Trail Run #45 by Adventure Entertainment

BUMPER EDITION: OUR NEW 2023 EVENT GUIDE

EDITION 45 // 2022 // AU/NZ

DARE TO DREAM: MILLY YOUNG’S TASSIE ADVENTURE

THE UNSUNG

s e o r e H

HOW ATHLETES CONQUERED THEIR INJURIES

OF AID STATIONS & WHAT IT TAKES TO MAN THEM

FIGHTING DEMONS: TOM DADE GETS PERSONAL MAD MISSION: HEYSEN TRAIL DREAMS

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(INC (INC GST)GST) RRP AU$15/NZ$15 RRP AU$15/NZ$15

PROFILE: ANDREW POLI TALKS RUNNING & ADHD

NEW! EAT, SLEEP, RUN: RECIPES FOR RUNNERS GET INTO IT: OUR BRAND NEW 2023 EVENT GUIDE

SHOE REVIEWS // GEAR // TRAIL CREW // DREAM RUN

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COVER: UK born 33-year-old Ally Wilcox, now living in Bassendean, WA is in hard training for this year’s Feral Pig 50km and the 2023 Tarawera 100 miler in NZ. He finds the Kalamunda hills of Perth a fantastic training ground and takes advantage of the location whenever he can. IMAGE: noéko THIS SHOT: Runners in the TUMMiler at the 2021 event on the Tarawera Trail that circumnavigates Lake Tarawera, just before the Isthmus aid station at 46km. Grass and New Zealand native bush covers the volcanic ash and rock underfoot, left over by the eruption of nearby Mt Tarawera over 135 years ago. IMAGE: Graeme Murray VISIT US ONLINE trailrunmag.com facebook.com/trailrunmag twitter.com/trailrunmag instagram.com/trailrunmag EDITOR: Kate Dzienis DESIGNER: Marine Raynard CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Brad Dixon, Simon Duke, Kate Dzienis, Isobel Ross, James Sieber, Gaby Villa and Milly Young PHOTOGRAPHERS: Alex Clapin (Untamed Media), Aaron Collins, Simon Duke, Brian Erickson, Sophie Geraghty, Sam Hill, Calumn Hockey, Sam Millington, Michael Murdoch, Graeme Murray, Mr SNAPs, noéko, Photos4sale, Suzanne Poli, Siovonne Sieber, The Eventurers, Gaby Villa, Astrid Volzke, Ben Wallbank and Harald Wisthaler TRAIL RUN IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY ADVERTISING Paul Robinson Toby Ryston-Pratt Email: paul@adventureentertainment.com Email: toby@adventureentertainment.com Phone: +61 (0) 408 162 246 Phone: +61 413 183 804 SUBSCRIPTIONS & ENQUIRIES Email: magazines@adventureentertainment.com Phone: (02) 8227 6486 PO Box 161, Hornsby, NSW 1630 trailrunmag.com/subs EDITORIAL Trail Run Mag Email: kate@trailrunmag.com Phone: +61 (0) 413 432 800 PUBLISHER Adventure Entertainment ABN 79 612 294 569 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Trail Running acknowledges and shows respect for the Traditional Custodians of Australia and Aotearoa, and their Elders, past, present and emerging. DISCLAIMER Trail running and other activities described in this magazine can carry significant risk of injury or Death, especially if you are unfit. Undertake any trail running or other outdoors activity only with proper instruction, supervision, equipment and training. The publisher and its servants and agents have taken all reasonable care to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication and the expertise of its writers. Any reader attempting any of the activities described in this publication does so at their own risk. Neither the publisher nor any of its servants or agents will be held liable for any loss or injury or damage resulting from any attempt to perform any of the activities described in this publication, nor be responsible for any person/s becoming lost when following any of the guides or maps contained herewith. All descriptive and visual directions are a general guide only and not to be used as a sole source of information for navigation. Happy trails.

NEW TONES ON THE TRAIL SCAN FOR THE NEW TRAIL ZEST

CONTENTS

EDITION 45 // 2022 // AU/NZ

86. TRAIL PORN

90. SHOE REVIEWs

TRAIL MIX 10. 16. 18. 20. 22. 86. 96. 98.

ED'S WORD PEAK PERFORMANCE: CROSS COUNTRY EAT, SLEEP, RUN: HIGH PROTEIN RECIPE DREAM RUN: LAKE DISTRICT GRAND TOUR, UK TRAIL CREW: DAWN LEAGUE TRAIL PORN: BREATHTAKING LOCATIONS SHOW, DON’T TELL: FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHER WISE WORDS: DION LEONARD

REVIEWS 12. NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO BUY: ALL THE GOOD GEAR 90. SHOE REVIEW: THE NORTH FACE FLIGHT VECTIV 92. SHOE REVIEW: SCARPA SPIN INFINITY

24. CONQUERING TRAILS & ADVERSITY

FEATURES 24. 32. 38. 44. 68. 76. 78.

HOW TOM DADE IS WINNING THE HARD FIGHT THE UNSUNG HEROES WE CALL AID STATION VOLLIES DARE TO DREAM: MILLY YOUNG & HER TASSIE ADVENTURE PROFILE: ANDREW POLI, RUNNING & ADHD ATHLETE INJURY & RECOVERY BUCKET LIST RUNS: IRRATIONAL SOUTH MAD MISSION: A HEYSEN TRAIL FKT

SPECIAL FEATURE 51. GET YOUR RUNNER’S HIGH WITH OUR NEW 2023 EVENT GUIDE

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ED’S WORD

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

Therapy

FIND YOUR

’m not entirely sure how many runners I’ve spoken to over the years, but I’ve come to learn that the mental hardship of going out for a run is something that gets everyone through the worst of days, and the best of days.

solo, sparking my imagination; and the rustling of trees and crunching of pea gravel underfoot echoed ever so softly.

Some time ago, I discovered the phrase mindful running, and took it upon myself to learn a little bit about it. Lo and behold, I connected with the term and found out I was indeed a mindful runner.

Maths.

think about everything that’s happening

Having failed maths in high school over a couple semesters, I was never a confident counter. But now that I was music-free, I suddenly found myself counting numbers on my Garmin…I’d check my pace and calculate how long it would take me to get to the next kilometre; at races, thoughts of whether or not I’d get to my next checkpoint in time would make me or break me – my estimates began determining how mentally tough I was. If I knew I wasn’t going to make it to cut-off, my brain would shut down before even getting there; I’d keep going, but mentally I had checked myself out already.

something my brain has ever wanted to do.

Over time, I began to get better at the mental game. I’d still be running in the moment, I’d still be calculating my times, but whatever the outcome of my predictions, I simply accepted the estimations and carried on. I started appreciating the fact that I was a runner who lived in the present, who concentrated on where to find course markers and what

saying goes…if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

When I first got into the sport, I loved listening to music. Blocking out the world, singing along in my head, finding tunes that had the right BPM to my pace, finding anything to pump me up and help get the adrenaline going. Music, however, quickly got old with the same songs on my playlist over and over again, so I began heading out the door without the headphones, hoping I’d get through my training without a hitch. As it turns out, running without the distraction of a beat, rhythm or the twang in a singer’s voice became a sort of muse, if you will. I started to become present with the planet around me. I heard birds singing and calling to one another in all sorts of tunes; the whistle of wind became a haunting sound when I hit the trails

There was also one more crucial element I acquired better knowledge of.

the terrain was like; who took in the natural surroundings around me while at the same time improving my pace and comfortability with running on trails solo. I’m not someone who goes out for a run to in my life and find a solution. It’s not Despite this, going for a run mindfully has well and truly helped me through rough days, and made better days even better – I think because I’m living in the moment at that point in time. Everyone is different – some people love the sounds of music, podcasts or audiobooks during each and every run, while others absorb the natural harmonies of the world that is theirs. Find your therapy, and stick with it. As the

KATE DZIENIS, TRM EDITOR

NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO BUY

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CRAMPEZE REVIEWER: KATE DZIENIS IT HAPPENS TO THE BEST OF US…SOMETIMES OUR BODIES JUST DON’T GET WARM ENOUGH AND OUR LEGS CRAMP UP. Or perhaps at the end of our training session, everything becomes fatigued and we’re left with agonising spasms. It’s painful and we dread it, but it’s quite a common occurrence in athletes, especially runners. The most prevalent being found in the calves, and the discomfort can vary in severity; sources suggest cramps develop from one of two things – muscle fatigue and loss of electrolytes together with dehydration. There are other factors in play too, including muscle overuse and a lack of oxygen in the cells. When you’ve done everything to prevent leg cramps and spasms, and yet you still suffer from them, LaCorium Health has a fantastic,

and effective, multi combination solution for cramping. Unlike a number of magnesium supplementation products out there on the market, Crampeze and Crampeze Forte are optimal solutions that support muscular relaxation and effectively target all four major causes of night muscle cramps – magnesium dietary deficiency, poor peripheral circulation, spasms, and lactic acid build up. The unique combination of hero ingredients in Crampeze include: magnesium (to support energy and maintain muscle function), gingko biloba (reducing free radicals in the body and supporting blood circulation), viburnum opulus (known as cramp bark, this relieves muscle cramps and mild spasms or twitches), and vitamin B3 (clearing lactic acid from muscles).

Crampeze Forte is a modified Crampeze formulation specifically designed to alleviate pain for intermittent cramp sufferers or those starting treatment by including addition ingredients of nicotinamide, feverfew and vitamin B5. So if you’re struggling with cramps and haven’t found anything that works for you, Crampeze does wonders for pain relief. VITALS RRP Crampeze $16.95 - $39.95 AUD RRP Crampeze Forte $22.95 - $33.95 AUD crampeze.com.au

FRACTEL REVIEWER: KATE DZIENIS AN ESSENTIAL ACCESSORY FOR RUNNERS OF ALL LEVELS, RUNNING HATS ARE DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO GET YOU THROUGH ALL TYPES OF CONDITIONS. With Australia’s harsh sun and New Zealand’s icy cold chills, they’ll keep you protected from all the elements the great outdoors will throw at you. And if you haven’t yet heard of Fractel, it’s about time you did. Premium in every sense of the word, Fractel was developed by Aussie Matt Niutta whose appreciation for the great outdoors stemmed from the diagnosis of an eye condition. For him, running became more than just finishing a race – it was about the journey and about sharing those moments with friends. Whilst unable to drive, he had plenty of time on his daily commutes to think about life, and discovered a need for high performance and stylish headwear that could be worn on every adventure possible. Out for testing were the black and white marble bucket hat, the navy blue and maroon Eclipse cap, and the pink, yellow and navy blue Pillaga edition cap. I’ll explain first by reiterating that Fractel uses 100% recycled fabrics, the caps are rated with UV 50+ sun protection, and have the capability of wicking away all the moisture. The headwear

has a dark underbill to reduce glare, which isn’t something you’d normally think about, but a white hat generally doesn’t do very much for eye sensitivity – sunnies or no. One of my favourite features of the caps is the fact they have rear fasteners with clips rather than Velcro or a pull buckle strap. Making the caps either larger or smaller to fit is incredibly easy and the fit is lightweight and comfortable. I also noticed that the logos are embroidered and woven onto each piece of headwear rather than hot-pressed or screen printed, and really makes for a more well-thought design that is made to last. There’s even a #whywerun woven into the inner brim of each hat, reminding us all of our personal journeys. Let’s get back to moisture wicking because that’s an important one in this game. It’s spot on. I haven’t had an activewear headpiece take on such a slog with my sweaty head after a good run, and even after chucking each one into the wash multiple times, they still came out like new every single time. Fractel products are environmentally sustainable too, and the company is a contributor to 1% For The Planet, a global network of businesses, notfor-profits and individuals working together for a healthier planet. As trail runners, we’re aware of the environment around us, so supporting a

local business that cares for the planet we live on should mean something to each and every one of us. Matt’s dedication to designing the perfect adventure hat has led him to providing a variety of choices for everyone’s needs – traditional running hats, visors, bucket hats (am in love with mine!), and legionnaires which use Polartec® Power Dry® fabric (advanced next-to-skin moisture management). If you’re serious about being out in the elements, then Fractel needs to be in your mandatory gear. Quite frankly, I’m so impressed with Matt’s genius, that I’ve permanently switched…you won’t catch me wearing anything else (don’t go there, you know what I mean!). Oh, and psst…Fractel also does custom orders for your local crew or team. VITALS RRP $40-$70 AUD fractel.com.au Fractel ships to NZ

merrell.co.nz

MTL LONG SKY 2 dries quicker so you can stay out longer. Same is Boring.

Dry quicker. Run quicker.

NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO BUY ALL THE GREAT GEAR

SUUNTO 5 PEAK REVIEWER: KATE DZIENIS IT’S A SLIM AND STYLISH SUUNTO THAT WILL GET EVERYONE COO-ING ONCE THEY SEE IT ON YOUR WRIST. The Suunto 5 Peak is the little brother to the Suunto 9, and is what enthusiasts have been calling ‘the gateway watch’ to the brand’s top end of sports watches. For the tech-heads out there, the Suunto 5 Peak has a wireless firmware updater option (over Bluetooth) and a new 100-hour battery life when on Tour mode. There are music controls, Android phone pre-defined replies to messages, and you can add SuuntoPlus-specific apps that you’ll find yourself drooling over. Designed for all outdoor fitness lovers, the Suunto 5 Peak is light, compact, durable and long-lasting. It’s 41% lighter than its predecessor, and has a range of easily changeable accessory straps to suit everyone’s individual style. One of the biggest features I personally enjoyed while testing out the watch was that its screen was sunlight-friendly and I barely felt it on my wrist. All buttons were easy to use but they’re plastic, not metal (not that it bothered me), and the bezel to actual screen ratio made the watch-face appear

THE NORTH FACE REVIEWER: KATE DZIENIS I’M IN LOVE WITH THE BRILLIANT CORAL COLOUR THE NORTH FACE HAS RELEASED IN ITS WOMEN’S RANGE, in particular for its Movmynt Tight Shorts, Sunriser Tank and Sunriser Short-Sleeve Shirt. It shouts fun, adventurous, and confidence – and when it comes to that combination, well…you had me at hello. Running shorts are always a finicky thing, aren’t they? But oh my lordy…sliding the Movmynt Tight Shorts (5”) on I could already feel the high quality fabric hugging me and whispering ‘let’s hit the great outdoors together’. Light compression with a highrise waistband and moisture-wicking FlashDry™ technology saw my daily workouts completed in style and comfort. Not only were they worn on the trails and through the ‘burbs, but I wore this stunning colour to the gym where they still did their job thoroughly of keeping everything intact right where I needed it (and yes, I did have a couple gym-goers comment on the rad colour). So many shorts out there on the market have a tendency to ride up and give that excruciating gift known as chafe, but the seams on the Movmynt Tight Shorts stayed in place so I had no issue with that.

small – I like them big. When I reviewed the Suunto 9 in TRM43 earlier this year, I genuinely liked the magnetic charging connector where you simply place the watch on top and leave; the Suunto 5 Peak features the old-skool type of charging clip, where you need to alligatorclip it in and align the four charging points – very reminiscent of the sports watch I had in the early 2010s, and I remember struggling to connect it on too many occasions to count. It seemed a bit archaic in terms of modern tech. The Suunto 5 Peak has a fantastic heart monitor, and it all syncs with its Suunto App where you can take a more in-depth look at how everything is tracking. The app is incredibly user friendly and doesn’t take very long at all to grow accustomed to. All your daily metrics are available including daily steps, calories, sleep tracking, and VO2Max plus so much more on the watch itself, and within the app. Onto sports usage, which hasn’t changed much since its predecessor – only the 100 hour battery life in Tour mode. The GPS whilst out on the trails was reliable, with only a 15m disparity between the Suunto 5 Peak and my current Garmin. What

I thoroughly enjoyed, need I note, was that before I got to the choice of exercises, the Suunto 5 peak recommended a workout for me – telling me to either have a tough half hour or a less intense session. You can choose to ignore, or follow. However, for a 2022 sports watch, I felt the availability of a touchscreen could have been provided here. I believe the screen is also plastic, so purchasing a screen protector is a fair good call to make. But if you’re after a product that is petite, in the featherweight category, is sleek and stylish, and provides you with the basic requirements for tracking workouts, then you can’t go past the Suunto 5 Peak. VITALS RRP Suunto 5 Peak $399.99 AUD suunto.com/en-au/ or Officeworks, The Good Guys, MYER and Costco

MOVMYNT TIGHT SHORTS // SUNRISER TANK & SHORTSLEEVED SHIRT A hidden drawstring on the inside allowed me to loosen or tighten at leisure; a front pocket on the right hip was decent in size to securely hold my Samsung S10+; and a reverse-coil zip on the back of the waistband was big enough for my car key and a bank card or two. I don’t run at night currently, but in the event I ever need to, there are two reflective bars on the back of the legs, as well as a reflective TNF ‘Trail’ logo on the left hem. Matchy-matchy, I also got to test out the Sunriser Short-Sleeve (SS) Shirt in Brilliant Coral and the Printed Sunriser Tank (which I wore underneath the SS), and seriously, I was good to go with this colour trend (not to forget the Brilliant Coral Women’s Flight Vectiv running shoes that completed the ensemble, our review on pages 94-95). Both the SS Shirt and Tank could be worn on their own or together, and are made of the same material as the Movmynt Tight Shorts to wick up moisture. Both tops have a scoop tail, side-seam split at the hips, and reflective TNF ‘Trail’ box logos on the front as well as a reflective bar on the lower back.

These are the summer essential running tops you’ll need in your wardrobe, no joke. Both are beautiful to the touch; incredibly lightweight and breathable, and you’ll get commented on them without a doubt. Be the envy this summer, and hit up The North Face with its Brilliant Coral Trail collection. VITALS RRP Women’s Movmynt Tight Shorts $100.00 AUD / $110.00 NZD RRP Women’s Sunriser Short-Sleeve Shirt $80.00 AUD / $90.00 NZD RRP Women’s Printed Sunriser Tank $70.00 AUD / $80.00 NZD thenorthface.com.au // thenorthface.co.nz

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Country

CROSS

THE ULTIMATE RUNNING ENHANCEMENT

Trail Running

Cross Country

Longer distances

Shorter distances

Shoes have thread

Shoes have spikes

Mainly solo

Mostly a team sport

Hydro backpacks

Minimal gear

Off the beaten Track

In forests of fields

Elevation Gain

Very short, sharp hills

Varied

Highly regulated

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

I had a love-hate relationship with running cross country. I can vividly remember my first national event running for Burnside High School. It was the first time I felt physically sick (running up the muddy hill for the second lap) and I finished feeling dizzy, ill and completely short of oxygen. My school coach said before the race that I was a dark horse…felt more like a ‘sick pony’. I placed 122nd and at that moment knew that I could do better (the senior boys’ results in 1990 for interest’s sake was 1st Johnathon Wyatt, 2nd Paul Amy, 3rd Mark Mckeown, 9th Craig Kirkwood and 14th my training buddy Andy Vane). Over the next three years I trained consistently, and I improved my national placing into the top 40 in 1993, my last year at high-school (I was 71st in 1991). The sheer numbers, and depth in running was incredibly motivating. We all helped push each other to our potential. We always ran hard to the line as you could lose 10 places in a few seconds of slackening. Cross country running has long been the testing and development ground for the world’s best runners. Sir John Walker said “I think cross country running is the best form of training for any young athlete. My advice to coaches is to forget about the track early on – get your kids running cross country and road races – just basic strength work first, the speed will follow...I never started running seriously until I was 17 or 18 and I was never the school champion at 800m or the mile – there was always someone better than me.” Sir Seb Coe wrote in his book Running My Life, “cross country running was literally the making of me, and it saddens me that it’s now so overlooked. You are using every part of your body. It’s hard and it’s tough. You’ve got to maintain balance...think ahead...it’s both physical and mental. It’s the supreme all-round conditioner and if you can deal with what’s thrown at you on a tough cross country course, you can deal with anything.” If you could run well in a cross country event, you could turn your hand to any running discipline you wanted, road, track, or trail. Cross country has all the components runners need to develop and in a very time efficient, yet painful manner. The uneven and often muddy terrain forces you to run with an efficient stride – careful of foot placement, having to run tall and attempting to float over the ground. The undulations require you to go through your ‘gears’ (cadence and stride length) to keep your running flow. The distances (anywhere

from 2km to 12km) is more than enough for pacing, and tactics to come into the mix. The other major benefits are the soft terrain and changes of direction so your joints don’t take a pounding, but your cardiovascular system gets worked out big time. When the opportunity arose to run the New Zealand Cross Country Championships on the Spa Park course in Taupo this year, I grabbed it. I had run the North Island champs on the same course four weeks prior and had a good base. It was ‘only’ 8km (2 laps of a 3km deceptively hilly, fast, hard packed circuit and a 2km lap ) and I’d learnt the harsh lesson from the North Island race – don’t go out too fast! This is even more important with cross country as the hills and twisting nature of the course will sap energy even quicker when run form deteriorates. I managed a respectable 6th in my age group for my first NZ cross country champs since 1993. Cross country running is brilliant, brutal, and beautiful. It is one of the best winter activities to improve your running potential. I now include cross country racing in my running routine every winter. It’s the perfect running format for getting comfortable with uncomfortable. If you don’t respect this type of racing and pace it correctly the muddy, steep pitchy terrain will make you pay far more than a flat road run. We all ran this way as kids and there is huge benefit in running this way as adults. In fact, if more adults moved and played like kids (as well as maintained their creative minds, and authenticity) the world would be a better place. It doesn’t what type of runner you are. Winter cross-country running will benefit your running journey. Get in contact with your local running club and get involved. If parents want to motivate their children to run cross country with some effort, then this is an ideal chance to model the behaviour you wish to see. Brad Dixon is a sports physio, coach and wellness evangelist based at EVERFIT Physio & Coaching. He has written a book, ‘Holistic Human’. Connect with Brad at www.everfit. co.nz or through his socials on Facebook, Strava, Instagram (@everfitcoach) and YouTube (EverFIT).

TIPS FOR CROSS COUNTRY RUNNING: • Wear appropriate shoes. A pair of low profile trail shoes with good grip will do. I have even used road racing shoes if the conditions allow. • Get strong. If you are time poor and can’t run more miles, then include some body-weight exercises in your training week. One 20 to 30min circuit of pushups, burpees, mountain climbers, squats, and Swiss ball hamstring curls (10 to 15 of each 3x to 5x through with 5min warm up and warm down) and 2 other 5min micro sessions during the week will make a big difference. • Get flexible. Don’t just stretch. I suggest super full body stretch with yoga. • Join your local running club. This will boost the club’s funds and make it easier for them to put on more winter cross country events. Plus it’s a great way to tap into some excellent running knowledge.

EAT, SLEEP, RUN WORDS AND IMAGES: GABY VILLA

THE ULTIMATE RECOVERY OVERNIGHT OATS After training, the body requires nutrients and energy to support physiological training adaptations and restore fuel reserves.

to get access to a meal like this when you’re far from home or need to squeeze in your training before heading to work.

This is especially important when training demands are higher such as after a long run or an interval session.

This is why overnight oats are one of my favourite recovery meals. They’re effortless to make, store and carry. This recipe is the ultimate recovery meal because it has the right balance of carbohydrates and protein. In addition, the antioxidants present in the strawberries are beneficial due to their antiinflammatory effect.

A meal containing carbohydrates and protein within the first 60 minutes after training is particularly important to support this recovery. However, sometimes it’s not as easy PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 8 hours

SERVINGS: 2

INGREDIENTS:

NOTES

• 1 cup milk

• Leftovers: Refrigerate in an airtight container

• 2/3 cup oats • 1 cup plain greek yogurt

for up to three days. • Dairy-free and vegan alternative: use coconut

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

yogurt instead of Greek yogurt and oat or

• 1 tbsp honey

almond milk instead of regular milk.

• 1 tsp cinnamon • 1 cup strawberries

NUTRITION PER SERVING

• Optional: Chopped pecans or almonds

• Calories: 355 • Carbohydrates: 48g

DIRECTIONS

• Fibre: 7g

• Chop the strawberries into quarters.

• Sugar: 21g

• Add the milk, oats, yogurt, chia seed,

• Protein: 20g

honey, cinnamon and strawberries in a large

• Fat: 10g

bowl. • Stir well to combine. • Split into two mason jars or air-tight containers and place in the fridge overnight or for at least eight hours. • Optional: Add chopped pecans or almonds before consuming for a crunchy element.

Gaby Villa is a sports nutritionist, dietitian and founder of IntensEATfit. She specialises in optimising performance for triathletes and ultra-distance runners by making food their best ally in sport and life. Over the past 9 years, Gaby has supported hundreds of athletes, including state sports teams, to overcome lack of energy and gut upset so they can fuel their bodies with confidence and race to their full potential. She strives to contribute to a world that enables and promotes a healthy and active lifestyle for everybody. Find her online at intenseatfit.com for more info. 18

WHAT IS ADVENTURE? For generations, adventure has been in our blood. It’s taken us to new heights and pushed us to new limits. But what is adventure? It’s in all of us but it’s different for everyone.

FIND YOURS AT MOUNTAINDESIGNS.COM

E S T. 1 9 7 5

B O R N O F T H E M O U N TA I N S

DREAM RUN WORDS: KATE DZIENIS IMAGE: SAM HILL

LAKE DISTRICT GRAND TOUR If there’s ever a Dream Run recommendation to put on your wish list, it’s the freakingly beautiful Lake District Grand Tour (LDGT) in the UK.

this particular area (about 900m above sea level) the mountains can be technical and demanding – no run, or foot step, is ever the same.

valleys, a visit to 10 out of the 16 lakes and only 42km of tarmac.

Lake District in itself is England’s largest national park and now a World Heritage Site, so running through here means you’re in the presence of incredible natural history.

If you fancy yourself a trip to the land of the Angles, do it so that you can combine the LDGT with your holiday, so pack your running shoes, your poles and be prepared to be a bit sleep deprived because if you’re someone who’s up for a challenge of sheer brut and strength of both the mental and physical kind, then this is the event to register for.

In 2023, if you’re not up for a 400km, race directors will have available a 55km race in the Northern Fells of Skiddaw Forest, but in 2024 there are plans to see the first ever editions of a 170km in the Eastern Fells around Ullswater and Haweswater, and a 110km in the Western Fells around Wasdale, Ennerdale, Crummock Water and Buttermere.

It’s a 400km ultra trail race that will give you about 17,000m+ elevation gain plus a decent 30 mountain passes, links to all 13

The LDGT 400 is an unforgiving race for the ill-prepared, but don’t let that turn you off.

Here in this stunning photograph by Sam Hill, runner George Foster runs through the northern fells of the English Lake District above Crummock Water. Fell running often involves off-trail running across heather, tussock, bog, grass and loose rock, and although not very big in

Let’s just say that the LDGT is not a flat race!

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

TRAIL CREW ANSWERED BY: JAMES SIEBER IMAGES: SAM MILLINGTON, SIOVONNE SIEBER

Q&A

Where does your group run mostly? Being a track, trail and road club we run basically everywhere in the Albury-Wodonga area, and further afield. Most frequently, we are at the Albury Track on Wednesday morning, the footpaths along the Murray River, rolling over the Nail Can Hill range, and doing Long Runs in Baranduda, Yackandandah, Beechworth and Bright, whilst also competing in the Riverina Trail Run Series in the area. What is your favourite local trail? Keeping it local, any of the trails on Nail Can would win. Being a few minutes from the centre of town and having a combination of fire road, mountain bike tracks and 20% climbs, it offers exploration daily without repeating the same trails. If we had the time and didn’t work then making the 1.5-hour trip to Bright, Vic would take the cake for a lot of our members but sadly we wouldn’t put that under the local banner. What local event do you rally around? We are really spoiled for choice when looking at local events. Within 1.5 hours we would have at least 15 races throughout the year. Having said that, on the very local trails Nail Can Hill Run always gets a great turnout and has been around since 1977. After a 2-year hiatus, Riverina Trail Run Series has just restarted in June 2022 offering 5 local trail races, with short and long options, and is a great introduction to trail racing as well as drawing a lot of fast runners. On the road side, City 2 City in February, running from Albury to Wodonga, which raises money

for Albury-Wodonga Community Care services. Going a touch further afield, Buffalo Stampede in Bright gets a big showing and is the highlight of a lot of our runners’ calendar. What single piece of advice would you give a newbie joining your group? That there is a place and a pace for all runners and to never feel that you are holding anyone up or feel pressured to run faster than you can. Whether you are a track, trail or road runner, go to school, or anyone else we are here and welcoming and are so excited to spend some time doing what we love together. If your trail group was an animal, what would it be and why? Penguin. Some of us are Slippery Speedsters, others are Determined Waddlers.

TRAIL CREW NAME: Dawn League BIRTHDAY: 6 October 2021

How have you seen participation in your group change people and lives?

REGION: Albury-Wondonga, NSW

Every member in our community would give a different answer, each as amazing and inspiring as the next. What we have seen as a collective is it has encouraged people to start running, continue running, and given people a place in the community who may not have found their people in the area before. A place to strive for goals, to embrace their goals, be proud of them, and have a safe space to speak about them where we all help each other train towards them. It has given people the confidence and the permission to embrace both their social and competitive side, no matter where you may be in the pack, and encourage healthy lifestyle choices.

MEMBERS: ~70-80 AVERAGE RUNNERS AT EACH HOOK UP: 30 AVERAGE HOOK UPS EACH YEAR: 3/week – 150+/year SHOES OWNED IN TOTAL: ~600 UNOFFICIAL CLUBHOUSE: Frankies Milk Bar, West Albury WEB: dawnleague.com

FEATURE

CONQUERING TRAILS AND

Adversity FIGHTING THE DEMONS WITHIN

TOM DADE IS YOUNG. HE’S GOT A FIRE BURNING THROUGH HIM THAT’S HARD TO CONTROL, AND IT SERVED HIM INCREDIBLY WELL WHEN HE TOOK ON ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S GNARLIEST RACES, THE DOWN UNDER 135, EARLIER THIS YEAR. THE VICTORIAN LEFT BEHIND A BLAZING TRAIL SO HOT, HE WAS THIS YEAR’S ONLY FINISHER, CROSSING THAT BRUTAL FINISH LINE IN AN ASTONISHING 53:07:53. TOM’S LIFE AS A TEENAGER SHAPED WHO IS TODAY, BUT IT WAS AN OUTRIGHT ASSAULT OF HIS MORTAL BEING AS HE BATTLED AN EATING DISORDER THAT SAW HIM LAND IN HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT. KATE DZIENIS DISCOVERS THE VULNERABLE SIDE OF TOM AS HE OPENS UP ABOUT HIS DEMONS TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE AND BREAK THE STIGMA THAT EATING DISORDERS ARE RARE IN MALES. WORDS: KATE DZIENIS IMAGES: THE EVENTURERS

CW // Mental Health, Eating Disorders TRM would like to advise that this article focuses on Tom’s lived experience, and therefore discusses mental health and eating disorders, in particular Anorexia Nervosa. We understand that this discussion may be difficult for those in our community who also suffer from an eating disorder, and have included support services at the end of the article.

