Hutt River Trails 60km ultra marathon 2019 – done and dusted

This was to be my second attempt at this race. The first attempt didn’t go too well really. Whilst I completed the distance, it was really, really hard and I shambled across the finish line like an old man on his last legs. Mostly because I was an old man on his last legs. It was one of the hottest days of summer that year with no wind. The sun was merciless, and I really struggled in the heat.

I was also struggling to breathe, again. From the 20km mark, my heart rate soared and I just couldn’t seem to take a deep enough breath. I struggled on, getting slower and slower. I ended up walking most of the last 20kms.

But this is a new year and I have worked really hard over the last 12 months to be fitter, stronger, faster. I’ve also worked on my running form, my gear and my race strategy. I spent a lot of time finding out how my body works best and then tailoring my training to that.

This time I was going to do well. I was sure of it.

The weather on race day was much more conducive to running. Instead of temperatures in the 30s, it was in the low 20s. We had a bit of a southerly breeze which helped keep the ambient temperature down, as well as some good cloud cover, so you didn’t have the sun beating down relentlessly all day.

The day started at 3am. I got up, had a cup of tea but no breakfast. I was still full from dinner the night before. In fact I still felt a bit over full. But I was sure that would sort itself out in time for the race to start.

I got on the road out to Petone and the finish line, where I would pick up my race bib, park the car (under a tree so it wouldn’t be super hot after the race. Thinking ahead  ). I was nice and early, which gave me plenty of time to get myself sorted and be ready for the van that would take us all out to the start line, 60kms away.

The van filled up and we all chatted away until the driver got in and we set off. The rest of the ride was done in almost silence as everyone zoned into the day and mentally prepared for the challenge ahead.
It didn’t take all that long and we were over the Rimutaka Hill and heading down towards Lake Ferry and the start line. As we arrived, instead of stopping, the driver turned up the road that we should be running on and carried on driving, to some quizzical looks from the runners who had done this race before.

We arrived at the road end and the driver let us out. It turned out that he had driven us this far into the course so we could use the toilet located where the single track starts. Nice. I was grateful for that as I had more of last night’s dinner that was finished being processed and was ready for export.

Thirteen of us not-quite-sane people lined up to take on the ultra challenge. Not a large field, and looking around at their fitness, I was pretty sure there was no-one here that I could beat. So I resigned myself to being last again.

I wasn’t too worried about that. My goal was to have a good race, one where I ran well and felt good. One that would test my level of fitness and see if the changes I’d made in my training were in fact making a difference.

My race plan was very simple, based on previous experience in racing and training. I know my body is good for about 30kms of good solid running. After that, the wheels fall off. It doesn’t seem to matter if I run hard, or run slow. At around 30kms everything seems to suddenly get harder. It’s not like hitting the wall. I don’t run fast enough for that to happen. It just seems that this is the limit for my body to feel comfortable running. Everything after that is uncomfortable.

Last year my strategy was to keep my heart rate below 150bpm. I wore my heart rate monitor and keep a good check on what was going on and changed my pace accordingly. I ran slowly for the first 20kms and then the wheels fell off.

This year I decided to run as hard as I could for the first 30kms, and then deal with the inevitable slowdown after that. I knew I’d end up walking lots in the later stages of the race no matter what I did in the first half, so covering as much ground as fast as I could while I could still run made sense to me.
So we all lined up and waited to be set off. We didn’t have to wait long. I was filming the group as the countdown started and then tucked into the pack as they surged forward. I had worked hard over the last year on starting fast. For my training runs, I’d head out the door and go straight into my comfortable running pace. This was to train my body to adapt more quickly to the run and hopefully stop the issues of over-cooking at the start in a race.

That seemed to work well, as by the time I had put the camera away I found myself tucked in behind Ange in about 5th place. That was when I discovered that I’d neglected to start my watch. Doh! So my race time and the official race time will be a bit different (about 2 minutes).

Ange was keeping a really good pace, so I used her as a pacer and tried to keep on her tail as we wound along the trail to Cross Creek station – the old railway station from which the climb starts for real. We had a good gap on the runners behind us and I was feeling good and strong at this point.

As the trail widened out I found myself running beside Ange for a bit and then slowly I overtook her as my hill training paid big dividends. At this stage I was feeling really good about how things were going. I was pushing hard, but nothing was hurting and there were no alarm bells being rung (yet).

