Written by Coach Andy
Goals:
To be competitive in the race
Top 5 - top 10
I'm Elite or am I?:
To recap this race I need to go back to April when I decided to see if I could get a late elite entry into the then sold out UTA100 in May. I was feeling good after winning the 100km at the inaugural Noosa Ultra Trail and I thought I’d try my luck. So I sent the organiser's an email and asked if they could help me out. They replied pretty quickly and told me I didn’t qualify as an elite for this event. At the time I thought that was pretty rich considering I’d just won Noosa. Apparently that wasn’t good enough.
In hindsight it would have been a stretch to run well at UTA in May and also run well at Gold Coast marathon in early July… that being my target event for that time of the year. And of course the UTA event ended up postponed until October due to bad weather so it didn’t matter… but… it lit a little fire in me to prove them wrong. I wanted to go to UTA and win or podium.. I’d show them! Haha.
So when it got postponed I signed up for the new date and after recovering from Gold Coast marathon I started training for October.
Train hard, train a lot:
I trained hard for this race. I wanted to turn up in the best possible fitness for the day.
So when I committed to the event I set out a basic target of hitting around 15 hours of running a week for as many weeks as possible. Within that was a decision to let go of counting mileage and just do the time. Why 15hrs? Because I knew that was a lot for me and would be a stretch. I often say I’d love to do hours like a pro ironman does. I think anyone* (* I know it’s not really that black and white) could get ridiculously fit, beyond anything most people think is possible for themselves off 20-30hrs of cardio a week plus strength work. It would be cool to see what would happen if some of the top Aus and NZ pro endurance runners did that volume. Topping up their running hours with something like cycling or elliptical. From the outside it looks like they have currently accepted limits in line with what most other elite runners do and no one I’m aware of in Australasian running is pushing those boundaries to break through.
Looking back I managed to hit 15hrs or more on 6 of the weeks and averaged 13.5hrs over 13 weeks. Hitting pretty decent elevation each week. This is definitely the hardest I’ve trained since I did Port Macquarie Ironman back in 2017. It was a really good block, and I was over it with a few weeks to go, tired from the accumulated fatigue in my body.
Highlights of training:
There were a few highlights along the way worth noting as I jumped in some races and surprised myself with the results. The two big ones were Coastal High 50km and the Sydney Marathon.
Coastal High: This is a beautiful event, run in the Gold coast hinterland from Binna Burra to Springbrook. One to put on your list. Although the leeches that joined me on the shuttle bus to the start were not so much fun.
I entered this as an excuse to get something close to 5hrs of hard running in. It was earlyish in the training block so I really didn’t plan on going for the win and was very surprised when the win came to me. It was a great result for me to run steady, hard, not over cook myself and run through the field to finish first. I have to say commiserations to Eddie. He did the thing that often backfires in races of all distances. He went off the front very early and probably spent so long running solo that when I caught up to him it was a big shock. I’ve had that before, its not a great feeling. I had a massive adrenaline rush at the finish of this one. It was a cool race and a good win.
Sydney marathon: I set a marathon PB of 2:28:29 which was completely unexpected. For this it was very last minute as I joined the Qld team for the Australian marathon champs. I did this 2 weeks after Coastal High 50km off no significant taper other than having been sick for the week post Coastal High. There were a few pre race highlights for this one:
I got removed and then added back onto the QLD team through some miscommunication.
attending the elite briefing including having to present my shoes and singlet to make sure they met regulations
race morning jogging across the Sydney harbour bridge to the start at sunrise.
For the race itself I ran with no fear but not crazy and felt really good for most of the race. I used SIS Beta fuel in bottles for this after having a good experience with it at Coastal High. It didn’t disappoint as I fueled well throughout the run, not hitting a noticeable marathon wall at any point. A massive thanks to Tim Hewitt for being around me the whole race. I chased him then he chased me for most of the run and we finished strong together.
Races during lead up:
Sunshine coast half marathon: 1:11 pb.
Bridge to Brisbane: 10km 9th, 32mins.
Coastal High 50km: 1st, 4hrs 35mins.
Sydney Marathon: 2:28 pb.
SEQTRS Enogerra long course: 2nd.
Ok that's enough about the lead up.. let’s get on to the big one. UTA100 October 2022.
Pre race:
I travelled solo for this one, flew down from Brisbane on the Friday and jumped on a train from Sydney airport to Katoomba. It was a surprisingly easy trip with regular trains that stop in the heart of Katoomba.
My accommodation for the weekend was a dorm at the YHA and it was fine for the night before and the night after a big race. It was really fun to be in a room with lots of other runners, to eat in the common kitchen, people watch and also to chat about the event. I felt really engaged in the event from staying there. It was also perfect for catching the free shuttle all weekend as there was a stop right outside going in both directions.
