Next Friday I take on Herdy’s Frontyard Utra for the sixth time. ( https://www.herdysfrontyard.com.au/ ) . I ran an assist to the great Phile Gore (current World Champion and record holder) and at the time set an Australian record of 48 laps (I was the assist and ran 47 laps) Since then I’ve ran 33, 28, 24 and 19 laps.  I’d like to at least reverse this descending total, and I’ve put in a good six-week block of constant training to give myself half a chance.

I’ve written posts on each backyard ultra I’ve ran, twelve as of writing this post, so feel free to search on the term backyard ultra in the search bar to read a couple. The one below has links to a YouTube video on the 2021 event where Phil and I set an Australian record. Certainly worth a visit.

https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/10/27/backyard-ultra-satellite-championship-the-hardest-race-youve-never-heard-of/

Below is a post I wrote on Birdys Backyard Ultra in 2024 where I staggered to lap 22, the tu-tu lap. It explains the backyard ultra concept in more details. ( https://www.birdysbackyardultra.com.au/ )

So, what are my plans for Herdys in a weeks’ time. Truth be told going into a BYU is really the only time when you shouldn’t set yourself any goals because when you hit them the urge to continue disappears. To run long in a BYU you just need to keep going one lap at a time until you either time out or the urge to get up out of your comfortable chair isn’t there. Most people don’t time out, I’d say about 90% just stop and then regret it ten minutes later after the field has left and they’re sitting there in their chair. This is what keeps runners coming back for more because they always think they could have gone further, and they probably could have.  It’s similar to a marathon when you think I can go quicker but in a BYU it’s just a deeper regret post event that draws you back.

The format is another positive as everybody starts together on the hour, every hour.  So much more sociable than traditional races where you see everybody at the start and then that’s it until the coffee van post event.  In a BYU you could stand next to the World Champion every hour and have a chat, it’s that type of event. Everybody is pulling together, similar to an Ultra, it’s a ‘we’re all in this together’ feeling, unique in running.

Of course there is a downside to a backyard ultra. The nature of the event means it goes on for a long time, day rather than hours and it has the ability to make you push yourself further than you thought possible. This could be a positive as well as a negative I suppose.?

Birdy’s backyard Ultra would be my fourth time running this iconic BYU and my eleventh BYU event. A description of a BYU below for those who haven’t come across this format before , or alternatively read my last post which has the links to my previous ten events.  https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/07/24/backyard-ultra-number-11-why-wouldnt-you/

What is a Backyard Ultra?

A backyard ultra is a type of ultramarathon where runners must complete a 4.167-mile (6.7 km) loop every hour, on the hour, until only one runner remains.

This seemingly arbitrary distance is derived from the need to complete 100 miles in 24 hours. The race continues until only one runner is left who can complete a loop within the allotted time. This format, popularized by Lazarus Lake (also known as Gary Cantrell) of the Barkley Marathons fame, has a deceptively simple structure but requires immense physical and mental resilience.

The details of the race:

• Hourly Start: Every hour, runners start a new loop. If a runner fails to complete the loop within the hour, they are out of the race.
• Rest Periods: Any time remaining after a runner finishes a loop is their rest period. For example, if a runner completes a loop in 50 minutes, they have 10 minutes to rest, eat, or tend to any needs before starting again.
• No End in Sight: The race continues indefinitely until only one runner completes a loop within the hour. The last runner standing must complete one more loop than the second-to-last runner to be declared the winner.

The Appeal: Backyard ultras attract a wide range of participants, from seasoned ultramarathoners to those looking for a new kind of challenge. The format levels the playing field, as it’s not necessarily about who can run the fastest, but who can manage their time, energy, and strategy the best.

I had entered Birdy’s after running a disappointing total at Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra in March this year. (Herdy’s is called a Frontyard Ultra as it is the sister event of the Birdy’s backyard Ultra, it’s actually a BYU but Shaun Kaesler, the Race Director,  likes the unique naming convention for the country and the city BYU’s ?) Herdy’s was hot and humid and I overdosed on electrolytes effectively killing my appetite and in a BYU you need to keep on top of hydration and nutrition, as in any ultra. I managed 24 hours but it was a struggle early on and,  as is the norm with these events , I retired from the format immediately.  As brutal as a BYU is it is also addictive in its ability to push you to places normal racing events can’t. As the race with no finish it really is up to you when you decide to stop (unless you win of course?) . No other format gives you this ability as the finish is either determined by distance or time before hand. This is what makes a BYU so alluring but then also so brutal because, post event, every single runner, bar the winner, I guarantee sits down and  thinks to themselves I could have gone further. This is why it is so addictive, you are competing with yourself and after every event you know you can improve. With experience you tweak things and go further but you will always think there’s more in the tank, just one more lap.

Birdy’s backyard Ultra is held on a campsite beside Lake Towerrining and the Ultra Series WA ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) takes over the site for the weekend. This is a major appeal of the event, it is a weekend away with like minded people all doing what they love and all encouraging others to do the same, one lap at a time. Birdy’s is unique.

Mentally I wasn’t 100% for this one. I had run the Bibra Lake Marathon four weeks prior and the legs hadn’t recovered. Post marathon I ran a two week recovery straight into a two week taper, not ideal. Basically a month of very little running coming into an event involving lots of running. As my good friend Dave Kennedy says ‘You don’t need to taper for an Ultra’. Not sure if there is any science to Dave’s quote but I believe the more distance you have in your training the better prepared, for an ultra anyway. Different story for a marathon or a faster event but for an ultra you can get away with competing on tired legs and doing well. I put this down to an ultra relying on mental preparation as well as good hydration and nutrition; less so pure cardio fitness.

For the first five or so laps I ran quick to the three kilometre mark and then walked a kilometre , over the grass meadow section, before running the last kilometres to the finish, bar any large inclines of course, it is an ultra. Looking at my splits on Strava (You are on Strava right ? http://www.strava.com ) I managed to hold this up to around the 100km mark. I was lapping between forty and forty five minutes , giving me good time in my chair to relax before the next lap.

Post 100km my splits tell a different story as my time in the chair became more and more limited before it was hard to see on my splits where my ‘chair time’ was.  I was lapping in the late fifty minutes now and coming in with no time to rest, just enough time to grab a snack or hydration.  This is the BYU death spiral and it is hard to get out of, fatigue just eventually grinds you down until you can’t make the hour and you time out. Gotta’ love a BYU.

