Tegan, the girls and I went down to the Glasshouse Mountains on Friday and on the way met up with Andrew and his family, the owners of At One Foods (https://www.facebook.com/AtOneFoods). What a beautiful family! We spent some time with them and heard their story of the company and how they got where they are. Such an inspirational story and a quality product! I suggest you all jump onto Facebook, contact Andrew and order some awesome raw bars! Yum! I stocked up for the race and we were on our way.
 |
| The calm before the business! |
When we arrived it was unpack, relax and hang out with the family before briefing. My sister and grandma were also up so it was great to see them! We did our stuff, went to briefing, had a good time catching up with all the crew at Beerburrum School and then head home to get some sleep before the big day.
 |
| Smiling all day. |
After some broken sleep it was up at 3:40am, got sorted and down to the school again to get goin! After some last minute instructions by Ian (race director) and some final mental games, it was go time. With nervous energy and massive excitement we were off! Andrew (my Wide Bay Fat Ass partner in crime) and I had organised to run a while together and see what happened (he was doing the 100k). It was awesome to have some company and we completed the first 10k together. After a quick blow through the school we were up and down Mt Beerburrum and then on our way.
 |
| Selfies with some mountain. |
 |
| Stop eating Andy, we gotta run! |
Things started off very cruisy. Andrew and I had a great time chatting, enjoying the weather and the awesome views along the way...even taking some time for some selflies! It was great to have his company and someone to chat with starting the day. We hit a few brutal parts in the track but still maintained a good pace, not stopping long at the aid stations....although when we did, having a good laugh at Andy's crew...a couple of mates who had a different outfit at each stop and provided some great laughs along the way! We worked through some tough sections and made our way toward to Checkpoint 8. Andy was feeling good and pulled a little ahead however the Grills caught back up and by Checkpoint 8 we were together again. I had lost 5kg already and whilst not hot or really suffering couldn't suck back any more fluid even though I was trying! We made our way through the Western loop together before he headed back toward home and I continued on my miler journey.
 |
| Yep, that's my dad! |
I ran alone for about 20k and got in a really good routine of power hiking hard any uphills and running the downs and flats. I went back and forward with a couple of blokes, one of which was goin on about not running cause he wasn't as young as me. He kept going on about it and I was a bit over it, so I give him a bit of stick about my dad being 58 and doing the miler. Basically telling him to stop whinging! This quietened him down a bit and I left him and his complaining behind!
After this time on my own, I ran into Dion, a mate from previous ultras at the Glasshouse Mountains. He and his mate Lee are always a good laugh and we all seem to run a similar speed (we ended up finishing 7th, 8th and 9th!) Dion was doing the hard yards and had been spewing a bit along the way. I stuck with him, told him my plan for the day and we stayed near by for a while. I must have separated from him for a bit but then met up with him again at Checkpoint 5, just as it was coming on dark. From there we stuck together and worked hard. We ran well back to the School and reached that point (108km) by 7:10pm. We had a quick feed, caught up with our families and then were off again without mucking around too long.
 |
| Fun and games! |
 |
| Gold! |
From here, things went pretty un-eventful. We ran over to Wildhorse Mountain checkpoint and went straight up and down the mountain. Again we saw our crews before getting going. I had started to feel pretty sick by this stage and I think it had a fair bit to do with eating too much sweet stuff. I wanted to spew for about 3-4hours but didn't. I kept shuffling along, sticking to our power hike/run plan. I stopped with the sweet food, got on some plain stuff and slowly but surly came good.
The loops over on the Eastern section of the course are sandy...to say the least. Overall, the tracks are much flatter and runable but the sand is a killer! We battled through and Dion started doing it a little touch again. By the time we did the second loop out the Eastern side though, he got a second wind and I had to haul ass to keep up with him! We got back to Checkpoint 9 at maybe 1am, were pumped and ready to go.
One of the ladies at the Checkpoint told me I had to take a shirt with me incase I got tired and cold. I tucked a thin cotton shirt into my shorts and ran off. Tegan and the girls drove past us about 500m down the road and the shirt was annoying me so I just threw it in the car! Gold! In all the fun though, Dion and I weren't paying attention and missed a turn off into the bush. We kept running, realised we missed the turn and turned back. We found where we went wrong but ended up running maybe 2k extra. Dion was a bit cranky but you gotta roll with the punches so we smashed on.
Buy this stage of the race we were doing some math in our heads and realising we can do a decent time. We kept with our plan and were going well.
We got back to Wildhorse again, up and down and after a quick feed with our support crews got going. We took off with the finish line in our sights, kind of!! We only had 12.5km to go and we were on a flippen mission! We ran hard, well as hard as I could after about 150km! We got to the point where there was 5k to go and put the hammer down. I realised half way along this stretch that we were looking at finishing under 22hrs which spurred me on even more. We slogged, grunted and got to the finish line together, Dion and I, in 21hrs 52min!!! AMAZING!!! I was STOKED!!! An added little excitement was to find out later that I got 8th overall! Incredible! I was hooting and hollering at the finish line and felt amazing!
 |
| Pretty much sums up my feelings of the day! |
In the wash up and in hindsight, I really cant believe my race. My quads had no pain at all and my calfs only the slightest amount! I got my new Luna Sandals (Oso's) a few weeks before race day and they were awesome! My feet had only minor soreness, felt free and loved it! I HEART Luna Sandals so very much and once again they did the job! Anyone who is looking at improving their running, having a lot of fun and freeing your feet, check out https://www.lunasandals.com
I went into the race with a goal of going under 24hrs and a secret goal of 22hrs. I never thought I would go under 22! All in all, it was a blessed, fun, ripper day...smiling the whole way! I wanna thank those who helped me out in this race and always do!...my beautiful wife, daughter and family (Mum, Dad, Melinda, Ma) for supporting me. Andy and Dion for being great company through the day. Chris at the Mower Doctor in Bundy for continuing to support my running adventures and helping out a poor Uni Student! Andrew at At One Foods. Finally and certainly not the least, all the friends I have made through trail running, the new ones I meet, the ones who know me as the TattooRunner but I have no idea who they are, the smiling faces, the guy spewing on the side of the track, the smiles, the pain, the joy, the heartbreak....I love it all! Thanks also to you for supporting and following my mad adventures and please know that I love and appreciate you all! Keep loving life, spread the word and rip in! Until next time...run free friends!!!
Special mention - Dad - first 100miler...and in under 24hrs. Lee first 100miler whilst doing it rough, Andrew - first 100k after only doing his first marathon in July this year, Coach Jeff and Lori for doing their best, inspiring others but unfortunately not quite getting the job done this time round. Jeff for finishing his first 100miler when his ankle looked like a softball at 60k! My sis for doing another 50k and all the other newbies I met along the way! Well done all, I love you all...Run Free, eat plants and get running!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment