Great North Walk 100 Mile Trail Race 10-11th November 2007

I thought I would put down some thoughts about this years race.
After spending a sometimes painful 35hrs running this one last year I was keen to race it this year and knock a few hours off that time. The main goal was to finish under 30hrs and hopefully come away with my feet relatively intact after suffering severe blistering last year.
With only four weeks between the GNW and the Coast to Kosciusko 150miler in December, it’s paramount to at the very least come out of this one with good feet.

I was in good form coming off a great run at the Glasshouse 100 miler in September and apart from acute peroneal tendonitis I was fit and raring to go at 6am on Saturday 10th November. What a way to celebrate one’s birthday, running with mates through some of the most beautiful bush trails around.

This year I had Scott (Sub 50) lined up to pace me through from Yarramalong (103km) and would rely on drop bags for the entire run with no crew organised. The days preceding saw what’s become a familiar lead up to the big ones this year, precipitation all week long. This meant faster times were on the cards as it was a whole lot cooler than the crazy heat of last years run, but would the trail hold up to days of rain?

Race day dawned to rain but it soon eased as we made our way along the bitumen before entering the dirt for the first time at the Wakefield Trackhead. I slotted in beside Blue Dog and Tugger for a while having a good conversation before we realised we were in fact slowing Dave down. He soon took off up the Sugarloaf climb and quickly disappeared off into the distance. We were joined by Kim Cook and at times Paul Fahey (CR-Max Payne) who flew out of the blocks. Running along the ridgeline of the Sugar Loaf was magic with the low-lying cloud hugging the drop offs on either side. This was truly running with our “Feet in the Clouds”.

We made good progress to the Bunkerville Gap road crossing choosing to continue straight up the climb to Heaton tower without pausing. A small crowd were gathered there offering encouragement. This was it, the first of many tough climbs. From experience I figure this first section to CP1 is the toughest section of the entire race and the plan was to arrive there in around 4hrs. With the climb behind us we settled back into a good rhythm toward the lookout. My peroneal ankle tendon was making itself known and I prayed it wouldn’t flare up and become a real nuisance.
I stopped briefly along with Dog to refill at the water tank while Max shot off into the bush. I then chased Dog into the drop to the rainforest, hoping to stay with someone, as navigation is a bit iffy at best alongside the creek beds that traverse the ravines. It wasn’t long before I caught up to Dog and we both made good time to the Hugging Post with Damon Goerke and a 100km runner catching and passing us shortly thereafter.
We pulled into CP1 in 3:43 well ahead of plan. A quick 2-minute stop and with the welcome relief of some flat running ahead along the Myall Range we set off.

The heavens opened up not long after, it must have been 5 minutes after I commented on how lucky we were with the rain. It got cold for a short while but soon stopped. We made good progress past the Barraba campground where Jonathon Worswick and Joel Mackay came into view from behind. I pulled ahead of Dog here just before the descent to the Congewai Valley staying just in front of Jonathon and Joel. However not long after hitting the road leading into the checkpoint they both passed me with ease.
I was so thankful for the cooler conditions and ran fairly well to the school taking 2.30 to get there from CP1. I was in need of some food so raided the drop bag and got out of there in a couple of minutes passing Max Payne (Paul Fahey) on the way out. The climb up from the Glenagra farm to the communications tower was as tough as ever but I reconciled taking a break once at the top to eat some more and make up a sportsdrink for the handheld. As soon as I left for the 4kms along Cabans Rd I noticed Paul arriving at the tower. Good running along here and I was soon passing Flat Rock and its wonderful vista out over the Congewai Valley below.

The trail soon peters out to a dead end where we take a foot track down into the Watagan Valley. The trail was soft underfoot and I made good time here along the endless switchbacks. A fallen tree blocked the ever-descending trail and I was brought to a sudden halt. I looked around knowing that the trail switched back a few more times and then noticed what looked like a huge skid mark straight down the hillside. I plunged down the same track on my arse at times, before rejoining the original trail..great fun.

The 4wd track across the creek was under water so I skipped on through arriving at the water dump just as Jonathon and Joel were leaving. The climb to Mt Warrawalong was brutal, heavily eroded and tricky to negotiate. I reached the top and continued along the top with the boys just within eyeshot. I eventually caught up and this pattern would continue pretty much to the Pig and Sow Rd crossing. Jonathon later mentioned me putting in surges, I don’t necessarily recall been able to do that, I was just steadily plugging away, aggressive on the climbs and running anything flat or downhill.
They did put a gap into me on the way into the Basin. Shortly before arriving I saw Damon in first place followed by Dave and Tim on their way out. I arrived at the Basin Campground (CP3) in 4.16, which was equal third fastest time for that leg!

After retrieving my drop bag I sat down and was promptly de-leeched by Trotter Kevin. I decided to pull my shoes off and clear the leeches out from under my gaiters.
Susannah was an angel carting my drops from CP to CP, making it easier to leave stuff there. I ate the customary rice pudding and after a full bottle of Gatorade up and left. 12 minutes, not too bad, given the de-leeching process that had to happen. It amazes me how Damon Goerke only spent one minute here as well as most other CPs, he was mind-blowingly quick through the checkpoints.

