Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra 2024
Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra 2024, another beast of an event coming probably a tad too soon after the Delirious West 200 miler a few weeks prior. ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) This was to be my fourth Herdy’s finishing assist to the great Phil Gore in 2021 with 47 yards (laps/hours) and then a 34 yard effort in 2022 and 28 yards in 2023. This was my tenth backyard ultra and I had harboured thoughts of a possible retirement from this format of racing. For readers who don’t know what a backyard ultra is check out this website https://backyardultra.com
The issue I have with the format is it allows you to push yourself way beyond what you would normally consider achievable. This is a double edged sword as the mental torture running these events is real and you tend to break yourself physically and mentally. Basically they take too much out of me and because its a race against the clock, on the hour, every hour, you never get time to rest, the clock is always ticking. Running 6.7km in an hour is easy, until it’s not and then how far do you push your mind and body. This format gives you the opportunity to test your limits.
Grabbing a decent spot these days is getting more and more difficult. I was one of many who turned up before the 8am time constraint to grab a spot. With nearly 400 runners space was a premium. It remined me of a old Western style gold rush with gazebos substituted for wagons and horses, it was one for young and old ! Luckily I managed to secure my preferred 3m * 3m spot of real estate, close to the start line. With these types of events where you are back at the start line on the hour, every hour, you need to be comfortable in your ‘downtime’. A BCF Wander reclining chair , gazebo and a table are the bare minimum. You then need to add change of clothes, massage gun, fisocrem, food (and lots of it), toiletries i.e. drugs, tape, sudocream, etc., basically a cut down Chemist Warehouse. Again this is the bare minimum. This year I spied a few weber barbeques, enough fairy lights to be visible from space and heaters and fans of all shapes and sizes. Every year people get more and more ingenious , I’m sure I’ll see a blow up pool one day.
My good friend Simon Bennet joined me in the the gazebo and we were both gunning for 48 hours, albeit this was quickly amended to 24 hours after a brutal early evening and night of heat and humidity that zapped all the energy from out already tired legs post Delirious. Funnily enough the last two years at Hardy’s have been humid and both times I’ve suffered on tired legs, luckily I have a very short memory albeit it comes back to me pretty quickly after a few hours running around the a lake. I’ll probably type the same thing for Herdy’s 2025 (Yep, after retiring on Saturday I entered on Thursday as soon as entries opened up for 2025!)
There was a capped field of 400 , which broke the world record field last year, and in the end I think there was 367 starters. Incredible to be a part of a world record field, the New York Marathon of back yard ultras. Shaun Kaesler and his team of Ultra Series WA ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) make incredible things happen. The village was a hive of activity and you could feel the excitement in the air before the start. If you’re reading this in WA you need to be a part of this event in 2025, either as a competitor , volunteer or spectator, just get involved.
The event starts at 4pm Friday afternoon so before you know it you are treated to a spectacular sunset, and if you get to the right point at the right time great photos. The trail section at the end of the loop is always amazing at sunset, it just comes alive bathed in the last remnants of the suns rays before giving way to night. Even at night it has that ‘sleepy hollow‘ feel about it and I can’t help thinking of Icabod Crane every time I run it.
So the event itself started well enough, I had friends from work at the first bridge, about 800m from the start, so would sprint off and reach it ahead of the field, do a bit of ‘show pony; shenanigans’ and then wait for the field to catch me up before jogging in with the lead runners. I was quite relieved when they got bored of waiting for me and decided the barbeque was a better place to be at the sun disappeared. Although the first few laps were without incident I wasn’t eating and when my Wife brought down a pasta dish I couldn’t face it, albeit it was pretty dry. I had a few mouthfuls and then decided I could survive on the electrolytes, rookie error. As the night went on the heat and humidity didn’t disappear and it was an uncomfortable night for all runners.
I started to return to the pack and I soon found myself surrounded by head torches and finishing mid pack at best. Walking breaks became a thing and my recovery time suffered accordingly. This is what Lazarus Lake , the architect of these events, meant when he said ‘ a backyard ultra is easy, until it isn’t’. The clock is always ticking unlike most Ultras when if you feel you need a break you just take one, time is not your enemy. In a BYU the distance is very do-able but you get worn down over time and your recovery time decreases, minute by minute until eventually you have none.
Looking at Strava ( you have Strava right ? http://www.strava.com ) I could see resting time disappearing before it faded completely as I started to finish and then walk straight to the starting coral, with my crew changing my water, feeding me and adding ice to neckerchief and arm sleeves as I walked through. No time for any ‘chair rest’, it was continual movement. This is the first time I had done this, normally I’m going ok and then I quit, even when I lapping in the high forties or low fifty minutes. This strategy of not spending any time in the reclining chair was used to good effect by Harvey Lewis when he took out the Bigs World BYU Championships in October last year. He’d come in around the late fifty minute mark and then sit on a log near the starting corral while his crew changed his nutrition and hydration and then off he’d go again. Other runners would come in earlier but eventually be worn down by the effort this would take deep into the competition, and I’m talking three or four days. Harvey had a sweet spot of getting in with just enough time but not expending too much effort on the course. By doing this he outlasted everybody.
