I still remember the day roughly 4 or so years ago when I was browsing through the book shop at the Adelaide airport whilst waiting for my flight, and I cam across the book "Ultramarathon Man". As I was currently running marathons at the time I grabbed the book with quite an interest to see what the heck it was all about. When reading through the book I couldn't get my head around the 50 mile races and more so the 100 mile races that Dean Karnazes was talking about. It just seemed unfathomable, but as my interested in ultras grew, there was one distance that I kept on being drawn to; and that was 100 miles.
Looking though my blog it's evident that I started out with the shorter ultras, but in the back of my mind I always had the desire to want to complete 100 miles. It wasn't until I finished The North Face 100 in 2009 that I really started to think, "...just maybe". And it wasn't until the start of this year that I seriously thought that I was ready to have a crack. Signing up for the Glasshouse 100 miler was actually a lot more difficult that it may seem; it was definitely venturing into the unknown for me.
Training Schedule
First thing was first, I had to figure out what my training schedule was going to be. After some searching on the net and some good solid advice from the Coolrunning forums I settled on a program. As we always do, I tweaked it along the way, but here is every single run that I did in the 28 weeks leading up to Glasshouse.
Although the training schedule looked a bit intimidating for me compared to other programs that I've done in the past, in particular the back to back runs, it turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting experience.
Pre Race TourThe race weekend for me started by flying to Brisbane on Thursday, taking things easy, and getting ready for UCB's pre-race tour on Friday. I definitely recommend this tour for any newcomers as it's a great opportunity to get familiar with the surrounding terrain and also
check out what some of the checkpoint locations look like. It's also a great social outing where you get to meet some of the other runners and have a meal at the Woodford pub.
Night Before The Race
The night before the race I arrived back at my cabin early after having attended the race briefing, sorted out a few bits a pieces in my race kit, and then tried to get to sleep early. This would turn out to probably be my worst pre-race sleep that I've ever had. There is no question that I was exceptionally nervous and coupling that with the fact that I was getting up at 3:30am, it definitely made for quite a restless night indeed. I fell asleep at some stage but before I knew it my alarm was going off and it was time to get up.
The Race
I arrive at the Beerburrum school early, sorted out my drop bags, had my medical check in and then just took things easy having a chat to a few other runners. It wasn't too long and we were ready to run, albeit some 7 minutes late, meaning the race started at 5:37am.
The Beerburrum loop (CP2 - 3a - 1a -2) was understandably conducted at a rather quick pace. It doesn't seem to matter what the race is, but even in ultras everyone seems to get a bit carried away in the early stages. I think it has bit to do with nerves and simply having the feeling of not wanting to be left behind.At the end of the first loop we had the tough climb up to the top of Mt Beerburrum. This was definitely a very tough climb which is steep enough that even the run down is not overly comfortable. Once at the bottom of the climb we were off to CP3a.
As I left CP6 I started running with Scott (Bloodnut on Coolrunning); we were heading into the most notorious section of trail of the entire 100 mile course...the Power-lines. The Power-lines consists of a section of severely eroded 4WD tracks with short but sharp steep up and downhill sections. I really have no idea how any car actually drives through this section of trail. It's not only the terrain that makes this section difficult, but for most runners we do it in the warmest part of the day and there is very little wind down in the gullies. I seemed to be enjoying the rough terrain and Scott and I were making good time through this section. We passed Ray (Eagle on CR) and eventually Scott set me off on my own because I was running a touch better than he was at that stage. The terrain leveled out and I had quite a nice run into CP8 (51.6km).
No sooner had I checked in at CP8 and one of the volunteers said "Here's your drop bag". Talk about amazing service! I had to weigh in and was told that I was 2kg down on my starting weight so I needed to concentrate on getting some more fluid down.
It was during the western loop that I started to notice my stomach wasn't feeling great; it hadn't for the last couple of hours and I think it contributed to dropping 2kg since the start. After thinking about why it wasn't feeling so great, I came to the conclusion that it may have been the Endura that I was drinking at the checkpoints. It was interesting that a few other runners that I chatted to had said that quite a few people tend to have problems with Endura. So no more Endura for me.
I arrived back at CP8 (62.4km) for another quick transition thanks to the brilliant volunteers, and I was off to complete the eastern loop. Paul was going to take a bit longer at CP8 so he sent me off on my own. Other than the long climb back up to CP8 (70.4km), the eastern loop was straight forward.
With some 70km in the legs by now I was definitely feeling like I had done quite a bit of running, but I still had over 90km to go! Although I obviously knew I had a long way to go, mentally I was coping really well and was managing to "deal with the moment", and focus on just getting to the next checkpoint.
I ran briefly with Ann and Carol (both in the 100k) on the way to CP7. I arrived at CP7 (78.4km), stocked up with water and started running with Paul F (Gingerfox on CR). The 4.4km loop at CP7 was nice and flat and upon returning back to CP7 (82.8km), it marked the half way point for the run.
