Perth 2025 Running Festival had been on my radar since I hit the wall at the event last year. I was determined to make amends and finish strong. Unfortunately (this seems to be the word of 2025!) after the Cape to Cape miler in June I stopped running , and I mean stopped. I then ran the Transcend Ultra in August and sustained ligament damage in my ankle. ( https://transcendtrails.com/ )
As you can see from the Strava screen shots ( you have Strava right ? ( https://www.strava.com/dashboard ) since the Transcend Ultra in August I only ran five times in virtually three months. I did manage to get out onto the trails four times before Perth but no road running at all. Not ideal.
Being a good friend of the RD helps get me my Perth number. 666.
The plan was to try and run a three hour thirty minutes marathon, maintaining five minutes kilometre pace, and I roped in Haydo and Adam for company. Truth be told I had no right running Perth with my training , or lack of training, and when my alarm went off on the morning off the race I hit the snooze button a few times and was so close to just not even turning up. What made me get out of bed and drive to the start was a post I wrote a few weeks ago than discussed whether a DNF is better than a DNS ? ( https://www.runbkrun.com/2025/08/27/how-much-is-too-much-or-is-a-dnf-better-than-a-dns-part-1/ ) No1 Wife also encouraged me to go and have a go, what could go wrong ?
Running with Haydo and Adam around the 4k mark. The Puma Nitro R3’s still working well as this point.
I thought I needed all the help I could get so went for the Puma Nitro R3 wheels. This turned out to be my undoing in the end. The shoes are awesome if you are running quickly but incredibly unstable when your ankle gives way. I won’t give the game away too soon but needless to say I probably ended up wearing the worst possible shoes for the situation. Sigh,
Weapons of mass destruction, they certainly killed my race.
On the Kwinana Freeway on the way out, around 20k ? Still smiling.. just.
The first 10k went to plan, running just below five minute kilometres with Haydo and Adam and enjoying the event. Surprising the three thirty bus caught us just before the tunnel which surprised us as we thought we were well ahead of them. The bus was being driven by my good friends Ryan Shand and Chris Lark, with Damo on board, a fellow Yelo runner who would run a PB, well done tiger. This is why I run Perth, so many good mates.
The guys and the bus left me just before the tunnel, I stopped to take a Gu with some water and they just slowly moved away as my pace dropped, albeit only a little. I was starting to feel the pace but was still confident I could finish close to my three thirty goal. I was actually feeling better than I did at the same time last year so took this as a small win, undaunted I put my head down and planned to get to the turn around at around twenty eight kilometres with a chance to still go three thirty.
The Kwinana freeway section out and back is the hardest part of the event. You are on a large open space with no protection from the conditions and the sun was starting to play its part in the proceedings, it was heating up. I got to the turn around and was just behind Adam and Haydo and put in a spurt to try and catch them. This is where my Puma’ started to come into the picture. For some reason I felt I was slipping out of the shoe each time I put my foot on the ground, I think because my ankle was starting to flare up I was changing my running gait , this had the effect of making each step very unstable. What initially became a nuisance became something very bigger, very quickly. When I got on to Riverside Drive the camber was the final nail in my marathon coffin. My right ankle, the one I damaged in August at the Transcend Ultra, was now becoming a big problem. In the end I couldn’t run on the front of my foot, too painful, so had to start heel striking which was easier albeit probably looked awful for the spectators.
Another ‘finish from hell’ albeit this time I can blame an ankle injury and shoes ?
Each kilometre got worst and for the last few I was hobbling with one very bad right ankle , it wasn’t pretty and if the marathon was any longer I don’t think I would have been able to finish. I’ve seen video images of me finishing and it really was very ugly. I think the only thing that kept me going was channeling my inner Goggin’s and ‘staying hard‘.
So could this have been avoided ? Definitely, quite a few rookie errors like no training on the road, no strapping of an ankle that was probably still damaged from a previous race a few months earlier and the biggest error wearing racing shoes that really offer no support whatsoever for ankles and become very unstable when it all falls apart. I’m blaming the shoes which are now for sale on facebook but truth be told I got what I deserved. On the bright side I had a great time , initially , with good friends and the event was brilliant. I also finished marathon number forty nine and got a nice new shiny medal, winning.
So that’s twice in a row I’ve stumbled home after hitting the wall late in the event, the first time due to going out way too quick and this year a combination of not enough training and an injured ankle in shoes with no support. This means I must go back next year and try to run a sub three marathon , my last chance in the 55-59 age group, target is 2:59 which is the event age group record. I am motivated and I will not be running in Puma’s that for sure. Will it be Deja-vu for a third year on the trot ?
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
Before I moved to the dark side (ultra running) , as my friend Jon Pendse calls it, I use to be a real marathon show pony. Lapping up the adulation of the crowd, enjoying racing and beating as many competitors as possible and always keeping an eye on my fellow runners who were in my sphere of ‘I know I can beat that guy‘. It wasn’t always this way though and it took quite a few years to go from the novice runner to the show pony you see in the image below.
The ultimate marathon show pony. City to Surf marathon 2016.
It all began in 2002 at the Perth marathon. Back in those days you could enter on the day and I had set my alarm for 5am not sure if I would enter or not. The day before I had been surfing with friends with running a marathon the furthest thing from my mind. No carbo loading albeit I think I had a full English fry up from memory ? The alarm sounded and on a whim I decided to go, what was the worst thing that could happen ? I drove to the start line, entered and before I knew it I was running a marathon. My logic for entering was I had completed a half iron man earlier in the year so had managed to obtain a good level of fitness , enough I thought to be able to run a three hour thirty marathon as a minimum. Sounded like a plan but with no specific marathon training at all I would live to regret this decision. Remember we’re talking 2002, before YouTube , Strava or influencers (that may have been a good thing ? as everybody would have said don’t do it of course!) My running spreadsheet didn’t even start until post Comrades in 2008, so I have no idea how much training I had done but it was nowhere near enough. This was also before running marathons became ‘trendy‘ or even normal, bloody influencers !
As it was I started well enough and managed to hold five minute kilometres upto the thirty two kilometre mark , when , you guessed it, I hit the wall and hit it hard ! There were no gu’s in 2002 and all we had was water and fruit at the aid stations. I certainly didn’t take enough of either but I do remember eating a few lumps of chocolate at the thirty kilometre mark, not enough with hindsight. When I did hit the wall it was a surreal experience as your mind is still expecting your body to continue at the pace dialed in from the start but the legs just stop working . It really is a weird feeling and it comes on like a freight train, one minute you’re thinking how easy a marathon is and a minute later you’re wondering if you will even finish. I remember the look of worry on the spectators faces as I stumbled along , and I mean stumbled. At thirty two kilometres I was on track and looking to finish in my target three hours thirty minutes time , as it was I finished in three hours fifty two minutes, ouch ! What kept me going towards the end was the thought of a big Mac with chips and a chocolate milkshake, as soon as I crept over the line I was off to the nearest McDonald’s drive through. After driving home I was stuck int the car as my legs seized up solid and I had to call my wife, from the carport, to help me out the car, so funny.
I entered the following year, 2003, and at least trained for the event. This time I went out incredibly slow and got to the last ten kilometres feeling fresh as a daisy , I then put my foot down and came in like a train. The finishing time, surprisingly , the same time three hours fifty two minutes but felt so good at the end, should have gone quicker. I ran the Rottnest marathon later in the year and finished in three hours twenty seven minutes , a time I probably could have ran in Perth if I had gone out quicker.
I didn’t run another marathon until 2007 when I raced Perth for the third time as my mate Dan Timbers had trained , for months, for the race and I decided to keep him company, a few days out from the start. This time I ran with Dan, who was looking for a sub four hour finish, and I was finding the pace very easy. The Eagles coach , John Worsfold, ran past us returning to the start, it was an out and back, and this was the impetus I needed . I left Dan and chased John down. I eventually caught John a few kilometres from the finishing line, gave him some advice and ran over him. My finish time, three hours fifty two minutes , for the third time !
2008 I ran a three hours twenty two minutes after finishing Comrades earlier in the year ( eight hours, twenty five minutes). 2009 I got my time down to three hours six minutes , after finishing Comrades in eight hours twenty eight minutes. Highlight of the year was my first sub three at the City to Surf marathon post Perth.
2009. Finish line in sight. A PB 3:06.
2010 I was down to three hours five minutes after running a silver time at Comrades, seven hours twenty two minutes, three weeks earlier. I paid the price for this run with my first calf knot, which is better than a tear I suppose. Put me out of action for a few weeks.
The only photo of 2011, racing in Asics Piranhas.
2011 I ran my first sub three at Perth finishing in two hours fifty four minutes, one of six marathons I ran that year all sub three as I started my thirty two sub3’s in a row streak, from 2009 to 2019. This was also the only time I ran a marathon in proper racing flats, Asics Piranhas, and also Skins (compression tights) which were new at that time. I was always an early adopter when it came to anything which I thought would get me to the finish line quicker.
