Great North 100 - 11 Nov 2006, Possibly the best ultra in Australia. Options

[Brick]

A special thanks to Diane Every for helping me in CP3 and to the delightful lady who bathed my wounds at CP4. (How I got them is another story)

OK Kanangra,

Do tell the story.

Brick

[kanangra]

Brick, Fancy meeting you on here. It all went wrong for me near the aptly named Mt Warrawong. I knew that navigation could be an issue here and as I hadn't had the chance to check out the course I made some notes of my own from the maps at home. So when it the GNW veered left off the Bar Trail and my note made no mention of it I went straight ahead on the Bar Trail!!! Had I cosulted the course directions I would have read " Turn left on walking track"!!!!! To compound the error when I realised I was mistaken I didn't back track but decided to strike out across country to rejoin the track. Big mistake. I have walked in many places but never have I struck scrub so dense and unforgiving as in there. Lawer vine and wait a while grew in inpenetrable thickets. Every movement was restrained by their razor sharp tendrils. I fought may way ahead often on hands and knees and sometimes on my stomach. I eventually reached a small creek which i followed to a larger creek. I knew the course cut this creek about 500m upstream so I followed it up but soon my way was barred by moss covered boulders and rotten logs so it was uphill into the scrub once more. It seemed scarcely possible but here it was even worse than on the way in. After about 30 mins I was forced back down to the creek again. I pushed along there for a while before regaing sufficient strength for a final up hill assault through the scrub. Through gritted teeth I forced a way through and eventually broke out onto the Pig and Sow ridge. Here I turned left onto the road and sure enough came to the track junction in about 100m. From there the rest was comparitively straight forward.

This post has been edited by kanangra: Nov 13 2006, 11:46 AM

[Bandanna]

I am still coming to grips with my first DNF. It is a sobering experience.

The day started out well, ran on and off with some esteemed company (Eagle, Mister G, Whippet, Tim, Spud) up to the Ampol service station.

Then with Mister G navigated the technical section from the water tank (where I refilled the bladder) through to Checkpoint 1 (as he put it "this is not technical, this is just sh*t"). We lost the trail for a brief moment in a creek valley, and had to backtrack perhaps for 5 minutes, and am thinking that a whole group of runners must have passed us at that stage, including Louie, Sportsman and Allison, because when we pulled in at CP1 they were ahead of us. My support Horrie had pulled out a chair, and I gulped down water, coke, electrolyte, fruit (both fresh and tinned), jellybeans and a jam sandwich.

I noticed that Bill Thompson had just left the checkpoint, and I joined him to the next CP. He is good company. I was amazed at Bill's fast walking style, I needed to jog just to keep up. We sat down for a few minutes at a campsite (thanks Bill for the pitted olives, I will definitely remember to take them next time!), and it was then that I was getting very lightheaded. I had enough water with me at that stage, I was just feeling the heat. I had been suffering from a head-cold all week, taking Sudafed tablets to relieve the nasal congestion, and that definitely didn't help my cause. As a result of all these factors, I started drinking more water than what I had planned to have.

By the time I reached the Congewai Road I was cooking, the road was boiling and a few km later I ran out of water, with perhaps 5km to go to the CP. I was feeling nauseous, and I remember at one stage bending down and putting my head between my legs. I thought at one stage jumping into a dam. I shuffled into CP2, still with about 1.45 hours spare before the cutoff. My neck and back were covered in heat rash. Horrie supplied me with bananas, coke, electrolyte, water and more water, and I was very grateful for that. I also had some very salted chicken soup. Trying to stand up, my legs suddenly cramped badly. Nothing I could do about it, they just spasmed and went into complete shut down. It was then that I realised my race was over, and wisely made the decision to pull out. Felt really disappointed, as I really had looked forward to the day, and I have never done a DNF before. But I guess there is always tomorrow to look forward to.

Horrie and I shared a beer at a pub nearby and then proceeded on to the Basin, where we supported and cheered on all the runners coming through, and then on to Yarramalong where I was very proud to see Allison come in.

Huge congratulations to all the finishers, inspirational stuff. Eagle, thanks for all the best wishes and advice, they were well appreciated. I have learned a lot from you.

Horrie, thanks mate for all the crewing, you are always sincere and willing to help out others without hesitation- an absolute credit to the ultra society.

As to the race itself, ofcourse we all knew what a brutal course this is and what we were in for. It is not for the fainthearted and not to be toyed with. The GNW track is breathtaking and and we are privileged to have this on our doorstep. Well done to the RD and a big thank you to the Terrigal Trotters volunteers for organising this event, I hope it grows in stature.

My only concern though is that with the CPs being so far apart, if a runner did become ill, and needed emergency treatment, it would take a very long time to lift them out, and God forbid, it may be too late then. No one would wish that. We could not contact CP3 (because they were out of mobile reach) to notify them that Tim needed assistance at the unmanned water stop (could this not have been manned?). Perhaps next year there could be marshalls (with a car) placed at some road points (ideally with some first aid knowledge and emergency medical supplies) for such an occurence. Also, it would be wise to have "what-if" scenarios done to prep the CP volunteers for any contingencies. Horrie mentioned that when he spoke to the CP3 volunteers, they were unsure what to do in any emergency, with the comment that "the runners know best, as they are the ones who are experienced".

As to me, I would love to have another crack at this event - have enough food left over to last me until next year

[Tux]

I was part team Blue Dog, along with Evie and BernieG. Apart from 6 foot it was the first time I had even been to an Ultra race so it was all a learning experience for me.

I would firstly like to mention the race organisation, the Terrigal Trotters were fantastic, I was particularly surprised at how they supported the crews as well as the runners. The race director introduced himself to me at checkpoint 4 asked if there was anything we required, and made sure that all was OK. The organisers also provided food for us which I certainly did not expect. This level of support was continued throughout the race. The volunteers were absolutely wonderful, their enthusiasm for the race was evident and they worked hard over the entire weekend. Well done Trotters.

Blue Dog ran a great race, I know there were some tough times out there for him, but he was determined to finish and finish he did in fine style. Well done Blue Dog it was a pleasure to be a part of your support crew.

Every time I saw Miss Gazelle running she looked strong and focused. From reading her posts it is obvious that she has trained hard and prepared well for this event, a fantastic and well deserved result.

At dinner on Friday Eagle seemed relaxed and determined, this followed into the race. He looked comfortable at the first 2 checkpoints and went on to a finish well. Great result Eagle!

I would like to say to all those who competed well done, it was a tough race and the conditions made this more so. As we were constantly moving between checkpoints we did not see all of the runners come through which was unfortunate, however we were getting reports and although there were a number of people who did pull out several others went on to finish well.

As a non competitor I found it a tough but rewarding weekend. Congratulations and thank you to the Trotters for putting on a wonderful event.

[Chub]

Congratulations to all who entered this gruelling race, all who got part-way, all who finished - you are ALL champions.

After some of saturday and sunday crewing for Tim, Spud and Whippet i've got to say it was a very humbling experience. Good humour and guts - that was just the checkpoint volunteers! The runners were awsome, all of them.

I've come away with a few thoughts which i'd like to express. 1) Volunteers were fabulous. If any runners were without crew they wouldn't have had any problem finding willing helpers at any of the CPs, they just couldn't do enough. 2) Checkpoints were well supplied with food and drinks. The exception, in my view, was CP3. Being possibly the most isolated checkpoint on the run i felt it might be beefed up a little with more fruit like watermelon/oranges etc. I could be wrong but there didn't seem to be anyone official with first aid training or basic supplies like rehydration tabs/antacids etc. 3) If the track is poorly marked, assuming it is the NPWS who have responsibility for administration of the track, can some approach be made there for improvements like repainting worn signs, putting in more frequent (environmentally sensitive) markers over the course of the next year in time for the 2007 event. Is it feasible for the RD to offer volunteers to help with this, ie a 'working bee' with volunteer runners training on the course, marking sections as they go?

When Tim pulled out at the Wategan Crk water drop organising rescue was a bit haphazard but word got out and i picked him up on dusk, before the eye-picking crows started circling. I had no idea that beautiful little part of the world existed.

