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Ultra Trail Australia Recap with Blake Turner | Episode 110
129 Plays3 hours ago
In this episode Jess and Brodie are joined by Blake Turner to recap all things UTA, including what went into Blake's 3rd place in the 50k and Jess' 4th place in the 22 plus all the other incredible runs of the weekend!!
The crew also recap all the other local results of the weekend plus the wild times run at Zegama.
We hope you enjoy!
Join us on Patreon HERE
Results:
- UTA (NSW)
- West Macs Monster (NT)
- Great Ocean Road Running Festival (VIC)
- runher Lake Manchester Trail Run (QLD)
***Don’t forget, use code PEAK at https://bix-hydration.myshopify.com/en-au for 20% off Bix products, exclusive to PPP listeners!***
Connect with us on Instagram @peakpursuits.pod to share your thoughts, questions, and your own trail stories. Until next time, keep hitting the trails and chasing those peak pursuits!
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Follow Brodie: Instagram | Strava
Follow Jess: Instagram | Strava
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/mood-maze/trendsetter License code: K08PMQ3RATCE215R
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Transcript
Introduction & Episode Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Music
00:00:08
Speaker
Hello and welcome to episode 110 of the Peak Pursuits
Introduction of Guests & Discussion Topic
00:00:13
Speaker
podcast. I am one of your hosts, Brodie, and today we're going to be delving into a big UTA debrief. I'm very excited and I'm excited because I'm joined by two people who were there, not only there this weekend, but racing in the thick of it. So um they're going to be able to give us some good insights. So first we've got Jess in Canberra, bit of Dom's Jess from the 22.
00:00:35
Speaker
Yeah, starting to come back to life today, but the last two days have been a bit of a struggle.
Blake's Performance & Training Insights
00:00:42
Speaker
Yep. Yeah, definitely. It's a, yeah, the hard, rate the short races can be pretty hard on the body sometimes. Um, and we've got, uh, Blake Turner, who's our guest this week. Blake was third in the 50 K. Um, and we're going to get into his race and Jess's race. Um, but Blake, thanks for coming along. We're excited to have you on. I think first time maybe on as a guest, but we've had you, we've heard from you before.
00:01:06
Speaker
I think I could have been on potentially as a guest before. I think with Jess on another episode. Yeah. i don't know who else was there. Asia Pacific champs. Ah, there we go. that was it That was before we started doing guests every week, so I've forgotten. Sorry. But it's good to hear what, so so was that in the ah preparing for, oh no, after Asia Pacific Champs.
00:01:29
Speaker
Is that right, Jess? Yeah. Yeah, cool. So if anyone wants to hear a little bit more about that, then ah head back to, I guess that would have been November 2024 time. yeah time So you can scroll back and have a listen.
00:01:44
Speaker
So that'll be yeah that's ah that's it'll be good to hear a little bit more about Blake. um But yeah, today we'll focus on UTA and we've got a lot to talk about. So maybe we'll dive into that first.
00:01:57
Speaker
Blake, preparation, Sim was giving me some insights. She said that maybe you didn't have... Huge volume leading in and she was very impressed by your result based on your volume. But is that is that normal for you in terms of the amount of training you've been doing or what's the last few months look like in the lead up to UTA?
00:02:16
Speaker
Yeah, post-race this year, they um I didn't realize, but they had anti-doping. um So I got tapped on the shoulder and um I was in the room and Jess with was with Meow, like just kind of being her go-to. And we just got we got talking. ah The guy who was doing the testing actually was pretty friendly, almost too too friendly. And he was um it was just asking us like, oh, how much?
00:02:42
Speaker
how much you run per week? Like whatever. And I was just kind of like rattling off like, oh, my biggest week in this prep was one hundred and six k's and then every other week was like less than 100 just the way it panned out.
00:02:54
Speaker
And he was amazed at that. And I'm just like looking at Dan Jones and then like HageMA and I'm like, that's like half of what they run, like not even half, you know. um But the yeah the prep was was normal.
00:03:07
Speaker
Like as my normal preps go pretty low mileage, which is that's that's all I can do. Generally, i top out. Even before Worlds, I was topping out at about 106k max. But in this prep, I kind of missed the run here and there with work and life and whatnot. But um I got the key sessions in every week, which I think is pretty much the the main thing.
00:03:30
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I remember sort of seeing you on on Strava and when me and James were doing the preview episode, I i feel like it's normal for you. Like I don't see anything sexy per se on Strava, but it sort of shows that you don't need to have sexy Strava to have ah to have a really good result.
Technical Race Challenges & Strategies
00:03:48
Speaker
And the consistency really pays off and consistency is the the thing when you've been running for so many years that that pays off in the long term. Yeah, yeah definitely since Asia Pacific.
00:03:59
Speaker
ah Just before then I had a good block and then I'd been able to not have a – big break since then. So last year was a really consistent year just with just stacking weeks on weeks, just that that kind of hundred k week or just under 90 to 100k weeks. And if you get exactly right, you can just keep that consistency, you don't need to, well for me anyway, you don't need to be doing anything crazy. It works. It's not easy. You have to work pretty hard.
00:04:29
Speaker
um especially in races and the recovery is shown like it's my recovery has been non-existent I'm pretty much busted but it it works if you just you hit those key sessions in the long runs then you can you can make it happen yeah Yeah, and as long as you recover afterwards and and have ah make sure you wait until you're ready to get back into it, you can you can go back at it. um I guess since we last spoke to you probably end of 2024, you mentioned before you were at Welds last year and you did a few races in the lead up. We saw you at Buffalo Stampede in the 20K.
00:05:02
Speaker
ah You did the the race over in Malaysia and you raced Billy at Wandi Cross as well. That looked like a good build-up and then into World Champs. How did that final part go into World Champs and what was your experience with with World Champs? Yeah, it was it was a good build-up. The shorter races, um just just building that fitness from the Sky Running early in the year when we went over to Malaysia and Japan to do the two races in two weeks, then into Wondi.
00:05:31
Speaker
Wondi was good. It was a good hit out. ah The race got shortened, but I felt the legs had really come come to me by then. And then the block into Worlds was was really good too. And I managed to get over there a month beforehand and and train on the big mountains. And i I was probably feeling as good as I'd ever felt in a lead up to a race.
00:05:51
Speaker
um or With my training, it just it just felt easy. um Like running uphill felt easy. Just everything came to me, just being able to recover and and and train when you want, like in the pro style life. um And I felt really fit going to Worlds. ah But obviously on the day, like,
00:06:09
Speaker
I ran what I ran, but it it doesn't always translate. So I felt I could have potentially had a really good day um i as I've had previously. But on the day, just the course just just beat me. Yeah, okay. So it wasn't like one thing that you could put your finger on because like you were sort of saying there, you've you've had a history of performing really well in in big races and then – like you said, you had a fantastic block in the lead up. You're feeling as good as you ever had. Was there something that like led to to the performance or it was just it was one of the days that you you're not sure what what exactly could have done different?
00:06:45
Speaker
To be honest, I think I performed all right, um but it was just my descending was... Sorry, I didn't didn't mean to say that you performed badly. No, I fully i ah fully understand how I was in the field, um but I wasn't happy with the result, let's be honest. But um my descending was rubbish. I couldn't run downhill. um my My going up was fine, but everyone was good. um And then I kind of had like a semi bonk halfway through the race ah where Vlad took me over and i got overtaken by about a thousand people in that point. um But it was too late then. But it was just, the course was just a beast. Like unless you lived lived it, like I don't know, you couldn't prepare for it. It was just, it was something completely different.
00:07:33
Speaker
um the The three weeks I thought, yeah, I'm going good. It wasn't enough. So it just, okay, take a look back. Something more runnable, all right? Something less technical, okay, yeah, it's a little bit easier. Something more Australian style.
00:07:46
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And um it not Jess is nodding along. I think she had obviously was on the same course as well. And just looking at it from afar, I was like, that course looks nasty, but I wasn't i wasn't there. And you two having experienced it, it looked like something different. Yeah, well, I mean, I'm still like super grateful for the experience because think like since then my technical running is just,
00:08:09
Speaker
gotten a lot better. um I've noticed that this year. so But, yeah, i don't know. It was just totally different. like um Yeah. like I wouldn't even call it trial running at points. Yeah.
00:08:21
Speaker
Yeah, it was more like sky running. Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
Race Day Experiences & Reflections
00:08:25
Speaker
um Blake, when taking that experience in hand and and moving forward from there, is there anything that you've changed or different ah approach that you might want to go to look at for future races or is it is it more just like stick to your strengths and and look for races that you feel like you can perform on or would it be prepared more specifically or not exactly sure yet?
00:08:49
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, definitely. I um ah did fancy myself at the Skyrunning discipline prior and that's why I went and joined the Skyrunning World Series last year. I didn't do all the events because of Worlds and I fancied myself on that course but coming away from last year and the events I did, I didn't have super great results in that Skyrunning style races and I've kind of come away and be like, all right, I think I need something more runnable more percentage runnable, uh, to pull my strengths out where I never thought I was really ah runnable strength kind of person, but I think it plays into how I race and more of that technical kind of, cause I can't train on it all the time. it It's kind of detrimental to me. And, um,
00:09:35
Speaker
Whereas everyone is a lot more skilled now than maybe a few years ago that I raced. So the level is just so big or the gap is so big between me and the the good guys that, yeah, I just, I don't think I compete. So I think now like UTA, um ah more runnable and that you can see, well, I could see, that okay, yep, it kind of plays into more of my strengths.
00:09:58
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And did you even find that this year, like you ran down in Hobart in the KMR ah race, um, the Alpine marathon, like, did you find that race more difficult than say UTA in terms of like how it played to your strengths? Like, was it a more technical race down there or did you feel like that one wasn't, wasn't too intense? Yeah.
