Race Photos

The Sri Chinmoy Canberra Centenary 100km Trail Run was conceived as a celebration, in this year of celebrating everything good about our National Capital. 100km for 100 years; a trail race through the scenic heart of the "Bush Capital"; an epic effort to commemorate the monumental human achievement that is Canberra.

Saturday was a day of gratitude: gratitude for a visionary city – a city uniquely formed in, embraced by and infused with the beauty, power, subtlety and majesty of its landscape, natural and man-made; gratitude for inexplicably glorious weather that sprang from a week of gloom like a startling bloom on a bare Winter's branch; gratitude for the elegant simplicity of long-distance running as the vehicle par excellence of inner and outer discovery, conquest and self-transcendence; gratitude for the camaraderie and uplifting community of spirit that is born of shared suffering and striving for high ideals; gratitude for ourselves and each other.

58 Solo Runners and 80 Relay Teams flocked nervously, excitedly and expectantly to "My Rainbow-Dreams" cafe in Dickson on Friday evening for a pre-race check-in and pasta meal, under still-moody skies that had served up a week of flooding rains, unremitting cold and cantankerous winds.

Yet by 4:30 next morning we were in another world, as the Finish chute was installed at Regatta Point overlooking a still, serene lake under a full moon and every star of the Heavens. It was as though Nature had signed a truce with herself, in order not only to watch and enjoy, but even to play a starring role in the forthcoming drama.

The fresh, pure light of 6am saw the Solo Runners embark on their quest: a band of heroes in the making, launching gently down the grassy slope towards the lake, Parliament House, the distant hills, their looming day of destiny. Shortly after, the Sun himself followed their lead, rising with a vast smile, to a day of infinite promise…

Half an hour later under a now beaming Sun, the Relay Teams shot off with bustling energy, more intent on speed than endurance; eager to devour the hills ahead...

A remarkable and heartening dimension of the race was the presence of so many female runners. Of the 362 participants (including all Solo Runners and Relay Team members), 142 were women, comprising 40% of the field. While not unusual in shorter distance events, this high turn-out in an Ultra speaks of a growing trend and was felt throughout the field with perhaps a more caring and mutually encouraging atmosphere than is sometimes felt in a more male-dominated race.

Susan Keith, an experienced ultra trail runner from Glenmore Park, ran her own race amongst some of the faster men in the field, leading every leg from go to woe and finishing in a strong 11:24:57. Second among the women was Simone Hayes of Sydney, also running her own race and never threatened for her place, crossing the line in 12:15:24. Third placed Natalie Best of Sydney completed the NSW trifecta, finishing in 13:14:46; with Kellie Power, also of Sydney, fourth in 13:45:59; Kathryn Alley from Queensland came fifth in 13:55:07; Nichole Tierney was sixth overall and first Canberra girl home in 16:05:56; and Kelley Bennett took seventh in 16:24:42.

Canberra local boy Thomas Brazier, with a strong rogaining background, ran a well-paced, brave and intelligent race from the front. Paul Cuthbert, Damian Smith and Wes Gibson were close to hand through the first leg and Paul stayed in sight through the second and up onto Black Mountain, but from here on Thomas's staying power proved too strong, finishing in an exuberant 9:48:48. From here on the finishers were evenly and steadily spaced, with Paul Cuthbert second in 10:10:08; Andrew Donaldson third in 10:21:23; Paul Smith fourth in 10:29:42; Damian Smith fifth in 10:38:50; Gavin Markey sixth in 10:49:15 and Dave Graham seventh in 10:52:38.

Each finisher claimed victory in the truest sense: victory over the course, victory over the many demons, doubts, fears and obstacles – physical, mental and emotional – that beset a runner in the course of a long day on the trails. Wes Gibson has written of his trials in his blog to finish his first 100 km race. Olympic Gold Medallist (in archery) Simon Fairweather showed his adaptability and inner strength in completing his longest ever race; as did ACT Minister for Territory and Municipal Services (and hence, Minister for Trails); Corrections; Housing; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs; and Ageing – Shane Rattenbury MLA – whose victory was as much a victory of sheer will, with the limited training time afforded by a hectic political schedule seeing a relatively fast first half contrasted with a grinding battle over the northern hills as ultimately his deep love of Canberra and the innate instinct of a champion, coaxed him home in 12:06:21.

Trevor Fairhurst joined Paul Smith as former Sri Chinmoy Triple-Triathlon multiple champions of yore, returning to tackle this newest addition to the Canberra endurance calendar, finishing just ahead of first-time 100km runner from Mongolia, Bayarkhuu Batbayar, whose only communications with race officials all day comprised smiles and nods, with the biggest smile reserved for the finish line after 12:35:19. The furthest 20-year-old Adam Huttner-Koros had ever run before is a Half-Marathon, yet when he saw the race advertised, felt he must give it a go – and after 5 months of dedicated training, finished fresh and sparkling in 13:01:25.

Never having been staged before, every winning time in every category goes straight into the record books. Some will take a lot of beating: none more so than the outright fastest time of the day, set by the All-Male Team of "@runcanberra" – Matt Fenech, Rob Walter, Martin Dent and Philo Saunders – whose combined 6:59:46 over a demanding course was a world-class performance, finishing almost exactly one hour ahead of "Tuggers parkrun" team of Andy Hogg, Tim Cochrane, Gareth Candy and Jason McCrae in 7:59:44. Martin Dent's time for Run3 over Black Mountain of 1:26:02 was almost 24 minutes faster than the next quickest time on the day; indeed, the race became a competition between "@runcanberra" and event officials, who only barely managed to have all the transitions and aid stations set up in time before this whirlwind phenomenon passed through! Third home in the All-Male Teams was "Misfits" – Guy Jones, Keith Cassilles Southgate, Andrew Fisher and Peter Young in 8:18:34.

Aimee Davenport led "Team Here We Go" in the All-Female division with a fantastic first leg of 2:11:23 – 9 minutes faster than the next best time over this leg – with Margaret Helmsley, Hannah Every-Hall and Tiffany Bonasera all running strongly to secure the win in 9:17:56; from second place "Running mums" – Emily Stacey, Sarah McRae, Allison Jones and Kelly Candy – in 9:45:30; and third placed "Gazelles" in 10:29:38 – Regan Field, Richelle Turner, Caroline Scott and Beth Sargent.

"Enough of the Puffs" bravely entered the Mixed Teams division with 2 male and 2 female runners – proving that when all members are champions, that is exactly the best combination! Their winning time of 8:10:09 saw them beaten by only two of the All-Male teams. Dave Osmond ran the 2nd fastest time for Run1 and Louise Sharp backed him up well; then Elizabeth Humphries ran the fastest time for Run3 by over 12 minutes of 1:59:58; and Stuart Doyle brought the team home with a leg record for Run4 over Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie of 1:42:58. Second Mixed Team was "Formaggi che corrono" in 8:33:33 – featuring a record Run2 leg over Mt Arawang and Mt Stromlo from Hannah Flannery of 2:30:49, complementing the work of Bill Taylor, Denis Mungoven and Cameron Mackintosh. Third were the "Grey Knights" – Elle Knight, Jeff Grey, Stuart Grey and Gerard Wildie – in 9:24:52.

Organisers are all gratitude to the Gungahlin SES, who manned many road crossings and drink stations; to Sports Medicine ACT for providing medical support throughout; to the ACT Government for sponsoring their Canberra Business Event Centre as the magnificent venue for the Awards Presentations (and start and finish – hence the uphill finish!); to Hammer Nutrition for supplying the wonderful HEED replacement drink for all aid stations; to "My Rainbow-Dreams" vegetarian cafe for catering the pre-event pasta meal; to members of the Canberra sporting community for helping out on the day, including Ben Lee, Michaela Watt, Carinna Tong, Phil Essam, Steve Appleby, Tom Landon-Smith; to members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team from Canberra, Sydney and Geelong; and to Martin Fryer for his major role in course design; and to all runners without whose participation this event could not have happened!

Full results are published – overall and by category – along with an excellent photo album from Andy MacDonald, and our own album from around the course.

Steve Hanley's photos can be seen here.

Results (PDF Download)

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, Solo Finishers by category 105.49 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, Solo Finishers with split times, overall 97.69 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, Relay Teams by category 121.37 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, All-Male Teams with personal split times 170.41 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, All-Female Teams with personal split times 176.82 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, Mixed Teams with personal split times 219.09 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, Leg 1 overall with personal split times 190.29 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, Leg 2 overall with personal split times 150.41 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, Leg 3 overall with personal split times 187.18 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 11 September 2022, Leg 4 overall with personal split times 141.89 KB

Race Photos

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Our journey’s dawn prefigures our journey’s close. We set out with high hopes and promise, circle around in one wide yearning, daring arc, and end up at our starting point. Like a yoyo, no matter how far afield we venture, our beginning draws us inexorably back to its clasp. We emerge from darkness, flare awhile, and return into the gloom. We finish where we began – or, do we begin where we finish? Is the beginning already an ending, and the goal yet another beginning?

From whence the sun rose on Sunday morning, striding to greet the runners’ start, so in fading sunlight, from the same quadrant on Sunday evening, the moon bestrode aglow to bathe tiring runners’ aching efforts in moonshine.

And so, one might ask: “What was that all about?”

Well, in between this particular sunrise and moonrise, quite a few lives were changed for good: changed through the pursuit of soaring dreams, faithful feet following glowing hearts, fuelled by courage, sustained by oceanic willpower. Victory was attained not by words, but deeds; not by speaking but by striding, inexorably to the goal. So, though we may have ended the day where we began it, we were not the same – we were the better for this day, thanks to the heroes who lifted us all through their superlative efforts. So shall we attain a better world.

Old-timers have never seen Canberra so awash with slosh. Two years of record-breaking rain has raised the water table, leaving nowhere for fresh falls to escape, crafting new rivulets, trickling marshes and settling quagmires. Usually, runners are greeted in Canberra by ubiquitous birdsong: today, they were cheered from all sides by exuberantly chorusing frogs.

