Blackall 100 Race Recap

Official Time: 15:58:01

Welcome to my race recap, I don’t usually write race reports, but thought I’d give it a go for this epic experience. I just told my wife I was trying to write it, and she said “Oh yeh – just like when I wrote about my experiences of giving birth”…..uh..yeh…that’s *exactly*  the kind of angle I was going for. It’s actually a pretty long story, so grab a homemade turmeric protein ball that you trail runners eat, remove those Hokas , sit back, , and get reading. Let me preface this by saying I love trail running but I don’t really run too many trails, I’ve got thighs as big as a small African nation’s GDP and I’m far too lazy to get up at stupid O’ Clock or drive many kilometres to nice forests to exercise.

This was my second Blackall 100, having “run” the event in 2017 when it was raining super heavily all day (some would say torrential rain) and the course had to be modified. I didn’t get to do the “proper course” as we bypassed the bluff and we did the Cooloolabin Dam loop twice. At least that is what Gretel, my wife tells me as I have absolutely no recollection of going round the Dam 2 times. Or more like 2 dam times. See what I did there?

Thanks. That day was a cold wet slog but I finally got there in over 18hours. I think it was even measured long at around 103km. So from my perspective it was a slightly disappointing performance and I felt like I had some unfinished business at this race. And besides, I had a green Blackall buff, I was keen for a different colour!!

I hadn’t intended on running the Blackall 100k this year, as I did the Clint Eastwood “last man standing” race back in August (6.7ks on the hour, every hour -15 laps, 100.6kms) and my body and brain ( and feet!) hadn’t quite recovered from that little fun run. But as I saw all the people getting excited on social media about Blackall, I got a bad case of FOMO and kept an eye out for people who were looking to transfer their entries (it was sold out). FOMO is not generally recommended by most experts as a valid reason to run a ridiculous distance. Sure enough, only a few hours after I had discussed it with my supportive wife Gretel, an entry became available!! Well….it was clearly meant to be! (Besides, I’ve been carbo loading since I was 3 years old so I figured I could do this on short notice!) That left me about 5 weeks to train for a hilly 100k Ultra, Let the panic training commence! The very next day I went out and did a hilly 35ks!

The Race

Race weekend was great, we arrived Friday evening and it was fun seeing so many mates from North Lakes parkrun out there, some were doing their first ever 50k, some were doing the 21k and many were volunteering over the weekend, such is the calibre of these fine people. The GRTT legends were there doing the registrations and also helping out at Checkpoint 1 which was great. Mental note for future self: don’t eat heaps of saucy pepperoni pizza the night before a race…it’s not going to end well.

Race morning came about soon enough, and it was a miracle to wake up and see the sun shining with beautiful warm weather. You don’t understand…this never happens when I do a big event. I was excited for my support crew to not need gumboots and life jackets for a race!!. We thought we would be smart by sleeping at the QCCC campgrounds the night before, only 50m walk to the start line. Maximum sleep time! So that was pretty fun and exciting for the kids who all got to have a top bunk bed, but we forgot that sleeping at a campsite means dorms and camp beds and strange camp food and strangers talking loudly at night in the hallway….but I definitely managed a solid 15min doze the night before. Which is actually more than I got for the last man standing race, which begins at 1am.

Up early for some corn flakes, tailwind and a coffee for brekky, a nervous poo and then unintentionally woke my wife while I was clipping my toenails in the pre-dawn Dorm room darkness. Who said romance is dead?  At least I didn’t awaken her 5 mins earlier when I was applying my “bum cream” as the kids call it at that time. That may have been grounds for divorce.

I felt pretty good heading the short 50m down to the start and optimistic for a good day. As mentioned, bum had been successfully creamed and nipples too. In fact, any possible nook and/or cranny had been smeared. Take a moment to enjoy that mental image.

My main concerns for this race were cramping and muscle/leg/foot/Plantar Fasciitis pain that would inevitably visit me later in the day. The question was could I push through it all? Could my mental strength defeat my body crying out to stop? I decided to put some strapping on my foot arches, I hadn’t done this in training so I knew that wasn’t smart but figured I could always rip it off later if it became an issue. I had been overdosing on Magnesium tablets in the weeks leading up to the race so I was interested to see if that helped.

Boom! And we are off!! We headed down the QCCC driveway and I enjoyed the first 8ks on the roads, rolling hills with views left to the coastline, just taking it easy and walking any significant hills. My plan in 2017 was to walk any hills at all, this time I planned to run any small hills that would last less than a minute or so. In terms of intensity, I was visualising myself with the foot pushing on the gas pedal just gently, all day. Push a little harder on the pedal or easing back when required. We headed down the steps to Kondalilla in good spirits, chatting and laughing, enjoying the beautiful scenery and the smell of freshly applied bum cream.

