The report is obviously a considerable time after the event, but given the outcome I wanted to wait a little before I wrote it all up to give me a bit of time to get everything into perspective, and that took a lot longer than I would have thought.
I’ll start from the morning of day one, as I did manage to give a bit of a write up of the 3 day (3400kms) drive to Kalgoorlie. This probably wasn't the ideal preparation, but it was great to drive where I’d be running and get an appreciation of the task ahead.
 |
| Let's go! |
Day 1
Kalgoorlie – Widgiemooltha (3 Golf Holes)
Weather: 25C
Sunny
Distance: 103.1kms
Time: 11
hours 51minutes
Ave HR: 118
BPM
As we were camping in Kalgoorlie, and what with the
excitement of getting started we were up early and full of beans on the first
morning. I was pretty relaxed, probably more than I would normally be for a
race. There was too much to do before we hit the golf course at 7am. So I
loaded up on a hearty brekky of rolled oats and yoghurt, and toast and a few
other tasty snacks confident that I’d burn it all off before lunchtime as there
was 88km or possibly 103kms ahead of me.
Basically given the layout of the golf course, we had
designed our running schedule around the convenient options to stop along the
way. The better option for us was Widgiemooltha at 10kms, but I was very
conscious that this was day one, and I didn't want to set the bar too high
before we even set off. The benefit of going the extra distance was that the
next day would “just” be around 95kms, rather than the 110km if we took the
shorter day one option.
So we got the kit all packed up in the trailer, and headed
for Kalgoorlie Golf Course, the first two holes of which are part of the
Nullarbor Links Golf course. There was the excited conversation of school kids
off on an excursion on the way there, not really knowing what the day, or next
2 weeks had in store for us. When we
pulled p at the golf course a large male Red Kangaroo was waiting for us on the
first tee, which was to typify the Australian-ness of this adventure.
Before we did tee off, I remember thinking to myself to
“make the most of these two holes, as you’re body isn't going to be in this
sort of shape for the rest of the round” and that was a pretty accurate
prediction. Gloria from WIN TV had
arrived so we had a little chat about the challenge and charities and then had
to get on to my golfing TV debut. Clive, one of my crew, was also playing and
had the pleasure of hitting off first, a shot that he admits he would rather
have not made on TV, but it did restrain his language and saved my driver from
being tossed into the bush! My tee shot
on the other hand was one I am particularly proud of, however the trouble with
starting well is that it is easy to go downhill from there – which it did!
After we played the first two holes, we had the luxury of
relaxing in the car park waiting for 8:45am to come around. The delayed start
was so that I would be passing Kalgoorlie Primary School just after 9am, where
the kids were going to be cheering me on, as well as providing another
opportunity for WIN TV to get a shot of me actually running, and for the
Kalgoorlie Miner (the local paper) to get some nice pictures too.
It was an odd feeling having to orchestrate the run for such
events, where normally running is so low key. What it did for me though was
make me realise that we were finally off and the memory of sending an email out
to Clive and a couple of others asking if they fancied joining me for a round
of golf 18 months earlier had become a reality.
Those first 4kms to the school were a little surreal, as in
my mind we were very much off on a massive adventure, but to the occasional
local that I ran passed I looked as if I was just out for a quite 10km before
work! I did almost take a wrong turning
as I left the club car park, and reflected on how ironic that would be given
that in the 1400kms there were only 2 junctions to negotiate and I could have
been one for none in less than 500m!
Clearly the adrenalin had kicked in as I was running far
faster than I had planned and my HR was about 20bpm faster than it should be. I
rationalised at this point that it was just excitement and this normally calms
down after 5-10kms anyway.
Approaching the school, I had to come up over a railway
bridge, so I could see Bill and Clive up on the bridge from a way off as lookouts.
I put on my Red Nose (representative of the SIDS charity I was running for) and
crested the bridge to see the most uplifting sight. There must have been over
200 of the school kids lining either side of the road, many of them also
wearing red noses that we had dropped in to them previous in appreciation of
their support. Instinctively I ran along the lines of kids high fiving all the
way. I felt like some kind of rock star, loving every minute of it. I even did
it twice for the TV guys could get a better shot! The kids were just great, so
full of excitement and enthusiasm that it really made me realise how
non-runners perceive what we were doing, as most of my planning had been done
with friends from the running community where expectations are very different.
I only hope that we may have inspired a few of those kids to
get out there and give things a crack. I know from comments I later received
from parents that they loved the
opportunity to be part of the event, and that
alone makes me feel great about embarking on the challenge.
 |
| One of the best moments of the event. |
As I left the school and continued running South it did go
eerily quiet as I was alone again trotting through the streets of Kalgoorlie.
