Trail run magazine 15

VOL4 ED15 // SUMMER 2015 // AU/NZ/ASIA

THE (ULTRA) LIGHTNESS OF BEING// FREEDOM RUNNING IN AFRICA // PLEASURE & PAINE IN PATAGONIA // KINGS OF KEPLER // RUN TO PARADISE IN THE COOK ISLANDS // AUSSIE ALPINE ODYSSEY // SOUTHERN AFFAIR ON THE HEYSEN TRAIL // INDIAN ULTRA // TRAIL GEAR, GUIDES & EVENTS

TIMOTHY OLSON

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Photo: TIM KEMPLE

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DETAILS

VOLUME 4, EDITION 15, SUMMER 2015

Foundation supporters (the

Yay-sayers)

Windroo Trails www.windrootrails.com Salomon au www.salomon.com/au Editorial Editor: Chris Ord Associate Editor: Tegyn Angel Minimalist/Barefoot Editor: Garry Dagg Design: Jordan Cole www.craft-store.com.au

Wild Plans www.wildplans.com Brooks / Texas Peak www.brooksrunning.com.

The North Face Australia www.thenorthface.com.au La Sportiva / Expedition Equipment www.mountainrunning.com.au

Contributing Writers Kellie Emmerson, Samantha Gash, Shaun Brewster, Richard Bowles, Kyle Williams, Tristan Miller, Mead Norton, Ross Taylor, Dan Slater, Will Lind and Isaac Walker / www.functionalrunning.com.au, Matt Judd / www.juddadventures.com

Visit us online www.trailrunmag.com www.facebook.com/trailrunmag www.twitter.com/trailrunmag

Senior photographer Lyndon Marceau www.marceauphotography.com

cover photo

Photography Shaun Collins, Matt Judd / www. juddadventures.com, Tegyn Angel, Tim Anderson, Samantha Gash, Dennis Tan, Graham Dainty, Chris O’Driscoll, Sam Costin / www.samuelcostin.com, Kyle Williams, Tristan Miller, Run the Rann, Mead Norton, Ross Taylor, Dan Slater, Marcus Warner / www.skyrunningANZ.com, Henk Venter / www.henkventer.co.za, Red Bull Content Pool, Kieran Ryan, Simon Madden , Will Lind and Isaac Walker / www.functionalrunning.com.au

COVER: Richard Bowles on the Heysen Trail, South Australia. IMAGE: Samuel Costin / www.samuelcostin.com THIS IMAGE: Richard Bowles takes the rougher route on his record-busting Heysen Trail run. IMAGE: Sam Costin / www.samuelcostin.com

Trail Run is published quarterly Winter / Spring / Summer / Autumn Editorial & Advertising Trail Run Magazine 10 Evans Street, Anglesea, Vic 3230 Email: chris@trailrunmag.com Telephone +61 (0) 430376621 Founders Chris Ord + Stuart Gibson + Mal Law + Peter & Heidi Hibberd

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.

Publisher Adventure Types 10 Evans Street Anglesea, Victoria, Australia 3230

ADVENTURE IN ANY DIRECTION BROOKSRUNNINGAU

4

BROOKSRUNNING.COM.AU

CONTENTS 8

VOLUME 4, EDITION 15, SUMMER 2015

14

REGULARS

132 DESIGNED FOR FREEDOM

Editors’ Columns: 8. Chris Ord 10. Tegyn Angel

REVIEWS

20

12.

Now’s a good time to buy all the good gear

26.

Special Review Feature

TRAIL GUIDES

hydration packs

112.

Nutrition

when the good stuff is bad for you

116.

Shoe reviews

A speed freak, a trail raider, a bush warrior and one to defy the laws of gravity

134. Ben Lomond, Sth Island, NZ 136 Mt Ainslie, Canberra, ACT 138. Hinze Dam, Queensland 140. Werribee Gorge, Victoria

42

TRAIL MIX 18.

Event Preview

20.

Event Preview

22.

Event Preview

FEATURES

Hillary Trail Nth Island, NZ

38. THE

44. RUN TO PARADISE - a festival of running in the Cook Islands 52. FREEDOM RUNNERS - Sam Gash runs across Southern Africa 62. PLEASURE & PAINE - a Patagonian adventure 72. KINGS OF KEPLER - taking on the classic mountain challenge 82. SOUTHERN AFFAIR - Richard Bowles falls in love

Perth Summer Series, WA Shangri-la, Yunnan Province, China

24.

Event & Tour Preview Larapinta Trail, NT

108.

Event Profile

with South Australia’s Heysen Trail

Thail Ultra

124.

LIGHTNESS OF BEING - the Ying to ultra’s Yang

92. ALPINE ODYSSEY - tackling 21 monsters in the Aussie Alps 100. RANN RAIDER - Tristan Miller takes on a new Indian ultra

Trail Porn

for those with dirty minds

6

EDSWORD

CHRIS ORD

IMAGE: Chris Ord

Child’s Play

I believe the children are our future.

Sure, Whitney Houston may not have gone on to be the greatest role model of all time, but her lyrics hold truths far greater than her kitschiness.

Teach them well and let them lead the way.

That’s it – you gotta show them what’s possible if they are going to be able to lead the way.

Check all those kids setting themselves up for thumb arthritis as they ‘play’ on screens.

Worse, check out all the dads (and it is usually the dads, be honest) at the playground tapping away on screens – “just getting off this last email” – while their kids stare in wonderment at a climbing apparatus.

“Dad, what do I do here…?”

Silence. Tap, tap, tap. “Uh, two secs, be there in a tick…”

And the kid looks to Dad and learns what is important.

That apathy toward physical play in the outdoors is dangerous. More dangerous than any perceived physical danger that lurks in the outdoors itself (a notion the cotton-wool parent may erroneously employ when justifying their child’s lack of outdoor play).

And here I (truly) mangle Whitney’s words:

Show them all the beauty that can be found outside Give them a sense of risk management to make it easier Let the children’s laughter remind us how good nature can be Okay, so my reworking is as awfully cornball as Whitney’s, I agree. And I guess I’m not sprouting something that most of you lot – trail runners – would find hard to swallow anyway.

So my point, then, is this: that it is up to we the leaders of the active community to 8

engage and activate beyond our own; to shove a firecracker called ‘nature play’ up the nonactive crowd’s negligent parenting clacker.

Beyond our own families – and the number of kids-of-trail-runners already running singletrack warms the cockles of my adventureloving heart – is a generation of kids who can be introduced to the recreation we love so much. And let’s face it, you gotta blood ‘em young – even your local drug dealer will agree there. And best we inject our kids with the natural green stuff called fresh air rather than any other nefarious substance.

The author, Richard Louv, in his seminal book Last Child In The Woods, speaks of Nature Deficit Disorder – where a lack of contact with nature increases the potential for childhood depression, obesity and other wellbeing issues. Tim Gill, an advocate for exposing children to risk and outdoor play, is well known for his thoughts on the importance of outdoor play and childhood adventure and how it engenders better risk management and resilience in children as they journey through adolescence to adulthood. Indeed, internationally and locally there are now dedicated movements such as Leave No Child Inside, Get Children Outdoors, Children and Nature and Take A Child Outside working to reconnect children with nature.

Importantly, as Richard Louv argues it is not just children with ‘outdoorsy’ parents who need to be reconnected – more importantly it is the children of parents who themselves are not connected with nature that must be also focused on.