One of the major draws of Birdy’s is the course itself. The Lake is stunning at sunrise and sunset and also pretty good during the rest of the day as well. Highlight though is the bridge installed for the event. You’re never sure if it is going to survive and in past years it has had some critical maintenance during the event. This year there was no issue albeit the water did seem to rise in the evening, or maybe that was my mind playing tricks on me ? In the evening it was good to take a few moments on the bridge and just appreciate your surroundings, the serenity setting was high.

The course can be divided into three sections and I do this with every BYU I enter.  At Birdy’s the first three kilometres to the bridge is good for running and banking time. The next two kilometres or so from the bridge to the ‘swamp area’ is green paddocks and the hardest section so I would normally walk large chunks of this. From swamp area, past the beach,  to the finish is again good for running.  Once I got to the swamp I was starting to think about what I needed to achieve back at camp, I would know by then what was required to get me onto the next lap.  If you take nothing from this post but this paragraph it’s worth the read. Don’t think of a lap as one start and one finish, break it down into smaller manageable and achievable smaller sections.  This is the way to run any race truth be told, this way you are achieving goals quicker and then onto the next one rather than waiting for the finish.

Running a BYU is as much mental as physical and as I mentioned earlier I was not where I needed to be mentally for this event. My lowest ever BYU result was 24 hours , my first ever BYU and my last (10th), but I was struggling after seven or eight laps and started to set increasingly lower goals. It started at 24 laps, then 22 laps (tutu lap) , 120km for AURA points, then 15 laps for 100km and even ten laps for double figures. I started to work my way though the list hoping to reach 24 as minimum.

Birdy’s starts at 10am so you have seven laps before it gets dark. You then have ten or eleven hours running in the dark and at Birdy’s its very dark bar the event village, which is very loud and light. For the first few hours there is a procession of headtorches but as the night wears on this number gradually falls each lap as runners DNF.  At each major milestone a number of runners leave the event for the warmth of their van or a hot shower. These milestones would be an ultra (lap 7), double figures (lap 10), 50 miles (12 laps) ,  100km, (lap 15) , tutu lap (lap 22) and then 100 miles (24 laps).

 

There was nearly 200 starters at 10am Friday morning but by sunrise Saturday  we were down to around thirty runners. A mixture of fatigue and freezing weather conditions made surviving the night challenging. Things got even harder with a morning mist that gave us virtually zero visibility. At one point I was totally lost as the head torch reflected off the mist and blinded me. I had ran the course nineteen times before but was very close to going  completely in the wrong direction. Funnily enough I could see a headtorch in the distance, way of course, and the runner called my name. I grunted back and carried on ‘swimming in a pea soup’. The runner eventually caught me up but if I’d been a few minutes earlier or later there’s no knowing where he would have ended up, certainly out of the race as I was lapping last at that point.

Once the mist cleared it turned into another sharp, crisp, beautiful morning.  The photos , as always don’t do it justice but  it was just so quiet and peaceful bar the odd frog calling for their mates. I was now heading towards the 22 lap target, the tutu lap. I was cutting it very close now , lapping around 55-58 minutes, straight from the finish line to the start line. I’d learnt from Herdy’s earlier in the year you can rack up quite a few laps doing this and sometimes its better to keep moving.  I know Harvey Lewis, the current World Champion with a 108 laps to his name, laps in the middle fifties and spends little time sitting in his chair.  It’s all about not expending too many energy, keeping in the low gears and just continually moving through the laps.

I was lapping last now and bar a miracle was never going to recover from my running fatigue and mental hole I had been digging myself the last few hours. I made it in on lap 21 by a minute and was handed a tutu and pushed back out again. Making the tutu lap was my second last goal but it was to be my last one. Luckily Astrid was there to get the photo which summed up the event really, hands on knees totally beaten. I had been feeling that way for many hours and the urge to continue to lap 24 was gone.  Could I have gone on and made 24 laps ? 100% yes, did I want to, 100% no. That’s a BYU.

One thing that is guaranteed after a BYU is you double guess yourself on why you finished and convince yourself you can go further next time. That’s the addictive nature of the event. It’s similar to chasing a time in shorter events. During the event I retired so many times and even until the following day I convinced myself I would never run another BYU, eleven was enough,  but then you start to remember the good things about the race itself and block out all the negatives.  Similar to never asking a Woman straight after child birth if she wants another child, you need time to digest what has just happened albeit for a BYU 24 hours is probably enough (not sure that is long enough for post child birth?)  Also I have already entered Herdy’s 2025 so it’d be a shame to give the entry away and it would be closure if I could finally find lap 48 at the event where really it all started with a 47 assist to Phil Gore.

I think the tutu lap was a tradition started by Phil Gore and is now taking off around the world in BYU’s. It was certainly ‘a thing‘ at the World Championships last year and would have been adopted since then. I wonder when we’ll see a 122 tutu lap ? Next year, the following year ? Soon I think.

The race for top honours came down to three runners by lap 36. Charles , Chris and a Japanese import with a very good racing pedigree, Kyohei Yoshizawa. Unfortunately Kyohei  could not complete lap 36 and was taken to hospital, which is a pretty good excuse not to go on. He is fine now. Chris had been nursing a foot injury the whole event and had let Charles know. Charles had to stop at lap 38 due to religious reasons (no exercising on a Sunday) and did the right thing by allowing Chris to take the win a lap or two early to save any further discomfort.  So on lap 37 Chris ran alone for the win and a silver ticket , which is entry into the Australian team for the satellite Championship’s to be held in October in Perth, actually at the Herdy’s loop.

I love the image above of me and one of the race directors, Felix, after he presented me with my DNF spoon and the Birdy’s five year anniversary medallion, that look on my face is pure joy at finishing the event. These are the moments you run these events for, the roar emotions, BYU’S only really the only event where you decide how deep into the pain cave you go and how long you stay there. The ability to push yourself harder and longer than you think you can possibly go. As brutal as they are beautiful.  This is why runners come back for more.

So what did I learn form BYU number eleven. I learnt I can do better and need to be more mentally switched on.  My goal is still 48 laps at Herdy’s in 2025 which would be a great way to complete my BYU career, coming full circle from my 47 laps in 2021 when I was so, so close. To do this I need to make Herdy’s one of my A races and get physically and mentally ready. I have the experience now and understand what it takes, it will happen.