[tim]

When Tim pulled out at the Wategan Crk water drop organising rescue was a bit haphazard but word got out and i picked him up on dusk, before the eye-picking crows started circling.

oh by the way thanks for doing that

[Eagle]

Tim:
Did any one run off with your KT's while you were 'recovering'?

[Whippet Man]

I'll need a bit more time to put together a proper race report but I feel I need to answer and perhaps add to some of the questions already raised. And I also feel suitably qualified to do so having entered and completed the 100 km event last year and now the 100 mile event this year. I also have completed 2 x GH 100 milers and DNF'd 1 x GH 100. I also have a bit of medical knowledge and have done a few different races around the traps.
Firstly, for the record I was with Tim when he pulled out between checkpoints. He knew that to go on would be dangerous so he decided to stop. The reason we rang outside the race for assistance was because we were having trouble with reception (well known to all entrants) and we wanted to keep moving to a point where he could easily be collected by our crew. We knew that when we dropped into the valley again we could not make contact whilst an outside landline could continue calling until a message could be relayed through. (And many thanks to Vegie Girl.) We also made contact with Blue Dog who was approaching the checkpoint where our crew would be so we were confident that the message would eventually get through. Once satisfied that Tim was safe to wait for pick-up we shooed away the crows, stole his KTs and continued.
Heat: it was stinking hot. Even at night the humidity was oppressive. We all knew this was coming. Buyer beware. It was about 16* C here in Geelong in the days leading up and I am now sitting in front of the heater with my beanie on. I had no chance to acclimatise to those conditions. I carried more water and cooled off in streams and went slower (much to Spud's frustration, I'm sure).
Water: I hate hydration bladders and usually use handheld bottles. Bottles alone will never get you through this run. But I also use trekking poles on this course. So I used a 2l bladder PLUS 2 x 750ml bottles in holsters attached to the sides of my camelbak. I never ran out. When I had drained the bladder I knew I still had 1.5l left.
Checkpoints: they are hours apart. But we all knew that. The provisions available improved from last year and I imagine as the race builds and hopefully more people get involved this will grow with it. The ice-water at CP2 is worthy of particular mention. Magic.
Numbers: this is never going to be a race for the masses. The RD knows that. What it will be is the one race that trail ultra runners aspire to complete. I know I did. And when it was first announced and people commented on the difficulty of the terrain, that just made me want to do it more.
Safety: Sure, a Bogong-Hotham style radio network that keeps all checkpoints in touch would be great but they are volunteers. I think Fats summarised my sentiments best on this one.
However, pacers from earlier in the race might be worth considering. Qualifying standards are a waste of time. Have a look at the names that DNF'd. Cost is always going to be an issue in the balance to provide safety.
Navigation: the course is not really marked above the Parks trail posts which are infrequent and can be easily missed. But we are warned about that. The course directions are incredibly detailed and very helpful. There were a few spots that seemed ambiguous but that happened last year and when I reviewed those they were right. 108 miles of bush. There's a good chance of getting lost. The Queenslanders reckon that's all part of the fun, apparently. I have no doubt that familiarisation with the course would help but even Dog who finished last year and has trained on the course got lost. There are many factors that make this a very tough race. I feel for Tugger who was so close. I'm surprised he didn't get lost earlier on that section. We struggled in daylight.
Glasshouse: totally different run. I love GH races and they set the highest standard for trail ultras. They are always a challenge in their own right but far more achievable. With shorter options a great place to build up to 100 milers. But moving to GNW from GH is like moving up to the marathon from the 1/2.
Volunteers and crew: awesome effort by one and all. Special thanks must go to our crew in Chub and Topcat.
RD: fantastic effort. What a vision. And it must be so rewarding to see it come to be.

And Tim and Spud: always a pleasure to share these experiences with you guys. Spud kept me moving and on track day, night and day again. Thanks mate. Sorry you couldn't get to run along that beach with us, Tim. Next year.

[tim]

Tim:
Did any one run off with your KT's while you were 'recovering'?

no but whippet took my vegemite sandwich!!

[JoggerK]

I love GH races and they set the highest standard for trail ultras.

Better than 6ft, although addmittedly not in the same league of difficulty as GNW or GH ?

[Blue Dog]

G'day all, it is Monday now and Bernie G and I arrived home a few hours ago. We grabbed a motel room overnight, not wishing for a repeat of last year when BG fell asleep whilst driving home on the Sydney-Newcastle F3 after crewing all day, all night and half of the next day.

Wow, there is plenty of opinions about the event. Just remember that everyone has their own uniquely individual internalisation of what they have seen, heard and felt, and are very entitled to comment upon their interpretation of what they witnessed.

When I can assemble my many thoughts on the event into a rational order, I will try to post a good report.
Currently I am in full recovery mode (VB in hand) and definitely not looking forward to tomorrow, which I call 'pain day'. Can someone please provide me with the reason why, after something physically demanding, the pain is always twice as bad on the second day after? .... from there it gets better.

Cheers, Blue Dog.

[Whippet Man]

I love GH races and they set the highest standard for trail ultras.

Better than 6ft, although addmittedly not in the same league of difficulty as GNW or GH ?

Sorry, Kev, I keep forgetting 6' is an ultra. Yeah, I have to admit I was pretty impressed by 6'. Now, if you could just do something about all the crowds that turn up to run it.

[FakePlasticTrees]

Sorry, Kev, I keep forgetting 6' is an ultra. Yeah, I have to admit I was pretty impressed by 6'. Now, if you could just do something about all the crowds that turn up to run it.

There's a few too many aid stations as well.

[Uncle Dave]

Just like to echo the congrats of many others. Being part of Team Dog '05, I was especially chuffed to hear of his and Ray's stellar performances.

Ray, I had no doubt you'd carve it up mate. As they say, it's not whether you fall, it's whether you get back up that counts. Inspirational mate!

All my love,

'Bad cop'!

ps - Commiserations to Tugger. Class athlete. Demolished the field last year. Hope he's back at it next year.

[Eagle]

Thank you 'Bad Cop'

I cruised past that infamous spot from last year and spat on it (well figurately) water was too valuable to waste

All of the things you said to me last year at that point have never been forgotten and I suspect they will guide me for ever.

Your a legend and a fantastic friend - I don't want to side track this thread but congratulations to you - can't do much better than first across the line.

This post has been edited by Eagle: Nov 13 2006, 04:05 PM

[SoLucky]

It’s interesting to check out the BOM figures for Apparent Temperature at Gosford at the weekend. I don’t know if the conditions on the track would have been the same, perhaps a local could comment on how closely they would follow those at the weather station.
The most arduous conditions shown on the tables occurred around midday Sunday, with an AT close to or over 30 for 3 hours.
Here is the link, but if you want the details, chase them pronto, as it is a 72 hour record.

[Eagle]

Race Report:
Well so much to say about an very diffcult course, and amazing experince in running and for me personally a wonderful result. My time is irrelevant just getting to the finish inside the cutoff was all that mattered.

Some of you may recall that in mid May I had a serious strees fracture above the left knee and as a consequence could not run for 3 months. That only gave me 3 months to regain fitness for this event. I thought it would be diffcult but decided to attempt it.

I started off with lots of slow laps of the Bay (where talking 75 minutes for 7k). One Sunday Aunty was running in the opposite direction and turned around and joined me for a lap - 'So your on a cooldown lap' she says. I say 'no this is a flat out tempo run at 10 minute ks'. She had serious Ironman traing to do but she then came out with me each Sunday for 3 or 4 what must have been to her very slow and boring laps and some weekdays. Never once did she complain about the slow laps but we did get faster and soon had them down to 40 minutes. Times improved and 4 weeks after starting back running I quietly entered the Sydney Marathon although I had had only one long run of 35k .

At the Sydney Marathon Aunty was my pacer from halfway - or I think she was there to pick up my pieces when I collapsed - we suprised each other with a very comfortable 3.42 finish. A few weeks later I was off to the Melbourne Marathon for a very comfortable 3.17 finish. By then I thought the recovery was going well

These are my thoughts - I am no expert and have the experince of just 2 ultra's so I would place more credibilty on the comments of those with much more experince than me.