Which is why it is so awesome to see the likes of well known ultra trail runners, Brendan Davies and Jo Brischetto, setting up things like Trail Kids, a small non-competitive outing specifically designed to introduce kids to trail running. Check them out at www.trailkids.com.au.

As a parent of two daughters, I love this

concept and it’s one I think should spread far and wide not just as something for our own kids but as a forum for everyone’s kids to safely experience what we all love: trail running. Because if we’re honest, it’s just ‘playing’ in the outdoors with an adult twist anyway (we add competition or a mission to it to make it seem all grown up… but really, we just like splashing in puddles…)

My favourite trail runs of all time have been my shortest and least exotic ever: out and about on local singletrack with my eldest daughter.

I’ve seen firsthand how trail running builds the resilience factor, too. My daughter is no rough and tumble type, with a delicate sensibility that – how do I put it politely – sometimes puts her in the princess category. Yet on trail, I watch as she kicked a root, went flying face first into the mud, a hard fall that would likely have had me calling it quitsville for the day. Yet she upped, dusted herself off and continued on running. Five kilometres. A six-year-old delicate petal turned determined dirty warrior princess. She now harangues me whenever I return from a trail run – can I go running with you now, pleeeease? Which is fine. Except when I’ve been out on a long run. But then, it’s my turn to be resilient and back up, for my daughter’s sake. And those moments I then have with her out on trail I know I will cherish forever – especially now, while I can still keep up with her. For I’ve noticed her form, I’ve seen her stride purposefully forward, dust herself off with Xena attitude… I know that it’s not that long until she’ll be off tackling mountains tougher than I’ve known.

And I repeat:

Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.

Your playground editor, Chris Ord chris@trailrunmag.com 9

EDSWORD

TEGYN ANGEL

IMAGE: Tegyn Angel

TUNEDIN 10

IT’S AN EASY CLICHÉ THAT, WITH THE ADVENT OF NEAR-UBIQUITOUS SMARTPHONES AND HYPER-CONNECTED TECHNOLOGY, WE’RE MORE PRONE TO DISTRACTION THAN EVER BEFORE. EASY YES, BUT FALSE NO. ONE STUDY I READ FOUND THAT PEOPLE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INTERRUPTION BY TECHNOLOGY SCORE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER ON A STANDARD COGNITION TEST. ANOTHER CONCLUDED THAT TYPICAL OFFICE WORKERS ARE ABLE TO FOCUS FOR A PIDDLING AVERAGE OF 11 MINUTES ON A GIVEN TASK BEFORE BEING INTERRUPTED. IT’S NOT SURPRISING, GIVEN HOW EASILY DISTRACTED WE ARE AT WORK AND STUDY, THAT WE’RE EASILY LED ASTRAY IN OTHER AREAS OF OUR LIVES TOO. “Let us take this piece of wax,” wrote Rene Descartes in his second Meditation (beautifully titled: Concerning the Nature of the Human Mind: That It Is Better Known Than the Body)

“It has been taken quite freshly from the hive, and it has not yet lost the sweetness of the honey which it contains; it still retains somewhat of the odour of the flowers from which it has been culled; its colour, its figure, its size are apparent; it is hard, cold, easily handled, and if you strike it with the finger, it will emit a sound.”

I didn’t start out a runner. I just wanted to move across remote, beautiful country quickly, lightly and self-sufficiently. Laying a map down on a big wooden table, nursing a steaming

cup of Joe, dreaming up gnarly lines and epic journeys. That’s living! What will those contour lines look like on the ground? Will that spur spit me out at a fordable point in the river or will we need to contour up to this bend and swim it? Do you think that’s a cave/a cliff/a flat piece of ground to bivvy?

Running grew organically out of my love of the journey; a love for vagabonding through a landscape under my own steam, carrying nothing but the consequences of my actions.

Surely, the thinking went, I could see more, experience more, discover more if I’m moving quickly? Add an element of challenge and accomplishment, mix in a little dose of shit-I-have-to-work and where-did-the-weekgo and voila, I’m a runner with a training plan. Periodisation, polarisation, tabata, reps, intensity, aerobic, anaerobic, mileage, overtraining, injury, fucking foam rollers! What the hell has this got to do with running scree, bagging peaks and ridge traverses?

I bloody loved it! It was so good to get out there, immersed in the country, and to share my love for this style of travel with others.

Two days on this trail reignited my passion for trail running and reminded me of why I became a runner. It reminded me that there is a very good reason I put in the weekly miles, pay attention to nutrition and educate myself about exercise theory. Just as my phone/ laptop/tablet/social media profiles constantly distract me from the things in life that are truly important to me, I let the act of training distract me from why I was logging miles in the first place. Fight the distraction, push back the wave of noise. A solid base of training allows us to get the absolute most out of the beautiful places we’re fortunate enough to call our playground. Pounding our local trails week after week builds a physical capacity that lets us focus on our surroundings rather than my exploding heart.

Does the same wax remain after this change? We must confess that it remains; none would judge otherwise. What then did I know so distinctly in this piece of wax? It could certainly be nothing of all that the senses brought to my notice, since all these things, which fall under taste, smell, sight, touch, and hearing, are found to be changed, and yet the same wax remains.

—René Descartes, 1911 edition of The Philosophical Works of Descartes (Cambridge University Press), translated by Elizabeth S. Haldane.

Your tuned-in editor, Tegyn Angel, Associate Editor

But notice that while I speak and approach the fire what remained of the taste is exhaled, the smell evaporates, the colour alters, the figure is destroyed, the size increases, it becomes liquid, it heats, scarcely can one handle it, and when one strikes it, no sound is emitted.

A few weeks ago I organised a little run; a Fat Ass. An informal, dirtbag, all-care-noresponsibility race in an incredible and unique part of Victoria. The course is likely as technical as any trailrunning “course” in the country and involves prolonged rock scrambling and reasonable exposure to risk and gravity.

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NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO BUY

Salomon Flyweight Jacket

VITALS

$259.99 www.salomon.com/au/

Reviewer: Chris Ord LET’S GET IT OUT OF THE WAY – YES, this uber lightweight jacket, according to Salomon, passes Race Director muster for the likes of TNF100, Buffalo Stampede and even UTMB. And YES, it is quite likely the highest performing, lightest weight jacket on the market.

But, as is the nature of a high performance vehicle (think Ferrari), this thing is finely tuned for getting the job done at top speed, with minimal plush add-ons to slow it down.

The Sense Flyweight project was born locally rather than at Salomon HQ in Euroland, and the input wasn’t by King Kilian, rather by the equally knowledgeable and experienced Matt Cooper and Gretel Fortmann, who each advised from prototype to final product.

Minimalist it may be, but the weight savings have been made without losing functionality.

An elastic forehead band keeps the hood on with a small peak keeping showers out of eyes (it helps to see when you’re running). Precinched cuffs and hem also mean no drawcords, reducing weight and improving comfort and packability. The wrist is only half- and looselyelasticised, giving average fit, but then, wrist size varies – it’ll be fine for some especially if wearing gloves. Perhaps thumbholes could have been incorporated at no weight gain, but this is a minor niggle.

12

The ‘Motion-fit’ design is close and forms to your body, but the material has the perfect amount of stretch to give when it needs to (think scrambling, ducking branches etc).It’s a full-zip top, with the clever addition of one chest high button with a spacer, so you can run with a draught if needed, without the jacket flapping everywhere.

