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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The North Face 100 - 16th & 17th May 2009


I probably got interested in this race not long after I had decided to have a go at The Cradle Mountain Run. I followed the Coolrunning forum and there were only good things said about the race, and it just sounded like such a great experience in some great trail running country.

I actually put my entry in for this race before I had even completed The Cradle Mountain Run and for quite some time I wasn't really sure if it was such a wise decision to make. Even though I was somewhat unsure, I knew that I wanted to have a crack at a 100km ultra as it is such a significant milestone, just as it is for a cricketer to score 100 runs.

I used Cradle Mountain for a base and just continued my training once I had fully recovered.

Leading up to The North Face 100 I was quite nervous, unsure, and I didn't really seem to have all of my "ducks in a row", so to speak. Even the night before the race, after I had registered, packed my drop bags and all my other gear I still felt like I wasn't ready. I had an early night to bed and set the alarm for 4:15am to give myself plenty of time to get the body going and prep for the race.

Throughout the night it was blowing an absolute gale and I was hoping that it wouldn't be like that in the morning. However, when I awoke the wind was still quite strong. I did all of my usual pre-race stuff, crossing of my checklist and before I knew it, it was time to head over to the start of the race at the York Farimont Resort.

I dropped off my drop bags containing all of my supplies that I could access at checkpoints 3, 4 and 5, then headed off to the nice warm lobby in the hotel, soaked up the fantastic sunrise and waited for the call to head to the start line.

We were called to the start line. It was not until we lined up at the start that I actually felt ready. Speeches were made and then we were off.

The start was quite civilised, with the fast guys disappearing into the distance and everyone else trying to fit in to where they think they should be for a 100km run.

It wasn't long until we were into the bush and were greeted with some fantastic views over the Blue Mountains. The trail headed down, and quite quickly headed down very sharply, down steps that at times were almost like ladders. I had heard people talk about steps and stairs in this race, but I don't think you can appreciate just how many there are and how steep they are until you see them. Being only some 6 or so kilometres into the race I must admit I was bit concerned regarding just how many more stairs there would be.


The next few kilometres were quite frustrating at times, with faster runners wanting to pass me and slower runners in front of me that I wanted to pass, all on narrow single track. It wasn't until the Golden Stairs that it started to get tough; and real quickly too. To give and idea of how steep the stairs are, at times you are using the steps in front of you to pull yourself up. It definitely sorted a few runners out, and upon reaching the top we were at Checkpoint 1, Narrow Neck - 17km.

After leaving Narrow Neck, we had a tough climb which then levelled out to provide some nice consistent running. It was along this section that finally I wasn't being passed by faster runners and I wasn't passing other runner myself. It was nice to finally feel like had a nice rhythm and I also enjoyed finally being on my own.

The next major hurdle was the Tarros Ladders; two ladders that took us vertically down a shear cliff. The hurdle was due to a long line of runners waiting, and it wasn't until I got some way down the line that I could see it was going to be a long wait. It was blowing a gale here and in no time I had my gloves and gortex jacket on, but it was still cold. Probably the only positive aspect of the wait was getting to chat to other runners.

By the time it was my turn to descend the ladders, which was some 30 or so minutes later, I was starting to shiver so I was happy to be on the way down. The first ladder was simple but the second ladder was a pain because my pack kept on catching on the rope cage, and I had to almost put my chest on the ladder to stop it from catching.

Once down at the bottom it wasn't long at all until I had to take my cold weather gear off because I was getting too hot. The rest of this stage was rather uneventful with some nice running into Checkpoint 2, Dunphy's Camp - 38km.


Not long after leaving Dunphy's Camp there was a rather nasty sharp climb up onto Ironpot Ridge, where we would run the out and back leg on the same piece of single track. Once up the top we were greeted with some brilliant views and relatively easy running. However, as we descended Ironpot Ridge the trail turned into a very steep and loose surface that was exceptionally tough to keep traction on. My trail shoes had just enough grip to get me down without sliding too much, but other runners were practically skiing down the trail as their shoes didn't provide much grip.


I passed the 45km mark and soon I was thinking about the halfway point. A couple of creek crossings, a tough climb and I had passed 50km; the halfway point. Even running on the flat was starting to feel like hard work and I was trying to understand how exactly I was going to complete another 50km. I wasn't at all having thoughts of not making it, but it just seemed like such a massive effort and I was trying to comprehend how exactly I would survive another 9 or so hours. It interesting that as ultra runners, even for us the task ahead seems so difficult.

After passing through the 50km mark, the track went down and I actually wasn't enjoying it at all. It seemed that my downhill legs were getting a bit tired and I preferred it when the track went up. Soon I arrived at Checkpoint 3, Old Ford Reserve - 54km.

At Checkpoint 3 the marshals were doing mandatory gear spot checks. It's quite a pain having to open up your pack and show that you had thermals, maps, and phone, but I understand why they do it and completely agree that it should be done. I finally got around to removing some of my ankle strapping that had been annoying me for the last 30km, why I didn't do it earlier I don't know. I refilled my hydration bladder, restocked my food supplies from my drop bag and also had a sausage on bread. The sausage would turn out to be the nicest and most satisfying food that I ate all day!


As I checked out I heard a couple of locals saying how the next 8km was very runnable, however at the end of the runnable section was the dreaded climb up through Nellies Glen. It didn't take long for the last of the usable sunlight to disappear and I was finding it tough to pick my foot placings; so it was time to get the light out.