Bill and Clive drove past and headed out to a spot about 5kms out of town that
we had decided was a good place to make our first pit stop. I remember snacking
on a muesli bar, thinking to myself that I must eat little and often, as I
could not afford to fall behind with my nutrition or hydration.
Even though it was still before 10am, it was pretty warm on
this first morning with a shade temperature of about 22c, but to me it felt
like 28c. I run best in the cooler temperatures, and my concern was my
hydration as I am a heavy sweater, and if I didn't keep hydrated I’d not make
day 2, let alone day 16. To monitor this was took a set of bathroom scales with
us, which I would use through the day to make sure there were no significant
drops in weight (and hence hydration).
That and peeing frequently would be the best indicators that I was
hydrated – I waited until I got out of town before I put that into practice!
Not long after leaving town (which finished pretty abruptly)
I got my first experience of the road trains. These trucks with 3 or 4 trailers
were up to 50m in length and would make a mess of me if I strayed in their path
whilst they hack along at 100kmh. This is something I learnt from the number of
Kangaroos who had given their lives as a warning and frequent reminder to me of
the dangers of arguing with 50 tonnes of steel moving at pace, and I thank them
for that, their lives were not lost in vane!
The first pit stop was great as it was the beginning of a
big learning process for all of us. I don’t think I even asked for a chair, and
that was probably the last time I didn’t either! So
we kept it short and sweet,
I had a fruit bar and a bag of chocolate coated fruit and nut, and swapped my
drink bottle for a full one (with a nice Nuun tab in it – this proved a wise
choice). Heading off I was in pretty good shape, but we hadn't really started.
 |
| A typical mid run dining selection |
The first milestone was 14km. A milestone as in my head it
was like watching a computer download bar, and we had just moved to 1%! Fortunately I didn't let this get to me, as
it easily could have, but took it as a positive. In fact all the way I found
little reasons to celebrate, such a marathon, 5 hours, 5% done, and so on. My
mind was always focusing on the things which made me feel good, and on tasks
that were manageable – basically getting to the next pit stop. For day one this was every 5kms, as we were
all finding our feet. From about 25kms in Clive joined me on his bike, how he
managed to ride it so slowly for so long was an amazing feat in itself. It was
great to have the company, especially on this first day as there was some much
excitement and the need for all of us to establish routines and structure.
The conversations were in far more depth than you would
probably have under normal circumstances, simply because we had time, and lots
of it. I gave an unabridged account of one event in my life to Clive which
lasted through two pit stops, and it was a really good feeling to not feel
rushed or under pressure to have to get on an do something else. It was a very
unusual situation and one that I very much appreciated.
The following week would create the opportunity for many
more of these sort of events, and they are some of the more memorable moments.
Apart from nearly every passing vehicle being mining
related, the most noticeable and sadly disturbing thing I noticed was the
amount of rubbish along the sides of the road, especially in the Kalgoorlie to
Norseman stretch. There wouldn't be 5 metres without a bottle, or shoe, or food
wrapper. While the mining companies may be making the WA economy very healthy
there was some (unnecessary) collateral damage in the process. Apparently it is
cleared from time to time, but in my mind it shouldn't be happening in the
first place. I’m glad to say that we didn't knowingly leave anything behind.
I was tempted to pick up some of the things we saw along the
way, as they could have
50kms in and a ute drove past and pulled over into the bush
about 200m ahead of me. As I got closer
the driver got out and he was in running gear! Grant Wholey had been tracking
our arrival in the previous weeks and decided to come along for the ride. It
was great to know the number of (prior to then) complete strangers had taken an
interest in what we were doing, and in Grant’s case, had gone out of his way to
take an active part in the event. Grant joined us for about 14kms into
Kambalda, the site of the next golf hole.
Grant is an experienced distance runner who was aspiring
towards Ultramarathons and we had a lot to talk about. It was a really
enjoyable couple of hours which helped take my mind off the task in hand. The
trouble with running and chatting with another regular runner was that I found
myself running a little faster than perhaps I should have, knocking off 5:45min
kms repeatedly.
The golf hole at Kambalda gave us our first exposure to Sand
scrape greens, and in this case the entire course didn't have a blade of grass
on it! Amazingly I still hit the ball really well off the tee, which I wasn't expecting after nearly 7 hours of running. One thing is for sure I certainly
enjoyed the break from the running, and my heart rate dropped down into the
70’s in appreciation too. There was a disappointment though as I had it in my
head to have an ice cream at this stop as I was expecting some shops nearby,
but basically there wasn't anywhere near the course that we could get one, so I
had to make do with my normal pit stop snacks.
 |
| Grant and Andy taking a breather at the next golf hole |
We had a few photos with Grant, and he made a donation and I
was back on the road again. This time the pace was a little more reserved as I
still had another 20 or 40kms to go. We had left our overnight stop flexible
depending on how things went given that it was the first day and we really weren't sure how I’d be travelling.
