The Cape to Cape 100 miler follows the Cape to Cape track (funnily enough) in Western Australia, from the lighthouse at Augusta to the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste and adds another forty or so kilometres (with a nasty loop) to get the full miler distance. I ran this event last year in a ‘complex storm‘ (a technical term for a big bloody storm!) and it was brilliant as the conditions were so bad, think horizontal rain and powerful winds, it made the whole thing special. Please note the wind was for the most part a tailwind and this certainly helped push you along the beaches, this year all we got was heat so had to work so much harder on softer sand.

Coming off the back of a good Herdys BYU total (30 laps/hours for a equal tenth place) and a second place at the Delirious West 200 miler, I was hoping for a quicker time than last year, anything with a 26 at the start (hours that is) was the goal. I got my wingman dialed in, Andy Thompson, and gave him the finish time leaving the pacing to him as is tradition with 100-mile races.

The start line in Augusta is about a three-to-four-hour drive from Perth and I had Karen, no1 Wife, and Jasmin, my first born, along for the ride. After a very relaxing drive down we arrived in Augusta in time for compulsory gear check and race briefing before the early night where you spend hours tossing and turning and doing anything but sleep. I often wonder if a good sleeping pill would help the situation but have never had the courage to try, yet?

The conditions for this year’s event were absolutely perfect albeit it did get a tad warm later in the day but I’m a big fan of the heat so was more than happy. The trail runs mainly along the coast and the scenery is spectacular, perfect beaches coupled with beautiful single trail, a trail runners paradise. There was even a section through prestige forest which was very runnable. Yep, 2026 really did deliver.

I started with the lead group but quickly realised they were running way to hot so dropped back looking for my wingman Andy. I think Andy must have decided to start really conservatively as even moving back through the field I couldn’t see him? I worked my way back stopping to chew the fat with runners as I did. I ran to the first aid station with Max Batten and Elleisha Parish and tried to convince both of them Delirious West 200 miler was much more fun that these 100 mile ‘races‘, not sure I convinced them?

Elleisha dropped off just before the first aid station, but Max and I stayed together until much later in the race, until Gracetown aid station at around the ninety-three kilomtre mark. I had to let him go then while I waited for confirmation that I could continue after making a wrong turn and dropping three kilometres of the total race total. In the end the Race Director gave me an hour penalty, and I continued on alone into the night.

Coming out of the first aid station, Foul Bay, I bumped into Andy who was probably about twenty minutes behind me. I urged him to speed up but had Max for company, and also navigation, so was happy enough to continue along at the pace set by Max. This was Max’s first miler and he was killing it. He would eventually finish four overall which is pretty special for your first attempt, uncrewed.

As I said earlier the conditions were perfect, weather wise, but the sand was not so accommodating. There had been a nasty storm the previous weekend and I feel the beaches suffered. The sand was certainly softer than last year and add in the heat factor it made the going tough. Sometimes you’d get lucky if a 4WD had driven down the beach and flattened the sand, this was certainly true for the beaches just before the second aid station at Boranup. There was a section of four to five kilometres of runnable sand which made such a difference, without this this section would have been so much harder. Soft sand beach running and heat are not good partners for long distance runners.

Max and I picked up another runner, Will Jackson, heading into the third aid station at Conto’s where we stopped for our first proper food, a chicken pot noodle and a few glasses of coke with oranges and pineapples chunks. This was early afternoon before setting off towards the fourth aid station at Prevelley where I had my one drop bag with some food and a change of clothes.

Coming out of Conto’s I lost Max as I stopped for some photos of a hang glider and although I often caught sight of Max we never joined back up. This was to cost me dearly as I missed a deviation off the Cape-to-Cape track and ended up coming into Prevelley aid station ahead of him, confused?

We both set off from Prevelley towards the next aid station at Gracetown but I was very downhearted knowing I had cut the course short by three kilometres, I was devastated as I was running the best race and was confident I could knock out a good course PB. Chatting to Max I tried to think of ways I could keep competing otherwise I was just ‘running’ 100 miles. I decided to ask the Race Director if I could do an out and back loop somewhere along the course so I could make up the distance. In the end I was given an hour penalty for the three kilomtres I missed, which was fair. This allowed me to continue racing and in the end it made no difference to my overall final position. The only downside was while I was waiting for the decision at Gracetown aid station Max left so I had to continue alone. Max had been setting a good pace and I was devastated to lose his company but also his drive as he chased a podium position.  Leaving Gracetown it was good to be racing again but the legs felt heavy, I needed a partner in crime, and I would find him soon after the next aid station at Moses Rocks.

