When God made you, He made you a runner.
Feel His pleasure when you run and may you do so with fire in your heels and hope in your heart.
I am not sure where my desire to run an ultra marathon came from.
I have completed 3 traditional road marathons now, so I guess the "ultra" was the next logical step in how far I could push myself.
I remember watching documentaries on the Western States Endurance Race and the Badwater Ultra, wondering whether or not I could ever even consider attempting anything like that. A 50km trail race seemed like nothing compared to the 160km of Western States or the 217km of Badwater (including the ridiculous heat!). However it was still further than a standard marathon and Blackall was on trail. Who knows, one day I may attempt something further.
I came across the Blackall100 event a few years ago, probably after my first road marathon. The event really interested me as it was located not too far from home in the Sunshine Coast hinterlands of Queensland. One of the main issues with ultra distance events is that they are often in places not straightforward to get to, such as UTA Australia or Surf Coast Century, even the Coastal High 50 near Binna Burra although not far way is tricky logistically.
The Blackall100 takes place in the National Park around Mapleton. we have family in Maleny, a short 30min drive from Mapleton so we arranged to stay with them. This was fantastic as we could enjoy their company as well as be close by for the race. There are 2 events at Blackall, the main 100km; a qualifying race for Western States and the supporting 50km, the event I had chosen.
The Blackall 50km event was going to be my last main event for 2018. After the disappointment of the Gold Coast Marathon, I really wanted to end the year on a high and really try to hit my goals for the race. I had decided to be more conservative with my goals, the first was just to finish the race. The second goal was to go under 7 hours, I thought that this would be achievable but I didn't realise how close it would get.
I decided to try and affiliate myself with the Brisbane Trail Runners (BTR) community for this race and hopefully beyond. I had seen a few of them at the Mt Glorious Trails race and the Pinnacles Classic over the years and thought it would be great to try and join them. They have a very active Facebook Group that I have been part of for a while, but I had never met up with them for a social run. The obvious reason for me is being a Crohn's disease sufferer. I find it hard to run in groups given my tendency to have to dash in to bushes at a moment's notice. Running with people I know well is hard enough let alone a whole group of new people. One of these days I will, but I have to be as well prepared then as I usually am on a race day. I did buy one of their excellent running T-Shirts, so at least at Blackall I would fit in with them.
I started training for Blackall a week after Gold Coast. It was good to have a structured training block to fall back on, as it helped me get over Gold Coast, move on and start planning new goals.
I decided to continue with TrainAsOne as the training platform this time, sticking as close as possible to the training runs it prescribed regardless of how much they changed. This was a possible cause of my issues with Gold Coast and wanted to make sure that arrived on the start line as well prepared as possible. I find it difficult to submit myself to a plan that is changeable like TrainAsOne, but I think it really helped me stay as fresh as possible throughout the training block.
The training volume wasn't as high as what I did for Gold Coast. There were quite a few longish mid week runs, with a few long runs but nothing over 32km. The longest run I did was a 30km trail run from Gap Creek along South Boundary road, with around 1000m of elevation. This gave me a massive confidence boost as I had never been that far on trail before. The 50km Blackall course has around 1500m of elevation, so I was confident I could manage.
Once the 30km long run was done, the taper began. 3 weeks out from the race, the weather started to get really weird. After having most of winter and early spring incredibly dry, things changed dramatically. We had an incredible amount of rain over about 12 days or so, which didn't really affect my training. However, I was concerned that it could affect the Blackall course. The course had been changed the last 2 years due to the weather, last year due to excessive rain and the year before due to bush fires. I was really hoping that we could run the original course, and that's the way it turned out.
I had the usual taper blues, I was worried I wasn't running enough, was I getting sick? I am injured? I had to really resist the urge to go out and smash long runs, but I knew it would mess up the training so I stuck to my plan.
One thing I wasn't prepared for was Clover, my 3 year old border collie cross getting sick. She is my running companion, and while we were at Ironbark Gully the week before the race, she managed to pick up a Paralysis Tick, making her very unwell. Fortunately, she did recover with help from the local vet but I really didn't need that on race week!
The training now complete, we headed up to Maleny on the Friday evening where our family would be staying for the next two nights. I drove on to Mapleton to register, leave my drop bags and listen to the race briefing. A local Indigenous gentleman gave us all a very warm welcome to the country. The race director confirmed that the course would be unaltered, great news! We were ready to go the following morning.