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FEATURE CONQUERING TRAILS AND ADVERSITY

At just 23, Tom Dade from Mt Martha in Victoria has entered the ultra running community in a blaze of glory. In September 2019 he ran his first ultra, the 100km at the Surf Coast Century, and went on to run a further three ultras before taking home the top podium spot in the New Year’s Eve Rock Around The Clock 50km that same year in December. But it wasn’t all podium finishes and glory. In fact, Tom faced an ultra race of a different kind earlier in life – one that involved fighting through an eating disorder. About one million Australians live with an eating disorder in any given year; that is, 4% of the population, and despite the stigma associated that they only affect women, eating disorders can indeed affect people of any gender. But there’s been an under representation of males in eating disorder research, and research with males is almost exclusively with cisgender males and may not be inclusive of people who identify as trans or gender diverse. So official figures and statistics are tricky to come by. It’s only estimated that one-third of people reporting eating disorder behaviours in the community are male, with research on the perceived barriers towards helpseeking for people found that stigma and shame were most frequently identified as barriers for accessing treatment. And today, Dan wants to share his story to help break the stigma that eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa mainly affects women and girls. He was a boy aged just 13, entering that new chapter in his life where a barrage of changes all happen at the same time – physical, emotional, social and cognitive. But on some level, it all started even earlier than that. “When I was younger, my older brother would make fun of me for being larger, so that affected me from a much younger age,” Tom explains. “I used to be a swimmer, but I always wore a rash vest, which slowed me down, but I didn’t want people seeing my body and seeing all the fat on me. I didn’t realise it at the time, but that really affected me. “As I got to teenage-hood, around the age of 14, the whole body image thing became more important in my head; I wanted to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, you know – be Rocky and all of that, so I started to look on the internet about how to do that. 26

“Of course, everything on the web was telling me to reduce my fat. Little did I know back then that doing that sort of thing was not great because I didn’t have the muscle maturity for it.” Tom’s perception of what he needed to eat also began to change, so he’d strictly only eat protein. He refused to take in fats or carbohydrates, but the skinnier he got, in his head he still looked the same as before. “Exercise was the main thing for me, because at that age I started leaning out naturally just from being a teenager. I found out I was okay with running and began cross country, running more and

more; it was definitely a way for me to burn calories,” he reveals. It eventually got to a point in Tom’s young life that if he didn’t exercise or train, or eat the way he wanted, he’d feel depressed. He was overdoing it at that stage, and the final trigger point was a dinner his dad made one night. “There was a time my dad made a stir fry at home, and I didn’t realise until after eating it that he had put honey in it,” he explains. “Honey’s got a whole heap of sugar in it, and it set me off…it completely triggered

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me. I went for a walk and cried most of the way; eventually I got home and I was so bad that I went straight to the laundry to make a concoction of chemicals for myself. “Thankfully I didn’t go through with it, but it scared me so much that I told my dad and he took me to hospital for my mental health. I was only 14, a year 9 student, and after seeing some psychologists was diagnosed with anorexia.” That first night staying in treatment, Tom recalls running away from the hospital, and after being brought back,

was appointed a security guard to stay in his room overnight. He was there for four weeks to get his weight back up. “I was 20kgs less than I am now (my lowest weight was 53kg) and I was the same height as I am today – about 5’10,” he says. “My parents never suspected I’d had an eating disorder, and it didn’t feel like it was something I was hiding. I mean, they knew I was overly strict with eating, but they also saw it as me just trying to be healthy – I guess they didn’t know how extreme it had gotten. They knew about my depression and had taken me to a

psychologist for that before; looking back at it all now, anorexia was a way of coping with depression. My self-esteem was so low at that point in my life – in my head, if I was eating well and exercising, I’d feel good about myself. “Anorexia was never something I thought of as a mental issue; I felt very demasculated – in my head, I was supposed to be strong, have muscles, ‘be a man’ so to speak, but I could see the physical effects it was having on some other residents I did recovery with, and that really got to me.” Following his release from treatment, Tom continued going to specialist 27

FEATURE CONQUERING TRAILS AND ADVERSITY

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“Something I’d want to tell my 14-year-old self as well as the trail running community, is to not let food take away the special moments in your life or the things you enjoy doing…if it does start to get that way, ask for help.” appointments for six months, saying he recovered from anorexia physically but never really learnt how to mentally fortify himself to not fall back into old habits. Bodybuilding became his zone, and Tom delved into the world of weight training. In a way, the sport saved him because it kept his body weight up. He kept at it until the age of 18. “I eventually stopped bodybuilding because mentally, I just couldn’t push myself to eat enough food to sustain the massive build or get to a much bigger physique,” he recalls. “That’s the thing with anorexia, it’s always there. It’s just a matter of identifying it throughout your life and winning over it as much as you can. “So I added cardio and began running, starting with 5km – back then, that was a far distance for me, and then I turned to triathlons and adventuring. I even did the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea when I was 19, doing it the hardest way I could and finishing in five days. Once I did finish, I realised I hadn’t even touched my own potential, thus turning to mountaineering – which can become expensive.” He began looking for something that was less costly and closer to home, in the end turning to trail running. And what better way than to kick off a running career than an ultra? “The furthest I’d ever run was 10km, but when I discovered the Surf Coast Century (2019) 100km, that was it; that’s the game I wanted to play,” Tom reveals. “Strength training certainly was a good way to get into trail running, and today I absolutely love eating. Running allows me to give in to that, and in my head, eating all the great foods is okay. Recovering 29

FEATURE CONQUERING TRAILS AND ADVERSITY

from an eating disorder, I needed to find what I was happy eating that didn’t make me feel like I was turning to old habits.” If Tom could come face-to-face with his younger self, there is so much wisdom now that he would pass on. He’s learnt heavily from his experiences and wants to encourage men of all ages to not be afraid or embarrassed to seek help. “Something I’d want to tell my 14-year-old self as well as the trail running community is to not let food take away the special moments in your life or the things you enjoy doing,” he continues. “If it does start to get that way, ask for help. “The line between disciplined healthy eating habits versus anorexic eating habits is blurry and hard to navigate as an athlete because it’s an important part in reaching your potential and at times you have to restrict certain foods whilst training. “You need to find the balance between healthy disciplined eating and living life. I used to stress about what ‘unhealthy’ meal to eat after an ultra because it was the only time I was allowed to eat that type of food, and there were so many options; I’d been restricting all those types of foods for so long, so it was a huge deal. “It used to take away from the achievement itself of running the race, and instead of taking in what I just did, I’d be stressing about the post-race/post run meal. “This is not a healthy habit to have. “Food beyond fuelling and allowing your body to perform at its best and most efficient is an important part of who we are, and developing good habits can play a part in our happiness. “A happier you is a healthier you." TRM is hopeful that by amplifying Tom’s message, we’re helping raise awareness about eating disorders in our community. If this story resonates with you or anyone you know, you can call The Butterfly Foundation Helpline on 1800 33 4673 (AU), EDANZ on 0800 2 33269 (NZ) or call Lifeline to speak to a Crisis Supporter on 13 11 14 (AU) or 0800 543 354 (NZ).

The journey begins now.

✦ 100 & 200 Miler ✦ Flinders Ranges ✦

✦ South Australia ✦ 12th-16th Apr 2023 ✦

FEATURE

Heroes TEAMS OF HIDDEN

STAYING CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER IS A PART OF OUR HUMAN PSYCHE. BEING TRAIL RUNNERS, WE’RE AWARE OF THE SOCIAL ASPECTS THE SPORT BRINGS US – WE MAKE FRIENDS, WE FIND PACERS, WE SHARE GOALS AND WE PUSH EACH OTHER TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS. THERE’S ALSO ANOTHER SIDE TO TRAIL RUNNING THOUGH, AND THAT’S THE VOLUNTEER SIDE – THE SIDE WHERE WE GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND DEVELOP A NEW PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE AN EVENT SEAMLESS. AID STATIONS, AS WE ALL KNOW, ARE THE HEART AND SOUL OF RACES, WHERE A HIGH FIVE, A PEP TALK OR A HOT CUP OF SOUP CAN GO A LONG WAY IN KEEPING RUNNERS MOVING FORWARD. VOLUNTEERS PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE HERE AND THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY THEY’VE STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE – THEY COULD BE INJURED, ARE TAKING A BREAK, ARE PROVIDING BACK-UP CREW SUPPORT, OR SIMPLY WANT TO GIVE BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY. KATE DZIENIS SPEAKS WITH TWO VICTORIAN VOLUNTEERS, ALISON MOXHAM AND WARREN MAYNARD, ABOUT THEIR LOVE OF AID STATION VOLUNTEERING AND WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE IT A SUCCESS ON RACE DAY.

WORDS: KATE DZIENIS IMAGES: SOPHIE GERAGHTY

Aid stations. Without them and the people who man them, we’d be a mass load of hot and bothered crazy people stalking the lands for any food we can find and finding the perfect rock to sit down on for a breather. Okay, so many trail runners have raised their hands to inadvertently claim as being ‘crazy’ anyway, but that doesn’t make my point any less truthful. If you’re someone who hasn’t taken a back seat yet at an event to volunteer at an aid station – you’re missing out on so much! Firstly let’s start off by saying there are aid stations, and then there are aid stations. 32

Many of you have run a road race where the drink stops are exactly that – volunteers lined up on the side of the road or footpath, gloves on, arms out far with a cup of water or electrolytes, so that you can either whizz right past and grab fast, or take it slow and walk while drinking. But many of you have also not done a single road race, and have only experienced the legends of trail race aid stations who go above and beyond what’s required of them. I say above and beyond, because it’s the truth. There’s no hiding from the fact that trail running is hard, and when you start moving up in distance, aid stations are the

places in the middle of almost nowhere where you can rest your feet, take in a great meal, and re-group yourself. Some aid stations go all out, and, I mean hot soups, pizzas and beef stews, vegetarian spring rolls and zucchini slices, hot potatoes with melted butter or gravy… not to mention camping chairs, makeshift showers and beds, first aid supplies, chafe cream in case you forgot some, and motivational pep talks. Forty-seven year old Alison Moxham from Dandenongs, Victoria has been trail running for the last decade and has lost count of how many aid stations she’s manned over the years. Of her favourites,

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FEATURE TEAMS OF HIDDEN HEROES

Alison says she has a soft spot for the remote locations where you can only get into via 4WD like Mount Speculation, a 4-hour drive from home. She and her team (Alison’s former partner and then friends George Mihalakellis, Olivia Blackney and Andrew Blackney) would set up a camper trailer, and provide official first aid together with aid stationing. “The remote aid stations are a lot of fun because you get to see so many beautiful parts of Victoria with people you know, and you’re out there roughing it,” she explains. “Runners always love seeing you at the remote aid stations. I mean, we always had a campfire going, we had an array of drinks, we’d make toasties, we’d have an ‘unmanned beverage esky’ so to speak that we’d turn a blind eye to (laughs)…hot cross buns, donuts…the remote ones are the most fun ones because you’re just out 34

in the middle of nowhere with a group of amazing people.

the way they respond to questions, or the way they look.

“There’ve been some aid stations we used to do every single year, and it was great because runners knew who would be there and looked forward to hanging out with us. We usually try to have music going and stay away from the basics like just lollies and cola; manning aid stations like these is about offering more to the runner. Being a runner yourself, you tend to pick up on what people might want – many are hesitant to ask for something, especially on longer ones, so you need to be able to know how to question what they want without sounding pushy.”

“Sometimes all they might need is a bit of sugar, something hot in their belly, a couple minutes of rest, a massage, or a foot rub, and then all of a sudden they’ve done a complete 180 and are back out running in fabulous condition,” she reveals.

Manning aid stations at ultra distance events requires a realisation that trail runners are a humble breed, with many not wanting to impose or have volunteers go out of their way. Alison says it’s also about recognising what a runner needs by

“I’ve had a few people pull into an aid station and state very matter-of-factly that they’re done; so I just get real with them. ‘Of course you’re tired, you’ve just run 80km…you’re going to be doing 100km, this is the way you’re supposed to feel. It’s not easy.’ “It’s a bit of reverse psychology, and a bit of tough love.” Warren Maynard, 47 from Melton, Victoria was (and still is) a part of the inaugural Melton City Runners club in

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FEATURE TEAMS OF HIDDEN HEROES

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2015, and has numerous marathons and ultra marathons under his belt since starting the sport in 2005. His club has been heavily involved in volunteering at aid stations, in particular at Down Under 135 where he heads Nolan’s aid station at the base of Mt Wilson. He is of the strong belief that aid station volunteers need to ‘leave people be’ sometimes. “It’s important to at times stand back and observe; you need to be able to read a runner and what they want. You can see on their face if they want help or if they have themselves sorted,” he says. “Runners doing these sorts of events are emotional; they’re sore, they’re tired, they’re hungry, and there’s a fine line between being pushy and not being pushy enough to help them.” When it comes to the necessities of aid stations, someone like Warren will always have you covered with the essentials, and says there’s a vast difference between the sorts of runners who take what’s needed. “The really fast and elite guys will just

come through super quick, whizzing past and thanking us for volunteering,” he explains. “Then you’ve got the runners who love spending time at the aid stations to have a good chat with us and rest their feet for a bit. The majority of the time many do supply their own drop bags, and we always have water as well as electrolytes and other bits and pieces like fruit that’s supplied to us by race director, but there are other times as well as we’ll provide hot foods like lasagne. “There are definitely different levels of aid stations, and they can be found at any level race – big or small numbers, short or long distances – where there’s music going, fairy lights, and there’s hot soups and a large variety of foods.” Speaking to both Alison and Warren, it provides proof in the pudding that aid station volunteers are passionate about making sure their runners are happy, healthy and safe, and I can hear in their voices how much they love doing what they do. They’re not just doing it because they have to.

It’s almost like they’re the mums and dads of our races, providing us with tough love and perhaps some harsh, yet constructive and motivating words when we need it, while at the same time treating us like we’re the most important people on the planet. With the amount of trail events on the Australian and New Zealand calendar, it’s now more important than ever to spread the love and get behind volunteering. If you haven’t given it a go yet, it’s incredibly worthwhile and you’ll see it all from a different perspective – you’ll shift into carer mode and perhaps even find yourself knowing exactly what your comrades need when they come through. From aid stations with volunteers who dress up in themed costumes and make you dodge golf balls when you make your way in (that’s another story to tell one day), to fully catered hot menu items and a shoulder to cry on, we are incredibly lucky to have people wonderful enough to give us their time and be our family for the day.

NO SLIP. NO SLIDE. NO BOUNCE.

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ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

THE WILD IS

Out There

NO PAIN, NO GAIN RIGHT? MILLY YOUNG FOUND HERSELF DEEP IN THE TASMANIAN WILDERNESS, MOTIVATED MORE THAN EVER TO FINISH WHAT SHE STARTED. THE 31-YEAR-OLD ORIGINALLY FROM KOJONUP, WA WAS THE RECIPIENT OF A 2021 TNF (THE NORTH FACE) ADVENTURE GRANT AND SHE SET OUT TO RUN THE FULL LENGTH OF THE PORT DAVEY AND SOUTH COAST TRACKS IN REMOTE SOUTHWEST TASMANIA – A GRUELLING 180KM TREK. NOT MUCH WENT TO PLAN FOR MILLY, HAVING FACED NUMEROUS HURDLES WITH CHALLENGING TERRAIN, GALE FORCE WINDS AND A BROKEN TOE. IT TOOK HER OVER 44 HOURS TO COMPLETE, AND TODAY SHE PROVIDES A DETAILED ACCOUNT ESPECIALLY FOR TRM READERS. WORDS: MILLY YOUNG IMAGES: ALEX CLAPIN (UNTAMED MEDIA), MICHAEL MURDOCH

t’s mid-morning on a Saturday in April and I’m lying crumpled on a rocky beach, clutching my left foot in pain. I’m deep in the Tasmanian wilderness, 40-odd kilometers from the nearest road. I’ve got 120km in the legs, I haven’t slept in over 24 hours and I’m fairly certain I’ve broken something in my foot. My face contorts as I hold my foot, and I manage to mumble something filthy but fortunately (thanks to the sub-par state I’m in) inaudible. Rewind a couple of months. The pandemic had us all aching for adventure. Lockdown measures and travel restrictions had us locked away like caged minks on a Danish fur farm. I was motivated to look for fun a little closer to home so on the lookout for something around the 100mi distance, I was reminded of the words of Australian naturalist Deny King, ‘those that drink the buttongrass water always return’.

