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Meg Bullen Post-Race Interview: 2025 UTA 100 mile
288 Plays6 days ago
We’re joined by the UTA 100-mile winner Meghann Bullen to unpack her race from start to finish.
Hear how it played out, what shaped their performance, and where they’re headed next. Enjoy a front-row seat and an inspiring look into one of this year’s standout runs.
***Don’t forget, use code PPP at Bix’s website for 20% off Bix products, exclusive to PPP listeners!***
Thanks for tuning in to Peak Pursuits! Connect with us on Instagram @peakpursuits.pod to share your thoughts, questions, and trail stories. Until next time, keep hitting the trails and chasing those peak pursuits!
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Transcript
Meg's Unexpected Victory and Routine Transition
00:00:00
Peak Pursuits
I am here today with Meg Bullen, your UTA 100 mile women's champion. Meg, how are you going? how are you feeling after UTA?
00:00:10
Meg
Yeah, thank you for having me. I'm i'm feeling good. um Just had a really quiet last couple of days. um Got home on Sunday night um and just back into mum life, really.
00:00:21
Meg
Yeah.
00:00:22
Peak Pursuits
sounds Sounds lovely and the reality of when you run and and it's back to normal.
00:00:28
Meg
Yeah, yeah.
Racing Hiatus and Past Achievements
00:00:29
Meg
Yeah,
00:00:29
Peak Pursuits
When Brodie and I were doing ah preview for the miler, your name didn't come up because you didn't have a UTMB index, which then tells me that you've obviously had some time off. Can you give our listeners a bit of an introduction to who you are and what your running experiences and what the last couple of years have been like for you?
00:00:48
Meg
yeah of course. um Yeah, so I have been running ultras over 10 years now. um The last two years a i haven't done any races um because I fell pregnant and then had our son 13 months ago.
00:01:06
Meg
So it's been pretty quiet on that front. um My last race was actually two years ago to this weekend and that was the West Mac Running Festival,
00:01:15
Peak Pursuits
Mm-hmm.
History in Ultra Events and COVID Impact
00:01:16
Meg
which is 231 kilometres along the Larrapinta Trail.
00:01:20
Meg
um And that one I did in 47 hours. So I was the first female to go under 48 hours and I broke the course record by nine hours and the FKT by seven hours.
00:01:32
Meg
Um, so it was, it's funny coming back into the sport after two years of not racing, um, and not being named in the top 10, which I didn't expect to cause I knew I hadn't been racing, but I knew i had the experience, experience there to, to do hopefully a good race.
00:01:50
Meg
Um, but you just never know. um And then previous to that, um I actually raced UTA 100 2022, which was the year that it it was flat. It was in October and we did the flat out and back out past Queen Vic Hospital.
00:02:06
Meg
I
Strength Training and Ultra-Race Logistics
00:02:07
Meg
did around fifth that year in 10 hours, 20 something, I think. I've also done the Surf Coast Century 50, Margaret Ultra, um Transcend Ultra,
00:02:19
Meg
and Delirious West 200 miler back in 2021. Wow. Yeah,
00:02:24
Peak Pursuits
wow
00:02:25
Meg
and so yeah yeah that was a big one. That was kind of by accident. um was just COVID times and I was training for Surf Coast Century 100K at the time and just before the race, the borders went up. So we were stuck in WA and um Delirious was on in in four weeks and I had done all this training.
00:02:44
Meg
ah done probably the most training I'd ever done. So I was feeling really fit and I just was – I want to give a race a go and that was the only one around. So I was like, why not give a 200 mile a crack?
00:02:55
Meg
um You know, like I feel like a 200 mile is very different from a hundred mile. um You're just going to go out there for a couple of days and and have a good time. Like I knew that was completely going into the unknown. ah So yeah we had, I had an amazing crew and we had an amazing couple of days and I finished that in seven, no, 67 hours.