…

Every solo runner deserves a paean in their honour, yet here we have selected just a few:

– Pam Muston is officially the Queen of this event. She is now the only person to have completed every edition since its inception in 2013. Pam has won the female race outright, and holds the course records for F50-59 and F60-69. A fountain of encouragement, care and inspiration for all runners, her unwavering energy and enthusiasm – her sheer love of running – make Pam a beacon to all. Her 4th placing (and 1st F60-69) 13:26:04 is testimony to her outstanding fitness, peerless endurance and perfect attitude.

– David Campbell, though a seasoned runner, made his first trip to this race to try it out this year, and certainly left an impression, carving 4 hours off the M60-69 course record with his outstanding 12:56:17. En route he set new records for each of the 4 legs of the race, setting a whole new standard for aspiring older runners (yet even then, only half an hour ahead of Pam!)

– Andrew Tully has dominated the M50-59 category in the Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Series races for the past few years, winning everything and breaking course records all over the place. Yet his longest ever race was a marathon – so to even consider stepping up to 100km was either impressive daring or sheer foolhardy. Setting new M50-59 records for each of the first 3 legs, reality caught up with Andrew in the final leg yet he hung in bravely, to set a new best time for this category of 11:47:47.

– Many runners lead busy lives, yet probably none more so than Dr Andrew Leigh, Federal Member for Fenner and Assistant Finance Minister in a relatively new government. It is one thing to squeeze in the odd 5km run during a break, but to train for a gruelling 100km trail run is something else. Having “pulled the plug” at 55km in his first attempt here 2 years ago, Andrew had unfinished business – which he accomplished with aplomb, finishing just adrift of Andrew Tully in the M50-59 with 11:55:25 – also under the previous course record time, and including a new best time for the final leg.

– Canadian Joelle Vandenborre surprised herself at her first foray at this event, to win the women’s race in an impressive and tenacious 11:49:03. Joelle ran down the early leader, Lindsay Hamilton (11:57:12), and held off Australian 24 hour rep, Alicia Heron, who took 3rd placing with 12:02:34.

– It would be fair to say that Dean Robinson did not start out as a pre-race favourite, having never run further than his first marathon (in April this year), and not knowing anything about Canberra’s terrain. Not being aware of the challenges of the course or the distance, Dean ran from the front without fear or concern, to take line honours in a mightily impressive 100km debut of 9:55:45. We might not have heard of Dean before this – but we surely will see and hear much more from him in future!

…

The 1st All-Male Team was “808 Redemption” (Jacob Grooby, Jack Brand, Alan Craigie and Alex Dreyer), who led all the way to set the best time on course today of 7:49:54. The next 4 teams home were all Mixed Teams – led by “Charlie’s Angels” (Charlie Doherty, Mohak Garg, Sophia Stevens and Lachlan Jones) in 8:19:31, closely followed home by “Windlabbers” (Andrew Lake, Ryan Leonard, Mike Carroll and Melissa Clarke) in 8:22:28, with an even narrower gap to 3rd placed “Healthy & Carefully Ageing” (Travis Haslam, Jasen Higuchi, Glenn Paterson & Fan Xiang) in 8:23:32.

Next fastest All-Male team was “Troopers” (Hamish McConville, Ryan Hawkins, Kieren McConville & Ian McConville) in 8:47:07, from 3rd placed “Sparrow Roosters” (Jacob Mugavin, Pat Lucas, Jason Agostino & Dan Miller) with 8:52:47.

The swiftest All-Female Team was “running LATE” (Tara Melhiush, Alex Grant, Elizabeth Humphries and Louise Sharp) who spectacularly failed to live up to their name, crossing the line in 9:04:24. 2nd placed was “Girl Gang” (Cassie Cohen, Jordan Anderson, Eleanor Boxall & Monique Andrea) in 9:55:30; with “Elevate Power Plants” (Jodie Clews, Linda Edstrom, Su-Ann Tan Burke & Sarah Gill) rounding out the podium finishing teams in 11:17:52. A special shout out to the eager folks from “Elevate”, who entered the most teams in this year’s race of any group!

Individual female team leg records fell in the 2nd leg to Petra Mossop (2:08:21) and in the final leg to the flying Louise Sharp (1:58:51).

…

Our sincere gratitude flows to the many, many helpers whose selfless efforts in concert form the cradle of care and concern that allows this race to happen. Canberra provides the outer landscape; our helpers and volunteers the inner heartscape. Congratulations to one and all!

Results (PDF Download)

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, overall results for Solo Runners & Relay Teams 619.64 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, Solo Runners age category results 171.53 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, Solo Runners leg 1 split times 131.48 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, Solo Runners leg 2 split times 130.7 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, Solo Rrunners leg 3 split times 127.74 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, Solo Runners leg 4 split times 125.43 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, All-Ffemale team split times 179.9 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, All-Male team split times 270.64 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Sunday 13 September 2020, Mixed Team split times 629.67 KB

Race Photos

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It turns out no-one had 2020 vision after all.

No-one clearly foresaw the bounty of remarkable outcomes of this extraordinary year. When we were sheltering in our homes, borders closing in on us, with events cancelling en masse, there seemed little likelihood of …

… a day (and night) for the record books: a record field in each of the solo and relay races; record number of volunteers to help; overall course records in 4 of the 6 solo age categories and all 3 of the relay team divisions; 6 of the 8 individual leg records for relay teams; a record completion rate for solo runners (75 finished out of 90 starters) – and even a record low number of runners getting lost.

The weeks and days leading into the race were nerve-wracking for runners and organisers alike. Mountains of time, training, focus and energy goes into a 100km trail run for all involved – yet even though permits had been issued and venues confirmed, we all knew that adverse circumstances either locally or interstate could trigger a cancellation at any moment – and all the training and preparation might have vanished as a wisp of cloud on a Summer’s day.

Spring dawned bright in early September, the worrying interstate curves were all subsiding, the lead-up week ticked all its boxes … and the day unfolded, step by step, dreamlike.

Our first and foremost Gratitude is to all the volunteers who served at road crossings, drink stations and transition points from dawn till after midnight cheerfully, encouragingly and tirelessly. You are the beating heart of this event: every course record, every PB, every smiling finisher is your doing – your offering and achievement, as much as any runner’s. We all cheer and thank you!!

Particular thanks also to our ACT Government, whose advice and directions have been clear and consistent throughout. Responsible and safe outdoor activity has been endorsed and encouraged, enabling thoughtful, careful planning for the sensible enjoyment of life. Hooray!

The journey and achievement of every solo runner – including those who, for whatever reason ‘did not finish’ – each embodies an epic of aspiration and inspiration, of depths and richness far surpassing the vision of this humble race report to fathom or venture to recount.

To select a few highlights at random – with apologies to every story and glory transcribed in pounding heartbeats, wincing blisters, churning stomachs, screaming quads and soaring flights of personal and shared joy, yet untold here –

* Gretchen Smith’s astonishment to learn she had won the women’s race, expressing in tears of disbelief, relief and joy;
* Peter Badowski breaking his own Male 60-69 course record, just 3 weeks shy of his 70th birthday;
* Pam Muston cheerily setting an inaugural Female 60-69 best time to sit alongside her numerous F50-59 (and previous overall female winner) titles;
* Brendan Davies’ sheer class – a winner for sure in style and speed, yet an even nobler winner in attitude, gratitude and humility;
* 3 finishers under 10 hours (Dave Hardwicke and Matt Griggs joining Brendan Davies), revealing a new and exciting depth of quality across the field;
* every first-time finisher;
* Justin Hiatt’s elation at lowering his time from 2019 by 2 hours;
* Nicole Siddon’s and Kevin Dodd’s glowing triumph, summiting in the pitch dark in 16:24…

At registration on Saturday, several teams announced their intention to break the all-time race record, the legendary 6:59 set by Martin Dent and colleagues last decade. Some of the pretenders were clearly joking: a few were 100% serious. Could anyone sincerely have predicted not one but THREE teams breaking the impregnable 7 hour barrier, and another just a minute outside? For the all-boy band of “808s and Heartbreak” (Alan Craigie, Matthew Berrington, Harrison McGill & Hugh Williams – who brought the team home with a new leg 4 course record of 1:32:32) to run 6:53:44 was a sensational outing – yet an even more stunning result came next in 2nd place overall; the Mixed Team ensemble of “Big Chungus” (Deon Kenzie, Philo Saunders, Keely Small – who blitzed a new female course record for leg 3 of 1:47:34 – & Bryce Anderson) also breaking the previous All-Male record, powering home in a phenomenal 6:59:11, winning their division by 1 hour and 20 minutes, and thrillingly outrunning the all-male “Beer Mile Athletics Club” (Michael Daly, James Minto, Jacob Grooby & Sam Burridge) who clocked an outstanding 6:59:31. Special mention to “The Belco Boys” (Michael Chapman, Ben Maccronan – who shattered a long-standing course record for leg 2 with 1:42:57 – Etienne Blumstein-Jones & Jade Brady) who finished in 7:01:48 and “Yeah Maaate” (Callum Burns, Jaryd Clifford, Tim Logan & Vincent Donnadieu) with 7:09:29 – all of whom would have won the race easily in almost every other year – until 2020.

With an almost-empty finishing area, most ‘spectators’ were following the race via the “live” results online. This virtual crowd barely had time to collect its collective breath before the dizzying performances resumed, as “Cofit-20” (Elizabeth Humphries – new course record for leg 1 of 2:01:54, Fleur Flanery – new course record for leg 2 with 2:19:54, Tara Melhuish & Alex Grant) ate up Canberra’s hills greedily and gracefully in 8:37:21, digesting the previous All-Female team record by over an hour in the process. “See ya later, elevator” (Penny Deacon, Natalie Budd, Nicola Connell & Isabella Comfort) were next All-Female team home in an impressive 9:19:54, from “KOOL Galz” (Amanda Cook, Ellie Barrett, Narell Smith & Allie Corripio), living up to their name with 9:29:30.