As dusk started to fall I went through the first of my lower
spots and things were pretty tough for a while. This was what would become a
regular experience, and I thought back on the advice I’d been given by Pam Reed
during my training – “just keep putting one leg out in front” and that’s what I
did. With a bit of engaging conversation with Clive the low spot was behind me
and we had caught up with Bill for a pit stop.
This did the trick and with about 85kms under our belt for the day I was
still travelling OK so we decided to push on to Widgiemooltha the longer
option, but there was a motel which would be far easier than camping which was
the alternative.
Being out in the dark so far from anywhere you really get to
appreciate the stars away from light pollution. We were heading towards the
Southern Cross, and under the Milky Way. The conversation and the occasional
shooting star took our minds off the cold. The sun had ducked under the horizon
very rapidly, and within minutes the temperature dropped equally as fast. If
nothing else this was an incentive to keep moving and keep generating my own
heat, it was better to run than even think about walking.
I genuinely enjoy running at night, I think it’s the
perception of solitude and emptiness, and the emptiness is certainly a feeling
you appreciate in such a remote area. On this night we were out in the dark for
about 3 hours, the traffic drops off completely as many choose not to drive
after dusk. At this time the wildlife comes out, and their road sense is about
that of a 5 year old child – nonexistent.
Widgiemooltha is basically a campsite with a couple of
cabins and a bar (apparently, as I didn't get to see that on this occasion!) and
being so low key we didn't appreciate how close we were until we saw Bill’s
torch light a few hundred metres up the road. The prospect of having a sit down
with having to get running again was enticing me, and that’s pretty much what I
did as soon as I got there.
Being the first night, there was a lot of teething going on
for all of us. I was offered assorted foods, and opted for my favourite post
run snack of noodles. I also put some ice packs on my legs, although they were
not properly frozen so I’m not sure of their real benefit, but certainly better
than doing nothing. I sat there eating and drinking with my feet up, watching
Bill and Clive busily organising some food and making sure that I was
comfortable. I found this quite awkward as I’m not used to being waited on, but
had to keep reminding myself that it is there job to make sure I keep running,
and being comfortable in rest periods is as important as the running itself.
The guys were doing a great job, and we were all adjusting to this new routine.
After we eat, I’d take the opportunity of a shower, and it’s
then that I discover some chaffing that I had not been aware of during the day.
In all the excitement of the morning I had forgotten to apply the 2Toms anti-chaffing solution, and I was paying the price. This is one of those lessons you learn very
quickly as it’s not something you want to go through twice. It’s something you need to attend to as soon
as you realise there is a problem, if you wait until your next planned stop
then the problem could be many times worse.
It’s been a long day, so with aching limbs I sit in the bed
to download all the data from the Garmin and recharge it’s batteries to be
ready for tomorrow. I attempt to recharge my batteries with some sleep too.
Day 2
Widgiemooltha - Norseman (0 Golf Holes)
Distance: 90.2kms
Time: 10
hours 48minutes
Ave HR: 104
BPM
You’ll be glad to know that my daily notes from here on were
lost, so I’ll be less thorough with the report from here on in, basing this on
my memory and other scraps of info I still have!
The first thing that hit me when I woke for day 2 was the
pain in my left hip. I’d had a big day
yesterday, with some real highs, but this morning was a different story. I was in uncharted territory, for I had run
100+kms previously, I’d never backed up with something similar.
My training preparation had been built upon running tired,
with twice a day training runs and running every day. I knew what it was like
to run on tired legs and hoped I had conditioned my body for it.
The trouble is that training is rarely like the real thing!
I was moving around gingerly and in a lot of pain, and hit
by a wave of emotion. I had been
preparing for this for over a year and it looked as though I could be pulling
the plug on day 2! I phoned home for
some emotional support and then called Tylana, my training partner and as luck
would have it, Physio, for some practical advice.
I was calmly told to suck it up, and work on a management
plan, rather than thinking of doom and gloom, the focus was on what I COULD do,
not on what I couldn't (a sound mantra in all areas of our lives).
The call did the trick getting me thinking straight. I finished my breakfast, took a couple of
Nurofen+ and left the guys to pack up.
The idea is that I’d take a pack with water and snacks to get me through
15-20Kms before getting into the routine.
The look on the Clive and Bill’s faces wasn't one of confidence as I
hobbled off and I could well understand why.
I adjusted my running gait to more of a shuffle, which took the pressure
off the hip and enabled me to move forward at faster than walking pace. It turns out that this was what I did for the
rest of the run.
About 30mins down the road and I was comfortably running
with the shuffling gait, not fast, but without any other aches and pains. This was a good thing. The wind was still in
my face, so I took that as a positive, in that it was keeping me cool.