Man, ultra-runners are weird, there was all shapes and sizes of people running around me here, hipster beards, tattoos, topless guys, walking poles, guys with hot pink shorts! I remember running faster for a bit…just to chat to a guy who I noticed has the exact same brand and colour socks and shoes as me…ha ha that seems so random now!! Another guy who was in front of me on a trail got whacked in the face with a branch..and I quipped: “ That’s Straya – everything is trying to kill you”. He just kind of glared at me sideways…maybe he misheard me….maybe he only heard “trying to kill you” ha ha ha I had to laugh at myself there.

It was great to see El, Noo and Alana around CP1. Alana was sure to remind me that it was a “run” and to get going…and then Noo continued the “encouragement”, saying “I was so worried about you – because you’re so far back in the field”. Nice burn there, Noo….the smiling assassin. We headed back up the steps and past CP1 and headed over to Baxter Falls.

We saw the Troll at Baxter Falls, and across the rope Bridge, feeling good and then some sharp hills up out of there and back on to the roads to QCCC for CP 2. It seemed pretty hot n steamy early so I was trying to be very disciplined with my water and Tailwind intake. My plan was to have concentrated tailwind in my small flasks and water in my hydration bladder. I would simply refill the water at checkpoints and swap the small flasks for ones my wife would have ready. Simples.

I was fairly shocked when about 3ks out from CP2 I had run out of water! Couldn’t believe it really! I wondered if my water pack had sprung a leak or maybe I was just drinking more than anticipated due to the heat. I really should have refilled at CP 1. Because I was using a concentrated tailwind solution, if I don’t have water to wash it down, I can’t get any nutrition in at all. I tried not to panic but just cruised back easy to QCCC, knowing I could refill soon. I was praying for a public toilet with a tap that I could use while coming out of Baxter falls area but didn’t see anything. In retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise, as I knew then all day I had to fill up with maximum water at every single opportunity.

It was great to see Gretel and the kids, and after a quick refill, Anzac biccy and high 5’s I was off. Another plan this year was to move quickly through the CP’s and not stay too long. I also didn’t sit down on the chair as I was nervous it wouldn’t be good for me ..cramps, or leg pain so I just kept on moving. I read in the Blackall facebook forums many people are always saying things like “just keep moving” or you’ll regret it. Then again the same kind of people run 100k’s for fun so they are clearly mentally unstable. If you believe the blackall fb forum chatter, none of the runners had done any training whatsoever for this race and they were all coming off injuries! Fake news!

It was fairly uneventful, heading out of QCCC and towards CP3. I was keen to get off the roads and into the trails. Or onto the trails? Into or onto? Any teachers out there? We headed through Mapleton Falls area which is pretty and then across Delicia rd. and onto some trails. A few hills here and it was really getting hot now. Met a few ladies to chat to and helped a lady who was having a mild panic because she couldn’t find her skittles. Classic textbook case of lostskittleitis. I could see them on the side of her pack them so helped her get some skittles out of her vest. I can’t imagine eating skittles on an ultra…they’re soo chewy. Finally hit the water point at the top near Ubajee and was sure to fill up.

Our first real descent of the day down the switchbacks from Ubagee Camp down to Gheerula creek. I was debating with myself whether to just power walk the long downhill to save the quads or to just go for it and get down there as soon as I can. In the end I decided to just cruise down with a fast walk. That may seem lame but you have to remember there’s a mental burden of 70kms still to go!! We then headed along the valley floor beside the creek for about 6 ks and then into CP3. Interesting note, did you know that Gheerulla is from the aboriginal word which means dry creek. Which was pretty much spot on. My 20 second Google search also said it is apparently pronounced “Herulla”, but I’ve heard all sorts of pronunciations.

It was so hot and I was dreaming of a cold drink. I was disappointed as my running watch ran out of battery at about 40k, even though I had hooked it up to an external power bank. Its imperative to keep positive in your thoughts in a long race like this, its easy to let these little annoyances or disappointments get you into a negative mindset. I was in a good headspace so far, not thinking about the imposing distance still ahead of me but just taking each leg as it comes and trying to stay positive.

CP3 finally came and it was just stinking hot with not much shade and all the poor supporters and families looked like they were cooking in the sun. My awesome family were there, and even had cold drinks for me…mmm iced coffee never tasted so good. Iced coffee works for me in long trails …so deal with it, people!! Had some fruit cake and can’t remember what else. Side note: small serve of fruit cake with icing from Aldi (100g) contains like 70g carbs!!! Crazy!!