2012 All smiles with Brad, Steve and Jon.
2012 I ran a two hours fifty one minutes after a two hours fifty nine at Bunbury a few months earlier, the closest I came to missing out on a sub3. The following year, 2013, I won Bunbury running a two hour forty three minutes and backed that up with my fastest Perth time of two hours and forty one minutes, and my highest finish , good enough for sixth. Unfortunately I never got that top five finishers medal at Perth, coming sixth twice over the years.
2013 and my fastest Perth finish, 6th place.
In my tenth Perth marathon in 2014 I ran a two hours and forty six minutes after a disappointing Bunbury marathon where I ran fourth as defending champion. I had gone out to quick and paid the price and this knocked the wind out of my sails for a few months, resulting in a slower Perth time compared to the previous year. 2013 proved to be my fastest Perth time.
2014. My now go-to finishing photo.
I got Raf Baugh onboard for Perth 2015 in an attempt to break two hours and forty minutes. My training was on-point and I really put in a big training block but picked up an injury a week out from the race. This really affected my confidence and I finished in two hours and forty nine minutes, good enough for a top ten finish. I remember at half way nearly pulling the pin but then buckling down and accepting my A-goal was gone and just clicking over the kilometres. Can’t knock a top ten finish I suppose.
2015. A great training block ruined by a calf niggle in the last week.
Managed to get a bit quicker in 2016 and ran a two hours forty seven minutes, a time I eclipsed later that year at the City to Surf marathon running another two hours and forty one minutes. I put this down to the continuation of lessons I learnt working with Raf, the previous year. This turned out to be my last sub three at Perth and my last Perth marathon until 2024.
A Dennis Tan classic. 2016
2017 I was sidelined with a calf tear and 2018 I was out with a bad case of Plantar Fasciitis. We all know what happened in 2019 and then I disappeared into the ultra world until 2024 when I ran Perth for the thirteenth time and finished in three hours and fourteen minutes, wearing bib number one as I knew the Race director.
2024 , Perth marathon number 13 and marathon number 48.
So that leads me to next Sunday, Perth marathon number fourteen. I have done little running since the Cape to Cape Ultra ( https://www.cape2capeultra.com.au/ ) in June this year , albeit I have managed four trails run in the last ten days culminating in a forty kilometre run over the weekend, is this enough ? No chance, but I’m hoping if I start conservatively I may be able to pull it off, maybe? I’ll run tomorrow and try and hold 4:30min/k pace for ten kilometres, if I can do that comfortably I may hop on the three hour fifteen bus, otherwise it’s back to where I started in 2002 and try to finish in three hours thirty minutes. I have an impeding sense of Deja-Vu ?
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
With the Cape to Cape miler last week this week was all about recovery. I was unable to run for four days post the ultra and had penciled in my first run Thursday morning at Yelo, my weekly 5:30am 14k progressive ( or a 10k easy?) . The alarm was set for 4:40 unfortunately due to a power nap earlier in the week I had set it to PM not AM. , rookie error so no Yelo run Thursday. Albeit I probably could have found time but wasn’t ‘in the mood‘ and had house chores and work to attend to.
Friday and Saturday were more of the same, finding excused not to run albeiut in my defence my Wife and No3 Daughter were away and I had a funeral to attend Saturday , so running took a back seat. This left Sunday where I was determined to run to keep my Strava streak going , 99 weeks of some sort of exercise, (you have Strava right ? http://www.strava.com ) It’s a pretty weak streak of course but at 99 weeks you aren’t going to break it are you ? So an easy 10k Sunday afternoon and that was it for week four of my sub3 mission.
That’s probably not enough to justify a post so I’d thought I’d reflect on my favourite marathon and go through some memorable moments. The Perth City to Surf marathon started in 2009 and it was also my first sub3 marathon. I finished in 2:58:14, 36th position overall from a field of 811. My first sub3 at 42 years old, in my tenth marathon. I was met at the finish line by one of my running hero’s , the mighty Mick Francis, who had pipped me by about a minute or so, also running over the top of my good mate Bartsy with the finish line in sight was special, albeit not for Bartsy, his second last sub three funnily enough. (He managed a third place at Rottnest the following year, his last)
My first sub3 with ne of my running hero’s , the Mighty Mick Francis.
In 2010 I had the runners nightmare when my Garmin discharged itself in the evening and I had no juice when I turned it on at the start line. This was back in the day when Garmin’s were for running only and not your everyday watch. Mentally this finished my race early and I tried to hang on to my mate Jon Pendse and a sub3 group but was ejected out the back around fifteen kilometres into the race. I then ran alone , with no idea of pace, and finished in 3:03:20 , good for 31 place overall, from a field of 976. I still reckon if I had my watch I would have ran sub3 but such is life. After this race I would wear two watches for many years.
Love this photo of Jon laying down the law just before I was dropped, with no watch I was doomed to failure.
2011 and my first sub two hours and fifty minutes finish. I finished in 18th place, in a field of 989, recording 2:49:13 with my mate Rhys ten seconds behind me and Jon three seconds behind him. Rhys was dropped early for a toilet stop, he’s well known for this, and we never saw him but unbeknown to us he was stalking us the whole way and ran Jon down in the finishing few metres.
Deeks Costella was the MC and managed to grab a great photo with Rhys, Jon and I.
2012 and I improved my time again finishing 7th overall out of a field of 1047, in a time of 2:45:05, just pipping Rhys again . This was important as I was the first Australian to finish and there was a $6,000 prize, unbeknown to me at the time, for this. The race was sponsored by Chevron who had brought in five male and one female African runners, the six ahead of me. At the time it was the most lucrative marathon in Australia and funnily enough I was working for Chevron at the time so was adorned in a Chevron singlet, I should have got a bonus , albeit the Chevron finishing tent was pretty special. Rhys got second Australian good for $3,000, incredible prize money for us ‘hack’ runners.
One of my favourite photos of the City to Surf, we’d managed to score bib’s 1,2 and 3..
I ran my marathon PB in 2013 and ran with the lead African woman the whole way, letting her break the tape a few seconds ahead of me. Finished 9th, from a field of 1196, in a time of 2:41:14 which I thought would be good for some prize money but it seems there were two Australians ahead of me after the six African runners. No worries, it was a great PB and I was stoked. The only time I ran with a named bib, given to the faster runners of an event, albeit in my case I knew the RD.
My PB time. 2:41:14
2014 I ran 2:49:02, good for 13th overall from a field of 1,141. I had been abroad the week before and picked up a calf knot so my streak of improving finishing times was done, still happy enough with another sub two fifty finish and got to wear the number one bib.
Should have sprinted faster for a 2:48 finish.
I got my best City to Surf finishing position in 2015 running fourth in a time of 2:48:30, from a field of 987 runners. By this time Chevron had dropped the prize prize money significantly and no African runners meant we all bumped four or five places up the finishing order, explaining fourth place ? I was hoping for $2,000 prizemoney for fourth but there was a caveat that prize money for fourth and fifth would only be paid out if they were in 10% of the winning time ? What, seriously.? Unfortunately for me Yuki Kawauchi, the Japanese super runner , had come across and ran a 2:16, with second place being 2:35. Yuki cost me $2,000. No worries, as I said earlier I run for the love of running, not prize money, albeit it would have been nice.
All smiles before Yuki does me out of $2k prize money.
In 2016 I ran one of the races of my life to finish in 2:41:44, my second quicker marathon time and good for fifth place from a field of 828 runners. By this time the prize money had all but disappeared and I think I got a $25 gift voucher I never used. A far cry from $6,000 for first Australian four years previous. I remember I was running with second and third at halfway and decided the pace was too quick , backing off. Both these runners ran sub two hours forty and I often wonder if I had just rolled the dice and went with them what would have happened. Bar a 2:44 at the World Masters later in the year I would never get close to this time, what could have been. I put this time down to Raf Baugh , he of the Running Centre in Perth, who trained me in 2015. Lessons I learnt from Raf got me this close again, three years after my PB on the same course, I should have went with them. ( https://therunningcentre.com.au/ )
2016 and at my most ‘show pony‘, even had the number 1 bib. Funnily enough you can see Raf in the crowd, wearing the baseball cap.
2017 14th from a field of 698 runners in a time of 2:49:23. I was recovering from my first major injury , a 5cm calf tear sustained in May which sidelined me for 12 weeks, only resuming full training in late June. After this result I continued to improve culminating in another second place at the Rottnest marathon in October. This is another what could have been but injuries happen and I was injury free before this one so I suppose it was my turn ? Highlight of this run was finding my good friend Mark Conway, who had just finished ahead of me, skulking in the medical tent at the finish, he was berated loudly. This was also the first time I wore carbo plated shoes, the Nike Vapoflys 4%. I hadn’t had time to wear them before the race and I still remember warming up running down St. Georges Terrace with the biggest smile on my face, I couldn’t believe how good the shoes were. Even only I had them a year earlier when I ran 2:41, what could have been ?