Clive and Bill caught up with me after about 15kms and I refueled. Early in the day I’d go for
the Infinit sports drink, and a Milo bar. The plan was to keep eating and
drinking all the way to avoid any drops in energy, and the associated mood
drops. I found that the 5km intervals
from day 1 were too frequent, so we agreed to try 7kms. I’d shuffle off, the guys would cruise past
and then I’d watch them, often for more than 5 minutes as they became a dot on
an over the horizon. Typically it’s
would take me 50mins to an hour to catch up, at which point I’d head for the chair
and take my pick from the spread of snacks available to me.
There was no pattern to what I ate, it really was just what
I fancied at each time.
Sometimes fruit, other times, chocolate, sometimes a
big bowl of pasta. I let my body decide
what it was I wanted rather than sticking to some scientifically prescribed
formula. Whilst doing that may have been
better for my body, it certainly wasn't going to be best for my mind, and I
needed my head to be happy if I was to keep going.
 |
| The roadside diner |
By lunchtime, and with about 50kms behind me for the day,
the discomfort and worry of the morning had gone. I was still shuffling, but
comfortably so, and covering ground at a decent pace.
Throughout the day I was doing mental arithmetic over how
many marathons had been completed, how many were to go, anything to keep me
distracted. Even though we already had a
significant distance behind us, it was insignificant compared to what lay
ahead. At the time though I never really saw it as one big run, but really just
focused on the next 7kms.
The rest of the day passed without too much event. Clive came alongside on his bike for
the odd
section as the evening drew in. The wind
was still blowing in my face from the south east across the expanse of the salt
pan of Lake Cowan.
 |
| Heading in for a pit stop |
We had slipped into the routine fairly quickly, where I
demanded that Clive entertain me with stories of his youth in Ireland. Anything
to make the time pass and great to hear too.
Clive asked me who my best friend was, to which my response was “Right
now, it’s you!”
I could be pretty frank with Clive as ultimately the purpose
of us being here was for the run. Safety
was paramount on the roads, and fortunately very few people venture onto the
roads after sun down anyway. The risk of hitting a Kangaroo, Emu or Camel are
pretty high, so most avoid travelling altogether. I told Clive to turn his lights off as they
were really annoying me, it’s funny how the slightest thing can take on huge
proportions when you’re tired and energy depleted. There was little cloud and
enough moonlight to see clearly, so the lights only came on when any vehicles
came in sight. Given the long, straight,
flat roads you get plenty of warning, at times seeing the lights more than 10
minutes before they passed by.
So with lights off we trotted along to Norseman, enjoying
the great outdoors, and the feeling of being a tiny insignificant speck on the
surface of a huge ball in space.
At the cabin that night I put my feet up and lay ice packs
on my thighs, in attempt to simulate an ice bath. The only problem was that the packs weren't properly frozen, so the benefit was negligible. Another lesson learnt for the
rest of the trip.
Day 3
Norseman – Frasers Range (2 Golf Holes)
Distance: 95.8kms
Time: 12
hours 12 minutes
Ave HR: 109
BPM
After the previous morning’s injury concerns this morning
was a huge relief. The hip felt fine, the legs were in good shape, just a bit
of tiredness which was to be expected. I
celebrated a little personal victory in having completed back to back ultras
for the first time, but also reflected that I’d have to do it another 14 times
to complete the job!
The golf course in Norseman was a couple of kms from where
we were staying, so I headed to the course on foot, while the guys packed up
and then Clive me at the club. I was
surprised by how well I could swing a club given the physical battering I had
given my body in the previous two days.
We played the two holes, and then with a small pack I headed
off back into Norseman, before making the right turn, to face East, and running
towards the finish line for the first time.
Clive went back to finish the packing with Bill, and they were then
going to meet me on the road.
The terrain early on this section was a bit different to
previous days. It was quite hilly,
 |
| Another straight! |
A good couple hours down the road, the terrain returned to
the more standard Nullarbor form. My running gait remained unchanged – it was
working, don’t try and fix it. Just was
my water and Infinit ran out, there was a tooting of car horns and the boys
were back! They pulled over down the
road a little to get set up and I cruised in for a pit stop.
We were back in the 7km routine, and working like a well
oiled machine. By mid-afternoon the
achievements of the previous days were starting to catch up with me, my legs
feeling heavy. As tired as they were, I
kept a steady pace. Clive asked if I was tired and if I wanted to stop, to
which I responded yes I am tired, but this is what I’m here for, I have a job
to do. I believe the conditioning of the
training in preparation for this run was kicking in. It was like I was running
on autopilot, and that while I consciously felt tired, the motivation to slow
or stop wasn't there. I also know that
slowing down was only going to make a long day longer, which meant less
recovery time.
