With many years of triathons behind me and even a number of marathons, I was on the lookout for my next challenge. Then I stumbled across the River Run 100 - an Ultra Marathon running event to be held close to home. I also noticed that it had a strong charity focus and that Diabetes Queensland was one of the supported charities. This was going to be a significant challenge as my longest runs had been marathons and I knew how much they hurt at 42.2km - how much more would 100km hurt!?
Since my Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis in 2010, I've tried to set an example that being diagnosed with this chronic disease does not stop you for taking on any challenge you face. You just need to be a little bit more organised to ensure you manage your blood sugar levels well and generally look after yourself a bit better.
To train for the event, I first built up for and completed the Gold Coast Marathon at the start of July. I didn't hit my ambitious target time in the marathon, but I did have a good base to then step up the distance in training to get ready for my first Ultra Marathon. I had great support running with friends (Brett, Daryl, Helen,Tim, Malia and Mark) and the Intraining running group at Tennyson, but because of the distance I needed to build up I also did a lot of solo running. I experimented with some different foods to ensure I would have the energy to get through 11+hours of running.
I promoted the event and my fundraising for Diabetes Queensland in the lead up. I had great support from Holly and the rest of the Diabetes Queensland team to ensure I could make the most of my fundraising efforts and I really felt welcomed as part of their team.
There was an early start on race day. The organisers requested competitors to estimate how long it would take to complete and then work back from a planned 3pm finish time to self-nominate their start time. I guessed 11 hours and added a little more safety net and went with a 3:40am start. So that meant a 2:45am alarm, get up and ready and in a taxi to the start. I learned at the start line that most competitors had decided to get out there extra early, some as early as midnight, to try to knock the event over earlier in the day. Not a bad ploy, but I was happy that I had had a short but useful night's sleep. You wouldn't get much sleep before a midnight start!
At the start line I met up with a colleague from work (Leigh) who just happened to be an experienced and accomplished Ultra runner. I quickly got my supplies organised and then before I knew it, we were off for the first of our ten x 10km laps. We ran together at a good steady pace, with Leigh passing on many tips as we chatted our way out to the 5km turnaround and back in just over an hour. I took on some food as I headed out on lap 2, now running on my own. There were quite a few of the solo and team 100km runners out on the course, some of them already onto lap 4. This lap was a little quicker (just under an hour) as I wasn't distracted by conversation.
I had a quick bathroom break and gulped down some creamed rice (magic stuff!) and started lap 3. I linked up with Leigh again and ran lap 3 as the sun began to rise. My blood sugar levels were going really well. There was a bit of a rise at the start of the race thanks to the food I ate before starting, but they dropped quickly once I got moving.
At the end of lap 3 I spotted Brett who had come to run a few laps with me. Once again I took on more food, switched my arm warmers for some light weight sun sleeves and ditched the gloves I had worn in the pre-dawn cold. I've run a lot with Brett training for triathlons and marathons over the years. It was good to have him there to ensure I kept to a sensible pace and to distract me a bit with conversation. Brett pointed out as we passed 3km of that lap that I was already one third of the way through. At the 5km turnaround point, we found Tim, another triathlete friend who arrived to run with us. I saw a lot of the other competitors plodding away on their own, listening to iPods. I liked this alternative of having friends run with me. As we arrived back at Southbank and ticked off 40km done, I saw yet another friend (Brad) who I haven't seen for years. He also came to run a lap with me. Holly and the Diabetes Queensland team had also arrived to run their 50km team event and cheer me on.
Early in lap five, I passed through the full marathon distance of 42.2km in just over a 4hrs15mins. A credible marathon time, but I still had 58km to go!
The course was quite crowded now, as the shorter events (50km, 20km & 10km) had all started and were sharing the paths with us and the general public out for Sunday morning rides and walks). Brett, Tim and Brad acted as my linebackers, clearing a path through the crowd for me. Given I hadn't seen Brad for years, we tried to catch up and chat as we ran along, but I started to get a bit incoherent by now as the fatigue set in. It was very satisfying to complete that lap and reach half way. It was exciting to see my wife Jane and kids Jack & Emma arrive to cheer me on. They were in for a long day, even just supporting for the last half of the race.