The quartet of “Au Revoir Ankles” (Andy McConnell, Melissa Clarke, Daniel Oehm & Dominique Ferguson) took 2nd placing in the Mixed Teams division through their superb showing of 8:21:10; while the all-round class of “Charlie’s Angels” (Charlie Doherty – who set a new best time for leg 1 with 1:39:50, Laurie Brown, Lizzy Drennan & Mohak Garg) saw them taking 3rd with 8:22:37, despite the unfortunate setback of an accidental detour incurring a 10-minute time adjustment.

Our admiration and congratulations to each and every participant, from first to last, and our thanks, respect and appreciation to the event medical team of Mike Corrigan and Corey Bacon, to Dave Osmond who rode the entire course ahead of the field to check on course markings (miraculously, none appear to have been interfered with this year!), to course sweepers Sean Conway, Tegan Musumeci, Ross Scott and Tim Craig, to Martin Fryer of FlyerUltra timing services, to the personal helpers of each solo runner, and to the confluence of aspiration, enthusiasm, support and goodwill from all supporters and well-wishers, yielding a day that will long shine as a gleaming star midst the gloom of 2020.

Results (PDF Download)

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, all finishers in order 78.27 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, all entrants 94.85 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, solo finishers by category 46.78 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, All-Female teams, with splits 69.49 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, All-Male teams, with splits 71.25 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, Mixed teams, with splits 123.44 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, leg 1 split times ranked 81.69 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, leg 2 split times ranked 81.78 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, leg 3 split times ranked 78.42 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100, Saturday 14 September 2019, leg 4 split times ranked 75.58 KB

Race Photos

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Returning to 100km felt like returning home. The distance fits snugly into an Autumn’s day, offering a challenging and fulfilling outer and inner journey, while showcasing enough of Canberra’s scenic beauty to remind us that we are blessed to live in the world’s best city for running. A record field (one more than attended the inaugural run to celebrate Canberra’s Centenary in 2013) enjoyed an unusually warm September day: Canberra gleamed in brilliant sunshine, fragrant with fresh blossoms, while a glorious full moon presided over start and finish.

The headline solo performance of the day was Patricia McKibbin’s outstanding win in the women’s race. Never previously having run a marathon, let alone a 100km event, Patricia paced her run superbly – she was 17th solo athlete at the 1st transition – working her way through the field to finish strongly 3rd outright in 11:25:07, barely missing the solo course record by a mere 10 seconds: a promising debut run if ever there was one!

At the other end of the experience scale, Pam Muston shone with another stellar run of 13:07:17 to take 2nd overall among the women and 1st Female 50-59 – in the process defeating all the men in the same age group. Mallani Moloney of Queensland was next home with 13:11:29, a constantly cheerful figure throughout the day. Allicia Heron completed the podium placings in the Female Under 50 with a solid 14:12:04.

In a solo men’s field lacking obvious “stars”, with little consensus about a pre-race favourite, Nicholas Hamilton proved to be a “dark horse”, for though he resides in Canberra, very few local runners knew much about him. It turns out Nicholas was visiting the Arboretum last October, where he saw runners from last year’s race and thought to himself: “it would be good to participate in this event!” If only winning a race – or achieving any objective in life – were always that simple! His winning time of 11:01:40 was 10 minutes ahead of 2nd placing, the vastly-experienced Andrew Donaldson’s 11:11:00. Abhishek Tiwari, who had led the field for most of the day, bravely soldiered on after hitting a huge wall to finish in 3rd with 12:06:52, while Jonathan Miller took out the Male 50-59 category in 13:22:25.

No overall course records fell today, though understandably – given that this leg was reduced by 5km from 2018 – the record for leg 2 fell in several categories, including Solo Female Under 50 – Patricia McKibbon (2:52:51); Solo Female 50-59 – Pam Muston (3:13:29); Solo Male 50-59 – Geoff Barnes (3:01:49); Male in a Team – Matthew Robbie (1:46:40); and Female in a Team – Ellie Barrett (2:27:30). It’s a testament to how good Brendan Davies’ run was in 2018, that he retains his leg 2 (and overall course) record despite 5km being shaved from the distance!

From the spectator’s point of view, the most exciting racing came right at the front of the field with an epic duel between the 2 leading All-Male Teams, with never more than a few minutes separating “R-JAHS” (Hugh Williams, James Minto, Alan Craigie & Sam Crowther) and “Speedygeese #100” (Rowan Lewis, Matthew Robbie, Jacob Grooby & Sam Burridge). Their finishing times of 7:17:11 and 7:19:18 respectively, are the 2nd and 3rd fastest ever recorded at this race, and the fastest since the inaugural event in 2013. Both teams put great pressure on the organisers throughout the day, beating several marshals to their posts in the process. It was thrilling to observe such high calibre athletes giving their all in a great display of sustained speed, endurance and dedication.

The quality combination of “Kool Galz” – Fleur Flannery, Ellie Barrett, Narelle Smyth & Allie Corripio – were in a league of their own in the All-Female Teams, winning in 9:37:45. “Ultra HARM” were 2nd with 10:44:17 (Heather Lawton, Rachel Venn, Alina McMaster & Michelle Gretch); from “Champagne Yaks” (Danni Farlow. Helen Morewood, Kristy Zwickert & Donna Hyland) in 10:53:44.

The largest category saw 44 teams participating in the Mixed Teams. The winners of this division were Tom Driscoll, Mathias Richter, Justelle Coyle & Charlie Henshell posting a slick 9:07:59 to take the category from Kael Hulin, Daniel Carson, Carol Lander & Jonathan Chan (“Not All Who Wander Are Lost”) in 9:24:14 and event stalwarts “Formaggi Che Corrono” (Cam Macintosh, Denis Mungoven, Duncan Sheppard & Kate Chipperfield) in 9:52:50.

From an organiser’s point of view, just as satisfying as watching the superb efforts of the athletes in this magnificent drama, is to witness the heroic offerings of the innumerable helpers without whom the event cannot take place. Our gratitude to the tireless medics from Sports Medicine Australia – Mike Corrigan, James Elwin and Corey Bacon; and to the phenomenal volunteers – including Michael Thompson AND Michael A Thompson, Terry Dixon, Jon Schol, Jen Bright, Jen Davis, Paul Mahoney, Nei-kiewa Close, Jeff Grey, Bria & Dan, Mhairi & Tim Craig, Anthony Newman, Claire Edwards, Andrew Blyton and Lyndon O’Grady – heroes all!

Canberra Trail ultra race stories

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail 100 – A first ascent

This year’s Canberra Trail 100 was my first attempt at a 100km race. While not a stranger to long distance endurance events, the longest formal foot race I had previously completed was 21km, so needless to say I was coming into the event a novice. In summary, this race is a serious challenge of mind, body and soul and this year was no exception.

Friday night registration was a buzz of excitement and camaraderie as teams met (some for the first time) along with solo entrants to check-in. The My Rainbow Dreams Café hosted us all for dinner while every aspect of registering was overseen by a very proud Prachar Stegemann whose contented demeanor expressed: ‘These are my people’.

Welcomed by a beautiful clear day, perfect running temperatures and very little wind – it was near perfect conditions for the race. There was large group of solo competitors and huge number of teams making this year the largest field, eclipsing the inaugural event in 2013 by 1 runner.

Andé and Mike at the start.

What attracts me personally to endurance events like the Canberra Trail 100 is the human connection. As soon as the race was underway at 6am, the process of getting to know your fellow competitors commenced immediately. There is an intensity to the relationships that you develop while completing a race like this, especially as the day wears on, as your vulnerabilities are exposed.

I was very fortunate to meet a very excitable, affable and genuine fellow at the start of the first leg named Justin ‘Timberlake’ Hiatt. An accomplished runner (including a UAT 100 finisher this year), Justin was very generous with his advice and was an absolute joy to run with. Throughout the day we experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows but encouraged each other to push through until the end. It was so special to meet a kindred spirit out on the journey, along with his Dad David, partner Ellen and Mum Jane.

justin_and_mike_celebrating_marathon_1_on_ascent_of_stromlo_0.jpg

Mike and Justin celebrate the completion of marathon #1 on the ascent of Mt Stromlo.

During the in between times I was also fortunate to run a few kilometers with Andrew Donaldson, who was competing in his 26th 100km event in 7 years! Andrew is an absolute inspiration and was happy to provide plentiful advice about endurance running. After the picturesque and challenging (i.e. traumatic) ascent off Black Mountain, I had the pleasure of running with another supreme athlete named Trish McKibbin. Also running her first 100km, Trish’s mature approach and humble character will undoubtedly make her one of the ultra-champions of the future!

In terms of my key ‘lessons learned’ to pass onto future aspiring entrants, here is my top three (all you experts can skip this bit!):

Set Out Slow – aim to run the flats of the first 50km 30 to 45 seconds slower than your cruising pace for a 20km run. For example, if your cruising pace is 5 minutes / kilometer, set out at a 5 minute 30 second pace. Andrew Donaldson drew me a virtual graph that illustrated that fast is flat when comparing running pace over time.
Walk The Ups – walk all the steep ups and even the little ups if you have been running for 5kms non-stop. It changes your blood flow and gives tired muscles a quick break. Whatever you walk you will more than make up for in the flats and the downs.
Practice Fueling – use your chosen energy sources during training sessions and do this lots. Feeling nauseous during the event was one of my biggest challenges.

Justin Hiatt informed me that a lot can happen in the second half of a 100km race. The race winner, Nicholas Hamilton ran out of water during leg 2 and dropped back to conserve energy until he could refuel at the 2nd transition. He was moving well when he passed Andrew Donaldson and me on the paddocks before Black Mountain and finished in a time of 11:01.