00:03:19
Meg
And I don't
Post-Pregnancy Motivation and UTA Memories
00:03:20
Meg
remember the minutes, but um I was first female and third overall and got the course record there as well.
00:03:26
Peak Pursuits
Wow. ah That's really interesting going from 100k training then having to be, oh I'm just going to add another 220k on top of the weight that I was aiming for.
00:03:28
Meg
about hand these
00:03:34
Meg
know
00:03:35
Peak Pursuits
Did you have to do anything last minute in training to get yourself ready?
00:03:36
Meg
Yes. I actually focused on um strength training for the last couple of weeks because I had a few niggles at the time and I was like,
00:03:48
Meg
like the only thing that's going to break and stop me getting to that finish line is, is my body breaking down. So I actually really focused on strength work those last four weeks. I knew there was nothing else I could do running wise to really like get me ahead.
00:04:01
Meg
So I just focused on strength to be honest. And um the body held up really well. um The logistics of planning a 200 miler is definitely the hardest thing about a 200 miler. You know, especially the checkpoints towards the end, you're like, I could be here at this time or I could be here at 10 hours later. So um having a crew was really important and just having a crew that was really flexible and able to go with the flow on how I was going was really good.
00:04:26
Peak Pursuits
It's definitely front of mind after Coca-Dona 250 and seeing a bit of a emergent.
00:04:30
Meg
yeah
00:04:31
Peak Pursuits
and If 200 mile races, it's it's interesting to be and that training actually doesn't have to look that different.
00:04:32
Meg
Yes.
00:04:37
Peak Pursuits
I just maybe a bit of an emphasis.
00:04:38
Meg
No.
00:04:39
Peak Pursuits
Yeah.
00:04:41
Meg
Yeah, yeah, the training, yeah, definitely not that different.
00:04:41
Peak Pursuits
Cool.
00:04:44
Peak Pursuits
All right. So you've had a couple of years off, your son is 13 months old now, I think you said, and
00:04:51
Meg
Yeah, that's correct.
Race Day Approach and Runner Camaraderie
00:04:52
Meg
Yeah. um First major. I had done a 10K and a 20K end of last year. um But, yeah, this is a bit longer.
00:04:53
Peak Pursuits
and now you're kind of finding yourself, if you said that UTA was your first start line since or just the first main start, like major start line?
00:05:09
Peak Pursuits
Okay. Wow. So this is, it must've been quite a lot to feel ah a lot of emotions standing on the start line of your first 100 mile race, though you've gone longer knowing that it's been a couple of years and off that 10, the 20 K. a Yeah. What kind of what, what brought you to UTA a hundred miles specifically?
00:05:29
Meg
Um, so i really wanted to do a race. Um, I really wanted a race on the calendar just to have the motivation to start training again. And, and especially after having, um, having my son, like it takes a lot out of you and, and you don't really feel like yourself for a long time. And running is a big part of my life and always has been. So I really wanted a race to, to get the motivation back and to get back into training.
00:05:53
Meg
Um, so when yeah UTA and I wasn't really, There was no races that really stood out for me or really got me excited until UTA released that they were having a miler.
00:06:04
Meg
And
Course Challenges and Pacing Strategy
00:06:05
Meg
um UTA has always been like a close race to my heart. It was the first time I ever did a 50 was at UTA. The first 100 I did was at UTA. um so it's just a very special race for me and I love the atmosphere. And I knew them putting on a miler would be amazing and I knew they would bring such a strong field as well.
00:06:25
Meg
um So it was just, it just got me really excited. to race. So, um, yeah, I signed up and then, you know, regretted it, but, um, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but yeah, that's, that's why i just, I just wanted to race and yeah.
00:06:41
Peak Pursuits
I like it.
00:06:42
Meg
Yeah.
00:06:42
Peak Pursuits
Perfect. Okay, so we know why.