Never having run at night time before, other than in training on trails I know like the back of my hand, I was unsure how easy the markers would be to follow in the dark. It didn't take long to find out that the reflective tape used to mark the trail stood out from at least a couple hundred metres away, and it was going to be a piece of cake to keep on track.

I was now at the bottom of Nellies Glen and for a while it climbed gently, but quickly turned into some exceptionally steep climbing up steps. I did resort to using my hands to press on my knees and take some strain off my quads, but I was making reasonable progress and eventually came across some other runners. I think I must have passed around 4 runners on the climb so I was very happy with that given it was such a tough climb.

Next came the road section into Katoomba and I knew that the next checkpoint wasn't too far away. I must have mucked up my Checkpoint 4 distance, because I was sure it was at 64km and finding out that it was at 67km messed with my mind for a while, but I managed to stay calm about it and not get too uptight. In the few ultras that I've done I've learnt that losing your temper just ends up making you go into a downward spiral. You need to stay positive and calm. An extra few kilometres than I was expecting later, and I was at Checkpoint 4, Katoomba Oval - 67km. I didn't waste any time at checkpoint 4 as it was bitterly cold.

I was now on the way to the final checkpoint. I headed off towards the 3 Sisters not really knowing what to expect. As I started to negotiate the near vertical Giant Stairway, I was right next to the 3 Sisters and the light from my headlamp disappeared into nothing. It was absolutely spectacular to be looking at the 3 Sisters at night time and descending into at first glance what seemed to be a black hole. As spectacular as this section was, it was horrible on the body. I really had had enough of descending by now and the Giant Stairway wasn't any fun at all.

Finally I reached the bottom and was able to return to some run/ walk intervals. I knew that at the 80km there was the dreaded climb up to checkpoint 5. However, during my preparation for this race I didn't really give much consideration to the downhill sections. And running down into the valley turned out to be quite unpleasant. It just seemed to go on forever and the constant pounding from either walking or running downhill was just not fun at all. I was actually eagerly waiting for the trail to go up. I never thought I would say that towards the end of a 100km event.

I asked a local runner how far we were from the main climb and she told me that it started after the second creek. As I arrived at the second creek there were runners that passed me quite sometime ago putting shoes on after having taken them off to cross the creek. I couldn't be bothered taking my shoes off at that stage so I ploughed through the creek and actually found the cold water to be refreshing on the feet. I had also made up a few minutes on other runners.

I was happy that the trail was now climbing. Don't get me wrong though, it was still a bloody hard slog up the climb over the next 10km. I had a mix of running on my own and also with others. Not much was ever really said apart from the usual "How are you holding up" questions. On the way up I passed a runner who was wrapped up in a space blanket and another runner was helping him. The SES were on their way to pick him up. It was quite reassuring to see the SES so often up this climb and their camp fire half way up provided a nice spot for a moments rest and a bottle of water. Without the bottle of water I probably would have run a bit short on this stage. It was amazing that in such cold conditions I was drinking so much water.

Things were really starting to get tough now and I was not really feeling like eating much but I was forcing down what I could, and every time I did eat I always felt like I instantly got stronger and could press on. Sure enough though, a bad spell was never far around the corner, well that's how it seemed anyway. Soon I could hear generators and not long after I was at Checkpoint 5, The Queen Victoria Hospital - 89km. Once again it was bitterly cold here and I filled my hydration bladder as quick as I could, replenished some of my food supplies and I was off on the final 11km of the race.

The body, although not feeling overly flash, seemed to keep on plugging away and slowly covering the k's. I had been on my feet for 16 hours 23 min and I knew that I would sneak in under my 20 hour goal unless I did something stupid.

I passed a girl bringing up her dinner on the side of the road and when I asked if she was OK, she said that she'll be fine so I pressed on. Next I saw a guy running towards me and I jokingly said that he was going the wrong way (I thought he was a spectator) but he was actually in the race. He didn't believe us when we told him we were going the right way until we got to the next section of arrows. I was amazed that he wasn't able to follow the markers, but then again his light was quite ordinary and probably didn't pick up the reflective strips.

The final 11km really was quite horrible. There were lots of steps and at this stage my mind had switched off. I knew I was going to make it but I really wasn't interested in more than a brisk walk and I was still hating anything that went down. People seemed to be passing me regularly and progress was just so slow, but I was still moving forward and covering ground. Soon though, I could hear people cheering so I knew the finish was close and I picked the pace up a bit. All of a sudden I popped out onto the gold course; the finish was just around the corner. I picked the pace up even more as I could see the finish line and eventually crossed the line in 19hrs 01min 28sec. I had finished!

This race is by far the most rewarding run that I have ever done and I think the fact that it is the big milestone of 100km is one of the reasons why. It really is an amazing experience to complete something that (a) you never ever thought you would do; and (b) something that even for yourself seems like such a difficult task. The highlight for me would definitely be the night stages and probably from the 50km mark to the finish where it required a bunch of physical and mental toughness to keep pressing on.

I reckon that I'll be back next year!

SplitRace TimeOverall Pos
17k Narrow Neck02:43:48198
38k Dunphys06:31:48197
54k Old Ford Reserve-In09:16:12181
54k Old Ford Reserve-Out09:30:05175
67k Katoomba falls Oval11:40:27171
89k Queen Vic Hospital16:23:49163
100k Fairmount19:01:28164

Course Elevation Profile
Course Map