Did I have a GNW race plan? Yes.

I believe that there is a tremendous amount of time that can be taken off the course in the first 2 sections and the Section after the Basin to the checkpoint 4. From Checkpoint 4 to Sommersby is easy and time can be made but at my pace you are through there in the early morning and just keeping awake is difficult let alone try to make up time. Having got that time 'in the bank' you then run to keep it or give as little back as possible. To get 'money in the Bank' and the paln to lose it is not my usual race plan (I advocate even pacing) but this is not your usual race and so a race plan to suit the course must be put into place.

My other plan was to make the Checkpoint stops a quick as possible. So for 1 & 2 they were about 5 minutes. The Basin was longer because the night gear was put on and the next the same as the night gear was removed. I had a prepared list of what to do and referred to it before coming into the Checkoint.

I was out of Checkpoint 2 at 2.00pm and so had 3 hours in the Bank. Got out of the Basin at 8.00pm - so I broke even. Got out of Checkpoint 4 at midnight and so had 4 hours in the Bank. I was then in a position to give back and hour in the next 3 sections and could still make the cutoff time.

Between 4/5 I gave back an hour - running at 4.00am when all you want to do is stop and sleep is diffcult. The difficulty for me is not the running but trying to stay awake. I knew that to push at this time would be foolish and might undo all the time in the bank. So with pacer Dazza we went steady and walk most of the section. I gave half an hour back at the next section but that included a 20 minute stop at the checkpoint to make sure we had plenty of water etc and we took time to cool down before heading out for the last section. By then I had 3 hours in the bank and I estimated I would run the last section one hour slower than the cut off time allows - I ran it 1 hour 15 miutes slower. So the end was I was home comfortably within the cutoff time - I kept 1 hour 15 minutes in the Bank.

How did I manage the conditions?

Well first of all I wore a heart rate moniter and I tried to keep my heart rate below 65% of max - on some hills that is impossible and the heat and other factors can push it up but no matter what the factors are I wanted to keep the HR steady and low. I used a 3 lt Camel back and filled it at every chance (thanks Diane). I did't carry additional water but perhaps I am more of a camel than an Eagle. Food the usual wide selection of carbs but early on ate a lot of nuts and cheese.

Navigation.
It can be an issue however I didn't get lost except we had some concerns at about 163k - I thik just about where Tugger went wrong. Other than that I rarely needed a map - just lucky to have a memory for that kind of thing.

At the Communications Tower I came across Lawrene Mead who I had not meet before. He was resting after that monster of a hill - as I got to the top we nodded and we then stayed together until about 171k - he seemed to slow and I felt strong and so I just moved on towards the finish. Thanks for the company over the 26 hours or so - I am sure without you I would not have gone as steady.

Thank you to Dave Byrnes and Terrigal Trotters for a great challenging event. The difficulty of the course and distance between checkoints is known, the weather is the same for each runner and so to enter you must take all this into account and then run on the day according to your fitness and the conditions allow - then have a little bit of luck.

Congratulations to all the starters for facing the challenge. If you did not make it to the finsih this year theh learn from the experience and come back next year better prepeared. Congraulations to all of the other finishers. Tugger what can I say - how cruel to happen to such a wonderful person and athlete. I am just pleased you got out of it and could enjoy some chips with Aunty.

Finally a special thanks to my crew and pacer - Aunty and Dazza. You both did a wonderful job and I was so pleased to share the experience with my special friends and running buddies.

This post has been edited by Eagle: Nov 13 2006, 05:13 PM

[chonky]

i was crewing along with scotty77 for allison, a long time coolrunner lurker.
who finished the 100km in 20hrs 17min
it was an awsome event to watch, i just sat there in the shade and watched every runner
as they came into the checkpoints, loaded up and headed off into the fire again.
everyone of you are something special.
blue dog you ran a very intelligent race, i told you the night before at the dinner that the
dog was in for a big one, well done the dog.
i was sitting next to whippet man at the basin checkpoint which is not even halfway for the
100mile runers and he looked gone his head was down and his eyes were closed, only 90km to go.
i was thinking how is this guy going to finish, well he still finished within the cut off.
the organisers did a fantastic job, the runners got well looked after at the checkpoints
the support crews were well looked after as well by terrigal trotters volunteers with food and drink.
maybe one day there will be team chonky out there doing this race but for now i am happy to
watch from the sidelines.
regards chonky

[Kelvin]

Having now had time to read some of the race reports, this one seems to need to just about come with a health warning. Congratulations to all those who had the guts to go out and do it and even bigger congratulations to the ones completed the whole thing.
To some degree it makes me want to go out and do it next year (and regret not taking my chance of doing it this year), but when you consider the times taken by some very good, very tough and experienced runners out there reckon you might see me down Moe that weekend next year (considering my navigational difficulties over the years would i actually make it to checkpoint 1 ???).
I think Kevin has made a good point regarding the first couple of years of Glasshouse and the first two events here, i'm sure people will drag this thread up throughout the year and learn from it (believe me if i'm there i've got every intention of spending a week on the trail beforehand), it's very much like a dnf it spurs you on to find what you did wrong or right the last time and what you could do better the next.
Certainly this run could easily become the long distance trail Ultra runners aspire to here (like Six Foot is the short Ultra of note and Bogong to Hotham the mid distance Ultra of note).
Of course now i'm waiting to see who puts as their avatar "XXX sleeps till GNW",

Kelvin

[Eagle]

My photos are here :

Eagle's GNW 2006 Photos

This post has been edited by Eagle: Nov 13 2006, 09:34 PM

[Louie de Fly]

Hi
In the cold hard light of reality we need to accept our failures and triumphs and move on
I’m a slow runner and don’t have the luxury to be able to bank time like eagle
What eagle and bluedog have done is amazing
The GNW like Bogan to Hotham the Cradle Run and the Australian alpine Run are not for the average runner we need to stop winging about what we carry and do what Bill Thompson has done and train with more than we need to carry over longer distances
There are plenty of runs like the Fat ass runs in NSW and Glasshouse training runs in QLD we can enter their well organised and have no limits
I have already altered my training for next year and will be training with more weight in races I enter
It’s nice to have a certificate to say you’re finished but I would rather withdraw than buy one
Some marathons have cut offs we can’t stop the top athletes at checkpoints because their too fast they will never slow down likewise we should not change races because we think their too hard
I pushed too hard and paid the price it was my decision and mine alone to stop with another 90km to go at the time I was 90min ahead of cutoff, I know I did better than last year
To finish the GNW your need to know your food and water requirements and train accordingly and be prepared to withdraw if you’re in distress to train to run less than 3km between CP and not be prepared to carry the necessary water and safety gear is a RECIPE for disaster and a certain DNF
Well done to all who finished regardless of the distance
All the best
Lou

This post has been edited by Louie de Fly: Nov 14 2006, 09:22 AM

[Tugger]

What a run! Just to set the record straight - I wasn't severely dehydrated at the point of "getting lost"... my mind just wasn't strong enough after going around in circles. I was feeling great with just 10ks to go and then made some very silly decisions like running an hour in the wrong direction when I was actually on the track. I came across private property on a dead end road and my mind just went beserk! I waited for hours for another runner but no luck there.

Anyway, no excuses at all - my mind was weak and I am feeling friggin woeful now. I cannot understand why I made such a STUPID mistake but there is no problem with anyone or anything but myself. After suffering hugely inthe early sections, I was so happy to 'run them out' by the evening only to capitulate. Great event and great course! The navigation makes it special for me, but I need to be more prepared in future. I totally stuffed my drop bags and entered the last two sections without any maps (cause for disqualification anyway) or food/electrolyte. I wasn't even going to go down for the run the day before because of circumstances but glad I did despite making a fool of myself! Anyway, at least Tom doesn't seem to mind. Congratulations to all finishers and everyone who gave it a go. Can't wait till next year when I will really spank the 24 hour mark. Thanks to all the volunteers and to everyone for their hospitality (99, MRX, Bill, Auntie, Diane etc etc etc... you're all a bunch of groovers). The mind will be less black in a frew days and I will remember all the great things... the people, the scenery, the beach at Patonga, the chips, the beer! Bugger, I have to go to work.