00:10:17
Speaker
Well, yeah, 100%. I lost all of my time, momentum on the Techie Ridge line over the the top of Kunani. I descended, i sorry, I got to the top of the mountain first. I was feeling good. I was running good until i hit the Techie spot. And then I just felt like like I was...
00:10:35
Speaker
fish out of water almost for some reason. And that's when Piotr just flew past me like it was like he was running on a flat. It was completely different. And then coming off that ridge line, it was a super techie descent. And I was like, I was thinking to myself and I was telling parents part of my family who were there afterwards, I'm like halfway through the race, I'm like, I'm giving up running. I suck at this. Like i i I thought to myself, I'm not good at running anymore because I was going that slow and it was that like upsetting to me. I'm like, nah, this is my last race.
00:11:05
Speaker
um But then when I got onto the ah the pipeline trail, I'm like, okay, no, this is all right now. a bit more running. It's all right. So then I kind of came to. So i'm like I'm like, all right, the techie stuff kind of maybe is ah behind me now. um and stick to more of the ah the the runnable stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, really interesting. Like obviously it's a journey for for everyone to figure out what what what their what their strengths are, what they what they need to work on or what are the things that they maybe just don't want to do in the future. um And it sounds like you've you've sort of learned a lot and I think we've all been there in the race where we've been like, am I just not very good anymore? is that Is that, am I just done? I think we've all been there before. Yeah.
00:11:46
Speaker
Yeah, it was. Honestly, I'm like, because I say to people every year, I'm like, all right, if have a bad result this year, I'm just going to give it up. And then I had that, I was during that run, I'm like, this might be the run that this will do me.
00:12:01
Speaker
This will do me. And then when I finished and I'm like, oh, under the record from last year, you know, it was all right, second place. I'm like, all right, one more, one more race. Geez, I'm sure you're glad, yeah, you didn't call it because, I mean, it was amazing.
00:12:17
Speaker
Yeah, you still got it. You still got it. And like Piotr is a hard person to compare to because he's incredible on that terrain. And like it's it interesting like ah I think Piotr, I haven't spoken to him about his race at UTA. um But like compared to the stuff that he's doing in Tassie earlier in the year, like it was I was sort of expecting him to be a little bit higher up. But um I don't know if I just underestimated how good the rest of the field was. um But probably the opposite for him at UTA was like, maybe it wasn't technical enough, whereas it was the flip for you. um So, yeah, it's an interesting how each each runner has their own has their own ah talents in that in that regard. Yeah, definitely. yeah if we If we... Oh, sorry, go on.
00:13:00
Speaker
No, you're right. I was... No, he was super fit at Cunyani and I fully expected him um to blow the miler out of the water because he was he was running really strong and and I was decently fit, and but he we ran away from me at the end. um And I'm like, well, this is he's on another level here. And that's why yeah i was surprised too. I'm sure he had a good result, but that he wasn't really pushing on that pointy on the miler.
00:13:27
Speaker
Yeah, it'll be interesting to hear maybe what he has to say about it. Like he still had a fantastic result. He was fourth. But yeah, I'm assuming he
Training, Nutrition & Pacing
00:13:35
Speaker
wanted more. But yeah, we'll get into the rest of the UTA results in a moment. We've talked a bit about your build-up. Jess, did you have any other questions before we jump into the UTA 50? Oh yeah, was just wondering, you still coached by Andy Dubois?
00:13:51
Speaker
Yep, yep. First and only. um he he sorts me out. He just, i don't know he just knows what, what I need, kind of like he just knows the bare minimum that gets me through. um And I just just trust him fully, really. we We do bounce off each other and we kind I kind of know now where I'm at and and how things work, but he just he just knows what gets me just to to the right spot on on the start line.
00:14:19
Speaker
um and it And it works, obviously. So what um did your week sort of roughly look like in the lead up to UTA, like Monday to Sunday? Yeah, not too dissimilar to my general history. but ah So I've just changed it up a little bit with a bit more morning and Arvo running now, just breaking the hour runs up. But just an hour on Monday morning and before work and then after work and then Tuesday is ah the speed session, which this block, it's probably been the best sessions I've been able to do I reckon,
00:14:51
Speaker
in the history. I think I put it down to carbs. I put it down to recovery after long runs and during training carbs because it just it just comes easy now almost. Like I'm not hitting, like I'm not i'm not a fast runner, I wouldn't say, but these paces I hit now the same as what I have been, but it just feels easy.
00:15:10
Speaker
And then so that's Tuesday. It's generally only an hour to an hour and 10 I get up to just to keep time down. Yeah, was a flat session. Flat session, yeah. So where I live now, i run, there's an oval just down, a baseball oval just down the road from me. And it's a 420 meter around about, around. And I just run around that for, I i think I got up to 12 Ks in one of my sessions, just running around that, just around and around and around, dodging baseballs and people playing golf and dogs and whatnot. But yeah,
00:15:43
Speaker
Yeah, it um it serves me well. so But that that's I think that's what's the biggest difference I've seen in my training is those sessions just become a lot more easier.
00:15:54
Speaker
Yeah. And then just an hour Wednesday, hour Thursday broken up and then Saturday's the hill session, which I've been breaking up um either a longer session or if I don't have time,
00:16:05
Speaker
for kid sport or whatnot, I go early and I have a 30-metre hill near me which I can run to. um And I just run up and down that 30-metre hill which was a bit stair-y leading up to UTA, trying to get a few more stairs in, um just running up and down that as hard as I could.
00:16:22
Speaker
and then back home. And then Sunday long run, I'd get out to Kadamba, so on the course pretty much every weekend after Kunani. Yeah. um When I decided to jump in UGA, which was a week after Kunani, when I recovered okay, um I'd get out to kadamba every sunday and i just run from qvh to wherever i got to lure forest and then run back again and i just like i did before 2023 i just knew that descent and that climb like the back of my hands and that's what played into my hands come race day
00:16:57
Speaker
yeah Yeah, nice. Yeah. Yeah, i so when i was when I was doing the preview with James, I looked back and saw that you'd been up there a few times and went, okay, well, maybe maybe he's maybe he's in with the mix this time again. um And I think like something that seems to show at UTA to some extent is like that that on-course knowledge or that on-course just having run it a few times. Even I was listening, Ben Duffus was on the – ah he was on the live stream for a little bit and he was talking about his 22k race. And he said that he had gone down Ferber steps, like he'd got there a few days earlier, gone down Ferber steps, come up and he decided where he was going to run and where he was going to hike. He'd like pre-planned that.
00:17:42
Speaker
um And I think those little things, whatever works for the specific athlete, but those little things of knowing the, knowing the course and knowing, okay, what's coming around this bend and that sort of stuff. I think, It's sort of a one percenter, but I think it does make a difference.
00:17:55
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, it was telling because i was running with Toby and i was just where we could see a few runners here in front of us and he was like, oh, I can catch up to them and he eat he smashed the downhill. And I was confident in the course and my ability to just let them go and but know, okay, yeah, i can I can take these people on the hill. So like i with knowing the course, I knew exactly what I could do on that course and it just it just came easy. It's not panic, not go too hard and not blow up. Definitely.
00:18:25
Speaker
And yeah you're you're well known for taking souls on that last and that last climb in UTA 50 as well as other races. So ah Toby may not have known that. So he may not have had looking over the shoulder. But um yeah, he's experienced it now. So maybe he'll be worried in the future. I would definitely be worried if if you've done it to me before. So I know that it can happen.
00:18:47
Speaker
i I think Toby, once he gets it right um and he has a little bit more experience, he's got nothing to worry about, that kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You might be too far back to be able to catch on that last climb. He's he's got to, yeah, I think he's he's going to have a good future ahead of him. um Yeah, the the training there sounds... Sounds interesting. I like the um the description of your session on a Tuesday. I was like, I could picture it as you're talking about it. Like, I feel like that's like the the perfect blue collar workout. You're like running around an oval with like dog, dodging dogs and stuff.
00:19:20
Speaker
Compared to everyone down at the track with their lactate monitors, you've got the the other end of the spectrum. Oh, yeah. It's just ease, like, just from the front door to the front door. No faff. No, that's a word from your book. um No messing around. and just in winter when there was no baseball, put the head torch on and just run around in circles and, like, and just know that, all right, if you could blow up, I'd just walk home. So, yeah.
00:19:49
Speaker
But um it definitely, it's that mental training as well of just like, yeah, of just like I've just got 100 laps here. Let's just lock in and get it done. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, ah I love it. um Any other questions about the prep, Jess? No, i think we should get into the race.
00:20:05
Speaker
Awesome. All right. Well, yeah i might just ah run through the results for the 50K just so we've got
Race Dynamics & Competitor Interactions
00:20:14
Speaker
some context. And then, yeah, and then, Blake, maybe you can tell us a little bit about how it played out out there. I was watching the live stream. um but mostly was just following the leaders. So don't have a lot of context on on what was happening in the back end of the field, a little bit more in the women's field, and we'll talk about that after. um Dan Jones was the winner again this year. um he ran
00:20:40
Speaker
for the fifty k um I think a little bit slower than last year, but this year was the first section in the dark. um So for quite some time, maybe Blake will be able to tell us a little bit more about that. In second, Hajime Kasagi in 4 hours 15.59. Now, Hajime ran with Dan Jones for a good section. um i think he was even still in touch with him at the emergency aid station, but he's dropped a bit in that sort of final section. Um, I'm assuming Dan put the hammer down and, um, Hajime couldn't quite hang on for the whole race, but he did still run very well. Um, and yeah, it was interesting to watch those two guys racing. Hajime was like in Dan slipstream when they were on the road, like he's literally running within a meter of him. It was, yeah, they were commenting on the live stream, how it looked like a road race, um, or a track race. So yeah, he, he ran really well.
00:21:36
Speaker
Blake nearly caught up to him. three minutes or Another two minutes back in third place was Blake Turner in 4 hours 18. Then, as we were saying there, Toby Sparks in fourth in 4 hours 21-47. And Vlad Ixl, podcast host, he had another great run. He was a minute faster than last year and potentially a harder day this year than it was the year before. So good to see Vlad still running very strong. 4 hours 24-22. And think...