This was tested as darkness fell. When we were about 20kms from the finish of
the day’s run, Bill went ahead to check the distance, drop some gear off, sign
in at Fraser Range and would then come back out to meet us. He’d been gone a good while, and it was tough
running on tired legs. Finally the
lights appeared over the horizon and he came up alongside. Clive and I had estimated that we had about
8-10kms to go, judging from the GPS.
Bill somewhat sheepishly announced we still had 20kms to go! I didn't even slow down, while Clive stopped
to chat with Bill. I wanted a minute or two alone to digest this news. This was
a massive kick in the guts. The prospect
of 2-3 hours more was not all that appealing!
Somewhere along the line I had incorrectly measured the
distances from the maps, that and the extra distance to and from each golf hole
had added up to a bonus 10ks for the day.
It had been a long day, and we all agreed pushing on to the finish was
not the sensible option. We agreed to continue on to the distance we were
planning for the day, put down a marker and drive back out to start from there
tomorrow.
After 95kms I gladly got in the warmth of the car. It was a
cold night, and I think the psychological impact of that disappointing news had
made it feel 10C colder. Bill described
his drive when he came to check in. Not paying 100% attention to the road (as
there was no traffic for miles around) he was heading at about 90km/h towards 4
camels crossing in front of him. He
managed to avoid an accident by going between them. Given that he was towing a
trailer loaded with 100s of litres of water and all our gear, he did well and
it could have been very messy.
Day 4
Frasers Range – Balladonia (1 Golf Hole)
Distance: 106.4
kms
Time: 13
hours 11 minutes
Ave HR: 109
BPM
The morning started with a drive out to the marker some
10kms back up the road, where Bill dropped me off and headed back to pack
up. It was an enjoyable start, mainly
because it was a gentle downhill all the way to Fraser’s Range and the next
golf hole. The Range itself is about
2kms up a dirt track, which is something I dressed up mentally as bonus
kilometres (there were a few of these that I wasn't expecting!). Halfway along the dirt track there was a
kettle and electric fan plugged into an electrical socket on a tree. Part of the humour of the folk in these
parts, along with the teddy bear and shoe trees we passed a hundred kms from
anywhere!
The boys had packed up and we went to the golf hole, a nice
little par three, standing alone in the middle of the wilderness. There were emus running around and couple of
red Kangaroos having a box with each other – it doesn't get much more
Australian than this. 
All three of up
played the hole and I had to get moving. We were already behind the planned
schedule given yesterday’s miscalculation, so today’s target was over 100kms
not the 90km originally planned.
It was an emotional and physical roller coaster of a
day. We stuck to the normal 7km run/rest
routine, and by lunchtime my left ankle and shin were very tight and giving me
some pain. I resorted to Nurofen + and
this made things a lot better.
The emotional challenges sparked me to run with music, the
first time I've ever done this. Normally I prefer to listen to the world around
me from a safety perspective, especially after hearing of a guy in my old town getting killed when he stepped out on to a road, not hearing the traffic
because he was plugged into his iPod.
I was especially cautious on the road, and given how long
and straight these sections were (over 40kms straight) I had plenty of warning
of any coming traffic. The music obviously
did something as it was a lasting memory for Clive of the trip. Yesterday I had
seemed like a broken man, deeply disappointed and hurting, and now I was
running with a spring in my step and singing! Not only that, I was happy to
keep pushing on and the last 30kms of the day went really well.
The temperature dropped about 15 degrees as the sun ducked
below the horizon, and there was still plenty of running to do. The wide open spaces, and clear skies are an
amazing distraction. Clive cycled alongside me for the last few hours, and so
far had not started recycling stories!
We experienced an amazing phenomenon of this wide flat
expansive area. We thought we were
getting close to the end of the day’s running and could see the lights of the
Balladonia roadhouse in the distance.
Looking ahead we saw what both of us swore was
 |
| Pristine Night sky with no light pollution |
It was one of those bizarre scenarios showing that without
any points of reference judging distance is incredibly difficult.
Whilst interesting at the time, it also signified that we
still had a bit of work to do to finish for the day. A disappointment, but one
which I took with pragmatism, as this was a far better day than yesterday’s
mental challenges. Best of all we had made up for the shortfall and were back
on track.
At the roadhouse I got the ice packs out and gave those sore
muscles a good icing as I ate my way through more of chef Clive’s delights.
Day 5
Balladonia – Middle of the 90 Mile straight
road (1 Golf Hole)
Distance: 90.2
kms
Time: 11
hours 48 minutes
Ave HR: 101 BPM
Balladonia has a claim to fame as being the place where the
US space station “Skylab” fell back to earth in 1979. At the time the local shire
council presented NASA with a littering fine, and President Jimmy Carter even
rang the Roadhouse to make his apologies.