00:06:44
Meg
So, um,
00:06:45
Peak Pursuits
Let's discover how it all went. so can you run us through how the day did go?
00:06:52
Meg
yeah so um going into the race, I just, I just wanted to do a good race. I wanted to feel strong whole way. um I had a couple of times floating around, like I would have,
Stomach Cramps and Strategy Adjustment
00:07:02
Meg
the goal was ideally under 24 hours, but I just didn't think it was possible. And as we kind of drew closer closer to the race, I was thinking more 26 to 28 hours I'd run.
00:07:14
Meg
so, you know, I went out there I had no pressure on myself. I just wanted to have a really fun day. i wanted to feel strong. And when we started, i i knew all those girls in the top ten and I knew they would be moving pretty quickly at the start before we went onto that single trail through the Grand Canyon Slope.
00:07:30
Meg
So, you know I just pushed up to to be with them um because I knew if I got stuck behind people there, would it would have taken a lot to get past everyone. So I was in a nice little group with Claire and Celia and um And we did the Grand Canyon loop together, came out of that. And then on our way over to Gubbit's Lake, we're still running together. But I felt very comfortable. Like I felt almost too comfortable for what I would like in a race. So I was like, oh, let legs are feeling good. Like I'm just going to push past them, um get my heart rate up a little bit um and just move at my own pace and find my own groove again.
00:08:09
Meg
and So that's what I did. And then slowly I caught up to loop. and we ran into the first checkpoint together. And it was really lovely finally meeting Lou. Like I've watched Lou for years and it was nice to to share a bit of the run with her.
00:08:23
Meg
and And then so we ran out of that checkpoint together then it wasn't long where I just kind of found my groove again and and kept going.
00:08:23
Peak Pursuits
Mm-hmm.
00:08:31
Meg
and And then we're on the road to Perry's look down. And again, like I just was feeling strong, so I just kept moving. Like i I wasn't pushing it, but I was at a pace that I was comfortable to sustain for the race. So i was like, I'm just going to keep going while I feel good. um There was never a time where I was like, I'm blowing a gasket too early.
00:08:55
Meg
um And then Perry's saw my parents kind of do restock there and went down Perry's and then up the other side. I actually loved that climb up.
00:09:07
Meg
um It was really cool.
Nutritional Adjustments and Checkpoint Strategy
00:09:08
Meg
And just being on top of that, um, ridgeline in the cloud it just took me back to so many trails from wa that i love and you know it just felt like a long sunday run again um and i was by myself at that time as well so was you know you just get in yeah it's just nice um and then so i was just doing my thing just running along having a great day um and then we i ran into fortress ridge the next checkpoint
00:09:31
Peak Pursuits
Yeah.
00:09:38
Meg
And Kelly was there filling up her drink bottle. And I had this moment where I was like, oh, oh um I don't know if I should be here. I don't know if I should be at Kelly right now. Like it just seems maybe a bit too fast.
00:09:50
Meg
Not fast, but I was like, I just don't know if I should be right there with first place right now. This is not where I imagined me sitting.
00:09:56
Peak Pursuits
yeah
00:09:58
Meg
But, you know, I just stayed calm. I reminded myself that I felt good. i wasn't pushing. Yeah. So yeah, me and Kelly ran for a little bit together and then i felt good, well kind of on some really rocky technical stuff and and that's the stuff I love.
00:10:14
Meg
So, and Kelly was a little bit slower there.
00:10:16
Peak Pursuits
Mm-hmm.
00:10:17
Meg
So I just decided to again, go around her, do my own thing. um So I passed her there and then we did the little out and back, came back onto the fire road and headed towards Hydro.
00:10:29
Meg
So then um on the fire that's when things start to to turn a little bit for me um I started to get really intense stomach cramps and abdominal cramps and I've never had that before in a ramp in a race so and um I honestly like it was so uncomfortable and it was so painful to run that I honestly was like oh no here we this is not good but um yeah I don't don't you go
00:10:55
Peak Pursuits
That's, so sorry, I'll just jump in really quickly. That's really interesting because it sounds like up to this point, you've been very much under control. the effort wasn't too high and also that you were on the terrain you're probably most comfortable with.