If you’ve experienced Southwest Tassie, you’ll understand the allure. The land’s mottled history is variously coloured by feats of endurance, daring courage, unspeakable beauty and an indescribable darkness. It’s a beautifully eerie place that makes you deeply conscious of being entirely alone and at the mercy of the wild. The plan was to run about 100mi from Scotts Peak Dam to Cockle Creek through the heart of the Southwest National Park. The route had a lot going for it – a rich human and environmental history, difficult route finding, unforgiving terrain, plenty of vert and a whole lot of deep, buttongrass bog. To throw some other muscle groups into the mix, I’d also need to cross two passages of water by rowboat at Bathurst Harbour and the New River Lagoon. On a wet April morning, I signed my name in the Scotts Peak Walker logbook. Under

CONTRIBUTION THE WILD IS OUT THERE FOR THOSE WHO BUY A TICKET

a blanket of darkness and fog, I set my watch to run mode. I was hankering to take that first step, to launch myself into the unknown. Like a wolf pup on her first hunt, I turned my nose to the wind, let out a bellowing howl and followed the scent of the buttongrass. If all went to plan, I hoped to emerge at the other end in around 30 hours. Once I started the only way out was on my feet or a rescue helicopter. I hoped it would be the former. Being self-sufficient was important to me. It’s humbling knowing that you are out there on your own – no checkpoints, no medical tents, no people cheering on the sidelines, just yourself and the voices of the wild. I carried enough fuel and kit to stay fed and warm in the event of any mishaps. My pack weighed around 8kgs, like carrying a toddler. The April sun rose from over my shoulder, lighting a still and radiant landscape. Mist shrouded the Western Arthurs behind me and the expanse of buttongrass moorland stretched to the horizon. It was a warm day and I was completely alone. The sun beat on my back, my legs screamed and the ruggedness of the landscape swallowed me. I mostly ran in silence, my mind empty of thought as I dissolved into the present moment and the astonishing beauty of my surrounds. Memories of this section of the run are mostly visceral – sensations of my feet hitting the ground, breath in my lungs, the murmur of the wind and the grating of gravel on the bottom of my feet as my shoes filled with mud.

The track was overgrown and muddier than a cattle yard in July, littered with bog holes that had me thigh-high in mud so many times I lost count. The mud was so thick that my gaiters were engulfed in the first 5km and lost to the moorlands. From then on I needed to stop every hour or so to remove a build-up of sand and gravel from my shoes, or else the blisters would take over. After a day of endless buttongrass and a couple of navigational errors, I stood atop a crest and looked down over Bathurst Harbour. The late afternoon sun cast a soft glow over the still water and I heard a howl. My mate, Tom Simpson, was in the distance, waiting for me at the harbour crossing. He’d flown into Melaleuca the day before and had been waiting to meet me to supervise my rowboat crossing of the channel. When I’d planned the mission, I had considered an entirely unsupported journey but I was mildly concerned about the potential that my brain would betray me. All my life I have suffered from seizures, triggered by lack of sleep, pain and stress. Given the remoteness, trying to run through the SW alone seemed a little risky, especially when water was involved. So Tom was cajoled to fly to Melaleuca via light aircraft and run out the last section with me. Rowing the Bathurst Harbour crossing went down without any mishaps. In his glory days Tom was a national level rower, but I insisted on taking the oars myself. If you’ve seen my lats, it goes without saying that the crossing was a fair bit slower than it could have been.

At Melaleuca, Tom had a banquet waiting for me – hot miso, coke, coffee, potatoes, salt and vinegar chips, all the good stuff. I ate, warmed up and psyched myself up for the next leg of the journey. Tom fashioned me a pair of DIY ankle gaiters out of a pair of his old socks (this ingenious new breakthrough in gaiter design lasted a few hours, until they too succumbed to the pull of the mud!). Hot miso and coke coursing through our veins, we charged into the night toward Cox Bight. My energy began to slowly drain as darkness erased the distant mountains. Knee-deep in ice cold water across Louisa Creek, I ticked over 100kms. From Louisa River, we had the steepest climb of the route, the ascent of the Ironbounds. Notorious amongst hikers of South Coast Track, the ascent of this prominent range is basically a VK (vertical kilometer), almost 1000m of vertical over about 5km. Standing atop the Ironbounds, winds of 70km/hr sought to wipe us off our feet. The sun breathed new life into the waking world below. A deep red glow seeped slowly into the turbulent landscape and lighting up Prion Beach to the East. The north-westerly pushed us forward and down the eastern side of the Ironbound Range to Little Deadman’s Bay. At Little Deadman’s I looked down at my watch. About 40 clicks to go. ‘That won’t take too long,’ I said to Tom. ‘If all goes well at the New Lagoon boat

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crossing we should be back this afternoon.’ Then I smashed my foot into a rock and fell flat on my face...sweet! As I lay crumpled on the rocks, I clutched my foot trying to squeeze away the pain. I listened to the roar of the northwesterly and watched the southern ocean crash mercilessly against the coastline. My predicament was nothing to the ocean, she would continue to crash on this coastline long after I’d gone, as she’d been doing since Australia split from Gondwana millions of years before. My mind wandered. I marveled at the people who had made this pilgramage before me. Aboriginal Tasmanians, living harmoniously with this land, had walked this track as a trading route, a link between Melaleuca and the East Coast. The final 40 kilometers were a slow daze. I limped along on my busted foot, and we were reduced to a painfully sluggish 3km/hr pace. Heavy winds threw jet streams of sand along the length of Prion Beach, the kind that make you feel like you’re being attacked by a swarm of bees. A rowboat debacle at New River Lagoon forced us to swim the turbulent river crossing after wasting a couple of hours walking the length of the beach trying to figure out how we’d make it across. My foot screamed in pain as we waded through mud and hopped rocky beaches of the final leg along the southern coastline. We reached the bottom of South Cape Range at dusk on the second day. Having prior noted this as the ‘emotional low point of the trip’ I was cheekily reminded of the meaning of a self-fulfilling prophecy. We ascended the range through interminable mud and tree roots and pulled out the rain jackets for the first time. The front we were running from had finally caught us. At South Cape Rivulet, with just 12km to go, we were almost home. But it wasn’t all peachy from here. As luck would have it, it was high tide and we were forced to swim the crossing. Peering tentatively into the rivulet, Tom refused to get in the water, convinced he saw a dugong lurking in the depths. I chuckled and played along, curious as to how a dugong had made it so far from the Indian Ocean. Tom was hallucinating. Eventually we stripped naked and made the crossing in the dark under a waning gibbous moon. ‘Never invite me on any of your stupid adventures again,’ he said.

CONTRIBUTION THE WILD IS OUT THERE FOR THOSE WHO BUY A TICKET

The frigid water of the rivulet proved too much for our bodies. Covered in our emergency layers – thermals, puffer jackets, beanies, gloves and shells – we tried our best to jog, but our legs wouldn’t obey. These last 12km were the slowest and hardest of the adventure. As our bodies succumbed to fatigue, so did our minds. I heard beating drums and far off voices. Tom thought a reflective trail marker was a lighthouse. We walked the final stretches of muddy trails and boardwalk in another dimension, unaware of space and time. At one point, perhaps only a couple of kilometers from Cockle Creek, we sat on a rock eating jelly beans, our giggles dissolving in the cool morning air, seemingly oblivious to the fact that we were nearly at the end of the mission. Around 2am we stepped into the shelter that marked the end of our journey. Weeks of preparation and hours of pain came to an end in that one ephemeral moment. I hit stop on my watch, hugged Tom and sat down to take off my shoes and eat some corn chips. The adventure was finished. Soon after, we jumped into the car and

headed back to the city. At once I fell into a deep sleep, stirring only as we entered the bright lights of Hobart at 5am. I watched a group of drunk people stumble along the sidewalk under the street lights, screaming and laughing. I smiled at the polarity of our experiences over the course of the previous evening. I acknowledged the closing of that chapter as the long-awaited experience was swiftly relegated into the past. I hadn’t slept a wink since I stepped onto the track. My feet had been wet from start to end. I’d laughed, I’d cried, I’d enjoyed mild hallucinations. That rock on Little Deadman’s had forced me to really slow down and take everything in. I’d moved through buttongrass plains, windswept beaches, cool temperate rainforest, exposed alpine plateaus. I’d encountered a critically endangered orange bellied parrot (one of less than 200 left in the wild) and only two humans. I’d twice watched the sun rise and set over this rugged wilderness at the bottom of the world, all the while with nothing but the Southern Ocean between me and Antarctica. The trip was far longer than I had planned for. The broken toe, the New River Lagoon

boat debacle, the frequent stops to rinse the mud out of my shoes, the unresponsiveness of the legs after the final swim – all these elements had eaten away at the time, but had vastly expanded my consciousness. Time is illusionary anyway…right? In the weeks after the run, I succumbed to all the usual trappings of post-adventure comedowns…the thousand mile stare amid a maddening crowd; a sense of disconnection to the dizzying constructs of everyday life. But I catch myself remembering moments along the track – the force of the wind, the cool buttongrass water splashing my face, the sensation of my legs swallowed by mud, or a flock of seagulls making patterns in the south west sky…and I am filled with gratitude for the areas on our planet that have been spared the wanton destruction of the human machine. A reminder that the wild is out there, for those who buy a ticket. INSIDER KNOWLEDGE: Milly Young is a passionate adventurer and environmentalist. Her favourite exploration mode is the space where running and climbing meet – the steeper and higher, the better.

CALDERA 6

You want a shoe that can handle kilometres of trails? Then take on the Brooks Caldera 6. It’s got our new nitrogen-infused DNA LOFT v3 midsole for maximum softness on any terrain. Try on a pair and discover how it feels to go further. Find out more about Caldera 6 at brooksrunning.com.au

PROFILE

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

THERE’S MORE BEHIND

Felix

THAN MEETS THE EYE

TO THE AVERAGE ADULT WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER, OR ADHD, FORMS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MAY TAKE A BACK SEAT TO ALMOST ALL OTHER ACTIVITIES. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN, THOUGH, THAT EXERCISE IS AS IMPORTANT TO THE BRAIN AS IT IS TO THE REST OF THE BODY’S PHYSICALITY, AND IT CAN CHANGE THE BRAIN’S NEUROTRANSMITTERS, PROTEIN GROWTH AND NEUROGENESIS. KATE DZIENIS GOT AN INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF ADHD WHILST SPEAKING WITH ANDREW ‘FELIX’ POLI FROM ELLENBROOK, WA WHO LIVES WITH THE DIAGNOSIS AND EXPLAINS HOW HE MANAGES TRAIL RUNNING, RACE DIRECTING, AND LIVING LIFE TO ITS FULLEST POTENTIAL. WORDS: KATE DZIENIS IMAGES: SUZANNE POLI

There’s always been something about Andrew Poli that draws people to instantly think he’s quirky and unconventional. Felix, as he’s widely known in his social circles, has a heart of gold – always raising his hand to help in times of need, whether it be pacing a fellow runner he’s never met, joining you on a recovery run, volunteering last minute if the time arises, and having a good ol’ chat full of positivity and motivation. I first met Felix at my local parkrun probably about eight years ago now, and gradually got to know him and his wife Suzanne over the course of that time. At that stage, Felix was a beast on the trails, and his name would pop up as a participant at most local events in the longest distances. He was, and still is, renowned for ‘Felixnav’ – where he gets so wrapped up in the environment around him during a race, he loses his way and at times gets lost, having to backtrack and get back on

course. It’s a term of endearment amongst those who know him, and Felix has taken it on with gusto, never shying from finding his way back and catching up to secure himself a spot in the top half of finishers. The birth of Felixnav (now a hashtag in its own right) takes place in 2014, when at the 6 Inch Trail Marathon in south west WA he decided to take a ‘short cut’ to Aid Station 2 – not once, not twice, but three times. The race is 47km…his GPS read 60km+ at the finish. It took me a few years to learn of Felix’s Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and it dawned on me that trail running for him was his ticket to better function. But the acronym doesn’t tell the whole story – it’s not so much a deficit problem as it is a regulation problem, and

there’s increasing evidence that a single session of exercise can lead to immediate improvements in ADHD symptoms and cognitive functions. “I did lots of sports, but I was very bad at them,” he retells. “I had terrible hand-eye coordination, so playing hockey or soccer wasn’t great – I could run, I could tackle, but otherwise I was useless. I never really liked running because it was boring; back when I was kid it meant having to run on streets or the sports track. Trail running wasn’t ‘a thing’…I mean, there was cross country and I did that at school but it was so limited. “I discovered I was good at that, and later on I didn’t so much run as I kind of ran everywhere…if I was going somewhere, I’d run there. And I was generally running late, so catching the bus or getting to work.” 45

PROFILE THERE’S MORE BEHIND FELIX THAN MEETS THE EYE

It wasn’t until smart phones started being released and becoming more readily available that Felix took up running as a sport. It became fun for him, because he could track his runs and participate in apps that made it a game (Zombies, Run!). “Apps like that gave me something to focus on; it wasn’t so much the zombie aspect so much as the storyline itself,” he explains. “I’d run to progress the story, and I’d be keen to finish the episode. That helped me a lot in increasing my distance, and soon after I discovered podcasts. Music isn’t my thing while I’m out running; I find podcasts are perfect for me having something to keep my mind concentrating on. “One of the things of ADHD – why stimulants work to help people is that you don’t have enough executive function and you need a stimulant which helps your brain to produce enough chemicals to perform that executive 46

function. So all of the fidgeting things that people like me do, they’re ways to keep the brain going so you can get some executive function.

missed a turn off for being distracted and got lost) aka ‘Felixnav’; I was doing a story on him for a local newspaper so the two of us went out on a recovery run the following day through the ‘burbs and talked.

“It’s why going off the beaten track is ideal for me. I’m keeping my brain constantly firing. Things are easier for me now. If I’m going somewhere new, if I’m exploring, then I have enough stimulation to keep me going.”

I learned he’s no good out in the suburban streets, almost getting run over twice by oncoming traffic as he hobbled to the other side of the road, trying to pick up his pace.

Felix is super prepared for his races, even thinking up of and preparing all worse case scenarios, but it can take him twice as long as everyone else to finish. He doesn’t plan his runs into his days; he finds it too difficult to do, so it’s almost always a spontaneous trip out the door. On a casual evening run, he might forget his head torch, which he’s done on several occasions – and there are plenty more stories from everyone he knows. For instance, back in 2017 Felix came 2nd Male in the state’s WTF 100mi (he even

Despite this, Felix (49) is one of the most trustworthy people at an event. In an emergency situation, he doesn’t panic, and knows of all the possible dangers in the surrounding environment. He’s even taken up positions as a run director at parkrun and a race director at Ultra Series Australia, where he seems to thrive putting things together and keeping himself busy. “I was about 16 when I was officially diagnosed, and back then I was put on medication as a bit of a trial,” he says.

Scan here to find out more about environmental groups that are fighting to defend our forests, air and waters.

The ascent of the Victorian Central Highlands is a baptism of green. From soft unfurling ferns among the dewy creek beds to ancient, crispy eucalyptus leaves dangling down as your face finds the sun again. Majell Backhausen has seen them all. Jarrah Lynch © 2022 Patagonia, Inc.

PROFILE THERE’S MORE BEHIND FELIX THAN MEETS THE EYE

“It did answer a lot of questions in terms of why I found it hard to focus on things, and when I did focus, I’d solely focus on that and nothing else. It was always all or nothing. “It’s difficult being a run/race director, it’s probably one of the hardest things I do, especially parkrun because there are so many little things I need to get done in the week leading up to it. I always forget to do bits and pieces, and it’s almost always last minute, but the parkrun community is fantastic because it’s built with the structure to support people doing the role. “My first RD role with Ultra Series was the inaugural Birdy’s Backyard in 2019, which I believe is perfectly suited for me.” Cue astonishment from myself when I ask Felix, why? “The prep isn’t massive in terms of little things (they’re all quite big loads), and in fact the inaugural one had me going up to the course and pre-running it, which didn’t require a lot of executive function,” he explains. “On race day itself, it’s the kind of thing I find myself excelling at – almost 48

like my comfort zone is in the discomfort zone in this particular instance. I like to be in crisis, and the best way I can describe it is structured crisis. Those are the times I’m more alive in, where it’s almost like I’m thrown in the deep end and I have to try and find my way out. “Look, it’s all difficult with the backyard ultra way of things, making sure runners are at the start line on the hour, every hour and that they’re all ready to go. It’s also a good way to make sure I never have to run the race myself, I never want to do it (laughs).” Loop races aren’t his thing, which is understandable, but there are some exceptions to the rule – an interesting environment must be on the cards. So put simply, you’d never find him on a sports track. Despite Felix’s diagnosis with ADHD, he’s a strong part of the trail running community in WA who everyone has come to know and love. He’ll always be happy to take you out for a run out in the middle of nowhere… just don’t make any plans for the rest of the day (#felixnav).