00:22:03
Speaker
twenty two and i think Him and Toby were in the same two positions as they were last year, so good consistency from them. um Blake, how did it how did it go out there with with the rest of the pack? I know there was quite a bit of movement with on the live results of the men's field of people going backwards and forwards in the field. um How did it play out out there? Yeah, where i was, it didn't move a great deal until the back end. um But, it yeah, we had, as you said, we had 90 minutes in the dark.
00:22:34
Speaker
um And, yeah, that we were hypothesizing post-race in the anti-doping with Dan why he might have run slower than last year.
00:22:46
Speaker
And we couldn't put our finger on anything except for running 90 minutes in the dark um because I thought that I could run a decent amount faster. When I did it in 23, I ran about 421. I think the course ran a lot slower. I think this year was faster, but I didn't run a great deal faster. So we can't really – and I think ive my effort this year was a ah lot faster.
00:23:09
Speaker
like harder than when I won it the other year. So we can't really put our fingers, suppose, the dark possibly. But I didn't really mind running the dark. It it was all right. It went out – It went out quick. Ben St. Lawrence kind of took it out. He had a gap on um Dan in the first K of about 20 metres.
00:23:27
Speaker
And I'm like, oh, Ben's on here. This is going to be a tough day. And um there was about five or six that went out in that first pack. And then I was in the second pack with Toby and Vlad and a couple of other guys. And then um we kind of just settled there for a while for the 8K out and back.
00:23:47
Speaker
pretty much just rode and a little bit down, uh, narrow neck. Um, and it was, it was pretty, it was pretty hot, but it wasn't like, sorry, the pace, but it wasn't too much. And, um, and then they kind of got away. Dan, um, Hajime, Hiroki, uh, oh no, sorry, not Hiroki. Yeah. Crazy KO.
00:24:06
Speaker
Um, And ah New Zealand Sam Rout was there too and they got away from us and then we just formed our own pack. And then ah along the clifftops, ah we just kind of just ran our ran our pace. Vlad was with us for a while. He can probably tell you what happened in that section, but he kind of dropped off um on the clifftop section.
00:24:28
Speaker
um he I think he he got caught up behind someone. And then it was just me and Toby ah by ourselves from about, I don't know, 10, 11 K in um until just after QVH.
00:24:44
Speaker
But he was, um yeah, so it was just me and Toby. we weren't really getting much information it was ahead of us. um But he was, Toby was was was pushing and he was keeping me honest. And I was just kind of holding on to him and,
00:24:59
Speaker
where I could, but when the road sections would happen or or the flatter sections, he would kind of string me out 10, 15, 20 metres, he'd get ahead of me. um He just has that running ability and I would just hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. When we got to a bit of trail, then I'd catch back up to him or we'd go up a little bit. I was a bit stronger on the ups and he was a bit stronger on the flats and downs. And um we would just kind of play cat mouse all day. He he led most of it. I led a little bit of it.
00:25:25
Speaker
um But yeah, we were we were pushing pretty hard. um And when we got to QVH, the aid station, we we were told, okay, there's there's two guys about a minute ahead of you. And I instinctively thought, oh, it's the two Japanese guys have gone out too hard and they're going to come back to us.
00:25:43
Speaker
um But it wasn't to be. It was Benny Saint and Sam Routt. um And for me, after QBH, that was when I knew ah the race was going to start because that's that's what I knew, like the back of my hand, that that part of the race. So I just locked in and said, all right, let's go. And that's when, just after QBH, Toby said, oh, I can see Benny and Sam. I'm going to go I can catch up to them. i said, yeah, we we are going to catch them. Don't worry. But he didn't listen and he just took off and he just flew down Kadumba.
00:26:19
Speaker
And he was out of sight within in about 30 seconds. and um And he e took them down Kadamba. And ah the um I just i ran at my pace and I caught the boys on at the, I think was Lura Creek is the first creek, um Sam and Benny.
00:26:36
Speaker
um And once we hit that climb, I i kind of just started running my pace and that was it. They um they were cooked. um And I kind of just kept running from there.
00:26:48
Speaker
About a few hundred meters later, I caught up to Toby and he was like, yeah, all right, I'll lock in, let's go. I kind of wanted to run with him so we could kind of push each other and get a bit of distance. And he wanted that too. We'll get a bit of distance between Benny and Sam because they're good athletes.
00:27:08
Speaker
And um we push push pushed, pushed, pushed. And we ended up getting to emergency aid together. um He was finding the ups a bit harder than me, but I was pushing too. But I was kind of like, oh, I can go another level if I need to. um and Emergency aid, ah I decided, okay, I have to have a little bit of a go here. So from the emergency aid is where I put a little bit of a push in and that's where I put my my gap into him.
00:27:32
Speaker
um And I just ran scared to the finish line. um I didn't hear anything the rest of the day. But at that point, I still thought that crazy KO or Karo was ahead of me.
00:27:49
Speaker
um So that's why actually at the finish line, i I was still unaware because I knew Hajime and crazy Kari.
00:28:01
Speaker
and kind crazy Caro, which I really wish I remembered his name, were ahead of me. that's I came to the line. i didn't really celebrate. And that's when, at post-race interview, they kind of got me and I was a little bit taken aback because no one really told me.
00:28:17
Speaker
And I didn't ask either. I was like, well, ah if no one's telling me, then okay, I'm um having hit the podium.
Race Reflections & Outcomes
00:28:25
Speaker
um But yeah, once again, I was surprised.
00:28:29
Speaker
and delighted to know that I hit the podium. um And I was busted. I was busted. i was I was almost full body cramping at that point. So I definitely, I put the work in.
00:28:40
Speaker
yeah Yeah, nice. it's It's cool to hear how the race unfolded with with you and and Toby and and then catching those other guys. It's Hiroki Kai, but he's very well known as Crazy Caro on Instagram. He's a big ah ceo on social media. So, um yeah, you can go and check out his his running. But, um yeah, I think he i think he dropped.
00:29:01
Speaker
I thought you came through before him at QVH, pretty sure. Yeah, I know that now because everyone was like, yeah, we passed him like really early in the race. And I'm like, ah because he had the had the Nike ACG gear on, right? So we had like the mo not moic but like the the long sleeve shirt with the holes. And I'm like, surely I would have noticed passing passing this guy, but I didn't. But obviously I was just like, oh, it was dark. So I just assumed that the two Japanese guys were ahead of me the whole time. and But no, he he finished, but a bit further back.
00:29:31
Speaker
Yeah, he was he was in, it looks like he was in Echo Point. He was in 10th and then Gordon Falls, he was in 13th and then Fairmont, he was 16th. So maybe somewhere in there. Yeah. But yeah. um the The reel of you at the finish on the, I think it's on, I don't know if it's a UTMB or UTA, but they they cropped a little ah reel of when you finished and and um someone was doing an interview with you. and telling you asking you how you felt about coming third. It's priceless. I love it. It's so good. That was my favorite reel from the weekend.
00:30:06
Speaker
um But yeah, it was it's it's hard when you don't know who's ahead of you and you're not getting all the information. um So it's tricky sometimes. Yeah, there wasn't a lot of people on course...
00:30:18
Speaker
And there wasn't a lot of people kind of interested in telling you where you were. And I don't really like to ask because i don't want to show a sign of weakness, you know, like, ah, yeah I'm pretty – I don't need to know how many people are behind or in front of me. So I kind of just – and the last last person I saw was a French cameraman, I think he was, and he was like, the live stream and he was – He was kind of following me up the further stairs, but he was speaking in French the whole time and I didn't really understand what he was saying. Like, I don't have a great grasp of the language, but I'm sure at one point he was saying third place, but I didn't understand it.
00:30:53
Speaker
yeah Yeah, nice. um Yeah, cool. And overall, it sounds like you're you're pretty happy with with the race and and it was a good outcome for you. Like is there um anything you would have done different or any other takeaways from it or you're pretty pleased with it and on to the next? No, that's um leading into it, looking at the start list, I thought I could i could be out of the top 10 in this race if everyone has a good day.
00:31:19
Speaker
um So i and and I remarked after the race, I said I could i thought I have come third or ninth or or worse. So i was I was open to the fact that it could have been anything. So to come third, which probably...
00:31:34
Speaker
was probably night maybe not, but to me was the best, was probably like an A goal, I dare say. That would have been my A goal. So A would have been third, B would have been fifth, and then c would have been top 10. So i I hit my A goal almost. um So I don't think I could have done much more.
00:31:51
Speaker
ah and i was I don't think I could have made much more time up, um possibly on the descent and the climb. But I think that that's probably... was the best i could have done on that day. no I think you paced it super well. um Yeah, just seeing you come through QVH, like even at that point you looked a lot fresher than um some of the other runners that were like in front of you.
00:32:14
Speaker
um So, yeah, I think you just executed the pacing really well. Yeah, I think that's been a decent ability of me throughout the years is to not blow, go out too hard and then die at the end. There's races, obviously, you have. But generally, I've been able to finish strong in races just due to pacing, patience, just belief in what the body can do. So I think that's probably one of my strengths is is pacing as well. Yeah.
00:32:44
Speaker
And what sort of um fueling strategies were you using, like gels or carb mixes and like what sort of numbers were you aiming for? Yeah, so ever since the start last year, I've run with 90 grams in an hour with two gels, so 240 gram gels and 10 grams powder in a 500-mile bottle. um I drank a bit more in this race than I had. It was pretty humid, ah so I probably took in – bit more carb, 95 grams an hour. um But anything more, it kind of wants to come back up and it doesn't it doesn't sit. So 90 grams seems to sort me out and I was just really just with ah with every, what is it, 25 minutes, gel, gel, drink the 500 mil an hour. Yeah. But nothing else, nothing more than that, just a caffeine pill before the race and happy days.