00:11:10
Peak Pursuits
Do you know what caused those stomach cramps now?
00:11:14
Meg
um look I'm the only thing I could put it down to is is nutrition maybe I was trying to push a little bit too much too early um you know I was sitting between 100 and 100 grams 120 grams per hour and although I was doing that in training and maybe I haven't done it like sustained it for that long um that's the only thing I could put it down to um but again like I've done this before in races and I was like maybe the
00:11:22
Peak Pursuits
Hmm.
00:11:33
Peak Pursuits
Yeah.
00:11:39
Meg
the body's just changed a little bit. Like maybe it's it's not ready for this amount of fuel. So, um yeah, sorry, go.
00:11:48
Peak Pursuits
ah and from a hydration side of things because the start of the race was uh it was at night time was drizzling it was quite quite cold not freezing but still definitely cold do you feel like you were on top of your drinking as well as you're fueling
00:12:04
Meg
Yeah, yeah, definitely. um Because I've got tailwind in my soft flask.
00:12:08
Peak Pursuits
oh okay
00:12:08
Meg
um So I just, yeah, really make sure like I'm getting my fuel, my like water in to get that fuel in from the tailwind as well. um I probably wasn't drinking like a full 500 mils per hour, but I was, yeah, at least over 250 mils, like more than what, not more, but I was like comfortable that I was having enough, enough water in.
00:12:31
Peak Pursuits
Yeah. Yeah. Hmm.
00:12:31
Meg
Yeah. Yeah.
Perseverance Through Health Challenges
00:12:33
Peak Pursuits
yeah
00:12:34
Meg
Yeah, so it was written like, yeah, something I've never experienced before. It was really odd. um And it took me by surprise. I also was running on the canva, on the edge of the road on the canva. So was like, oh, maybe like my abs are having to work really hard.
00:12:47
Meg
And, you know, my abs are probably not as strong after having a baby as well. So I moved to the middle of the road. um But I just, I stayed positive. I was like, look, if it's if it's my stomach, if it's nutrition, it's going to pass eventually. I'm just going to have to keep moving and and deal with what what's ahead of me.
00:13:04
Meg
Um, so at this time we, we had made our way onto Bruce's walk, um, and coming out of Bruce's walk, like the, there was this cool single trail, um kind of rock climbing stuff again, like that's what I love. That's what I love in races.
00:13:20
Meg
Um, yeah, it kind of took my mind off it for a little bit, um, got to the top of Bruce's and then eventually we made our way back onto a road in, we had about four Ks into hydro.
00:13:31
Meg
Um, That's when Kelly came past me again and she was moving real quick. She was, she was looking very strong. So I was like, you know, she's going to her thing. I'm going to my thing. um I text my crew and said, I wasn't feeling well and, you know, kind of throw out the gels, give me some real food, give me some ginger gummy bears.
00:13:48
Meg
Like I love those. So i knew, yeah yeah.
00:13:51
Peak Pursuits
Hmm. what?
00:13:52
Meg
I really like, I just put them in my mouth and suck on them and then spit them out after 10 minutes.
00:13:55
Peak Pursuits
yeah
00:13:56
Meg
um I don't know if they actually do anything, but like I can tolerate them. So
00:14:01
Peak Pursuits
and what
00:14:02
Meg
um yeah exactly um so in my mind I was like you know I'm just gonna make it to the aid station and then the girls are gonna the girls gonna fix me up um so I kept moving ran into hydro fixed a few things ran out really quick the goal of the race too was just to have really quick checkpoints like I just didn't want to hang around there because I know how much time you can make up or lose a checkpoint so I was like we just want to be in and out as quick as we can And the girls who were crewing me, they've all crewed me before at all my big races.