My day started less dramatically with a spot of golf! Given
the physical strains of the previous 4 days I was still swinging pretty
loosely, which was unexpected. Without heading to the bar as would be traditional,
I set out on what was going to be a mentally very interesting day, as I was
going to run along the 90 mile straight, a 146km stretch of straight road. I
had to run along a 25kms straight to get to the corner before heading down the
longer straight.
There is great camaraderie amoung road users on the
Nullarbor, many being “grey nomads” taking the time to wave or even stop to
find out what I was up to. Along this
section I was running on the right hand side of the road, towards the oncoming
traffic, and with the road clear ahead I hear a car pulling up alongside (on
the wrong side of the road).
The guy
sticks his head out the window of a classic Ute and asks what I’m up to. “Playing a round of golf!” I replied. We chatted for a bit, and it turns out these
guys were driving back from the Variety Club Bash on the Gibb River Road in the
Kimberley (more on this later!). Like
many folk who stopped to say hello, they were keen to make a donation, so I
sent them up the road to catch up with the crew as they’d be better placed to
take the money than me.
They drove off and then stopped, did a u-turn, and came back
to me. “I run a bit, would you mind if I
ran with you a bit, I've been eating a drinking for the past 2 weeks and need
to get some exercise” I was more than happy for some company, but made it very
clear that I was going to be going very slowly and wasn't going to be drawn
into running too fast as I had with Grant on day 1.  |
| Mark and Lindy - now great friends |
We got chatting and it was a welcome
distraction from the
monotony of the day. Mark and Lindy were from Brisbane, and Mark is a Kiwi –
another one mad enough to join me! They
are a great couple and do a lot of work for charities themselves. I’m still in contact with them, and they will
be crewing for me in future adventures.
These sorts of encounters are what the event was all about,
and make up some of my fondest memories. They did leave me to it though and I
was back into the routine. Late morning
we got to the corner, the last one for the next day and a bit!
I've often been asked about how I coped with this, running
along the same straight road for such a long period of time. For me it wasn't really boring at all. When there is nothing obvious to see you look harder to
find things, or see interest in the nothingness. It’s hard to explain, but I
think it was driven by a focus on the bigger picture and the fact that running
those stretches is what I was there for.
The 90 mile straight is over rolling terrain, so it isn't quite as bad as having the road disappearing over the horizon 20kms away,
sometimes I could only see 3 or 4 kms in front of me before the road dipped out
of sight! There was one occasion which
did bring a kind of smile to my face, but not one of pleasure. I set off on a another 7km section after a
brief pit stop, and Bill and Clive drove passed me with an encouraging toot of
the horn. I saw them getting smaller in
the distance. I put my head down and
kept shuffling forward. I look up 5 minutes later and I can see that they have
pulled over ready and waiting for me on the side of the road some 6 Kms down
the road. That didn't happen often
thankfully, as seeing the end of each section was usually a motivator to push
on, but when it’s in sight form the start, you just know it’s a bloody long way
to go and it’s not coming quickly.
The rest of this day was uneventful, but the legs were
getting tired and sore, so the
Given the length of the days spent running we made the
decision to not camp that night and instead mark our position on the road and
drive on to the next roadhouse to get a decent rest. So we drove the 90+ kms to
Caiguna to rest up for the night. It’s a
long drive at the end of the day and it doesn't set you up all that well
knowing that we were going to have to drive back out there again the next
morning, only to run this section. A tough commute!
Day 6
Middle of the 90 Mile straight road –
Caiguna (0 Golf Holes)
Distance: 93.0
kms
Time: 11
hours 46 minutes
Ave HR: 100 BPM
Knowing what was ahead today was not the best start as the
body was starting to show signs of the work rate over the previous 5 days. My right ankle was sore and was effecting my
running gait, which I was managing, but wasn't quite how I had visualised the
whole thing.
I picked the right day to be physically off my game. An RV came up alongside offering a bottle of
water and asking if I needed anything. The advertising on the vehicle made it
clear these weren't grey nomads, but the support crew for another charity event
– Ride for a Smile. They had 6 cyclists
a few Kms back down the road, who were on the final stretch of a run around
Australia.
They asked if I needed anything and joked “yes, a physio
would be good!” "OK" they said “he’s in
the other vehicle we’ll send him back for you”.
Although I was hurting I felt it wasn't their job to be concerned about
me, but they insisted and they would pass the message on.
Shortly after the cyclist caught up with me, and it was
great to chat with these guys. They slowed down to stay with me for a few kms,
even though it must have been difficult to keep the bike upright at that slow
pace. We chatted easily and freely sharing experiences, kindred spirits in the
world of endurance (mad cap) events.
They had to leave otherwise they’d never finish their
segment, and then about an hour later another branded up RV head back towards
me, the physio, like a knight in shining armour! They had driven back over 50 kms to help me
out, I was stunned by their generosity, but maybe they were just curious to see
who would be mad enough to be out here, without a bike!
