Month: May 2014

Although this is my 4th time running this event, this is my first actual North Face 100 Race Report. I felt compelled to write one this year (2014) for a few reasons:

1. Perhaps writing the report would help identify where I can improve.
2. I wanted to put into words why even though i had a (somewhat) bad race, and fell short of my goals it was still the most awesome day!
3. Just to be able to say thanks to all involved with this incredible event – the race director, organisers, volunteers and also all the other participants who make this 100km such a pleasure to run.

So, to begin with, the lead-up was reasonably good. I was training well and even with a son on the way (eventually born on May 1st), I was managing to squeeze in a decent amount of runs and thought it would be a good idea this year to enter some races on the build up, as I knew I would push harder. I decided to enter the STS trail series at Manly Dam and had a pretty good time of it, getting 2 first places and then winning the overall series. Although the course was only 20kms in length some strong runners competed, and it was a massive confidence booster. Training wise, I peaked at about 5 weeks before the race running about 140kms over 6 days – with the final “training event” being the Kedumba Half Marathon which I finished in 4th place. Shortly afterwards, an innocuous slip at home badly bruised a glute and put me out of action for about 10 days (seriously I could not even sit down) and forced a slightly premature taper and it certainly had an adverse effect…

I think the biggest disappointment this year was that my family were not there to cheer me on. With my son being born so close to race day, I could not ask them to be my support crew this time. It also meant I would be alone on the night before the race and I did feel it. I missed my wife, son and daughter before I had even left Sydney, but felt a little better on reaching the KCC – the atmosphere was just fantastic. Again, as with previous years the organisation was perfect and although it felt a little strange to not be in the Fairmont, I thought the new venue was great. I shared a bunk room with 5 others at the KCC itself and everyone was so friendly and excited for the race I soon got in the right mood.

Race morning – I would say the atmosphere at the start line at Scenic World was better than ever before, and I just could not wait to get started!



I was in start group 1 this year (for the first time) and targeted a time of around 11 hours which would put me at the pointy end of the finishers. Last years time of 12hrs 44mins was a good reflection of the training effort back then, and I thought I had done more this time around to warrant such a time. As the race started I was running well and keeping up with the top 10 as we reached Furber steps in a pretty fast pace.

Getting onto the trail was welcome, and I settled into a comfortable gallop only to roll my ankle almost immediately, and then about 2 kms later slip over and come crashing down on my left knee. Luckily after another 3kms of forced running through pain, both ankle and knee settled down and normal operation resumed.

Just before hitting the Golden Stairs I caught a couple of runners, one of which i overtook, and the other was none other than Mr Andrew Lee who politely asked if I wanted to pass. With the staircase less than 1km away I declined as I knew he would be flying up it, leaving me trailing in his wake (which happened to be the case). The stair ascent was pretty comfortable this year and once up, I settled into a mix of run/power walk up the steep section of Glenraphael Drive and before long hit CP1. I did not stop here – I still had 1 litre of fluid, so just grabbed a handful of lollies and was on my way. I could still see Andrew a little ways ahead and it felt great to be in touching distance of a runner of his pedigree and yes, it gave me a little boost.

Along Narrowneck, I knew I could not keep the same pace for long and I needed to start saving some energy, so gradually Andrew disappeared like the machine he is. I love Narrowneck, it’s one of my favorite parts of the course so enjoyed the run along here, and munched on some Hammer Solids along the way.

It went very quickly and before I knew it I was at Tarros Ladders, all by my lonesome. This was a totally new experience for me, I was so used to queueing up here! I got down the ladders quickly, without incident and was soon on my way to Dunphys Camp. I felt a little tightness in the knees at this point, so knew I had probably gone off too fast at the start in trying to stay with the front runners – so, that was mistake number 1. About 5kms from the camp I was forced to slow down a bit and looked back to see someone gradually catching me. When he got closer I noticed it was Ben Duffus from the panel the night before – as we ran together for a brief period, he said something to me about a load of people taking off too fast at the start and I had to agree, I had been one of them. He then pulled ahead – looking pretty darn strong I have to say.

CP2 was welcome – Dunphys Camp always is, its such a beautiful spot. Didn’t hang around this year though – I refilled my 2 500ml soft flasks, munched down some fruit and again was on my way. I was pleased with my checkpoints so far, not much time spent at 1 or 2. My knees were becoming tighter though, and I was regretting flying along the first 10kms. Once or twice before hitting IronPot Ridge i needed to stop to walk and stretch out the knees a little. Ascending Ironpot Ridge was tough (as it always is) and one or two passed me here – ascents are definitely my weakest area, not too surprising being a city boy as there are bugger all hills to train on in Sydney. I eventually reached another favorite spot where the guys play the didgeridoo and clap sticks (who doesn’t like this bit?) but was thankful that the turnaround was shorter this year! The descent was extremely painful on the knees at this point and it was an ominous sign that i was in for a good amount of pain later on…

The climb up Megalong Road went as it always does, I tend to try a combination of 50 paces walking 50 paces running, it saves a lot of time and the counting helps keep the mind of the tiredness too. The knees loosened up a tad, and before I knew it I was heading into CP3 feeling pretty good, and the sound of the party happening there gave me another massive boost as well as seeing my super ace support crew of Christine, Jenny and Chok.

A little soup and some encouraging words made me feel damn good at this point, and here I decided to change shoes. My Inov8 x-Talon 190s are my very good friends, but I wanted to see how the Trailroc 235s would go and my feet were starting to get a little sore.