00:14:29
Meg
they know what to do. They know what I like. um Yeah, and they're really good. So had a tiny reset at Hydro. Then we went to Narrow Neck, had another kind of reset there.
00:14:40
Meg
Stomach felt slightly better but and not really much. I think I had a gel and unfortunately that definitely didn't sit right. I had to run to the toilet pretty quickly. Yeah. And then, um you know, at that stage I'd swapped to just water. So I took the tailwind out, just sat on water, um which I tolerated a little bit better.
00:15:00
Meg
At Narrow Neck, Kelly was there as well. So we're still pretty close. um We ran out of Narrow Neck checkpoint together. So I think that was 55 caves. um And then once we hit the road, she broke away again. She just sprinted off.
00:15:13
Meg
And I was like, I'm just going to stay calm. just going to my thing. um And
Maintaining Lead Amid Fatigue
00:15:18
Meg
kept, yeah, kept plodding along. then where are we? So narrow neck.
00:15:25
Peak Pursuits
Did you get any views off Narrow Neck?
00:15:29
Meg
Sorry, say that again.
00:15:30
Peak Pursuits
Did you get any views coming off Narrow Neck?
00:15:30
Meg
Okay. a To be honest, I can't remember.
00:15:34
Peak Pursuits
No.
00:15:35
Meg
I know there was times where we were in a lot of clouds.
00:15:35
Peak Pursuits
No, no.
00:15:37
Meg
Like I couldn't see more than like 50 metres ahead of me. um But I feel like there was a little bit of views here and there. I can't remember. I'm sorry.
00:15:47
Peak Pursuits
No, no. it Looking back, but we've been watching the the live stream for the 100k and it just looks spectacular out there.
00:15:49
Meg
go
00:15:54
Meg
Did it?
00:15:55
Peak Pursuits
So I was just curious if you got any of it.
00:15:55
Meg
Yeah. No, honestly, like. I'm pretty bad at taking in the views.
00:16:01
Peak Pursuits
since
00:16:02
Meg
I just look at the ground.
00:16:03
Peak Pursuits
but
00:16:04
Meg
um And, yeah, so we're on Narrow Net. Kelly was gone. I was doing my thing. um I still wasn't able to get any food in, so I was just sipping on water and eating my ginger bears.
00:16:15
Meg
ah And then when we hit duncan Duncan's Pass, it was super slippery, super slow going, but I actually caught up to Kelly on the on the back half of it.
00:16:27
Meg
um so we did that whole single trail downhill into the checkpoint together um which was nice again really nice to to run with kelly someone like i look up to and she's just got a wealth of experience um once we hit that checkpoint we we ran together a little bit and then we she started to fall back i i still felt good in the legs like i don't know how but i still had energy so um
00:16:40
Peak Pursuits
Thank
00:16:52
Meg
you know, i started to to push a little bit up the hills just to try and get that bit of a gap between Kelly and I. I knew Iron Pot was coming up as well and i was like, well, if Kelly's moving a little bit slower on this technical stuff, maybe this is where I can can make that gap bigger as well. So
Final Stages and Strong Finish
00:17:07
Meg
I wanted to extend the gap before Iron Pot and then really work on Iron Pot to make that gap bigger. um And, yeah, that's pretty much what I did. um And then after Ironpot, I knew we were pretty close to the checkpoint. So I just started pushing it.
00:17:20
Meg
At that stage, I did start feeling really fatigued and I could feel like my legs were running out of energy. I was like, okay, I've really got to start like working on getting nutrition in. So I just started with like a mouthful of a gel. 20 minutes later, another mouthful of a gel.
00:17:36
Meg
And that was sitting okay, which was good. um And then... We got into six foot and again, like in my mind, I was like, I'm feeling terrible, but the girls are going to be there very soon and they're going to fix me up, you know?
