Have you ever heard the expression “in more trouble than the early settlers”? It pretty well sums up how I feel about the approaching Australia Day Ultra. It’s only two weeks until the second running of the event on Saturday 23rd January on the Australind foreshore.
This year there is a 25k option added to the 50k and 100k events. Hopefully everyone is feeling strong and ready for a big effort on a very fast course.
Heat is likely to be a factor for the 100k and 25k distances, though not so much for the 50k: the two longer runs begin at 3 am, so if the 50 takes you 4 to 5 hours you will be finished by 8 in the morning (last year some runners even made it to the local parkrun starting in Bunbury at 8).
A 10 hour finish for the 100k distance in means you’ll be out there until 1pm! Yesterday and today the temperature in Bunbury was around 35 degrees at this time.
A 9am start for the 25k could see some high temperatures effecting this event too.
The message here is, have a heat strategy in place. There will be ice, but considering bringing some anyway: no-one ever complained about having too much ice! I’m considering using some frozen cool packs in my vest. Last year I struggled with the heat and walked/ran with cups of ice from an aid station to suck on, and it was only about 27 degrees that day.
These are the cut off times:
- 25km event – 4.5 hours (1.30pm)
- 50km event – 9 hours (12pm)
- 100km event – 15 hours (6pm)
This is going to be an extra-special event, given the fact that ultra running legend and all round top bloke, Mick Francis, will be running his 100th ultra marathon. This is a phenomenal achievement and I am very excited to be sharing the course with him.
My training has been up and down to say the least. I took a beating on the 6 Inch Trail before Christmas and frankly haven’t got my mojo back since GNW 100 miler in September; must have lost it along with more than half my toenails! I have added deep water running and spin sessions on the bike to supplement what running I have been able to do. Should be interesting to see if its enough to get me through 100k.
Can’t wait to catch up with all you crazy ultra people again in Australind.
Good luck and see you there!