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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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Funnily enough I wrote a post on the subject title a few months ago , https://www.runbkrun.com/2025/08/27/how-much-is-too-much-or-is-a-dnf-better-than-a-dns-part-1/ . Little did I suspect I’d be asking myself the question as the start of the 6 inch trail ultra marathon yesterday morning.  ( https://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ )

First of all some background on the event. The 6 inch trail ultramarathon was started twenty years ago by Dave Kennedy, together with his bother-in-law Nathan Fawkes, as a fat-ass trail race (i.e. free entry) that would be staged just before the boys sat down for Xmas dinner and all that that entails. Their logic was if they ran an ultra, they could overindulge in the Xmas period without doing too much damage to their ‘trail running’ physiques.  Of course, their logic is flawed as we all know ultra runners always carry a bit of puppy fat , which they can then utilise when they run out of nutrition during the event, well that’s the theory anyhow.

This would be my 16th time racing the 6 inch and over the years there are many traditions that have started and strictly adhered to over the weekend. It use to be a family weekend away but as our kids have all grown up it has morphed into a boys weekend.

Tradition one is the photo of the boys before we set of on our adventure. In this case it’s me, Adam and Bartsy in the local IGA carpark, Saturday high noon.

Next is the photo in the Truckers Lounge at the Baldivis service station where we were joined by Veronika, whose driving is so bad no one is prepared to drive with her, so she comes alone.  This, as the name suggests, is a private lounge reserved for ‘truckers‘ but I feel as Convoy is one of my all-time favourite films I’m allowed entry.

Tradition number three is the photo outside the truckers lounge with the signage in view.  As you can see the signage, as with the whole service station, has been updated and looks very posh.  Unfortunately, the quality of the ‘tukka’ available within the establishment hasn’t changed and I was forced to take on an egg sandwich.  No worries, we were here for the two photos and we got them so time to move on to Goldmine hill.

Goldmine hill is where the event starts and it’s a two, or three kilometre , depending on who you talk to, nasty gradient that sets the tone for the rest of the day if you misjudge it.  Take it easy and you arrive at the top ready for a great day racing in the hills, get it wrong and you arrive at the top contemplating rolling back to the start and crawling home.

Tradition four is the drive-up Goldmine hill and taking photos along the way. We just did the drive bit this year for some reason although Bartsy did stop at the bottom and christened one of the porta-loos, this could now become a tradition for next year?

Tradition five is the shot of the boys in the water showing off their guns, this was added last year.  It’s good to know that even after so many years we can still find new traditions to add to the ever-expanding list. (We’re thinking of starting a calendar of us runners semi-naked, for charity ? What do you think? Answers in the comments section.)

Tradition six is the pre-race photo, just after we tick ourselves off as arriving for the start in North Dandelup Village Hall.

The final tradition is the finishers looking resplendent in their finisher’s shirts, showing off their medals but for the first time in over fifteen years I’m not in this one after pulling out at 18k into the event.  This brings me back to the title of the post, is it better to DNF or DNS?  It’s a double-edged sword me thinks. A DNS shows you realised you wouldn’t be able to complete the event and did the sensible thing by not starting. This protects your body and limits any damage that could, or would have been, taken on board if you had attempted to run an ultra, ill.  Unfortunately, runners are not sensible, and most would argue for a DNF being a batter option because at least you tried to finish.

Driving to the start line I knew there was a good chance I’d be in trouble if I started. I was feeling nauseous and had probably lost a few kilograms on the toilet a few hours earlier. I would have been dehydrated and weak from whatever bug had taken hold of me. (With hindsight probably the same one that had struck down my daughter and wife earlier in the week!)

The issue you face of course is if you DNS (did not start) you’ll always wonder if maybe you could have finished, albeit probably a tad slower than planned?  With a DNF at least you’ll know but you are then tarred with a DNF to your name, which for some is something they find hard to stomach.  Ultimately you are in a lose-lose situation as both options leave you open to criticism.

I decided to go with the ‘roll the dice’ option and hope I could still finish albeit towards the back of the pack, with a finishing time playing secondary to just finishing. Unfortunately, this seems to be my favourite word in my posts this year, I probably chose the wrong option and ended up pulling out at the first major road crossing at eighteen kilometres in.  Some of you may think that left only around thirty kilometres to the finish but at this stage I was probably just ahead of the sweeper and three hours into the event.  I would have been cutting it close to finish in the eight hours allotted time.  More importantly I wasn’t having fun, far from it, and five more hours of not having fun wasn’t that appealing.

Of course there is the finish at all costs mentality but after twenty odd years of racing, and this being my sixteenth time racing this event, I really wasn’t overly excited and couldn’t muster up enough enthusiasm to carry on. If I had continued there would then be a seven-to-eight-hour finish time against my name which I considered worse than a DNF. So many reasons to DNF , and this time, for the first time for many years, I decided to justify one of them and pull the pin.

So was it the right thing to do? It’s a personal question that one. I could have probably finished just before the cut off, around eight hours, but what would that accomplish.  This was an end of year event more about spending times with the boys than the actual event, at this stage in my running career.  The days of top three finishes are well and truly over and it’s not as if I haven’t finished this event fifteen times before.  Some will say it could have been sixteen but at what cost , I need to justify suffering and in this case I just couldn’t, simple.

Of course Bartsy was unrelating in his ‘banter’ which bordered on just being plain nasty but that’s Bartsy, he is very competitive and in his defence we did pay out on him last year when his hammy prevented him from finishing.  The rest of the crew were very understanding, and social media also aired on comforting rather than confrontational.   No worries, typing this post I am happy I made the right decision albeit having another DNF to my name hurts but that’s just ego and I’ll take some learning from this moving forward,  which is a good thing, one of the most important ones avoid your Wife if she is sick and you have a race coming up !

Finally, a new tradition now is the DNF runners started last year when Bartsy pulled out with TB at aid one with a dodgy hammy. Unfortunately, there’s that word again, I joined TB this year.  I’m hoping Jon (TB) and I avoid this photo next year, actually I’m hoping no one is in this traditional photo next year!