00:17:49
Meg
was like, I've just got to make it to that checkpoint and and and then we'll be fine we'll get through it. So worked really hard to get into that checkpoint. and We got there, changed socks.
00:18:01
Meg
don't know what we did there, but were there for a little bit. um Ate some gummy gummy bears.
00:18:05
Peak Pursuits
yeah
00:18:06
Meg
um I think I had some noodles and some Coke there actually. So that was good that that stayed in the belly. And I, um as we ran out, I picked up one of my pacers, Jerry, um and that was just a big lift again, um starting with the pacer.
00:18:20
Meg
Yeah.
00:18:21
Peak Pursuits
So from it's basically 30k onwards until that where you are now, have you basically taken no calories in bar some ginger gummies and a couple of sips of gel?
00:18:22
Meg
and
00:18:32
Meg
no um Pretty much, yeah. I think um we got to the six-foot track and my crew pulled out all my gels and think maybe I had even one or two.
00:18:43
Meg
um And most times that did not stay in my stomach.
00:18:44
Peak Pursuits
all
00:18:46
Meg
So, um yeah, I pretty much essentially had no nutrition that that whole time. um So I don't know how I had the energy, to be honest, but, um yeah, I was feeling good.
00:18:57
Meg
So I wasn't i wasn't complaining. just didn't
00:18:59
Peak Pursuits
No, it's really interesting because you hear people having those problems and it's pretty common, especially in a miler, but being able to still push on is very impressive at that point.
00:19:09
Meg
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I think. um Yeah, I suppose I just knew it was a hurdle and I had to overcome it.
00:19:16
Meg
And in my head, it's like it was going it was going to stop and it would come good eventually. just I just had to give it time. um Yeah. And like you said, like, it is a huge issue for GI stress.
00:19:16
Peak Pursuits
Yeah.
00:19:29
Meg
um in ultras so I'm like
Reflecting on Victory and Future Plans
00:19:31
Meg
I'm not the only one that's going to be suffering this today like I've just got to kind of suck it up and and keep doing my thing just keep running everyone else is struggling so um yeah um yeah um so yeah I picked up Jerry um and we did that six foot uh leg together so that was a circuit um
00:19:37
Peak Pursuits
Yeah,
00:19:41
Peak Pursuits
yeah it's a good mindset.
00:19:50
Meg
so um that's when I started feeling really good, actually getting that little bit of food on board made a huge difference. And, um, I think having Jerry there too, she's paced me before as well.
00:20:00
Meg
So she kind of knows how to pace me. Well, she always just stands at 20, 10, 20 meters ahead and and just keeps running and she knows I'll just keep chasing her. So, um, yeah, she's very sneaky.
00:20:10
Peak Pursuits
Interesting.
00:20:14
Meg
Um, but amazing. Yeah. So, and we just felt really good.
00:20:16
Peak Pursuits
Yeah.
00:20:18
Meg
And I was like, well, if I'm feeling good, I'm just going to keep pushing and pushing and, And that's what I did. I just kept the pace up and poor Jerry wasn't expecting me to be running that fast, I don't think. and
00:20:28
Peak Pursuits
just
00:20:30
Meg
And my paces ended up swapping out back at six foot, which wasn't which wasn't on the plan. But um yeah, they did a swap out early just for them to have a little break. um But yeah, i from there on really, like I knew Celie was going to be behind me and I knew there wasn't a huge gap.
00:20:49
Meg
So in my mind, I was like, I'm just going to, have to keep pushing um as long as I was feeling good and the legs felt strong. um I was getting a little bit of food in at that stage.
00:21:00
Peak Pursuits
Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:00
Meg
i kind of moved up to half a gel per 20 minutes and that was the plan, just stick on that. and think at that stage i was able to have a little bit of caffeine as well, um which helped me get up Nellie's and I actually really enjoyed Nellie's. I think, I don't know why, maybe because I did have some nutrition on board.