All the form aside, where this bit of kit matters is the ‘proof-ness’ and just importantly, its breatheability.

The new, exclusive fabric is super-high specification with stats boasting 10 denier x 7denier at 46g/sqm and a 20,000mm hydrostatic head waterproof with 20,000mm breathability.

For the non-scientific, this translates to being a super-lightweight fibre strand, denier being the mass in grams per 9000 metres of a particular fibre. To compare, a pair of women’s tights are 10 (sheer) to 100 (thick) denier.

But where women’s tights are anything but waterproof, a 20,000mm or ‘20’ hydrostatic rating means this fabric is at the uppermost end of the proofing scale (think backcountry ski guide wear) with typical mid-range fabrics tending to have values of 5000mm-10,000mm of water resistance and 5000g of breathability.

To achieve this, the material is of a laminated

construction with seams sealed (getting it past the RD’s scrutiny).

Why the translucent white vibe, you may be asking, when everything else these days seems to be bright red/blue/orange/choose your garish glare? Well, the semi-transparent white colour is cleverly used so that a race bib is visible underneath, along similar lines to the S-Lab Light Jacket. Clever.

It is a stowable design, the chest pocket doubling as a stow bag stuffing the jacket to tennis ball size. And the weight: a mere 120 grams.

On trail the feel of the jacket is at first a bit ‘clammy’, but once on, you run like it’s not. It breathes that notch better than most other jackets on the market (I’m a heavy sweater, so nothing will really wick to dryness fully for me), and it kept out everything the elements could throw. Obviously it was also a winner in cold, windy conditions, too. For those looking to slim the load to the finest degree for race day, this is the best ticket to buy. It’ll cover the bases for most other trail excursions, too, and makes the best emergency grab given its barely-there stashable nature. On the exxy side, but worth every cent.

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NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO BUY

The North Face Better Than Naked + Impulse Reviewer: Chris Ord

CAN IT GET ANY BETTER than being naked? All those bare chested mountain men running rampant in those ‘hero’ images a la Krupicka would say no. For those of us who (probably correctly) judge that the world need not see our middle-aged spread (despite all those training miles), there is an option: The North Face’s Better Than Naked range, which has tees and shorts.

The tee does what it claims – makes you feel naked, but even better as you’re covered from the sun, protected from pack rub, and the world is saved from enduring flashes of your chest hair or lack there-of. The FlashDry material on the tee is silky smooth and pants like a Labrador, wicking away all your moisture, especially via the body-mapped mesh back panel. Comfort is extraordinary, courtesy of the fabric but also flat sealed sew-free seams ensuring no rub zones.

Match this tee to the shorts, and you have a perfect summer run ensemble. FlashDry fabrics are again employed, as are mesh ventilation panels down the side (you’d call them ‘sheer’).

New additions to this iteration includes four stretch gel pockets at the rear, plus the regular zip pocket.

Should the summer morning be a bit crisp, grab the Impulse Active ¼ zip top – lightweight and stashable, it gives that extra layer for early runs where you know you’ll warm as the sun rises. Body mapped ventilation ensures it still breathes well, thumb loops keep the sleeves down and there is a zip chest pocket for stowing small items. Super lightweight, this is also extremely comfortable.

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VITALS Impulse Active ¼ zip top

$110

RRP

BTN Tee RRP

$75

BTN Short RRP

$80

www.thenorthface.com.au

Garmin Fenix2

VITALS

$499(AU) / $599 (NZ) www.garmin.com.au www.garmin.co.nz

Reviewer: Simon Madden

THE MODERN WORLD is one of data. Big Data. And running has been at the forefront of the quantified self take up – times and distances, cadence and heart rates, all feeding up into a matrix to track improvement over time. And, of course, engender competition.

Now, data can be used for good or for evil, freedom or guilt, the choice is yours, but we like to focus on the good. Like how this rich data can help program more efficient and better-targeted training, regulate in-competition performance and help us to stay safe.

GPS watches have been tracking us for a while and it’s fair to say each iteration gets more powerful, and more multifunctional.

Now have the timepiece-cum-personalactivity-assistant that is the Garmin Fenix 2.

The Fenix 2 is multisport athletes. If you’re a runner who also hikes, swims, rides road bikes, mountain bikes, mountaineers, skis or snowboards it has you covered. Hell, it’ll even track indoor workouts and parachute jumps – perfect for those who run up the hill, BASE off then run back to their Swiss hamlet for a post-workout fondue. The Fenix 2 is for anyone who wants a single watch to track their complete athletic lifestyle. Or it’s great if you just want to run.

The Fenix 2 boasts a high sensitivity GPS

radio, an altimeter, barometer, 3-axis compass, an accelerometer, a thermometer, and both ANT+ and Bluetooth radios. It solves the problem of usability both outdoors and indoors by relying on two modes for movement tracking; GPS outdoors and accelerometer indoors or when the satellites are lost – think about smashing through a deep, dark tunnel like in the Glow Worm Marathon.

There are other cool features. I like the real-time cumulative elevation gain and customisable intervals – the vibration alarms are another plus as beeps can get lost in ambient noise or when wearing headphones.

You can also sync it with your phone for autodata uploads.

The data pages are highly customisable so you display what you need to you know.

You can map cadence and if you pair it with Garmin’s HRM-Run chest-strap heart rate monitor the level of detail increases exponentially. This includes such nuggets of tracking gold as your average vertical oscillation (that’s how high you’re bouncing), average ground contact time, and average stride length. That’s breaking z down.

When out running the breadcrumbs feature is great with your watch recording digital waypoints so you can retrace your steps if

needs be. The digital compass is sufficiently accurate, which is handy as navigating purely by the Fenix 2 can be a little tricky due to the display’s restrictions and occasional accuracy glitches. And the off-watch intergations are a mess – you have to download three different applications, and once in it’s easy – ironically enough – to get lost. If you’re route-finding your best bet is to still carry the trusty compass and map combination.

In the mountains or in changeable weather the barometer will be your best friend. Track the pressure trend over time and changes can indicate bad weather coming in, giving you the chance to hightail it out or hunker down and stay safe.

Battery life is also improved (50 hours max in GPS mode – enough for an ultra) and you can make it last even longer by changing the frequency breadcrumbs are dropped, though at an obvious accuracy hit.

The Fenix 2 ain’t cheap at nearing $500, but it’s good, delivering a mountain of data on your wrist that will guide you along the trails and spit out how, where (but not why) you ran. You, then, just have to navigate your way around how to make the most of that data.

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NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO BUY VITALS

$20 RRP AU www.marceauphotography.com Buy from the store

Reviewer: Chris Ord

Princeton Tec Byte headlamp that fit nothing much else. For a little lamp, this packs powerful enough punch thanks to its white Maxbright 70 lumen LED – it’ll stretch to 25-30 metres (just). Claimed burn time: 96 hours, although online ruminations allude to a shorter battery life, pending battery quality, and environment (altitude etc). The red LED “for night vision” is useless for running, of course – this is used more for low power usage when faffing around the camp site or in tent.

Princeton Tec has made the Byte IPX4 water resistant, so any shower you run through will not short it (just don’t drop it in the river, IP ratings go up to 8, which is the dunking end of the spectrum).

The battery door enclosure is simple enough and the large push button switch means gloved operation is easy.

A good go-to that won’t blow you away with fantabulousness, but won’t blow the budget, either.