Andrew Donaldson who was in 5th place at the second transition calmly worked his way through the field from the very start to finish second in a time of 11:11. Andrew caught up with Justin Hiatt and me a few kilometres into the third leg, which is where we gave Justin some space to enter and dig himself out of a “dark hole”. Andrew encouraged me almost all the way to the Summit of Black Mountain but has inspired me for life!

Trish McKibbin caught me toward the base of Black Mountain and towed me over O’Connor Ridge until Lyneham High School. Trish finished third overall in a time of 11:25! Another 20km and I reckon she could have picked up Nick and Andy – she was so strong and methodical out there.

Abhishek Tiwari ran a solid race from the start and was only passed by Nick, Andy and Trish relatively late in the race to finish fourth overall in a time of 12:06.

The start of the 4th leg was my time to visit a dark place myself, brought on by nausea and exhaustion. To illustrate, kilometers 80 to 82 took 34 minutes in flat terrain!! Thankfully my friends Trev and Nat Fairhurst came out to help me take my mind off the pain – if anyone could understand what I was experiencing it was these two. Another friend Travis Haslam then arrived to get me running again for a few kilometers until the start of the Mount Majura climb.

The turning point in my final leg was the ‘wooo hooo’ arrival of Justin ‘Timberlake’ Hiatt who was back from oblivion and excited by the prospect of sunset over Mount Ainslie followed by a jubilant finish.

Smiles back at 92km and cadence still matching...

For anyone who knows Justin, his enthusiasm for life is infectious, and we set off again with a matching cadence as we had throughout the whole race.

justin_got_his_sunset_and_all_down_hill_now_to_the_finish.jpg

Justin got his sunset!

justin_got_his_sunset_and_all_down_hill_now_to_the_finish_0.jpg

All downhill now to the finish...

Overall, there were 35 solo finishers from 54 starters and every one of these athletes made lifelong connections and has an amazing story to tell. Take Anthony Miles, Morgan Pettit and Caroline Warner who finished together at 11.15pm in a time of 17 hours and 15 minutes – I am in total awe of these three and hope that I can hear their story of the 2019 Canberra Trail 100.

A vote of heartfelt thanks to: Tash, Amelie and Ciaran for being my support crew; My friends who came out to cheer me on (thanks Dave, Mel, Ellie and Penny) including those competing (well done Heather, Alina, Michelle, Rach); Andre Camilleri (finished in 16:05) for encouraging me to try an ultra; Joe Howland for keeping my body functional, and to the selfless Sri Chinmoy team for yet another inspiring event to challenge one’s self and build the social fabric of our Canberra community.

Results (PDF Download)

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), overall results 100.57 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), solo finishers by gender 1.44 MB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), solo finishers by age group 44.7 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), leg 1 split times by rank 85 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), let 2 split times by rank 86.15 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), leg 3 split times by rank 84.61 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), leg 4 split times by rank 82.38 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), All-Female Teams, full split times 67.69 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), All-Male Teams, full split times 74.98 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (105km), Mixed Teams, full split times 112.71 KB

Race Photos

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Canberra turned 105 this year. To celebrate, we gave Canberra a big hug – a 105 kilometres hug embracing the whole city and many of her scenic features. She responded with an embrace of her own, an embrace of affection, beauty, joy, pride and the thrill of adventure and achievement.

The Solo Runners

Brendan Davies is a phenomenon. Brendan doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. Already established as one of Australia’s greatest ever ultra trail runners, leading coach and foremost authority in his sport, Brendan is a radiant example of sheer love of his field: running as life and life as running. Running with a controlled, focussed mind and powered by a limitless heart of eager enthusiasm, alone for the entire journey of 105km and offering himself utterly in the process, Brendan returned a sensational race record 9:38:31, faster even than Tom Brazier’s pioneering victory in the inaugural staging of the event when it was 5km shorter at 100km. Brendan didn’t only come to race: he brought inspiration, courage, joy and a touch of lightness to all who were fortunate to witness this stupendous master class. Outwardly he leaves Canberra with only a trophy, while inwardly he leaves in his wake a tidal wave of awe and gratitude.

Pam Muston is another shining example to all, tonight winning this race for the second time from the Over 50 category (and now only a year from 60). Pam stands as a mighty mountain of the sport in Canberra – as event organiser, stellar athlete and role model – testimony to the extraordinary influence that one person can exert through sheer passion and exuberance. Pam has made the question of age and ageing irrelevant, as all her being is given over to the immense satisfaction and freedom derived from running on the trails. We can’t know the personal sacrifice and willpower that sustains her incredible success: we can only marvel at the unending flow of her achievements and the grace with which she holds herself. 13:44:55 is a wonderful result on this challenging course, half an hour clear of the rest of the women’s field.

Second male finisher was another colossus of contemporary Australian ultra-running, Mick Thwaites, who although racing this event for training, ran an impressive 11:00:07 in his first outing over the course. First home in the Male 50-59 category was Andre Camilleri with 13:59:03. It’s always rather arbitrary to single out the top place-getters when every runner who completes such a momentous undertaking has accomplished something life-changing and given in the process so much inspiration to all involved. To every runner who dared to undertake this race: we salute you with admiration and thanks!

The Relay Teams

While the solo event embodies an absorbing inner battle and glorious adventure, for spectators the relay teams event is sheer entertainment and drama. Achievement has many faces and forms. The aspect of camaraderie and striving for the interests of the team, brings out wonderful individual performances and offerings, right from the front-runners to the “midnight finishers”.

“Poo Stick Racing” (Melissa Clarke, Mitchell Braithwaite, David Osmond and Elizabeth Humphries) came from behind to take out the Mixed Teams category in 9:00:40, ahead of all the All-Male teams, who were led home by “Geesed Lightning” (William Barlow, Rowan Lewis, Martin Pogson and Jason McCrae)in 9:06:22. “KoolGalz” (Narelle Desmet, Ellie Barrett, Sarah Maree Johnson and Allie Corripio) took out the All-Female category with an excellent all-round race of 9:44:31 – including the outstanding leg of the day, Sarah Maree Johnson's 1:59:10 being the outright fastest time for leg 3.

Canberra Trail ultra race stories

Read the story of a first-time ultra-marathoner, Tanmay Agrawal in "Path to Finish Line".

Results (PDF Download)

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – All Finishers by Category 68.33 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – All Finishers and Non-Finishers by Category 474.61 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – All Solo Finishers by Category 43.82 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – All Solo Finishers by Gender 41.21 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – Top 7 Solo Finishers by Gender 526.11 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – Top 3 Teams by Category 526.01 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – Leg 1, All Split Times 259.85 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – Leg 2, All Split Times 229.89 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – Leg 3, All Split Times 227.81 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – Leg 4, All Split Times 67.57 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – All-Male Teams, Full Split Times 53.93 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – All-Female Teams, Full Split Times 56.2 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (104km) – Mixed Teams, Full Split Times 247.55 KB

Race Photos

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The Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra is conceived as an exploration and celebration of the natural heart of our unique capital city and our own role in its landscape, heritage, culture and community. Following tracks, paths and trails that wind like arteries and veins – agents of the heart – around, through and over national monuments, parks, lakes, hills, ridges and Canberra’s version of an urban sprawl, the course embraces and envelops the city – its built landscape and its people – both literally and metaphorically, weaving a spectacular scenic adventure and historical journey (the course grows one kilometre as the city develops and matures year by year) into a single day’s personal Odyssey of epic challenge, discovery and revelation.

The lead actors in this drama are the solo runners who tackle the entire journey alone. Relay team members are major co-stars playing entertaining, inspiring, serious, tragic, romantic and even comic cameos, with indispensable supporting roles filled by solo runners’ personal helpers and the legion of volunteer helpers, backed by a extravagant cast of extras led by Nature’s choir of serenading and dazzling birds, adventurous dogs, cautious lizards, contented cows, curious kangaroos and an occasional enigmatic echidna; the myriad greens and Springtime fragrances of eucalypts, acacias, pines, oaks and flowering shrubs of our gardens, bushland, farmland and grassland, our playgrounds, sporting fields, cul de sacs, avenues and ceremonial parades; co-produced by a mercurial climate and weather, an occasional rainbow, a magical sunrise and guaranteed glorious sunset behind Black Mountain. The Executive Producer is never seen, always behind the scenes; communicating with and understood by each actor in their own terms; facilitating and orchestrating absorbing grand drama and intriguing sub-plots – everywhere and in everything, inscrutable, instrumental, indefinable – the Soul of Canberra itself.

Katy Anderson ran a superb, controlled race today to take 4th outright among the soloists with a fine 12:24:51 over the gruelling 104km. Katy had just last month run the fearsome Leadville 100 miler in Colorado. Next female home – in 13:51:04 – Pam Muston is the undisputed Queen of this race, at 57 years young, a shining example of the power and strength of vivacity and the sheer joy of running. Jessica Robson was 2nd Female Under 50 with her indomitable debut finish in 14:14:52, the local girl earning perhaps the most emotional reception at the finish line. Paula Gaudry also gloriously flew the flag for the Female 50-59, taking 2nd in the category and 4th female with a most impressive and consistent 15:21:26. Wilma Leahy was next female to finish in 17:14:32, while Cat Gomer beat the midnight cut-off by 18 minutes, smiling across the line in 17:42:14.

There are many reasons why one might not finish an event of 104km – exhaustion, cramps, flaring injuries, stomach problems, loss of enthusiasm – yet these internal factors were compounded today by persistent buffeting winds strong enough to bring down marquees at transition points and blow away a drink station’s whole tableful of cups. The wind harassed runners with a vengeance, only easing off as the evening settled into night. We can barely imagine the challenges faced by a good field of fit, trained and experienced endurance athletes when we realise that the rate of those who did not complete the distance was the highest yet in the race’s history, with 27 finishers from 50 starters.