00:21:18
Meg
um And, yeah, we just – took it checkpoint by checkpoint. I just kept focusing on and trying to make that gap bigger. um
00:21:26
Peak Pursuits
yeah
00:21:26
Meg
Yeah, whenever I could run any of the little flat sections or anything that wasn't too hilly or, like, too many stairs, like, the goal was just just to run. and um Yeah, and that was pretty much the rest of the race, really.
00:21:37
Meg
Yeah.
00:21:40
Peak Pursuits
And did you see any men out there in that?
00:21:40
Meg
speak
00:21:43
Peak Pursuits
Because essentially from, by the sound of sort of seventy k you had passed Kelly, you were on your own.
00:21:46
Meg
thank Yeah, there was a few guys, I think coming into six-foot track, there was a guy that I passed coming down the hill. There was another guy on the six-foot loop I passed as well coming down the hill.
00:22:00
Meg
um i think there was a few guys, like, because I was quite quick in the checkpoints, I think from what the girls have told me, I passed them during the checkpoints. Like, they were still sitting in the checkpoint.
00:22:11
Meg
And then I went out before them. um And then I think there was only one other guy through the stairs, between Fairmont and Queen Vic that I passed as well. And then I think the last guy that moved me up into ninth place overall was the Queen Vic Hospital. He was sitting in there and i ah ran out before him. So that was it.
00:22:32
Peak Pursuits
you like have a guess at how fast you were in and out of the checkpoints?
00:22:32
Meg
yeah
00:22:36
Peak Pursuits
Do you know your time?
00:22:38
Meg
I had a look on the on the live tracking. It said 18 or 19 minutes was the rest total rest time, which I know at, which I don't know if that's right.
00:22:51
Meg
It's probably probably around that. I think I wasn't any more than five minutes. I think I was roughly like three to five minutes most checkpoints except for six foot when I changed socks, which was still under 10 minutes. um So, yeah, and the first couple they would have been like less than a minute.
00:23:06
Meg
So, han yeah, probably probably pretty quick.
00:23:07
Peak Pursuits
yeah
00:23:09
Meg
Even Queen Vic, like I think they're less than three minutes type thing. Yeah.
00:23:13
Peak Pursuits
that's impressive and like you said it it really adds up if you start taking that extra minute or two each time when you've got 10 checkpoints or so
00:23:14
Meg
oh you
00:23:22
Meg
exactly yeah and that's something I've learned with those longer races that um it's so easy to get stuck at those checkpoints and it's so nice seeing everyone and getting comfortable and sitting down but <unk>s the end day like there's like 10 minutes just going on like you've just added an hour to your race that you probably didn't really need.
00:23:39
Meg
um Well, that's my, that's my mentality anyway.
00:23:39
Peak Pursuits
That
00:23:41
Meg
So um yeah, I just wanted to keep moving. And the other thing like I was really conscious of was the cold because once I stop, I get really cold really quickly. So I just, I really didn't want to get cold. um So I wanted them to be quick for that reason too.
00:23:54
Peak Pursuits
ah makes a lot of sense. And then Queen Vic, the last 22K, obviously finishes with the Furber Steps and quite a long climb before that. How were you feeling at that point?
00:24:06
Meg
I was feeling really good actually like still really good um you know like I knew I had a good lead on Celia like I think it was like 45 to an hour by that stage and the girls like I kept asking the girls to know um on the gap and in my head i was like I need at least 30 minutes to feel comfortable but I still I didn't want to get excited because I knew like 22k is still a long way and any could anything could happen coming down Kadamba.
00:24:19
Peak Pursuits
Yeah.
00:24:26
Peak Pursuits
yeah
00:24:34
Meg
You know, i was like, if my quads cramped, like that could be now there, you know, trying to trudge up the other end. um So i just kept focusing. i wanted to move as quickly as I could.