Pretty stoked to finish this one.
I missed 2018 due to another injury , a nasty case of plantar fascittis, which hurt as I had ran all nine of the previous City to Surf marathon. Truth be told I probably could have ran it was was protecting my sub3 streak which was over thirty marathons at the time. With hindsight I should have ran.
2019 was my last sub 3 at 52 years old, (at the moment?) , and also the last time the City to Surf marathon actually happened. COVID killed it in 2020 and then , due to the ever increasing costs and dwindling numbers, it was canned. I ran a 2:55:23 , good for 13th overall from a field of 598. It seems fitting my last sub3, number 32, should be ten years after my first at the same event and also the last time the event was run. It was an incredible event and holds so many good memories, if one race encapsulates my running journey it was this one. Ten finishes with nine sub 3’s in there (and eight sub 2:50’s) and two of may fastest times as well as a sprinkling of top five finishes, perfect just perfect.
The end of the City to Surf, 2019, surrounded by good friends. A fitting end to a magical journey. Jon, Nate, Jacques, Tony and Johannes.
Looking at the finishing photos for sub3 number 1 in 2009 and sub3 number 32 in 2019 I don’t think I’ve aged a bit, hell I look younger. Can I go sub3 one more time in October 2025, of course I can.
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
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.
image Outback Papparazzi
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.
It was wet and that is a massive understatement. image Outback Papparazzi
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.
Wet, windy and lots of soft sand.
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.
Organised Chaos image Outback Pappazazzi
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.
The Cape to Cape bus in full flight, driven by Andy with me in the passenger seat. image Outback Papparazzi
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.
Sand glorious sand, soft and plentiful.
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 .
I ran with Andy, Glen and Matty virtually the whole event. It was great to finish together.
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/ )
I worked hard for these pieces of bling.
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?
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
If you run the 50 mile you won’t see this, or anything really ?
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 Cape to Cape Ultra ( Aid stations marked with red tear drops)
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.
Love my ‘head torch bubble’ time
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 ?
More time with the running legend that is Simon Bennet this weekend…
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.
When Zombies come calling run with Felix !
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/ )
My hydration and nutrition needs are taken care off. Thankyou Vlad.
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
Week two in my quest for sub3 number 33 at the Perth Running Festival in 17 weeks ( https://perthrunningfestival.com.au/ ) . Last week I managed nine runs and 107k weekly distance and the plan for week two was just to run one more time , from nine runs to ten, and add distance, in this case 107k to 116k. Both goals ticked.
( you can read week 1 post here if you missed it https://www.runbkrun.com/2025/06/10/perth-marathon-sub-3-mission-week-1/ ) As you can see from my Strava output for the last 6 weeks I have been gradually increasing mileage, culminating, today, in my first long run since the Delirious West 200 miler in April. (There are many, many posts on my Delirious West adventures over the last 6 years on this blog) As we are marathon training, proper like, I’ve also started adding double days.
Monday . 10k around Herdy’s lake late morning , followed by my local Hyden Lane loop 10k, late afternoon. Both runs easy, just over 5min/k pace.
Tuesday I decided to add some pace so ran a seven kilometre progressive finishing off at just under 4min/k pace for the final kilometre and then a three kilometre cool down to hit ten kilometres for the day. Work, my dogs and family got in the way late afternoon and never made it out for run number two as planned.
Wednesday was back in Bold Park for a trail ten kilometre before a late run in the dark on the bike path to Trigg and back in the Aplhafly 3’s to help with the fatigue of another double day . Both runs felt good albeit they were both at an easy pace.
Thursday morning 5:30am, it’s Yelo time.
Thursday was the weekly progressive/threshold Yelo run with the usual suspects. I wasn’t feeling the love at the start, after the double days earlier in the week, so decided to just run ten with a fast finish. I was also meant to be tapering for the Cape to Cape 100 miler Ultra a week Saturday. ( https://www.cape2capeultra.com.au/ ) I know this is not normal practice to add a 100 miler in the middle of a marathon build but I have time before Perth, so why not? Started to pick up at the end but decided that ten kilometres would be enough knowing that I would double up late in the day. Took it very easy for the second run of the day, time on legs run.
Friday was back in Bold Park running my favorite trail loop, again at a very easy pace before returning again on Saturday for the same route albeit a tad quicker.
Long run with the BTRC crew and a sprinkle of Team Tina runners.
Sunday long run I was aiming for two hours , similar to last week, but with the BTRC gang (Ben Tay Running) and we were joined by a sprinkle of Team Tina runners, albeit I think most runners are members of both groups. Last week it was elevation I was chasing , finishing with twenty one kilometres and over 500 metres of vert, this week it was purely distance. No nutrition on the run, I like to run on body fat and try and burn some on long runs, I managed to squeeze in twenty five kilometres. This was enough to persuade me to hang up the trainers until Monday , after all I was meant to be tapering ?
Best bit about running long on Sunday, coffee and banana bread , toasted.
Post long run it was straight to the nearest cafe for a coffee, OJ and banana bread fix and laughter , lots of it, with the usual reprobates , some I’ve been running with for decades others just a matter of months; but we all connect over coffee. Not sure why Zac insisted on drinking coffee topless but each to his own I suppose ?
This weekend is the Rottnest Marathon which for everybody outside of Perth is a small island twenty kilometres or so offshore. It is a magical place and I have finished the marathon twelve times with my kids growing up on the island for one week a year, just wonderful memories. (If you’ve never been get yourself to Rotto quick smart https://www.rottnestisland.com/ ) The image below is me coming second with a two hour forty eight, and change, finishing time. The course is four loops and I had lost contact with the eventual winner on the first loop. I knew I was in third place and managed to move upto second when I passed my good mate Zap Jeps n lap three as he moved back through the field. I was content with second which would probably come back and haunt me as I only saw the first place runner ahead of me on the last hill where I closed to within touching distance before he put on the after burners for the last kilometre and beat me by about twenty seconds.
Because I only caught him so close to the finish I wasn’t mentally ready for his kick at the top of the hill, I wasn’t expecting to be in a sprint finish. Another ‘if only‘ moment as he collapsed over the line while I strutted around happy with a second place finish. If I had seen him earlier I would have been prepared for what was to come as he had come back to me very quickly on that last lap. Such is life.
2017, 2:48 , good enough for second place, again !
This year at Rottnest we celebrated the live of one of our own , Todd Ingraham, who passed this week. Todd had won Rottnest in 1998 and set a time that would be unbeaten for over two decades. He also won the Melbourne marathon in 2001 and the Perth marathon three times, 200, 2006, and 2011 . He also completed the Abbott’s World majors with an impressive average for the six events in the low two hours and thirty minutes. His wife Tina is another legend of WA running and the two of them were a formidable partnership with both running the Comrades marathon and achieving incredible results, Todd running sub seven hours twice and a smidge over seven hours for his final run.
Todd was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease ( MND) and fought his best fight but MND is a devastating disease, his death has been felt far and wide within the running community in Australia and within his professional commitments, as a serviceman and a police officer, always serving the community. Todd gave every race his all and it was a privilege to watch him disappear Infront of me for many races over the years.
This is a reminder to all of us to live every day and do out best because you never know when it is your time. RIP my friend, you were special.
Gone far too early. RIP Todd Ingraham.
Finally a bit shout out to Bix nutrition and Vlad for getting onboard the BK SUB3 freight train with BIX products, these products are , in my view, the best on the market and I’m stoked to have Vlad in my corner. Do yourself a favour and get onto the website and indulge yourself… ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
A week after the 24 park runs in 24 hours I threw my hat back into the competitive ring for the True Blue 100k ultra. This was formally known as the Australia Day Ultra and I had finished the 50km race once, and the 100km version three times. This race was never on my radar after completing the back to back racing weekends last year and swearing never to do something so stupid again. In my defense I held my resolve until Thursday evening before the race before texting Ron, the Race Director, and getting a cash entry; to be paid at the start line the following evening. What’s that about old dogs and new tricks ? Or is it old dogs doing the same stupid tricks all the time ?
Another reason for my race entry was to test my new once a day training program with Pilates and the gym thrown in instead of my second run. I had also been taking Creatine, HMB and Leucine and was curious to see if these would make a marked difference to my race. Best way to test out my new approach was to enter a 100k race a week after a 24 hour event surely ?
Ron , the RD, and Chris, the timer, prepare for a long day at the office, midnight start for the 100k and 75k runners.
As I mentioned earlier in the post this race wasn’t on my calendar until late Thursday evening, post a good recovery run from Yelo. The recovery week so far had been two trips to the gym, one easy run and a progressive, of sorts, run with Aaron Pyke at Yelo. This run had given me some confidence and add to that the FOMO (fear of missing out) and by Thursday evening I was on the laptop looking at previous posts on the event and watching my first ever 100k ultra video shot by Rob Donkersloot on Youtube. (
)
The video by Rob documented my first attempt at this event back in 2017 where I ran just over eight hours for a second place finish and I retired instantly. Of course I was back the following year to run a sub eight hour finish, 7:47, and planned to return the next year but caught a bad dose of man-flu the week before. This led to a five year absence where life and COVID got in the way. Last year I ran a 9:34 albeit it was a week after the 24 Park runs and I suffered, silly not to do it again right ?
