Broke Road -> Mandalay Beach 21.8km (accumulated 111.3km)

Broke Road to Mandalay is a long section after you’ve been running all day and are still getting use to long days, if that is even possible. You normally run this in the dark and it can take three hours or longer as the terrain can be testing , especially towards Mandalay beach. Add in some serious gradients, serious steps into the aid station, the late arrival and you are more than ready to get your head down for some rest. The last two years I have got to Mandalay I have stopped for a good three to four hour sleep. This allows me to attack the next section, another tough one, to Mount Clare in the light and on fresh legs.

The plan this year was to run through Mandalay and get some shut eye at Mount Clare before a morning shower at Walpole, just 10km later. I had ran most of the day with Julie Gibson and we continued into the night together after a slight detour running out of Mandalay. The race leader had activated his SOS beacon and we all assumed it was for a snake bite. Turns out he had wondered off the course as GAIA was showing a different route. Julie and I assumed the same thing and before we knew it we were hundred of metres into thick gorse, not ideal. At one point I fell down a hole and found myself completely covered by gorse, unable to move. Not ideal but I managed to scramble out, just. We managed to extract ourselves and find the track after first making sure the rescue team could get to the race leader.

Mandaly Beach -> Mount Clare 20.6km ( accumulated 131.9)

This next twenty kilometres was brutal and that’s being kind , running it on fresh legs on the morning of the second day is the way to go but I was after a quicker time this year so sacrifices had to be made, this was a big one ! There are some serious climbs , the sort of climbs when you run a sixteen minute kilometre and you’ve worked so hard, to a road runner this is so alien. I was hoping to get to Mount Clare by two in the morning and even harboured thoughts of running through to Walpole before a sleep. This was never going to happen and we made Mount Clare around four in the morning, just in time for a ninety minute break to start again just after first light. That swag never felt so good and I was relieved to get around an hour’s shut eye.

Mount Clare -> Walpole 10.9km ( accumulated 142.8)

Decided to grab a cup of tea at Mount Clare , change of clothes and then a quick 1okm leg to Walpole where Id’ have brekkie and a shower. Coming from Mount Clare to Walpole is mainly downhill and as it was after a nap and early morning I felt great. Julie ran into Warpole with me and we certainly enjoyed this leg more than the previous slog from Mandalay. Note to self next year I think I’ll sleep at Mandalay so I’m better prepared for the brutal leg to Mount Clare, running this 20km after a full day of racing was a challenge. On this leg I rang the lads at Yelo , Thursday 7am, as is tradition. It was good to see them and I was buoyed by the facetime meeting. Walpole came along quickly and the shower was awesome, so refreshing. Next,  five weetbix another cup of tea and I was ready for the next leg to Tingle Tree and then the halfway stage at Treetops. Julie had decided against a shower and left before me so I was alone to start the Tingle Tree leg.

Walpole -> Tingle Tree 9.8km ( accumulated 152.6)

I enjoy this section, the first part is flat and then you rise to the Giant tingle tree. It’s less than 10km so is over pretty quick. Some great scenery looking back to the ocean and the image below is a traditional shot I take ever year, normally with Adam. The photo never does the view justice but trust me it’s special. Overcast conditions continued the humid environment but a lot better than the day before. It was great to get to Tingle Tree and get some serious potatoes from Frank and Jill Kaesler, Shaun’s parents. The salt on these bad boys made such a difference and I set off for Tree Tops in great spirits.

Tingle Tree -> Tree Tops 22.4km ( accumulated 175)

This is another hard section, funnily enough I seem to have typed this a lot on this post ? Another long leg with some elevation to cope with. I had finished the last leg with Oliver Maass and bumped into Kate and Julie at Tingle Tree , all left before me. This section was hard as my legs deserted me and there was a lot of walk breaks, more than the previous two years from memory ? I was surprised though when I bumped into all three of them at Tree Tops, I envisaged dropping off the pace but it seems we were all suffering. At Tree Tops I was offered some great pancakes as well as a Brownes Mocha, I was in heaven. Mark allowed me ten minutes in the Wanderer chair , towel on head, I may have even nodded off for a few minutes. As part of the course you are allowed to walk the Tree Tops walk , which is pretty cool, I was even allowed to take my crew, in this case Warwick turned up. This certainly surprised other customers taking in the magnificent views from the skywalk.

Tree Tops -> Conspicuous Cliffs 15.8km ( accumulated 190.8)

I was feeling better after Tree Tops and passed Julie and Oliver sitting on the side of the track complaining it was too hot. I love the heat and had spent the last two months running in the midday sun through a Perth summer, I was not for slowing as this next video shows.

Thinking about it I was probably second at the time as I didn’t realise Kate had paused her challenge at Tree tops, and would eventually DNF at Peaceful Bay. I always look forward to the section to Conspicuous cliffs, as you’re coming down from Tree Tops , and after to Peaceful Bay as the beach sections are stunning. Unfortunately this year I knew I’d be faced with some beach running in the dark, and that isn’t as much fun. Add in some rock hopping and it becomes even more challenging. I’d also left my best head torch with Mark and only had my two ‘normal’ torches, I say normal as in not 2000 lumen like my Silva. Being Swedish you know that Silva is going to be good, c’mon any country that gave us Abba, Saab and Volvo knows what its doing.