Follow me on

or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/

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/)

Follow me on

or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/

What was I thinking ? Taking on the Feral Pig miler with no real training since June , madness pure madness but a bloody good post for the blog I suppose. As you can see from my Strava extract below there are a lot of dot days, albeit for a lot of these I did go to the gym and hit the Pilates reformer and stepper machine. The races in this period all went badly.  Starting with the Transcend Ultra ( https://www.runbkrun.com/2025/08/27/how-much-is-too-much-or-is-a-dnf-better-than-a-dns-part-1/ ) where I rolled my ankle in the second kilometre and hobbled to the finish with the aid of hard painkillers, this was then repeated for the Perth Marathon where my ankle gave way with ten kilometres to go and I stumbled to the finish feeling very sorry for myself.  ( https://www.runbkrun.com/2025/10/14/perth-marathon-2025-deja-vu-it-is/ ) , without the painkillers (it’s an ultra thing obviously) )

I had put in a massive six run training block in the weeks post Perth but in my defense my ankle was pretty cooked post-marathon. I sold the Puma Nitro R3’s post event, not for my weak ankles it seems.  I had also had a day running the Sterling ranges with the lads which gave me some confidence, just over twenty kilometres but over two thousand metres of vert.

So yet again I found myself driving to the start with a sick feeling in my stomach knowing what lay ahead. This would be my fifth time taking on the Feral Pig and each time I had to dig very deep to get to the finish , bar the first year when I DNF’d at the Perth Discovery Centre, after 132km, throwing in the towel at the thought of the death loop on exhausted legs. I was certainly way better prepared that time but had no experience of the midnight start and the brutal course.  With zero time on the actual course itself I had to run with slower runners as I wasn’t confident of not getting lost. This slowed me when I was able to run faster and in the end I just run out of ‘puff’. ( https://www.runbkrun.com/2020/11/13/another-lesson-learned-ultras-teach-you-stuff/ ) 

Once I got to  the Perth Discovery Centre I relaxed a bit. Surrounded by the nervous energy of like minded individuals and greeting old friends is always good for race nerves. We had to hang around an extra hour because the course had changed due to access restrictions so we would start at Sullivans Rocks, normally the first aid station at forty kilometres north of the start line. This year we would run south for nineteen kilometres, over Mount Cooke, to Nerang Campsite before turning around and returning , back over Mount Cooke to Sullivans Rocks, the course would then continue as previous years following the bibulumun track back to Perth Discovery Centre before finishing after completing the death loop.

On the bus I sat with Andy Thomson, a runner who I had shared many, many adventures with over the years including three Feral finishes and more recently the Cape to Cape Ultra . ( https://www.cape2capeultra.com.au/ ) Andy is like a white diesel van, he sets a pace and just keeps to it, slow and steady, no surprises and no change of pace, relentless.  He would be the bus driver for this event, with me as a passenger hanging on.  The ‘proper’ bus journey takes a few hours and I try and block out everything in that time and close my eyes , I don’t think I ever sleep but I certainly relax and leave the bus refreshed , which,  given the midnight start, is a bonus.

Once you leave the bus there are words of encouragement from Shaun Kaesler, the brains behind this silly race, and then you’re let loose, over Sullivans Rocks towards Mount Cooke running south.  I’d opted to try a pair of road running shoes with a carbon plate as I had used a pair of  Hoka Mach X’s for the 6 Inch trail ultramarathon and they worked well. This time I tried a pair of Saucony Endorphin Pro’s but it soon became apparent this was a big mistake. I felt like Bambi as I skipped down the first hill barely able to keep my feet.  I had mitigated for this situation by putting a pair of Altra Lone Peak’s in my drop bag but I would not see said drop bag for another thirty eight kilometres, I was in trouble.

Sullivans Rocks to Nerang Campsite (0k – 19k). I managed to get to the front of the pack and led up to Sullivans Rock, about five hundred metres.  I  was very unstable on my feet for the first ten kilometres or so but eventually managed to get the hang of the road shoes and adjust accordingly. On the flat they weren’t a problem but any technical trails I’d be found out quickly. On the bright side I was concentrating so much on my footing I did avoid any falls and when I did encounter any runnable sections I really enjoyed the carbon plate as I bounced along.  Long term though they were not the answer and I did change them when we returned to Sullivans Rock early the next morning.

After the first five kilometres or so I managed to start to get on top of the Saucony road shoes, they were actually ok on the flats but useless for downhill sections bordering on suicidal, and ok for the ascents as long as they weren’t too technical. Not good news with Mount  Cooke looming on the horizon. As the image below shows I was dumped like a bad rash on the descent and had to work very hard to catch my fellow competitors once we hit the flat trail, luckily for me it was a nice runnable section and the carbon plates came into their own.  By the turnaround point I was back with the  bus.

Another small issue I was having at this point was a tight calf. I had pulled up sore the week before the event and promised myself I’d take care of the calf with rest and plenty of massage gun action. Of course I did nothing and was now regretting my decision. It felt like a tight calf but I could feel a calf knot or worse coming my way unless I could get on top of it with strapping or drugs. At the 19k turn around point I got out my strapping but without scissors I was unable to cut the tape to size and I don’t think it would have stuck anyway with my legs covered in dirt. Plan B it was then , straight onto the tramadol . This was a risk but I was banking on the calf coming good. (I had the same issue at Herdy’s frontyard ultra earlier in the year and strong painkillers fixed it. ? Don’t judge me.) There would be one of two outcomes, one, the tightness turns into a knot and that’s it for the race, or two the tramadol does it’s job and I finish like a train, or finish?  Luckily for me it was option two and post drugs I never felt the calf again. ( Post event and the calf is still good so it must have been tightness ? )

Nerang Campsite to Sullivans Rock (19k to 41k)

We had a few runners join our bus at various times during the evening but mostly Andy and I ran alone , encouraging runners as we passed at the turn around and as we returned to the start.  The field was already   spread out with the faster runners gunning for a time a good way ahead of us middle of the pack warriors who just wanted to finish. The first part of this event is the hardest when it comes to support, or lack off. The first out and back is almost a marathon and then it’s another thirty kilometres to Brookton Highway. So basically one aid station for the first seventy kilometres, and that aid station only stocks sweets and hydration, no food of any substance.  To this end I had a drop bag with my five weetbix for brekkie, and a few gu’s and nibbles for the next thirty kilometres.