I had no strategy this year bar finishing, I knew I was probably under done training wise and the legs would not have recovered from the previous weeks beating. My good friends Simon Bennet and Adam Scott were also running and I decided to stay with them for the first lap before dropping off, putting on the shokz and cruising to a finish. As it was the boys went out far too hot and I left them at the fist turnaround to go and powder my nose, actually an excuse to leave them and take stock.
The course is a 12.5k out and back loop, eight times, totally flat , with an aid station at each end and in the middle. This is good for continually passing people albeit at the start you are soon alone with your to thoughts, which I quite like. Throughout the event other distances come and go , for example the 50k runners start at 3am, the 25k runners start at 6am and the 12.5k runners start later than that? Either way it gets busier from 3am until around 9am , the next morning, where it is back to the 100k runners.
As you can see from the Strava image below showing my pace continually drop until halfway and the sunrise that would eventually save me. As I said earlier I had gone out way to quick with Si and Adam and started to pay the price. I was running alone at this point and starting to think about pulling the pin at 50k, four laps. In an ultra you go through bad patches as I had many, many times over the last few years. Last year was a similar story, starting on tired legs, coming close to pulling the pin at 50k and then finishing strong. Could I do it two years in a row?
The image shows my death spiral before the sunrise woke me up.
The low point in my race was just before sunrise at the middle aid station. I was done and sat down waiting for the sunrise, this was the only chance. As I have always said when the sun comes up the running terrain changes completely. All of a sudden there’s a spark of ‘maybe I can finish this’ , life is instantly so much better. It worked last year, could it work again now ? Only way to find out was to get up and run. Simple really, just keep moving forward. Surprising I started to pick up the pace and ran through the 50k point back out onto lap five. This was a big mental test, it would have been so easy to pull the pin at 50k, still a very reasonable effort after the 24 park runs the previous week. Moving onto lap five felt , with the sun in my face, felt so much better than the previous lap in the dark. The early hours were cooler and after a few ibuprofens and another nodoz I felt so much better. (don’t judge me.) All of a sudden I felt like I could finish and that was all I needed to move through laps five and six, picking up the pace kilometre by kilometre.
Starting lap 6 and I can smell the finish.. nearly.
In the end it was a similar story to last year, a good negative split and a 9:45 finish ( slightly slower than 2024) , good for a fifth place finish. Out in 4:59 and back in 4:45. I’m putting this down to a few things, firstly the midnight start which is not my favorite time to start a running race. The Feral Pig 100 miler is a similar start time and I always suffer on that race too, albeit the gradient and temperature are also factors for that event. The late , or is it early start, means to get to the witching hours (around 2am until sunrise) totally spent and sun rise is a big mental boost, enough to get you a few laps at this event which puts you two laps to the finish. This is enough to kick start the legs as mentally the sun is out, you’re over halfway and all of a sudden the finish line is in sight.
The eight lap format is also a big factor as you break the race down into eight smaller segments. Getting to halfway , in the dark , is the challenge. Sleep depraved the finish feels such a long way away (funny that?) but when the sun awakes and you get over the halfway the final four laps seem to finish quicker. Laps two through five define this race, especially the dark laps. If you can get out on lap six with the sun on your face you will finish.
Another negative split finish.
So what did I learn from the True Blue Ultra 2025. Yet again I learned the lows in an Ultra event are real but if you just keep moving forward things will get better, add in a sunrise , hydration and nutrition , and things will improve. This year, like last year, I was dead and buried at the halfway stage with a DNF looming on the horizon , instead a sunrise got me over the line, literally. Was it easy ? Hell no, it was bloody hard and it’s getting harder but that’s the point . It will continue to get harder until eventually I will stop and accept a DNF or at least stop dong back to back events , whichever comes first. I turn fifty eight in three weeks and the one person you can’t outrun is Father Time. I’m hoping the new training, less running but more strength training, will get me a few more events before I start to look at cutting back the racing calendar. Of course I’ve been saying this for a few years now and retire constantly but something keeps me coming back for more. Is is the high of the finish or the mental low, and pushing through, that keeps me returning to the scene of the crime ? I honestly couldn’t tell you , I need both to finish an event and that’s running, albeit compounded with ultra running of course.
Done and dusted. 5th place, 9:45. Very stoked.
So what’s next ? In less than eight weeks its Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra, ( https://herdysfrontyard.com.au/ ) the event I ran 47 hours back in 2012 which at the time was an Australian record for an assist, to the great Phil Gore. ( Watch the YouTube video here :-
) Since then Phil has gone on to run over 100 hours and break world records where as I have struggled to reach that number again. It has been a goal of mine ever since to get to 48 hours, 200 miles, can I do it this year ? I won’t have the Delirious West 200 miler beforehand this year as it’s moved to April, so I should be on fresh legs (if there is such a thing for a runner my age?) I have a crew of three to four other runners also aiming for the same goal so it could be on, if not I’ll have fun trying , until it’s not of course. After Herdy’s it’s the big dance, Delirious West 200 miler for the sixth time. ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) This is my favorite race, a week of beautiful trails surrounded by like minded people and Warwick Crapper, perfect. This year is going to be massive with a big field taking on the Delirious beast.
Simon and I ran most of Delirious West 200 miler together last year, expect the same this year.
Finally shout out to my good mate Rob Collins who scored a top three finish in the 25km race, Rob ran a great race and although he’s been troubled by injury of late he held on for a solid podium. He’s already talking up a faster attempt next year, hopefully we can reproduce this image for 2026. Financially also a good move as Rob and I can share the cost for shouting coffee at Yelo on Thursday, a tradition for us Yelo runners.
Rob and I show off our medals. Rob was third male in the 25k.
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
This weekend is the race that I have ran the most in my running career, the infamous 6 inch trail ultra, ( https://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) 47km of beautiful trails on the ( https://mundabiddi.org.au/ ) Munda Biddi trail, which runs over 1,000km from Kalamunda just outside Perth to Albany. We are truly based in Perth with the Munda Biddi and the Bibulumun track , the running version. ( https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/ ) . I first ran this event in 2008 when it was an fat ass , i.e. no entry fee and you look after yourself. I hadn’t looked at the trail and there was no GPX file available, needless to say I got lost and finished swearing to never run the event again, actually I tried to cancel my Comrades entry for the following year, I was done with ultra running. This seems to be a theme with races that I have either not enjoyed or DNF’d. The 6 inch, Feral and Delirious West are probably my three favourite events where as they all destroyed me the first time I ran them, go figure ?
This year we have Myself, Adam, Mark, Scotty and Bartsy in the full while Rob continues his love affair with the easy option and is entering the three inch. The word on the street is the biggest and meanest hill has been bulldozed , the infamous escalator, which is a real pity as you hit this hill around the 35k mark and it has destroyed many runners over the years including my good mate Michael Kowal, who has never ran tails since. Maybe this is the year for a good time ? Temperatures are looking good at the moment after a very hot period in the middle of the week. Last year we were so lucky with temperatures that would have cancelled the event on the day before and the day after, it looks like we will be lucky again for 2024.
The Escalator , bulldozed ! Such a shame.
This event is special due to it’s proximity to Christmas, it’s a final long run with friends before the madness of the festive period really kicks into gear. The finish line of the 6 inch ultra is a special place to be, everybody has just finished their last race of the year (normally) and it’s a time to either reflect on the year while also looking forward to Christmas and the next challenge in 2025, in my case that’s 24 park Runs in 24 Hours , January 11th. It’s also great to spend time with like minded people and because the event is in Dwellingup, a small rural town (village?) a few hours from Perth most people hang around for lunch afterwards, at the Dwelling pub. (Which does a Chicken Schnitzel bigger than Bartsy!)
The post from last year , 2023.
The 6 Inch trail ultra marathon is one of those races that you keep going back too for a number of reasons. Number one is Dave , the RD, gives you a red spike for 6 finishers ( a trophy for twelve), two is the unique atmosphere of an event so close to Christmas and three is the trail itself, just incredible. This year I was so close to missing out due to a hamstring tear but I was confident that I could finish after two good weeks of semi-reasonable training post a six week layoff. I was prepared to roll the dice because it’s the 6 inch and it’s tradition. As I have said many times runners love traditions, it’s in our dna.
This year we had Rob driving again with Adam, Bart’s , Scotty and I running. Rob was also giving massage’s at the finish line as part of his work with the Tribe and Trail shop ( https://www.tribeandtrail.com.au/ ) and The Long Run physiotherapy ( https://www.thelongrunphysio.com/ ) . If you’re a trail runner in Perth you need to look up both these businesses and get behind them.