By now the sun was starting to go down, my stomach was settling down and on the way to CP6 we got our headlamps out. It seemed that no sooner had the sun gone down that my body decided that it wanted to switch the lights out too. For about 30 minutes after we started running with the headlamps I felt like I wanted a nap; as it turned out this would be one of many of these moments throughout the night. After a while however, the body seemed to wake up and all was good.
The next checkpoint that Gingerfox and I arrived at was CP6 (90.3km), and what a reception we got here. Upon arriving at the CP Gingerfox asked, "Have we finished?" as it was such an enthusiastic reception. We replenished our supplies, had some food and headed off towards CP5.
Whilst on our way to CP5, as it was very still we could hear loud cheers in the distance and see some car headlights. Gingerfox and I just assumed that it was some spectators but to our surprise we actually came across a bunch of locals who had obviously had a few too many beverages, and one of the vehicles was off the side of the causeway sitting at about a 45 degree angle. The guys didn't really seem bothered that one of their vehicles was in a rather precarious position, and were more interested in giving us high fives and cheering us along.
It was during this section that both Gingerfox and I started to feel the pinch. No one had mentioned this section being tough, all of the talk was about the Power-lines and western loop at CP8, but this section was tough. There were short and sharp ups and downs and it just seemed to take forever to get to CP5. On our way to CP5 we passed Robbie M who was having a tough time with his ITB. He was going to pull out once he got to CP5, but what a terrbile section to get through with an injury; Gingerfox and I really felt for him. I wasn't having any major problems but Gingerfox was getting a lot of grief from a bad blister on his heel.
Arriving at CP5 was another major milestone...99.9km; so basically 100km for the day. I was starting to get a bit tired of my gels by this stage so a rissole on bread with sauce went down just beautifully. Gingerfox had his blister patched up by the race medic and we set off towards the next major milestone; the Beerburrum school.
The running on this section was relatively easy, although we did question whether or not we were on the right track a couple of times. When we were about an hour or so from CP2 I asked Gingerfox how he was going, and to my surprise he said that he was thinking of pulling out at the school. He seemed to be running quite well to me but his biggest problem was just not "feeling right". We pressed on and eventually arrived at CP2 (112km) back at the school.
Gingerfox got checked out by some of the support staff at the school and I went off looking for my drop bag so I could change my socks. To my surprise my drop bag wasn't there. What was going on...did I actually have a drop bag here? The support crew searched for my drop bag but it definitely wasn't there. I didn't get upset because more than likely it was me that had screwed something up.
Someone offered to grab some soup for me so I took that offer up. However I didn't realise that they had to go all the way down to the tuck shop and heat it up. I stood around for a while, getting itchy feet, and upon realising that by the time they came back it would be too hot to eat anyway, I gave my apology to the checkpoint staff and thanked them for going to get the soup, but I had made up my mind I needed to be off running. I was so much in the zone that even though I knew Gingerfox was pulling out and after looking back at the race, I did hear him say something when I left, I had completely ignored his good luck wishes for the rest of the race. A few hundred meters down the road I felt like such a rude idiot; how could I ignore him like that? After talking to him the next morning at the finish I appologised, and thankfully he could see I was in the zone and completely understood how I managed to ignore him.
I was now on my own for the first time at night and I seemed to get a bit worked up about it, kind of like a mild panic. After a while I realised I was being an idiot and managed to calm myself down. I've done a lot of running on my own at night, in fact I really enjoy it, and so far the trail marking had been fantastic so I just needed to focus on what I was doing.
After leaving the school at CP2 there is approximately 3km of running on a path along the side of Steve Irwin Way. I was still managing a good mix of walking and running but my body was definitely starting to feel like it was progressively getting worn down. And my feet were starting to become quite sore. I arrived at Moffats road which meant I was now heading away from the highway and over towards CPs 9 & 10 on the eastern section of the course.
It was actually quite nice to finally be out on my own at night, and running through what seemed like a deserted forest; it was just me, my headlamp showing the way and a long tunnel of trees to negotiate. The night time stages of ultras are actually one of the things that I really enjoy about long races.
As I progressed towards the Bruce Highway I was really starting to feel the discomfort of having been on my feet for so long, but mentally I still had a very good outlook on the race, I didn't at all hate what I was doing and I didn't have any thoughts of not making it to the end.
I passed under the Bruce Highway and was then presented with a tricky muddy steep section of track heading into CP9 (125km). When I arrived at CP9, Paul E who I ran with back at the CP8 western loop was there with Rodney (Hermie on CR). They were both attending to some feet issues and were about to tackle the short climb up Wild Horse Mountain. I ate some sausage rolls, quiches and started the 750m climb up to the top with Paul and Rodney. At CP9 you get given a token with you race number on it; you have to place in the box at the top of the climb to prove that you actually did complete the climb. It was a quick stroll back down to CP9 and then the three of us headed towards CP10.
Paul and Rodney told me that they had pretty much resorted to a walk now and that I should press on if I felt like it. Walking sounded great to me by now, and to be honest the pace of the walk was quite a brisk. On the way to CP10 our progress was slowed due to numerous large puddles across the entire track, and sometimes it was difficult to figure out which way to go around them. Nonetheless, we eventually made our way to CP10 (131km).