Joseph Hughes led the solo male field from the outset and was never threatened. As is often the case, Joseph also appeared the freshest of all the finishers at the close of his journey after 11:11:22 of intense physical, mental and emotional exertion. Triumph is a great antidote to pain and fatigue! 2nd finisher today was Geoffrey Isbister, who ran a beautifully controlled pace, gradually reeling in most of the field. His 11:45:08 bettered his brother Andy’s winning time from last year by 4 minutes. Sadly Andy was not destined to complete the distance today: it is hoped the brothers might return next year for a fraternal head-to-head. Adam Huttner-Koros placed a well-deserved 3rd and broke 12 hours in 11:57:44.

All finishers deserve an entire write-up devoted to their famous achievements (and we hope many will submit their narratives for the event Story Archive!) yet here we will only mention them all by name. Standing out were Male 50-59 winner and 7th place outright, Geoff Barnes’ superb 12:55:41, and Peter Badowski’s victory in the Male 60-69 with a sterling 17:09:03. Showing that experience and wisdom count for much in this ultra-running caper, the Male and Female 50-59 categories had a higher finishing quotient than the younger age groups. Other Male 50-59 finishers were Colin Wiley (15:35:18); Grant Jeffcott (17:14:33) and Gordon Waddington (17:20:03).

4th among the Males Under 50, Mike Matthews strode in with 12:32:08; 5th was Aston Duncan in 12:53:15; 6th placed James Hauptmann clocked 12:56:21; and 7th went to Brett Easton’s 13:21:31. James Sylvester came across the line in 13:17:00; repeat-finisher Adrian Cengia in 13:25:05; Aaron Flower in 13:28:35; and Stephen Kiley with 14:03:21. Jonathan Edwards was next across the line with 14:21:38; Shoji Iwasaki was all smiles to finish in 14:43:43; Ben Biddington’s finish came after 15:24:38; Chris McDougall clocked 16:33:18; and Sam Bignell 16:54:04.

The relay teams race is another entire thrilling and fascinating story unfolding throughout this absorbing day. Inspired by the bond and commitment of racing not only for oneself but for one’s team mates, comradeship and devotion can bring out our best capacities and noble qualities – as well as some gripping competition. New combination of Adrian Sheppard, Etienne Blumstein-Jones, Alexandra Grant and Dave Osmond came together to form “Poohstick Racing” and take out both Line Honours and the Mixed Team category in 8:28:55. They were more than one hour ahead of 2nd placed “Magenta Breakfast Professors” (Alice Bates, Daniel Oehm, Aimee Davonport and Ashley Kearton) in 9:40:02, with “Yaksxit” (Alison Senti, Paul Tilse, Nicholas O’Neill and Drew Baker) taking 3rd Mixed Team in 9:55:15.

2nd outright and 1st All-Male team were the formidable and edible-sounding “Formaggi che corrono” (Mark Bourne, Cameron Mackintosh, Bill Taylor and Denis Mungoven) in an impressive 8:48:26. Perhaps even more impressive were the outfits worn by 2nd All-Male team “The Superheroes” (Andrew Blyton, Luke Sartor, Henry Chan and Richard Juckes) who each wore their full uniforms of Iron Man, The Flash, Batman and The Hulk throughout the entire race to finish in 9:46:27. Good show guys! 3rd in this category were “Grumpy Old Geese” (Martin Pogson, David Clarke, Peter Burke and Peter Brown) in 9:52:55.

After a tight tussle earlier in the day, the All-Female teams were won convincingly by “Burghers with the Works” (Heather Lawton, Sarah Tapp, Rebecca Vossen and Lisa Krummer), placing 10th team overall with 10:15:03. Next were “Happy Chicks” (Narelle and Samantha Desmet, with Laura Marshall); while 3rd place All-Female team went to “We don’t need your stinking kudos” (Mhairi Craig, Jen Bright, Jennie Blake and Amanda Cook).

Our deep gratitude goes to the volunteers who collectively made this one of the easiest and most satisfying races we’ve ever organised. Together they offered cheerful, encouraging, tireless and selfless service throughout a long long day and well into the night. Our volunteers’ combined heart-power created a blanket of care and concern covering the whole of Canberra which every runner could not help but be touched and moved by. So a HUGE THANK YOU to Paul Mahoney, Keri Vaughan, Billy Pearce, Tom Landon-Smith, Dave Meyer, Megan Quinn, Shannon McClure, Phil Essam, Bridget Quayle, Tim Craig, Terry Dixon, Richard Smyth, Justin Jarvis, Paul Jeffery, Chris Toyne, Sue Brennan, Kim Salco, Tristan Webber, Helen Way and all their families, friends and supporters who helped them help the runners so wholeheartedly.

The Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra will return on Sunday 23 September in 2018.

Results (PDF Download)

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (103km), 25 September 2016 – full results by category 780.42 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra (103km), 25 September 2016 – full results overall 767.59 KB

Race Photos

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The character of a race is partly formed by its course, terrain and distance. Mostly though, it is forged by the aspiration, character and personality of its participants, its real champions.

Central to a trail race of more than 100km are the solo runners, the dauntless adventurers who brave sometimes extreme physical suffering, mental pain and emotional struggles, bending their whole beings to the service of the spirit’s victory. The face of every solo finisher told a unique story of deep courage, intense aspiration and personal triumph. Regardless of time or rank, the fragrance of heroic deeds lingers all around the course: at every summit reached, every mile achieved, ever smile offered, every forward step taken. It was noticeable that those who were most appreciative of the efforts of the finishing solo runners, were the other solo runners: for only those who have been through the fire together can truly understand and appreciate the sacrifice, faith and commitment taken to reach that ultimate summit – the finish line.

In the few brief years of its existence, Pam Muston has embraced this race like her own child. Winning a race from the Over 50s division is a rare and remarkable feat: to do so 2 years in a row is the stuff of legends. Pam’s performance resounded with experience – starting at a more conservative pace, and maintaining that pace throughout. Yet she also showed the value of loving what you are doing: by committing herself wholeheartedly and unreservedly to the course and the race, at the finish she was positively radiating, looking fresher and sprightlier than any other finisher, team runners included.

With what would be described in horse racing as a “heavy track”, times were inevitably slower across the day. The effects of sustained rain in Canberra over several months has left the ground in part soft, sodden and slushy with occasional puddles up to shin height. Mud-clad shoes, a slippery tread and more cautious gait all contributed to a slower pace throughout.

After a wet week, organisers were blessed with two fine days – essential for applying paint to dirt – in which to mark the course, and a cool, fine race day in which the only real hint of rain came in the form of a glorious rainbow in the late afternoon, like a benediction over Mt Ainslie as runners streamed up, over and down this noble sentinel of Central Canberra.

Andy Isbister, hailing from the Megalong Valley and used to ups and downs as well as some slosh, was not planning or expecting to take a major trophy home from today’s exertions: however in a classic movie-script of “nice guy wins”, Andy toughed out some bleak moments to finish exalted with his win. Despite making up 14 minutes over the last 2 legs, Chris Oliver couldn’t quite reel in Tim Shakespeare for second place, Tim holding a 2-minute buffer at the close.

The effervescent Gemma Worland led the women’s race for most of the day, until the twin peaks of Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie loomed Alp-like to thwart her charge. Fiona Renshaw had more left in the tank and took the lead to win the Female Under 50s wreathed in smiles.

Glen Gielissen had set the pace early, leading allcomers, leaving everything out on the course and no “what-ifs”, eventually easing a little back through the field but still taking out the Male Over 50s from a faster-finishing Peter Komidar.

It is somewhat random to single out the category winners for special mention, as every finisher is indeed a winner in so many ways, often overcoming greater obstacles and hardship than the more fleet of foot. So let’s pause and salute you all [cue drumroll…]: Pam Muston, Glen Gielissen, Peter Komidar, Geoff Barnes, Tony Tsoi, Fiona Renshaw, Gemma Worland, Jackie Luethi, Cheryl Symons, Andy Isbister, Tim Shakespeare, Chris Oliver, Daren McClellan, Brett Easton, Aaron Flower, Alastair Lang, Robert Murray, Michael Manfield, Damien Stewart, Stephen Kiley, Jamie Dyball, Adam Edwards and Aaron Bowling.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe coexisting on the same course, the relay teams were having their own battles, joys and disappointments.

Our vote for stand-out team of the day – and most apt team name of the day – goes to “Mountains are Molehills”, the winning All-Female outfit of Clare Lonergan, Elly Love, Julie Quinn and Leanne Wilkinson. Kudos for defeating ALL the All-Male teams. Second was another fast combo of Sally Parker, Kate Vandenberg, Melissa Carters and Kate Chipperfield, “The Kate’s and Mel the ringleader”.

Line honours – and first Mixed Team – went to the impressive line-up of “Massage One ACT”, with three very fast gentlemen in Sam Burridge, Scott Imhoff and Wayne Corlis being supplemented by former ACT Triathlon Champ, Michelle Wu running the long 30km leg. “Sparrows 1” were next in with Charlotte Burgoyne, Jacob Mugavin, Liam Lilley and Jason Agostino returning a fine race.

The All-Male Teams, as is often the case, produced a great tussle, with “BMMC - Floating Goldfish” (Ben Berriman, Brett Phelan, Tony Kelshaw and Anthony Tuting) and “Once were cyclists” (yes their name is an accurate description) comprising George Bunt, James Meadley, Allan Sieper and Etienne Blumstein-Jones, going into the last leg almost neck-and-neck after 80km of slugging it out, only for the former cyclists to find the extra required in the final push for home.

The one comment heard more than any other at the finish line was: “Please thank all the volunteers; they were fantastic!” We couldn’t agree more – a huge cheer of gratitude for all the volunteer aid station attendants, road crossing marshals and transition officials, including Tom Landon-Smith, Carinna Tong, Peter Lockey, Nic Bendeli, Phil & Belinda Essam, Billly Pearce, Rhian Blackwell, Jon Schol, Rosemary Morgan, Ulricke Schumann, Michael Thompson, Sarah Murphy, Sue & Norm and the many helpers from the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team of Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra. Our very special gratitude to Dave Osmond, who rode the entire course in advance of the lead runner, to check on and replace missing course markings – a critical and priceless service. Thanks also to our medical staff of Bradley Close, Bruce Faraday and Michael Corrigan from Sports Medicine Australia.

