Ultra-Trail Australia 50 – Steph Auston
Preface
The blue mountains are always nice, the air is crisp and the vibe is high! May and UTA are usually a given for any trail runners in the east of Australia and for me represented the final phase of my Australian training block before heading to the USA.
Finishing work on Thursday I headed down Friday afternoon thankfully missing the traffic and got my gear and changed my start group (I was put in 7 which I didn’t mind as a challenge but very glad I could change to group 1!)
My accommodation was right on the start line once I checked in it was a very easy night and very early to bed. My trusty jet boil made for hot soup rice and bread which I think is a perfect meal before a race along with some crumpets and honey for dessert.
Finishing work on Thursday I headed down Friday afternoon thankfully missing the traffic and got my gear and changed my start group (I was put in 7 which I didn’t mind as a challenge but very glad I could change to group 1!)
My accommodation was right on the start line once I checked in it was a very easy night and very early to bed. My trusty jet boil made for hot soup rice and bread which I think is a perfect meal before a race along with some crumpets and honey for dessert.
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I slept pretty well and was up before my alarm having coffee before an overdressed 2k jog guided by my phone light over the first km of the course… just to get the legs moving and body temp up. I went back and got changed – I wanted to replicate Western States 100, so just wore shorts a shirt and arm warmers my favourite hat and what always feels like an oversized pack… you look like a turtle but I’m used to the weight and certainly happy to not have all the gear that the 100 have to have!
My other change or improvement of late is my love of red Gatorade with bottles taking the 700ml – I’m not usually a big drinker but, with Western States coming, I have been trying to get more liquid sugar and hydration in with my goal to finish it even in the cooler conditions. |
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Aside from that salted caramel rice bars and gluten free bars and some honey eucalyptus drops filled my pack – the plan was gels but I didn’t buy any so opted for an easy supermarket option!
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The Race
It was time to start and thankfully the bitter cold that can greet you at UTA seemed to stay away with a bit of humidity in the air definitely making the temperature tolerable. Lots of hi and hellos to the people at the start line that you only ever see at events (though no Matt- couldn’t find him!) and then welcome to country before we were underway.
I started strong but controlled knowing the road was uphill for at least a km and I felt in control rolling up and then down before we came back at the start – a u-turn showed me and the little Vietnamese lady (Hau Ha) ahead and I found it funny that every uphill I would get ahead but then she would hammer past on the down – she sounded puffed and like she was working hard and I was worried that she thought the race was only over 10k!
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Past the 3 sisters we reached the top of the stairs where I stepped aside and carefully but really as fast as I could safely navigated what seemed like and probably was about 1000 stairs to the valley floor – I really don’t feel confident descending especially in tight spaces and my clumsy gene had been on show in the past month with two stacks resulting in a very bloody and infected knee and with big things coming (aka Western States 100!)
I kept it safe while what seemed like 50 people including the Vietnamese and Dutch girl flew by. I was relieved to get to the bottom and then navigate the up down track at the bottom of the valley before climbing out again – I mixed hiking and running the stairs I could but felt pretty heavy and knew I had to be sensible and not burn all my candles early. |
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Getting to the Fairmont I passed a few people who shouted out the gap and wasn’t surprised it was 3-4minutes but hoping I could hunt them down in the runnable bits of the race. From the Fairmont I enjoyed the solitude of not really holding anyone up and my energy level stabilised with a few bars and the Gatorade. I thought I ran well through that section so was surprised to hear the gap had then grown to over 6mins at the hospital checkpoint. They were running well!
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My main goal at this event was to try run better than 2018 when me and Cecilia had a great tussle and I did 5hrs 04min so when I got to the checkpoint in round 2hrs 40min I knew I still was on track for a faster run. I think it’s easy to get carried away with place and be discouraged by a growing gap but knowing how tough this upcoming 22km was I knew this was a good challenge to see if I could keep fighting to the finish and at least hold the gap! You can’t help if the opposition is better, but I knew it would help get the most out of me by trying to chase them down.