00:33:41
Speaker
So any caffeine during the race? I had two caffeine gels, both leading up to, so one just before QBH and then one just after it. So it kind of hit when I was coming up yeah um the climb. are generally time caffeine to ah just before climbs just to give you that bit of extra, I don't know what it does or if it does anything, but just to give you that kind of bit of extra oomph up the climb, yeah.
00:34:09
Speaker
Yeah, awesome. And what about um like, like, so there's electrolytes in your bottles as well? Yeah, so the nutrition I use, ah yeah Bix, has electrolytes in it. So I don't worry about any extra electrolytes. I've never really had any issue with electrolytes or or or being assaulty a sweater.
00:34:30
Speaker
um So whatever they I get in in the gel and the powder, it seems to it seems to be enough. um I don't know if it is or isn't, but it it it works.
00:34:42
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, sounds like it sounds like it works well and it's a nice, simple and easy to execute plan that that's sort of working for you, especially I think like the timing of the caffeine makes sense. it's It's always hard to know whether that's actually happening. But even if it's just the mental of being like, I've had my caffeine, I'm ready to go.
00:35:00
Speaker
um i think that even just that would make a difference. Yeah. Awesome. All right. Well, let's ah get into some more results. We'll go through the women's 50K.
00:35:11
Speaker
A quick break in the show to thank Bix. Bix has just come out with their 30 gram gel in two brand new flavors. This is a new gel, new flavors. You've got the choice of the salted strawberry or the berry. The salted strawberry is also packing 300 milligrams of sodium. So,
00:35:28
Speaker
whereas the berry has 200 milligrams. Both make them perfect for the conditions we have in Australia, whereas most gels on the market do not have sodium within them. What Bix has done here is take the recipe for the gels that work so well, that 1.8 ratio that is very, very friendly on the stomach and added a soft, subtle, but very tasty twist that you can dial in your race day and your training nutrition to that extra fine detail. As you know, bix has been supporting the show from the start and it literally helps keep the podcast coming to you every week. So if you want to support the show, level up your own nutrition game, head over to the Bix website, use our brand new code PEAK, P-E-A-K for 20% off at checkout. And with that, let's get back to the show.
00:36:08
Speaker
um So, yeah, we got to watch this one. Well, I got to watch this one on the live stream as well. um Blake may have not seen too much of it. Jess was seeing some of it at the at the aid station. So please um jump in, Jess, with any insights. um But, yeah, well from what I saw in the on the live stream, they're mostly focusing on the two leaders.
00:36:30
Speaker
um And the winner in the 50K was Miaoyao from China. She ran 4 hours 33.12, which is super fast time, um but not far behind her. And sort of not far behind her all day was Ruth Croft from New Zealand who ran 4.34.42. So,
00:36:49
Speaker
Some incredible runs there. We sort of expected those two to be up the front given they're just incredible athletes. Now winning OCC last year, Ruth winning UTMB. But it was cool to see Ruth dropping down to the 50k distance and still like really racing really hard against someone who's incredible at that distance. So... um Yeah, it was cool to see, but it was mostly sort of just the the live streams mostly focused on those. We got to see a little bit of ah the other, like those in third and fourth and fifth coming into Queen Vic. um
00:37:22
Speaker
And I think maybe there were some changes in the in the back half because Holly Ransom was third place in the end in 4-as 57-13, but she I don't think she was third at QVH. She had a strong finish. Sophie Lynn fourth in 5 hours 50 and Jemima Cooper in fifth in 5.04.03.
00:37:42
Speaker
Jess, what were you seeing at the the aid stations? Yes. So from memory, it was Meow was leading basically the whole race um and Ruth was like close to her but at the first aid station,
00:37:58
Speaker
She probably had like a five-minute gap. Like she was a bit back and then at QVH about the same. um And then behind them was actually Jemima Cooper yeah um at the first aid station.
00:38:14
Speaker
um And she looked like she was working like quite hard. um And then i'm pretty sure at QVH she came in before Sophie. Yeah.
00:38:26
Speaker
I can't quite remember which one came in first, but I remember thinking Jemima looked like she was working very hard um and Sophie looked like she was a little bit fresher.
00:38:38
Speaker
um And then Holly actually came in like quite a bit back from those two. um She came in with Kate um at QVH about the same time and then unfortunately Kate had to drop there um and Holly was looking amazing, still smiling and happy and just looking like she was just having an absolute day out there. So you could sort of see that she was going to like have a really good finish.
00:39:09
Speaker
um And, yeah, we saw that. So she came in third and, yeah, she was like three minutes ahead of Sophie in the end. So she she really just had an amazing back half of the race.
00:39:24
Speaker
So, yeah, really cool to see and exciting um coming into Western States. I hope, yeah, it's cool. It'll be cool to see an Aussie um hopefully do really well there.
00:39:37
Speaker
um Cool. And then moving on to the 22, which was actually on the Friday. So
00:39:53
Speaker
this one started at 6.40, so not as bad as the fifty k um Luckily, we got a bit of a later start, bit more of a sleep in. um And yeah, the conditions like all weekend were pretty foggy. it was actually like quite humid. um So it didn't really feel cold, didn't really feel hot, but like you were sort of sweating once you got moving. um And, yeah, so in the 22 for the men, um first was Ben Duffus. So um got the win this year and, as we were saying before, he was pretty calculated, I think, in the lead-up with knowing exactly where he wanted to run and hike. um
00:40:41
Speaker
He came second last year in a very close race um with Leo, so he knows the course super well. um And, yeah, it was cool to see him get the win here. um And then in second was Nath Pearce and he was also super happy with his race. um he said he went super hard um and was sort of neck and neck with Ben for most of the race um and then Ben sort of pulled away in the very last few Ks.
00:41:15
Speaker
um But, yeah, he was he was stoked with his effort um and I think he's going to have a little bit of a break now, so cool to finish the season on a high. um And then in third we had Curtis Scott. um So he's actually in 18 to 19 age group, so a bit of a young gun. um And I don't know much about him, but, yeah, he was only –
00:41:40
Speaker
three minutes behind Nate. So um watch out. It could be the next rising star in trail running. Yeah, Curtis was – sorry, Jess, I was going to introduce the 22 because you ran it, but I've been having a coughing fit off camera. um ah Curtis was third at the Donner Double this year behind Nathan and Patrick Clark, um and that was – yeah, Ian Best was fourth, I was fifth there. So in a pretty deep field there and ran really well on that day. um He was a late entry, so we didn't actually cover him in the –
00:42:12
Speaker
in the preview, but he's ah he's another young gun that has a ah big ah big um a big lot of racing ahead of him, I'm sure. He's he's quite tall um already for an 18-year-old, so I think he's he's got that sort of lanky climbing style. he's He's a really good climber. So, yeah, it was really cool to see him have a great race. So good on you, Curtis. Yeah.
00:42:34
Speaker
Um, cool. Then in the women, we had Bridget Lunn in first place, um, coming off the back of her second at Buffalo. She's on an absolute tear at the moment. Um, which is really cool to see. She's been, i do get to train with her a fair bit in Canberra and she's just gotten on another level this year. Like, um, her speed is just amazing at the moment. Um,
00:43:01
Speaker
which we saw with her 5K PB in the track season. And yeah, she's just loving running fast, which is awesome. um And yeah, I guess I'll go into sort of like my recap from the race because that'll sort of tell a story for the rest of the results. um So yeah, like Bridget took out the race, um, quite hard and I like chased after her. Um, and yeah heading down Kadamba, I think we were moving pretty fast. Um, but yeah, i sort of kept her in sight. Um, and yeah just tried to like move fast, but trying to like not put on the brakes.
00:43:47
Speaker
Um, And then ah sort of caught up to her at that first river crossing. um And then we got to the climbing and i sort of thought maybe I could try and catch her, but I was already feeling like a little bit in the leg, like a little bit of fatigue in the legs. I was like, oh no. um And i was just like, okay, keep pushing, like keep her in sight.
00:44:11
Speaker
um And then i think I could still see her at the emergency aid station. um And then, yeah, Sim was there as well. so um cool to get a little cheering boost from Sim at that spot. And then, um yeah, she told me I was about a minute back from her at that point.
00:44:32
Speaker
um And then after that, I think I just slowly kind of deteriorated because she sort of yeah, I didn't see her for a bit um and then came into like the forest bit at the very end with the single track. um And I still felt okay. I was like, I felt like I was moving well, um but I sort of had the stairs in the back of my mind. so I was like, okay, just don't go too hard, like save a bit for the stairs.
00:45:03
Speaker
um And then it got like super muddy and I think um just like the fatigue in my legs from going so hard on the downhill, like I started to feel it a little bit.
00:45:16
Speaker
And then Kui Ong Luong, Lil from China who was in the race, caught up to me with about two Ks to go, so just before Ferber. um And in my head, I was sort of like, oh, just let her go and then try and like push on the stairs to see if you can catch her.
00:45:44
Speaker
um And then I literally got to the stairs and I like i just had nothing. like I could hardly lift my legs on the stairs. like I wasn't cramping, but I just felt like my legs were like lead. um So then i was just yeah moving so slow. I felt like I was moving slower than in the 50K last year.
00:46:06
Speaker
um And then Liliana, who is actually from New Zealand but living in Sydney, called up to me about like halfway up the stairs um And she was like, how are you feeling? And I was like, I'm effed.
00:46:26
Speaker
And then she just, yeah, went past me. um And I just had nothing. i was like, okay, whatever, just get to the finish. um And, yeah, I must have really, really died because she ended up beating me by almost two minutes in like half a K. so Damn.
