Q&A: SUSIE CAMPBELL TAKES THE LEAD

Youth TRAIL HERO ON A MISSION FOR

Trail runner Susie Campbell wanted to make her first ultra marathon memorable, but when the COVID pandemic hit in 2020 her dream of doing a 50km race was shattered. Those feelings didn’t last long though because she put her training to good use and tied her first ever ultra run with raising money for a charity close to her heart. Kate Dzienis chats with Susie about her love of the trails and how she put the charity run together.

WITH races across the Tasman postponed or cancelled throughout the past two years, so many runners have spent a majority of those 24 months itching and scratching to get their trail shoes back onto dirt. Thankfully things have started to slowly open back up again in the hopes of eventually putting the recent pandemic behind us. In the meantime, a number of runners got creative when it came to wanting to hit the trails during lockdowns or restrictions, and one Sydney-based woman did exactly that.

Charity runs are generally known to be held on road and offer distances to nonrunners that are attainable as a challenge, however UK-born Susie Campbell turned her dream of running an ultra into a reality despite the difficulties of 2020 and 2021, and put it to good use by raising money for charity.

Based out of Sydney, Susie had been training for her first ultra race which was meant to take place in 2020 – but with plans falling apart, she was left feeling deflated. Not wanting to stay feeling that way, she put together a 50km charity run from her home in Killarney Heights on the Northern Beaches and through the Garigal National Park where she hit the Magazine Trail, Bates Creek, Cook St Trail and Natural Bridge Track.

She’s hoping to do it all again in 2022, but first I had a chat with Susie to find out who she is, why she loves the trails so much, and what motivated her to raise almost $2000 funds for a charity close to her heart.

You’re a Sydney-based trail runner, so for all of our readers outside of Sydney, tell us about who you are, how long you've been trail running for, and what the catalyst was for starting running.

Originally from the UK, I moved to Australia in 2013 with my husband and two boys. Although I had always loved sport, starting out as a PE teacher then joining the Royal Navy and playing basketball at a national level and rugby representing the Navy, sport had always played a big part in my life. I had always been a good distance runner but being away with the military, I was never able to run consistently and as I didn’t enjoy road running it took a back seat.

Then when kids came along and with hubby working away and no family for support, exercise yet again fell to the bottom of my list – and that made me miserable. I began putting on weight, I was tired and sluggish all the time. But then in 2015 a friend asked me to run a road half marathon with her for charity and having run no further than a few kilometres in a long time and with zero training, I said yes!

It hurt, and although it was tough, I think that was the moment I decided I wanted to run again, but on trails.

I started by running a few fun runs with my then 6-year-old. We did a 5km and we had fun. I did another couple of road half marathons and slowly my times got faster, but then I found out about some local trails so I went off to explore them. And that was it. I was hooked.

I gradually ran further, got lost frequently, explored more, broke an ankle, began connecting with other trail runners, read about it, got inspired, bought trail shoes, got into a strength training routine and then discovered races. I also lost weight. With the help of an amazing local coach, I lost 12kg and completely

Continued page 68

transformed my body and mind. It seriously changed my life and anyone who knows me knows I am not the sentimental type and do not say that lightly.

And ping, my running improved exponentially. My road half marathon time went from 2:25:00 to 1:52:00. Trails became ridiculously enjoyable and I was addicted to the high that I was getting. I entered numerous races starting at the 12km distance and gradually increasing to the 20-something and beyond and began to be competitive securing some top three in age category and top 20 female finishing times. I had found my happy place. My mental health improved, I felt alive.

What’s your favourite trail near you?