Herdy’s starts a 4pm so you have two sunset twilight laps before you are cocooned in the little circle of light given off by your headtorch, albeit with nearly 400 headtorches on course for the first few night loops it was a pretty special spectacle. At this time you put on your audible book, music or podcasts to keep your mind active as you swan around the lake. Early evening is normally a relaxing time as you have a good period in your chair and you’re still excited about what lies ahead. This time though something was different, without any nutrition I was struggling and every lap was starting to take longer and longer. I always find the first 15 hours of a BYU testing at the best of times, this year I was in trouble early.
My lowest ever return from a BYU was 24 hours, my first one at Birdy’s back in 2020. I had promised my Wife I’d be back in Perth by a certain time so pulled the plug when I was feeling great. My last lap was in the high thirty minutes, what could have been. ? The following year I ran my furthest , 47 laps at Herdy’s 2021. Early in the game I knew I was never getting anywhere near 47 laps but was determined not to finish with less than 24 hours, 100 miles. I just need to get to the sunrise and then I was certain I’d be good for a 24 hour finish.
When the sun eventually poked up from over the horizon I was in deep strive, no nutrition for many hours I was banking on some weetbix and a sweet tea to save my race. This was dutifully delivered by Karen just before 8am. I wolfed down the weetbix and drank the tea and I was back in the game. I repeated the feat the next lap and things started to look up albeit I was still lapping slower than I liked. As the day warmed up I resorted to icy poles and would take four or five onboard as I staggered from the finish to the start line. My times were now in the middle fifty minutes, no time for any sitting down. This went on from lap seventeen to twenty when I came close to pulling the pin.
On lap 21 I was ready to quit. I walked virtually half the course to the drunk fountain and was ready to walk it in. I was dead last and gathered up my mate Graeme who was on the phone arranging to be picked up. As we contemplated the best way to DNF Aaron Young came running past and said we still had thirty minutes, we could still make it. That was all the encouragement I needed, it was on. I set off in hot pursuit of the two runners ahead of me and Graeme joined me. We both made lap twenty one but my time was now limited, I’m talking one or two minutes between laps, enough time to sit down in the start corral and ask my why I was doing this ?
I survived lap twenty two and set off on lap twenty three unsure of whether I’d make it or not. I was now walking to the first bridge, in stark contrast to the first laps when I was sprinting to get there first. Now I was last by a country mile and there was no running, this was one of my two walk breaks. I would walk to the fist bridge and then walk again to eh drink fountain. After a rest at the fountain I would try and stagger home. By doing this I survived probably five or six hours longer than I thought I could. This was an invaluable lesson and one I will take onboard at my next BYU.
At the end of lap twenty three I was done. Horizontal in the start corral now, no more sitting. I lay there waiting for the one minute warning. I knew this would tough but I had to complete lap twenty four, come hell or high water. For this lap I ran, I use the word ran in the broadest sense of the word, to the frst bridge so I could at least see my fellow runners. I used this as inspiration to keep moving forward and came in, lap twenty four, dead last but made it in fifty eight minutes. That was it, mission accomplished.
Karen handed me and coffee and I collapsed to the floor. My equal worst result in terms on distance (laps) but I had learned some valuable lessons. My nutrition and hydration needs to improve and you can run for many more laps if you avoid the chair and time your walk breaks according to the weather and also your general overall condition. These two lessons alone make Herdy;s 2024 a success, as well as an eleventh equal finish from the 376 starters which wasn’t a bad result either.
So Herdy’s 2024 was a B+ for effort. Had to work hard to get through the first night with very little nutrition and managed to at least keep my 24 hour minimum finish time for BYU number 10. Retirement was very short lived and I can’t wait for my next BYU in a few months time… until then I have the Lighthorse 24 hour ultra ( https://lighthorseultra.com.au/ ) in five weeks. No rest for the wicked, why would 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.
Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ ) The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products) can be difficult to digest later in the event. From the website :-
As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority.
In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance.
In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born.
BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work!
BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!
What can I say about HumanTecar, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !
Fractel ( https://fractel.com.au/ ) have your performance headgear covered. I love the colours and the functionality of these hats, I guarantee there is one model you’ll fall in love with.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in. It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong, storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)
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About The Author
bigkevmatthews@gmail.com
A running tragic.