00:46:45
Speaker
um Yes, so that was second and third and then I was fourth in the end. Damn, yeah. And they're all pretty close times really in the end, like not not not huge gaps. So pretty cool to see. Like even back from you off bridge, it's only six minutes. um So, yeah, really cool to see, nice and tight. And that is the worst place to be racing people on Ferber Steps. i I was with someone in the 11 when I ran it last year for fun and it was the worst. yeah yeah um
00:47:15
Speaker
Yeah, so I had a bit of a chat after the race um with Lockie and Kate. I was super happy with it because um as like most of the listeners would know, I've been sort of struggling with stomach issues um for about a year now um in like every race I've done.
00:47:34
Speaker
Um, so this was like a huge breakthrough cause I didn't have any stomach issues, um, which was actually my main goal for the race. Um, because the stomach issues has actually been like affecting my training as well, like for about a year now, um,
00:47:51
Speaker
whenever I've tried to like push myself and get my heart rate up, I just vomit. So um that hasn't happened in the last few weeks leading up to UTA.
00:48:02
Speaker
um So I think, yeah, I'm super happy with like where I'm at now. Like I think I'm getting through that. um And yeah, I just think my fitness wasn't there. Like,
00:48:14
Speaker
I obviously didn't pace it very well, but I had that belief that I could run with Bridget, which is good. Like I'm proud of that. um But yeah, like I just haven't done the training to be strong in that um second half when I pushed the first half, um which is a little bit disappointing because like I like to be someone that finishes strong, but that's right. I tried something different and it didn't work. So. I'll take a few learnings away. um But yeah, i'm I'm super happy with where I'm at. And now OCC is next for me. So... I'll go into a bigger training block and hopefully get some more fitness under my belt. Awesome.
00:48:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's so cool to hear and it's so good to hear about the, especially like a pretty challenging start time eating wise as well with like 6.20. It's not like you've had much time to warm up and and get going. um Yeah. so And you're throwing nutrition at yourself and that sort of thing. Yeah. Yeah, it's awesome that you've been able to sort of get on top of it and hope it stays that way. yeah And yeah, it can't there's I'm pretty much sure most races I do, there's not many people like Blake. He's just making us all look bad, but most of us go too hard and don't pace that well. I just i just take it too easy maybe.
00:49:29
Speaker
Yeah, maybe you'd be faster if you went harder. Yeah, true. Oh, I could be the next Dan Jones. Yeah. I remember last year in the 50, like I had a similar race to you, like like I paced it really well in the first half and then like finished strong um and like overtook some people. So, yeah, I need just need to get back to that strategy, I think.
00:49:50
Speaker
It's always a better way to race when you're taking scalps. um The confidence it gives you yeah as well. Sorry, Jess, did you do any downhill-specific sessions leading into 22 specifically? Yeah.
00:50:03
Speaker
specifically ah Not really. Like, because of my stomach, um I kind of really pulled back on the long runs um and the sessions and things. I was doing a bit more cycling, which I think was good. Like, I think I was responding pretty well to that. Yeah.
00:50:21
Speaker
But, yeah, the stomach's just been the main focus. So as a week before the race, I actually did um a 4K kind of tempo uphill and then hard down.
00:50:33
Speaker
um So that was interesting. i i had like That was probably a harder session um than what I've done in the past, like a week out from the race. um But, yes yeah, I don't know. Maybe I just needed a bit more under the belt.
00:50:48
Speaker
Yeah, I think, yeah, i've what I've changed recently, I'm not saying it works for everyone, but a lot of people that do the what the muscular endurance training, as you hear now with the um Scott Johnson, is he the coach? I think so, where they're doing the uphill weighted hikes. But that downhill like training stimulus, I think i feel if you if you just keep that stimulus up ah regularly, that's that makes the legs like bulletproof almost. I think that's something that's worked for me personally, just the the focus on downhill running. um
00:51:26
Speaker
And then you're not so shocked, I suppose, when you're actually hitting the highest speeds and you're you're striding out further than you normally would, even in a flat session, because you're going downhill, generally hitting faster paces too.
00:51:39
Speaker
and um And then running up off it, I think that's that's definitely something that's worked for me, but it probably doesn't work for everyone. But, you can it definitely works yeah yeah definitely um yeah I think like in the block for OCC I'll definitely try and include a bit more of that I think I might change things up um so that I just do like sort of one fast session a week and then like a long run with a session in it um and then keep in like the cycling um and yeah just play around with that and see how that works
00:52:12
Speaker
Yeah, nice. And the like the downhill stuff is, yeah, that'd definitely be important for OCC because that's pretty healing. you've you've done yeah You've done OCC couple of times, Blake, or just once? I've done CCC in 2019 and later.
00:52:25
Speaker
um and occ two years ago. and yeah it's it's just different. Just the descents are a lot longer. um So you have your legs have to be ready to just run downhill for K upon K upon K and then just just go again because that's what they're used to over there. so Yeah, I think I didn't do a great deal of that downhill training, I don't think, before OCC or the Muscular Endurance style training, um but it definitely would have been helpful, yeah.
00:52:52
Speaker
Nice. Cool. Well, yeah, and well done, Jess, and um good to hear that the stomach was good and, yeah, all steam ahead to OCC. going to be exciting and a fun build. um Yeah. Cool. All right. Well, let's ah let's jump into the 100K.
00:53:08
Speaker
um So that one was also on the live stream, um particularly i didn't get up early to watch the start bit. Maybe there was a bit more then, but it was particularly on after the 50K had sort of finished up. That's when we got to see a bit more. um But, yeah, that was it was really fun to watch, um particularly, yeah through the aid stations and stuff. That's where we got a lot of the footage. um And, again, mostly focus on the leaders, but maybe we got to to see a few more of the position places.
00:53:41
Speaker
It was just... Flicking between results here. Sorry, it's just loading. So, in the women, um there was a really a battle all day, really, because they didn't really separate that much um between Katarina Dombrowska from Poland and Beth McKenzie. So, yeah, that was ah an ongoing battle. Beth, I think, was leading earlier on. Then I think it's Katarina.
00:54:08
Speaker
ah kess ah hope I'm saying that right. I'm going to say it's Katarina. I think that's how they were saying it on the live stream. um She passed Beth, I think, maybe around Katoomba.
00:54:19
Speaker
um And then she sort of stayed in front from there. But Beth was always... And she ended up five minutes back. So, Katerina ran 10.50.55 and then Beth ran 10.55.49. So, she didn't end up too far behind.
00:54:35
Speaker
um In third place was Emily Mann from Canada in 11 hours 24. Fourth place was Julia Grant from New Zealand in 11.37. And fifth place was Tamami Araia from Japan in 11 hours 38. So it was a very ah international top five. um If you count Beth being from the US, then Lou Clifton was the first Australian in sixth ah in 12 hours, 19. So it was really cool to see Lou. I feel like Lou's going to be running forever. She's such an impressive athlete. She's in the 50 to 54 category and she's still crushing. um So, yeah, cool shout out to to Lou there. did Did you guys see any action in the women's hundred k
00:55:23
Speaker
i No, I didn't get to see them. I saw the finish. um I think it was cool that Beth, because like Beth got overtaken um like with still a fair bit to go. So it was cool to see her like keep pushing um and just, yeah, not giving up because she wasn't that far behind Katarina in the end, like only five minutes or so. um Yeah, yeah, five minutes. Yeah, she definitely didn't give up. She was like, yeah, she continued to push, push, push.
00:55:54
Speaker
Yeah, she did have a few um things go wrong in her day. Like I think she went and she arrived at one cruise station and her family had got caught up with traffic.
00:56:05
Speaker
So um they weren't there when she got there and she sort of had to waste a bit of time like doing her own food and filling up her bottles and stuff. um But yeah, other than that,
00:56:19
Speaker
um yeah, that's that's all the context I have. Yeah, yeah. They got to finish in, I think the women were finishing in the daylight as well. Obviously, they ran pretty quick times and then this the slightly earlier start time. So they were still finishing in the daylight, which was cool to see. um But yeah, that's, yeah, Blake, I don't know if you were around at the finish, Blake, or if you saw anything else. You you were out there racing in the morning, probably recovering in the afternoon, maybe an anti-doping still.
00:56:46
Speaker
Yeah, anti-doping always takes longer than you want it to. No, i was i watching I was watching the live stream. I think I was heading home at that point. um and I was watching Katerina and at QVH in the A station and she, she looked like she wasn't traveling super well. She was sat down for a while and was like, it seemed like she was really taking her time. And I'm like, Oh, this, we could be on here for, for Beth to come in and overtake. Cause we're, we're claiming Beth. Are we not? I think so. Surely. um And yeah, yeah but I think she must have rallied Katerina and just, just was too strong at the end, but it looked like it was going to be a real showdown. But yeah,
00:57:26
Speaker
Yeah, it's just a little bit of a gap. Yeah, na nice, nice. Then in the men's race, um another, yeah, really cool race to watch um unfold. um Michael Dunstan took out the win in incredible time. He ran nine hours and four minutes, 19 seconds,
00:57:45
Speaker
It was really cool to see. he um He just looked like he had a day out there. And i love how Michael approaches the sport and how he talks about it and his approach. He's such a he' such a humble guy. And, yeah, it was really cool to see see him have a great day. And then his interview afterwards I really liked. so yeah. It was cool to see that. He didn't he was not leading at the start. he In his interview, he was saying how ah the rest of the field went out pretty pretty quick and he just felt like it was too fast for him. so He let let them go. um I'm not exactly sure who was in the pack, but I think... um Guido Quinn, the a Chinese athlete, he was ah definitely when I clocked onto the live stream, he was by himself and leading. But I think there was a couple of other guys that went with him at the start. I think he led...
00:58:38
Speaker
maybe till again about halfway. Um, and then he never really let, uh, Mikey get away. And Mikey always had the pressure of him, him being there. So, um, he finished in nine Oh nine 41. So just five minutes back. So, um,
00:58:55
Speaker
Very strong run from him as well. um And yeah, those two were a fair bit ahead of the rest of the field at the end of the day. um In third place was Adrian McDonald, who ran nine hours, 32, 47.
