mode to either A or B and you have to grip the handle bars for dear life.