There was a nearly a  full moon for the run ( it was a beaver Moon on Wednesday )and once in a while you’d lookup and appreciate your surroundings.  Running through the night is fun and I enjoy losing myself in the circle of light of your headtorch. I had downloaded about eight hours of podcasts and didn’t listen to any of them, it was just nice plodding along chatting to Andy or just breathing in your surroundings. The night was still and the temperature just about perfect, all bar the top of Mount Cooke where it is always blowing a hooley. It made a pleasant change from last year where we got absolutely soaked at the top of Mount Cooke and I had chaffing challenges for the rest of the event.  (read all about it here https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/11/06/feral-pig-100-miler-surely-my-last-time-surely/ , love that title by the way ?)

Sullivans Rock to Brookton Highway ( 41k to 71k) 

Post weetbix and some cordial I was back up Sullivans rock, in the daylight this time , and turned left heading towards the finish. The first few kilometres are brutal with some steep elevation gains and some very technical downhills that you really can only walk, albeit the first few 100k runners tend to glide over the obstacles. This is another big hop from one aid station to another and the last big hop for the event. I always think once I get to Brookton Highway I’ve broken the back of the event. My good mate Shannon Dale is normally there as the aid station captain and that man can cook, normally we all over indulge as it’s the first proper hot meal since the previous day and you’ve been running for well over nine  hours by that point.

Andy and I had picked up a couple of extra passengers for the bus , Michael Burgess and Brodie Larkin and we chatted together as we made good progress to the water stop at Canning Campsite. It was starting to heat up and the water tank at the campsite was a perfect place for a cool shower before filling my bottles for the last eight kilometres to Brookton Highway. Andy left before us, post water full up,  and I put on a spurt to catch him, dropping the other two runners who it seems both DNF’d in the end.  If they maybe stayed with me we could have got them to the finish ? Michael got back to the Discovery Centre for a second year in a row before pulling the pin and Brodie got to Allen Road. Given the conditions bloody brilliant effort lads, see you on the bus next year !

Unfortunately when we got to Brookton I was so dehydrated I couldn’t eat the bacon and egg roll so had to give it away and instead chowed  down on banana’s and coke, not ideal but in the past I’ve had no problem eating here. The heat definitely played a part as the last few times I’ve ran Feral it’s been cooler. making eating easier. No worries, Andy and I were joined by Del, Andy’s Wife and off we went skipping along to Mount Dale.

Brookton Highway to Mount Dale (71k  to 83k)

Post Brookton Highway it’s a small hop of twelve kilometres to Mount Dale  and then eleven to Beraking, a lot shorter than the forty and thirty kilometre distances we had just completed. This is why I mentally perk-up as I can start to see the path back to the Discovery Centre. Also from Mount Dale to the Discovery Centre is really good running terrain, and from Allen Road to PDC (Perth Discovery Centre) it’s my all time favorite trail. Once I got to Mount Dale I was able to pick up my first drop bag which was full of goodies I ended up not eating. That is the thing with ultra running, you pack your drop bag with all the things you think you’ll eat at the time but when you actually get to the drop bag  you’re normally off all the food you’ve packed. It’s a catch 22 situation, you really need to think about what you need to eat , not what you think you’ll want to eat.  I did manage to get some nutrition in but probably not enough , albeit it was only another short hop to Beraking aid station so was confident I wouldn’t bonk on the way.

Mount Dale to Beraking ( 83k to 93k) 

We bumped into the famous Paul ‘Hopi’ Hopwood on this leg, another three times Feral finisher. We were joined by another runner and all of a sudden we had a good size 100 miler bus, bumbling along putting the world to rights. We were also in the midst of the other distance runners, i.e. the 100k and 80k (50 mile) runners. It was good to see so many runners out and about on the track albeit they all seemed to be running quicker than us. A big shout out to the runners who offered me encouragement around this time, you know who you are, I appreciate it . The hop to Beraking seem to go quickly mainly down to the company. Another drop bag at Beraking which I shared with the flies, there was thousands of the little flying protein balls.  I convinced Andy to give me ten minutes so I could lay down and rest the legs , and shut the eyes. Given the heat and the hard surface I wasn’t able to nod off but the time helped. Andy left the aid station a few minutes ahead of me and I didn’t see him again until the Perth Discovery Centre, he found a second wind and for the first time I fell off the back of the bus, I was alone. ‘Hopi’ also left before me but I caught and passed him before Allen Road.  I’d bump into Hopi many hours later on the death loop as I ran back to the finish and he ran to the furthest point, after a sleep.

Beraking to Allen Road ( 83k to 110k)

For this hop I was alone with the bus well ahead of me. There were 100k runners around me and I always had a runner to chase, which kept me honest. The 100k runners seemed full of beans and there was plenty of noise ahead of me and behind me. I was running probably the best I had for most of the day and my goal was to get to Allen Road before the sunset, and climb the hill in the daylight. In the back of my mind I was also worried as my main head torch had died prematurely which left me with my back up head torch and only two batteries, was it enough to get me back to the PDC ? I really wasn’t confident.  My plan was to ask for batteries at Allen Road and hope I could grab one at least ? Otherwise I could end up using the iphone torch, not ideal.

The hop between Beraking and Allen Road was shorter than I thought, I was thinking I had about four kilometres to go and it turned out it was just under two, that is a great feeling when you’re not expecting an aid station and it just appears, with an Ultra Series event it does not happen often. At Allen road I sat down and was looked after by Willah and AB , two of my favorite people. These two really make a difference,  as  do all the volunteers, I was fed salty potatoes and pineapple slices as well as oranges. Nutrition wise I was good but fumbling around in my pack I couldn’t find my backup head torch. This was not good with the sun disappearing fast and a sixteen kilometre hop to PDC incoming. Luckily for me another runner was about to throw in the towel and offered me his headtorch. Big shout out to Nic Sweetman , he saved my race as without that headtorch I would have had to DNF. (Albeit post event , after many hours sleep I did find my headtorch tucked deep in one of the side pockets of my vest)  So head torch crisis averted it was onto the climb from Allen Road to Helena Hut, a nasty incline over four kilometres, starting as the sun began to fall under the horizon and darkness began to creep into the game.

Allen Road to Perth Discovery Centre  ( 110k to 127k) 

Another leg I ran alone bar a few runners acting as rabbits as I chased them down. I know this stretch like the back of my hand as it’s my staple run for getting ready for Delirious Wat 200 miler ( https://www.deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) I have felt better on this leg but was able to keep moving forward at a reasonable pace bar one episode when I found myself on all fours dry retching with my fingers down my throat, the joys of ultra running.  Unable to vomit I continued on. I got into PDC around ten pm and decided to get out my recliner and give myself ten minutes total rest, taking the weight off the legs. I just got into position when I heard the tannoy asking for me at the aid station as Andy was waiting for me, it seemed the bus was about to leave for the death loop.  I had no choice but to answer the call and off into the night Andy and I stumbled, the death loop was calling.