00:59:08
Speaker
And then another big gap back to George Knight, who ran nine hours, 56, 40 fourth. And then Rhett Gibson um showing another fantastic result. I feel like Rhett's always in the top five of the UT 100. He ran 10.04 to come in fifth um with the Matt Crean not too far behind him. And those two I feel like are always together. So cool to see those guys running again. But, yeah, it was it it was a cool race to watch. I think, unfortunately, Mike Carroll had to drop early. He um had, I think when I was speaking to him beforehand, after I did the preview actually, he um he hurt his ankle and I'm not sure I think it was an ankle roll or something like that. But, he yeah, it just he had he had a crack because he thought maybe he'd give it a shot because it seemed to be going okay in training. um But he got about, I think, 30 to 40K in and it just wasn't. wasn't happening so unfortunately he had to to pull out um but yeah that was sort of the the main things I saw in the men's field Benjamin Butler actually he was probably the other one of note he was up in the mix maybe in fourth at one point um looking like he was really going to contend in that top five unfortunately he
01:00:19
Speaker
uh, dropped back and we had Ben on a few months ago. So it was cool to see him. He's quite young, uh, in, I think he's in his early twenties. So cool to see him sort of fighting, unfortunately dropped off a little bit in the back end, but yeah, it was pretty between fifth and 10th was 16 minutes. So, uh, while the gaps were big at the front, the, the fight for fifth was on. Um, so yeah, there was a, there there was a few people in that battle, but yeah, that's, uh,
01:00:46
Speaker
Probably the main things I saw, did did did you guys see anything for the 100K of note? Another bit of random context was there was a rumour that um Adrian McDonald got kicked in the face by a kangaroo.
01:01:03
Speaker
is it is it is it Is that rumour being substantiated at all? No. I'm not sure. That's great. I love that. He did say something about kangaroos in his interview. I can't remember what he said, though. he said I think he said he saw some kangaroos, but I wasn't really listening fully. But um yeah, there we go. Well, if Adrian is listening, which is unlikely, and and he got kicked in the face by a kangaroo, which seems even more unlikely, please message in, Adrian. Let us know.
01:01:31
Speaker
love to Love to hear about it. well um But, yeah, is it was cool race. um Cool race to watch, some really quick times. Blake, any takeaways? Yeah, just Mikey always seems to pull these performances out of the bag, like like more than not really, doesn't he? He's just he just just that quiet achiever. I'm not really loudly outspoken either, but he he just gets on with the work and he just puts the training and he just turns out his results and it's just like, yeah.
01:02:04
Speaker
you just can't sleep on him. Yeah, definitely. And he's, he's a guy. I really like the way he approaches it because he, he focuses on a race that he wants to do. And then you don't really hear much from him. Like we do see a little bit, obviously he's doing his music and he posts some nice pictures of him running in the blue mountains, but like he's not at all races. He's not racing heaps. Like he's, he's locked in and he's, he's on that goal of what he wants to achieve. And obviously it was able to, for him lead to this really incredible performance. Um, And I think even he was a bit surprised by it. But, um yeah, I'm sure it would have been awesome for him on home soil up in the Blue Mountains and to have a really good day. Like, time-wise, I think similar to, like, what Mikey Demiantis did a few years ago. um Similar course, different though. So, I don't really know exactly how those two, like, apart from them being in the same ballpark. But we know that was ah an an awesome run from Mikey. So, yeah. two Mikeys having incredible UTA 100 races. um Maybe I need to change my name to Mikey and sign up for the hundred k in a few years. What you reckon? that's be good If you go no good, you just go with the old kangaroo to the face ah excuse. and Yeah, exactly. Happy days. Yeah, I got stuck in the ladder or something.
01:03:18
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Nice one. Cool. um All right. Let's move on to the ah UTA miler. So, yeah, and this one not on the live stream, but I was sort of following along with the live results and then some sort of stories and and posts by um UTA on social media, which was good. to help stay across it. um So in the women's category, ah Antonio, I, I, I, sheena, she was dominant. She was ah she had an incredible day. She was um
01:03:55
Speaker
I just get what she was overall um because she she was inside the top 10. She was sixth overall. um So, she yeah, she had a really great day. She was 19 hours 51 and and she she just looked unflappable all day. So did the other two. um They've got them in here as sort of like un unrepresented or sort of I don't know what they call the independent athletes, I guess. Um, I think the, the Russian athletes, um, she just, the other, the two guys who we'll talk about in a moment, but they, all three of them just looked so chill every time I saw them. Um, I'm sure they had their ups and downs and their low points, but, um, Yeah, looked fairly unflappable. um So, yeah, it was was really cool to see see that result. um And then Steph Austin was in second place in 22 hours 01. So a fantastic run from Steph. um Really cool to see there. She wasn't second all day, but she did sort of move into that point.
01:04:56
Speaker
ah relatively, yeah, I don't know exactly when it was, but I remember sort of seeing her in second for most of the day. um And then in third was Emma Timmis in 22 hours in 57.
01:05:10
Speaker
ah Fourth was Katie Wright in 23, 26, and fifth was Emily Brunt in 24, 37. um So, yeah, kudos to all of them for finishing. And anyone else who finished the miler, like tough race. Yeah.
01:05:26
Speaker
so Hard, yeah spending some time in the night. Yeah, so I actually paced Zoe Manning after my race. um And, yeah, unfortunately she was having a pretty rough day.
01:05:39
Speaker
um But, yeah, I got a bit of an insight to, like, how brutal the miler is and I just don't understand how people want to put themselves through that. Like it was pretty traumatic. But I probably saw the worst part, of the but the worst side of it. But, yeah, poor Zoe. She, she yeah, gave it a ah really strong fight. Like her knees had just given way um after about a hundred k Like she just couldn't run downhill. um she had to walk all of the downhills.
01:06:14
Speaker
Um, so she just called it day cause she didn't want to do too much physical damage to her body with still 60 K left to go. Um, yeah, but she's still super young, so I'm sure she'll get, get there one day. She's love long distances. So as long as she keeps that love for it, I'm sure she will.
01:06:35
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And she was she was in the mix of it early on as well. Like you were seeing a little bit of her on the social media and she looked like she was her normal self, just loving it. um So it was cool cool to see. And like i'm it's probably my physio bias, but I'm on the on the pulling out when you need to end of the spectrum um rather than I know in milers there's a bit of people being like, oh, you've got to push through the hard spots and and get to the finish. But yeah, I think – It's probably my physio side, but I think there's a time when you you do need to call it if you if you want to reboot and and get ready for the next one. um i guess it depends why you're doing it, but yeah. yeah
01:07:12
Speaker
Yeah, I mean her her parents were crewing, so they're both podiatrists. So I think um as soon as we said like she couldn't run downhill, they thought it was a good idea to call it because um like she'd run a hundred and seven k and i think if you called it there, like you could still sort of recover from the race and do something else in the second half of the year um without risking too much more injury.
01:07:40
Speaker
So, yeah. yeah Yeah, i'm ah I'm on the smart call end of that spectrum, but I'm sure people, different people might have different opinions, but um sorry to hear Zoe, but good to see you out there fighting and thanks to Jess for spending some time pacing her. I think, did she have a pacer dropout or something? and Because I know they were looking for some paces a bit late notice.
01:08:00
Speaker
Yeah, I think she had a pacer that got injured. um Okay. So then the the plan was to kind of split it up um for the last section. But, yeah, we sort of – I was the only one that sort of ran with her and then, yeah, unfortunately had to stop.
01:08:16
Speaker
yeah Yeah, okay. um ah Blake, did you see any of this? I guess you would have been sort of preparing for for your race, but i'm I'm not sure how much you were able to see from the miler.
01:08:27
Speaker
No, I watched a little bit of the live stream um just take my mind off my own race mostly. It wasn't a i didn't yeah it wasn't a great deal to gain from it. the The leaders were the leaders, right, of the men and women's race. They looked comfortable time you saw them. You're right, exactly what you were saying. They just came in and they were moving quick it looked like too. like I'm like that's a different level but they don't interest me, that kind of that kind of long distance ah race. So I don't think, yeah, I'll be experiencing any of that anytime soon. It's pretty grim like seeing them the next day still going and then like you would have overtaken some in your race, Blake. Oh, yeah. Well, like pretty much overtaken them all day. And I like i was like amazed. I'm like, these people are just like honestly troopers. Like just keep going and go. Like who knows? I don't even know what the cutoff was but it's like 35 plus hours.
01:09:20
Speaker
But, you know, i like getting out there and i was I was thinking to myself and I was speaking to my my my dad too. I'm like, what the why bother? Like what's the point? And he's like, you know what? you know They're out there doing something. They could be doing something much worse, you know, at least they're out there having a go. And I'm like, that's a great way to frame it. You know, just get out there and just push yourself.
01:09:38
Speaker
And maybe one day I'll get to that point. But no, off geez, no time soon. Definitely. It's definitely a journey. The final finisher did 45 hours. so Shout out to Andy Tang for getting it done. 45 hours. that's crazy.
01:09:55
Speaker
So good. Yeah. The, um, yeah, that I think watching the lead guys, I was like, yeah, definitely shouldn't do They look like they're running as quick as I run in a, as in a 50 K and they're doing it for a hundred miles. So not only does it look grim, but I don't think I can ever compete with that level. Like they just, like you said, they look like they were going so fast. So, yeah, the two Alexys were running mostly side-by-side for what I was watching, but at some point they did break up and Alexey Tolstenko took the win in 17 and 38 minutes. Alexey Beresnev came second in 17 hours and 44 minutes, so just 5 minutes 41 back. So, yeah.
01:10:36
Speaker
came second in seventeen hours and forty four minutes so just five minutes forty one back so Pretty close given it was a miler, but they did, yeah, they they ran probably a good sort of 60K, 100K together most of the time when I was looking at the socials, they were together.
01:10:52
Speaker
um Chris Lenke was in third for probably most of the race um or at least third or fourth. So he had a really good day as well. He ran... 18 hours and 34 minutes. um So, yeah, really impressive run from Chris.