Enjoy this video from Peter Komidar, solo runner...

in 2017, Canberra will turn 104 …

Canberra Trail ultra race stories

2016 Peter Komidar’s Race Report: Race Run and Lessons Learnt

The Sri Chinmoy 103 was my first ever 100 km race. So far this year, I’ve run a few marathons and a couple of 50 km ultras. But I’ve never actually run further than 54 km in my entire life and 54 km is not 103 km. Not even remotely.

Or to put it another way, I had no idea what I was getting into. I didn’t know if my training had been sufficient. I didn’t know if my nutrition plan was adequate. And I didn’t have the faintest idea whether my race plan was even ballpark.

So for me the SC103 would be a great lesson in running an ultra.

First Stage: Rond Terraces to Mt Taylor: Race Plan Rookie Errors

I now know that you can make a lot of errors when running a marathon or a 50 km ultra that don’t catch up with you because by the time the seeds you’ve sown have grown, flowered and born fruit, you are already beyond the finish line having steak, chips and a beer. But in a 103 km ultra there’s plenty of time to bring in your harvest and believe me, you’re gonna dine out on that fruit!

What errors? Well in this part of the race I made two key mistakes.

Firstly, I went out too fast. I knew I was going too fast. I even recited Hal Koerner’s mantra “if you think you are going too slow at the start of a race, slow down!” But nearly everyone was shooting along at a sub-six minute pace – when I had planned to run the first stage at between 6:30 and 7:00. I figured that they must know something I didn’t, so I upped my pace.

Secondly, I have this thing …. I love running downhill fast, particularly on technical trails. It’s the number one thing I love about running. And I just can’t avoid indulging myself in this habit. And the downhill at Isaac’s Ridge is particularly technical and particularly steep. It just begged to be conquered. And as I mentioned before – in all the other races I’d previously run, flying downhill had caused me no problems. Not so for a 103 km race it turns out.

Second Stage: Mt Taylor to the Arboretum: Bring on the Sugar

According to my race plan, the second stage was where I would slowly stretch out, building up the pace and getting in that ‘business as usual’ frame of mind. Only, my legs were feeling a bit tight and running down hill wasn’t as appealing anymore. I let up the pace a little and hoped the kinks would work themselves out. Remember those seeds. They were sprouting and growing just fine thank you very much.

By the time I reached the Transition Point 2 was way more sore and tired than I should have been. And that brings me to my nutrition plan. I won’t bore you with the technical details. But long story short, because of this growing tiredness I decided to throw out the plan and eat sugar instead. It would be a carb-driven second half … and I don’t normally eat sugar! In a long race, the thing with gels and lemonade and lollies is, they make you feel queasy. So now I had something else to add to my growing list of bodily complaints. But hey, they give you energy.

Third Stage – Arboretum to Hackett: The Wheels Fall Off

The first half of this stage has some super technical trails and according to my race plan, the fun of running the trails would mitigate feeling the wear and tear on the body. In practice, by the time I got to the top of Black Mountain and started the decent, my quads had blown and my calves were occasionally spasming. I couldn’t run down hill. And those technical trails, forget it, I didn’t have the control over my feet necessary for that stuff. So I just bit down on that bitter fruit and slugged it out. And if truth be told I almost DNFed several times. Oh I had it all worked out. As soon as I got to a road I’d ring my wife and get her to pick me up. But I still kept running and slowly, almost imperceptibly, my legs got better. Soon I was running at an acceptable pace, especially once I got to the bike paths. Take that Black Dog!

Fourth Stage – Hackett to the Finish Line: Matters of Mind Over Matter

As I left the third Transition Point, I seriously doubted I would be able to finish. But still I kept running. Well more like fast walking at this point. You see, I could run on the flats but uphill was too exhausting and downhill was agony. So I ran where I could and power walked the hills. Once I got to the summit of Mt Majura I began experimenting with my gait. Surely there was some way of running downhill that didn’t hurt. And finally, I found that if I ran with baby steps there was little if any pain. And once I started to run I was able to keep running. Of course, I was in no shape to run up Mt Ainslie, but the rest I could do. Not fast. But it was running and for the first time since the Telstra Tower, I thought I might just finish this race.

And so 13 hours and 38 minutes after starting, I crossed the finish line. And what a surprise it was when I received the trophy for second 50+ male and seventh solo runner overall!

Conclusion – Its Not What You Know, Its Who You Know.

So despite my many mistakes, I made it. But apart for my bloody mindedness, real responsibility for that rests not with the guy making all the mistakes, but with two other people.

My support crew (aka my wife Sharon) who was there at every Transition Point, feeding me, making sure I had everything in order, and packing me off again with encouraging words. She’s a marvel!

And also my pacer, Chris Toyne. Before the race, I thought the job of a pacer was to make sure I didn’t get lost and to gee me up if I needed it. Chris proved that a good pacer can do so much more. Sure, he engaged me in chat to take my mind off my aching body. But I’m a shy introvert and Chris didn’t try to fill all the awkward empty spaces with words. Chris would remind me every 40 or so minutes that I needed to chug down another revolting gel (my stomach was in open revolt at this stage). When he thought I could go a little faster he would just start running a little bit ahead of me. Nothing said. And invariably I’d pick up the pace, most of the time without even noticing. And as we were running down Mt Ainslie in the dark, he was in front, pointing out steps, rocks and bumps in the path which my addled brain might not pick up.

So in the end I made it. But without Sharon or Chris, I’m sure my mistakes would have well and truly caught up with me.

Results (PDF Download)

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra, 102 km 27 September 2015, full results by category 1001.86 KB

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Trail Ultra, 102 km 27 September 2015, full results overall 983.67 KB

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When a perfect day comes, you just have to cherish it. You know there will be wet, cold or super-hot, dusty and blustery days when just to put one foot in front of the other is a supreme effort – so when the sky is blue, the air calm and the sun mild; when birds are singing, balloons hovering and the very trees are smiling … these are days to be grateful for.

50 solo runners and 72 relay teams lined up at The Rond Terraces on Lake Burley Griffin for the dawn start, to venture forth along Canberra’s tracks and trails, wending an enormous circular route around the nation’s capital, cresting the peak of almost every hill and savouring a smorgasbord of superb vistas along the way. 102 kilometres would honour the 102 years this wonderful city has graced the Limestone Pains.

Paul Cuthbert and Sarah Fien are locals who know these trails better than most. Paul had come in second place both years this event has previously been held – in 2013 and 2014 – and this year, though his 10:17:57 was slower due to a more challenging course, his persistence triumphed with a front-running victory, having led the field from the first 100 metres. Sarah had also experienced disappointment here, having been forced to withdraw last year, but came back stronger and more determined, winning the women’s race in 11:35:18. placing her 7th outright. Both looked fresh and relaxed throughout the race, never more so than at the finish line.

Rob Mason (10:45:06) and Andrew Donaldson (10:55:46) both came in under the 11 hour mark, both working their way through the field to finish “on a roll.” Glenn Gielissen took out the Men 50-59 category in 14:07:37; and last year’s women’s winner, Pam Muston the Women’s 50-59 in an excellent 13:21:09. Deep respect and congratulations to all solo runners for their courage, vision, faith and heroism which permeated the whole race and only intensified the beauty and glory of this memorable day.

Having tasted winning teams in previous years, Martin Dent and Rob Walter decided to handicap themselves this year by each running twice as far as their competitors in the All-Male teams. Each ran 2 of the 4 legs for Team “2614”, and found it very demanding to back up for a second leg, yet still ran out convincing winners in 8:13:40 – 40 minutes clear of their rivals. Martin’s 1:59:38 was over 10 minutes clear in the 29.3 km leg 2.

Team “Malteesers” were convincing winners in the All-Female teams category, winning by 50 minutes. Tiffany Bonasera, Margaret Hemsley, Kyralee Bunt and Alison Mungoven were each in the top few for their legs, their combination proving unbeatable this day.

The “race du jour” was in the Mixed Teams category, between “StuLouElizDave” (David Osmond, Elizabeth Humphries, Louise Sharp and Stuart Doyle), and “The anu’s” (Joelle Ducommun-Dit-Verron, Richard Skelton, Jessica Amies and Emmanuel David). Both teams sprinted out at the start, with Dave and Joelle running the fastest male and female times for this leg. The anu’s drew away on leg 2, as Richard took the fastest male time for this leg and Jessica went further ahead on leg 3. Heading out of T3, Stuart was faced with a 9-minute deficit (abetted by Louise managing to run an additional few scenic km), and ran his heart out over Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie to bring his team victory by a mere 90 seconds.

Gratitude to all helpers, supporters, onlookers and well-wishers: especially to the Gungahlin SES; to Sports Medicine Australia; Triathlon ACT for the loan of equipment; to the staff of NCA, Environment ACT, the National Arboretum Canberra and Stromlo Forest Park; Martin Fryer for designing an outstanding course; the course markers, sweepers and clearers; to the transition and drink station attendants and marshals; to Shane Rattenbury for presenting the awards and supporting the race so wholeheartedly.

Enjoy Steve Hanley's photos of the day, along with the SCMT photo album from all over the course.

The race will return next year, maturing as Canberra does, to 103…

Race Photos

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When the human being – body, vital, mind, heart and soul – is focussed on greatness, then astonishing strength, power, goodness, love and creative capacity flows from within to reveal in our little, limited world something infinitely marvellous.

When several hundred souls gather with one magnificent, transcendent goal, then we glimpse the glory that is our very best.