HEADLAMPS FOR RUNNING are a tough one – no-one wants anything bobbing around on their head like a slinky, but the alternative (pitch black) makes running a little hard unless you’re Doctor Mid-Nite (unheralded DC comics superhero who can see in the dark).

There are three simple key features you want from a running headlamp: a lightweight, no-bob design, a decent glare to light up the trails and a whack of energy in the battery long enough to run as far as you want to go.

Now, the Princeton Tec is never going to be a match for the bigger berthas in headlamp world (Ay Up, Silva). But then, their models aren’t as big, either. So let’s keep this in context: here we have a super lightweight (64 grams) and fairly inexpensive, lamp that, as they say in the classics, gets the job done. It lights the way sufficiently.

I like its simplicity – one button that scrolls through the options (red LED and a LED that has high and low beam). Another idiot button (love this) that means it can’t be accidentally switched on in your pack (leading to power bleed and a dead lamp – common rookie mistake).

The Byte is compact, meaning you can stuff it in those tiny stretch pockets on your run pack

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VITALS

$34.95 RRP AU

Trail Running Calendar

Bring the outdoors indoors. Remind yourself while surrounded by walls that you’d rather be out there, where the only barriers are fatigue and a will to keep running. Whack on those walls this stunning collection of trail images, many of which you’ll have seen in our pages, a fair few of which will be fresh dirt for your singletrack soul to salivate over.

Lyndon Marceau, a senior photographer for

Trail Run Mag and the main man snapping away at many trail running events across Australasia, has made an art form out of trail running photography, capturing all the gritty essence of the pursuit we love so much. Here, he presents a collection of wild running images, one per month, to whack on the wall and inspire you to go perspire. A great Chrissy present for the trail loving partner or mate in your life, too.

www.outdooragencies.com.au www.princetontec.com

Save an Extra 5% Online Coupon Code is “Trail” Simply add in at Checkout to Save!

WWW.GLOBETREKKER.COM.AU Top Gear. Expert Advice, Great Prices.

292 Montague Rd West End, Brisbane

Ph 07 3844 9604

EVENT PREVIEW IMAGE: Shaun Collins / Lactic Turkey Events

HILLARY TRAIL, NTH ISLAND, NZ Waitakere Ranges, North Island, NZ

CONQUER NEW TERRITORY

T

he Hillary Trail, named after a legend – has become its own legend. With local trail running heroes the likes of Steve Neary, Mal Law, Shaun Collins and Vickie Woolley all cracking into Big Run Feats (the double, the unsupported, the night, and on … listed at www.lacticturkey.co.nz/ HillaryTrailHonoursFinshers.htm) this particular trail has inspired its own sub-culture among Kiwi dirt and mud runners. Then Shaun Collins worked his arse off to get an event happening, persevering through the knockbacks and the redtape to get the first edition up last year. Now, in the footsteps of the Tarawera, Hillary is going big-brand ballistic, as a recently announced addition to the Oceania Skyrunning Series. It’s a rubber stamp that will further cement the outing as one of the must-do trail events south of the equator. Opened in 2010,

the 75km Hillary Trail connects a network of existing tracks in the Waitakere Ranges (west of Auckland City) and presents a course that is tougher than it looks on paper. As Hillary needed to be for Everest, best be prepared...

EVENT The Hillary DISTANCE 80km/34km/16km Free Suunto Movescount App - learn more on suunto.com/movescountapp

WHEN 14 March 2015 WHERE Waitakere Ranges, North Island, NZ www.thehillary.co.nz/

CHECK IT OUT

SUUNTO AMBIT3 PEAK

THE ADVENTURE EXPERIENCE The journey to your summit is what it’s all about – whether it’s a mountain or a personal best. Progress and stay safe on your quest with the Suunto Ambit3 Peak GPS watch as your companion. www.suunto.com

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EVENT PREVIEW IMAGE: Dennis Tan

PERTH SUMMER TRAIL SERIES perth, western Australia

S

tay Puft, Wallygrunta, Snakes n Ladders, Qu Gong and Swissmurdie. No, this is not the lineup for the latest cast of characters in a children’s cartoon (although it should be), rather it is proof that the trail scene way out west is alive, kicking and its ushers have a sense of humour.

These are the race names for each outing in the Perth Trail Series summer. With a catchphrase of ‘uncivilise yourself’ you know the West Australian crew are all about the fun as much as the run.

Held in a mix of State and Regional Parks on the fringes of Perth, these runs are at the core of the trail running scene in Western Australia. Distances range from 9-19km with a long and short course set for each round. There are hills, but nothing like on the Dividing Range so you’re talking elevation profiles all under the 700

mark (Swissmurdie’s 690m over 17.3km the biggest and still enough to make you hurt).

This series perhaps also wins the prize for the best trophies – organisers having a propensity to create theirs from little Lego trail runners. A very cool series – even worth hopping on a jet airliner from the Eastern States for...

EVENT Perth Trail Series – Summer

DISTANCE Short and long courses at each event, 9-19km distances

WHEN 18 Jan, 1 & 21 Feb, 8 & 22 March www.perthtrailseries.com

CHECK IT OUT

#Bushido In ancient Japanese “Bushido” signified the path followed

by Samurai warriors. Today it indicates La Sportiva’s trail running path.

Slip on construction, STB Control, FriXion XT sole: if off-road is your passion, this shoe is the choice for you.

Bushido - the trail runner’s path. www.mountainrunning.com.au Become a fan of La Sportiva Mountain Running Series

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Proudly distributed in Australia by Expedition Equipment Email: sales@ExpeditionEquipment.com.au Phone: 02 9417 5755

EVENT PREVIEW

SHANGRI LA MARATHON Meili Snow Mountains, TIbet

S

hangri-La was first made popular as a notion as much as place in novelist James Hilton’s fictional account of the legendary Tibetan paradise, Shambala, in his 1933 novel, Lost Horizon. Now, trail running has sought its own Shangri-La experience with the launch of a new ultra trail event in Yunnan Province, Southern China, a place often touted as being the real life setting for Hilton’s novel.

The course sets multiple challenges to choose from with a 21km, 42km, 50km and 100km lineup, the combined elevation profiles ranging from 1775m to 5288m.

Located on the Meili Snow Mountains, often referred as Kawagarbo by locals, these virgin mountains are remote and rarely visited, offering participants a unique insight into a traditional way of mountain life. Not to mention a setting that will inspire stories worthy of your own ShangriLa novel.

Entry fee includes round trip transport from the city of Shangri-La (yes, renamed for tourism purposes by the Chinese authorities) to the remote race location, two nights’ camping with a team chef on hand.

A course fly through can be seen at http://shangrila-marathon.com/raceinformation/course/ WHEN 24-26 April 2015 DISTANCE 100km, 50km 42km and 21km www.shangri-la-marathon.com

CHECK IT OUT

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TOURS & EXPEDITIONS G U I D E D - O W N P A C E - A C C O M M O D AT I O N - F U L LY C AT E R E D

G R E AT O C E A N WA L K , G R A M P I A N S , H U T T O H U T - V I C A L P S , L A R A P I N TA T R A I L , E AS T T I M O R , C H I N A , B H U TA N , C O O K I S L A N D S

W W W.T O U R D E T R A I L S . C O M

TOUR + EVENT PREVIEW

LARAPINTA TRAIL Alice Springs, NT, Australia

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arapinta is the hottest thing since sliced gluten free toast with a shot of kale for breakfast.