EVENT GUIDE 2023 LEARN ABOUT THE VARYING TYPES OF RUNNING

FROM TRACK TO

Trail

LACE UP YOUR SHOES FOR THE BEST OF 2023

SPECIAL PREVIEWS OF: BUFFALO STAMPEDE FESTIVAL TRAIL RUN AUSTRALIA RUAPEHU TRAIL FESTIVAL

ALL THE DATES & REGO INFO YOU NEED TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR FAVE TRAIL RACE

GRAMPIANS PEAKS TRAIL 100 MILE The Newest World-Class Trail Race

gpt100.com.au

EVENT GUIDE 2023

ALL THE BEST

EVENTS FOR 2023 TRAIL RUN MAG HAS COME TOGETHER WITH AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND RACE DIRECTORS TO BRING YOU THE VERY BEST OF WHAT’S TO COME IN 2023! FROM THE TECHNICAL TERRAINS OF WA ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE TASMAN TO THE GOLDEN FIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND, THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO LACE UP YOUR SHOES AND HIT THE TRAILS. SO WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE STOMPING GROUND? WHETHER YOU’RE A FIRST TIMER OR AT ELITE LEVEL, NATURE’S PLAYGROUND HAS AN ABUNDANCE OF OPTIONS FOR YOU.

TRAIL RUNNING

CROSS COUNTRY

SKYRUNNING

Head outside off road on an unpaved path, and you’ve got trail running at your fingertips. Go beyond the smooth surfaces to take yourself amongst nature’s finest, where opportunities allow you to challenge yourself all the way up to ultra distances. Trail running is about endurance and technicality, and challenges both your physicality and mentality. But most of all, it’s about enjoyment (and enjoying a good snack when you want to take a break).

If you’re into social running and the comradery that comes with being part of a team, then cross country is for you. Distances of 4km to 12km are the go in this sport, where you race across natural and rough terrain, but where you can also be taken through flat-ground lands like ovals, gravel roads, muddy footpaths and grassy parks. It’s similar to trail running no doubt, but your pace is certainly disrupted due to varying terrain. Mostly taken up by younger runs in their school years.

For those who love elevation gain and extreme technicality, skyrunning is just the ticket to meet your demands. With events mainly held in high alpine mountain areas, skyrunning takes you above the clouds where the minimum average incline is 6 percent and must include sections of 30 percent. Let’s face it – it’s tough! But once you get going, you can’t stop so get knowledgeable on the right gear, become a pro at navigating, and take to the skies!

TRAIL RUN MAG

Event Guide 2023 cover: Reuben Sleight from Officer, Vic runs above the clouds high atop Mount Buffalo during the 2022 Buffalo Stampede 42k SkyMarathon in Bright, Victoria. Image: Jim Skouras.

MOUNTAIN RUNNING

ROAD RUNNING

TRACK RUNNING

The sport of mountain running is constantly evolving, and it’s here that runners can apply their upmost fitness levels to go as high as they want. Mountain running isn’t about how far you can go – it’s about how high, and elevation gains are the most important factors when choosing where to go. Sometimes there’s a path, sometimes there’s not, but one thing’s for sure…when you conquer a mountain, you’ll be sitting on top of the world.

Probably the most accessible of the lot, road running is out there for everyone – but doesn’t necessarily mean to literally run on the roads; we mean pedestrian paths and cycle ways too. Take yourself through the suburbs on flat, even surfaces with some inclines, and see what your township or city have to offer as you explore the neighbourhood. Road running is a fantastic introduction to the world of running, and you can 100 percent go absolutely (almost) everywhere!

There are quite a few events around the world that provide an option to race 12hrs, 24hrs and 48hrs. These types of races are almost always guaranteed to be held on a certified measured track in a stadium, where the surface is 100 percent flat and you can focus solely on distance without much interruption. You’ll be able to develop and improve your sense of pace, and learn about the mental strength it takes to go around in circles. 53

EVENT PREVIEW

TRAIL RUN AUSTRALIA, SNOWY MOUNTAINS SNOWY MOUNTAINS, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA In2Adventure together with Lake Crackenback Resort & Spa will be celebrating all month long this February with a number of race events (mountain bike and triathlon), including Trail Run Australia. Trail Run Australia will see a barrage of runners take over the beautiful location that is the Snowy Mountains from 24-25 February, with a 10year celebration event at Lake Crackenback Resort on 26 February – so be prepared to par-tay! Everyone will get a chance to see the festival’s very own Man from Snowy River at Lake Crackenback Resort & Spa, where they can spend the weekend and relax after hitting the tracks. Trail Run Australia offers a number of distances to runners on all levels, so choose from the epic UTRA70, TRA42, TRA21, TRA11 and TRA5 plus the free Kids Mud Rats Run. Each race challenges you to truly get offroad and put yourself against some of the most demanding and diverse terrain around. From stunning beaches and historic goldfields, to remote rocky outcrops and rich rainforests, make your way all the way up to the iconic Snowy Mountains, because Trail Run Australia inspires runners to tread the path less travelled in this wild and beautiful land. EVENT

Trail Run Australia | Snowy Mountains

WHEN

24-25 February, 2023

DISTANCE

UTRA70, TRA42.2, TRA21k, TRA11k, TRA5k

TYPE

Run

WHERE

Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia

trailrunaustralia.com.au/event/snowy-mountains/

REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 17 FEBRUARY, 2023

EVENT GUIDE 2023 JANUARY 2023 AUSTRALIA NSW 15 January KOWEN TRAIL RUN Location: Wamboin kowen-trail-run.com 29 January SYDNEY TRAIL SERIES: MANLY DAM Location: Manly Dam sydneytrailseries.com.au QLD 8 January HARES AND HOUNDS TRAIL RUN Location: Beerburrum aaaracing.com.au 28 January BEERWAH AT NIGHT Location: Glasshouse Mountains runqld.com.au SA 15 January ATR: BELAIR NATIONAL PARK Location: Belair National Park adelaidetrailrunners.com.au 29 January ATR: STATE TEAMS CHAMPS Location: Bridgewater adelaidetrailrunners.com.au VIC 7 January PORTSEA TWILIGHT Location: Pointsea solemotive.com

15 January TWO BAYS TRAIL RUN Location: Dromana twobaystrailrun.com

14 January RACE THE TRAIN Location: Kingston activeqt.co.nz

20 January PORTSEA BAY TO SURF Location: Point Nepean to Portsea Portseasurf.com.au

19 January REVENANT ULTRA Location: Welcome Rock revenant.co.nz

WA 7 January OMFG TRAIL RUNNING FESTIVAL Location: John Forrest National Park omfgrunningfestival.com.au

21 January RESILIENCE ULTRA Location: Reefton resilienceultra.com

8 January PTS: SLY FOX Location: Jarrahdale perthtrailseries.com.au

21 January THE GOAT ADVENTURE RUN Location: Tongariro National Park thegoat.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND

FEBRUARY 2023

14 January AOTEAROA ULTRA Location: Christchurch raceroster.com

AUSTRALIA

14 January GOOD HOME TARANAKI OFF ROAD Location: Lake Mangamahoe taranakitrailrun.co.nz

NSW 4 February RAFFERTYS COASTAL RUN Location: Lake Macquarie raffertyscoastalrun.com.au

14 January IAN PRIEST MEMORIAL HUTT RIVER Location: Hutt Valley Sorty.co.nz

5 February DORRIGO RAINFOREST RUN Location: Dorrigo Mountain coffstrailrunners.com

14 January KING & QUEEN OF THE WITHERS Location: Blenheim harriers.net.nz

5 February WENTWORTH FALLS TRAIL RUN Location: Leura runningwildnsw.com

EVENT PREVIEW IMAGE: KURT MATTHEWS

RUAPEHU TRAIL FESTIVAL TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK, NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND The Ruapehu Trail Festival is the premier trail running event of the 2023 season, held in the stunning Tongariro National Park in the centre of New Zealand’s North Island. Whatever your trail challenge desire, this race has 100% got you covered! Kicking off on the Friday (10 March), the Sky Waka Vertical Challenge is the new kid on the mountain and it challenges participants to use pure leg, core and willpower to ascend Mt Ruapehu as many times as possible within four hours. Knock off as much mountain elevation as you can, ascending by foot, and descending on the Sky Waka Gondola – yes, you get to ride back down to the start line and do it all again! For the speed demons amongst you, take on the Sky Waka Vertical Challenge 400m Dash where you have one shot at recording the fastest time to scale mountain elevation across the 2.5m course. Too good! Then on Saturday (11 March), this breath-taking part of the Ruapehu Region plays host to the established and much-loved Ring of Fire and Tussock Traverse events. The Ring of Fire Relay, 73km solo and 50km solo events are as picturesque as they are formidable with up to 3555-meters elevation covering tough and varied ground in this epic part of the world. Take it all in as you make your way through creek and river crossings, open boulder fields, sand, tussock and rocky terrain. The first wave of runners depart Whakapapa in the early hours of the morning with expected finish times of between noon and 11pm. Then on Sunday (12 March), Ring of Fire participants and supporters are invited to the ROF Awards Ceremony from 8:30am at the Knoll Ridge Chalet, perched dramatically on the edge of a cliff at the top of the Sky Waka. The Sky Waka Gondola ride and breakfast are included for participants. Joining the Ring of Fire on Saturday is the much-anticipated Tussock Traverse which celebrates its 17th anniversary in 2023 and welcomes all levels of trail runner and walker to take to the mountain in the 32km (sold out), 21km, 12km and 6km run or walk distances. Ruapehu Trail Festival participants can expect a friendly, welcoming and super-charged atmosphere with music and live commentary in one of the most treasured landscapes of Aotearoa. Will you do it this year? Will you go run where the mountains meet the sky? EVENT

Ruapehu Trail Festival

WHEN

10-12 March, 2023

DISTANCE Vertical Challenge, 73km, 50km, 32km, 21km, 12km, 6km TYPE

Relay, Solo / Run, Walk

WHERE

Tongariro National Park, North Island, New Zealand

ruapehutrailfestival.co.nz

REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 6 MARCH, 2023 IN PERSON AT THE EVENT, AND AS SPACE ALLOWS.

EVENT GUIDE 2023 24 February TRAIL RUN AUSTRALIA SNOWY MOUNTAINS Location Crackenback trailrunaustralia.com.au

8 February DELIRIOUS WEST Location: Northcliffe to Albany deliriouswest200miler.com.au

19 February SOUTHERN LAKES ULTRA Location: Queenstown southernlakesultra.com

26 February SYDNEY TRAIL SERIES: MANLY DAM Location: Manly Dam sydneytrailseries.com.au

26 February PTS: SWISSMURDIE Location: Mundy Regional Park perthtrailseries.com.au

25 February OLD GHOST ULTRA Location: West Coast oldghostultra.com

QLD 5 February SEQ: BUNYAVILLE REGIONAL PARK Location: Bunya seqtrailrunningseries.com.au

NEW ZEALAND

25 February GOLDFIELDS CAVALCADE Location: Cavalcade Trails cavalcade.co.nz

5 February THE GO FIGURE Location:D’Aguilar National Park Aaaracing.com.au

4 February PIGS BACKYARD ULTRA Location: Dunedin pigsbackyardultra.com

MARCH 2023

10 February COAST TO COAST MOUNTAIN RUN Location: Canterbury coasttocoast.co.nz

AUSTRALIA

11 February TARAWERA ULTRAMARATHON Location: Rotorua taraweraultra.co.nz

NSW 4 March NARROWNECK NIGHT RUN Location: Katoomba runningwildnsw.com

18 February CARGO PLUS COASTAL CHALLENGE Location: Auckland coastalchallenge.co.nz

10 March AUSTN ALPINE ASCENT TRAIL RUN Location: Charlotte Pass Village eliteenergy.com.au

SA 11 February ROBE RUN Location: Limestone Coast adelaidetrailrunners.com.au

18 February SHOTOVER MOONLIGHT MOUNTAIN Location: Queenstown shotovermoonlight.co.nz

11 March SIX FOOT TRACK Location: Katoomba sixfoot.com

26 February ATR: ONKAPARINGA RIVER Location: Clarendon adelaidetrailrunners.com.au

19 February FOREST HILL TRAIL RUN Location: Central Southland facebook.com/foresthilltrail

25 March LITHGOW RIDGY-DIDGE TRAIL FEST Location: Lithgow bluemountainsfitness.com.au

19 February SEQ: HINZE DAM Location: Advancetown Lake seqtrailrunningseries.com.au 26 February CASTLE HILL TRAIL RUN Location: Townsville outerlimitsadventure.com.au

TAS 4 February CRADLE MOUNTAIN RUN Location: Waldheim to Cynthia Bay cradlemtnrun.asn.au VIC 3 February MARIBYRNONG VALLEY PARK BACKYARD Location: Brimbark Park trailsplus.com.au 5 February KILCUNDA HALF MARATHON Location: Kilcunda runningwild.net.au

16-04-23

20-05-23 29-10-23

19 February THE BELLA Location: Mount Buller Alpine Village hut2hut.oscars100.com.au/the-archie

03-09-23

18 February THE ARCHIE Location: Mount Buller Alpine Village hut2hut.oscars100.com.au/the-archie/

26-02-23

17 February OSCARS 100 HUT 2 HUT CHALLENGE Location: Mount Buller Alpine Village hut2hut.oscars100.com.au

25-06-23

11 February FLYING BRICK BELLARINE SUNSET RUN Location: Portarlington bellarinesunsetrun.com

North Queensland's biggest Trail Run Series. Each event features a unique location with 3 distances to choose from.

25 February RUN THE LIGHTHOUSE Location: Wilsons Prom trailsplus.com.au WA 5 February PTS: QI GONG Location: Wungong National Park perthtrailseries.com.au

EVENT PREVIEW

BUFFALO Stampede F E S T I VAL

BUFFALO STAMPEDE FESTIVAL BRIGHT, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA Fancy a bit of a skyrun? Then picture yourself staring down the barrel of Mount Buffalo and her grandeur presence, where it’s just you and the epic alpine trails ahead of you. First held in 2014, on offer are a number of distances, and the main attraction is the 100k Bright Ultra. The epic new course from Bright to the top of Mount Buffalo National Park and back sees runners summit the Horn at over 1700 metres. With 5,000 metres of elevation gain over 100k, this distance is a total challenge. You can do it solo or in a relay team. Runners in the 42k Buffalo Stampede SkyMarathon will start atop Mount Buffalo and descend the single track of ‘The Big Walk’ and traverse Buckland Valley farmland. The pièce de résistance comes late in the day, the ‘Mick’s Track’ climb up to Mystic – before bombing the descent down to Bright. Redesigned for 2022 with a new loop course from Bright to Clearspot, the 20k Bright SkyRun retains classic climbs and gnarly descents. If those distances don’t tickle your fancy, there’s the 10k Bright Twilight SkySprint and the 5k Family Run held together with the 2k Junior Trail Run. But the best part about the Buffalo Stampede Festival weekend? Every event finishes right in the heart of the Bright township at the Bright Brewery! EVENT

Buffalo Stampede Festival

WHEN

31 March-2 April, 2023

DISTANCE

100km (solo/team), 42km, 20km, 10km, 5km Family, 2km Juniors

TYPE

Run

WHERE

Bright, Victoria, Australia

buffalostampede.com.au

REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 31 MARCH, 2023

BRIG HT

EVENT GUIDE 2023 26 March SYDNEY TRAIL SERIES: MANLY DAM Location: Manly Dam sydneytrailseries.com.au