[Louie de Fly]

Hi All
Quote tugger
What a run! the people, the scenery, the beach at Patonga, the chips, the beer! Bugger, I have to go to work.

double bugger its 365 bloody days till next year

lou

[thomo]

This event has captured CoolRunner's attention big time 422 + 1 posts and 11,748 views.

So there must be a lot of armchair trail ultra marathoners out there myself included.

All my ultras have been on either 400mtrs tracks (up to 100.4km) or doing laps of road course (when I racewalked 50kms).

My admiration to all people involved in trail ultras.

My suggestion all advice positive and negative both from competitors and non competitors however presented should be to corporate speak "should be taken on board". Look at the content not the delivery.

[aemadatsi]

Hi, this is my first post here (I'm Pem #58). Thanks to Dave Byrnes, the Terrigal Trotters Club and all the wonderful volunteers who putting on this amazing challenge. This was my first trail run and even though I pulled out at checkpoint 3 - I am thrilled that my inaugral trail run was the GNW100. I'm definitely coming back next year wiser and well-trained. I was a bit overwhelmed by the posts and the quality of the runners so if I appeared introverted, please understand it was just in awe of the situation I was in and the company

My deepest, deepest, deepest thanks to Paul Every for letting me tag along with him and avoid getting lost. I'm sorry that you weren't feeling that great but you were truly a blessing for me....and you continued to the finish of the 100km - congratulations on your tenacity and also to Grant Campbell for pulling off those leeches - I thought I was going to pass out - next year, I'll be running with salt shakers and tweezers slung across my shoulders to ward them off.

The next bit may be viewed by some as a stream of consciousness so you can skip over it ....but if you're a newbie wanting to attempt the GNW100 - you might find it amusing to read it - I sent it out to some non-runner friends who had wished me well:

----------------
I pulled out of the run at 81.7km after thinking that I was nuts (don’t laugh), it was 10:40pm-ish, I had been on the go since 6am and the prospect of having to scale back up out of the valley that had taken 4 hours of ascent and descent and scale back up through leech territory after having had 10 or so pulled off my from my ankles and shoes, my feet were blistered and I thought the whole exercise seemed pretty pointless at this time – I couldn’t even run at a semi-decent pace – it would be a hobble and shuffle at only marginally better or worse speed than the previous 30km from the last checkpoint. The final straw was when I was around a 1km from checkpoint 3 when I felt something burst and liquid cover the back of my right ankle, initially, I thought, “I’ve squished a well-fed leech” and I was just about to barf and pass out at the same time. I looked down and saw that it was just a blister on my heel that had formed some where along the way from the last checkpoint. Judging by my pace, it would take me another 4-4.5hrs to finish the remaining the remaining 22km. Running around Sydney, it would have taken me 2hrs to do the 22km on any given day without pushing myself hard.

I totally underestimated the toughness of the terrain, Initially, I thought 400-600metres climbs were easy-peasy but the entire elevation gain during the course of the run was 3,811m of ascent and and 3,799m descent. When I think of it now, it is with much respect, that’s akin to climbing from sea-level close to the capital of my country in the Himalayas. When the Race Manual said "precipitous ascents and steep descents" …it didn’t really sink in, I think it should have been sung out by by a blues singer like Etta James saying, "child, I’m telling ya….it is pre-ci-pi-to-us and st-e-e-e-e-p, don’t fool ya mountain ass into thinking it’s a joy ride…hell no! it is pre-ce-pi-to-us …and don’t let nobody tell you different!” ….I think that would have go through to me!

random thoughts...
Climbing up some of the ascents on virtually all fours because I thought if I straightened up, I would topple down and daring not to look up to see how much further to go and daring not to look back down for fear of vertigo, forcing yourself to get a grip and just concentrate micro-second to micro-second is indeed an experience Running with 3litres of water, supplementary liquid food, rain jacket, compass, maps, basic first-aid kit, sunscreen, vaseline makes you wonder at the life of pack animals. Running out of water 4km from checkpoint 2 at the 52.5km mark with the sun beating down mercilessly on you as you shuffle your way up what seems to a never ending dirt road on a valley floor with barely a hint of shade really makes you wonder how people survive in the deserts. Feeling what you thought was a cool drop of water on the back of your leg and marvelling at the timing of mother nature to come in just when you feeling pretty dissipated and struggling to climb up some moss covered rocky ascent, only to look down and instead of seeing a perfectly formed droplet of water, you see a stringy leech that’s getting ready to sink itself into you for dinner…makes you appreciate the ironies that life has to offer.

It’s a beautiful country out there and again it is with much respect that I look at it now. It was an awesome and humbling experience. I’m grateful that I did not get lost because I was blessed to be able to stay on track with a tenacious ultra-athlete called Paul Every who was having a ‘bad day’ - so was not zipping up the vertical climbs and zooming down the steep descents. Maybe I could have gone faster alone but the gamble was whatever time I made up, I would more than likely lose in trying to navigate my way looking for obscure trails. My sense of direction is not the best and a point of banter with friends so I accepted that I would use my inaugural trail run as a precursor for other trail runs in the future and forget the 'speed' factor ...which gradually became, the "let's just get out of this $^%#@$^%#@%$#^%@# valley so I can pass out and die"....factor

Having said all that, I’ll definitely go back out there but better prepared and a whole lot wiser.

By the way, I’m happy to say, contrary to some people’s opinions *I am not nuts*….you should see these other guys and in the future I’ll be gauging my “nutty” factor against these guys because they are out there (and I mean that in the best sense possible and…with much respect!)

pem
---------------------------------

This post has been edited by aemadatsi: Nov 14 2006, 03:41 PM

[Blue Dog]

Pem,

Your thoughts on the event are wonderfully written and enjoyable to read. Yes, the up and down is truly terrible, and there is no respite from it for the full distance.

I was very pleased to meet you briefly at the start, and wondered several times during the day how you were getting along. From your account, very well indeed ... the fact you made it to The Basin at more than 80km in your first trail race is an amazingly courageous result; very well done, congratulations.

So I am guessing we will see you at 6ft Track in March as preparation for your elevation to 'Ultra Goddess' status next year?

Oh, and welcome to 'The Dark Side'......

Cheers, Blue Dog.

This post has been edited by Blue Dog: Nov 14 2006, 01:13 PM

[Chub]

Great report Pem

[aemadatsi]

So I am guessing we will see you at 6ft Track in March as preparation for your elevation to 'Ultra Goddess' status next year?

Cheers, Blue Dog.

thanks for your kind words and for introducing yourself to me at the start I'll definitely like to try out the 6ft track

[bill thompson]

Woof,
Good one Pem. Nice meeting you after the famous cp2. My measure of "happiness" is quite high at present.
Finally home, still a little the worse for wear! Took me a couple of hours to go through all the comments.
Certainly some interesting reading. I'll send in a more comphrehensive report a bit later. Just a few things now. Personally I reckon everything was great. Most of the bad problems seem to be with hydration. I carried 3l that proved to be plenty at my pace. I was also prepared to drink out of dams, creeks etc if things went bad. Carried a small stove to cook up a brew if needed. The course markings are perfect - it's all there you just have to be observant. I had to hit the last section really hard to make the cut. If you marked this section with tape you'd need about 25kms of it. Getting a bit overheated, spent my 10 minute break sitting in a freezing waterfall. Hit the lookout at 5.35pm and thought I wasn't going to make it. Forgot about the poor old feet and made the dash to the end. As L d Fly says, preparation. Many good thoughts, heaps of nice people. Thank you all.
Cheers Bill

[Dave]

I have now posted a comprehensive race report on my blog and rather than also publishing the same stuff here it is probably easier for those who are interested to go to my blog, the link is below in my signature.

[IDW]

I rated myself with no chance of a win at the start of this event, so the end result just goes to show what can go wrong - and right - in a race of 100 miles. I dropped out last year at Checkpoint 3, so I was determined to keep going this year. The legs coped well with the hills & the distance but I had bad blister problems from about 60 k, which required a lot of attention for the rest of the race. I thought I would take about 27 hours and with good feet I still think that is realistic.