There are now at least four tours and a multiday event being offered along the iconic route that tracks east-west out from Alice Springs along the West MacDonnell and Chewings Ranges. This is as much a sign of the trail running times (popular sport) as it is the lure of the landscapes to be found in Central Australia (awesome).

Here, we highlight two offerings – one for competitive types, the other for more relaxed adventure runners.

If you want a hot shower, a luxe loungeroom under canvas, a fully equipped kitchen (one you don’t even need to operate given you’ll have your own chefs on hand) plus plush mattresses and cots and a few guides attending to your every whim (they’ll wash your dishes): try Tour de Trails / Wildplans’ six-day Larapinta highlights trail run tour.

The running by day is mind blowing and challenging in its technicality, but covering distances that most runners of any middling experience can cover (longest day is 28km, most days average 18-22km).

At night you’ll enjoy the exclusive luxury of World Expeditions’ permanent camps – it’s known as ‘glamping’ or glamourous camping – and if you’re going to work hard during the day on trails, you may as well treat yourself to comfy abodes

at night matched to big feasts and a good night’s rest. This is small group, limited number stuff so get in quick.

On the other side of the trail coin, more for your competitive types, is Rapid Ascent’s new Run Larapinta, where you’ll need to trot with a little more eye on time, but the experience is no less thrilling (maybe more so as you’ll bomb down those declines with a more competitive mindset). This one’s not until August, but should be a cracker of an event, with a bigger crowd and event-style vibe.

It covers four days and four stages and we’re told that entry fees will be sliding scale depending on how much support you require.

There are two options catering for those who want to run longer: The Malbunka with 20-45km stages, and the Namatjira which has 10-30km stages.

TOUR Tour de Trails / Wildplans Larapinta Trail Run Tour

WHEN 15-20 May 2015 Registrations of interest are due by end of January: www.tourdetrails.com / chris@tourdetrails.com

EVENT Run Larapinta Stage Race WHEN 27-30 August 2015 Register your interest at www.runlarapinta.com.au 24

27-30 AUGUST 2015 › ALICE SPRINGS / NT › 4 DAYS / 4 STAGES

The Malbunka: 20-45km stages The Namatjira: 10-30km stages

runlarapinta.com.au Run along the most spectacular sections of the Larapinta Trail and experience the freedom of trail running in Australia’s red centre

BACK PACKS

LEADERS OF THE PACK At one stage not that long ago in Australia and New Zealand, wearing a backpack for a runner was anathema – road runners didn’t do it (they had taps and aid stations). And before the ultra thing became the ultra ‘thang’ well, it was only a minority of true grit trail pioneers out there lugging pretty much standard day packs and sufficing. And then ‘boom’ went trail running and ‘bang’ went the brands looking to service the new market. Only, in the early days it was but Salomon’s being swung onto everyone’s backs. Fast forward only a year or so and other brands long entrenched in more mature trail markets in Europe and the States have finally cast eyes Down Under and started flinging gear our way. Today, there’s varied offerings enough that we thought we’d compile a little hydro pack special, comparing and contrasting what’s thankfully easier to access on (trail specialist) retailer shelves than ever before.

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Inov-8 Words: Tegyn Angel

Race Ultra Vest

The Inov8 Race Ultra Vest looks mean as hell. It’s getting on a little now, with a new version (that corrects a lot of the criticism this one received) due out in 2015, but it still looks contemporary and about as threatening as a running pack can get. In his glowing review, Ian Corless of the Talk Ultra podcast, said it “would almost make a perfect accessory for Batman”, and we reckon he was right on the money. There’s no pretty-inpink and flowers here and if it weren’t for the red shockcord, it’d pass for military issue.

Like the name suggests, the Race Ultra is a vest design with a little bit of storage (3.5 Litre stated volume) and the ability to carry two (included) bottles up front. The unique placement and squashed design of the bottles allows them to sit close and comfortable under the rib cage and distributes weight well. The front straps are set up the same on either side, with one small key/pill pouch and a deeper

pocket in addition to the bottle pocket. On shorter runs I prefer not to use bottles and so loaded up the bottle pockets with other bits and pieces. While soft things (like gloves or a beanie) were okay, harder items (bars, gels, head torch) had a tendency to fall out making the pockets a bit of a waste if not carrying bottles. If you had to choose, it runs much better if you drop the bladder and keep the bottles instead.

Out back the stripped-down, minimalist approach continues with one large pouch that fits the included bladder and anything else you can squeeze into the remaining space.

There’s some shockcord for a jacket and to add some compression to the large chamber plus a couple of extra shock cord loops for attaching poles. The included Hydrapak Shape-Shift bladder includes a removable internal baffle that minimises bounce but still allows it to be turned inside-for cleaning and drying.

The Race Ultra Vest is an awesome low volume pack with a lot going for it, no question. But what the f@#k were they thinking with those buckles? I mean, I like the concept, I really do, but the reality leaves a lot to be desired. The same clips that have been used on the side stabilisation straps have been used on the front, the idea being to allow the user to customise the fit. Great!

Smart! But the clips themselves are finicky, fiddly and fragile. They’re hard to get off while sitting here in a warm house on the lounge. I can only imagine what a nightmare they’d be for a delirious, numb-fingered runner in the middle of an ultra. This is an unfortunate feature on an otherwise great bit of kit. www.barefootinc.com.au RRP: AU $159.95

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BACK PACKS

Salomon

Ultimate Direction

Words: Tegyn Angel

Words: Tegyn Angel

Sense Ultra Set

Fastpack 20

The Sense Ultra Set (SUS) is more of a glovelike, cargo-carrying layer of clothing than a backpack. While the use of Sensifit technology, coconut-derived cocona and mesh fabrics, lasercut panels, the featherweight 110g and the 3 litre capacity all scream of the minimalist, no-waste approach we’ve come to expect from S-LAB, the SUS takes it to another level. The fit allows unrestricted movement and makes for a well-balanced carriage. Indeed, the materials are soft enough you could probably wear it without a shirt underneath, straight against your sweaty chest.

In the way things are organised it’s a bit like Salomon has taken the design of the Hydro set and sliced off or refined all but the most essential elements. Like with the Hydro,

The Ultimate Direction Fastpack 20 – not to be confused with the older Ultraspire pack of the same name – is, as its name suggests, designed for Fastpacking. For those not in the know, Fastpacking is a happy synthesis of Hiking and Trailrunning that generally lasts more than one day and requires some mix of camping, cooking, sleeping and the carriage of all associated gear. This all means going lightweight, a systems approach to selfsufficiency in the backcountry (e.g. sleep and clothing systems) and a balancing act between speed, safety, weight and comfort.

The UD Fastpack is designed specifically for this “sport” and I’ve never seen another pack that does it this well. Just as Fastpacking is a hybrid of trail running and hiking, the pack is an inspired mix of race vest and load-carrying pack. The intelligent design makes it incredibly versatile and it is clearly the end result of a long process of design and consultation with actual end-users. While it will comfortably cinch down enough to carry little more than a water bottle and phone, the roll-top closer and compression straps means it will also expand enough to fit a lightweight sleeping bag and shelter, clothing, stove, food, water and emergency kit. With a volume of up to about

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the 3 litre capacity comes in the form of a couple of front 500ml soft-flask pouches and a moderately-sized, zippered waist pocket on either side for an emergency blanket and things you want to keep locked away. Below each flask is a small stretch pocket for small items like gels or gloves, and above each is a pocket (one zippered) for quick access to small items like spare batteries, salt tabs or the included whistle.