I got to the Siberia washout and crossed the little stream before walking up the other side. I could have run it, but it is steep, slippery and loose. I didn’t need to push and make a mistake at this point, so I applied a bit of caution, and took a moment to recover a bit of breath.

At the top of the wee climb I stopped to film the other runners just behind us, and then film Ange running up the track, looking strong. She called out as she ran past – “Got a light?” gesturing to the old railway tunnel that we now had to run through. I did indeed have a light.

So we ran side by side through the tunnel with me shining the light from my head torch in the middle so we could both see where we were running. I stayed with her for the next section instead of trying to pull away again, so she’d have light for the next big tunnel at the summit.

Again we pounded along side by side through the darkness. Just as we left the tunnel, the runners behind us entered – just 800 meters behind.

That was to top gained. It was all downhill from here to the finish (well, mostly downhill).

Last year it took me 1:11 to get to the top and I was already having issues with my right leg. This year I was feeling fine and it had taken 50 minutes. I was already 20 minutes ahead.

I ran with Ange for a bit and then, again I pulled away stretching my legs and pushing hard. The next tunnel was a short one and I was sure she’d be fine without a torch. I felt a bit guilty about it though. But this is a race right? As I thought about why Ange had neglected to bring a light with her it dawned on me that she is fast – like, really fast. So she is used to finishing in daylight. I’m used to finishing in darkness after everyone else has gone home. So I always need a light.

The first of the runners chasing us down, caught up and passed us just before the next tunnel. Ange was not far behind, so I paused for a bit and we took the last tunnel together. I felt better about myself for doing that.

I was still feeling good and managed to keep pace with her for almost all of the way down to the end. She managed to get away from me when I stopped for a wee, and I didn’t see her again until the finish.

She would go on to be the first female finisher and 5th overall. An amazing and fantastic effort for her first ultra marathon.

I hit the bottom of the Rail Trail still pushing hard, and was cheered on by Gareth and Stu from WUU2K fame. They are such lovely people and it felt really good to have them cheering for me - to have people that you sort-of know waving and shouting. They were here to crew for Ange and had stuck around for a few minutes after she’d run through.

It would have been nice to stop and refill my water and have a quick chat, but I forced myself to blast through, knowing that stopping now would interrupt the flow and I’d struggle to get it back again.

I now had 42kms to go.

Last year it had taken me 2:16 to complete the first section of the course. This year it took 1:44. I was now over half an hour ahead.

I carried on down towards Tunnel Gully still pushing hard. I was very happy with the way the race was going so far. Last year at this point my lungs gave out and I was struggling to run for more than 100 metres at a time. This was where I got passed by a guy walking the entire distance as I stopped yet again to take some stones out of my shoes, and never saw him again.

This year however I was still going strong. I was determined to try and get to the 30km mark in under 3 hours. It was a big dream, one that I knew was probably not attainable. But if you don’t aim high you’ll never achieve the impossible. I was now in 6th place with no-one in sight behind me. But I knew they were there, running me down as best they could.

I hit the aid station at about 20kms and stopped to refill my water. That cost me two places as a couple of guys passed me. Undeterred, I put my foot down and carried on pushing as hard as I could. By now the sun was up and the temperature was rising. I needed to cover as much of the course as possible before it became too hot for me to run hard.

I hit the aid station at around 30kms and stopped to go to the loo again. This is somewhat unusual for me as I don’t tend to need to go to the toilet during a race. I exited in time to be passed by more runners.

I checked my time and it was 2:57. I’d done it. I was very happy with that. No matter how the rest of the day panned out, I’d achieved that first big goal. Last year it had taken me 3:53 to get to the same point. I was now 1 hour ahead.

All I needed to do was push hard for as long as I could and I should make it to the end in time for prize-giving at 2pm. That was my next big goal.

I walked the next kilometre to get a bit of recovery and to text a progress update to family. Then it was time to get back into it.

But I had lost my momentum, and the best I could pull off was a jog. So I carried on up the road for a bit. But that wasn’t right. We were supposed to be on the river trail, not on the footpath. I’d missed a turn somewhere while I was looking at my phone. Bugger. So much for having a good day out!

I walked a bit trying to figure out where I’d gone wrong and what to do next. As I passed a park I thought, if I head down towards the river I should be able to hook up with the river trail again and get back on track.