01:11:09
Speaker
ah Fourth was Piotr Babas, who we're talking about before. He ran 19 hours and four. So, ah still got into that top five. And Fabien Desanois, sorry, Fabien, from France, he came fifth and 19 41. So,
01:11:28
Speaker
Yeah, a bit of a spread across the top five, but um yeah, then it was actually pretty close for between five and ten. So yeah, it sort of shows the level of those those top two guys and and a great run from Chris as well. So yeah, that was the miler's men. i I don't know if you guys have anything to add there. Just that I suppose it's a ah wouldn't and a nice way to get into UTMB being the major. If you can run a miler, it doesn't seem like, yeah, there's people competing, but top ten I suppose.
01:11:58
Speaker
If you think you can run a miler, then there you go into UTMB. Yep. Yep. Yep. And then, yeah, there's those age group entries as well. So there's the the double the double way of getting in. So, yeah, it's cool way to potentially make your way over to Chamonix.
01:12:16
Speaker
um Awesome. That was UTA. I'll just quickly, because I want to give the 11K a tiny a little bit of love, but In the UTA11, usually the younger runners doing that one, which is cool to see. And often a lot of Blue Mountains locals winning that. And I think that was the case this year. In the men's category, Odin Brennan took out the win ah in fifty eight ten Alton Freeman came second in 59-53. And those two are both in the sixteen to seventeen category. And William Corlett was third in 101 in the...
01:12:53
Speaker
women's We had Lulu Green in first in 1 hour 15.27, also 16 to 17 category. And then Regina jo han Johansson in 1 17.13 and Ruth Eagles in 1 hour 17.52.
01:13:13
Speaker
So that was the 11K, which was on the Thursday. And that pretty much sums up UTA. We talked to quite a bit, but ah it was a big weekend. out. Quick shout out to Lockie from Flow State for winning his age group in the 11K.
01:13:29
Speaker
Nice one. I'd love to. he win that He wins the old man's category. That's what I won last year as well. Someone commented. i saw it because i was looking at some segments to try and when I was doing the prep and someone had commented on my Strava saying they won the old man's race. So well done, Lockie. Good work. it's ah It's a hard race to win. So well done.
01:13:48
Speaker
Was your category like 20 to 34? I think so. That's, yeah. pretty much i think I think everyone else in the, I think Lockie may have been in the next one up. I think he might be 35. I'm not sure. 35 to 39. Yeah.
01:14:01
Speaker
But yeah, everyone in the top, I think pretty much everyone else in the top 10 except for one person was in the all the categories below me. So even if I'd come like ninth. So yeah, it's definitely the juniors race. It's cool to see so many Blue Mountains locals getting out there and loving it.
Brodie's Recovery Journey
01:14:15
Speaker
So Yeah, it's a pretty, I like to give it it give it a bit of a shout out because some definitely a cool part of the weekend.
01:14:21
Speaker
All right. That's ah most of the episode today, but we're going to go through a couple of other results. Oh, what about, how are you going Brodie?
01:14:32
Speaker
Give us a big update on your status of recovery. Sorry, I'm having a mild coughing fit still, which is it's summing up where I'm currently at. um Yeah, I had an orthopedic appointment today actually and i the fracture is all healed well and they're not any concerns about that. So that's the first sort of hurdle ticked that I didn't really know where I was at um with that one. I sort of assumed that would be the case, but it's nice to sort of get the confirmation.
01:15:03
Speaker
And now, yeah, full focus can essentially be on the Achilles. Like the fracture will still sort of affect the rehab to some extent, but I don't have to worry about the healing of it. It's all sort of looking very good. um So, yeah, I'm ah down to one heel wedge in my cam boot.
01:15:21
Speaker
I got the cam boot on for another two weeks and then I'll slowly come out of it after that. So, yeah, it's nice to be a bit more mobile. I can get around, technically get around without crutches now. I'll still sort of probably use them a little bit so ah to help with like longer walks. But, um yeah, for short stuff and around the house, I don't have to use the crutches, um which makes life a little bit easier.
01:15:48
Speaker
And once I get out of the cam boot, I can get back to work, which will be nice. um Get back to normal programming a bit. um Definitely have found... the last six weeks challenging, um mental health wise, for sure. And it's ah it's nice to sort of, like, obviously, that's tough, but it's also good to like, for me to reflect on that and figure out like, what are the things that I usually do to make my mental health good, because my mental health generally is very good. um and Like, obviously, everyone has their ups and downs, but
01:16:20
Speaker
mine's over the last few years has generally been pretty good but um I think routine is one thing that is really beneficial for me and and obviously exercise is is one thing that I've done my whole life that has definitely contributed to my mental health so yeah I've tried to sort of implement those two things back in as much as I can over the last couple of weeks to try and regulate that a bit but um Yeah, it's it's been all right.
01:16:46
Speaker
I'm feeling a lot better now and and getting, and and I think every day from here gets a bit a bit easier. So yeah, looking forward to the coming months um and yeah, hopefully getting back to doing a run in maybe, I think it's going to be August or something, but I'm looking forward to that. At the moment, I'm going to try and jump on the bike a little bit at the gym and stuff. So I'll get a little bit of aerobic work.
01:17:11
Speaker
Yeah, nice. have you been able top sorry Have you been able to do any activity um in the past six weeks just to keep you moving? Like I've been in this like similar position, we're talking about mental health, when you get injured and you just, that's it, yeah you pretty much stop.
01:17:28
Speaker
Like if you can't work, you can't exercise, like that's that's what's your outlet. um Now, I've talked about it before, but I have different outlets now. um But it was really hard dealing with it um back when I was a few years ago and I was injured.
01:17:44
Speaker
i was in the same boat as you um and I didn't deal with it very well. But have you been able to to find find that something else? but You talk about your routine and exercise. Have you been able to to do something? Yeah, like i this work this like i've I've had many injuries, and and and ah but mostly the sort of more like more chronic ones. It sort of stopped you doing your regular routine, which definitely, your regular training, which definitely affect your mental health. But this one is the most severe in terms of like its limitations. So i couldn't really do anything for four weeks. Yeah.
01:18:18
Speaker
i could do maybe a little i i probably went to the gym the first time at about three three and a half weeks to do just some like machine upper limb stuff just so i could do something um but i couldn't really do any sort of weight bearing type stuff so i couldn't i was very limited in the gym and i couldn't really do any aerobic i wasn't allowed to do the the bike yet so i'm gonna have a little coughing fit and i'll be back that's fair enough you Doesn't look in a healthy way. That's all right. We can we can cut that bit. I'll send it to Sim. um Yeah, so i yeah I was able to start riding a bike a little bit ah at the exercise bike after four weeks and I've done a little bit and then I got sick. So i was a bit limited.
01:19:04
Speaker
But yeah, i think for me, it was more the routine. Like I'm, uh, when I, at least sort of three days a week, I work at the hospital and I just, like, I talk to like 50 people. It's very active, very engaging. um I'm on my feet as well. And like,
01:19:19
Speaker
Missing that was really hard. And then the other thing is like, we only, me and my partner only have one vehicle. So, um, I usually ride everywhere and I couldn't ride. I still can't ride my bike. I can ride on a ah fixed bike, but not on a, not on like an outside bike. Um, so i couldn't like go anywhere and I probably should have utilized public transport a little bit more and just got out a bit. Um, luckily I had some friends who came and visited me. Like, uh, Kate had like, she'd usually have like at least once, twice a week coffee with me, which was amazing to sort of get out and have a chat to someone. And I caught up with other friends as well, but like obviously everyone's working Monday to Friday. So it's a bit hard to, to do that heaps. Um, yeah.
01:20:01
Speaker
But yeah, I ah probably should have got out and about a little bit more, but I i sort of just just stayed at home and I had some work, some sort of online work to do. But ah yeah, I think just the... I'm a very extroverted person. So like having contact with other humans, I sort of missed. And I think at some point that hits crisis point and you don't know until it sort of hits you. But I think, yeah, definitely something to to think about future. But like, yeah, my main takeaway is...
01:20:29
Speaker
I guess sort of like, yeah, lean on you lean on your friends to help you out. That's the sort of the thing with this. With mental health is everyone's happy to help when they, if you if you if you sort of let them know that you need a little bit of help and people are happy to help. So, yeah, it's ah been interesting for sure. Like definitely the most immobilizing injury I've ever had. So I've learnt i've learned a lot from that.
01:20:52
Speaker
Yeah, hopefully on the up. Yeah, it sounds really hard, but I think, yeah, you've gotten through the hardest part now. and I know you've still got a way to go, but yeah, I think you'll get through it. And the more mobile you can be, the better it'll get. um So it'll make you very grateful for exercise and running once you can eventually get back to it.
01:21:16
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. I've been for like just a couple of walks outside and I'm like, oh, how good is being outside? It's just, yeah, it's really interesting. So the only other time I've ever had this sort of thing is like in COVID in the lockdowns when we were so limited from going outside. And I remember that appreciation for being able to go outside. And then the first time that you went back on the trails and the first time you drove an hour to go on the trails, like there were such big moments. And I'm sort of looking forward to that because it's going to happen again. I'm going to be able to like Be like, oh, yeah, first run outside or first ride outside and then I can first time I can sort of run on an easy trail and then hopefully and it's probably going to be a little while down the track. But first time I can run on like a technical hard trail on a bit of a downhill or something like that. So. Yeah, I'm looking forward to those things because I think that's like the reason we run, isn't it? so like We talk a lot about results always. it was like this This podcast, we talk a lot about the elite side, which is cool and I love that side. But like the main reason we we do all this is so we can get out in nature and and and and and enjoy it. and sort of yeah It's so so refreshing and awesome to...