He checked both calves and they were rock solid apparently. He then asked about my stretching and warming
up routine. I laughed. I couldn't remember the last time I’d done
 |
| Love a mirage |
To take my mind off the pain of the treatment
I was taking in the interior of the RV – this was definitely the way to
go. Everything in the same place every
night, checklists on every wall, and a Physio on the team!
I felt 10 times better back on the road as I waved a
thankful wave to these good Samaritans.
Moving well I continued up the road across another section
of the highway which is used as a runway for the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
I do my own impression of a plane, much slower, but equally as graceful!
The afternoon saw a return of the pain and stiffness in the
lower legs. Tiredness I was expecting and could handle, but when it was causing
pain with every step and effecting my gait, I found it hugely frustrating. The
mind became focused on getting this day behind me, and into Caiguna so I could
put my feet up and get the ice on. Tomorrow would be a new day, with a new,
refreshed and improved me.
When I finish the guys inform me that they can’t find the
Spot GPS tracker. It would seem that it had been left on the car and forgotten
about. Easily done, but given that this was one of the few things that was
working well on this trip it did upset me. For me it was a connection to the
people who were supporting me, and given that the guys who were planning to
come and video the event and keep the social media updated pulled out the day
before we left Sydney, I felt that I was letting everyone down.
In retrospect it wasn't that important, but at the time I
felt strongly enough about it to
 |
| Spot GPS + 18 wheel truck = This! |
There was nothing we could do about it now, so I had to
forget about and focus on the job in front of us.
Day 7
Caiguna – Cocklebiddy (1 Golf Holes)
Distance: 65.7
kms
Time: 10
hours 05 minutes
Ave HR: 88 BPM
With yesterday’s advice fresh in my mind I started the
morning with a hot shower, as hot as I could bear. I even tried a gentle stretch, although I
think that everything was too tight to move at all.
I started running pretty freely, the right shin and ankle
were very tight and sore, but I could move OK. The early long section before
the first pit stop wasn't too bad, the road
 |
| Swollen left Quad |
At about the 17km point my left quad started spasming. Nurofen made little difference. Doing
complicated mental arithmetic made no difference. Singing made a little difference,
but it was clear I was in for a long day.
I walked for the next 23kms. It wasn't much fun for me and it must have been incredibly boring for Clive and
Bill. At each stop having to wait maybe an hour and a half for me to appear –
and then to not all that cheerful when I did arrive!
They are a resourceful pair though and they found ways to
entertain themselves. They
may be the
only people to have ever played cricket on the middle of the highway across the
Nullarbor. A bit like school kids in a
quiet Cul-de-sac, they would pause their game to let cars (and 50m road trains)
pass.
This did bring a temporary smile to my face, but I wasn't laughing on the inside. We had already
made the decision to reduce the day to 65kms to the next road house at Cocklebiddy,
where the plan had been to run on another 20 kms (easing the scheduled 114km
day for two days time).
I rationalised that it was hurting walking so I may as well
hurt running and finish this day sooner. Maybe a decent sleep was all I really
needed. As tough as things were physically, I was comfortable in my head to
keep on going, and without the pain I felt I could run forever. Maybe this was
some runners high kicking in, I’ll never really know.
I put in a good few efforts and managed to run another 17kms
before the Nurofen must have worn off and the discomfort of the ankle, and
spasming quad was too much. It was now
dark and cold. With my jacket on and
8kms to go I sent the guys ahead, and walked the last, long and lonely Kms to
the roadhouse.
 |
| Feeling pretty sorry for myself |
I parked myself in the chair, put my feet up and like some
ancient Egyptian Pharaoh had food brought to my in a continual relay, while I
had the ice packs on my ankles and quads.
Day 8
Cocklebiddy
It was not a great way to start a day with 90kms of running
to be done. I struggled out of bed and
could barely walk. I felt like I was 150
years old. I had breakfast and a hot
shower with the hope it was a temporary situation. We decided to play the golf hole conveniently
close to the room and that would give me a chance to loosen up for the run.
I was hitting the ball well again, but shuffling and
hobbling up the fairway. We waved at some folk we’d met the night before
telling them of our plans. They must
have thought we were mad given the display I was putting up walking across the
car park. I couldn't extend or flex my right foot without severe pain.
 |
| My no-longer slender ankles! |
I had to make a decision on what to do. I got on the phone to Tylana again, this time
less emotional, but I think the 7 days of running had sucked that out of me.
She gave me a plan one which was the best we could hope for give the tight
schedule we had, and no significant time for rest. I was to rest up all morning, doing a
combination of massage, icing and heating the affected areas, most specifically
the lower right shin. At lunchtime I was
to make a decision on what we would do that day based on how I felt. I took
some Panadol and Nurofen as well to give myself every chance to get back on the
road.