I was too scared to sit down on a chair or stay too long as my legs had been feeling good (even though I really wanted to) so before I knew it I was climbing up old mate Gheerulla bluff in the midday blaze. Not much shade here so it was pretty tough. Passed a lot of people walking, sitting, crying, esp. some of the poor bugger 50k’ers who had been out there for a long time. I put some music on and tried to get into a good rhythm. Eventually got to the top ( I don’t think the bluff is actually that bad ) but it was the extra section added at the top of the bluff where we turned right and did some sharp downhills and then some sick uphills that never ended. Brett Standring (race director) – I don’t know you mate, but you are a bad bad man!! Eventually came to a water stop where there were people suffering, laying down and looking like their day was done. I filled up and got out of there as fast as I could, the longer you stay the stronger the temptation to rest, sit, lay down, sleep etc.

There are some nice single-track trails at the top of the bluff with more shade so I was looking forward to the next part. This is around the 50k mark of the race so it’s a nice mental milestone. I had been doing well with nutrition and hydration. I was slightly nervous that I wasn’t getting enough salt even though I hadn’t been cramping and had been on my tailwind schedule.

I had the brilliant brainwave to take some more salt tablets as “insurance” even though I was feeling ok. 6 tablets at once, in fact. Well…not long after that genius move I started to have stomach issues and felt pretty terrible. I slowed down for the next 45mins and eventually I decided to bless the trees with the entire contents of my stomach. I blessed them and I blessed them like 5 times!!! I think I scared a poor runner behind me who came and offered to help me, if anyone’s heard me puke it’s not quiet or shy in any way. Imagine a dying donkey and that’s probably the sound I was making. I’m really sorry to that runner who had to experience that. Afterwards I felt remarkably better and started running again, being cautious as I know I had just lost a lot of fluid. I think there were heaps of people who puked on the poor Gheerulla Bluff!

I was still feeling pretty good at this point, I was kind of excited that my legs and feet weren’t killing me or that cramps hadn’t set in. I was keen to see the 60k poster mark that I had seen earlier on my descent into Gheerulla. I finally hit Delicia road and ran alongside that for a bit and then back into the trees at Gheerulla falls. Didn’t have time for sightseeing the falls, maybe next time. Then it was the switchbacks back up to Ubagee camp. That took about 15mins of power walking, and I realised I hadn’t seen any snakes yeh that day so…WINNING!!! It was a great boost to me at the top of the range to see me old mate Dave Tozer powering up the hill. We had a bit of a chat; he was having a long day in the conditions doing his first ever 50k but he was GETTING IT DONE for his first ever ultra. Well done mate! Not far to go until CP4!.

CP 4 was great; you could hear the noise and cheers as you approach and by now the extreme heat of the day had started to ease off. I was excited to see my crew again, and bonus to see all the parkrun guys who were waiting for Dave to arrive. Janet, Michael, Nat, Jules were all there…sorry if I missed anyone. It was so great but also a bit overwhelming to be surrounded by everyone and all the noise and other people…it was a weird feeling after spending hours listening only to my own breathing. It was good to be able to give them some info about Dave who wasn’t that far behind me.

Again I didn’t stay long or sit down, just wanted to get going again. I knew the next section had a long downhill so I took some coke with me to drink later. My awesome wife had some cold Ginger beer waiting. My mind said “ Ginger is good for your tummy; you should have a few sips”. Nek minit you’ve sculled an entire ginger beer like you’re a young Bob Hawke at the SCG.

Side note: Does anyone else buy their Ginger Beer from Aldi because they are twist tops and they can’t open those strange Bundaberg Ginger beer tops?? Oh – well I certainly don’t either!!! Top Tip: You really have to be restrained at these CP’s as you just want to eat and drink *everything* in front of you but you know if you do you will be hating life for the next hour or 3. I topped up some snacks in my pack and headed to the CP exit, which had me feeling well “suppliesed”.

Then some nice checkpoint lady insisted I put on my hi Vis vest on and also my head lamp. I was pretty confused…it was like 4pm and hot and still plenty of sunlight left. Anyway I complied with her but later took my headlamp off my head as it was a bit annoying and I felt ridiculous wearing it. I saw other runners who didn’t have their night gear on which made me confused….maybe I looked in such poor condition the lady figure I there’s’ no way I’d get to CP5 before midnight!

Took off feeling really buoyed by the encouragement from family and friends and quite a long downhill to the base of Kureelpa. Didn’t really see any falls or much water in the creek. Then it was back up up and up and through some short steep hills heading towards Cooloolabin Dam. I had a bit of a panic as on some of these short sharp hills as I felt a few twinges of cramps in my quads. So I backed off the pace, and, as I was scarred from taking salt tablets from earlier, I just prayed harder for the cramps not to come.

Warning: *deep thoughts ahead*speaking of praying, I think most trail runners find trail running a great time to get out and connect with nature, pray, think, meditate or whatnot etc and get that clear headspace you sometimes are looking for. Being out there in the night especially with the stars and heavens away from the city is really magic. (As long as you don’t see any nope ropes!) I personally really think that connecting with beautiful creation helps me be aware and connect with the creator of the world. It’s almost like the magnificent scenery speaks to me on a deep level that there’s more to life than what we can see just with our eyes. And if creation is amazingly good, how good then must be the One who created it. Mmm deep thoughts indeed.