Perth Discovery Centre to Camel Farm  ( 127k to 137k) 

Not much to say about this leg bar I was absolutely goosed, it was nearing midnight which meant our second night without sleep and twenty four hours on our feet. I was starting to hallucinate and feel unsteady on my feet. I was never going to make the turnaround aid station which was nearly twenty kilometres away so Andy and I decided we try and get a fifteen minute nap at Camel farm. As we stumbled in Rosa Haywood greeted us, sat us down, covered us in blankets and set the sleep timer. I think the image below sums up how I felt ?

Camel Farm to Jorgenson ( 137k to 145k) 

This is the hardest part of the whole event, although it’s really only the last four kilometres. Un-runnable climbs and descents mixed in with rock covered terrain desperate to trip you up, and steps, so many steps. Mentally I wasn’t ready for this and it just seemed to go on for ever.  On the bright side when we reached Jorgenson I knew it was mainly downhill to the finish and I started to believe we could beat the pig. A pumpkin soup at Jorgenson set us up for success and we hobbled off into the night on the last leg of our epic journey albeit I was so tired I could have slept for hours.

Jorgenson to Camel Farm (145k to 153k) 

It’s a lot easier heading towards the finish line and running downhill, still bloody hard , but nowhere near as hard as running in the opposite direction. Once we stumbled back into Camel Farm for the second time we knew we had beaten the pig and a finish and sunrise awaited us, post a good cup of tea of course.  Rosa and the team fueled us up as Hopi came into the aid station and instructed Rosa to let him sleep for thirty minutes. He was heading towards the death loop, alone, brave boy, we were heading in the opposite direction with the finish and sunrise coming our way.

Camel Farm to PDC ( 153K TO 162K)

The last ten kilometres was accompanied by a incredible sunrise , the sun welcoming Andy and I are we ran to the finish. We had originally aimed for a finish around twenty eight hours but we would finish just over thirty hours. It was hotter than last year and I certainly wasn’t as fit , nowhere near the level of last year, so to finish so close to last years time was a big achievement.  Time , for the middle of the pack runner, isn’t half as important as just finishing, that in itself is a massive achievement when you take on the Feral Pig.

We met quite a few runners who were just starting the death loop after they had either had some rest at the PDC or just racing cut off times, these guys would take on the heat of Sunday and finish late afternoon, these were the real warriors pushing close to forty hours. All of them were smiling and positive and all look to be making good time, they would all finish.  The role call of legends including Kylie Langford, Bianca O’Neill, Sue Roberston, Jonathon Smith, Ashley Slocum, Matt Graham, Ben Bowes, Phil Johnson, David Martin, Matt Lambert, Nick O’Neill (after a long sleep!) Brendan Heavens, John Herzfeld and Dru Furlong.  All these runners were out there for thirty five hours plus , that is very, very special, a long time taking on the pig and eventually bringing home the bacon.

Andy and I were passed by a runner and his pacer a few hundred metres from the finish, Daniel Perry,  but were quite happy to let Daniel go, we were just stoked to get to the finish line for a fourth year in a row which in itself is no mean feat. We crossed the line , as we started the race thirty plus hours previously and over 160km ago, together, albeit in the results it had me winning our age group and crossing first, sorry buddy.

So that’s a wrap for the Feral Pig 2025, finish number four and I join Andy and Hopi as four time finishers, a small select group of masochists. Will I go again in 2026 ? At the moment probably not, I have plans for retirement from work next year and if I do will look to travel or even buy a boat, I don’t envisage being in WA next November but if I was it would be hard to resist another crack at beating the pig on the death loop. At the moment I’ve stumbled through the death loop the last three years , it would be good to run it like I did in 2022 or even try and get close to twenty four hours  may need to fit a turbo to the diesel van?

How hard was Feral this year ? An eleven on the Spinal Tap speaker dial I’d say. I really had no right even starting with my training but yet again I managed to pull a result out of the fire and finish. Early on I was harboring thoughts of a DNF citing many reasons but with experience I knew that if I just kept eating and drinking I had enough ‘muscle memory’ to get to the end, it would just hurt more.  On a number of occasions I channeled my inner Goggins and recited a few of his mantras to keep me going, they seem to do the trick.  ( https://davidgoggins.com/ )  How long can I keep cheating these events  ? Not sure, a marathon (and ultra more so) is an honest event and you will get found out , as I probably was this year.  I’m relying on mental toughness more than physical conditioning at the moment but there is only so much you can achieve using this method, it’s not ideal.

I have the 6 inch trail ultra late December, for the 16th time,  and that’s it for 2025. ( https://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ )  I’ll finish with eight ultra’s , one marathon, one half, two 10k’s and a 5k. Not a bad year but my smallest  training  mileage ever, since my spreadsheet started in 2008.  That’s a lot of event for a runner who doesn’t run that much, need to pull my finger out and to quote Goggin’s ‘stay hard’

Follow me on

or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/

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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The Feal Pig 100 miler is one of the hardest over the distance in Australia, in my humble opinion. It’s a combination of the midnight start, which translates to two nights without sleep as you near the finish, the terrain and the heat ; a trifecta of pain. I have DNF’d this bad boy of a race once and finished it three times albeit the last two times I stumbled to the finish rather than running.  I have attached the four races reports for your pleasure to set the scene on why I’m back for another go in 2025 . (Please note in 2023 it was cancelled due to extreme heat , although luckily I was injured so had volunteered.)

https://www.runbkrun.com/2024/11/06/feral-pig-100-miler-surely-my-last-time-surely/

https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/11/17/beating-a-pig-feral-2022/

https://www.runbkrun.com/2021/12/13/feral-pig-100-miler-in-case-you-missed-it/

https://www.runbkrun.com/2020/11/13/another-lesson-learned-ultras-teach-you-stuff/

Strava reminded me of my Feral Pig adventure in 2022 when I finished it for the second time.  (see below) I think I summed up me feelings pretty well and yes I did enter the following year , although I was saved by the cancellation due to extreme heat. I went again in 2024 and pretty much had the same result but still I entered again this year. Always reminds me of the definition of insanity by Einstein