The boys at the start of the weekend, all smiles at this stage of the proceedings.
Next on the tradition list of things to tick off was the stop at Baldivis BP garage and get a photo under the Truckers Lounge entrance. One day we might muster up enough courage to try and actually go into the Truckers Lounge but some things are better off unseen, for the moment we are happy enough with the photo outside. Maybe we’ll send in Bartsy next year , albeit I don’t think he’d ever come out ?
Traditional stop at the Baldivis BP garage for the Truckers Lounge photo.
Moving down the traditions list next we have drive to the top of Goldmine Hill and take a photo. For those who don’t know Goldmine Hill is the first hill at the start of the 6 Inch and it’s a big one with some serious vert sections. Just the thing you don’t need at the start of a 47km ultra. This hill has broken a number of runners over the years making the next 45 or so kilometres unpleasant. Back in the day I use to run this as Dave put on a KOM trophy for the first male to the top, those days are long gone and this year I walked the first kilometre for a very pleasant eleven minutes chatting to friends. With hindsight I could probably go a bit quicker next year but it was a nice change to amble into a race.
Next on the list of traditions is the Goldmine Hill cruise, chasing Barts to the top.
As you can see from the image below not all native animals survive on Goldmine Hill and this Kangaroo had seen better days. As Australians know a rotting Kangaroo is not pleasant on the nose and this bad boy was no different. I’m sure quite a few runners would have put on a spurt while passing ‘skippy’.
Road Kill and no, it wasn’t us !
Top of Goldmine Hill photo, tick, we were moving down the tradition list at a great rate of knots now. The conditions were warmer than we expected but luckily these disappeared over night and , for the event, we had perfect race conditions.
The top of Goldmine Hill photo.
After the traditional speech at the Forrest Centre by a panel of top runners it’s time to put on ‘Run Fat Boy Run’ and enjoy one of the funniest films we know with several scenes that just continue to raise a giggle. We even brought our own version down as the one at the accommodation had seen better days and we were forced to watch a different film last year. This did not go down well with the crew, remember, runners love tradition.
After the evening talk it’s time for ‘Run Fatboy Run’, a classic comedy that sets you up for the next day.
Post Run Fatboy Run we retreated to our room for the evening. Somehow Barts had snagged the double bed while Scotty, Adam, Rob and I shared two bunk beds next door. Needless to say four nervous runners sharing a room is never going to end well and I don’t think any of us got more than an hours sleep, albeit Barts had set his alarm for 2:30am so we were never going to get eight hours ! Rob also didn’t help the situation by trying to watch the English Premiership on his new iphone with the volume turned up. Luckily the internet is a new thing in Dwellingup and not very reliable so he gave up quickly.
Traditional start photo. of the runners. Adam, Scotty, Veronika, myself and Barts.
Next on the list is the traditional start photo of all the runners and then off we all go up Goldmine Hill and off to Dwellingup via the Munda Biddi trail ( https://mundabiddi.org.au/ ) Luckily we had our own cars at the finish line so drove to registration at the North Dandalup village hall before the short trip to the start line. Dave puts on buses to move the runners from the finish to the start as it’s a point to point event so it requires some logistical planning, we have always taken care of ourselves. There are some funny stories about this but not for the general public, lets just say if you’re going to run a point to point race do not leave your car keys , parked at the finish, in a bag in the car parked at the start. !
The tree at the top of the escalator.
The race itself was always going to be testing, it’s an ultra marathon after all. Add in the nearly thousand metres of vert over the distance and some hot temperatures and you’re in for a hard day at the office whatever happens. I was coming into the event off a hamstring tear so in the previous ten weeks had only ran three of them and really only the previous week of any note, distance wise. I had actually unregistered myself with the RD but with a few good weeks of run/walking was happy to roll the dice and risk my hammy for another finish and time with the boys. This was another reason for my eleven minute first kilometre, time spent socialising with friends rather than racing Goldmine Hill.
Eventually though I knew I had to kick on and left Barts and Scotty and worked my way through the field. I really had no idea how’d I go after my long lay off and injury. Initially I just wanted to finish, then it was finish under five hours and my top goal was break my time from last year, a personal worst time of four hours and forty eight minutes. Without the good training base I really had no idea what to expect. Undaunted I set off in pursuit of the next runner infront of me and used this as motivation to maintain a good pace but not too good leading to a blow out.
I always break down this race into three sections. The first section is the first 23k to aid station one. You then have another 14k to aid station two at the top of the Escalator hill and then the final 10k sprint (?) to the finish. I always enjoy the second half more than the first and post aid station one start to relax a bit knowing I have broken the back of the event. With the next aid station only 14k away it coms along a lot quicker then the first one and then it’s a ten kilometre section , albeit a nasty section, the the finish where you choose how much pain you want to endure. (Albeit sometimes this is worked out for you if the race has gone badly)
This year I was consistent the whole time, no walking bar the first kilometre and the Escalator Hill (which is unrunable) and just keep moving forward at a good pace but nothing that is going to lead to a blow out or hamstring damage. As I said earlier I just kept chasing the runner infront of me, I’d pass them and then onto the next one. This kept me honest and I really enjoyed moving through the field, chatting to a number of runners as I passed them.
Head down and it was time to think about the finish.
As the Escalator Hill is an out and back section you get to see whose just infront of you and can use this as either motivation if you’re chasing someone or a reality check, come warning, if someone is chasing you. As I Neared the top of the Escalaor I was surprised to see Sarah and Adam coming down less than three hundred metres ahead of me. I had written off any chance of catching these guys as they had set off with the lead runners and both were targeting far quicker times than me. Seeing them so close was all the motivation I needed to rush through the aid station and start my pursuit.
Funnily enough we had been talking about the race a few years ago when Scotty has passed Adam with two kilometres to go and gave him a pat on the backside as he did. Could I catch him and join this exclusive club ? This was all the motivation I needed, it was on like Donkey Kong. These sort of silly thoughts are sometimes all you need to switch through the gears and any thoughts of just finishing go out the window as the competitive juices start to flow. I caught Sarah on the next hill and ploughed on to eventually catch Adam with two kilometres to go, perfect pacing and timing, I couldn’t have been happier. Another tradition has now started, someone needs to catch Adam at two kilometers from the finish and give him a tap on the backside. If that someone is reading this please let me know the details, in 2024 Adam better watch his butt , remember now it’s tradition.
Bumping into TRC royalty.
After passing Adam on the final section of four kilometres or so, of slightly uphill , undulating , single track I bumped into Mr. TRC himself Sam Simsek, running his first three inch trails half marathon. Had to stop for a selfie with this legend as The Running Centre and Sam in particular have supported me for many years. ( https://therunningcentre.com.au/ ) Again runners in Perth get behind these guys, they are legends. It was then time to race to the finish and put number fourteen to bed, a raging success as I finish in just over four hours and thirty five minutes, thirteen minutes quicker than last year. I have Sam to thank for putting me into a pair of Hoka Mach X shoes which were brilliant for the terrain, although not a trail shoe the carbon plate protected my foot and the extra bounce helped keep my hammy in check. The trail itself is very runable and this explains the quicker finishing times of the top runners and also the domination of road runners over the years.
A consistent race.
I nailed the race with a no-expectation attitude and was never hurting too much, there were periods of self doubt as there are in any ultra but these are followed by periods of feeling great. Keeping on top of the hydration and nutrition also helped and it really was just about the perfect day. Even now as I type this race report the next day I’m looking forward to number fifteen in twelve months time, it’s tradition.
Finally we had the final two traditions to tick off the list, one is the finishers shot with all the runners at the finish line and finally the shot of all runners who completed the event in their new Six Inch Ultra tops. I must compliment Dave on this years tops, they are very good and I love the colour, very cool. Once we completed these it was off to the pub for a great lunch and the journey home, mission accomplished for 2023. I think this is now another tradition as the normal venue , the Blue Wren , upset us on Saturday by shutting early, we’re a fickle bunch runners.
Finishing line photo with all the Yelo runners.
Traditional photo of post 6 inch runners in this years t-shirt.
So that’s Ultra marathon number 46 which now matches my number of marathons I have completed , giving me a total of 92 events, eight more to go for the the one hundred marathons or longer total. If I have a good year in 2024 maybe I can reach the total at this event next year, that would be cool making the event even more special. Either way I’ll get to that elusive number sooner rather than later, why wouldn’t you ?
fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered. It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.
The 6 inch post from 2022 with links to many more :-
Running is all about traditions , runners love doing the same thing over and over. That may be training routines, entering the same races or just spending time with friends going to the same location for runs. After a while all these routines turn into traditions, and then they have to be adhered to, it’s tradition. The 6 inch ultra trail marathon ( https://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) is one of many traditions that the lads and I love to adhere to, albeit it use to be a family tradition (yes, you can involve the family) but the kids all grew up and no longer wanted to spend time with old runners. We took that on the chin and just stopped inviting them, it had now morphed into a lads weekend away. (I say ‘lads’ in the broadest sense of the word, our average age is well over fifty these days. It’s lucky Michael Kowal is still scarred by the escalator on his one and only 6 inch attempt a few years back or the average age would be in the sixties!)