I also got a bit bored or distracted here for a while, so I pulled out my toothbrush and toothpaste and gave my furry teeth a much needed clean. Pretty sure that I looked a sight tramping through the bush with my ridiculous high vis vest on in sunlight and foaming at the mouth while I brushed my teeth. Ha ha ha So now on some of my photos my toothbrush makes an appearance. I shall call him “brushy”

Eventually I hit some roads as I approached the dam so I guess the safety vest was warranted. Heading into CP5 it was still light and I was going well. Great to see the family there and the new CP location is way better than where it has been previously. Some crazy CP guys were dressed up in hilarious costumes and I just had to laugh. Some legend at the CP offered me a sponge full of water, which I almost refused citing germophobe issues but I actually said yes – and it was actually cold water over my head….it was amazing. Thanks guys. They gave me a wristband that said “CP5 – best CP eva” and I’d have to agree with that. Caught up with the family for the last time before the finish and was able to change my shoes into something a bit more comfortable (Brooks Cascadia changed into my Hokas) for the last push home. I had some custard here I think and maybe some more coke now….it’s all getting fuzzy in my brain due to the diabetic mental confusion.

Running around the Dam in the fading light was really nice and before long was out on Blackall road and the rolling hills. I got passed by a few people here which was rude…I’m not sure if I was slowing down or they were speeding up but I didn’t really care at that point as I wasn’t feeling too great after stuffing myself at the last checkpoint. Finally the road meandered back into the trails, head lamp fully on by now (wow I really should have put fresh batteries in) and eventually made it around to the water station. Not long to go now!! I was happy to not see any nope ropes as I had seen a monster python here during a training run. I was checking my watch a lot (my backup watch) and kept calculating if I was going to get home before 17 hours. Sub 17 was my main goal now which I thought was achievable, barring any disaster.

It was less than 10k back to CP 4 so it was mostly on the road here with a few kms of trail just before the CP. I had run this part in training so knew most of the sections including Change gear Hill, aka “never ending up and down hill” and before I knew it I was hearing the sweet sounds of CP4 again. It was great to run into Lyndall, a familiar face who very kindly took my mind off my aching body by teasing me about “Brushy” – the toothbrush that was sticking out of the front of my hydration pack. Pretty sure she was jealous and didn’t take my offer up to borrow it to do her teeth. She also was able to text my time to Gretel to help her know I was on my way home.
Sweet sweet last leg back to QCCC. Yeh baby.

It was the best feeling heading out of CP4 and knowing it’s not long till I can rest my poor legs. A few kms of trails and then back on the roads. My headlamp started getting really dim and flickering through the trails around Mapleton Falls but I was just too dang tired to go looking for my spare batteries. I tripped on a few branches/roots here so I had to really take it easy and carefully. I certainly can’t afford a dentist trip after paying for this ruddy race AND transfer fee.

Finally I was out on the roads, sweet smooth roads and I realised I was going to be well under 17 hours. Actually, if I hurried, I thought I could scrape in under 16 hours. I wasn’t sure exactly how many kms left, and I asked a random guy in a car and he said about 4km to the finish. I had 16mins left to get there…hmmmm 4minute kms….I don’t think I could run that fast at this point in time, but I thought it was actually shorter than that. Sure enough a few minutes later I saw the 2ks to go sign!! (Kudos to the RQ team – This course is actually really well marked). I was sure I could do 2ks – I had 12 minutes left so I engaged 5k parkrun mode and picked up the pace. I felt like I was running 3:30’s per km but surely that’s exaggerating sorry – it was more likely around 3:35’s per km.
When I hit the last KM to go, I was FLYING!!! I raced along the footpath and then up the QCCC driveway and almost ran over a bunch of people. They were shocked to see this idiot sprinting in the dark at the end of his 100k. Being the vain person I am, I was trying to remove my high vis vest at the same time so I got a good finish photo! Ha ha I had just a few minutes before 16 hours…..saw my family in a blur on the side of the campsite…they didn’t recognise me till the last second…..and I flew around the corner into the finish!!!

YEEHA SUB 16!!! And rang the crap out of that Bell!!!

And that, my friends, is my little Blackall 100 experience!
I hope you enjoyed it.
Cause there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna do that again.

Well.. maybe. We’ll see.
Huge thanks to my amazing wife Gretel who supported me so well and dragged the kids and supplies to all the checkpoints. Legends.

Also to all the friends who encouraged me and all the runners during the race for your short chats, “how you doing?”s and “keep it goings”.

Oh and to that guy who dropped his soft flask and I walked an extra 30 metres back to get it for you….you owe me that beer!!