Brett had reached his limit at 20km and Brad had enough after 10km. Tim joined me for another half lap to get back to his car at the other end of the course and clock up 20km of his own for the day. So I was back running on my own to complete the second half of lap 6. At the end of the lap I decided on a change of shoes and socks - my feet were really starting to hurt now! Given I had no idea what to expect in the event, I brought several spare shoes and changes of clothes, but only ended up using one change of shoes and socks. I had a longer break before starting lap 7. I also grabbed a small bottle of Coke to run with - I hoped the sugar and caffeine buzz would pick me up in the back end of the race.
As I started back out over the Goodwill Bridge one more time, I spotted Aaron from work, who had come along on his bike to support the cause. So once again I had much appreciated company. Aaron kindly relived the blow by blow action of the Bledisloe Cup Rugby from the previous night, where his beloved All Blacks had comprehensively outplayed my miserable Wallabies. It certainly took my mind off the running, but I'm not sure it made me feel any better! My legs were definitely feeling the fatigue now and my feet were very sore. So I had my first real stints of walking mixed in with running. Aaron did a great job of keeping me company, carrying my drink bottles and generally keeping the motivation up. It can't much fun riding a bike at 10kph (or less) but there were no complaints. This lap ended up being a fair bit slower, but I was still making progress.
Back at the start line, I noticed my blood sugar had spiked a bit too high, thanks mostly to the Coke. It's a difficult balancing act, with all glycogen stores depleted and more exercise to come, the body is stripping glucose out of the blood stream as quickly as it's replaced. The Coke and other food I was taking in certainly pushed the blood sugar up but I had to be careful that it wouldn't drop back down dangerously low too quickly.
I think the Caffeine kicked in on lap eight. I put the pain in my legs aside and managed to push through a quicker lap running most of the way with only a few walking stints. Aaron continued to lap with me on the bike, clocking up his longest ride in a while. The paths had quietened down now, as most of the shorter events had finished and there was less public out and about. It was uplifting each lap to reach the start/finish line with the buzz of all the supporters and especially my very excited children and wife. My sister and her family arrived to lend some support. It was great to see some more familiar faces to cheer me on.
Back out onto lap 9, my spirits were high, as I knew I could get to the finish now - not so far to go! However my legs were less enthusiastic and I had to resort to more stop/start walking and running. All the competitors were very supportive of each other, giving a little cheer and some encouragement as we kept passing each other on the out and back course. One group of three guys did the entire 100km together and we had one entertaining stretch on this lap where I overtook them while they were walking and then they started to run and overtook me when I was walking. After about three of these yo-yos, I finally pulled away from them. By now Leigh had shown his experience and superior endurance and pulled away from me, putting in a fine performance. At the half way turn around, Aaron finally decided to stop putting off the landscaping he needed to do at home and said goodbye. He was incredibly selfless to ride with me for over three hours at low speed just to encourage me on my way.
At the end of lap 9, Holly who had stayed on to cheer me home after the rest of the Diabetes Queensland team had finished for the day, decided to run the last lap with me. Holly had already run two 5km legs with the team and was now going to try to stretch her limits out to 20km of running for the day just to help get me through to the finish. It was a struggle to get through the last lap, but knowing that the finish was now within reach and with Holly's encouragement throughout the lap the time passed pretty quickly.
I crossed the Goodwill Bridge for the 20th time in the event and psyched myself up to run the last 400m into the finish line. Holly ran ahead to the finish line to take some photos. Jane, Jack and Emma all linked hands with me and we ran across the finish line together as a family.
I'm very proud of the achievement. 100km is such a long way to run and I won't be doing that again for some time! The results are in now - 11 hrs 42 mins. 8th place overall and 2nd in my category. Just 16 of the 24 starters made it to the finish line. It's a tough event!
I had amazing support throughout the day, such that I only ran 20km of it on my own.
For anyone with Diabetes wanting to challenge themselves, you just need to believe and Anything is Possible!