19 March ATR: CLELAND CONSERVATION PARK Location: Cleland Conservation Park adelaidetrailrunners.com.au

31 March BUFFALO STAMPEDE FESTIVAL Location: Bright buffalostampede.com.au

26 March GREAT VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN Location: Orange rotarycluboforange.org.au

26 March CONQUER THE SUMMIT Location: Mt Barker conquerthesummit.org.au

26 March WASHPOOL WORLD HERITAGE TRAIL Location: Gibraltar Range National Park coffstrailrunners.com

TAS 4 March TASMANIA’S GONE NUTS 101 Location: Stanley gonenuts.com.au

WA 4 March LARK HILL DUSK TO DAWN ULTRA Location: Port Kennedy wtfultra.com

QLD 5 March SEQ: EWEN MADDOCK DAM Location: Sunshine Coast seqtrailrunningseries.com.au 11 March WILDHORSE AT NIGHT Location: Wildhorse Mountain aaaracing.com.au 25 March NOOSA ULTRA-TRAIL® Location: Cooroy noosaultratrail.com.au 25 March YANDINA FIVE ‘O’ TRAIL RUN Location: Yandina runqld.com.au SA 4 March BELAIR MARATHON Location: Belair National Park belairmarathon.com.au

17 March HERDY’S FRONTYARD ULTRA Location: Herdsman Lake herdysfrontyard.com.au

24 March KUNANYI MOUNTAIN RUN Location: Hobart kunanyimountainrun.run

19 March BLOATED GOAT TRAIL RUN Location: Bedfordale perthtrailseries.com.au

VIC 4 March BAW BAW SNOW GUM RUN Location: Mount Baw Baw Resort runningwild.net.au

NEW ZEALAND

11 March WARBURTON TRAIL RUN FESTIVAL Location: Warburton warburtontrailfest.com 18 March RAZORBACK RUN Location: Alpine National Park runningwild.net.au 19 March BRIMBANK PARK RUNNING FESTIVAL Location: Mount Baw Baw Resort runningwild.net.au

10 March MACPACK MOTATAPU TRAIL RUN Location: Wanaka to Arrowtown motatapu.com 10 March RUAPEHU TRAIL FESTIVAL Location: Mt Ruapehu Ruapehutrailfestival.co.nz 11 March WILD KIWI TRAIL RUN Location: Whangarei thewildkiwi.co.nz 18 March NORTHBURN 100 Location: Central Otago northburn100.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND'S TOUGHEST MARATHON

4th MARCH 2023

15 April 2023

101 / 75 / 50 / 25 & TEAMS

42km, 33km, 21km, 15km

www.gonenuts.com.au

www.mtoxfordodyssey.co.nz 59

EVENT GUIDE 2023

18 March PAUANUI HALF MARATHON Location: Coromandel pauanuihalfmarathon.co.nz 25 March MIDDLE-EARTH HALFLING MARATHON™ Location: Matamata hobbitontours.com 25 March WALTER PEAK HIGH COUNTRY RUN Location: Queenstown activeqt.co.nz

7 April BACKYARD BLISTER Location: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park tailrunner.com 16 April MOUNT SOLITARY ULTRA Location: Wentworth Falls runningwildnsw.com 23 April BOTTLEBUTT BASH TRAIL RUN Location: Burrawan State Forest bottlebuttbashtrailrun.com.au

30 April HAMILTON ISLAND HILLY HALF Location: Hamilton Island hamiltonisland.com.au 30 April YARRABILBA TRAIL FEST Location: Yarrabilba yarrabilbatrailfest.com.au SA 12 April IRRATIONAL SOUTH Location: Flinders Ranges irrationalsouth200miler.com.au

26 March 3 PEAKS MOUNTAIN RACE Location: Dunedin 3peaksmountainrace.com

QLD 8 April DEAD COW GULLY BACKYARD ULTRA Location: Runnymede deadcowgully.com.au

26 March RAIL TRAIL RAMPAGE Location: Canterbury railtrailrampage.com

9 April WILD HORSE CRITERIUM Location: Glasshouse Mountains aaaracing.com.au

VIC 2 April MURRAY MARATHON FESTIVAL Location: Albury riverinatrails.com.au

APRIL 2023

23 April ELLIOT’S REVENGE ALLIGATOR CREEK Location: Alligator Creek outerlimitsadventure.com.au

23 April MAROONDAH DAM TRAIL RUNS Location: Yarra Ranges trailsplus.com.au

23 April THE D’AGUILAR TWO ‘UPS’ Location: D’Aguilar National Park aaaracing.com.au

28 April DOWN UNDER 135 Location: Bacchus Marsh downunder135.com

30 April BRISBANE TRAIL MARATHON Location: Enogerra Reservoir, The Gap traq.org.au

29 April RUN THE ROCK Location: Hanging Rock solemotive.com

AUSTRALIA NSW 1 April JABULANI CHALLENGE Location: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park jabulanichallenge.com.au 2 April TAMWORTH TRAILBLAZER Location: Tamworth Lookout tamworthtrailblazer.com

16 April FIVE PEAKS ULTRA Location: Athelstone to Belair NP trailrunningsa.com

run with the mountain Explore the trails & discover the tales of Hobart’s iconic kunanyi/Mt Wellington

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Ultra Solo 67km Ultra Team Relay 67km Mountain Run 25km

niplaluna Hobart, lutruwita Tasmania 24th - 26th March, 2023

Foothills 10km Vertical Kilometre Kids run

kunanyimountain.run #runwithkunanyi

EVENT GUIDE 2023 WA 14 April COLLIE TRAIL FEST Location: Collie perthtrailseries.com.au 29 April LIGHT HORSE ULTRA Location: Woodvale lighthorseultra.com.au NEW ZEALAND 1 April RIVERHEAD BACKYARD RELAPS ULTRA Location: Auckland lacticturkey.co.nz 15 April MT OXFORD ODYSSEY Location: Canterbury mtoxfordodyssey.co.nz

19 May WEST MACS MONSTER Location: Larapinta Trail westmacsmonster.com.au

7 May DARBY RIVER HALF MARATHON Location: Wilson’s Promontory NP runningwild.net.au

QLD 20 May MAGNETIC ISLAND TWO BAYS Location: Townsville outerlimitsadventure.com.au

13 May KANGAROOBIE BASE CAMP ULTRA RELAY Location: Princetown kangaroobiebasecamp.com

21 May GLASSHOUSE 50 – COOK’S TOUR Location: Beerburrum aaaracing.com.au 27 May WESTERN BRANCH 100 Location: Mt Stanley facebook.com/deadcowgully

WA 6 May MARGARET RIVER ULTRA Location: Margaret River margaretriver.rapidascent.com.au 21 May MANNING PARK TRAIL RUN Location: Spearwood manningparktrailrun.com

16 April WAITARERE FOREST RUN Location: Waitārere waitarereforestrun.co.nz

SA 13 May RUN ADELAIDE HUNDRED Location: Adelaide ultrahard.com.au

23 April ARROWTOWN AUTUMN FESTIVAL Location: Arrowtown activeqt.co.nz

27 May CLELAND 50 Location: Cleland Conservation Park cleland50.com.au

28 May SNAKES N LADDERS Location: Serpentine National Park perthtrailseries.com.au

TAS 28 May RUN NARAWNTAPU Location: Greens Beach facebook.com/runnarawntapu

NEW ZEALAND

MAY 2023 AUSTRALIA NT 17 May THE TRACK OUTBACK RACE Location: Alice Springs to Uluru canal-aventure.com

50K, 32K, 21K, 12K, 5K 16TH SEPTEMBER, 2023 COME FOR THE RUN | STAY FOR THE FUN

www.racetekapo.com

VIC 6 May WILSONS PROM 100 Location: Wilson’s Promontory NP runningwild.net.au

28 May RUNNINGWORKS 3 VALLEYS ALTRA Location: Orange Grove squashworks.com.au

6 May PERETU HALF MARATHON Location: Peretū peretuhalfmarathon.co.nz 7 May PARIHAKA TRAIL RUN/WALK Location: Northland runparihaka.co.nz

CA C AIIR RNN

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PORT DOU S

10K 0K

M M4 0KM 80K

EVENT Cairns Port Douglas Trail Ultra WHEN 2-3 September 2023 DISTANCE 10km, 20km, 40km, 80km, 120km WHERE Cairns - Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia MORE https://www.cairnsportdouglastrail ultra.com.au/

EVENT GUIDE 2023 13 May SOUTH ISLAND ULTRA Location: Greymouth to Hokitika facebook.com/southislandultra

17 June SURF COAST TRAIL MARATHON Location: Torquay to Fairhaven Surfcoasttrailmarathon.com

27 May THE TORA Location: Martinborough thetora.co.nz

WA 18 June EAGLE AND CHILD TRAIL RUN Location: John Forrest NP perthtrailseries.com.au

JUNE 2023

18 June KUNUNURRA HALF Location: Kununurra knxrun.com.au

AUSTRALIA NSW 20 June UNREASONABLE EAST Location: Blue Mountains unreasonableeast200miler.com.au QLD 3 June SIMPSON DESERT ULTRA Location: Birdsville simpsondesertultra.com 11 June IN THE RAW TRAIL RUN Location: Gold Coast intherawtrailrun.com.au 16 June BRISBANE VALLEY RAIL TRAIL 100S Location: Wulkuraka/Brassall aaaracing.com.au 18 June ROCK N REEF BOWEN TRAIL RUN Location: Bowen outerlimitsadventure.com.au VIC 11 June RUN FORREST HALF MARATHON Location: Forrest runforest.com.au

25 June TRANSCEND ULTRA Location: Walyunga NP to Cobblers transcendtrails.com NEW ZEALAND 10 June MOUNT DIFFICULTY ASCENT Location: Mt Difficulty highlandevents.co.nz 17 June POSSUM NIGHT TRAIL RUN Location: Taupō thepossum.co.nz JULY 2023 AUSTRALIA NSW 1 July LAKES TRAIL FESTIVAL Location: Hawks Nest lakes100.com.au

TRAVEL WITH US

14 July ELEPHANT TRAIL RACE Location: Cairncross State Forest elephanttrailrace.com.au QLD 2 July COOROY MOUNTAIN PARK Location: Cooroy cooroymountainrun.wordpress.com 7 July 3 MARATHONS IN 3 DAYS Location: Kuranda 3marathonsin3days.com 22 July THE GUZZLER ULTRA Location: Mt Coot-tha theguzzleultra.com.au 29 July FLINDERS TOUR Location: Beerburrum aaaracing.com.au 29 July RAINBOW BEACH TRAIL FEST Location: Rainbow Beach runqld.com.au SA 8 July ULTRA ADELAIDE Location: Adelaide ultraadelaide.com.au 29 July MELROSE RUNNING FESTIVAL Location: Melrose adelaidetrailrunners.com.au WA 16 July JOLLY JUMBUCK TRAIL RUN Location: Bells Rapids perthtrailseries.com.au

RACE WITH US

FEBRUARY 2023 JUNE 11, 2023

MAY 2023

AUGUST 6, 2023

AUGUST 2023

GREAT RACES. AMAZING PLACES. DECEMBER 2023

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SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

ARE YOU IN THE OFFICE?

A C T U A L LY, I ’ M IN THE FIELD.

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EVENT GUIDE 2023

23 July YABEROO TRAIL ULTRA Location: Joondalup yaberootrailultra.com.au NEW ZEALAND 15 July WUU-2K Location: Wellington wuu2k.co.nz AUGUST 2023 AUSTRALIA NT 24 August RUN LARAPINTA Location: Larapinta Trail runlarapinta.rapidascent.com.au QLD 6 August BORDER BOLT RUN FESTIVAL Location: Gold Coast borderboltrunfest.com.au 11 August CLINT EASTWOOD’S BACKYARD Location: Rocklea aaaracing.com.au 20 August CAPE PALLARENDA TRAIL RUN Location: Townsville outerlimitsadventure.com.au

SA 19 August SINK OR SURVIVE (SOS) Location: Yorke Peninsula Coastline sinkorsurvive.com.au VIC 12 August PEAKS & TRAILS RUN Location: Dunkeld peaksandtrails.com.au WA 4 August BIRDY’S BACKYARD Location: Lake Towerrinning birdysbackyardultra.com.au 6 August TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES Location: Serpentine Falls NP perthtrailseries.com.au NEW ZEALAND 19 August QUEENSTOWN VERTICAL CHALLENGE Location: Queenstown activeqt.co.nz SEPTEMBER 2023 AUSTRALIA QLD 2 September COASTAL HIGH TRAIL RUNS Location: Lamington NP coastalhigh.com.au

OCTOBER 2023 AUSTRALIA NSW 1 October KNAPSACK LAP RACE Location: Glenbrook runningwildnsw.com VIC Late October (TBC) ROLLERCOASTER RUN Location: Dandenong Ranges rollercoasterrun.com NOVEMBER 2023 AUSTRALIA ACT 18 November STROMLO RUNNING FEST Location: Canberra stromlo.com.au NEW ZEALAND 4 November ROUND THE VINES Location: Martinborough roundthevines.org.nz 4 November CLIFFTOP CHALLENGE Location: Canterbury clifftopchallenge.co.nz

MULTISPORT DUATHLON MOUNTAIN BIKE ADVENTURE TRAIL RUN

4TH NOVEMBER 2023 Le Bons Bay, Banks Peninsula Canterbury

www.clifftopchallenge.co.nz EVENT GUIDE | Is your event missing? Contact us to make sure you get listed next year. Contact: kate@trailrunmag.com

Adventure more. Stress less. Pay-as-you-go insurance for $6 a day or $9 a week. Get cash payouts (up to $20K) for accidental injuries that happen whilst you’re covered.

Flip it getﬂip.com.au Read the PDS and TMD at getﬂip.com.au. Issued by HCF.

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DISCOVER THE MOUNTAIN RUNNING COLLECTION

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4TH MARCH 2023

Trails that give us direction. www.ultraseries.com.au

FEATURE

FROM INJURY TO

Inspiration ATHLETES WHO HAVE OVERCOME SERIOUS INJURIES

FOR RUNNERS, NOTHING CAN BE MORE SCARY THAN SUFFERING FROM A SERIOUS INJURY. THE CONSEQUENCES CAN RANGE FROM MISSING A COUPLE WEEKS OF INTEGRAL TRAINING TO NEVER SETTING FOOT IN A RACE EVER AGAIN. WE SEE YOU THOUGH. WE SEE THAT IN EVERY SINGLE RUNNER, THERE’S A STORY – THERE’S A BACKGROUND, THERE’S A REASON, AND THERE’S A JOURNEY THAT’S BEEN BATTLED TO THE VERY END. ISOBEL ROSS AND KATE DZIENIS SPOKE WITH FIVE RUNNERS WHO HAVE BATTLED INJURIES AND INSPIRED OTHERS IN THEIR COMMUNITY WITH THEIR DETERMINATION AND WILLPOWER. WORDS: ISOBEL ROSS, KATE DZIENIS IMAGES: THE EVENTURERS, BEN WALLBANK, PHOTOS4SALE, MR SNAPS, MAINDRU PHOTO

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

Zoe O’Meara conquers the 100 miler at the 2019 GSER, coming in 4th Female. The Eventurers

ZOE O’MEARA, 35 from NSW

Zoe O’Meara has always loved being fit; it’s part of the reason she became a personal trainer. But 10 years ago, a fitness session that saw her doing box jumps ended in tragedy. At her last jump, she immediately knew something was wrong with her lower back – the crippling pain simply refused to go away. And she was right. Zoe’s chiropractor treated her for a bulging disc, which thankfully enabled the inflammatory pain to subside, but in the end pain did in fact continue. It was only during an MRI years later that she was shown nerve damage and significant degenerative and misalignment changes see throughout the L3/4 and L4/5, including Foraminal narrowing resulting in L4 nerve root impingement. Thankfully, Zoe discovered running has been the one activity that helps relieve her pain. She can’t take rest days because her pain, a decade on, becomes excruciating. “I require a lot of kilometres in the legs to dull the pain, but the trails make those kilometres so enjoyable,” she says.

FEATURE FROM INJURY TO INSPIRATION

Shane Johnstone at the 2022 UTMB. Maindru Photo.