On the way out Jonathon was returning having forgotten his spray jacket. The sheer drop along the ridgeline here is crazy, put a foot wrong and it’s adios amigos.
I was alone now and would be pretty much for the remainder of the run into Yarramalong. I climbed out of the Basin picking my way along the trail up to Walkers Ridge Road where Jonathon re-passed me looking strong as he turned down Kingtree Ridge Road. There is a nice net elevation drop to Yarramalong road and I was keen to make good time here. There is a good 10kms of flat road into the small country town, I remembered how brutal this stretch was for Andy and I last year. We struggled to stay awake running in the wee hours of the morning. Now I was still feeling good and looking forward to picking up my pacer at Yarramalong. I was way ahead of my plan, a good 2 hrs in fact. I knew Scott would be pleased, as he was due at Yarramalong around 7.15pm or so. After a fairly uneventful but good pace along the 10km stretch of road through the Yarramalong valley I arrived at the CP at 7.43pm, just on dusk. I had planned on stopping here for some hot food and a shoe change. The trail shoes I was wearing were a tad too small in the toe box and my toes were crushed quite a bit as a result of the downhill running. Scott was rapt to see me early and ready to roll. He refilled my Camelbak and had my drop bags ready. Sharon Harrison who was volunteering this year popped a potato/leak soup on and as it was warming up I donned my night gear. Man soup never tasted so good. I stuffed my pockets full of food and we left just on 8pm after a 15-minute stop.

Ok with pacer on board and 75kms to run I was in a happy place looking forward to a good nights slog through the bush. It was great to have company again. Scott would prove to be an invaluable pacer. We soon got a trot happening again once at the top of Bumble Hill and once onto Cherry Lane made good progress through the valley and back out onto Mulligans Ridge and the unmanned water stop. The newly set up boardwalks across the wet and slimy trails along the singletrack was most posh indeed. Scott was pulling me along nicely, probably a tad faster than I would have if I were alone. I topped up knowing there was some gnarly terrain ahead and we would need a full tank. I switched to more savoury foods, as the sweet stuff was not going down too well, although a Mars bar from Scott did hit the mark.
I sometimes neglect my nutritional needs through the night and so was making a conscious effort to get the required calories in. I actually craved the vegemite scroll from earlier on but that wasn’t going to happen.

We hit Ourimbah Creek Rd in good spirits with a few kms left before arriving at Somersby. It was strange seeing this area in the dark as we came through here as dawn broke last year. One more climb back into the bush and we would then pop out onto the Somersby plateau.

As we approached the checkpoint I noticed a runner coming towards us in the distance. I was just about to yell out “wrong way” when I realised it was Sean Williams doing laps whilst he waited on Carol’s arrival.
The CP was quiet, 6FT legend Greg Love was there, and he prepared a coffee for us. Plu was there too offering encouragement and support. After some more soup and a quick update on Mellum’s progress we left.

Some more suburban running before we ducked back down into the bush. We climbed out past the water tanks and once past the locked gate started to drop down towards Mooney Creek. We arrived at the dam and then shortly afterwards noticed some lights in the distance. I had been a little concerned about finding the right trail on the other side of the creek in the dark but those fears were allayed with SES volunteers camped out on the trail just before the crossing. We noticed a sign on their tent that read, “wake us up before crossing” and so feeling terribly guilty we did. A kind soul emerged from the tent to guide us across the already illuminated path to the other side. How spoilt we were J.
After describing to Scott how great the running was along this next section, I was slightly disappointed to realise that the trail that hugs the creek was no where near as runable as it was last year and we struggled in the dark picking our way through the rocky washed out path. It seemed to take forever to get to the locked gate that would signal the impending F3 overhead. We ran underneath the mammoth overpass and soon after arrived at the final checkpoint on the other side of Mooney Creek Bridge.

It was 4am and would dawn again in an hour or so. I asked Bernie how far back the next runner was and when informed I had an hour lead I could relax a little. With a sub 30-hour finish very likely and fifth position looking secure I could afford to back off a little and make sure I didn’t get lost.

Scott had been brilliant up till now dragging me along through the wee hours of the morning. We seemed to gel well. This was Scott’s first time pacing and running through the night and he quickly developed a good understanding of my limits. He would back off ever so slightly when I was flagging but knew when to pick it up again. I don’t normally run with a pacer, I’ve ran 3 Glasshouse 100 milers without one, but I could see the benefit here. We trotted along the beautiful singletrack that hugs Piles Creek before crossing at the swing bridge. The climb on the other side was tough on tired legs but I was thankful I was doing it now in the early hours of the morning instead of under the midday sun as I did last year. The terrain thereafter is relentlessly tough on tired feet with several more drops and climbs still ahead. We were looking forward to the end. There is the endless moonscape along the sandstone plateaus of Brisbane Water National Park to the last unmanned water stop; we plodded along edging ever closer to our goal.

Patonga Drive was upon us and the final push to the Warrah trig trail that leads down to the beach. It was along here when we spotted a runner ahead. Not knowing who it was I decided to push on and see if we could reel him in. We entered the final trail that drops to the beach and just as we hit the sand caught and passed our runner. Not a GNW competitor but a friendly girl who greeted us as we passed.
I looked at the time and realised sub 27hrs was on. We strode out and finally arrived at the finish in 26.57. Delighted, a big PB and a run that I would rank as one of my best to date.

A small crowd was gathered at the pier and we were given a nice welcome. All I could think about was a dip in the ocean to wash off the crud of the past 2 days. The water felt fantastic. I ended up hanging around all day watching the remainder of the field finishing, everyone with the same expression of joy and relief on their faces.

Thank you Dave Byrnes and the Terrigal Trotters, what a cracker of a race you have there.
Scott, you were a gem out there and proved to be the perfect pacing companion. Thank you for helping me achieve my goal and exceed my own expectations.