On the back there is a large, high-sitting stretch pocket designed to transport a jacket or piece of soft clothing (but which probably wouldn’t cope with a hydration bladder) and a smaller elasticised pocket down low.

While the small capacity of the vest means it’s unlikely to cut it for races that list a good amount of mandatory gear, it’d be perfect for

fast events with regular aid stations. As a warm weather pack the minimalism and breathability would be awesome and the limited space wouldn’t be an issue. As awesomely comfortable as the vest is, time will tell if the lightness of the materials comes at the cost of durability. All over, the SUS is an awesome bit of kit and an excellent addition to Salomon’s already incredible line-up of products.

Web: www.salomon.com/au RRP: AU $159.95

23 litres you still have to be smart with how and what you pack, but the vest-like front harness and abundant pockets make running with a full load more feasible than with any other pack we’ve tested.

Our testing ground was a Tour de Trails / Wildplans Great Ocean Walk run tour where, as a guide, I ran long days with a reasonable weight; water, radio, satellite and mobile phones, first aid, food, spare and personal clothes and so on. The pack easily carried whatever I asked it to and happily went from hiking to running without a hitch. For all future Wildplans tours and expeditions the Fastpack will be our guiding pack of choice.

So how about the specs? Think stretchy – stretchy back pocket for bulky (but lightweight) gear like jackets, stretchy side pockets for smaller things (I shoved my GoPro in it) you only want to access occasionally and a single piece of custom-made, knitted fabric (not unlike the construction on some modern Nike shoes) that “eliminates [back] contact with all seams”. Up front you’ve got a couple of tall pockets perfect for drink bottles, GPS, food etc. and a couple of smaller pockets for things you may want to keep handy, like a head torch, compass or emergency beacon. There

is a “waterproof” stash pocket hidden away for keeping things dry and more than enough space in the bladder compartment for long stretches without water.

At 535g it’s not the lightest pack on the market, but then again it’s only 100g heavier than the Peter Bakwin Adventure Vest (without its bottles) and will carry twice the capacity. In some races it may actually be a better choice than some of the smaller packs, easily carrying all the mandatory gear but making packing and bladder refills a breeze due to the large capacity and adjustability. How good is it? If we weren’t provided a tester for this review we’d be going shopping for ourselves. Indeed, if you’re struggling to justify dropping cash on various different packs the Fastpack could quite easily perform as a race vest while doing double duty as carry-on laptop bag, cycle-commute pack or jack-of-all-trades adventure pack while travelling. Want more? If I had to own just one pack, the UD Fastpack 20 would be it.

www.ultimatedirection.com.au/ and www.smenz.co.nz/ultimate-direction/ RRP: AU$210.00 29

BACK PACKS

Ultimate Direction

Nathan

Words: Tegyn Angel

Words: Chris Ord

Peter Bakwin Adventure Vest 2.0

Elevation

The Ultimate Direction Peter Bakwin Adventure Vest 2.0 (PB2.0) is the Inspector Gadget to Inov-8s Batman pack. An approachable white and blue colour scheme belies a very well designed pack with more pockets and features than the big-nosed crime fighter himself. As part the of the Ultimate Direction Signature Series, the PB2.0 was designed for and with a well-respected trailrunning ambassador, in this case Peter Bakwin. For those who don’t recognise the name, Peter Bakwin is a bit of a legend among the US ultra and adventure running community. The first person to run the John Muir Trail (94h 3m, 2003), current record holder of the 100mile White Rim Trail (18h 43m, 2006), Double Hardrock Hundred, 200miles and almost 21,000m elevation gain (90h 50m, 2006) and creator of the Fastest Known Times website. The fact the vest is named after Bakwin gives a pretty big hint about its intended purpose: long, hard-out, unsupported trail missions. And it doesn’t disappoint.

Like most running vests, the PB2.0 is designed to hug the body, balance the load front/back side/side and use a combination of load distribution and compression to prevent excessive bounce. At 11 litres it’s not the biggest pack available but clever design means it will comfortably fit a huge amount of gear and then some. There’s more than enough space for the mandatory gear of all but the harshest ultra or multi-day races and with the potential to carry 4-5litres of water (depending on the size of your hydration bladder) the PB2.0 will take you well into the backcountry and out again without 30

needing to resupply.

With version 2.0 of the PB Adventure Vest, UD has taken the 2013 Nat Geo Gear of the Year award-winning PB1.0 and pimped it out.

The shape and style are still there but they’ve rebranded, boosted the capacity, dropped the Cuben Fibre in favour of a more resilient SilNylon and added a side zipper that makes managing gear and accessing the bladder pocket much easier. Hidden away in the side pockets (which double as extra bottle pockets) are waist adjustment straps and the universally beefedup shockcord has been used on the adjustable shoulder straps, both helping to ensure a finetuned, confident fit. Smart placement of pole and axe loops keep these items secure and make this as a truly versatile vest.

While the sheer number of pockets, zippers and shock cord might seem a little excessive, even gimmicky, and can be frustrating to navigate, the PB2.0 is a great update to version 1.0 and in our eyes doesn’t have any real contenders in the remote-ultra/fast adventurerunning category. If you want a moderatecapacity, Jack-of-all-trades running vest, you’d struggle to find a better option currently on the market than the Ultimate Direction Peter Bakwin Adventure Vest 2.0.

Web: www.ultimatedirection.com.au/ and smenz.co.nz/ultimate-direction/ RRP: $239.95AUD

They tout its (as do so many these days as a marketing standard!) as the UTMB-race ready hydro pack. Nathan’s point is, this puppy has capacity: 15.5L in total, with a 2L (inclusive) bladder. Capacity is one thing, useability another. Thankfully Nathan products tend to rate highly on this scale, and the Elevation is no exception. In fact, I’d say that in terms of being a pack that perfectly balances the demands of design, size and comfort, this has to be up there with the best of them.

Super lightweight mesh-breathable shoulder straps contour to the (male) body well, with a small section of exoskeleton giving a little structure to the two front pockets while also providing a runner for the chest straps to adjust along.

Storage options at front for the quick grab needs are excellent including two drawstring bottle pockets to up the hydration capacity (bottles not included). One of these pockets has a small stretchable minipocket at front, prefect for stowing a gel or to stash your on-the-run rubbish. We’re unsure why they didn’t extend to putting another on the other pocket but they should have (sure, it’d be at the cost of a logo, but whatever…). There’s also a waterpfoof pill pocket at front (for salt tablets and the like) and on the other shoulder strap, an expandable zip pocket, good for the mobile phone or munchies.

The chest straps come in for a little critique both by me and other online reviewers in that they are too stretchy and slip through the clips, loosening easily when on the run. A quick knot rectifies that, but you shouldn’t have to do that to new kit. The hose nozzle clips easily to a magnetic holder on one strap – I’m a big fan of these magnetic actions as it’s easy to attach while running operating like a homing device of sorts.

Overall the harness system is super comfortable, the side straps hooking around to attach to a tri-way rubber hold-all that pulls all your gear in nice and snug once

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packed and on your back. The adjustment can be done on the move, so as you sup down the water leaving more space inside your pack, it’s easy enough to adjust the tension further to keep gear inside stable.