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

SHANE JOHNSTONE, 35 from WA

In January 2017, Shane Johnstone experienced a burning sensation in his right quadricep whilst out for a training run; it had progressed in a single minute to no power in his entire right leg and coming to a complete halt. After 5 minutes of stretching and walking, he jogged back 5km back to the car, symptom free. As a clinical exercise physiologist he found the symptoms quite odd, and the whole process would repeat itself every time he went below 4min/km or if he ran uphill at pace. Neither rest nor strength training had any impact, but Shane transitioned to 100-350km events as he could run 5min+/km without symptoms and eventually stumbled on an article describing his exact conditions – Shane had a rare/under diagnosed condition seen in endurance athletes called iliac artery endofibrosis (IAE) where high intensity training causes a narrowing of the artery, cutting off blood supply to the leg. After 5 years, Shane decided to explore treatment options and decided on an angioplasty (insertion of a balloon that inflates to stretch the artery). After a slight complication, he got a sleeved stent in the artery – 6 months out from TDS 145km 9100m course at UTMB, he made it through 3 months of training before getting a bacterial left lung infection which resulted in pneumonia and a partial lung collapse. With just 3 months to TDS, Shane was questioning his capacity to race the big event he’d been waiting 3 years to do, but started slowly and got stronger. He made it to Courmayeur for the TDS start line and worked his way to the top 30 in the field at 105km (6,500m) but had destroyed his feet, so he stopped at 15.5 hours. “I wasn’t up for the last 40km but I hobbled away content with my run as I knew I had pulled off a great 100km with what I had been through,” Shane explains. “I also hadn’t mentioned Covid, a newborn, and coordinating our Transcend Trails event. Looking forward to going back again one day – next stop, the Kosci 100 miler.”

FEATURE FROM INJURY TO INSPIRATION

KATIE WRIGHT, 35 from Wanaka NZ

Katie Wright is a trail runner who loves extreme races and living life to the fullest. And it’s probably why she didn’t know how she injured her foot, whether it was from netball or speedwork! Added to that, no specialist or scan could tell her what exactly was the cause of her foot pain which left her unable to move it – even swimming was out. Four months of strength work and manual therapy with a physio led to a gradual return-torun program of run/walk. She found the time off from running difficult, though; it was her social activity, her stress relief and her meditation as well as an outlet for competitiveness. But now that she’s back running, Katie feels she has an even greater appreciation for the sport, and has learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way. “I’ve been a lot more careful with increasing speed work (and social netball) since my injury and have a new appreciation of strength work,” she reveals. “I actually enjoy sessions in the gym these days!”

Katie Wright has conquered her foot injury. Ben Wallbank.

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

Ron Tait with fiancé Isobel Ross at the 2022 Ultra Adelaide. Mr SNAPS

RON TAIT, 49 from Vic

Ron Tait always ran the trails as much as he could, but in 2019 when he was sweeping the 50km course at Maroondah Dam, he severely rolled his ankle, causing peroneal tendonitis. Jumping over a tree that was across the trail, he’d landed in a hidden hole, with his full weight crashing down onto the ankle. The pain was so intense, Ron knew immediately what he’d done. When rest didn’t fix it, he took himself to the physio, who provided him with strengthening work but no real return to running. Swimming and strength training were given a go, but neither of those filled the void from trail running, so eventually he joined forces with a running coach to ensure a proper return. As Ron now says, “Make sure you follow up properly with specialists after you’re injured, or you’ll end up being needlessly off running and missing that amazing endorphin rush that only running can give.” 73

FEATURE FROM INJURY TO INSPIRATION

TABITHA BRIGHT, 53 from Vic

Tabitha Bright was an avid runner in her 20s, but overtraining inevitably lead to the pain staking injury we’ve all come to know as shin splints. She took the sport up again in her 40s, but sadly is yet to learn her lesson, running through what she thought were ‘niggles’ until she went to the doctor only to be diagnosed with three neuromas in each foot, hamstring tendonitis, 2 bulging discs L4/L5 (resulting in what she thought was an Achilles issue, but was actually sciatica), trouble lifting one leg fully, numb feet, and an inflamed pelvis. The treatment recommended from her doctor? To stop running immediately. If that’s not a call to arms, I don’t know what is. Starting off slow, Tabitha walked 30 minutes per day on flat ground, and she was only allowed to lie down or stand up – sitting was out of the question. Doing as she was told, it led to mild depression and eating herself into happiness. On a whim, she went to a local physiotherapist who said she could actually be running – hallelujah! He helped ease her back into the sport with a run/walk program, strength exercises and a few lifestyle changes. Since her diagnosis, Tabitha has completed SCC 50, MW 1000km virtual run, Buffalo Stampede 42km, BLR 40km and a cluster of other trail running events. She’s now enrolled in SCC100 training and is looking forward to pacing a friend at the Tarawera miler in 2023. Her biggest piece of advice for runners who keep getting injured? “Get quality advice, and make sure you don’t only run tempo and hard runs. Do 70-80% at an easy pace. You must let go of the ego!”

Tabitha Bright is all smiles at the 2021 Surf Coast Century 50km. Photos4sale

BUCKET LIST RUNS IRRATIONAL SOUTH

Dreams COME TRUE AT IRRATIONAL SOUTH IN SA

THE HISTORY, THE ADVENTURE & YOUR DESTINY WORDS: SEAN KAESLER, EVENT DIRECTOR Growing up on a wheat farm in rural South Australia, the celebration of the end of harvest was always followed with a family holiday. In good harvest years, we’d all jump in the car and travel interstate, often for weeks at a time. Some years, it would just be a 100km up the highway if the year wasn’t so good and things were tight. But mum and dad would always make it a magical and unforgettable holiday. Truth be told, it didn’t matter where we went because all three of us kids, plus mum and dad, always had epic trips away from the farm as a family when it counted. It was the one time each year where my dad truly slowed down and stopped. It was the life of farming. Planning holidays with other families was hard too, but every few years mum and dad would do their best in trying to guess-timate end of harvest and commit to holidays shared, and one of our bucket list destinations was about to be ticked off with the Flinders Ranges – a destination that was about to open my 8-year-old spirit to a beauty that my eyes had never seen before. Sadly, things on the farm didn’t play out like dad had wanted and the season dragged out, so he was unable to join our family trip. 76

But unperturbed and determined, mum was prepared to take all three of us on this week-long camping trip 7 hours away from the farm on dirty, dusty and corrugated roads, to a place that until this day, I haven’t forgotten…the Flinders Ranges. And now that many decades have passed and my journey in life has taken me full circle, I have the opportunity to return year upon year to this beautiful place full of memories. We’ve created a trail running icon that takes in this incredible wonder. A place, a destination, a wish for so many people to visit, and yet so few have. A place formed millions and millions of years ago, and inhabited for tens of thousands of years, yet still visited by so few. It’s remote. It’s silent. It’s powerful. It’s a wonder. And now we get to showcase this to you. The Flinders Ranges have soul and we are incredibly humbled and privileged at Ultra Series to present you with a platform that allows yourself to be immersed in a destination so full of beauty (and elevation!). The Irrational South 100 & 200 Miler predominately follows the Heysen Trail and connecting routes between Blinman, Mount Little and Quorn, passing through Wilpena Pound and Hawker along the way.

I’m not going to lie, it isn’t easy. But would it be of interest if it was? Besides, what we do best at Ultra Series, and Irrational, is no exception – we aim to provide you with a platform full of resources, replenishment, the most incredible aid stations, full of the most incredible people, and a path to lead you down that will undeniably change your life if you let it. At an event like Irrational, every single person wants nothing more than to assist you to reach your dreams, and in trail running dreams don’t get much bigger than a 100 or 200 miler. The terrain can be technical, dry, wet, rocky, smooth, mountainous, flat, dusty, hot and cold (I did say it wasn’t going to be easy). But if you want this, we’ll guide you. We’d love to share this with you. And if you want to pave your own destiny, then we’ll run, walk, jog or crawl with you to help make Irrational sound rather rational. And with my dad at 74 years of age, I’ll finally get to share a Flinders Ranges adventure with him, because he and mum will be running one of these aid stations I mentioned earlier. Life has certainly taken us full circle.

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

CONTRIBUTION WORDS: SIMON DUKE IMAGES: CALUMN HOCKEY, SIMON DUKE

Reflections ON THE HEYSEN TRAIL

IN JULY 2022, FOUR SA ULTRA RUNNERS SET OUT TO RUN THE HEYSEN TRAIL IN A BID TO EXPLORE NEW LIMITS, CHASE AN FKT AND HONOUR THE LEGACY OF A FRIEND AND FELLOW TRAIL RUNNER. SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S 1200KM HEYSEN TRAIL EXTENDS FROM CAPE JARVIS ON THE FLEURIEU PENINSULA TO PARACHILNA GORGE IN THE FLINDERS RANGES, AND THE TRACK SEES THOUSANDS OF BUSHWALKERS, HIKERS AND TRAIL RUNNERS HIT THE VARYING GRADES OF DIFFICULTY. THIS TIME IT WAS SIMON DUKE WITH MATES DAN CAMAC, MARCUS STAKER AND RURIK ‘ROO’ SYMON’S TURN TO TACKLE THE RUGGED GORGES, PINE FORESTS, NATIVE BUSHLAND AND COASTAL SPOTS FOR AN FKT.

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

CONTRIBUTION REFLECTIONS ON THE HEYSEN TRAIL

Curiosity. It’s what makes us want to know what’s around the next corner, what it feels like to do the next distance and what draws us to explore where our limits might lie.

logistics and planning involved in a 1200km trail run are enough to have most people put it off to ‘one day’, so the option to join in on a team effort like this was too good to pass up.

Dan Camac and I were driving home from the 2021 edition of the Hubert Miler, a course that takes in part of the Heysen Trail in South Australia and a drive that has you passing through vast swathes of Heysen country. It was on this drive the two of us had a conversation and shared something we were both feeling – something drawing us to put it all on the line in a full length Heysen end-toend FKT attempt.

It was hard to explain why we wanted to do it and many times we couldn’t but there was no doubt that we all felt something luring us to the Heysen. Stories from David Turnbull who had set a new FKT in 2017 and Josh Fraser who ran it over 21 days in 2021 stoked the fire even further.

Just like that it was locked in on the drive and firmly put on the horizon for mid-2022. In coming months we shared our plans with friends and like-minded people. Rurik Symon and Marcus Staker were two more very capable SA-based ultra runners who saw this also as their chance to have a crack. The 80

Ultimately, something deeply internal in all of us wanted to be pushed into new territory physically and mentally. It wasn’t just runners feeling something though, it was also the crew. Friends who had a hint about what this meant and what it would take. No one knew what we were in for better than Randell Taylor. As soon as he heard about our plans his enthusiasm was palpable. Having crewed for David Turnbull

in 2017, SA’s Heysen Trail oracle Randell was keen to do it all again. Emptiness and shock These were just two of the myriad of emotions felt when we heard news of Randell having a tragic life ending accident whilst cycling on November 27, 2021. One moment living life to the full on his regular Saturday morning ride and the very next – gone. He will always be remembered by all who even spent the briefest of time with him, let alone those who got to know him over many years, kilometres and conversations. Randell was a one of a kind character, the best kind. We stopped planning, we couldn’t keep it up…until we started to see that now the run would take on a new level of meaning and purpose, honouring his memory and legacy. We started to accept that Randell would have still wanted us to run; he spent his life pushing his own limits and encouraging countless others to do the same.

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

Anticipation Fast forward 6 months to 6:01am on July 10, 2022 and we found ourselves supported by an incredible crew led by Liz Woodgate, ready to take our first steps onto the Heysen Trail from the Northern trailhead at Parachilna Gorge on a crisp and clear Flinders Ranges morning. Our focus narrowed to the daily task of moving forward with purpose, 80km to 100kms per day over whatever terrain the trail had in store for us. We knew the first day would be fun with fresh bodies and amazing scenery.

Recovery was going to be incredibly important to enable the planned kilometres for each day to be achieved – each runner had their own post and pre-run rituals, half useful, half placebo I’m sure. We had chosen to sleep in swags rather than book accommodation. This gave us flexibility to be able to push a few more kilometres into the day if we needed to. We planned for around six hours sleep most nights but sometimes got less than three. In the early days it was easy to stay together, easy to keep the mind focused on moving forwards, easy to make a decent pace with cooperative bodies. We were monitoring how our bodies were tracking pretty closely.

We started each day religiously at 6:01am as an extension of what local Adelaide running crew, the Chambers Crushers have put in place to remember him. Randell was often a minute or so late, so the Chambers Crushers now start every Thursday morning at 6:01am in his honour, some of his ashes scattered on the weekly 10km route.

At the start of Day 3, Marcus started to experience persistent ankle pain. Day 3 was also mini-epic where we summitted Mt Arden in the morning and also pushed up and over Mt Brown – the highest point on the entire trail at night. It’s interesting how the trail you’re on at any given time shapes your expectations of what the trail will be

like ahead of you. On Mt Brown the ascent was on well-groomed switchbacks and logically followed contours. As we summitted the clouds, wind and rain came in and we descended on steep, wet, uneven paddocks. A Deepening Struggle Day 4 was one of the hardest days for the whole team. Mt Remarkable took forever to get to and it was becoming clear that our legs weren’t returning to us fresh in the morning. The war of attrition on the body had begun. Marcus continued courageously on a worsening ankle situation. At Melrose, the first town we’d entered since starting, Dan received the news that his parents who were crewing for him had both come down with Covid. Rhett, another key crew member had also tested positive. It’s an interesting proposition to be faced with the possibility that 12 months of preparation and 360kms of progress could be halted real fast if Covid spread its way through the runners and crew. 81

CONTRIBUTION REFLECTIONS ON THE HEYSEN TRAIL

When Marcus took his shoe off that evening, his ankle blew up in a big way, an injury that would ultimately force him to pull out early on Day 5. Later along Day 5 it was Roo’s turn to face self-doubt as his ankle also started to become increasingly painful. At this stage it becomes impossible to know if you will make it all the way, and an injury providing pain stimulation like a dripping tap can make you swing from confidence to doubt in no time. In the last 10km of Day 5, sharp pain started shooting up my left shin from my ankle. Everything really was getting interesting as we entered problem solving mode. Roo and I had shared with one another on training runs that we hoped this adventure would be the hardest thing we’d ever done and with over 700kms to go it was certainly shaping up that way. 82

Day 7 started with summitting Mt Bryan which must be one of the windiest locations in SA! It was blowing a gale true to form, the three of us being blown around on wobbly legs. That wind continued throughout the day, sometimes a helpful tailwind and at all other times a nuisance. It was also Saturday which meant we were being met by various friends, family and running crew from Adelaide – this was super encouraging! Our standard response to the ‘how are you feeling question’ was ‘amazing’…lying through our teeth. When pressed again with the same question ‘exactly how I should feel after 600kms’…a slightly more truthful response. To use a Roo-ism, ‘feedback’ from the body was coming thick and fast by this time. Thus We Shall Prevail The second half of the run brought with it the biggest highs and lows. We were no

longer just feeling something, we were feeling everything! To survive, the mind was forced to focus only on the day at hand. Later it would be a genuine challenge to piece together the ‘blur’. The crew and runners now in a rhythm, a kind of familiar grind. Showers were put off for the sake of finding 20 minutes extra sleep. Any food that would go in was consumed, but it would still not be sufficient to prevent us losing further weight and condition. It was hard to remember what energised and comfortable even felt like. Despite the challenges we sensed our minds and will to persist were prevailing. In patches of good progress and pace, a new kind of slow-release euphoria was experienced. When injuries arked up, another round of self-doubt and concern was contended with. Eventually on Friday, 22 July at 2:21pm we made it to the Cape Jervis trailhead. We were

glad to set a new FKT of 12 days 8:20:00 but of greatest value were the memories, the shared struggle, the internal growth and to know that Randell would have been so amped on it all. It’s an experience so multi-faceted we are still processing it, and every time we think of the Heysen Trail, we’re still feeling something, and hopefully will for the rest of our lives. *With the unfortunate event of Marcus Staker pulling out on Day 5, an FKT was officially set by Simon Duke, Rurik Symon and Dan Camac and is listed on the fastestknowntime.com website at time of TRM print. INSIDER KNOWLEDGE: Simon Duke is an Alice Springs-based vollie for the West Macs Monster Trail Running Festival. He’s also a sucker for long distance point-to-point adventures with like-minded crazies who keeps forgetting how much the last one hurt.