Conspicuous Cliffs -> Peaceful Bay 15.2km ( accumulated 206km)

Dropping onto the beach at Conspicuous cliffs I was confronted with a solo kangaroo happily munching away , how Aussi is that ? Got a selfie with said kangaroo before climbing off the beach and back onto the trail. This section is so, so good. Lots of little coves with no one about, solitude and serenity at their best.  The sun was out, I had over 200km behind me and I was feeling great. Life was good.  These are the moments you realise why you run Delirious, when everything clicks into place, stunning.

Unfortunately I knew I was racing the sunset to Peaceful Bay and it was a race I was set to lose. As I mentioned earlier I had two headtorches but they were ‘normal’ and after being used to Swedish equipment I was disappointed. This was also the time I would have liked a decent light as I had rocks and coves to transverse with limited signage. On a number of occasions I was winging it keeping the ocean to my right and moving forward, I knew I’d hit Peaceful Bay eventually. I was reminded of a story Jon Pendse told me of rock climbing with the ocean waves lapping at his heels, I could see a similar scenario in my near future.

Alex Pattinson guiled me into Peaceful Bay and before I knew it was was salivating over a freshly cooked steak professionally prepared by Mark, seasoned with onions, made with love. Mark had made a special trip to the local butcher and the trip was so worth it. Please note they were not both for me, he treated himself to one as well albeit he also saved me one for lunch the next day. It’s tradition that evening meal day two is always steak. Last year it was at Tree Tops but we were making better time this year, thirty or so kilometres further into the race.

While Mark cooked the steaks I took the opportunity to grab another quick shower and change of clothes for the next stage. I knew this would be my last shower before the finish and again felt great afterwards. I only had John Yoon ahead of me but wasn’t worried about position, more about my next sleep which we planned for Parry’s , thirty kilometres away. The plan was to get to Parry’s around two in the morning, have two hours, brekkie and get our just before sunrise. In between Peaceful Bay and Parrys Beach is an uncrewed aid station, Boat Harbour. I wasn’t keen on running alone in the dark , alone with my thoughts, but couldn’t persuade Oliver or Julie to come out with me. Oliver needed sleep and Julie was wanted a shower.

Peaceful Bay -> Boat Harbour 18km ( accumulated 224km) 

I had spied Sarah Dyer as I arrived but she seemed to have disappeared. I was discussing my next move with Mark and mentioned it would have been good to have Sarah pace me when we heard her voice coming from the SUV behind us. She had just finished pacing duties and was preparing to get some sleep when she heard her name. Great news for me, I had an enthusiast pacer, my first.

Our first challenge of this section was a jet ski ride over the river inlet, how cool is that? Sarah went first, I am a gentleman and I followed closely behind. First time on a jet ski since Karen and I hired some in Barbados over 25 years ago ! They are seriously good fun albeit I was on the ski for approximately two minutes. It was surreal, how many trail races involved jet ski’s, very few I would presume ! After the jet ski Sarah and I moved along the beach with headtorches bearing down on us, the 100 milers were in hot pursuit and we knew Phil Gore would be cruising past sooner rather than later.

The next part of the story is a tad wild. Walking along the beach I spied a small rectangler package on the beach, by the high water mark. It had obviously been washed up and to me it was obviously drugs, a kilo I estimated.  Unbeknown to us drugs smugglers had sunk their boat a few days ago with over 400 kilo of cocaine onboard. It seemed one of those kilo’s had found its way to our beach as we motored along. We had two options, leave it, (never going to happen) or carry it to the next aid station, open it and then decide what to do. It was always going to be the latter albeit I made Sarah carry it as I had poles to worry about.  So ten kilometes later at Boat Harbour we opened the package to confirm my instinct (from years of watching CSI ?), it was a kilo of cocaine.

Street value around $350k AUD apparently, at that moment in time , to me, worth a chicken risotto, which is what I swapped it for. The aid station crew phoned the police while Sarah and I continued onto the next aid station, Parry Beach, giggling to ourselves about our find and the stories we would be telling for many years to come ! As I have said many times Delirious is the race that keeps on giving !

Boat Harbour -> Parry’s beach. 10.6km  (accumulated 234.6km) 

Truth be told I can’t remember much about this section. I know it took longer than we would have wanted but all we were thinking about, or talking about, was our find on the previous section. I mean it’s not everyday you find a kilo of coke on the beach. There was lots of laughter that’s all I can remember and we got into Parry’s around four am, a lot later than planned. I was so tired at this point and poured myself into my swag and a deep sleep. I told Mark two hours minimum to prepare for the final push as I knew there would be no more sleeping after this. Unfortunately no one told Rob Donkersloot this and I heard the zip on my swag open just before six am.  I was not happy but Rob cajoled me out of my swag  and off I went, back on the beach alone. Sarah would be saved for later in the day and the following evening, the final push to the finish.

Right that’s enough for Part 2.. I need a rest from all this typing.. maybe go for a run ?

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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. 

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What can I say about HumanTecar,  ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

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

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

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