My favourites are single track with a mixture of flowing fast sections through trees, to the more technical and scrambly ones however being somewhat restricted, I haven’t travelled too far from NSW to run. Thankfully I don’t actually have to as I’m lucky to have so many on my doorstep. One that stands out is the Bay Track and Bluff Point with numerous variations from there. I can reach it from my door and as just as you drop down from Bluff Lookout, the view is sensational and I cannot help but stop and stare. It formed part of my charity run’s route and I recall the sun was just coming up, there was dew on the leaves and I was quite wet from them shaking onto me. I rarely stop on runs but at this particular point, I always do. The route is single track, quite steep in places, muddy, technical but so much fun! A bit of everything really.

How many kilometres do you run per week and how do you tie it in to family life and social life?

Generally I run around 30-40km a week, which is about all I can fit in with family and work. As a solo mum for a lot of the time (hubby works away with Defence), I have to run whilst the kids are at school or at weekends when he’s around. Working for myself and being in charge of my own diary is definitely an advantage here as I fit my run in after school drop off before I start work. Or I get my boys on their bikes and I run after them! I make up for any lack of running by doing lots of strength and stability work so that when I do run, at least I am strong and stay injury free.

Social life? What’s that?! I don’t have much time for that! Having moved not knowing a soul, my gym became my second home and so many of my friends now have been met there so it kills two birds with one stone. They roped me into doing obstacle course racing and although I hadn’t trained for obstacles, I could run so I was on the team!

Obviously with Covid and lockdowns in 2020, races were either cancelled or postponed. What race/s did you have planned for that year and how much time and effort did you put into training? 2020 was the year I was determined to do an ultra distance – 50km first. That was all I was training for. I had entered the Jabalani Challenge which was 45km on pretty technical trails, starting from Bobbin Head in Sydney, and also the Stromlo Running Festival in Canberra which was 50km. With those cancelled, along with Rafferty’s Coastal Race, the Blackmores Half and Sydney Morning Herald Half (purely to beat my times), Bare Creek Trail Race and the Sydney Trail Series, I was feeling pretty deflated.

I’d also entered the Snowdonia half in North Wales in the UK as we were meant to return for the first time in seven years. I was gutted. Races had become my goals and my focus and with those taken away, I felt lost. And when my gym closed too, I vividly recall walking my dog and crying. I had been training hard, was in top shape and now what?

You decided to put that training into good use though and decided to run your own unsupported ultra trail run from your house.

After I had sulked and had a good cry I decided there was no way I was going to let all my hard work go to waste and I needed to stay strong mentally and physically. So I planned my own ultra race to at least accomplish what 2020 was meant to be about.

I planned a 50km route starting from my house. I’m very fortunate to live right on the National Park and can access Garigal and Ku-ring-gai national parks from my doorstep, and I decided to make myself accountable by not only announcing it to family and friends but involving my whole community and raising funds for a local charity. There were no aid stations, no-one with me at any point, I simply ran to be alone with my thoughts, to challenge my body and mind and feel that amazing rush that I get when I hit the trails. I carried all my own water and fuel and my husband tracked my progress with beacon tracking on my Strava.

It was the solitude of running alone for 8 hours, I remember hitting the half way point and having a little cheer to myself. Then when I reached about 40km and I was starting to feel my legs fatigue I just talked to myself…if anyone was around I am sure they would have thought I was some crazy woman! But I can honestly say the time went by quickly and I enjoyed every moment, as when it got tough it merely served to show me that tough was good, tough meant I was fit and healthy and kicking the gloom of COVID and not giving in to it. Tough meant I was helping kids who had experienced far worse than this and I could make a difference simply by running.

I even arranged for an ice cream van at the finish and the charity I was raising funds for was there too. My eldest son made me a huge protein shake to greet me with!

Susie Campbell racing in Sydney’s 2020 Bare Creek Trail Run 12km event. Image: Outer Image Collective.

Did anything go wrong during your ultra, and if it did, how would you change it?

Two weeks prior to the run I had rolled my ankle, mainly due to lack of training routine, but I decided I wasn’t going to let it stop me and with the help of my awesome physio, I pushed through. I also had to buy a new pair of runners and because of COVID could not replace my old pair with ones that I was familiar with. I know people will cringe, but I bought a pair the day before and ran in them for the first time for the race! It was totally fine though, I got not blisters.