So I ran into the park looking for the path to take me down to the river. But there were paths everywhere and I didn’t know which one to take to get me where I needed to be. I got my phone out and checked the map. The road would eventually lead to a bridge over the river and from there I’d be able to pick the river trail up again. So I headed back up the hill to the road.

This little excursion had cost me some time and effort and no small amount of anxiety. But what’s done is done and I just needed to carry on until I could find the trail again. Either way I’d still have to run all the way down to the finish line so I could drive home.

As the road turned towards the bridge I spotted one of the trail markers and felt a sense of relief. I wasn’t off track at all. I knew they’d had to put in some diversions because of track maintenance, but I hadn’t thought the diversions were quite this long.

Happy again, I ran down under the bridge as directed by the marshal and got stuck back in to running for the finish line.

A quick check on my time gave me an opportunity for an impromptu goal. My best marathon time is 4:34 set last year at the Wellington Marathon. That’s a flat course run on the road. If I could just keep my pace up there was a chance I could beat that time today.

So I put my head down and pushed hard. But it was getting more and more difficult to maintain my pace. I could only run for about 250 meters before I’d have to stop and walk for a bit – maybe 50 meters, and then go again. My legs seemed to be fine, but once again my lungs were just not up to the task. It was not nearly as bad as last year, but it is still a weakness I have to work on.

I hit the 42k mark and checked my time – 4:35. I was too slow by a bit more than a minute. You might think I’d be disappointed by that. But I wasn’t. I was ecstatic. I had just (nearly) equalled my best road marathon time running on trails, with the first 8kms being an uphill grind. To me, that is a massive improvement that makes me think the Wellington Marathon this year will be a very different experience.

It was time for another walk break and to send the good news out to my family. I was having a good day out.

That didn’t mean I was suddenly running faster however. I was still struggling to keep going despite my legs not feeling too bad. I had some minor discomfort, but nothing you would describe as pain. I had a blister on one foot that was more annoying than painful. My legs muscles felt – “heavy”. I’m not sure how best to describe it. I could feel they were fatigued, but I had no pain or stiffness. Everything seemed to be working quite well. My feet were a bit sore, but nothing like last year. The Hokas were doing their job well.

The sun was out now and things really started to heat up. I hit a water station and went to refill my water bottle. The old guy manning the station told me to go and fill up from the tap in the toilets because he didn’t have much water left in the 20 litre container.

I’m not sure who he was saving the water for – runners perhaps. Given that I was pretty much last (there were a couple of people doing the marathon walk behind me) I’m pretty sure he would have had enough to go round.

I still had plenty of water on board, so I carried on to the next aid station. I fished out my headphones, plugged in my mp3 player and enjoyed a couple of episodes of the No such thing as a fish podcast. I’ve found it to be a really good way of passing the time so you’re not focused on just how slow you’re running.

The next big milestone was 50kms. It seemed to take ages to turn up. But as with all things, if you keep going you’ll get there eventually. Again there was a difference between my times from last year and this year. Last year I staggered past the 50km mark in a time of 7:31. This year I was still moving at a jog and my watch told the story – 5:53. Nearly 1 hour and 40 minutes ahead. I was still picking up time even though I felt like I was crawling.

I carried on running and walking, trying to make the running sections longer, with little success. By now I hadn’t seen any other runners for ages, which surprised me. The marathon had started after I came through their starting point. I’d seen a bunch of people getting ready as I ran through. I had expected a flood of people to come past me at some point.

It turned out that there were about as many marathon runners as ultra runners. So the small field had passed me at around the 30-40 km mark.

I hit a section of track that I remembered from last year and knew the end was not far off. Then it was up onto the river stop bank as I ran through the golf course, keeping an eye out for errant golf balls.

At the road I was directed under the bridge and up the other side by the marshal and I thanked her with a smile. I knew where I was going and I knew it wouldn’t take me long to get there. I was passed by another runner just on the other side. I’m not sure if he was doing the ultra or not. He pointed out that we were supposed to run along the boardwalk instead of heading back up to the road (as I’d done last year). So followed him as we made our way into the Hikoikoi Reserve where the finish line beckoned us.

He got away from me as I stopped to take off my headphones and put them away. The No such thing as a fish episode had finished and it seemed a good time to pack them away. They’d done a good job of getting me this far, I could handle the last section on my own.