The pack itself has plentiful pocket options beginning with the main compartment closest to the back, which also holds the bladder using a Velcro fastener. The compartment – and the bag in general – can stow more than you would guess from a visual inspection, the only downfall being that the opening to get gear in is narrower than the space inside, meaning it is a ‘stuff-in’ effort and finicky when trying to get gear out (everything tends to explode out at once).

The main secondary compartment is much better with a zip opening that folds halfway down.

There’s a small external zip pocket at back for extra small bits of kit, while the two stretch side pockets have the benefit (not usually seen on other packs) of drawstrings to ensure whatever you stuff in there stays in there (I find these pockets ideal for quick grab inclement weather gear, rain jackets and the like).

The addition of some small loop straps on the rear specifically for trek poles is a nice addition, too, especially for those ultra mountain runs where poles are often preferred.

The run comfort of this bag is quite amazing, the only downside commentary being (admittedly made from a male tester’s unknowing perspective) that Nathan’s claim of this being a unisex pack doesn’t ring true, with the straps seemingly always going to come over the top of (and potentially be uncomfortable for) a female’s chest.

Web: www.nathansports.com.au RRP: AU $180

BACK PACKS

Salomon Words: Tegyn Angel

S-LAB Advanced Skin 3 12 Set

In order to understand where the S-LAB Advanced Skin 3 12 Set (AS3-12) sits within the vast universe of Salomon packs, it’s probably best to wrap your head around the term ‘S-LAB’. Put a multi-national budget, the best athletes in the world, a forward-thinking management, a world-class R&D team that’s highly receptive to customer feedback into one room in an incredible town like Annecy, France, and you’ll get S-LAB. This is the cutting edge, not-afraid-to-try-it sidewinder within the Salomon behemoth. The products that come out of the ‘LAB are released to market on a six-monthly rotation and the ones that work drop the S-LAB label and are rolled into the more mainstream product lines. If it doesn’t work, it gets dumped. Easy.

Right, so with that understanding, what the hell is the AS3-12 and how does it differ from previous versions of the Advanced Skin line-up? Previous Advanced Skin 12-sets (pre-Hydro) have been rolled into ‘Pro’ range, where high-performance S-LAB products go once they’ve proven their worth. Meanwhile, the current S-LAB Advanced Skin Hydro 12 Set has been trimmed back and refined to give us the vest currently under review – the AS3-12.

Building on the excellent Hydro, the boffins behind AS3-12 have gone refinement crazy.

Carried over from the previous iteration are symmetrical design, the large rear stretch pocket and large zippered compartment and zippered waist pockets. Up front things are the same as the Hydro, with large soft-flask pocket, small rubbish pocket below and small stash pocket (batteries, pills etc.) above. So what’s changed?

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At an advertised weight of 285g, the AS3-12 is 10% lighter than the Hydro and almost 50% lighter than the Advanced Skin 12 Set in the Pro range. Some of this weight saving comes from the reduction in bindings, stitching and seams, the removal of which also help to reduce failure points and chafing. The Sensifit technology has been redesigned for a closer fit, which spreads weight better and reduces bounce. The designers have also added a load lifter to further minimise efficiencykilling bounce. Finally, in a move that’s sure to be well received, the AS3-12 features new and updated zippers. Previous models were plagued with zipper failures and Salomon says this will be largely eliminated in this release.

Our thoughts? Previous iterations of the S-LAB Advanced Skin 12 Sets were marketleading and between us we’ve got half a dozen.

While the AS3-12 is by no means revolutionary it is an excellent improvement on already strong product.

www.salomonrunning.com/au RRP:AU$229.99

WONDER WOMEN’S Finally some packs designed specifically for women! For Australian Trail Running Champion, Kellie Emmerson, the lack of female-specific kit has been a huge frustration over the years.

“New ‘unisex’ packs come out, we get excited, we try them on in store, they feel great, we make a purchase and it’s not until actually wearing them on the trail that we realise they are too big.

Again,” says Kellie.

But women are NOT the same size or shape as men, and shouldn’t have to accept anything less than packs that fit properly. Now, having the chance to test a range of packs designed specifically for women, Kellie has realised she no longer has to just ‘make do’.

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BACK PACKS

Nathan

Nathan

Words: Kellie Emmerson

Words: Kellie Emmerson

Vapour Shadow

ZEAL

storage better utilised it may have fit significantly better (as is often the case with my Salomon S-LAB Advanced Skin Hydro 12 Litre). The front of the vest sits over the breasts preventing any interruption to arm swing.

This pack has even more features than the smaller Zeal/Zelos. Whilst it does not have the 3-way propulsion strap, it has control straps which cross over the bladder and sit just outside the insulated pocket. Pulling these straps tighter at the side or front will ensure that the bladder stays stable and close to your body, preventing bounce even when the bladder starts to empty.

Hot day? Just throw some ice in the hidden ice pocket against your back!

I love the magnetic tube clip, which makes it very easy to keep the tube out of the way. The front pockets are similar to the Zeal/Zelos. The right hand side has one shallow pocket with a

This pack is more of a race vest, shaped similarly to the Salomon S-Lab. It comes in two sizes: small/medium and large/extra large. With 11 litres capacity it is designed to provide more storage capacity for races like TNF100, UTMF, UTMB etcetera. As opposed to the men’s version (the Vapour Cloud) they have ensured that this one is smaller around the frame and shorter in the torso in order to fit women.

Unfortunately, I think they still have a bit of work to do in making sure it is adjustable enough to fit a small frame. With the bladder full we found that the load sat quite low, resulting in the front sitting quite high around the neck with potential for chafing and discomfort. I had to adjust the straps fully to get it snug and someone with a smaller frame would have no more room for adjustment. In saying this, I’ll admit that I was not carrying full kit and perhaps with the 34

pill pocket above. The left side has a zippered pocket and a trash pocket. There are trekking pole clips on both sides and stretch mesh side pockets which you could fit a lot in without it getting in the way. The rear pocket is the length of the pack and there is a shallower pocket on top for easier access.

This pack would be suitable for the average body shape and carries enough for anything from 50km to a 100 miler though I think if you were going to use this for a race with long stretches between aid stations you might want some extra space for liquid nutrition.

www.nathansports.com.au RRP:AU $199.95

From first glance I loved this pack. Bright blue and fluro pink, it certainly turned lots of heads. The fit didn’t disappoint, either. A lot of work has gone into ensuring that this pack fits a range of women. The side straps and bladder control system afford great adjustablility. There is only one front strap, but this seems to do the job sliding up and down easily for preferred placement. The front straps sit just on/to the side of the breasts. The front quick release clip is user friendly and has a hook for your bladder tube.

The pack has a wide range of features designed into its lightweight 9-litre capacity.

Up front is one large pocket on the right hand side ,which has a 535ml plastic bottle shaped to sit against the body. Above this pocket is a whistle and pill pocket. The left side contains a zipped pocket perfect for your phone or other

nutrition. There is also a stash pocket on the front for gel wrappers and small items. Above this is a stretch mesh pocket that could also fit a phone or nutrition.

Up back there are lots of pockets for easy storage, including another stretch mesh pocket, which helps keep the overall size down while maximising storage capacity. The bladder is held in place by a Velcro hanging strap and the 3-way propulsion harness found in most new Nathan packs. The aim of this is to support the bladder, preventing any unwanted side-to-side or up/down movement. The bladder control straps double as a way of pulling the load closer to your body. The pack has a clip for your keys, a whistle, and a bungee cord on the rear for extra storage, eg. rain jacket.