00:24:46
Meg
down Kadamba. um Quads actually felt not too bad. They weren't, they weren't great, but um yeah, I could move, move okay down there. um And then once we got to the other side, I was like, just, I've just got to power hike it get in a good groove on the power hike. Same thing. Like was like, once it's semi-flat or at least runnable, like I'm just going to run.
00:25:06
Meg
um And that was, that was the plan. Yeah. um I just did that all the way. I think we were about five Ks out and And Steph, who was pacing me at the time, she said that we could get under 22 hours, like we're really close to the 22 hour mark. And, you know, my first thought is like, I don't care. i just want to finish this thing. And then like after a minute, I was like, oh, no, that that sounds pretty cool to be like in the 21. So, um yeah, I just kept pushing the whole way there.
00:25:33
Meg
Knowing further would take me like a good chunk of time as well. yeah. yeah Yeah, it was really good actually and fervour felt not that bad. i don't know why but um probably all the adrenaline.
00:25:46
Peak Pursuits
Yeah, I can imagine you've got to be feeling pretty good about what's about to happen. And as you said at the start, your original goal was 24, then you pushed that to 26. And now we're talking about breaking 22. It's a pretty, pretty, pretty good day.
00:25:57
Meg
Yeah. Yeah, yeah it's ah it's a good day on trails. Yeah. ah
00:26:04
Peak Pursuits
And what did taking that tape feel like as the champion?
00:26:08
Meg
Yeah, yeah, it it felt really good. It's just unbelievable, you know, it still kind of feels like a little bit of a dream um and just just a blur, you know, like everyone's there and cheering for you and everyone's so happy and, yeah, you just can't believe you've actually done it.
00:26:26
Peak Pursuits
incredible now we're what four five days removed reflecting on the whole thing how are you feeling towards the day that you had
00:26:36
Meg
Yeah, I think um the day definitely had its challenges and it was a tough day, but I'm just so happy how my body went. Like I'm just so um ecstatic that like I did what I did and, you know, I went there to have fun and have a good day and and that's what I did and I wanted to be strong and I was strong and I just, you know, and just had a yeah, really good day, really.
00:26:57
Meg
Great.
00:26:59
Peak Pursuits
Brilliant. Obviously, as I just said, we're only a few days past, but I feel like i do need to ask, have you thought about what's next for you?
00:27:02
Meg
What you want to do with
00:27:05
Meg
i
00:27:09
Meg
Um, ah well, honestly, like before UTA, it was just UTA. I was just going to get through that. But, um, now that it's passed, um, I have started looking at a few, um, you know, definitely want UTMB next year.
00:27:23
Meg
So, um, just thinking what, what races are going to prepare me well for that. Um, maybe just a couple of little local ones up in Brisbane over the next couple of months. Um, something like the Guzzler.
00:27:34
Meg
um just to, you know, just to have like that little goal there again to to get moving. um And then I've always had GPT on my bucket list. So um that would be really cool cool to go down there.
00:27:47
Peak Pursuits
yeah
00:27:47
Meg
And I've had some friends that have recommended that trail to me. and So, yeah, maybe maybe that later in the year.
00:27:53
Peak Pursuits
From what you said about what you enjoy UTA, I think GPT would suit you very, very well. I think you'd love that.
00:28:03
Meg
Yeah, yeah, I've seen the photos and, yeah, I can't wait.
00:28:06
Peak Pursuits
It's a pretty, it's pretty special place. It's a very technical track, but that sounds like it's in your wheelhouse.
00:28:11
Meg
Yeah, thank you. Yeah, we'll see.
00:28:15
Peak Pursuits
Perfect. Okay. meg Thank you so much for jumping on. It's been great to listen to your recap of the race. And can definitely say I'm very excited to now follow you over the next year or so as we build up to UTMB and beyond. So good luck and thank you so much.
00:28:30
Meg
Thanks so much, James. Thanks for having me on.