TRAIL RACE REPORT WTF ULTRA 50KM (2022)
ISSUE 47 | TRAILRUNMAG.COM
NO GOALS, NO EXPECTATIONS WORDS: PHIL GORE IMAGES: HEATH WATKINS, PETER BARRY 24 SEPTEMBER 2022 WTF ULTRA 2022 - WA The WTF Ultra has a rich history, holding the title of the first 100-mile trail race in WA. I first heard of this event in 2015, but had no interest in running anything further than a marathon back then. 100 miles was a distance I never considered doing – not even in the ‘maybe one day’ category. So, WTF was an event I never imagined I would take part in. Eventually, I did progress to becoming an ultra runner, but I gravitated towards the timed and backyard events, and still didn’t really consider entering the 100mile or point-to-point races. When I heard that 2022 would be the final year for WTF, I thought that if I’m going to do this event, it’s now or never. However, with my A-race of the Backyard Satellite Championships only 3 weeks later, it would have been unwise to sign up for the 50or 100-mile distance. Fortunately, with the new addition of the 50km, it worked out perfectly as a training run, and meant I could still be a part of it all. Although not technically a point-to-point race, it would still be my distance PB for a nonlooped course (WTF consists of three out-and-back legs, two of which you complete for the 50km).
It felt a lot harder than I imagined it would be, and the hills weren’t exactly ‘little’.
a lot from that point. That’s one of the things about a non-looped course – it can get a bit lonely.
I had guessed the event might take me around four hours or so, but after previewing the course I thought five hours might be more realistic (or possibly even optimistic).
The first 9km was along a wide fire trail, and whilst it was undulating, there weren’t any serious hills. With my headphones in, I couldn’t hear the footsteps of Nigell Lee who was quite close behind me, so I was slightly surprised when he pulled up alongside me.
On race day morning, I was picked up by mates Shannon and Justin Wakefield at around 4am and we made the drive down to Dwellingup from Perth. They would both be running the 50km as well. My wife Gemma would drive down later to see me finish, and I gave her a ballpark estimation of ‘about 5 hours, give or take.’ We arrived at race headquarters, Nanga Bush Camp, about 5am. I collected my bib and placed my drop bags in the relevant containers. The HQ was a hive of activity and nervous energy as runners made their final preparations. At 6am, everyone started at the same time and ran the first leg together. I started out conservatively and stayed with the front of the pack for a short distance, before taking the lead about 1km in. I was on my own for
I paused my audiobook and we had a bit of a chat, he was doing the 50km as well. After the first 9km, we reached Aid Station 1, which was just before the aptly named Loop of Despair. This loop was about 5.5km, the first 1.3km of which has about 180m of elevation. And you had to do it twice! As I had reconned this part of the course, I knew what to expect, but for some reason it didn’t seem as bad as I remembered it. Nigell and I were still both together as we ascended the hill, and we helped spur each other on. There were only a few little sections here and there that I walked, the rest of it I was able to run (as opposed to the recon, where I had walked almost all of it).
About a week and a half before the race, I made a trip down to Dwellingup with my mate Chris to do a recon run. We covered about three-quarters of the course, just missing the second half of leg 3. Before the recon run, I remember thinking that the race would be a nice easy 50km run with a few little hills, but afterwards I was thinking “What the f*** have I signed myself up for?” (I could now understand the inspiration for the event’s name).
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