This glory is in the striving, in the pain as much as the joy, the stumbles alongside the confident strides, the so-called failure hand in hand with the triumph. For it is in striving to go beyond ourselves that we glimpse who we truly are.

The Sri Chinmoy Canberra 101 Trail Run brought together a family of champions. Every participant – solo and relay runner, helper, volunteer and well-wisher – gave their all to a day-long symphony of celebration, a soaring song of the human spirit.

Every individual performance was remarkable. Every achievement was sublime. Every participant should take a bow.

Full results are published – by category and overall, along with a photo album from around the course.

Canberra Trail ultra race stories

The Sri Chinmoy Canberra Centenary ultra is one of my favourites, more than anything because it showcases what a beautiful place Canberra is. Where else in the world can you host an ultra run that circumnavigates a major city while spending most of its time in the bush? Throw in a heap of mountains (hills actually) and you have a great race.

This was the second year running, with an extra km added to celebrate. I came second last year, and was hoping to improve this year. I am fitter than last year, and scoping out the form guide I didn’t see any super stars, but as always in racing you never know what’s going to happen on the day. Long story short I ran really well, everything went to plan, but was beaten by a stronger competitor. Kudos to Bradley Carron-Arthur. On the negative side I missed out on first place. On the positive side I did a PB, plus I have extra motivation to train hard for next year. I’m a glass half full kind of person.

My lead up to this race involved a bit more tapering and less running than I usually do. I strained a glute two weeks before race day and despite loads of stretching and massage it still wasn’t fully healed. It was the sort of injury that could easily go away with a long run and not be a problem at all, or might flare up and risk my first DNF. I briefly considered pulling out to avoid the risk of a DNF, but being motivated by the great Kilian Jornet, “I am not afraid to fail”, decided this really wasn’t kosher. Fortunately the injury went away in the first leg and caused no problems after the first 20 metres limping down the hill. Love the body.

Pretty much from the start I was running with Brad. There were a couple of other people as well. John Power broke away at one stage early on which made me uncomfortable, because being a mate I really didn’t want to see him blow up. He ended up having a great race so my fears were unjustified. Another “unknown” to me (Stuart Davies) made a serious break away on the first leg, and was out of sight for ages, but it was too early on to know if he could maintain the pace.

Coming into CP1 my plan was to ditch Brad and run the rest of the race at my own pace (aside from Stu, who was still in front). I raced down Taylor and did a super quick change of packs with Tom Brazier on support. The plan seemed to be going well and I was running by myself for most of this leg, aside from passing Stu who looked in a bad state a few km later. (Checking the results later I see that although he slowed, Stu kept going and was consistent the remainder of the race - so kudos to Stuart Davies as well).

Approaching CP2, Brad had caught up and we ran together into the CP. By now we had covered over 50km and so I knew I had real competition by my side. The second half of this race was clearly going to push me!

I managed a quick transition and left the CP in front of Brad. He was soon to catch up and passed me heading up Black Mountain. I was quickly realising that Brad was faster than me on the uphills and I was faster on the downhills. Usually it’s the opposite, with race competitors passing me on the downhills. I ran the mexican hat on Black Mountain feeling less than ordinary, but somehow managed to catch Brad again later as we were leaving Black Mountain.

Around this time I stumbled a couple of times, and finally fell and grazed myself. I was getting tired and sloppy with my feet. This was definitely not the message I wanted my competitor to see. Brad managed to break away after I fell (after checking I was OK and graciously offering his help), and so I chased him all the way into CP3.

I hung around a little too long at CP3 and was gradually giving in mentally. I could see that Brad was a tough competitor, and having run Canberra to Cape York I knew he would not give up easily. Still there’s was always the hope he was feeling worse than me so I pushed on and tried to avoid losing too much time. I figured I would push at least until the Mt Ainslie summit ridge, where I would see what sort of lead he had and what condition each of us was in.

By the time I made the summit ridge I could see Brad had a decent lead. It was not insurmountable if I was feeling good and he wasn’t, but unfortunately I wasn’t feeling good! At this point I was pretty sure it was going to be a 2nd place finish, provided nobody was right behind me. I made it to the top and down again without seeing third place, so with 15+ minutes up my sleeve I had a pretty comfortable lead on third.

I really didn’t want to get lazy for the remained of the leg, so I kept telling myself that either David Baldwin or Andrew Donaldson (both running the last leg) would soon overtake me, and how embarrassing it would be if this occurred while I was walking on the flat. It was a silly mental game but helped me keep going to the end.

I crossed the finish line in a time of 9:53:27, which is almost 17 minutes faster than last year. The course didn’t climb Stromlo, but was an extra km, so I really don’t know if it was easier or harder this year around. I figure it was about the same so I’m wrapped with a PB and pleased with how I ran. Can’t wait for next year.

Canberra Trail ultra race stories Race stories

The 2014 edition of the Sri Chinmoy Canberra 101 trail run was to be my first proper ultra run. I had run a few road and trail marathons previously, and while I have a sneaking suspicion that there is a sub-3 hour marathon lurking in me somewhere, the thought of spending a good part of the year training to shave another few minutes off my time didn’t appeal. Being a Canberra local, I had seen the ultra runners last year making their way around the loop, and after reading the inspirational race reports from last year’s race I was in.

One of the nice things about training for the race was that I got to spend a large amount of time running on the various hills and trails in the Canberra nature park network; my Sunday morning long run was something I looked forward to each week. Seven months of building up my distances, hitting the hills, and running a few training races left me with the confidence that I could finish the run, but a longest run of only 5 hours (46km) meant that there was some uncertainty about just how I would get there. (For those interested, I found the training program set out by Don Wallace a great resource.)

The first two stages of the run were largely uneventful. The first stage disappeared without a lot of thought – there were plenty of distractions in the form of beautiful scenery, chat with fellow competitors and the excitement of my first ultra. The second stage over Mt Arawang, over the dam and out the back of the arboretum was long, warm, and to be honest a little boring, but I was lucky enough to fall into stride with Saxon Brown and we kept each other company for a couple of hours. By the end of this stage I was feeling strong, looking forward seeing my family at checkpoint 2 (55km), and eating some real food (GU is great stuff, but I was getting a little tired after number 9…). I was also getting quite excited and nervous at the thought of what was to come – 55km was 10km further than I had run before, and I was curious to find out how much longer I could go on like this.

Not much longer, as it turned out. About 2 km into the stage another runner warned me of the presence of two brown snakes doing what brown snakes do on the first warm day of Spring. Unfortunately they were doing it in the middle of the path – and while I waited a few minutes to warn the next runner through (the snakes didn’t seem to recognise the importance of the sporting event they were interrupting) all the running seemed to leave my legs. I found it difficult to get into a rhythm again, and as I climbed up into the Aranda Bushland I entered my first dark period of the race. A short walk break at 60km was followed pretty soon by another one, and the doubts entered my mind. The next 10km up and over Black Mountain – usually one of my favourite runs – was a misery as I found it increasingly difficult to end each walking break and as I mentally started calculating how long I would have to endure this if I were to finish. What was usually a 55 minute run on a Sunday morning training run took an hour and a half – and it seemed longer. Worse, I couldn’t seem to run downhill – my quads were screaming and no amount of Jens Voigt-like exhortations to “shut up legs” would help.

Eventually, however, I made it off Black Mountain, my ‘running breaks’ became longer, and my mood started to lighten. I had a few words to Wes Gibson, whose race was going much worse than mine, and that helped me put my plight into a bit of perspective. The 7km until the next checkpoint at Dickson was mostly flat, and I was able to pass the time talking with fellow competitor Adrian Cengia. Life was improving. I was also due to meet my mate and designated pacer Adrian at the checkpoint, and this gave me something to look forward to.

The fourth stage on Mounts Majura and Ainslie was one I was very familiar with, and I began mentally ticking off the kilometres as we made steady progress. Although I was in good spirits, the race was beginning to take its toll on my concentration. During a walk break I managed to tread on a shingleback that was being admired by a couple of bushwalkers – I blame Adrian, he was my ears and eyes at that point! (The shingleback was annoyed but fine, it’d take a tank to stop one of those things. The bushwalkers were also annoyed…) Looking back on my times for this segment, they weren’t that much quicker than on Black Mountain, they just seemed that way.

Finally, we had only Mount Ainslie and a short run to the lake to go. I had been looking forward to the climb for a while: the uphills were still going well, and I was hoping to pick off a couple of runners ahead of me on the climb. Indeed, I managed to overhaul three runners before the summit, including the redoubtable Pam Muston – this was going alright! I even left Adrian behind, much to the consternation of his partner who was waiting at the top of the hill. But I also knew that the steepest descent of the day was coming up, and I wasn’t sure the legs were going to allow me an easy finish. As soon as we started going down, I slowed to a hobble. Worse, this caused my blood pressure to drop, and I got woozy and nauseated (post exercise hypotension, for the medically inclined among you). I needed to sit down several times on the way down, and I entered my darkest mood of the day – I was 4km from the finish, and I could see no way of getting myself there. I was pretty close to tears.

Eventually – amazingly – with the encouragement of Adrian I managed to reach the bottom of the descent, and as I started running again my head cleared, my mood lightened and my pace increased. By Anzac Parade I was moving well, and even better there were three solo runners ahead to pick off before the finish line! Only John Power responded to my challenge of “let’s see what we’ve got left!”, and the last kilometre or so was a closely fought sprint finish. Barely 15 minutes before I had been sitting on a step on the Mount Ainslie path, feeling sick and wondering who was going to carry me home, and here I was finishing the race at 4:30 pace. I just managed to outlast John for 9th place overall.

Coming into the race, I had read a lot about the ability of an ultramarathon to send one to some pretty dark places, and about the importance of pushing through these places to the other side. More than anything else about this event, I was most looking forward to experiencing some of these lows, and testing my ability to push onward. I certainly found a couple of these dark places, and although I was hobbling and in great discomfort I have come to realise in the days after the race that these dark places were largely mental, not physical barriers. My legs weren’t any less damaged once I got off Black Mountain, nor did they magically heal once I go to within sight of the finish line. The realisation that it was my mind, not my body, which was failing me at those points has been one of my more humbling experiences. But it also made the sprint finish all the sweeter.