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”

As you can read from the posts I’ve never really beaten the pig although in 2021 I’d call it a draw. The last two years I’ve really suffered on the final ‘death loop’  and ended up walking more of it than running.  (The death loop is a 30+km loop you need to finish after first passing through the start/finish line at around 128km into the event. It is very tempting to pull the pin , get in your nice warm car and drive home! To add to the fun factor I consider the death loop the hardest terrain of the event, a double whammy. )

As I type this post it is with mixed emotions about the event this Friday, three days away, part of me is excited about spending quality times on the trails with good mates while another part of me is dreading taking on the death loop again.  I suppose I know what’s coming and just need to buckle down and accept my fate. I haven’t don’t half as much training as I should have this year and I really shouldn’t be entering a tough 100 miler but it’s the Feral Pig and it’s just special.  Although I have been missing my running I have been regularly hitting the gym and the Pilates reformer machines at Revo, Innaloo.  Is this enough to get me though Feral ? We’ll find out this weekend. Probably not for a good time but I’m running for a ‘good time’, not a good time; see what I did there ?  I just want another finish and am not bothered about finishing time, Feral is never an A race , more of a mental challenge to see if I can still dig myself out of some dark places. (Which is where I will find myself on the death loop.)

Most people who have read the posts on my previous attempts and now read this will think I’m crazy for continually putting myself in these situations but that’s the whole point. If it was easy,  and a finish was guaranteed,  what’s the point ? Finding your limits and then moving forward from that point is an opportunity you don’t get in normal day to day living, the Feral Pig gives you that opportunity. 

I think back to my three finishes where I swore, on the finish line,  that I would never enter again but each time I find myself in the position I am now, questioning my decisions but at the same time excited about what lays ahead, that’s the Feral Pig and that’s ultra running.

Follow me on

or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/

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/)

Follow me on

or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/

Week three was always going to be high mileage and less runs as I had the inaugural Cape to Cape 100 miler on Saturday .  ( https://www.cape2capeultra.com.au/ ) With this in mind I only ran two ‘time on feet’ ten kilometre runs on Monday and Thursday before the race itself Saturday , finishing Sunday morning.  The purist would shake their heads at the thought of running a 100 miler in a marathon block but my logic was it is early in the block and I have time to recover,  albeit as I type this post I think my logic my be flawed.

This gave me over 175 kilometres for the week which is more than I will run moving forward of course and I will be forced to take a down week as I haven’t run yet and it’s already Wednesday.  The legs are recovering well and I would hope to run ten kilometres tomorrow morning at Yelo and maybe try and find fifty to seventy  or so kilometres for the week.  The following week I had penciled in the Bibra Lake half marathon but will need to see how the legs recovery before I enter.

Right lets discuss the Cape to Cape Ultra, it started in a complex storm which means it was a bloody big storm, high winds, cool temperatures and even some hail later in the event.  I was saved by my thermals on Saturday evening  and the second day as the wind was freezing and without a thermal top I wouldn’t have finished.  Overall there was a 50% DNF rate which is unusually high and most of these would have been down to the inclement weather.

The event starts from one lighthouse, at Augusta, and finishes around a second lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste. The track itself is around 125 kilometres so Shaun Kaesler, the Ultra Series owner, ( https://www.ultraseries.com.au/ ) had to find another forty or so kilometres to reach the miler distance.  As it was due to permits not being accepted in time and river crossing that would become too dangerous due to the conditions I actually ran around 154 kilometres. I’m ok with this as for this type of event , in these conditions, you can never guarantee the course; it is ever changing. The team at Ultra Series did an incredible job getting all runners to the finish line , that were able to get there. This involved answering many phone calls for help from stranded runners faced with very dangerous river crossing at all times of the night.  I know at one point there was over fifteen runners who needed shuttling in cars as the river they were due to cross had become too dangerous to wade through.

The start was a example of what was to come with permits denied for a road crossing in Augusta town centre which meant we had to drive to the Augusta lighthouse and then run a six kilometre out and back to make up the distance.  The start itself was another Ultra Series classic with all the runners stopping after fifty or so metres with no idea which way to go. All this in the eye of a storm that raged all around us. In the end we went the right way but more luck than judgment, that’s why we love the Ultra Series , organised chaos.

There was more than enough aid stations for this event, compared to the Feral Pig ( https://feralpigultra.com.au/ ) where you need to run a marathon for the first aid station and then another thirty odd kilometres for aid station two !. The only issue with the first few aid stations was they were exposed to the weather so there was no hanging around for chit chat, it was too brutal. There was also no chance of putting up a gazebo, so there was little shelter. Later into the event things eased up a tad and we were blessed with gazebo’s and some quality food and sweet tea, the real reason we run ultra marathons.

As this was the inaugural event I had no idea was the track would be like, in the end it was inspiring with plenty of beach sections, which I love, and enough forest running and general trail running to keep me happy even with the weather conditions which actually made the whole experience better in my opinion. The strong tailwind on the exposed beaches was a massive bonus, if it had been in the opposite direction no one would have finished ! The only fly in my ointment was the amount of limestone which meant the balls and bottom of your feet took a right hammering. I use Altra Olympus trail shoes but may look at a more cushioned trail shoe for my next trail ultra, I’m hoping this will help. Post Delirious West 200 miler in April I had the same problem.

There is nearly thirty kilometres of sand and most of it very soft, not ideal for running in.  You were also totally exposed on the beach and luckily for us the very strong wind was a tailwind, a headwind would have made the whole event a whole different animal. I’m not saying the tail wind was all good though and a few times it was painful on the back of the legs as you were sandblasted.  For the most part though the tail wind was a big bonus and could help you scuttle along the beach a lot quicker than if there was no wind at all. It also added to the whole feel of the event, running through a storm, you need wind and lots of it. As soon as you got off the beach , for the most part,  you’d get some respite as you’d be shieled by the fauna.

The highlight of the beach running was meeting a couple of kite surfers who were getting ready to probably commit suicide, I’m assuming , by entering the water . The waves were huge and the wind was so strong, I was worried they’d disappear into the stratosphere never to be seen again.