I think the only thing I had underestimated was the weight of the water I needed to carry. It was like being back with a bergen in the Navy! Would I change anything? No, not really. I would be injury free next time and have had consistent training and access to weights and I know I was cursing my choice of route at the 30km stage as it was pretty challenging, but other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing. The feeling of accomplishment and being able to say I was an ultra runner was enough for me. What was your goal time, and what were your pace/speed goals?

My goal was to do it in around the 8-hour mark and I was pretty much dead on. As for planning a pace, I wasn’t too good at that and would simply run to how I felt…there is never anything technical to my training either. I knew my goal time and I knew the route well enough to know where I would be challenged and where I could make up some time, so tried to pace myself around that.

It was a pretty hot day too. And I had to be back in the 8 hours as I had an ice cream van waiting and the street coming out to meet me and the charity there. My hubby called me at about the 45km mark and said he thought I would need a friendly voice, which was just perfect. And then told me everyone was there so to hurry up. I’m not a very refined runner in that I just do it, I don’t think too hard about it, I don’t stress over nutrition, there’s nothing technical to how I run, I just know that I can do it, I know my body will do what my mind tells it to and I am confident in what my body needs.

I have yomped with heavy packs through long nights on no sleep, poor food, been under enormous pressure on military operations and know that it will all be just fine.

You were raising money for Be Centre. Why is this charity so close to your heart?

Be Centre is the most amazing charity that I will forever be indebted to. They help children from the ages of 3 to 12 who have experienced some sort of trauma, be it the death of a parent, divorce, domestic violence, bushfires, bullying or perhaps witness to something awful. They are one of the only centres of their kind in Australia and despite the amazing work they do, receive no government funding and have to raise all funds themselves through donations and grants.

The age group they serve is very under supported. But through play therapy, these children are healed. It is the early intervention that allows these children to go on to be healthy, thriving teens and not become a statistic of self-harm or worse, suicide.

Through play children are able to express, without words, what has happened to them and a bit like a counsellor for an adult, they learn to work through the pain and heal themselves through play.

Be Centre helped my little boy when he was just 5 years old where in his first year of school, was very badly bullied. I cannot express the journey I went through with him, but all I can say is play therapy ensured he regained his confidence, was able to build friendships and renewed his self-esteem to avoid what could have been a terrible outcome with devasting consequences.

You’ll be doing your solo run again in March 2022. How is this going to be bigger and better than last year?

The next one will be on March 12 and will start in St Ives Showground in Sydney with direct access into the National Park. This time others will be able to run too and there will be the option to run as much or as little of the 50km route as you choose. It’s about raising awareness, funds, being a part of something special, and coming together to meet other like-minded people with a love of trails.

This year I have the support of more businesses who are sponsoring and

Continued page 70

supporting, and the charity will have volunteers holding a barbeque. We’ll have fun and play on the day, photography, and of course I have had a pair of Steigen Socks made especially for the run which I am super proud of!

Have you got an official name for the event?

Yes, I decided to brand the event and make it a regular thing! I will forever remember why I did the first, it was my first ultra distance and because the charity is so important to me, I wanted to make it more official. The race is now called Trail Heroes as everyone who supports is, in my opinion, a hero helping the heroes of the charity who are changing the course of children’s lives.

So your charity run was your first ultra, that must be super special.

I am so happy that it was as it is forever etched in my memory. No fancy start line, no crowds to greet me, no aid stations or finish medals and no markers or other runners to chat to. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The furthest trail race I had run before this I think was a 25km race – the Anzac Day challenge, which was brutal I might add, with ridiculous elevation (it wasn’t nicknamed Hill 60 for nothing!). But that was back when I ignored elevation maps and just went for it. I am somewhat more into the detail these days as I am forever chasing finish times and top three’s. I had run 35km-ish runs on my long runs but other than that, this was it.