I guess people analyse these posts hoping for some tips from the finishers, to help them through their own race next time. I can say what my approach was, but in the end, we each have to figure out, by trial & error what works.

Training:
Its an endurance event with a huge amount of walking, so definitely need to do plenty of walking in training. Three weeks ago I ran the Brindabella Classic hard, as did BlueDog, but then concentrated on walking during the last few weeks --- my training stats for 6 months was pitiful, at 51 k / week walking & running on average and 65 k / week over the final 6 weeks, but add in 1500 metres of mountains per week & it starts to make sense. And anyway, its also what we have done over the past few years which counts as well...

Gear:
Last year it didn't feel right & I noticed the weight, so this year I tried to get the pack weight down to 3 kg. I tried the water bladder thing last year but reverted to bottles this year. Carried a max of 1.8 litres but less at night. At each aid station I drank about a litre and plenty at the water drops. I wasn't very scientific about it -- 1.2 litres of water plus a 600 ml bottle of electrolyte worked OK, plus a salt tablet avery 4 hours during the day. I think I had a cup of tea or coffee at each of the last 4 checkpoints which I find stops me getting drowsy.

Food:
This year I tried long-life UHT flavored milk, packed with calories & easy to swallow; one at each aid station. Also iced raisin buns with butter on the long sections, plus a bowl of tasty pasta at Checkpoint 4 and a few chocolate bars, biscuits & cheese sticks.

The Heat:
From noon to 3 pm I was aware that heat exhaustion was a real danger, especially as this coincided with the very hilly section 3; so I mainly walked for 2 or 3 hours and got through it OK. (Try taking off the backpack for 10 minutes at a time & slinging it over the shoulder to help with cooling on your back...)

Navigation:
I had no real disasters; just 1 or 2 places with 5 minutes of uncertainty. That said, I was very careful this year: I had the map out all the time and used it, as well as the instructions, constantly. If it didn't feel right, I stopped immediately and went back, then looked again for a marker or track.

I would like to thank everybody at the aid stations (hope I wasn't too bossy....); I didn't have a crew but the volunteers were fast & efficient.

And I won't ever forget that feeling of satisfaction after 30 hours, as the trail emerged from the jungle onto that beautiful beach at Patonga.

Ian

This post has been edited by IDW: Nov 14 2006, 06:34 PM

[Louie de Fly]

Quote RMC
When I started Ray I thought 2 litres was enough but now having seen the course I certainly would have carried the extra weight to stay more hydrated. One issue which was probably overlooked is that some of us had NEVER seen the course before (coming from interstate). Locals and those who ran last year certainly had an advantage with navigation. My wrong turns compounded the hydration problem.
I spoke with the 100k winner who carried just 1.7 litres max and quite a few others who carried 2 litres max. I'm pretty sure Bill Thompson and Lou carried under 2 litres between checkpoints.
RMC
When you asked me about how much water to carry before the race I told you to carry an extra 50% more than you thought you needed I also said that two experienced ultra runners carried three and still ran out 14km after CP2 last year
Its no use asking someone else what you need you have to measure what you drink and eat in training and races
Any time spent walking or running in bush country needs proper preparation, I don’t think you could match the leaders or Bill Thompson in the bush
Learn from your mistake and prepare for your trip to the USA
The buzzards are waiting
Lou

This post has been edited by Louie de Fly: Nov 14 2006, 06:59 PM

[Ian Cornelius]

From reading the various posts, this is obviously a very challengine event. Congratulations to all those who participated, especially the incomparable Tugger. What a performance!

Well done to the organisers and a special pat on the back for those who man the checkpoints for many hours on end, often in places not so readily accessable.

GCU

[RMC]

Thanks for your comments Lou. I'll be a year the wiser next time.

[Spud]

What a weekend! Now that I’ve come down from a huge weekend of bush running and U2 concerts, I’ll add a few comments.

Thanks firstly to Dave Byrnes and the Terrigal Trotters for yet another well-organised GNW100s. I’m sure this event will be a huge challenge for any aspiring ultra runners in the future, it was a tough run over two hot days.
Sandwiching it between two U2 concerts made for a top weekend!

With regard to the safety of runners, I found the course notes and race information with maps, race booklet, crew info etc second to none. There might still be a bit of ambiguity in sections but for the most part the course instructions are excellent and as the RD stated before the start, not all intersections are listed. It definitely helps to acquaint yourself with the course beforehand. The issue of water drops; taking on this run requires a fair amount of planning and preparation. The weather forecast was for hot conditions, so an extra litre of water was always going to help, again runners entering these type of events should be well prepared. There is a duty of care responsibility for the RD; I believe this was covered more than adequately. Ultimately we do not enter an event of this magnitude fully expecting safety nets, we are responsible for our own safety!

My race went well, deciding to run with mates and stick together turned out to be a blessing given the conditions, having an extra pair of eyes or two always recommended on a course of this nature. Although we lost Tim along the way, Whippet and I stayed together the entire run and helped each other finish under the cut. 35hrs plus on the feet a new experience for me, one I’m sure will help with C2K in a few weeks time. I believe this course is certainly doable by athletes other than runners, ie-rogainers, orienteers, adventure racing athletes with 24hr race experience etc. I looked at it as a long hike and approached it that way, mixing in lots of walking, plenty of food and drink. It was tough on the second day when the sun started beating down on us again but with 3.5 ltrs plus of water each we never ran dry. The unmanned water dumps were perfect and dropping down onto Patonga beach a fitting way to finish this epic run with a wonderful reception awaiting us too.

Well done all who toed the start line, lots of familiar faces and a few new ones too.
Thanks to the volunteers and our crew of TopCat and Chub, excellent job guys.

I’ll post a more detailed report when I find the time.

[bill thompson]