Race day:
I was quite happy to have my mandatory fleece and gloves at the start as it was freezing.. well under 10 degrees Celsius. I started the race with the gloves on and ran the whole thing with them in my shorts pocket. This edition featured a much altered course from the normal one due to poor trail conditions so I don’t know what the normal course is except that it is much hillier. We ran on bitumen for a good 10-15km at the start before hitting the main dirt road that was the majority of the course this year. Joseph (6th place) was in Alphafly 2’s… man i was jealous during the run. I would have loved a shoe change but as I only paid for carry on bags I couldn’t fit a pair of road shoes in. In reality the Salomon Ultra Glides were a great trail shoe for this event. Loads of cush, light and reasonable grip.
A 100km race takes a long time no matter how fast you are so I relish the opportunity to run with company if possible. I found Joseph (6th), Mike (4th) and George (11th) were that company for me for a good while in the first 50km. We had a few laughs, speculated on the form of those ahead of us, just generally provided a bit of distraction to each other. I was pretty gutted when I had to take a toilet break at the 57km checkpoint and was detached from Mike and Joseph. I never saw them again that day.
We passed the 50km in just over 4hrs. I joked that we were on for an 8hr race. Not far off for Reece (1st) in the end but he was already well ahead by then. The 57km checkpoint was the real halfway mark in my mind. Get there, get refueled and start heading back towards the finish. Unfortunately out of that checkpoint I was solo for a good 15-20km and was feeling the sun on my head. Even though it was cold in temperature, the direct sun was having an effect. I went through a bad patch at around the 6hr mark, reduced to walking and shuffling, fighting with the negative thoughts that often creep in. It was some time in this patch as I started to merge with the 50km runners that Morgan (7th) caught and passed me. We’d passed Morgan at around 40km and he looked DONE. I thought he was a DNF for sure. In the end he put 10 minutes into me in the last 30km. Very impressive.
So as I merged in with the 50km runners I slowly started to come right. I’d reduced my fueling and I think my body started to work itself out as I stuck to mostly just water. Coming out of the last checkpoint at 87km I knew it was going to be about how hard I could push to maybe try and catch someone ahead and not get caught by anyone coming from behind.
The last 20km were a blur of “on your right”s, “runner back”s and “passing”s. Trying to pass people on stairs when you are 8 hours deep and they are “only” doing a 50km is a challenge. There I was running up behind then asking to pass and then walking at the same pace as them, then skipping ahead slightly, walking, jogging, hiking… repeat, repeat, repeat. It was the most engaging part of the race, equal parts - I won’t do this ever again, this race is stupid, why are there so many stairs; and being so grateful that so many strangers can be so positive, cheering me on, stepping aside, just generally being humans at their best.
In the end I popped out of the final section of stairs and ran for home. No one passed me after Morgan had done so and I didn’t catch anyone. I’d been doing the math's on a sub 9hr for a long time. Trying to work out that kind of thing when you don’t know the course and are pretty fatigued is not very reliable but I knew I would be close and it became the goal, it motivated me to push on as I thought it would be something UTA won’t see again for a while. It will be nice to look back and say I am one of the eight that went sub 9hrs in 2022.
Final Result: 8hrs 57minutes. 8th overall. (Strava link)
I’m really happy with my overall position in a very competitive edition of the event. I finished strong but… I would have liked top 5 and not to have had a bad patch in the race. I’m getting closer to a really good 100km race, not quite there yet.
Post race:
Another obvious statement but I was really cooked at the finish. It took me a couple of attempts to leave the finish area as my legs were not working. I had to go back into the recovery area and sit some more before I had enough energy to make my way to the bus stop for the trip back to the hostel. It's so funny how we can run for hours and then all of a sudden past the finish line we can hardly walk.
After a rest and shower at the hostel I went out for dinner and somehow found myself ordering a big steak and chips. This was not a plan I had and I didn’t know if I could eat the steak when it was put in front of me but to my surprise it was not a problem.
A couple of beers and a little chatting to some fellow runners back in the hostel and then I was off to bed..
I woke up on Sunday feeling ok. Top 10 meant I got to go to the prize giving and get a little trophy. I also picked up 3rd in the 40-45 age group so there was a pair of socks on offer for that as well. It was fun to get up on stage and mingle with the other top guys. It also gave me a chance to chat with George, Joseph, and fellow Queenslander's Jack Gill and Mananakbo Washington who were there for the presentations.
From there it was back on the train to Sydney airport and home again by Sunday night. It was on the train that I encountered an older couple, probably in their 60’s, who were hobbling like they’d done the 100km. I asked and its turned out they had in fact finished at 6:30am that morning. A 21hr run for them!!! I continue to be amazed by people that run 5-6hr marathons or 20hr plus 100kms..
Final note… I don't think I proved that I should have been considered elite by the event organiser's. A win or top 3 would have done that. Will I be back to UTA100? I don't know.. do they need all those stairs?
Thanks for reading.
Andy
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