Hydration wasn’t a problem and I survived using my two 500ml water bottles and refilling at the aid stations, taking on the tailwind available. ( https://www.tailwindnutrition.com.au/ ) Nutrition I could have done better and lost my appetite during the night culminating in me ending up on my hand and knees vomiting up a protein drink I tried at the Yellingup aid station. Apologies to the volunteers.  I’m putting this down to too many Gel’s with caffeine, upsetting my stomach. On the bright side, post puke,  I was able to eat again and made up for it instantly with a couple of Anzac biscuits and soup.

I ran with Andy, Glen and Matty virtually the whole event. Running with good mates makes the whole experience so much better,  suffering with friends is so much better than suffering alone. There’s also the added benefit of constant banter which makes distance and time disappear so quickly.  Over the twenty eight hours I reckon I used my shokz headphones for thirty minutes , if I was running alone I would have had my headphones on constantly. I’ve ran with these guys over many hundreds of kilometres the last few years and we still find sh*t to talk about, albeit sometimes the same sh*t .

So we finished in 28 hours and 23 minutes which was my target goal time , around 28 hours, pre-event but the course was seven kilometres short so really I would have been an hour or so over my predicted time. No worries, it was great fun running with the boys and I’ve done zero trail running , bar races, for the last eight months. In the end the fatigued legs could go no faster, even with fisiocrem and some serious pain killers onboard (don’t judge me) Moving forward I need to concentrate on road running now with the Perth marathon incoming in October and then hit the trails for a few weeks before the Feral Pig Miler in November and the 6 inch trail ultra in December. ( https://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ )

So that’s week three of Perth Marathon training, not your typical marathon build week but everyone’s different right ? Week four will be a down week straight into week five,  a taper week for the Bibra Lake half marathon where the goal is to go quicker than the HBF half I finished a few weeks ago.  A good indicator for a half time is around one hour twenty five minutes , which going by the double your half time and add ten minutes , gives you three hours for the full marathon. I’m certainly nowhere near that time at the moment but will aim for a sub ninety minutes, albeit a lot will depend in how the legs have recovered of course.

Two weeks post Bibra I have a 10k and then two weeks after that is a 5k. That will give me five good weeks to work on ‘proper‘ marathon training before another ultra in August, this one is a baby, only 65k, ( https://transcendtrails.com/ ) what could possibly go wrong?

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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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This weekend I take on the inaugural Cape To Cape Ultra, the miler option. ( https://www.cape2capeultra.com.au/  ) There is a 50 mile option but unless you’re a vampire it’s probably best to avoid this one as you start at 6pm and its the shortest day of the year week, basically if you’re a reasonable runner , or a practicing vampire, you’ll run the whole race in the dark.

This will be week three of my sub3 Perth Marathon block and probably not what most coaches would approve but as I always maintain I’d rather do more races at a reasonable level compared to less races but faster.  For me the reason I run is to race otherwise surely we morph into joggers right, and nobody wants that ?  ( Joggers are the sort of people who strut about at traffic lights , like a cat on a hot tin roof, a real runner stands at the lights with a look of disgust on their face, frustrated their run has been interrupted, still, silent, ready. )

(The phrase “like a cat on a hot tin roof” is an idiom that describes someone who is restless, uneasy, or agitated. It is often used to convey a sense of nervousness and anxiety. The phrase originates from the image of a cat trying to escape the heat of a tin roof, constantly moving and unable to settle down; like  joggers ! ) 

The Gaia map is shown below ( https://www.gaiagps.com/ ) and I’ll use the app on my iphone to keep me ontrack albeit the trail is well marked I’m sure. With just about sixty runners for the miler I should be with company which makes getting lost easier, like all things in life company makes stressful situations less stressful.  For example imagine in a zombie apocalypse , you only need to run faster than the slowest runner in your group; if you’re alone all the zombies only have eyes for you.  I would imagine in such situations you’d seek out slower runners to join your survival tribe,  like sacrifices.  I digress.

The event kicks off from Augusta at 6am and will complete over 100 miles later at Bunker Bay, albeit the cape to cape track is about 125k long but Shaun Kaesler, the Ultra Series owner,  has found another thirty five kilometres by adding a loop towards the end of the race. It has that Feral Pig feeling about it. ( https://feralpigultra.com.au/ ) The track itself sounds incredible with beautiful untouched beaches, pristine national parks , single trails meandering (well it is a 100 miler) through untouched forests , to say I’m excited is a massive under statement.  The only fly in my ointment is the predicted weather for the event,  rain and plenty of it. Being a point to point I’m hoping any wind will be on my back (currently is a South Westerly, which would be a good thing?) not a head wind, a head wind would be challenging. It’ll also be cold but not enough to be a problem as long as we’re moving forward, probably a good temperature for a racing.

One of the best things about a miler is the opportunity to run though the night cocooned in the beam of your head torch. I use a Silva Exceed 4XT which is 2000 lumens, turning night into day. Albeit the latest Silva head torch has 3000 lumens which is apparently visible from the moon, the runner Infront of you actually gets sunburnt if they get too close ! Night running is a special time and you can either lose yourself with a podcast, music or ‘raw dog’ it and chill out with the night animals going about their business, and the zombies.

I sometimes struggle with a 100 miler as it’s the longest distance when it’s a race as such, I always find anything longer starts to become an adventure , and to me that’s a big difference. When you race an event you are mindful of time and position , an adventure it’s all about the journey and just finishing, time takes care of itself. The Feral Pig miler is the only other miler I race regularly and have only really nailed this event once in the three times I’ve finished.  Feral does have elevation and heat as other factors which can derail your race quickly, plus the midnight start.  I’m hoping the early morning kick off ,  lack of elevation, plus a cool temperature prediction for race day, will push me along to a reasonable finishing time, around twenty eight hours or quicker.  Albeit I hear there are seriously long sand/beach sections and lots or rock hopping which are not conducive to fast times of course.  As this is the inaugural running it will be interesting to see if the finishing times are slower or quicker than Feral ?

It will be so good to spend time with the Ultra Series reprobates as I’ve not seen a lot of them since Delirious West in April this year.  The running tribe is as important to me as the event itself, spending times with these legends is just so good  and remember the zombie clause, always find someone to run with who , when the ‘shit hits the fan‘, or the zombie’s are chasing you down, is slower than you.

Finally another shout out to Bix products which will be my go to for quality hydration and nutrition products during the event bar the aid stations and real food of course. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )

Follow me on

or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/

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/)

Follow me on

or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/