The drop bag service was awesome. The point of this was to allow runners to leave some supplies at the various checkpoints around the course, where I could stock up on electrolytes, food, have a change of clothes, or even have a rest. For the 50km there were 2 checkpoints - CP3 and CP4. CP4 we would run through twice and was maintained by the BTR crew.
As I was getting my gear ready that evening, I received an email from a good friend of mine; Pete, wishing me all the best. He paraphrased a quote from the film 'Chariots of Fire'; spoken by Eric Liddell it reads “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel his pleasure.” I certainly don't claim to be fast, not even close. But I do believe that when I run, I feel God's pleasure. My friend's exact words are quoted at the beginning of this race report. I would remember his words throughout the race, and recalled them when the going got tough.
The 100km race starts at 6am, the 50km at 7am. Although I would have liked to see the 100km race start, it would have meant a very early morning. I woke at 4am anyway and went through my race day routine. My wife and I drove to Mapleton and arrived just after 6:15am, I took the miracle drug Imodium at the car park and we walked to the start line at the Mapleton QCCC (Queensland Conference and Camping Centre).
The atmosphere at the start line was great, there was a tangible sense of excitement but also a really relaxed vibe, often the case at trail races. It is often quieter at the start of large events such as marathons oddly enough, a lot of people seemed to know each other here so there was lots of chatter. I was told about the BTR photo opportunity at the start line, so I made my way there with a fair few others in BTR shirts and I felt really part of things. Although I was beginning to wonder what on earth I was doing at the start of a race like this, surely this was too much for me. These were nerves, I just had to stay calm.
At exactly 7am, the cow bells rang and the small crowd of friends, family and supporters cheered and we were off. For me, very slowly.
I have a nasty habit of starting too fast in races, but I had to be cautious today. 50km is a long, long way, I needed to keep my pace in check. The first 2 to 3km were on concrete paths at the side of the Obi Obi road after turning left from the Mapleton QCCC. The pace for the first km was just over 7min/km, super slow but good for me at this stage to just ease into things. Once we were out on the path I increased my pace a little, but over the next few kms I only picked up around 30secs per km. It would slow down further as we were about to go into Mapleton Falls National Park. The views were beautiful as there was a lot of low cloud, so I stopped to take a few photos.
The weather turned out to be great, it was sunny with some cloud cover but fairly humid from the amount rain over recent days. I really couldn't complain.
We dropped down into the National Park, which would wind its way through pristine rain-forest then up and across Delicia Road into the next part of the Sunshine Coast "Great Walk". This section was mostly single track trail, very muddy in places, slowing me down considerably. I was watching my step as I didn't want to slip or strain anything, to be honest I hadn't really run on this sort of terrain as most of my training had been on road or wide fire trails, which were a lot smoother. Still, I pushed on. After 7.5km we reached a T intersection where we turned left heading towards the first checkpoint - CP3.
The view once we took that left turn was unbelievable. We were running through a forest of incredibly tall trees, I was in awe. I had to stop and take a photo. At the 10km mark (the Ubajee Walker's camp) we had our first real challenge - a steep decent lasting 1.5km and dropping 250 metres or so to the base of the Gheerulla Valley. I took it really easy going down and many runners past me at this stage, I was OK with that and caught a few of them further on through the valley. The worst part of the decent was knowing we had to climb up it again in a few hours time.
The valley floor was challenging. The single track was very technical, covered in rocks and roots and there were a few trees strewn across the track as well, probably a result of the recent storms. We also had to navigate through a couple of riverbeds. What an adventure, I was really enjoying it even though I was moving slowly. I had hoped to reach CP3 in around 2 hours, but it ended up taking 10mins more than planned. I was running by myself at this stage so hearing the sounds from CP3 up ahead was encouraging.
I arrived at CP3 and made a bee line for my drop bags. I had gone through 1 litre of my nutrition drink (I was using Tailwind), but I had planned for this and had another litre waiting for me. My plan had been to carry 2 litres of Tailwind and drink 500ml per hour, trying to get between checkpoints in 2 hours each. This meant that if I did take longer to get there, I did have an additional litre as backup. This worked well as it did end up taking longer than 2 hours.
I topped up my bottles, so I was back up to around 2 litres. I went through the timing mats and left CP3, turning right thanks to the volunteers directing us straight toward the Gherulla Bluff climb.