Leaving Moses Rocks after a great cup of tea, with three sugars, brewed by Jamie ‘Chemie Banger‘ Reeves  I was caught by a 50-mile runner Ben Gardiner. who had come over from Sydney with his Wife and friends. His Wife was running the 100 miler but Ben, who was new to this ultra game, had decided to run the 50.  He caught me knocking back a few tablets from my goody bag of BK’s little helpers. (all legal, in some countries anyway?) Initially he ran over the top of me, but I managed to latch back onto his head torch and found we were running the same pace. We ran together to the Yallingup aid station and then to the turnaround at the furthest aid station, Cape Naturaliste lighthouse. It was great having company in the witching hours, or the DNF hours, between two am and sunrise. As Ben was from Sydney we had a lot to talk about and this made this section of the course disappear quickly albeit we were told it was a ten kilometre hop from Yallingup to Cape Nautraliste when it was thirteen, so the last three kilometres was challenging.  Glen Smetherham, one of the race directors, also try to convince Ben he had to run the three kilometre loop when he didn’t, luckily we asked some fifty kilometre runners coming back to confirm, never trust anything Glenn says.

I was at my lowest at the Cape Naturaliste aid station as I knew I would have to run the loop alone and this would be the last aid station for over twenty two kilometres, the next stop being the finish.  Luckily Jacki Catania was there to wipe my tears and send me on my way. As it was the three kilometre loop was ok and post loop there was a four kilometre downhill section on concrete, and then the sun rise; all of a sudden, I could smell the finish, and all was good with the world. It’s amazing how a race can change in a matter of minutes, one minute you’re tearing up in an aid station, the next you’re trucking along with a massive smile on your face thinking I could run forever!

Because Ben didn’t have to run the three kilometre loop we said our goodbyes at the Cape Naturaliste aid station. Unbeknown to me Ben was about to leave the aid station but decided to charge his head torch, he then got a mild case of hyperthermia and ended up waiting at the aid station for three hours. If I’d had known I would have picked him up on the way back. As it was I’d run the last twenty or so kilometres alone but at least the sun rose and I was heading home.

Mentally after the Cape Naturaliste loop I was in a better headspace and opened up the legs for a few fast kilometres (I say fast in the broadest sense of the word) heading back towards the finish line. As I said earlier there was a few kilometres of downhill concrete and with the sun rise ahead of me I was starting to enjoy myself after a testing night. I bumped into Max coming back from the Cape Naturaliste and it seemed he was in fourth place, meaning I was fifth.  Knowing I had an hour penalty I reckoned I needed at least a five to six  kilometre buffer from the next one hundred mile runner.  The first hundred-mile runner I passed running back, Mark Timoney, was about five kilometres behind me so I was confident I could hold fifth place, even with the hour penalty.  In the end Mark must have put on a push for the finish but I was good for fifth by abut ten minutes.

After Mark passed me, I bumped into the first female runner, my good friend and one-hundred-mile debutant Nancy Shaw. We stopped for a selfie but not for too long as she had the second female right behind her and these two would fight it out to the finish with Nancy eventually grabbing the win, outstanding debut.

The last ten or so kilometres were pretty uneventful really. My legs felt as good as they could after running for over twenty-seven hours and I was able to plod along quite happily enjoying another great day of gorgeous weather. After a nasty climb the final ten kilometres are mainly downhill, on good terrain, and a small beach section before you run over the headland and into the finish chute.  I crossed the line in twenty-seven hours and thirty two minutes, with a distance of 161km, but then had to add an hour so no PB this year.  Very happy with the event, I dug deep when I had to and spent less time in aid stations compared to previous 100-mile events.  Looking back I enjoyed the solitude of some of the nighttime running but also the heat and beaches. There are no real climbs so you do spend more time actually running in this event, which is good and bad of course. I still prefer the two-hundred-mile distance as it’s an adventure and you have crew and it’s just a bigger deal, the one hundred miler still seems to be more about a finishing time and less about the journey, the opposite to a two hundred miler.  Will I go again next year? Probably, I mean what else is there?

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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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