A handful of lollies and I was out of there reminding myself that the race didn’t begin to 40k and to save some legs for the uphills. I started rolling and the snakes certainly gave me a big boost! The descent was long and seemed to stretch forever and I was trying not to think of the looming mountains ahead. I listened to a great podcast in the past week … the imperfects where they talked to Emma Murray about high performance mindfulness and staying where you are and just dealing with the moment… so, I told myself to stay in each step and just deal with that. |
I felt a bit dizzy once it flattened out so just took it easy until it passed. The hills and the 40km mark were now here and I knew this was make or break for me physically and mentally. I told myself no matter what I would run every hill (not the stairs ... just the hills) to stay present that if I was finding it hard so would they and fight to the finish.
It was good for morale as I started to catch and pass lots of fellas in this section and the aid station saw another raid of the lollies.
What if you knew you could catch them if you just kept this up?
It was good for morale as I started to catch and pass lots of fellas in this section and the aid station saw another raid of the lollies.
What if you knew you could catch them if you just kept this up?
I told myself that as the legs and lungs burnt and my run probably resembled more of a granny shuffle… but then I caught the glimpse of a pony tail ahead… the tall girl!
I felt myself grinning through the grimace as I told myself not to get too excited and just keep reeling her in. I passed her as we entered the forest – she was so nice; she said I was strong and I could try catch the other girl and I offered some encouragement as I told myself to suck it up as this last 5k will hurt but it’s going to be worth it.
I was optimistic that I could finish strong but also scared that the other girl would catch me if I blew and I really didn’t want to race up the Furber stairs – so, I tried hard through the forest.
I felt myself grinning through the grimace as I told myself not to get too excited and just keep reeling her in. I passed her as we entered the forest – she was so nice; she said I was strong and I could try catch the other girl and I offered some encouragement as I told myself to suck it up as this last 5k will hurt but it’s going to be worth it.
I was optimistic that I could finish strong but also scared that the other girl would catch me if I blew and I really didn’t want to race up the Furber stairs – so, I tried hard through the forest.
I was out of snakes and running out of legs and found the big punchy stairs made me slow and my momentum and confidence wavered. I could hear them cheer the other girl behind me as she passed through and I knew she was still close and was telling myself to keep pushing.
Finally, the Furber stairs – but my earlier fear had been realised with the Dutch lady only what seemed like seconds behind. I gritted my teeth and hands on knees and then hauled myself up via the railings driven by fear of being caught. The switch backs meant she remained in sight for about 2/3 of the climb and every flattish bit I tried what might be called a run. I again mentally prepared for the final push and fight to the finish and hit the boardwalk gritted my teeth and used the cheers of the crowd and a fear of being pipped on the line to power what I felt was a sprint but probably to anyone else looked more like a strained jog.
Finally, the Furber stairs – but my earlier fear had been realised with the Dutch lady only what seemed like seconds behind. I gritted my teeth and hands on knees and then hauled myself up via the railings driven by fear of being caught. The switch backs meant she remained in sight for about 2/3 of the climb and every flattish bit I tried what might be called a run. I again mentally prepared for the final push and fight to the finish and hit the boardwalk gritted my teeth and used the cheers of the crowd and a fear of being pipped on the line to power what I felt was a sprint but probably to anyone else looked more like a strained jog.
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The final curves to the finish I was spurred on by the thought of the end and the final steps went from stress to relief as I knew I had held onto 2nd.
Less than a minute later the Dutch lady finished and they announced that us three had finished in the top 10 overall (5th, 8th and 9th respectively) and I had finished in 4hrs 54 …10 minutes faster than last year and 6 mins behind the female winner, Hau Ha. I was stoked. A big PB a hard race and a fight to the finish I couldn’t have asked for more! I spent the next few hours catching up with fellow runners and their supporters and cheered familiar faces across the line with a well-timed shower and coffee at my convenient hotel keeping my energy high and body warm. I was stiff as soon as I had stopped and knew keeping moving would help as well as lots of fluid. I watched Mitch finish said my final goodbyes to training buddy Matt and queen of crewing Amanda and then hit the road for the 2hr20min trip down the mountain and home.
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Post Mortem
I write this as I am about to land in San Francisco and start the final phase of my training for Western States 100 and my adventure through the USA.
I am excited nervous and tired (travel and stress does that with some family health scares seeing me leave the country with both dad and my sisters baby Ellie in hospital –but they are now out and ok!) nonetheless, I know I just need to keep a lid on it. Nothing crazy nothing different just more epic views more sleeping less alarms more walking and stopping to smell the roses.
See you in squaw on June 24th :-)
See you in squaw on June 24th :-)