At this point we started to see some of the 100km runners for the first time coming down from the Ubajee camp, it was quite inspiring so we cheered them on. It actually made the climb go a lot quicker and was certainly not as long as the earlier bluff. By this stage we were around 33km into the race and I was really tiring now. Warren pulled away at the top of the climb, I gingerly broke into a very slow run. The next few kms were fire trail so it wasn't too difficult to run, but boy my legs were tired. CP4 was only 5km away. My stomach seemed to settle during the climb, so although my legs were tired, I was definitely feeling better.
I had been running for nearly 5 hours now, fortunately that extra litre of nutrition I was carrying came in very handy. By the time I closed in on CP4, I still had a little fluid left - good planning!
I had heard about CP4, but nothing that was described came close to experiencing it in person. This checkpoint was run by BTR, all the volunteers giving up their precious time to supply runners with all sorts of support. It proclaimed itself as the best checkpoint in the world, now I have experienced it I tend to agree!
As I was wearing a BTR T-shirt, the welcome I received as I finally arrived at CP4 after 5 hours and 10 minutes was incredible. Loads of cheering and encouragement as I was directed through to the drop bags and a chair. One person who I have never met before and didn't even get their name, helped me fill up my bottles, sponged me down with cold water and offered me fruit, chocolate and electrolyte drink. It was incredible and really lifted my spirits. By now I was 38km into the race and getting very exhausted. I still 12km to go but only 1 hour and 50 mins left before I hit 7 hours! Once I was set I left CP4 for the 4 km loop that came back through the checkpoint before the last stretch to the finish.
This next 4km was tough, I was completely by myself once I left CP4 and couldn't see any runners in front or behind. I did wonder if I was on the right trail a couple of times, as the trail markers were quite far apart. The other issue was insects! I was covered in small midges, which were biting me on my legs, arms and face. I had no insect repellent, I was getting very uncomfortable indeed. The only positive is that it took my mind off the fatigue in my body from running for over 5 hours. I pressed on, knowing that I would soon be back at CP4 where I could sponge down and get rid of the insects.
I arrived back at CP4 and was looked after like royalty again. I had a quick sponge down, had one of my bottles filled with coke and on I went with a big cheer. 8km to go with just over an hour and 10 mins left for my target time. It was going to be close. I was feeling a lot better physically at this point, I think knowing the finish line was close kept me going. I had passed the marathon point and was now in uncharted territory for me, this was the furthest I had ever run.
I headed back into Mapleton Falls National Park. I remembered that this section was mainly downhill when we started the race so I had to really dig deep and keep moving as fast as possible. I kept telling myself "a shuffle is faster than walking!", so shuffle I did. Whenever the trail flattened, I broke into a very slow run but at least I was moving.
Only 5km to go and 40 minutes left. I can usually run a 5km in less than 25 minutes, but there was no chance of that now. I did know that I should be able to run pretty well during the last 3km, as it was back on the path on Obi Obi Road. I hiked out of the National Park onto the path, and hoped to run.
4km to go. The problem was it still uphill and I couldn't run. I stayed patient and walked as hard as I could.
3km to go. Finally the path flattened out, I started to run. I managed to be able to hold a decent pace, but there was a rise coming up ahead. I started to walk again, but I pushed myself into a shuffle "remember, a shuffle is faster than walking!!".
2km to go. The path started to descend, I could see no more rises. I was able to run. Push, push, push you are nearly there.
1km to go. About 200 metres in front of me I could see another runner on the path, so I focused on them. Then, they turned right into the driveway of the Mapleton QCCC. My spirits lifted, once I reached that turn off there was less than 400 metres left. I had to keep pushing because I was unsure if I would make it in time, I stopped looking at my watch just in case. I felt like I was sprinting, but when I looked back at my pace after the race I was only just breaking 6min/km at this point.
Once I turned into the driveway of the QCCC I began to see a few spectators who were cheering everyone through. I knew my family would be waiting close by, I was desperate to see them.
There they were, I spotted my kids and wife. They jumped up as they saw me running through. I gave them a big wave, but I kept moving to get to the finish line.
Into the Conference Centre I went, through the timing mats and finish line towards the massive cow bell to ring and mark the end of the adventure. I gave that cow bell an almighty ring and stopped my watch. I had completed the Blackall100 50km ultra-marathon!
Then I looked at my watch. I just wanted to see that I had bettered 7 hours. The time; 6 Hours 57 minutes and 33 seconds. I did it!
Looking back at the race a few days later, I can say that the Blackall100 was one the most tiring, exhausting but satisfying and rewarding events I have taken part in. It was exceptionally well organised by Run Queensland, I certainly hope to be back here again in the future. Maybe for the 100km!!!
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