The sixfoot track was hard going. I felt I had not eaten enough so threw down some more Hammer Solids but my legs and feet were getting very tired and cramps were starting to appear – specifically in the adductors which are especially hard to stretch the cramps out of. A short distance before Nellies Glen climb, both knotted up and left me unable to walk – what had happened? I had managed my electrolytes pretty well I thought, and had certainly been drinking enough… Eventually a kind soul came past and gave me 2 salt tablets, and 5 mins later I was moving freely again. I lost a lot of time and places here though and the cramps would come back to haunt me later. Mistake number 2 – either not enough electrolyte or not enough salt. The staircase itself was hard (always is – i never expect it to be easy) but made it up in a reasonable time. Once up the stairs, its easier going and CP4 soon appeared. The easier run from the staircase to the aquatic centre had shook the cramps out so on arrival – again, I felt pretty good. A TV crew interviewed me and I forget what I said, but almost certain it was some cheesy lines about “just wanting to do well” etc… A few people dropped out here, and for what was to come, they should probably be glad they did.

CP4 to CP5 is where my race went down the pan. The run to Echo Point and the descent of the Giant Stairs is painful, but familiar. The relief after the stairs was evident, and on the following section it was great to increase the pace a little again.



This was short lived, however, and once on the new section for 2014, the continuous climbs/descents quite literally killed me. I was running with some one else at this point (I think his name was Benjamin – have to thank him for the company on this bit, it kept me going), and basically there was constant cursing and cries of “oh man I am f***ed”! My cramps came back with a vengeance at several points here forcing me to stop for minutes at a time, I would then run and catch up wth Benjamin only to be stopped in my tracks yet again. I also noticed Gill Fowler pass me on this section, a name I have heard in the trail running circles and she looked pretty strong too. It was here I was also passed by another one of the female runners, Clare Walton who I would see at the finish in terrible shape – more on that later.

By the time I reached CP5 I was in pretty bad shape. Legs were frequently cramping in quads and again in the adductors and wow it was very painful. My knee tightness had returned and it was massive effort now to run at any speed, and my feet were burning (i suspected some blisters were forming). I thought about dropping out at CP5 – my goal of 11 hours was not going to be obtainable, I knew I could not run much in the last section, and then I started getting all emotional missing my family etc… I’ve been at this point before though, and it passes after a while if you just push through. I REALLY did not want to DNF and I was sure I could finish and perhaps even faster than last year which elevated my mood a bit. I spent a lot of time here getting my feet looked at and cramps massaged out (thank you SO MUCH Jenny/Christine)! Also have to say, the volunteers here were just the BEST, they were so attentive and fetched water/food everything for me and were so friendly I just didn’t want to leave.

I threw on my fleece and made my way out of CP5 with the promise of some great whisky at the finish line (Laphroiag and Kilchoman). I do love my scotch so this was actually a GREAT incentive! The descent down Kedumba was fast – i found downhill to be a LOT easier so managed to run at a good lick all the way down to Jamison Creek and even passed on or two people for the first time in aaaaaaaages. The climb out was very hard though, my knees were begging me to stop and my feet felt like they were being burnt with matches, and it felt like everything in the lower half of my body was giving up. By the time I reached Leura Forest, it was pitch black and I was limited to purely walking (and even that was far from comfortable). Reaching the Furber Steps seemed to take forever and when I arrived at the bottom, one of the photographers was just on his way up to the finish. He stuck behind me the whole way giving status updates (“half way up now”!) but my god, what a beast of a climb to put at the end. Only the thought of the finish being so close spurred me on and uttering more expletives then I care to mention, I continued to climb, with the photographer eventually pointing out that the building above us was the finish!!! The last 50 steps flew by, and by the time I was at the top, the noise of the crowd had me ignoring the pain and running again (damn if only they could be there the whole way around). My support crew urged me on at the finish to cross the line in 12hrs 42mins, a shade quicker than 2013! I was so glad I had not pulled out – just to finish this race no matter the time is an achievement and as any finisher will tell you, you feel like badass of the galaxy and that you are invincible after you have successfully covered 100km on foot over such terrain. I chugged my victory Laphroaig from a hip flask (thanks Choc!), picked up my silver buckle, vowed never again to run this race (tradition) and made my way to the finishers lounge a very happy chap! On the way I thanked the RD, Tom, for making the course tougher – was i being sarcastic I really don’t know! Once sat down, having 2 ladies massage me while someone poured me whisky reminded me why I just have to finish this race. 🙂

Extra Note – as mentioned earlier, one of the female runners (Clare Walton) seemed to be in pretty bad shape at the finish – it turns out not only did she fall badly after 5kms, but broke her kneecap in the process. To run this race in 12 hrs is a colossal effort – to do that plus run 95kms of it with a broken kneecap just beggars belief. I hope she recovers well and is back next year, she will certainly be in contention for a top female spot.

Gear:

Pack: Salomon Advanced Skin 12
Shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 190 & Inov8 Trailroc 235
Top: Adidas techfit tee
Bottoms: 2XU running tights

All gear was perfect, no issues at all with any of it. I also had no blistering of the feet as I had thought, just some extreme soreness, but that goes with the territory – not the fault of the shoes.

Pros:
Gear/equipment ver comfortable for the whole race
Support crew were tremendous
Organisers/volunteers were awesome
Weather was (as always) perfect
I finished!

Cons:
Went out too fast for first 20km
Nutrition was not adequate (NOT my support crews fault, I just don’t think the Hammer Solids were quite enough to get me through the whole race)
Severe Cramps (must remember salt capsules for next year)
Family not there this year 🙁
Didn’t hit 11hr goal
Injury interfered with training