To get a feel for the event I recommend trawling through my blog to get some old posts , I’ve attached a few links here. This will help with the post I’m about to recount.
Right now you’ve caught up with the history of this event it time to way lyrical about the 2022 edition. Due to various reasons we have a small starting line up this year. We lost Marky ‘Mark’ Lommers to a twisted ankle, Adam to gastro, Bart’s to a family holiday he had to take in Noosa and Scotty to long term injury. This left Jeffrey , Jon and I to toe the line at the start with Rob (poorly achilleas) again driving us to the start Sunday morning at some ungodly hour. (Remember it’s a point to point and we stay at the finish) After I persuaded Jeffrey to drive (remember we lost Adam to gastro and apparently if he can’t go to the event his 7 seater Prado can’t go either, a tad selfish me thinks!) we were off , high noon on Saturday, the day before the event. Jon would be joining us down there as he loves to hoon in his BMW and would prefer to do it alone apparently, less eye witnesses is probably safer for all concerned.
6 INCH ..Road trip ! Boys all smiles while I practice my influencer pout.
Right back to tradition, for this lads trip there are a few. First we always stay at the Jarrah Forest lodge , Jon always books the family room , and pays, thereby ensuring he gets the double bed (being the smallest) while the other room is shared with the lads (there’s two bunk beds). This room has the benefit of air conditioning in both rooms. I always stay in room 16 , a single room with a bunk, the farthest from the toilet block. This has no air conditioning, actually just a bunk bed, you get that prisoner cell block H feeling about the place. It’s clean and that’s all we need for one night. We use to go the pub the night but the meal portions are so large that it affected the running performances the following day. Bart’s was still eating his chicken parmi post race Sunday afternoon. I was above this of course and always take my own meal for the Saturday night, it’s tradition.
My favourite tradition is watching run fatboy run after bib collection on Saturday evening, we must have seen this movie at least five times but it still gets the same laughs in the same places, so good. Due to the set up at the lodge it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to nearly an hour to get the video working. There is an amp, a switcher box, a projector , at least two DVD players and cables everywhere. Things were looking good this year when Jon got the DVD talking to the TV, with the right input, in a matter of minutes but , as is tradition, things didn’t go that smoothly and the DVD had been played to death, literally. It was finished so after a brief interlude we selected another DVD, Will Ferrel in Semi Pro which , although not a run fayboy run, was a pretty good alternative. Never fear thought we have ordered Run FatBoy Run on DVD so will be watching it next year and we will bring all our own equipment !
Post DVD the boys scuttle off to their luxurious, for Dwellingup remember the town has a population of population 524, family room complete with air conditioning while I hit my jail cell, alarms set for 3am. This year I was lucky enough to have a very keen runner next door to me (?) who had set their alarm for 2am as they were catching the bus. Great, I get to get up an hour or so earlier than planned. It gets better, I was also next door to a snorer and the walls are paper thing, it felt like we were in the same bed ! When you hear someone snoring you cannot unhear it. Let’s just say I was sleep depraved while I ate my weetbix and drank my cup of sweet tea in the communal kitchen at 2:15am. Not ideal but I’m a big believer in it’s the night before the night before which is the important time to sleep, anything on the evening before the event is a bonus. Once the boys rose, an hour or so after me, we all got into the car as planned at 3:45am for the twenty minutes or so drive to the start and check in. The drive to the start is always a tad worrying as Kangaroo’s aren’t car friendly and if we were to hit a roo it wouldn’t end well for any of us. Luckily we didn’t see any albiet last year we’re sure Bart’s killed a bandicoot on the way to the start, something he still denies.
The drive to the start at 3:45am, looking out for Kangaroos !
As the image below shows we were last to arrive at the pre-race check in but we have a car so the drive to the start was only a few minutes away and we arrived with minutes so spare, more than enough. Unfortunately we were carrying a goody-pack for my mate Tristan who was running the 12 inch. This is another tradition of runners running from the finish to the start the night before (47km) and then leaving with the race at 4:30am and returning for the medal, another 47km; hence the name 12 inch. We managed to get Tristan his drop bag albeit a few minutes from the start, sorry buddy, it obviously wasn’t a problem as he ran the 12 inch in around 13 hours.
Last to leave for the start after the obligatory check in, me , Jamie and the volunteers left.
The plan for this race was to finish under five hours, not walk, bar the monster hills, enjoy the event and keep Jeffrey behind me to keep my 20 year or so winning streak. Jeffrey is now over 60 and running very well, he came close to pipping me to the post in Melbourne in October and had been training well since with Bart’s preparing him for battle. My running had been down the toilet since September due to over training (or over racing?) and niggles including tight hamstrings and a probable tear under my right knee. Weekly I was getting dropped at the Yelo Thursday morning gathering and my training runs in the hills had all been thirty minutes or so longer than last year. The smart money was on Jeffrey for this one. Jon was expecting another sub four hour finish but a nasty cough had me questioning his optimism.
The traditional start photo.
The 6 inch starts with Goldmine hill, a beast of a hill that has destroyed many a runners dreams. If you’re not prepared it can derail you very early in the piece, trust me if you are goosed after two kilometres the next 46 or so are challenging. This year me and Jeffrey decided to walk most of the hill with the masses, saving our running legs for the beating that was ahead. It was quite nice to enjoy the hill for a change, although I say ‘enjoy’ in the broadest sense of the word.? We summited full of beans and changed up through the gears cruising along in a group of about ten of us, mainly women surprisingly ? The event itself is held on the mundi biddi trail, a thousand kilometre offroad bike trail from Perth to Albany, so pretty good running. David Kennedy, the Race Director, reckons you can add about an hour to your marathon time to get an estimated finish time, he’s probably right.
The 6 inch has an aid station at 23 kilometres and then again at the top of the escalator hill, around 35 kilometres. There is also one with four kilometres to go but when you’re that close why would you stop? I ran with Jeffrey until the first aid station where he complained of a sore knee and walked into the aid station. This was my chance and , as all good friends do , when I sensed weakness I pounced or in this case left him. That was the last I would see of Jeffrey , or so I thought. My confidence was knocked by Mick Francis, the aid station captain, who mentioned I was limping and he’d pull me out if he was RD. A tad harsh I thought as I thought I was going ok ?
After aid station one there is another large climb to the highest part of the course, the 3 inch version of the Goldmine Hill I suppose. I half walked and ran this and took a few more positions as I started to warm up, after twenty years in Western Australia I’m now half lizard and love the heat. Once I get to the highest part I tend to flick over into finish mode and chase down the back end of the half runners and fellow full runners. As I mentioned at the start of this report this race was about finishing and having fun, as much as that is possible. I was feeling good enough to up the pace and started to move through the field albeit nothing to previous years but nice to be moving up the field none the less.
I climbed the escalator hill to the second aid station, filled my bottles and then started the last ten kilometres to the finish. It was here Jeffrey reappeared and all of a sudden my relaxed cruise to the finish changed to a very stressful run being chased by a motivated Jeffrey Wang. I managed to maintain the pace for the final ten kilometres and with the experience of twelve previous finishes I knew when you push and when to hang on. It wasn’t easy or pretty but I managed to finish in four hours and forty eight minutes and change. My new personal worse by thirty minutes but mission accomplished, sometimes it’s the journey that’s important not the time taken to complete it. As you can see from the smile below I was stoked.
Finish number #13, still smiling !
All that was left to do was the traditional esky photo, if you know, you know, don’t judge me. Thanks Nathan Fawkes for supplying the ice shower, may add this to the tradition for the esky photo, always keen to add more traditions ?
Traditional esky shot.
One final tradition is all the boys (and driver) who completed the course to put on their finishers shirts and get a photo. I have so many of these and enjoy looking back at all the lads aging gracefully and back in the day we’d even have a few kinds with us, they are all far too cool to have their photos taken with us these days of course. A small gathering this year but I’m confident there will be a bigger group in 2023.
Mission accomplished, what a great year 2022.
So that’s it for 2022, what a great year, ten ultra marathons and one marathon , I’ve been busy with over two thousand kilometres racing with a bib on my chest and another three thousand kilometres training. 6 inch number thirteen completed and I can’t wait until I;m back at the bottom of Goldmine Hill facing another 47 kilometres of the munda biddi trail , sleep depraved but excited about what lays ahead, why wouldn’t you, after all , it’s tradition.
