The last post had me at Mount Clare aid station about 130 kilometres into the Delirious West 200 miler. I arrived around 4am and leapt into my swag prepared by my crew ‘Marky‘ Mark Lommers.  This was Mark’s fifth time in a row supporting me at Delirious and together we are a well well-oiled ultra eating machine, well I’m certainly an eating machine anyway?  The plan was for three hours sleep before we take on day two but in the end I awoke after two hours and woke Mark to start preparing breakfast, I was ready to go.

The run into Walpole, off Mount Clare, is one of my favourite sections for a number of reasons. Firstly, I’m always fresh after a sleep at Mount Clare, secondly, it’s the start of the second day and the sun is normally shining with a bright, crisp morning making running seem a breeze compared to the slog of the night before. The terrain is also ‘runner friendly‘ which is not always the case on the Bibbulmun track, remember the track is mainly built for hikers.  As you can see from the image below it is very special and the best bit. it’s only a ten kilometre hop so before you know it you’re sitting in a chair at Walpole eating, perfect.

I always run through Walpole as the next aid station is another short hop of less than ten kilometres to Tingle Tree. Initially very flat before a sharp rise for the last two to three kilometres. Similar to Walpole you seem to arrive very quickly.  I had arranged to meet Karen here with two of my bags which we would transfer to Mark’s car.  I had brought a new pair of Altra shoes for the event and the tongue on the left shoe was causing me no end of pain as it had bruised the top of my foot and continued to do damage. I had helped the pain with some fixamol and plasters to pad the area but this was a short term fix, the long term fix was to change shoes.  The Altra Olympus 275’s have an issue with the tongue it seems as my good friend Andy Thompson had exactly the same problem, bruising on the top of his foot from the ‘tough’ shoe tongue. Unfortunately for Andy he had no spare shoes and ran a four day ultra in them, eventually the area went septic, ouch.  I was very glad to change into an old pair of Olympus 12’s, which sorted the issue instantly.

I ate at Tingle Tree, repaired my foot issues, changed my clothes and I was off towards Tree tops, the halfway point. I was probably about four hours ahead of last years’ time and feeling pretty good.  I always find after a feed it takes a few kilometres to swing back into action but was pleasantly surprised to feel the legs come good early and started to run sections I walked last year.  I remember last year I bumped into James Sawyer on this section of the course and we both retired from running Delirious ever again, it was brutal. This year was a polar opposite, I was running and running well and before I knew it I was sitting down at the Tree Tops aid station eating pancakes swimming in maple syrup.  They were bloody good pancakes and add in a sweet tea, I was in running heaven.

With a full stomach and Carien back in tow, she had caught me at as I wolfed down pancakes at the last aid station, we headed out towards Conspicuous Cliffs chasing the lead female Ella, who I had caught and passed on the way up to the aid station but she didn’t spend as much time eating as me, a rookie error.  Carien and Ella would have a tussle for the lead for most of the event with Carien eventually finishing first when Ella just ran out of gas, mainly due to lack of sleep, the curse of running crewless.  Both ladies ran great races and should be very proud of their podium finishes.  We caught Ella and ran as a threesome for a few kilometres before Carien stepped on and Ella was happy enough to let her go.  After a nature break, I chased Carien down and got to her a few kilometres out of the aid station where my good friend Charles and his family were waiting for me, as well as Mark and a giant steak, with onion and runner beans.

It was great to see Mark and Charles and the steak was up to Mark’s normal high standard. Another change of clothes and I was ready to get onto the beach and head off towards Peaceful Bay, and my second night with Carien as company. At this point Ella was behind us but may have passed us as we spent more time eating.  We were in good spirits leaving Conspicuous Cliffs, mainly due to another full stomach, but the run to Peaceful Bay soon turned ugly with the final three to four kilometres taking a big toll. There was lots of rock hopping, beach running on really soft sand, more rock hopping and trails which seem to be heading in the wrong direction. Add in fatigue and Carien and I were truly spent when we eventually stumbled into Peacefull bay. I don’t seem to remember this leg being quite as bad as this, mainly due to the sand which seemed to be extra soft this year?

I was ready for a good sleep, and this time would take all my three allocated hours. Carien also planned three hours but with Ella coming into the aid station the same time as us she would leave ninety minutes or so before me. We also bumped into Tim Pullin at Peaceful Bay as he had pulled out due to health issues while leading the event. This meant I was now running second male behind Chris Atkinson, albeit Chirs had three to four hours on me.  There were a few other runners also sleeping as I left, with Ella, and I started to think about putting in some quick kilometres to distance myself from third place.

Peaceful Bay to Boat Harbour is a hard eighteen kilometres and I was now running alone in the witching hours, between three and five in the morning. I had a few 100 milers ahead of me and I gradually ran them down, one by one, which kept me honest.  The highlight of this leg is the water crossing which meant a jet ski ride, yep, you read that right, a jet ski ride in the middle of a 200 miler, how good is that?  Luckily, I got there at the right time as there was no queue and the crossing was deep enough for the jet ski, earlier there had been a few groundings apparently.  In previous years we had crossed the river mouth by foot, and this has resulted in a few very deep-water crossings, making it unsafe for the ‘smaller‘ runners amongst us.

Last year Asrid got an incredible photo of me on the back of the jet ski but this year, unbeknown to me, she was sleeping in her swag and missed me. I did get a photo of the jet ski in her absence but it’s not the same.  I say again how good is crossing a river mouth in the middle of the night in the middle of a 200-miler  foot race, just brilliant.  Unfortunately, it looks like next year we will be back to crossing by foot and this is the last year of the jet ski crossings. A big thank you to the jet ski crew who spend many hours ferrying runners from one side of the riverbank to the other, it is such a highlight.

I caught up with three 100 milers coming into Boat Harbour and I entered the aid station in the dark and left in the light of a day three sunrise and renewed enthusiasm, it was now just a short hop to Parry’s beach.  This section had been hard, but I was able to keep myself busy chasing head torches throughout the night and the next day into Parrys’. I made sure no one passed me as I made my way up the 100-mile leaderboard and kept third position, in the 200 miler, well behind me. I would have passed three or more 100-mile runners and exploded into Parry’s beach aid station ahead of my crew who got stuck in road works apparently.

Right that’s it for day two recap… time for a cup of tea and then we’ll start on the final push to the finish line.

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Big shout out to fisiocrem , this product is just incredible for tired and aching legs. I use it daily and have noticed a vast improvement in recovery.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )  The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products)  can be difficult to digest later in the event.  From the website :-

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority. 

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance. 

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born. 

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work! 

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

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

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

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

T8 running apparel is the best you can get, second to none. Designed for the ultra humid Hong Kong conditions the owners live in.  It is light and does away with any chaffing worries. T8 is the name given to the highest typhoon warning in Honk Kong,  storms and typhoons with gusts exceeding 180kph, which explains the branding. ( https://t8.run/)

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