Strength FOR MILES

ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT TRAIL RUNNING IS THAT NO MATTER YOUR BACKGROUND, NO MATTER YOUR HISTORY, THERE ARE LIFE SKILLS YOU CAN ALWAYS BRING ACROSS TO IMPROVE YOUR ABILITY AND YOUR TECHNIQUE. NO MORE SO THAN FROM THE SPORT OF BODYBUILDING, WHERE INCREDIBLE DISCIPLINE IS THE ONLY WAY TO SEE SUCCESS. KATE DZIENIS RECENTLY LEARNED THAT WA TRAIL RUNNER BIANCA HARDING, WHO IS KNOWN FOR HER BLONDE PIGGY TAILS AND CAPTIVATING SMILE, USED TO DON THE SPARKLY BIKINIS AND TAN UP THE SKIN FOR A SPOT ON THE BODYBUILDING STAGE, AND HOW THAT HARD AND FAST SPORT HELPED HER BECOME THE ULTRA TRAIL RUNNER SHE IS TODAY.

WORDS: KATE DZIENIS IMAGES: ASTRID VOLZKE, ANDREW YEATMAN, SUPPLIED

Beautiful tanned and toned bodies everywhere. No matter where you look, there’s a collage of buff silhouettes flexing their stuff and topping up last minute workouts before hitting a live stage in front of a crowd that watches competitors in sheer awe.

And just like us trail runners get ready the morning of a race with our hydro-packs, on-the-go nutrition, drop bags, the right clothing and maybe even a spreadsheet here or there to keep track of our expected pace, bodybuilders adorn dressing rooms before standing in front of judges, clearing out their own area and strapping on bejewelled bikinis, high heels and snacks.

Chiseled like the Greek gods they are, there is so much work that goes behind each individual’s dream of being crowned winner in this world of bodybuilding. It’s a galactic world away from trail running, where hours upon hours in the gym far outweigh any cardio work, and diets are severely micro managed to ensure high protein and low carb is king and queen of the food pyramid.

Bianca Harding, 40, from Padbury in WA is known to hit the state’s endurance events in her blonde pig-tails and run with her mum, Sue Robertson – always with a smile on her face and basically making the sport look like it’s the most fun thing you could ever do on this planet.

But she wasn’t always a runner – in fact, Bianca comes with an eclectic background of sports where I’m sure she could talk to anyone for days over. Originally a dancer-turneddance-teacher who thrived on competitions, competitiveness, big goals and getting out of her comfort zone, she turned to bodybuilding adventures in the off-season of her triathlon journey.

It was 2009, and Bianca got herself into a six-week triathlon course which trained participants in all abilities. Eventually, the sport saw her compete in half Ironmans, as well as racing for Australia in the Canada World Championships and then ultimately finishing her triathlon career with a full Ironman in 2015.

And then, it was time for something new.

“My bodybuilding slipped in at the end of the last few years of my triathlon life before giving it all up – both of those sports – for the world of ultra running,” she reminisces. “Because hey, let’s get in a bikini, lean down and strut my stuff on a stage in front of a huge audience!

“I remember comps well – before getting on the stage everyone would be pumping weights, using resistance bands to get the muscles popping…I’d stand in a line-up of 20 women waiting for my name to be called. We’d walk on stage individually, doing a routine that you’d practice for months, in front of the judges – quarter turn to the left, quarter turn to the back, and so forth until you then move to the back of the stage.

“Nerves would always be high. I’d trained so hard in these high heels, praying I wouldn’t stack it.”

Bianca competed in three bodybuilding competitions over the course of two years, with each line-up having, as mentioned, 20 women who she’d be up against; she says she was stoked to walk away with six trophies in six line ups.

ICN Sept 2016

2nd Place, 30+ Category

3rd Place, Bikini Mumma Category

5th Place, First Timer Category

INBA Oct 2017

3rd Place, Bikini Mumma Category

5th Place, 30+ Category

5th Place, Novice Category

IFBB Oct 2017

No Placing

“The IFBB is the ‘beast’ of the comp world,” she explains. “I’d just finished competing in ICN and my coach wanted me to jump straight into IFBB two weeks later. At this stage, I was hooked. I loved how I looked and felt, and couldn’t get enough.

“He then put me on a keto diet and upped all my cardio to the stage where I looked and felt withered away. By the time the comp came around, I’d dropped down to less than 4% body fat and started to not have fun. I just remember stepping on stage and not feeling anything like I did the few weeks before…and that’s all I remember.

“I’d lost my memory, I had no idea what I was doing, and just stood on stage with nothing to offer. That was the end. I called it quits after that.”

2018 was Bianca’s next chapter in her life book, and it was by far the best. Both she and her mum had signed up for Wild Goose Chase, a multi-day event running festival held in the Avon Valley National Park in WA where participants camp or glamp for a long weekend. The two women knew a handful of people in the trail running community by this stage, but were excited to start a new adventure – and a less competitive one at that.

“The race consisted of 18km on the Friday night, 45km on the Saturday and 22.5km on the Sunday; the camp grounds were the main hub with a big shed, couches, fire pits and also the start point for each event,” Bianca recalls.

“Every night we’d sit around the fire, drink and tell stories of our runs that day…by the end of the weekend, we were absolutely hooked, not only with the running side of it, but with the epic community.”

One would think that bodybuilding and trail running are two completely different sports –and clearly, they are. But when broken down and put side-by-side, there’s a vast amount of similarities that can be brought across into each sport, in particular from bodybuilding into trail running.

To see success, both must be witness to high discipline – most sports do require some form of discipline, but to see high achievement such as winning a place on the podium, the work needs to be put in. It also requires the willingness to delay immediate gratification for the sake of bigger, more meaningful future payoffs, something that doesn’t necessarily come naturally. Bianca explains that despite bodybuilding focusing on muscle mass and trail running devoted to agility and speed, it was easy for her to bring her knowledge of the former through to the latter.

“They are so incredibly similar,” she reveals. “There’s always a program to follow, if it’s a running program or a nutrition plan. I have a strong mental game and I think that’s helped from my triathlon days. I walked away from bodybuilding with such a wide ranging knowledge of food.”

“I know how important it is to fuel the body and how to fuel it to succeed whether it’s in the gym or on the trails.”

Other similarities between the two disciplines include both requiring recovery time to build back muscle lost and reduce the amount of lactic acid built up, both increasing blood flow for circulation, and better deep sleep. So it’s no wonder Bianca moved into trail running without a hitch, easily transitioning to fluid movement and the ability to manoeuvre on uneven surfaces.

And she doesn’t do it by halves either. Bianca has moved into the trail world fairly quickly since 2018 after Wild Goose, finding herself completing an average of about six ultra events per year. Starting off with 50km races, she made her way through to 75km, 100km and then 200 milers – her latest being the 2023 Delirious WEST 200 Miler and the Irrational SOUTH 200 Miler.

“After doing quite a few distances now, I’d have to say the Delirious WEST is one of my favourite events by far!” she says. “I haven’t had a chance to venture the world with running yet, with Albany (south coast of WA) being my favourite place, you just can’t beat that finish line.

“WTF 100 miler was my first 100 miler after my grandfather had died, and we’d raised money for the Royal Flying Doctor – definitely one of my most memorable and hardest finishes. “Dream runs for the future…I’d say Larapinta and Tarawera are certainly on the cards.”