Sitting on the stool at CP10 was a bit like sitting at a bar in the pub. You didn't even have to lift a finger; the support staff would fetch your drop bag, fill up your bottle and get what ever food you wanted. I must say it was absolutely appreciated to get such fantastic service late in the race.
The next section to be completed was the western loop from CP10. Even though my mind was still strong (feet were hurting like hell though!) it was even more encouraging to be running (well walking!) with Paul and Rodney as they were just so positive. There was no question in their minds that we weren't making it to the end. On top of that, it was just fun being with these guys; Paul could talk the legs off on an iron pot (there's an Aussie saying for you Paul!) and Rodney came up with some humorous topics at times. Our legs hurt, our feet hurt even more, but we were having a great time! This section provided a number of tricky water sections that slowed us down somewhat, but otherwise was a simple section of trail. Paul was our numbers man, whipping out his Garmin to figure out our pace and calculating our ETA back to CP10. It was in this section that I had another drowsy patch; I popped a NoDoze which seemed to help as the drowsy patch eventually passed. On the way back into CP10 we crossed paths with Andrew H (Whippet Man on CR) who had been out on the CP10 eastern loop by himself.
We had another quick rest and replenishment at CP10 (140.4km) and headed off on the CP10 eastern loop. It was on this loop that it struck me just how far I had actually travelled. All of a sudden the km to go were slowly but surely getting a lot smaller. We only had around 25km go...surely nothing could go wrong now could it? I didn't want to get ahead of myself, but I was really starting to get a feeling that I was going to get to the end. Sure the legs were sore, and the feet were worse, but moving wasn't getting any more difficult that's for sure.
As we approached the end of the loop the sun began to rise and it was fantastic to feel the dramatic change in light conditions. The other thing I thought to myself was that it was the second sunrise that I'd seen for the race...cool! We arrived back at CP10 (149.6km), stocked up with food and water, packed away the headlamp and set off on our power walk back to CP9.
We got to CP9 (154km) without a hitch, had a short stop and chat to the guys manning the checkpoint and we were off on the final leg of the race.
Based on my splits sheet I thought we only had 10km to go, but I forgot about the approximate 2km diversion between CPs 2 & 9, meaning that we had around 12km to go. Oh well, we were still travelling ok so it didn't matter too much. We actually found out at the end of the race that the course markers were supposed to take off some distance at another part of the course, so as a consequence this year turned out to be the longest Glasshouse ever (I think?).
By now I knew that something major would have to happen for any of us not to make it to the finish. Under the Bruce Highway we went, then some long forest sections, Moffats road and finally we were back at Steve Irwin Highway. As we ran on the path along side the highway I actually started to feel quite emotional on a few occasions. I've felt emotional in quite a few of my ultras and I think if you feel like this then you are doing it for all the right reasons; to me it tells you that it really does mean something special to you. It probably shows that you've given your all, because there is no doubt that the mental/ emotional part of running ultras is just a big as the physical part.
We had decided that we would all cross the line together and that no matter what, we were going to run across the line. I don't think we looked like Usain Bolt, but we did our best and eventually crossed the line together. My time was 27 hours 24 minutes and 44 seconds. What a journey! I must admit however, I feel a bit guilty when I see that the time keepers gave me a time one second faster than Paul and Rodney. I not really sure how that happened; if anything I though I was slightly behind them both.
Post Race
It's definitely no secret that the one thing that hurt the most was my feet, so I was quick to take off my shoes and see what the damage was. Even though I had planned to change socks during the race, because I mucked up my drop bag position I didn't end up changing them, and in fact didn't even take my shoes off for the entire race. I hate taking my shoes off and I guess I got to a stage where my feet just hurt, but they did't seem to get any worse. Looking back now, I do think it would have been wise to change my socks and clean out my shoes. Having said that though, surprisingly the only damage to my feet was a small blister on my little toe on my right foot, and an even smaller blister on the toe adjacent to my big toe. All up, I was pretty happy with how my feet held up.
Nutrition
My primary fuel source was my home made energy gels, of which I went through around 1.2 litres of mix. Surprisingly I could still stomach them towards the end of the race which was encouraging. I also carried dates and my favourite Redrock chips. Other than that, foods that I remember eating were: a chicken sandwich, various fruits, meatball on bread with sauce, sausage rolls and quiches. I basically avoided as much as possible having anything with high quantities of simple sugars in them; this is something I've really focussed on since The Cradle Mountain run and it has made a big difference in my performance. All in all, other than my slightly upset stomach for a few hours, I was pretty happy with my nutrition.
Wrap Up
Overall I had a fantastic time at Glasshouse, it was very well run, the volunteers were absolutely fantastic at the checkpoints, and above all, I achieved my goal of completing 100 miles.
Do I want to have a crack at 100 miles again...I don't know. At no stage during the race did I hate what I was doing and when I crossed the finish line I didn't even remotely get the dreaded "I'm never doing that again" thoughts. So I guess that doesn't mean no and only time will tell to see if the urge to complete 100 miles again starts tapping me on my shoulder. Until then...I hope to see you out on the trails somewhere!