My hubby said to me a week before my charity run, 50km is a long way you know? I laughed and said nah, it’s nothing. In my head I know that I can do it because I know my head will tell me I can, so I will.

Now I have the bug for the 50km plus distance.

What do you think makes you good with the longer trail distances, and what is it about them that makes you happy?

I have always enjoyed endurance. Having been in the military for 12 years, yomping across moorland, getting through long training sessions, marching for hours or being shouted at whilst running up and down hills repeatedly, stamina was my strength but even more so my mind.

To be honest, the solitude and the pure escapism with my mind, listening and talking to my body, being in nature and completely switching off, running truly is my meditation.

I cannot do yoga or meditate and have a very busy mind, but when I run, I have no thoughts. I can tick off kilometre after kilometre without realising and have thought of nothing.

I also love getting runner’s high. I remember running during lockdown, it was raining and cool and oh my goodness, it felt amazing, I can feel it now. I was alone on the trails, I had escaped masks and the doom and I was free.

Trail ultra running is gaining quite a lot of popularity in Australia and NZ. What would you say to others who are thinking about putting on a pair of trail shoes and hitting the tracks to encourage them?

I don’t shut up about trail running and have coaxed several friends into it! All I would say is, you won’t regret trying it because it delivers such a hugely rewarding experience, whether it’s spotting wildlife, soaking up views that force you to stop, breathing in the wet morning dew on the leaves, feeling the heat off a fire trail, scrambling, climbing, skipping or gliding along, every trail is different, every time you run is different, every emotion you can imagine comes flooding out.

You’ll feel muscles you didn’t know you had, you’ll feel your body get stronger, you’ll realise the beauty of your surroundings, you’ll make friends, you’ll find a peace that not many sports can provide.

The community of trail runners that I have met are simply lovely people. I joined a local group in Sydney called The Trailblazers and have made some lovely friends and join them for runs sometimes. For a gentle introduction and someone to show you some routes, that can be a great introduction to trail running. Who are the trail runners/ultra runners that inspire you and why?

I follow a couple of well-known people but not necessarily for inspiration – more for learning and picking up tips. The runners that inspire me are those everyday runners I read about in social media running groups or meet on the trails…those who are out there enjoying it, competing in races yet still with a smile and friendly chat to share at the start and finish.

If you could sit down with one trail runner/ ultra runner and interview them over a coffee or lunch/dinner, who would it be and why?

I think it would have to be the founder of the Barkley Marathons, Gary ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell. When I heard about his race, I wanted to do it.

Anything that seems out of reach, is in my sights! Something so big and scary that few succeed, is my kind of event and I would love to chat to him. I love the quirkiness of it all and the secrecy around it and of course, being labelled Number 1 must be such a mental mess-up for the poor person holding it!

What does the rest of 2022 have in store for you?

I’m looking at doing the Narrabeen All Nighter at the end of this year, which is running for 12 hours through the night as far as you can; I hope to clock up at least 80km that night.

I’ve postponed the Stromlo race in March, and then there’s my charity race, of course, which will mean I am running 2 x 50km races on consecutive weekends. I may do Jabulani again or look to run in another state. With all the postponed races it has meant lots of clashes as I would have liked to run Six Foot Track but they are all so close together now. There are so many to choose from and I am keen to pick some new ones next year.

On that note, how happy are you to see the success of your charity run?

Oh gosh, I’m so happy that I can use my running to help other kids and give them the amazing chance my son had. Making it an annual event and building the brand and increasing donations to them will be amazing!

Thank you Trail Run Magazine for supporting me and helping to share the amazing work of Be Centre. In 2020 I raised almost $2000, which was enough to sponsor a child through a 12-week play therapy program, and I’d asked that it be used for a child who had experienced something similar to my child.