Then I ran as best as I could, looking for the crowd at the finish line. I was sure I would be in time for prize-giving so there should be a large crown of runners and supporters gathered. I could see off in the distance some kids playing near a coned off section of a sports field and figured I had to run past them, through a narrow bit and then I’d see the finish.

I put my head down, determined to keep running this last stretch.

I looked up just in time to see a course arrow pointing to my right – to the roped of section where the kids were playing. It was the finish line and I’d nearly run right past it!

With a huge sense of relief I ran down the small hill and pushed on towards the cones. Just beyond I saw my wife and some friends waiting to cheer me over the line. I was so glad to be done.

I turned off my watch and checked the time. Last year I’d completed the race in 9:18. This year I took 7:16 (add 2 minutes for the delay in starting my watch). I was 2 hours faster this year. I was still last, but that didn’t matter. I’d done what I set out to do.

I had improved.

Another metric that was really interesting was the difference in the amount of time I spent static. Last year I spent 30 minutes not moving. That was spent standing (and in one case sitting) in aid stations pouring water over my head and then trying to get moving again. This year I was static for 8 minutes.

But most importantly I had enjoyed the day, and the people. My strategy had worked, my gear had worked, my body had (mostly) worked. My training strategy seems to be the right one for me, and this race was the proving ground for that. There is more to do, but for the start of the year, this was a really good test of where I’m going.

I was really happy to finally sit down and eat my free banana – the first food I’d had since the start. I’d taken a bunch of homemade gels with me. I’d taken a small one, just for the sake of it. But never felt the need to have any more than that.

I chatted with everyone for a bit and then asked about prize-giving. Surely it must be starting soon. It turns out it had started early, just before I arrived, which was why there was no-one about – they were all in the hall.

So I staggered to my feet and headed over to see how Ange had got on. I walked in and sat on the floor as they dished out the last few prizes. Then it was all over, and tired runners made for the door. I struggled to my feet as I spotted Gareth, Stu and Ange. I went over and had a chat and was delighted to hear that Ange was the first female finisher and fifth overall, finishing about 2 hours ahead of me.

They all had places to go, and so did I, so we said our goodbyes. I then stumbled over to the lovely lady who was one of the organisers. I wanted to get my last placing confirmed. She said that two people had DNF-ed, so I wasn’t quite last. That was really confusing for me because I was pretty sure of my place. I’d counted 12 people passing me.

She also said she had a spot prize for me – a bottle of wine, which I accepted gratefully.

All that was left was to head back to the car, say thank you to all my friends who had turned up to see me finish, and climb into the passenger seat for the ride home. This was also a huge difference from last year.

Last year I had to drive myself home. But now my wife is getting more confident in her driving skills, she was able (and keen) to drive me home. It was nice to be able to relax for the journey home. Well, nearly relax.

You remember that issue I had at the start, with last night’s dinner being ready for the next stage in processing? Now that the running had stopped and all the internal workers could get back to their routine work, someone noticed that there was a backlog of work that needed to be sorted as soon as possible. The drive home took on a new sense of urgency for me.

We made it in time and I struggled up the stairs and into the house grateful to be home. A soak in the bath and a few beers later and I was right as rain. Well almost. My body seems to have come through the race really well. My legs are a bit stiff and sore, but no more so than after a hard long training run. I’m still a bit tired, but that is to be expected. But I’m not as shattered as I have been previously after an ultra marathon.

So what next?

Now that I’ve proven my training strategy, the next step is to ramp it up. I know what works for me and how my body adapts, so all I have to do is force the adaptations to get stronger and faster. I’m heading back to the gym twice a week from now on to work on core strength, and I’ll add some lung busting sessions to try and fix my breathing.

I have six months until the WUU2K – the next big challenge on the calendar. The Wellington Marathon is a couple of weeks before it, and I’ll run that again. But I won’t push too hard for that one. The WUU2K is my main goal.

I’ll take a few days off (ok maybe the whole week!) and then it’s time to get back into training. I’m actually looking forward to it.

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Official results are not up yet. I'll append them here when they become available.

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Who else can tell you stories about impersonating an officer, stealing a military aircraft to go on a booze run, or steal military aircraft and go on an unsanctioned bombing run - and that's all before he turned 18!

Check out @len.george and find out what other madness he got up to!

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