Clive and Bill took the opportunity for some sightseeing, which
I was happy for, it must have been a hellish boring day yesterday, and I could
just sit and recover without feeling guilty. Lunchtime came, and the buys
returned. There had been no change with me. The swelling had not subsided and
the pain no better.
We had to make a decision at that point. I considered
borrowing Clive’s bike and cycling the remainder so at least I would cover the
distance under my own power, but that wasn't what we were here to do. I thought that maybe a full day’s rest would
help, but really we had so little contingency time that Clive and Bill couldn't be here any longer than planned.
We made the call to end it there, but still play the golf
course as we traveled back across the Plain. There was a myriad of emotions
and thoughts going through my head. What
if I was fine the next day? What if I’d gone easy on the first day? What if I’d
trained differently?
The fact was that if these answers were all known it would
be easy and maybe everyone would be doing it.
Maybe there was too much testosterone on the team, maybe I was naive,
but if you aren't prepared to give it a go you’d never know.
The Road Home
The journey back to Sydney was one of much reflection for
me. Clive and Bill shared the driving over 3 days, which was still a 2800km
trip. We finished the golf in Ceduna,
just the three of us on the whole course. I had in my mind at least a small
gathering three to acknowledge the run, but of course that may have happened
had things been different.
We called back in to stay at the Nullarbor Roadhouse on the
return leg, where we stayed on the outward journey and met with Ben the barman
who had been sending me messages of encouragement from long before the start.
Just one of the great characters we met on the plain. One “small world” occurrence
was meeting a guy in the next door room who used to be a rugby referee and
remembered Clive from his playing days many years earlier (Clive did mention
this was more likely because he caught the refs attention for his misdemeanours
rather than his playing brilliance!).
It wasn't until we were well on the road that I got back
into internet connection range and I could finally catch up with what had been
going on at the online face of what we had been doing. My wife, Angie, had been keeping everyone
updated which was fantastic.
The
comments from friends and many strangers brought a lump to my throat – I
wondered if I had seen those messages while out there if I would have somehow
been able to keep running.
 |
| The sun setting on one adventure (Smoky Bay, South Australia - on the way home) |
Of course it didn't take long to be thinking of “next time”,
but that was well before I had been able to let everything sink in.
By the time I was back in Sydney (after 3 and a half days in
a car with my leg up) I could walk without a limp. I felt like such a
fraud!
I still had to drive back to the Sunshine Coast myself, and
I took a couple of days to do it. I booked myself in for a VIP appointment at
Physio Noosa, where Tylana took great pleasure in inflicting all manner of pain
to get me back on the road to recovery.
I’d had enough of roads, give me the trails for a while!
Thank you...
...to everyone who supported me through this journey, be it
through your words, donations, or simply by watching and taking an
interest.
I was supported by a number of great companies who gave me
some great kit, stuff that I swear by and still use to this day. Special
mention goes to Hoka Shoes, LineBreak Compression Gear, Drymax Socks, and 2TomsAnti-chaffing products – I wouldn’t have made it to the start without your
help.
There are a few who deserve individual acknowledgement. Bill and Clive for never once questioning
what it was all about, and just doing everything they could to keep me going. Tylana for providing the essential remote
physio support and taking calls at all hours from the injured and weary, giving
rational advice at a time when I was far from rational.
Finally and most importantly my wife Angie and boys, Jack
and Harry for not minding me being out training for hours on end and missing
countless meals, for your rock solid support, and for doing all the stuff that
I’d normally do at home in the month I was away. I’m a lucky guy :)
Wrapping up
It is amazing how emotionally different I would feel if the
challenge had been to run 640kms in 7 days. Undoubtedly I would have been
feeling pure elation, but instead I have felt disappointment, frustration, a
feeling that I have let myself and many others down. Now whilst this may not be
the case, these are emotions that I need to go through in order to move on.
It did have a far more significant impact on me than I first
realised, and think that it is why it has taken so long to complete this write
up.
When you put all your energy over a 2 year period into an
event that you fail to complete, it does have a deep effect on you. I was
thinking the world would be a better place if I completed the full 33
marathons, and felt empty when I fell short of this. Only now do I realise that
the world has changed for the better. We helped families who have suffered the
unexpected loss of a child, and helped kids who live every day with the
challenges Autism throws at them. This is something to be proud of, but I too
have gained a huge personal benefit in the form of many great new friends
through this that I almost certainly wouldn't have if I didn't have this crazy
idea about running the world’s longest golf course.
7 Days:
·
81 Hours,
40 Minutes
·
644.4kms
covered
·
Over half
a million heart beats while running!
15.3 Marathons down
-
that just leaves about 700kms to round off the 33... as Michael Caine says in
the final line of the original Italian Job movie ...
“Hang on Lads, I've got an idea!” Click Here