Great North Walk 2006 race report
A few more comments on the run that may be of interest to someone out there, but probably not. A bit long winded I'm afraid.
Preparation. Having failed in 2005, I knew this could well be my last attempt so I'd better get it right. I decided to spend at least 10 days in the bush away from computers, phones, grog etc so why not on or near the course. Louie de fly kindly dumped me at the end of the bitumen near Teralba. It was very hot and dry – the two packs must have weighed about 35kgs with 7 litres of water and two of fuel for starters. Managed to get past Heaton Lookout to camp on the first day. The downhills were treacherous. The course on race day was near perfect compared with this. As a matter of interest I lived on the muddy dam water just before the zig zags after cp2 for a day. Just didn't need to add tea or coffee. I got right through to Patonga but only averaging about 20kms a day. I never used the maps or instructions, just followed the GNW signs. Spent the last Tuesday before the run cruising without the packs. Then back to Lou's on Thursday via Wondabyne station.
The run. Great to see such a crowd at the start with many familiar faces. I felt I'd done the work so had a good chance keeping to my schedule that had me arriving in Patonga at 5.55pm. After the start talked briefly with Jan and John before they took off and I settled comfortably at the rear along with the support vehicle. Stopped briefly at Heaton Gap before the first big climb. I had made up a brew here last year but decided to skip this luxury and save 5 minutes this year, as the next section is one of the hardest to keep up a good average speed. Passed John and Jan(who had lost his mobile) and a few others on this section but still arrived 10 minutes behing schedule. Luckily had a 20 minute stop scheduled so cut this back to 10. Check point 1 was just great. Getting served coffee, bacon, sausages and eggs by blokes in suits was a first for me. Left here on schedule in good spirits. Teamed up with Sebastian for much of the next section. He was recovering from the flu so was feeling the heat a bit and I pulled ahead on the downhill down to the road. Surprised to find so many bodies lying around on arrival at cp2. I really didn't think it was that hot. Possibly one of the advantages of walking. After cp2 caught up with Paul and Pem and we chattered away until the climb. Paul had already decided to pull out at 100k. I left them at the start of the climb, changed down a gear, and made it to the top without stopping, passing Grant on the way. He was feeling the heat a bit but soon cooled and we took off towards Flat Rock lookout where we met Alison. They then ran off but I caught them on the steep downhill to Watagan Creek. Grant said he was overheating. It was probably the hotest part of the course here and it was nearly after 6pm. I bombed on down, passed a bloke waiting to be picked up on the road just before the water drop. I knew there was a nasty rough climb out of the valley so had scheduled in a noodle soup stop. Soon had the gas stove roaring and cooked up a litre with boost home dried chillies. Meanwhile Alison had arrived but there was no sign of Grant and we both started to get a bit worried. Alison suddenly leapt to her feet – she had nearly been bitten in a very sensitive spot by a bulldog ant. She was worried about the climb ahead and I said that that would have got her up there like a rocket. She took off while I finished eating. Still no sign of Grant but the farm was close and I knew more people would be coming through soon so I took off up the roughest part of the course. Luckily it only goes on for about 15 minutes and then it was very pleasant late evening cruising through tall forest. I caught up with Alison as she was getting reflective jacket, lights etc organised. She had made it up the hill no worries. Then it was off to the basin. We caught up with another couple of blokes (I think it was Peter and Ron). I rather fancy myself on the rough terrain so asked to pass and I would see them at cp3. No wrong turns this year, so arrived in good spirits and with a cold Guineas waiting things don't get much better. Soon had the stove going and the steak on. Rice and cream to follow, change of clothes, just ahead of schedule, things were looking good.
After the climb out of the basin, it is then fairly easy going until cp4. That said, for me the 12k up the bitumen is the most difficult part of this run. Two hours of boring stuff armed with a large dog whacker. Arrived OK at cp4 but with little appetite and couldn't even face having another Guineas. A cup of tea went down well and I got out of there on schedule soon catching up with Peter. I tried to talk Alison into continuing, she looked OK but her decision to pull out had been made. Peter said he wasn't good on hills so I left him soon after the road on the long easy climb after cp4. There are 4 climbs on this section so it shouldn't be underestimated. About half way through this section the dawn arrived and soon after that I had a nice stop at the creek at Stringybark Point. An easy road section is then followed by a nice but strenuous section including 2 climbs, the last bringing you in to Somersby. I ordered up Bacon and Eggs but they said sorry, not on the menu. I had bacon in the pack and eggs in the drop bag so they soon had them cooking. After a couple of coffees I left munching the b and e's with no great appetite. No sign of Peter. The route to cp6 is pretty easy going but hard on the feet in parts. I had several sore spots and a nice heel blister and kept kicking rocks with suitable cursing. The Moonie Creek crossing was a non event. It was heating up nicely by the time I reached cp6. To my astonishment they said that no one had finished the course yet. So where the hell was Tugger? I tried to eat and was about to leave when Peter ran in. Said if he sat down he wouldn't get up again. Not a good sign as it is pretty rough going from here to the finish. The friendly check point people wanted me to have some coke but I said it always let me down. Luckily they persauded me to carry a litre for later. I left just before Peter but he soon caught me and went past. I caught him on the climb after the suspension bridge and he said he was overheating and feeling totally stuffed. He signalled for me to pass and I told him there were a few creeks coming up where he could cool off. At the first I dunked the shirt and hat then kept moving. This section has lots of ups and overs and downs and is hard on the feet, much of it being on pure sandstone. At about 3pm I reached the large creek with waterfall below. Decided to reschedule my 10 minute break here and cool down. I was going to have it at the water drop. Drank plenty including electrolytes, then took off the shorts and sat more or less fully dressed, shoes and all in the freezing waterfall. Actually left here feeling cold, the legs and feet much better. I'd filled up all my water containers with the cold creek water so went straight past the water drop. I had seen no sign of Peter and I think this is where he dropped out. Now it was just a matter of averaging 5km an hour through all the wildflowers. Sounds easy but I really had to push it. I notice in the results that I did the 2nd fastest time over this leg. After 4pm I started in on the coke and then had slugs every 20 minutes. Seemed to give me a bit of extra energy. It was 5.35pm when I hit the lookout and I had this dreadful feeling that I wouldn't make it. So, better start running for the first time and once I got moving it wasn't too bad. The feet soon went numb and I did good time down to the beach. Great relief on checking the watch to see the finish with heaps of time up my sleeve. Great crowd to see me over the finish line with ten minutes to spare – the RD had kindly postponed the presentations.
Thanks to all the organisers and check point people – great stuff.
Comparisons. I've done a few runs/walks in the states and the nearest comparison would be Massanutten in Virginia. It also has a 36 hour time limit but is only 100 miles.
Food and drink. As a matter of principal, I always try and keep eating and drinking separate. Difficult in the heat.
I used endura + vitamin C every 3 hours, always when not eating.
Tried to eat normal food at normal times. Carried 3l of water, dried fruit, nuts, cheese, olives, chillies, cream, yeast all the way and nibbled as I saw fit between check points. Small stove from 2 to 3 for soup and cooking dinner at 3.
Cheers until next time
Bill

[Aunty K]

Bill - that is a wonderful report!

I sat across from you at the picnic table at CP3 with Diane as you prepared your dinner. Diane & I watched as you produced many different small containers of food. The most fascinating piece of equipment was your small gas cooker. I asked you 'what do you eat whilst running?' you answered 'I try to eat as normal as possible'. Then you proceeded to cook & eat a steak roll and tomatoe. Being the kind gentleman you are you offered us a steak also as you had a spare one in the esky. You then drank your Guiness saying that you had earnt it. Followed up with dessert of rice & cream. More than satisfied you packed up your backpack with supplies and disappeared into the night.

I wanted to say that I was most pleased to see you arrive at Patonga Beach.

Congrats BILL!

AK

[Blue Dog]

Bill I would like to extend my congratulations to you on an outstanding effort.

Very intelligently planned and executed, but still requiring a huge amount of fitness, endurance and mental tenacity. Truly inspiring.

Cheers, Blue Dog.

[dave1678]

Could anyone tell me who won and winning time before I have to go back to work.
Thanks.

[Tugger]

Congratulations to all those who participated, especially the incomparable Tugger. What a performance!

GCU

Umm... you mean Ian Wright! I went awol with 8k's to go... Thanks anyway Ian I stuffed up big time and I can safely say that I will never let that happen again (famous last words huh). What I've learned: the stuff between the ears is more important than the legs! And maps are a good thing... and when you're on the course, don't go wandering off for hours just because you think it would nice to find water before heading off again... I am such a friggin idiot! Stop laughing all of you

This post has been edited by Tugger: Nov 16 2006, 05:06 PM

[CookieMan]

This is my first post. After finishing on Sunday at Patonga (Kim Cook), it has taken me some time to get my body and mind back together (still not there but moving forward). I will post a full race report later. Apologies for the number of thank you messages below but they all need to be said.

What an experience to step onto the sand at Patonga and have what sounded like hundreds of people cheering you up the beach to the wharf. You can’t help but break into what seemed like a sprint to me. Then to see fellow Trotters, other support crews, other runners and finally my support crew manager, partner Debbie waiting and cheering made the whole journey worthwhile.

The weekend brought out some extraordinary performances and none more than from the support crews and in my case, Debbie’s. I think that waiting and not knowing must be the hardest thing. For me as a runner the time seemed to pass fairly quickly, although sometimes the kilometres didn’t pass that quickly. I must thank the other support crews for helping and supporting each other.

Thanks also to Lyndon and Bruce who kept me going during different sections after the 100km mark. You both kept the pace moving but more importantly kept my mind busy. Thanks also to Steve who I ran with for most of the first 100km, glad to see you finished and sorry I lost you with about 12km to go.

A big thanks to Dave Byrnes for getting this event up and running and not being deterred along the way. Thanks also Dave for your confidence and support.

I congratulate all of the runners who fronted up on Saturday. There will be some that this event will not suit, but I think most will be back to give it another go. I would not count on better weather conditions as I think it will always be a factor and will become part of the character of this event. Imagine what those valleys in stage 1 would be like with another couple of days of heavy rain.

I came into the event having never run a trail event and with a distance running history of two road marathons and one road 50K ultra (Canberra 2006). I substituted this inexperience with some great preparation including training on the course in the conditions, reading and learning from the race reports from last year and the many postings this year (thanks Tugger for the Nutrition tips) and finally leaving nothing unplanned as far as things that might go wrong. I will go into the above in more detail in my race report to follow.