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THE BEST PICS FROM THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHERS

Local Surf Coast runners James Myatt and Nicole Virant (1st Female) sharing an early moment of joy as they kicked off the 2022 Surf Coast Century, right before the wind and rain set itself in. Runners found themselves faced against wet weather, high tides and mud, but it was still a perfect adventure in a beautiful landscape along the Victorian coastline. Aaron Collins

ISSUE 44 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

TRAIL PORN

The Grossglockner Ultra Trail (GGUT) Race allows runners to race around Austria’s highest peak (Grossglockner) for 110km with a maximum overall time of 30 hours. The GGUT crosses 3 provinces, 7 valleys and 6 municipalities with runners crossing the Alps twice, running along 14 glaciers and surrounded by about 300 mountains higher than 3,000m. The start and finish is in Kaprun. Harald Wisthaler.

ISSUE 44 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

Run Larapinta is a 4-day, 4-stage trail running race along the most spectacular sections of the iconic Larapinta Trail in Australia’s Northern Territory. Starting at Standley Chasm, runners almost immediately complete a steep and hard climb and descent around the Chasm. Spectacular views! The entire course is on very rough, technical and slow terrain with approx. 1000m elevation in 20km. Astrid Volzke

REVIEW

TRAIL SHOES // THE NORTH FACE FLIGHT VECTIV

WORDS: KATE DZIENIS IMAGE: SUZANNE POLI

VERDICT ON THE VECTIV DID SOMEONE SAY CARBON PLATES IN A RACING TRAIL SHOE? Well, yes. Road shoes have utilised carbon-fibre plate technology for a while now, and The North Face was one of, if not the first, brand to put the same tech into a trail shoe – the Flight VECTIV. Taking a brand new pair out of their box, the Brilliant Coral/TNF White colour came straight at me and I immediately put them on. Instantly I could feel the carbon-fibre plate doing its job, providing almost a spring in my step and ready to protect everything underfoot; I’m guessing that feeling was also due to the rocker shape of the shoe too, propelling me forward…and which took a little getting used to, I must admit. 90

On the technical side of things, VECTIV is the name of the midsole tech which is a combination of dualdensity foam, rocker and full-length carbon plate all working together. The Flight Series VECTIV range are the lightest and most responsive of The North Face’s elite trail running shoes, specifically made for ultra distances because of their durability thanks to Kevlar®, polyamide and Matryx® fabrics. It’s these materials combined together that make the Flight VECTIV a notable model for trail shoes. Because of the carbon-plate though, which provides stabilisation and reliability, the shoe is stiff to the touch when brand new. It does take some time to ‘break them in’ so to speak –

I’d say about 20km, so in hindsight it’s not too bad. Cushioning is of the medium range and quite comfortable, and I felt very good running in this particular pair. Ability to pick up pace was done easily, and I felt stable enough when hitting the downhills on pea gravel and hard-packed dirt. Worth noting that because of the rocker, which is specifically designed to propel the body forward, I felt a bit of additional stack. For me, this wasn’t an issue though. The combination of the plate, midsole and high tech fabric in the midfoot means there is plenty of security, whilst the knit upper provides enough wriggle room for toes.

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

THE LOW DOWN GREAT FOR: Long distance, most all terrains NOT SO GREAT FOR: Muddy or high technicality TEST CONDITIONS: Hard-packed dirt, limestone, pea gravel TESTER: Kate Dzienis TESTER MECHANICS: Severe overpronator with wide feet VITALS RRP: Women’s $330.00 AUD / $350.00 NZD WEBSITE: thenorthface.com.au / thenorthface.co.nz CONDITIONS: Shoes provided for testing by The North Face

Let’s talk heel lock now, as I love to do with all reviews. There is no extra heel lock eyelet in the Flight VECTIV, so when combined with the loose knit upper in the heel I felt slippage and had to switch to a higher length ankle sock (yes, I carry extra socks with me when testing out shoes) to ensure a decrease in friction against my skin. What’s interesting with the Flight VECTIV is that the tongue is incorporated into the shoe, meaning it’s not gusseted so there are no gaps between it and the lace cage; the laces are tight and flat, they won’t stretch or become longer. Personally, I love springy, bungee-like laces but they did their job on the Flight VECTIV and didn’t undo themselves.

The outsole features a barrage of directional 3.5mm lugs for traction, which means it’s not necessarily suitable for muddy terrain, however I was still comfortable hitting a bit of pedestrian or bicycle path while wearing them, so going from road to trail or vice versa is no issue. Please note, this is a fast shoe, and it’s a precision shoe. It’s designed for confident trail runners who are quick and who lead front of the pack; when making comparisons to other shoes on the market, in particular the design-work, they are a vastly differently shoe. Suited for narrow feet in mid and fore foot, the Flight VECTIV is true to size but if you’re prone to foot swelling I’d suggest

trying on a half size up to allow for extra space. It has a 6mm drop and a stack height of 25mm at the heel, so a large midsole for your landings. Women’s Flight VECTIV shoes are available in Brilliant Coral/TNF White and TNF White/TNF Black, whilst for the men they come in Brilliant Coral/ TNF White and Chlorophyll Green/ Monterey Blue. A neutral shoe with a specifically designed rocker plate to add stability, The North Face Flight VECTIV is an efficient ride that does best on longer runs. The brand has done well to introduce the technology into trail shoes, and those who run in the Flight VECTIV will not be disappointed. 91

REVIEW

TRAIL SHOES // SCARPA SPIN INFINITY

WORDS: KATE DZIENIS IMAGE: SUZANNE POLI

TO INFINITY…AND BEYOND! INFINITE [in-fuh-nit]: ADJECTIVE, MEANING ‘IMMEASURABLE OR EXCEEDINGLY GREAT: UNLIMITED OR ENDLESS.’ Well known Italian brand known Scarpa, infamous for their high quality ski mountaineering, hiking and outdoor equipment, launched just recently its first range of trail running shoe in Australia. With three ‘ranges’ of shoe for trail runners now available (Spin Ultra and Infinity, Ribelle Run and Golden Gate), I was given the unique opportunity to test out the stunningly vibrant blue Spin Infinity shoe which is dedicated to long distance running. When I put these babies on, I was 92

immediately impressed with their look and feel. Out of all four shoes listed above, the Spin Infinity has the highest level of cushioning, with medium density EVA midsole and ergonomic ESS shank for shock-absorption. Weighing in within the medium spectrum of the scale at 584g (pair size EU40), together with a 4mm heel drop (26mm to 22mm, heel to toe), the outsole design has been created with flexibility and propulsion in mind; its outsole VIBRAM® a Scarpa-exclusive design is a MEGAGRIP rubber compound which gave me high grip on every trail terrain. With no deep hooks, the Infinity is ideal for wet weather and mud, and there was no slippage on rocks – perfect for Australian and NZ trails where

there’s not much requirement for climbing awkward boulders or mountains. Usually with a chunkier heel stack one would think it might be a hinderance to technical terrain, but that’s not so with the Spin Infinity because of its incredible stability and precision. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a ‘soft shoe’ once you get it out of the box, but it was very responsive to my running needs. I know many of you are waiting to hear about the rock plate (a firm plastic or carbon fibre material embedded between the outsole and the midsole that protects the underfoot from sharp pebbles or stones), but there is no rock plate in the

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

THE LOW DOWN GREAT FOR: Ultra distances on all trails, wet or dry NOT SO GREAT FOR: Road or bicycle path TEST CONDITIONS: Limestone, pea gravel, muddy dirt trail TESTER: Kate Dzienis TESTER MECHANICS: Severe overpronator with wide feet VITALS RRP: $249.95 AUD WEBSITE: world.scarpa.com CONDITIONS: Shoes provided for testing by Scarpa

Spin Infinity. To be honest, it doesn’t need one, because the brand’s ESS shank does the job. The toebox is wide enough to spread those little piggies, but is a more narrow shoe altogether; the heel cup snuggled nicely and I didn’t find it slipping up or losing grip from my socks, so less chance of friction in the development of blisters – winning! The laces are flat, and stretch only slightly, however you don’t need to elongate them any further as there’s no heel lock hole to slip them through. Have no fear though, because with the heel cup sitting perfectly, there’s no need to use a heel lock anyway as I’d discovered. I love my heel lock, but with the Spin Infinity the

shoe was spot on when it came to snugness and reliability. Another feature which adds to the Scarpa flavour is the lace pocket, so they’re less likely to come undone – personally, hiding the laces underneath makes the shoes appear sleek, neat and tidy. Back to the internal workings of the shoe, the liner does a great job keeping debris from coming in, and its adaptive cushioning system screams durability – it simply looks solid and looks like it will last forever (hence the infinity name). Designed not only for many hours of running, but for multiple days too, however if you’re a heel striker, the 4mm

drop may not necessarily work for you so you need to keep that in mind. The Spin Infinity is, however, perfect for midfoot and forefoot strikers. True to size, the Women’s Spin Infinity is available in EU3642 (1/2 sizes 38-42) and the Men’s version in EU40-48 (1/2 sizes 42-46). Ladies have a choice between the Atoll Scuba Blue and Orchid Purple colours, while the boys can pick from either the Azure Ottanio or Spicy Orange Red Lava. With adaptive cushioning, durability, solidity and high breathability, the Scarpa Spin Infinity is a top choice trail shoe to close off 2022 and take 2023 to infinity, and beyond. 93

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SHOW, DON'T TELL

THROUGH THE LENS AUSSIE RUNNER BRENDAN DAVIES TRAVERSES THE GREAT OUTDOORS NEAR WARBY CORNER WHILST RACING IN THE 60KM DISTANCE OF THE 2022 ALPINE CHALLENGE IN FALLS CREEK, VICTORIA. THIS COURSE IN PARTICULAR HAS OVER 2,000M OF ASCENT AND DESCENT, AND IN WINTER THE AREA FINDS ITSELF COVERED IN GLISTENING SNOW WITH VIEWS OF THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINS. THE PHOTOGRAPHER The Eventurers “From a photographer’s perspective the aim of getting ‘the shot’ was realised. Everything that was envisaged came to be. The mountains towering over the runner, the trails, the immense vastness of the area and the trail runner. “We went out before sunrise with an image in mind; that it would represent a trail runner in the elements. An image that would epitomise this particular run, the Victorian High Plains, the Alpine Challenge. “Brendan Davies is alone in the vastness with only the beating of his heart. In this huge and powerful place, Brendan is a very significant part of the nature that surrounds him. It shows the trail from where he has come from and in the distance, Mt Mackay, where he still has to go to complete his journey. “We are very pleased with the image as photographers. It tells a story. A trail runner in tune with nature; how powerful the area is and with determination, focus and effort this mere mortal can overcome the elements to achieve his goal. It shows what he has overcome so far.”

ISSUE 45 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM

THE TRAIL RUNNER Brendan Davies “The Victorian Alps are a special place – untouched wilderness brimming with stunning vistas, yet have the capability of offering up the harshest of alpine conditions…the Alpine Challenge is as spectacular as it is tough, and suits selfreliant runners who have an appetite for suffering.” “For us mere humans, challenge is what helps us grow and become better people.”

WISE WORDS SUBJECT: DION LEONARD

DION LEONARD

ULTRA RUNNER, INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER AND AUTHOR I was born in Sydney but actually grew up in the small country town of Warwick in Qld. My first time living overseas was in New Zealand for 3 years before moving to the UK living in Manchester and Edinburgh for 16 years. My wife Lucja (she’s an ultra runner too), cat Lara, dog Gobi and I lived in France for 2 years before making the move over to the United States for the last 3 years. I still have Aussie colours running through my veins when it comes to sport even though I haven’t lived there for over 20 years. Edinburgh in Scotland has some fantastic trails in the city, so much history and so much beauty. Arthurs Seat is a great run any time during the day to look over the city and out to the Firth of Forth. Whilst living in Chamonix in France I was blown away by the mountains and trails that can take you from France to Italy to Switzerland and back to France. The best thing about trail running is when you’re out in the mountains and you come across a refuge serving great coffee and pastries – even at over 3,000 metres in altitude. In the US I really love running in Moab, Utah. John Wayne spent a lot of time filming out here back in the day and running through the canyons, looking at the mesas and hiking through the stunning desert scenery is really awesome. My longest race of 240 miles was here so it’s fair to say I’ve seen a lot of the area. Having Finding Gobi on bookshelves all over the world is still something I can’t believe. Whilst there’s a cute dog (Gobi) on the cover of the book, the story is so much more than that. I had a difficult childhood, I’ve been overweight, I was a-pack-a-day smoker and a big drinker who simply became a runner by accident. Late one night at a party after one too many beverages a friend of mine and I made a drunken bet as to who could run a half marathon the quickest. We bet that the loser, whoever ran the slowest, would have to take the other and their partner out for dinner. I woke up the next morning having forgotten about the bet until my wife told me about it. I was determined (my Aussie background) to beat my English pal so I trained my ass off to get ready to run the half marathon in just over 3 months. I did a time of 1:28, beat my friend and felt a sense of accomplishment I hadn’t felt for

a long time, if ever. Running was to become a big part of my life going forward from this moment onwards. I speak a lot to other sports organisations and have spent a lot of time in the US sharing my story with the US Soccer Federation and their coaches. My story connects on many different levels with many different people. As ultra runners we have an ability to overcome adversity, be adaptable, think on our feet and outside the box, be clear and decisive thinkers, set and achieve high goals and deliver performance under pressure. These are a lot of the topics I speak about to encourage others to aim higher, be the best version of themselves and to ‘Break Average’. Finding Gobi is now in 24 languages and we’ve been really fortunate to meet the Royal Family, a president, movie stars like Sir Patrick Stewart, rock stars like KISS and the many, many fans of Gobi around the world. If you’d have told me that when I was a young boy with no family support, putting myself through school and struggling to put food on the table I would never have believed it. I love to get out when I’m travelling to run through the city or up in the mountains to see more of any country I travel to. One of the best places I have been is to Slovenia where the mountains are just fantastic and the place is just so peaceful and the people are unbelievably friendly. I’ve been fortunate to have run Marathon Des Sables three times, the Grand Slam of 100s in the USA and the Triple Crown of 200s so this is a tough question. I’d have to put my one and only race in Australia up there, the inaugural 2019 Delirious W.E.S.T 200 miler in WA. The scenery, the people and the fantastic organisation around it made it a lifetime memory for everyone involved. I also love the Kalahari Extreme 250km 6 stage/7 day race in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. This was my first ever ultra race and it’s where it all began. Running with giraffe, springbok and pushing your limits in the most beautiful scenery was just so epic. I went back for my 3rd time in 2017 and won the race, something that was very special to me. When it comes to post-race, I’m more about celebrating after a race, bring on the beers. Usually

I’ll go without alcohol before a race for a set period of time, eat really clean and reduce my coffee intake. So a cold beer is always the first thing I’ll ask for when I finish. I’ll probably upset a few people here but the Swan Lager after the Delirious West 200 miler was a pretty average beer, I still had a few to celebrate winning with my team though. The best part of running 100 mile and especially 200 mile races is always the food on offer. I remember running the HURT 100 in Hawaii, one of the toughest races in the world and coming into the aid stations where they had everything from sushi to goat curry. As HURT 100 is a 5 lap race the menu also changed every lap. If they served up a few Mai Tai’s you could seriously just spend your race at the first checkpoint and never leave. The 200’s have everything from quesadillas, hot dogs to hamburgers and when you’re doing such a long distance, you can eat whatever you want – it’s the best. Gobi has retired from long distance running, in particular desert races but she still loves to run and is born to get out and have an adventure. Gobi hikes/runs about 5-10 miles a day, she actually loves the snow and running in it. The only time Gobi and I run together at a race is to raise money for other animals in need. We’ve actually raised over $100,000 together. When I’m running without Gobi, my last race was Badwater 135 (2021) where I finished in 6th place. We lived in France for a while when Finding Gobi was released there. Gobi was actually the first dog to ever be allowed to take part in the Paris Marathon (2019). She loved the croissants whilst we were there and she’s still partial to one now. I don’t really have a favourite motto but I love spreading the word of Being Kind. One act of kindness (with Gobi) changed my life forever – be kind to others, be kind to animals, you never know where life can take you. I wrote in my book ‘Finding Gobi was one of the hardest things I’ve done, but her finding me was one of the best’. Finding Gobi can be found in all major bookstores and online.

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