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
Two weeks post Feral Pig 100 miler I had another chance to pin a bib on my chest and race another ultra. This time with a tad less elevation, well actually no elevation. The concept for this event is simple but so brilliant. You start at 2am at the old Dunsborough boat ramp ( I assume there ‘s a new one somewhere?) and run 25 kilometres along the beach to Bussleton Jetty (Again I assume there’s only one as this is neither old or new?) , turn around and return to the start. As the event is on sand you are at sea level continually, perfect , zero elevation. The website explains the concept ( https://www.alongrunonthebeach.com.au/ ) and the two maps show the simplicity of the event. The race directions are pure brilliance, ‘First 25km , keep the water on your left. Next 25km, keep the water on your right’ To make a good event better the race director schedules the event around the full moon so for 2024 there has been two events, one in February and this one in November. (Next year I think the event is planned for December 5th?) The full moon is the icing on the cake, it gives the event it’s 11 status on the Spinal Tap rating. (When you know, you know.)
So how had the legs recovered from the Feral pig a few weeks earlier ? I took a whole week off running post Feral as I even found walking tough. My quads seized solid towards the end of Feral , just before the 36km death loop, and they took just about a week to recover enough that I could even thinking about running. As you can see from my Strava extract ( You are on Strava right? https://www.strava.com/ ) for the period once my legs did recover I was able to get a few runs in pre-event. Maybe the double days early in the week was a tad over zealous but as my good mate Dave Kennedy says ‘you don’t taper for an ultra‘, not sure there’s any evidence for Dave’s claim?
The red circles indicate races. Feral Pig 100 miler and then the 50k Sandman.
It was good to see so many WA runners embracing this event and especially good to see Matt and Chris at the start line. Chris had also ran Feral two weeks prior and was originally running in a duo but his running partner broke her wrist at Feral so he stepped up for the full event. Matt is an ultra running machine and he’s finished Delirious many times as well as quick Feral times over the years, he’d also ran this event in February this year so would complete the Sandman twice on one year, a rarity due to the timing of the full moon and the congested racing calendar win WA these days.
Myself , Matty and Chris. The usual suspects.. both multiple Delirious finishers and all-round good guys.
Right the race itself went about as good as you can expect when you’ve destroyed your legs two weeks prior running a 100 miler with brutal elevation. Of course the elevation wouldn’t be a problem this time, there was more chance of drowning then blowing out your quads. The hard sand was just that, hard and sand ! It was great for running and I reckon you could have gotten away with road running shoes easily albeit they would need the ability to drain water quickly as there were a number of water crossings. In the end my Altra Lone Peaks and Injinji socks were fit for purpose.
I started with the lead group and worked my way back through the field as relay runners sped past me. This was the only negative with the event , with the relay runners (in a relay of two runners) starting at the same time so you were never sure who you were actually racing. This came back to bite me at the end when two runners I assumed were relay runners pipped me by seconds at the end , when if I knew they were doing the event solo I may (and that’s a big may?) have been able to catch them, turning a 8th place finish overall to a 6th place finish overall and fourth male. ? I’ll mention this to Andrew, maybe different colour bibs? My goal before entering the event was a sub four hour finish and on fresh legs I reckon I can give that a nudge but on cooked legs it is a no-no ! Looking at my splits I maintained the sub 5min/k average until the first aid station but after that it all went south. Halfway I was thinking sub four hours fifteen minutes could be a good time but that soon went out the window too . I managed to finish stronger in the last five kilometres or so and I never blew out completely so overall a B+ effort. Next year the event is early December so if I run Feral (and that’s a big IF?) I’ll be better rested for Sandman. Am I doing it in 2025, hell yeah, this event is pretty special , running on hard sand under a full moon at two in the morning, I mean come on what a concept. This was the tenth time Andrew, the RD, had put on the event and I’m so surprised it doesn’t get more competitors, it really is just ace !
I’ve added images below of the event , mainly from Bianca Harding as I was too busy racing to really stop and look up. This was a mistake and I regret not stopping at least once to immerse myself in my surrounding rather than concentrating on a silly little light bubble infront of me ! The whole point of this race is to lose yourself in the moment, the full moon over your shoulder running on hard sand at 2am is not a place you find yourself often. Rather than chase the runner infront of you just embrace your surroundings. I would regularly pass small stingrays in the shallows , in both directions, and had to be careful not to step on starfish or crabs, I mean how often do you say that after a run.
The moon lightning up one of many groins along the route which normally means getting your feet wet, which as Andrew, the RD, says is all part of the experience. He’s right you know, it’s just fun to run through water with your shoes and socks on, there’s something childish about it. My Altra Lone Peaks were perfect for this and I would barely notice the water a few hundred metres post ‘paddle’. This gave you the confidence to charge through the water with gusto, further enhancing the feeling of being a small child again while splashing in puddles with your new boots.
The image above is the sun rise just starting to think about showing it’s face to the world. This is so good as one way you have the moon over your shoulder and on the way back it’s the sun, genius. This really is the course that just keeps on giving, also did I mention it’s flat and runnable.
The images never do the real thing justice and I really regret now looking at this image not spending more time just standing on the beach looking at the full moon in awe. In 2025 I will be quicker but also reserve so time to breath it all in.
I’ll say it again, this is the best race you have never heard of. If you run in Western Australia you need to enter this event , did I mention the start and end points, Dunsborough and Busselton, are incredible little tourist towns which would justify a visit even without the event, you also have Margaret River an hour or so drive away. One final recommendation Andrew has a book shop , Text and Co. , here you need to be careful. His collection of books are next level and you can easily spend a serious amount of coin on his wares as I found out , I’m just saying. This really is the event that keeps on giving.
Thanks Andrew, what a bloody ripper of a book.
Finally a massive shout out to Vici Richardson returning from a long injury lay off to take out the female win, and also kick my ass by five minutes, being part of the Yelo running crew it also means she buys coffee on Thursday morning. Beautiful trophy. Well done Vici.
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
Podium position, albeit only a few metres into the race.
I’ve ran the Feral Pig 100 miler three times previously. The first time in 2020 I got back to the start line at around 130km but couldn’t get back out for the final death loop, a 36k loop of probably the hardest trails of the whole event. You can read about the whole sorry affair here https://www.runbkrun.com/2020/11/13/another-lesson-learned-ultras-teach-you-stuff/
In 2023 the event was cancelled due to fires on the track,. a pretty good reason in my view, so my entry was rolled over to this year. This was actually ok with me because I had to pull the pin anyway due to a torn hamstring , I instead offered to volunteer.
For those readers to lazy to read my previous posts here’s a quick run down of the event. You meet up at the Perth Discovery Centre (PDC) in the Perth hills for check-in and then board a bus for a 130 or so kilometre drive to the start of the event, somewhere on the Bibbulmun track ( https://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/ ) just off the Albany Highway. The bus leaves the PDC at 9:30pm and gets you to the start just before midnight. You are then given some encouraging words from Shaun Kaesler and off you go, back to the PDC , which you should encounter around the 125k mark, leaving you around 36k for the ‘death loop’. As the name suggest there is nothing fun about the death loop, it’s probably the hardest part of the course and you are forced to leave the safety and comfort of the event village to then go and run around in the dark for a very long time ! You can see why it’s called the death loop ! (or DNF LOOP)
The calm before the storm with Andy.
The Feral Pig miler is a very, very hard race, probably the hardest one I attempt. It’s a combination of the midnight start , elevation and the stinking hot conditions combined with minimum aid stations due to the remoteness of the location. It really is the event that just keeps on giving and not in a nice way but that’s also the attraction. With most other events, well all other events, I look forward to race day, it’s what I do but with Feral it’s a mix of nervous anticipation and fear, more fear truth be told. I suppose the ghost of the DNF in 2020 has never really left me even after two successful finishes.
Right better get into it then, strap yourself in for the Feral 2024 roller coaster.
The bus drive to the start is probably the most dangerous part of the whole day !
I always try and get some shut eye on the bus for a couple of reasons. One I need sleep as the midnight start means by the time you finish you’ll more than likely have had two days plus of no sleep, this can be a problem funnily enough. Secondly the bus driver is normally a wanna-be formula one racing driver who didn’t quite make it but still has delusions of driving large objects very quickly in confined spaces. i.e. large coaches on country roads. This year we were doubly blessed with a coach demister which seemed to have given up the ghost so the driver was staring into a small clear spot on the window while we assumed he was using the force to get us to the start, because he couldn’t be using his eyesight ! Best thing was to close my eyes and if I opened them later it was a bonus.
Initially the conditions were perfect, no wind and humidity levels you could cope with.
It’s normally quite chilly when you are kicked out of the coach, not this year, it was very reasonable, no need for a jacket although I kept mine on just incase. We had arrived to the start late due to roadworks apparently or the fact the coach driver couldn’t actually see out of the front window ? This wouldn’t be a problem as Shaun decided we would cut short the initial out and back loop , this way the half-an-hour delay wouldn’t be reflected in the overall time and volunteers could get home at a reasonable hour without working another half-an-hour due to a coach driver inability to work a coach demister ? I was stoked because it meant the aid stations all got about 2-3 kilometres closer.