01:22:21
Speaker
breathe in the deep air and listen to the birds and that sort of stuff. Like it's actually, it sounds silly, but it's actually so good. And ah I've sort of like had, it's so funny, I had this like weird dream about running in the Dandenongs a few weeks ago and I was like, you can tell that I'm missing it because my brain's just like creating it in my dreams.
01:22:37
Speaker
um So yeah, looking forward to getting back out there in in in a few months. So
International Race Highlights
01:22:42
Speaker
well, a few, a few a few months, but yeah, it'll all happen step by step. Yeah, nice. Yeah, yeah, we appreciate it and we we learn to not take it for granted.
01:22:50
Speaker
Yep. Definitely. um All right. Well, let's move into the rest of the results and then we'll finish up for this week.
01:23:01
Speaker
um So the first one is probably like the big international result from the weekend, which was the Zagama race over in Spain. It was the first round of the Golden Trail World Series. It was on yesterday on Sunday.
01:23:16
Speaker
um so yeah, it looked like pretty tough conditions, very muddy. I've already seen a few videos of people slip and sliding down a pretty difficult um slope and like most of the best runners as well. So it sounded like it was like that for everyone. um So that looked really tough. um And, yeah, still some really quick times. um Probably like the highlight has to be um Tove Alec Sanderson winning ah the females the women's race.
01:23:45
Speaker
um She ran a new course record 408-09, which was eight minutes faster than the previous record and she was 16 minutes clear of second uh who was marlon ah osa um so yeah incredible run there and i think i've i've read somewhere that in an interview she thinks that someone can go faster um because obviously the conditions weren't optimal so yeah that was crazy did you guys see any of the stuff about zagama for the for tove's run or the women's race
01:24:18
Speaker
Yes. um Yeah, it just looked like she was so strong. Actually, what I found was interesting was I thought she was the only female using poles in the top five. Yeah, okay.
01:24:31
Speaker
Yeah, I didn't actually, unfortunately, i didn't watch I usually watch the Golden Trail series, but it's on Flow Sports in Australia and I didn't want to pay for another subscription. So, I've mostly just sort of watched recap stuff. So, I haven't seen much of the details, but yeah, that's interesting.
01:24:48
Speaker
Yeah. She's a skier. She does quite a bit of skiing, so she'll definitely be experienced with the poles. Like she's a pretty good skimo athlete. um So, she's yeah, she'll definitely be. um and But I saw a couple of the guys with it, so obviously some people, but not everyone having them. Yeah.
01:25:07
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. um Because I guess some of the – yeah, most of the people in that race have done it a few times, so you'd think they would know whether poles or no poles was – the way to go, but maybe it does come down to a personal preference. Yeah, and potentially the conditions also affected it to some extent. Like maybe if they go back and do it again, they would take poles because I imagine in the slippy mud, having poles would be pretty beneficial as well. So maybe that's that contributed to her great performance as well. But um yeah, solid solid run there. In the men's race, Elazine Alazahal was the winner. um He's been on a tear in Golden Trail World Series over the last few years. so
01:25:51
Speaker
wasn't super surprising, but a pretty good pretty good ah time. And probably what was really interesting for me was Daniel Patis from Italy. He was in second, um and he was only about 20 seconds back. And he he's he's definitely been in the mix in top 10 players.
01:26:08
Speaker
even top five in Golden Trail World Series races and sky running races. But I think like being that close to Elazine on Adzegama, I think for me, from what I've seen of Daniel in the past, looks like he's sort of best performance. So yeah, that was really cool to see in it.
01:26:26
Speaker
Really strong field because even like Tove's run was incredible. She, I think, was somewhere inside the top 20. And Killian ran four hours, 15 or something, didn't have a great race and came like 43rd. Like it Zagama's a really deep race. So, yeah, strong running from Daniel there um and Elazine always good. So, yeah, it's cool to see the results from there.
01:26:50
Speaker
um Closer to home,
Local Races & Community Engagement
01:26:52
Speaker
we had Westmax Monster in ah Alice Springs. I'll just go through ah the winners. So in the two hundred and thirty one k the Sonda Monster, the full distance, I think, ah the winner was Mathieu Pangrazi in 45 hours.
01:27:19
Speaker
ah And the first female was Felicity Pigeon Fong in 56 hours. And she was also third outright. So nice running there. That was the full distance in the Thomas was first in 2117.
01:27:33
Speaker
And the women, Becca Lunnan was first in 2518. and in the women becca londonnan was first in twenty five eighteen And we'll do the 65K.
01:27:47
Speaker
The winner in the men's was Julian Hocking in 7 hours 56. And in the women, Petra Mellis Walsh in 8 hours 50. And then there was a 25K, but there's two here. We'll do this one.
01:28:03
Speaker
The winner was Jonathan Lanyon in 2 hours 39 and in the women, Renee Heimgartner in 2 hours 50. So that was Wes Max.
01:28:18
Speaker
Uh... I will do Great Ocean Road as well. So Great Ocean Road Marathon – Great Ocean Road Running Festival ah is mostly road races, but there is trail run.
01:28:31
Speaker
ah So the winner of that 12K trail run was Hayden Morrow in 5709. Pretty close because in second was Zach Anderson in 5720.
01:28:43
Speaker
twenty And third, well-named to the podcast, David Bailey in 5806. So some strong running there. And in the women, I'll just flick to, oh, yep, there it is. ah Melanie Townsend was first in 102.25.
01:29:02
Speaker
Second was Camille Hudson in 107.04. And third was Hole in 108.47. I'll give the winner of the ultra marathon ah was Corey Milner in the men's in 402.25. And then in the women's was katherine h Then it's got a divide sign, so I'm not sure what that is. But, catherine ah sorry, Katharina in 5.06.36 and in the marathon, which is slightly longer than a marathon, Dion Fanacchio. I think this is sort of the biggest race of the weekend.
01:29:45
Speaker
and Dion Fanacchio was first. In two hours 32 and in the women, Mareem Dow was first in two hours 57.
01:29:56
Speaker
Jess, do you want to give us the Run Her Lake Manchester trail run? Yeah. um So this is a cool one. It was a women's only race up in Queensland um and they had three different distances. um So the 21, the 10 and the the we had Katie in first place in one hour and then we had taure carum in one hour 59 and then Sarah Delassi in two hours flat.
01:30:30
Speaker
So a pretty close race there. um And then in the 10K we had Esther Cahill in first place in 52.39, Adina second place and Celeste in thirty seven taking up third And then lastly, in the 4.4, we had Mia Simmons in first place in 28.30, Lucy McDonald in second in 29.32, and Elizabeth Whelan in third in 30 hours flat.
01:31:09
Speaker
Cool. Yeah, cool race up there. Yeah, i didn't and I don't know much about it, but um yeah, definitely one that sounds pretty cool. And I don't think there's many women's only races in Australia. um There used to be like the Commons Fun Run down in Melbourne, but think they allow men now in that one.
01:31:31
Speaker
um Yeah, I can't say I know of any. So yeah, cool to see that there's that opportunity up there. And just quickly, we also had a friend of the show, Sarah Ludo, dabbling in a road race for the first time in a few years.
01:31:49
Speaker
um And she ran a very strong PB, in which was one hour and 19, on a little bit of a healy course. I wouldn't say it's totally flat.
01:32:00
Speaker
And that placed her first female in six overall. So, yeah. That was in the Canberra runners half. um So yeah, well done to Sarah. Yeah, I saw that. I was like, wow, that's a quick time. She's getting close to my PB, so I'm going to have to go out and do do a half marathon. Awesome to see ah trail runners sort of getting it done on the roads as well.
01:32:23
Speaker
um All right, well, that's ah yeah that's all the results for this week. Obviously, UTA was ah was one of the main races on this week and not a heap of other stuff happening, um but we're back to regular, ah very full calendar for the next weekend. So there's a lot of races happening around the country. ah We've got Magnetic magnetic Island Two Bays Trail Run in Townsville, Sid Res Back to Front Yard Ultra.
01:32:49
Speaker
So I think it's a Backyard Ultra ah in WA. um Run the Gap in Halls Gap in Victoria, the Douglas Dash in Queensland, the Great Train Race down in Tasmania, Albury Rangers Trail Run in Albury, which I think is the next ah the second of the Riverina Trail Running Series.
01:33:10
Speaker
South Bremer Trails in South Australia and Trails and Tails in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, which I think is the dog-friendly or the run with your dog race. So cool to see that.
01:33:24
Speaker
Lots happening still across the country. I think as we see in this time of year, I think the the racing scene slowly shifts more northward. We see more New South Wales and Queensland races. It starts to get busy up on the Queensland calendar, I reckon, over the next few months. Yeah.
01:33:42
Speaker
yeah cool to see and uh yeah we'll check in with some of those results next week blake thank you so much for joining us it's been awesome to hear from you um good to get a bit of an update about what's been happening since last time and great running over the weekend um and jess also great running over the weekend thanks for giving us good recap thank you and good to hear you're on the up yeah Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me once more. I hope I didn't waffle on too much. But yeah, good to catch up.
01:34:10
Speaker
I didn't see you the weekend, Brodie. And Jess, I didn't catch up with you either in person, I don't think. um But yeah, it was good to catch up with everyone in the community. like That's UCA. That's one big thing about it. ah Just everyone's there. And it's just good to just say hi to to everyone from from back back in the back in the day, people you've raced with, people you've met, and new friends too. Yeah, definitely. And thanks, Jess. Sorry, i was I was giving a break for Blake to jump in because he's a bit delayed to me, but I didn't. ah Thank you for your for your yeah your comments. I wasn't ignoring them. um
01:34:43
Speaker
Everyone, there's going to, well, for our Patreons, there's going to be actually a separate Patreon-only show this week with... Simone and Vlad, possibly James, doing a bit more of a deep dive on UTA from their perspective. So ah Patreons can hear that over on Patreon. If anyone wants to hear that, you can join over at patreon.com, I believe.
01:35:07
Speaker
And yeah, we'll see you all next week. Thanks for listening. Thanks, guys. See you.