Canberra Trail ultra race stories Race stories

I am never running another 100km race ever again. These were my first words to friends and family when I finished the 2013 Canberra 100K.

After telling myself that I have ticked the ultra-marathon box, and that I don’t need to put myself through such physical and mental torment again, the thoughts of going back to Canberra for another go, to better my time and place started creeping in. Before I knew it, I had committed to a training program and signed myself up. I wanted to compete against the girls this year. I wanted to come in under 13 hours and most of all I wanted that podium finish.

But let’s start from the beginning. In May this year my husband (and amazing friends) surprised me for my 30th with an entry into the New York City Marathon which is to be staged in November. I was excited and started dreaming of how fast a time I could do. But then my mind turned to Canberra. Could I still do the 100 and then back up 5 weeks later for my first ever marathon? I had to weigh up priorities. To do well in New York or do well in Canberra? The temptation of smashing out a solid 100km time in Canberra took out the top spot. My goal for the year now was to give Canberra a good crack and just go out and have a good time in New York.

In much the same style as last year, I started my training about 10 weeks out. I enlisted the services of super coach Brendan Murray (BME Endurance Coaching – look him up, he’s a legend and gets results!) and the ‘fun’ began. We didn’t have a heap of time to build up to the mileage most ultra-runners get to for a race like this but rather we went in with high quality sessions. I was conditioned to deal with pushing through solid sessions on tired legs and a tired mind. Some days it felt like I was dragging myself out of the house kicking and screaming. It seemed like the weather was always cold (for the Gold Coast anyway), dark and windy and most sessions were done alone. I won’t lie, it was the pits. But I remained focused knowing that this sort of conditioning would be exactly what I needed when I am in the depths of the race and I needed to rely on my mental strength to get through.

I scoped out the start list and saw that there were some ladies with very strong ultra backgrounds. Third place from last year was also returning so I knew I had a big task ahead if I wanted to get a place. My thoughts were going from ‘just go out and have a good run’ to ‘get out there and give it everything’. I figured it would probably come down to Pam Muston and Sarah Fien to take out the two top positions so my game plan was to keep them in sight and see what happens.

Race morning came around and in true Canberra style it was nearly freezing conditions. When we took off, just a tad after 6.00am, the temperature was a cool one degree! The fog was blocking the sun so it took a while before I warmed up. Trying to make conversation with other runners when your face is frozen is quite difficult! Anyway, I settled into a rhythm early and after a couple of kilometers I was the lead female. The gap between me and the next girl gradually grew and it was at this point I thought to myself I have two options here. I can settle down and be sensible, remembering there is still a long way to go, or just go for it. Run without fear (thanks Stacey!) and hang on for dear life…for the next 90+km! I thought what the hell, I’ll just go for it!! For the rest of the leg I continued to stretch my lead out. I was going at a pretty easy pace and I was still being sensible when it came to hills but from here on I wasn’t really prepared to lose the lead I had. I came into check point 1 a couple of minutes ahead of the next girl (who I now know to be Kristy Lovegrove). As soon as I saw the other girls starting to come in, I was off again.

The next few km into the second leg I had company following closely behind me (Natalie Best). It didn’t worry me too much and I figured that if she did take the lead I would remain cool and just hang on to her. A few kilometers passed and I turned to notice I had lost her. This leg was hot, really hot! The sun was really beaming down and there wasn’t much shade on offer. Around the middle part of this leg I began to feel quite dehydrated and my calves were starting to cramp. At first it was only on the hills but after a while it was happening on the flats, causing me to stop and walk or stretch them out. It was really slowing me down. The few kilometers leading into the Arboretum I was starting to struggle. I was having a lot more walking breaks than I had hoped for and I was really longing for the check point so I could see family and get the boost that I needed. Just as I remembered last year, the climb up to the Arboretum was not very nice but with my dad running alongside me (in his cycling kit and cleats!!) I charged up the last few hundred metres and was cheered into the checkpoint. 55.5km in and still leading!

The next section was the shortest of all the legs (22km) but it took in Black Mountain which is a killer climb. I left the transition smiling and with a bit of a spring in my step commenting to my support crew that it was only 22km until I see them again – easy! I had kept a watchful eye on the runners coming up the hill to see how close the next female was. By the time I had left none of them had made it through. However, I was informed a little later that they came through a few minutes after I had gone. I knew I was in for a fight to keep the lead from this point.

I was really trying my best to limit the walking breaks but I was completely zapped of all energy. The sun was still so hot and no matter how much I drank I just couldn’t seem to quench my thirst. It was around this time that I was starting to feel really ill. Coming into Dickson around the 75km mark was where I hit a wall. I knew the next check point wasn’t very far away but it seemed like I was taking forever to reach it. I was dehydrated, sunburnt, sore, exhausted and over it! And I was expecting the next female runner to overtake me any minute. My spirits were dropping rapidly. I needed to get to the next check point without completely losing it (and losing my lead!).

I shuffled into checkpoint 3 where I was met first by my dad. He asked me how I was feeling - horrible at best. I felt quite emotional, almost like I couldn’t hold it together for much longer. I told my support crew that I don’t think it’ll be long before the next female comes through. Well sure enough, within minutes, Pam Muston made her way through the transition. It was almost like it was in slow motion as I watched her support crew run alongside her, handing her food and supplies and off she went on her way for the fourth and final leg. I had lost my lead! I have to say though, there was still some satisfaction with the fact I had led for 77km! But the race wasn’t over yet. I had to re-gather and get on my way before the next female got me too!

Off I went for the final 24km with my sister, Sarah-Jane, alongside me for this leg. SJ remarked that it was only 5 parkruns to go. That was possibly the worst breakdown ever and I thought let’s just get to the top of Majura and then deal with the rest. I could see Pam only a couple of hundred meters ahead. We kept her in sight right up until the top of Mt Majura but after that she found another gear and was gone. If I wasn’t hurting enough before this point, I was certainly hurting now. My breathing was really labored, I was in agony and I was really nauseous (apparently also looking very pale). On our way down Majura we saw third place, Georgia Bamber, making her way up. Sarah-Jane was doing her best to keep my mind distracted by talking to me but the best response she could get out of me was either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or a grunt. It was at this point that I knew I couldn’t catch Pam. I had absolutely nothing left and it just became a fight to get to the finish in second place. It was somewhere between Mt Majura & Mt Ainslie that I made a promise to myself that I would never do this again! I asked myself to remember the amount of pain I was in at that moment the next time I even thought about entering another ultra-marathon. The kilometers were slowly ticking over and I continually looked over my shoulder to check for Georgia. Luckily she wasn’t in sight. I was hanging for the climb up Ainslie because it meant there was only ONE parkrun to go from there!

It wasn’t long before we commenced our way up the steep trail of Mt Ainslie. I didn’t remember it being so hard last year. My legs were in so much pain! After an agonizing climb it was an amazing feeling to hear a booming voice yell ‘Go Kathryn’ from above! Gary & Denise Clarke were waiting for us at the top of Mt Ainslie to cheer us on. What legends! Gary asked how I was feeling and all I could manage was a head shake. Not good, Gary. But we were so close now. I wasn’t letting anything stop me from here. Next was the harsh descent down the mountain and I just needed to make sure I didn’t trip on anything. My legs were so tired and I had to make a conscious effort to pick my feet up. Mum and Dad and the Clarke’s were waiting for us at the base of the mountain for a final cheer before the finish. I was in a bad way and just wanted to get there. Again, on the brink of tears we made our way down Anzac Parade which was a refreshing slight downhill on the pavement. We were catching other runners on the way too. I can’t even remember if there was conversation happening here. We made it onto the path along Lake Burley Griffin and I caught a glimpse of Regatta Point. It was so close. I had to ask Sarah-Jane if that was in fact the finish because I couldn’t believe we were that close. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I realised that I had done exactly what I set out to do. I think I commented to SJ words to the effect of ‘I did it’! We picked the pace up as we neared closer. Then we had to slow down to let mum and dad get to the finish before us – had to get that finish photo!! And then it was upon us – the final hill up to the finish line. I wanted my sister to cross the line with me because without her I wouldn’t have been able to hold it together in those final stages. She pushed me at the right times and got me to the end, just like I had asked her to. What a feeling it was to cross that line!

In 2013, I ran this race in 13hours 55mins in 5th place. This year I ran it in 12hours 26mins in 2nd place. I know it was a slightly different course, not taking in Mt Stromlo, but it was longer so I am definitely claiming it as a PB. A big one at that too! When I crossed the line I barked at my Dad ‘If I ever talk about doing this again, make sure you stop me!’. My Dad calmly replied ‘I will ask you again on Wednesday’. He knew.

Maybe I’ll come out of retirement for a sub12 in 2015, or maybe I’ll retire satisfied with my efforts in 2014 – we will see what happens!

My goal for Canberra has been accomplished. Now to go out and have a great time in New York!

The Sri Chinmoy Canberra 101 Trail Run was staged in and around Canberra on Sunday 28 September 2014. Full results, both overall and by category follow, along with the top 3 times for each leg by category:

Sri Chinmoy Canberra 101 Trail Run, 28 September 2014, full results by category including leg split times>>

Sri Chinmoy Canberra 101 Trail Run, 28 September 2014, full results overall including leg split times>>

Sri Chinmoy Canberra 101 Trail Run, 28 September 2014, top 3 times for each leg by category>>

The Sri Chinmoy Canberra Centenary 100km Trail Run was staged in and around Canberra on Saturday 21 September 2013. Full results follow.

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Centenary 100km Trail Run, 21 September 2013, full results overall>>

Sri Chinmoy Canberra Centenary 100km Trail Run, 21 September 2013, full results by category>>