The midnight start combined with the long distance to the first aid station, just over forty kilometres, and then another thirty kilometeres to aid station two makes the first night challenging. The first thirty kilometres pre-Mount Cooke is also very runnable and flat so you can burn yourself out very easily, you need to show some restraint. I normally try and get into a ‘train‘ of runners for conversation as it’s quite early in the race and people still have the ability to talk and run at the same time, later in the event this is not possible. On the bus I sat with my mate Andy Thompson who I had ran with the last two times I had finished Feral. He is a ‘bus driving‘ machine and I booked my ticket for the third time, funnily enough I didn’t actually run with Andy until around the 95km mark but then stuck with him , mostly, to the end with Glen Smetherham, Felix Meister and Tristian Cameron and a cameo appearance from Jutta Kober. In these events company is important, that or a good pair of headphones and the complete works of Taylor Swift.
The perfect conditions didn’t last too long, a few hours into the race the heavens opened which for Feral, ran in a late Perth Spring , is unheard off. By this time I had ditched the rain jacket and never stopped to put it back on, there was always a reason why I couldn’t stop and unpack my backpack to fish out my jacket. It wasn’t a problem initially but moving forward wet shorts would come back and bite me , painfully, later in the event. On the bright side , for the first time in four years, there wasn’t a typhoon on the top of Mount Cooke. It’s normally still conditions at the base of this summit and then you’re fighting to stay on your feet at the top, probably one of the main reasons I don’t mountaineer !
The perfect conditions didn’t last, pouring rain in Feral is very, very rare!
As I said earlier the first night racing Feral is brutal. The midnight start and the long distances between aid stations , runnable conditions and one brutal climb all combine to make the start one of the hardest in the Ultra Series calendar of events. I had a drop bag for the first aid station at Sullivan Rocks containing my weetbix breakfast, I hoovered this down and moved on chasing Glen and Felix up Sullivans Rock and beyond. The plan was to also change my top but the inclement conditions didn’t bode well for a singlet so I stuffed it inside my backpack, considering the Feral was postponed last year due to fires this year really was not expected.
Chasing the lads up Sullivans Rock after the first aid station and a good breakfast.
Eventually Tristan caught us and we all arrived at my favourite aid station in this event , Brookton Highway, to feast on a veritable smorgasbord of ultra running goodness provided by Shannon Dale. By the time you reach Shannon and his aid station you are famished and you gorge yourself on bacon, eggs, pancakes, and anything else offered. I managed a bacon and egg muffin and an Acai bowel, of sorts, which was very good. Unfortunately for Glen it was too good and he over did the nutrition, letting his stomach get the better of him. This would come bite to bite him on the next leg of our journey as he suffered the consequences of over eating and then running. Once you get past Brookton Highway the aid stations come thick and fast until the finish, with the biggest jump abut 15k from Allen Road to the PDC. Post Brookton it is was only 12k to Mount Dale Aid station and then another 11k to Beraking Campsite. A big change compared to the initial 41k from the start to Sullivans Rock and then another 30k to Brookton highway. I think that’s another reason you enjoy the food at Brookton Highway because you know you’ve broken the back of the event with the additional aid stations facing you.
The first Feral bus before Andy joined us. Glen , Felix and I enjoying Shannon Dale’s , and family, cooking.
As with all areas with a Mount in their name we had some serious climbing to do as well as some good running terrain. It was about this point I noticed some chaffing going on and this would soon start to become a painful problem. I had ran out of time getting changed at the start and didn’t have time to apply sudocrem to the family jewels. Rather than take the small tub with me in the bus I put it in a drop bag for Beraking , around the 95k mark. Problem was I was now around the 70k mark and things were getting very painful, very quickly. By the time I got to Mount Dale I was really suffering. Luckily Matty Peirce was there with a tube of Lucas Papaw ointment which got me to Beraking aid station and my sudocrem. Unfortunately by this point the damage was done and I was contemplating pulling out, it was bad. I did set off with the usual suspects but had to duck off into the bush and apply another good helping of sudocrem to the affected area. It was enough to keep me in the game but I would regret that small oversite for the rest of the event, and believe me that is a long time suffering. In an ultra one small mistake can have huge consequences.
Saturday morning was cold and overcast , I can’t believe I typed that when describing a Feral image.
The Feral rain in full flight, a thing of natural beauty.
Once I managed to get ontop of the pain in my shorts due to chaffing challenges the Feral train continued to Allen Road aid station. From here I was in very familiar territory, I’d probably ran this part of the course nearly a hundred times over the years. I left the train so I could get to Helena Hut, about four kilomtres away, to use the drop toilet. For some reason every time I have left Allen Road I feel reinvigorated, maybe it’s the quality tukka at the aid station or just I’m now in very familiar territory ? I was finally running at pace and decided to continue to the Perth Discovery Centre another eleven kilometres where I would pick up my pacer for the final 36k death loop. As the sunset I was flying and reeling in 50 mile runners quickly. I made the Discovery Centre, where the event started the previous evening, in around 24 hours, 9pm.
I think this is an Andy sunset image ?
Unfortunately this is where my race got totally derailed. I was running well into the Discovery Centre and my plan was for a quick pitstop to pick up some spare batteries for my second hand torch, change of shoes and straight back into the night for a longer break at the next aid station, Camel Farm, eleven kilometres away. This all relied on my pacer being there for me as I wasn’t keen on the death loop along. My pacer had other ideas it seems and didn’t show up as planned, this threw a curve ball into my plan and I decided I’d wait for the Feral train to catch me up, which they did about thirty minutes later. Add in their time to get ready and I was at the aid station for nearly an hour. In that time my quads seized probably due to insufficient nutrition or hydration , coupled with the brutality of the terrain, either way my race was now over for any sort of reasonable time. Instead I hopped on the back of the train and we hiked most of the next seventeen kilometers to the Kalaunda aid station where we would be reunited with Shannon Dale , his wonderful Wife, Darlene, Peta and glorious cooking. The image below shows the scene as we rested before the final push to the finish, now only seventeen kilometres away. I had the best pumpkin soup I have ever tasted albeit at that stage of the race all food tastes so good, but knowing Shannon it would have been incredible. Glen managed to keep his stomach under control this time, still harbouring memories of Brookton Highway aid station a lifetime ago.
Kalamunda aid station, very, very early Sunday morning.. best Pumpkin soup EVER !
On the way back from the Kalamunda aid station we were passed by Felix who we had left behind at the PDC hours earlier as he needed sleep and had walked int the aid station looking like a zombie, and a tired one at that. After he slept for thirty minutes he was like a new man and caught and passed us like a rocket, it seems sleeping is his EPO or I want a drug test so I can get some. Tristan also left us at Camel Farm aid station on the way back as he wanted a sub thirty hour finish. Andy and I had ran sub thirty hours in 2021 and had no desire to repeat the process this year, Glen just wanted to get back to the finish. So the train was left with just the three of us and we hiked, slow jogged to the finish, together.
Sunrise at the Golden View with Glen and Andy.
Couldn’t resist getting one last photo in the race at Golden View and it certainly lived up to its name with the sun just poking it’s head above the horizon, glorious. Coming into the Golden View my quads were absolutely destroyed, each step down was so painful, I was done, the tank was well and truly empty. The death loop had beaten me again, I had hiked most of it and would hate to think how long it took, it will be a very long time. I wonder what would have happened if I had ran though PDC as I wanted to do instead of waiting an hour ? The only thing that would make me think about doing this event again would be the opportunity to put the death loop to bed and run it similar to my 2021 effort. Also maybe try and get a gold buckle for a sub 26 hour finish, runners love buckles and gold ones are special !
The train back together again at the finish. Job done. Feral finish number three.
So the train got to the finish, lead by Andy for the third year, the boy is a diesel van of the highest order. Lock in a pace and distance and let him do his thing. Myself , Glen and Andy all finished together while Felix and Tristan finished thirty minutes ahead of us. Another good year for the Feral train, with all five of us making the top fifteen.
Before and after photos.The little tube of magic that got me to the finish, eventually.
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!
Great hydration.
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.
Fractel headgear, just ace.
Shokz headphones, let you keep in touch with the world around while losing yourself in quality tunes or podcasts. ( https://shokz.com.au/ )
Best running headphones EVER !
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/)
Altra supply the best trail shoes on the planet, in my opinion, and none better than the Olympus five. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair. ( https://www.altrarunning.com.au/ )
https://www.osprey.com/au/en/category/hydration/trail-running/ Osprey Australia have come onboard and are supplying me with two running backpacks and travelling luggage for the Run Britannia adventure. I particularly like their running backpacks and am excited to test them over the event. I’ll be using the Duro 6 and the Duro 1.5 backpacks.
Excited to have Coros onboard who have supplied me with the new Apex 2 Pro GPS watch. I already owned the Apex 2 and was stoked when Coros reached out and offered me an upgrade. Even more battery life, can you believe 75 hours using GPS, wow! The watch itself is awesome, so light and well made. The watch is paired with a incredible application to keep track of all your stats, and runners love stats ! . ( https://coros.net.au/ )
