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This is a must do race. I entered for the first time in 2005 because this race just seemed so ridiculous in scale and had the appeal of starting at sea level and finishing near the roof of Australia.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I was up for, but that was part of the excitement, and many restless days and nights were spent getting together a crew and trying to get my head around the logistics.
All that disappeared with the dawn start at Boydtown Beach, which was a fitting beginning to what became an epic mental, physical, emotional and spiritual journey. I pushed fairly hard through the early stages trying to shake Paul and others off my tail and felt the effects of the flies and heat in the Towamba Valley during mid morning.
Up on the Monaro plains I had varying tedious and glorious moments, being sometimes disheartened by the short, sharp climbs that appeared in this supposedly “flat” part of the course and other times intoxicated by the grand vistas that were unfolding before me. I had to fight a tibialis anterior injury from as early as 100K on and this made it a very tough day and a half out with constant icing and anti-inflammatories.
The cool of the night was welcome – I distinctly remember the disorientation of being shrouded in 100% fog climbing the Beloka range.
Breakfast was taken at dawn just a few K before the Thredbo River which brought renewed hope and energy and steeled me for the arduous ascent ahead. I had no idea how far behind Paul was and was fully expecting to see him catch up so I had a sense of urgency. A great surge of adrenaline and emotion cut in as I approached Charlotte’s Pass and could see that I was going to make it, no matter how sore and sorry I had been feeling.
It was a great pleasure to share the Summit ascent and return with my awesome crew- Ian Wright and Seb Dunne, who had looked after me so well and had probably walked and ran a good 80K each with me though this epic. There are no adequate words to describe the exhilarating sense of achievement, adventure and the great camaraderie that characterise this event. Life is too short – go for it, do the training, and enter this year!
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