Whilst all of the above increased my chance of making it to the finish line, you do need to believe that you can go the distance.

Thanks go to Tim for the use of his gators in the last section.

Finally congrats to all the finishers in the 100km and to Miss Gazelle and Steve Guest my fellow Trotters and training partners well done on gutsy efforts.

And finally to those that experienced Patonga Beach
IDW, Blue Dog (thanks for the beer mate), James Grove, MRX, Eagle, Lawrence Mead, Spud, Whippet Man and Bill Thompson.

It feels great to be listed within this group of achievers.


KWC

[Phibes]

Now that most of the competitors have reported back on the GNW100s I would like to congratulate all of you on your efforts. Anyone that fronted up for this one deserves a pat on the back. There were many outstanding efforts by CR's posting here and non CR's.

For those that didn't make it- at least you had a go (unlike me, who has a major dislike for hot weather running and carrying much weight on my back). I'm sure that everyone learnt a lot and will come back stronger next year.

I really feel for Tugger - I think I have had a bad dream that is similar to what he experienced- leading an ultra and getting lost/disoriented at the end. However, Tugger, you're such a class act that I know this will make you even more determined to come back and slash a huge amount off the course record.

Particular congratulations to my ACT training buddy, IDW, for his win this year. Ian has had a string of 2nd places at Glasshouse and had a DNF at GNW last year (must have been my crewing- too soft!), so this year's nicely executed run was just what he needed.

Regarding the "Duty of Care" issue- I know David Byrne has worked his butt off to get this run up and going and no doubt it there are a huge amount of logistical issues to overcome. Well done Dave (and Terrigal Trotters) for having the determination and vision to put on an epic like this. All races like this take years to fine tune based on experience and feedback (look at the changes in 6Ft Track of Glasshouse over the years) and I hope GNW will continue along the same lines. I agree that the race shouldn't be "nancified" to cater to the masses. However, there should perhaps be a more formal, explicit risk management plan in place that competitors, aid station helpers and crews are equally aware of so that appropriate, and coordinated actions take place in case of an emergency.

I did suggest to Dave last year that one way that more people might step up to the 100K or 100 miler would be to offer a relay team option. This would allow people to gain familiarisation with various parts of this fantastic course and would also populate the course a bit more (which can also help with safety).

[aemadatsi]

Getting served coffee, bacon, sausages and eggs by blokes in suits was a first for me. ..... scheduled in a noodle soup stop. Soon had the gas stove roaring and cooked up a litre with boost home dried chillies. .... see them at cp3. Soon had the stove going and the steak on. Rice and cream to follow. Two hours of boring stuff armed with a large dog whacker. A cup of tea went down well ....the last bringing you in to Somersby. I ordered up Bacon and Eggs but they said sorry, not on the menu. I had bacon in the pack and eggs in the drop bag so they soon had them cooking. Tried to eat normal food at normal times. Carried 3l of water, dried fruit, nuts, cheese, olives, chillies, cream, yeast all the way and nibbled as I saw fit between check points. Small stove from 2 to 3 for soup and cooking dinner at 3.

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the fantastic report - I am totally blown away by your style - it's like reading about travelling on the great Ghan....but on legs with all that food. I survived on some liquid endurance food and some complex carb gels (i could only stomach about 4 small pkts till I pulled out) all day long execpt for some salty peanuts. I think I was afraid of cramps if I ate something solid - but if you're running or hiking in the bush, you're not running at the same speed as you would on a flat course, so solid food definitely seems like a good idea and definitely more enticing than just drinking fluids. Having said that I didn't feel hungry at all but I also couldn't really stomach solid food for the next few days. Thanks for the excellent report. Thanks for the the tip about the 'dog whacker' leading up to cp4 - definitely a useful tip. I can't wait for the 2007 GNW I've been going through the routes in my head over and over the last few days.

[RawAussieAthlete]

The year leading up to the race
Pulling out at 100km in the 2005 GNW100s, I had decided that GNW100s was the event I enjoyed more than any other and I would plan my calendar for 2006 around that race.
Having done 12 hour Coastal Classic in January 2006, followed too soon by a 3 hour run around my local lake I developed a muscle imbalance/overuse injury which began showing up every time I ran for more than 45 minutes.
So I stopped running for more than 30 minutes at a time (averaging only once or twice a week) until I recovered, incorporating more sleep to allow my body to repair itself and better nutrition which I believe is found in whole, fresh, ripe, raw plant foods. I've had brief periods of falling off a raw vegan diet over the last year but have been 100% raw for the 3 months leading up to the race.
With these changes I found myself performing noticeably better with less training and I felt like I was getting endurance for free.
With the Old Great North Road 43km nicely placed in July (a month before Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney), I used it to test whether my injury had gone away and whether my endurance had fallen away with my lack of training. I was completely comfortable until the 30km mark from which point I fell into a slump. Every run I go in I seem to bottom out soon after the 30km mark (Warrumbungles, Bilpin Bush Run, Coastal Classic).
* 5 weeks until GNW100s: Completed Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney in 18 hours 57 mins having barely run once a week since Old Great North Road.
* 5 weeks until GNW100s: I was playing tag on ice skates at my sons birthday party and went down, giving deep bruising through my knee cap and the bit beneath where the quad attaches to the knee.
For a week, my left knee involuntarily locked back when I walked. I couldn't even manage a slow jog.
* 4 weeks until GNW100s: Couldn't jog but the locking of my knee was lessening.
* 3 weeks until GNW100s: I started a daily slow jog up Mount Ainslee (240 elevation) as part of a 1 hour return trip to Canberra City Centre. A few light niggles in the knee to manage.
* 2 weeks until GNW100s: I was looking for the steepest hills on Mount Ainslee and doing multiple laps.
* 1 week until GNW100s: Time to taper :-)

GNW100s 2006 - Race time!!!
It was awesome to see so many familiar faces at the pre-race dinner.
I didn't go to eat, just to pick up on the vibe. I'd eaten 3 avocados on my afternoon trip from Canberra and was to eat 6 oranges before going to sleep.
Arose at 4:50am having spent at least 3 hours completely wired and alert. I always fall asleep within minutes at night, so it was obvious I was excited and the reality that the race had arrived had finally set in.

I made the mistake of putting stuff for the finish in with my CP6 gear, so when I dropped out at 100km and got a lift to Patonga, I had no clean gear.

During the race this year I consumed only raw, whole foods. Over the 100km I consumed 3 celery stalks (for sodium), 4 hass avocados (some fats), 20 medjool dates (carbos), 9 oranges (not many calories but go down well on the run), 4 bananas (carbos), 2 large mangos (yum!!!) and about 6.5 litres of water.
Like in my other races the sweet foods were hard to eat after 30km. The mangos seemed were the best food for me during the race and always went down well.
I had so many oranges to CP1 and half way to CP2 that I didn't touch them for the rest of the race. I carried 4 cut oranges for 75 km for no reason!!!
I changed into fresh trail running socks (and t-shirt) at every checkpoint and didn't get any blisters at all.
To the horror of most runners reading this, I ran in the same Brooks shoes as the previous year (nearly 600km in races alone + training...could be time for a new pair :-P

I started the race nice and slow after going out too hard last year. Carried a 2 litre camelbak bladder and drank 1.6 litres to CP1 having decided it was unnecesary to fill up at either the service station or the Heaton Lookout water tank.
I ran alone up Heaton Gap this year and found it much easier going, travelling slower at my own pace.
A race high for me was again was running through the rainforest past Heaton Gap with a sense of great freedom and a big grin on my face. An eagle sized bird flew out from the canopy above the creek here with all the noise I was making stomping through the beautiful area. I had a light fall at about 20km and my calf cramped briefly. I cramped 5km earlier during the Heaton Gap climb last year but both years I backed off and the cramping doesn't happen again during the race.

CP1: (Arrived 1 hour 40 min before cut-off)

I filled up my camelbak on arrival (I forgot to last year resulting in serious dehydration by CP2) and cut up 4 oranges to carry with me (and cut my hand in the rush...). I loaded a dozen medjool dates, a mango, a celery stalk and 2 avocados into my camelbak.
I ate 2 avocados just after CP1 which gave me energy hours later but I think contributed to my struggle along Georges Rd. Fats in your bloodstream coat the insulin and blood sugar delaying the sugars from being released to your cells. With me at my worst, Eagle came running by as though he had started late and was ploughing through the field. I found it helped me to cool a little with my sleeves rolled up, my shirt tucked in my camelback straps across my chest and my lycra pants riding high. Must have looked a sight!

Half way along Georges Rd my feet were very overheated and kept getting hotter which was pushing my core temperature up. O'Runner came blogging by on his Blackberry at which point I decided it was necessary to lie in the shade at a high point on the ridge...one of the few places a cool breeze could be found. I lay there on my back, in thick leaves with no concern for the spiders or biting ants, and ate my mango. Spud and 2 others went by. I was hot, so sorry but I don't recall who else went past, but they were looking at my mango with puppy dog eyes...sorry guys! But you were right, the 3 of you could easily have taken my mango. I was defenseless at that stage. After 10 minutes on my back I was cooled enough to continue. My 2 litres of water ran out on Congewai Rd, 15 minutes prior to arrival at CP2.

CP2: Congewai Public School

Thanks to Terrigal Trotters for some ice which went straight to the groin to cool me down, along with several cups of ice cold water. It was a shame to see Rodney had twisted his knee and was unable to continue.
I heard that 8 people (including experienced trail runners) had dropped out at checkpoint 2 (52km) from heat exhaustion. I left CP2, 1 hour 30 min before cut-off after a (40 min?) rest and felt a million times better, but damn it was still extremely hot.

In the exposed flat sections past Glenagra Farm, I felt the pinch of the heat (same as last year). It's amazing how draining the heat can be. It can take you from feeling fairly fresh to nothing.

I began the tough ascent to the communication tower. It was like playing frogger trying not to step on all the ants that were literally racing down the mountain. 2/3 of the way up I stopped for 2 mins to try to cool at little. Bill Thompson came walking past so fast that I didn't think he realised it was uphill (and the toughest of them). I stopped again 3/4 of the way up for about a minute, then drudged to the top where Bill was having a brief stop (looking fresh as a daisy). I ran/walked past Bill for several km like a yo-yo. As fast as I'd run ahead, he'd catch up. I came across Allison Lilly having a rest and soon after realised she was the same Allison who almost joined my trailwalker team a month earlier...small world! We stayed together until the long, winding decent to the Watagan Creek crossing. 2/3 of the way down, I was overheating again. After slowing down my core temperature was still climbing so I decided I had to stop and cool off. It was quite humid in the valley even though the bite of the sun was leaving us. I lay down on the narrow path, took off my shoes and socks, ate a mango (divine!!!) and closed my eyes for 10 mins not concerned with being devoured by march flies. Cooled down and ready to continue, I was found sitting down on the job by Paul Every and Pem Dechen as they came trudging down the decent. I was to continue with Paul until Yarramalong and Pem until the Basin. With Paul having been sick the day before the race, he was forced to take it easy and his walking pace suited Pem and I perfectly. Several de-leech stops were required enroute to the Basin. Of note was a magestic line of fungi along a log, about 2km from CP3.
Through this period I was going through all the mental justifications of why I should pull out (without disappointment) at the Basin. We crazy humans have an amazing skill for justifying huge compromises from what we truly want out of life. Fortunately, staying with Paul (what a legend) kept my motivation strong enough. The truth was that my body was in a fantastic state compared to the previous year and I had no valid reason for not continuing.

CP3: The Basin

Paul and I left CP3 right on the cut-off time (well...more like we were kicked out of the CP...after being pampered by the support/volunteers...thanks guys!), so we had to make good time to not risk a DNF. It was a shame to pass Jan and Louis entering the Basin only 30 mins behind the cutoff time. Awesome effort!

Of concern to Paul and I was the 1.1km climb out of the basin to a firetrail which took us 25 mins!
Apart from that we made good time to Yarramalong Rd. I race walked along Yarramalong Rd, falling into microsleeps for about 20 minutes until Paul caught up and suggested I run to stay awake as it is less monotonous. I felt awesome jogging and pushed into a solid run for a hundred metres before dropping back to a jog. I was to repeat this for most of the 8km remaining. My quads were in great shape at the finish unlike the previous year. I could still lift my knees to my chest and do a full squat unsupported. Only eating raw food during the event this year was a significant thing for me to prove was possible (and beneficial)...but I wonder whether the results were psychological gains because of the result I wanted to achieve

CP4: Yarramalong (25 minutes before cut-off time)
I decided I was satisfied with finishing the 100km feeling so good, and wasn't keen on chasing cut-off times on my own being unfamiliar with the rest of the race (Paul had long ago decided it was sensible to stop at 100km). I later realised there was only about 1.5 hours of darkness left...glad I didn't think of that at the 100km finish or I'd still be out there
Having no support crew at any CPs, it was a pleasant surprise to find my mum had been waiting for 3 hours at Yarramalong (unfortunately worrying unable to contact CP3...but that's what mum's are for!)

Got home about midday Sunday, slept from 1pm til 5pm then again from 11:30pm til 6am and drove back to Canberra for work on Monday. No rest for the wicked!

On Tuesday (2 days after the race), I went for a run/walk up Black Mountain (200m altitude gain) which got the heart rate going much faster than normal, but I was amazed that I had NO sign of muscular soreness which is typically felt worst on day 2 after an event. I'm convinced raw food, at least 8 hours of sleep regularly, and low km training definitely works for me.

I think the most important thing in these races is not to push too hard at any point and recognise when a short rest (e.g. lie on the trail for 10 mins with shoes off) is more beneficial than pressing on with detrimental effects you may not recover from.

Lawrence, well done on exorcising the demons from last year and making the 100 miles!

Extreme thanks to Dave Byrnes and the Terrigal Trotters for providing the opportunity to reconnect with nature on such a rich journey of self-discovery with such an amazing tribe. See you all next year!

Grant

[JoggerK]

I have GNW 100 mile and 100km to the off-road racing guide, clearly the 100miler is the hardest offroad run in the country, but interesting that th 100km scores harder overall then gh100, due to aid, route marking ie easier/better at gh.

[undercover broth...]

wow 20/20! youre not leaving much room for this race kev

[Blue Dog]

wow 20/20! youre not leaving much room for this race kev

UCB -

I don't want to get into a debate about which is the hardest run, but the Alpine 100, whilst seeming very onerous, entails a mandatory overnight stop.

With all respect to the RD and the event, for me that sort of defeats the '100 mile race' concept.

Perhaps it would be better described as a 'stage-race'.

All please note ... a personal opinion only. Everyone else, of course, is welcome to theirs.

Cheers, Blue Dog

[Whippet Man]

UCB -

I don't want to get into a debate about which is the hardest run, but the Alpine 100, whilst seeming very onerous, entails a mandatory overnight stop.

With all respect to the RD and the event, for me that sort of defeats the '100 mile race' concept.

Perhaps it would be better described as a 'stage-race'.

All please note ... a personal opinion only. Everyone else, of course, is welcome to theirs.

Cheers, Blue Dog

Agreed. Compulsory overnight stop=stage race.

Hey, what I'd like to see is a profile overlay like the one that Thrax dug up from last years thread (was that Tim that originally constructed that?) comparing some of the big US 100s with GNW. Was this already done as well?

[bill thompson]

Thanks for all the nice comments folks. Just when I thought it was about time to give up, Dave has hinted that he may introduce a “Death warmed up” over 60's category. No peace for the wicked.
A couple of comments on public transport for people who may wish to check out parts of the course.. There are a few buses each day from Somersby School to Gosford. Good access to the last section via Wondabyne station. About 3k to the GNW, connects about 18k north of Patonga. You need to get in the last carriage and tell the conductor or signal driver if getting on.
Cheers Bill

[JohnLindsay]

Bill,

Great report, and great run.

Question: How much of your success would you attribute to your pre-race full-pack hiking in the week leading up to the event?

I ask this because it seems contrary to the conventional wisdom regarding tapering for an event like this.

Regards
John Lindsay