It’s a good idea to wash this pack a few times before use or else wear a black shirt.

My white tee was a lovely array of colours after it bled on the first few wears. The only other negative I found was that the bottle tended to sit quite laterally and would occasionally interrupt my arm swing. I don’t think this would be a problem for anyone with a larger frame that me. This would be a great pack for any races from 30-100km and you could likely fit mandatory gear for necessary for races likes The North Face 100 or Northburn 100 at a squeeze.

www.nathansports.com.au RRP: AU $170

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BACK PACKS

Ultimate Direction

Ultraspire

Words: Samantha Gash

Words: Tegyn Angel

Ultra Vesta 2.0

Astral

This bag was given a seriously solid testing: 32days’ running across South Africa, a marathon (plus) at a time, day in, day out. Since coming home, I also used it on a 25km run in the Dandenong Ranges and on a climb up and down Mt Bogong (Vic) to remind myself of its capabilities and practicalities outside of an expedition.

First impressions when I received it are that the hydration and storage compartments are on the small side and I was apprehensive about whether it would store the fundamentals.

However, I’m used to running with the Salomon Slab 12L pack, so of course this 4L pack was going to seem smaller to me. Immediately upon putting the pack on I was impressed with the design, especially it’s female specific fit (designed

by Jenny Jurek, notable outdoor gear designer), which had it sitting snugly on my back.

There are two bottle pockets on the front that come with 295ml bottles. To be honest, I am not a fan of these bottles. I don’t like the nozzle and the harshness of the bottles didn’t feel comfortable to me when I ran with them. Also, I felt there was a touch too much movement when the bottles were in. For this reason I opted to use the UD soft flasks. These are 420mls so are about 20mls too big for the front pockets when filled to the top. Despite this, I still rather the soft flasks and affix the nozzles under a strap on the pack to secure it down. Ideally these pockets could be made larger or a smaller soft flask could be used.

Under the bottle pockets there is a zip pocket and Velcro pocket. Both on the small side and again in an ideal world at least the zipped one could be larger. I ended up using the zip pocket to contain either a bar or bag with fruits or nuts.

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I placed an A4 map in the Velcro pocket and expect it would be good for gels too. Neither pockets fit a phone well. so I end up putting mine, with a soft flask, in a bottle pocket I have only used a 1.5 litre bladder in this pack but from all accounts you are able to use a 2 litre one as well. Surprisingly, the back two storage compartments fit more in than you would expect. During the run across South Africa I was able to fit in a waterproof jacket, arm warmers, a satellite phone and an extra bar. When I went up Bogong I was able to fit in two filled UD 590mls in the back compartment. Additionally, there are bungee straps outside the bag that could fit other light clothing.

So this pack works well for shorter runs if mandatory gear is required but would only suit longer runs if mandatory gear is not required (high feed/safety station ratio) and you can use a 2L reservoir. As a smaller sized female (under 5 feet, 45kg), I appreciated the design and sternum side straps for further adjustment.

www.ultimatedirection.com.au/ and smenz.co.nz/ultimate-direction/ RRP: AU $165

Sooo… apparently this is a women’s pack [Yes, Tegyn and you’re man, so what gives? Ed.]. It arrived without much explanation and the attached labelling spoke of its trademarked Curve harness and Max O2 Sternum attachment system, but nowhere did it say “Female” or “women’s fit”. Hell, it didn’t have a stray “F” floating around anywhere! Shying away from simply pinking-out a men’s pack, for all intents and purposes this just looks like a super-comfy, innovative running pack. My first thought when I unwrapped the Astral, long before I wore it, was “this will be my new favourite mid-sized pack”.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that if I’d read the sales pitch closely enough it should have been obvious, but I was quite content to ride along on a buoyant little wave of ignorance. Apparently things like “Designed to free the chest from the pressure of pockets, weight, bounce and excess fabric” and “also provides some support when properly worn for that purpose” and “will accommodate a wide range of beautiful shapes and sizes” went completely over my head…the fact that all available photos were of women didn’t make an impression either. I guess first

impressions are as enduring as my thick skull eh?

Super lightweight, updated materials (like lightweight Sil-Nylon and an awesome new shoulder strap mesh) and one of the easiestto-use chest strap systems I’ve ever seen, the Astral seems to be at the forefront of the next generation of Ultraspire packs and vests.

Previous UA packs I’ve tested suffered from the dreaded buckle-slip and even when backthreaded like a climbing harness the sternum and waist straps had a tendency to loosen up. The Astral introduces a system that has two adjustable (and lockable) lengths of shock cord, which you simply stretch over a little hook. The straps are easy to get on and off, even with cold numb hands at the end of a race.

I used it for a few races of the recent Bright Alpine Climb series and forgot I was wearing it at all except when I wanted to fish something out of the awesome front pockets. They’re big enough to be useful without being so big as to get in the way or obscure your view of the ground. No more having to dislocate your shoulder to get out a bar or gel. Although those large front pockets and sternum straps are designed to sit entirely

below a woman’s breasts, as a guy I felt they were like a row of pints on a bar: lined up nicely. All convenience aside, however, there’s a feeling among the women who’ve used our test pack that the well-intentioned design has a tendency to “outline”, “frame” and “shove my boobs in your face”; perhaps a little awkward.

At 243g and 5.5litres in volume, the Astral is an ideal pack for runs and races requiring minimal to moderate amounts of mandatory gear. It’s light enough to take on short runs with just water and some emergency kit (phone, first aid), but more than capable of being loaded up with a the 2-litre bladder and your all-weather kit. There are some handy pockets spaced around the pack (including the UA Magnon electrolyte pocket to keep your salt tabs dry), a redesigned bladder hanging system and shock cord straps on the back for quick access to a rain jacket or similar.

An excellent pack, whatever your gender.

Web: www.barefootinc.com.au RRP: AU$199.95 37

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UMAN BEINGS ARE OBSESSED WITH THE PURSUIT OF UNWAVERING HAPPINESS, SWOONING AND PURULENT OVER AN EMOTIONAL MONOCOSM SOLD BY POPSTARS AND THEOLOGIANS. WE’RE TAUGHT, AND SELF-IMPORTANTLY ACCEPT, THAT THE GREAT CAUSE OF OUR LIVES IS TO ACHIEVE, EITHER THROUGH EFFORT OR FAITH, A STATE OF NIRVANA IN WHICH DARKNESS IS DRIVEN FROM EXISTENCE.

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Babies take the good with the bad. While they cry when things don’t go their way they haven’t yet learned to attribute moral value to the ups and downs; haven’t yet learned to believe that unfaltering, eternal joy is either desirable or achievable. By the time we reach adulthood we’re so obsessed with eliminating the shadowy half of our emotional dichotomy that we forget the need for balance. Without darkness, light has no meaning.

“...joy is the core of existence, the motive power of every living being... it is the need of one’s body as it is the goal of one’s spirit...”

- Hank Rearden in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.

Hardship, suffering, depression, anxiety, fear; these and many more emotions are considered the escapable, avoid-at-all costs downside of consciousness. Self-help books, drug companies, religion, talk-show hosts; all teach

us that we’re in some way failing life if we can’t banish the downs and coast along through the ups. Indeed, up isn’t generally enough, we need to get high! Ride the slipstream of euphoria, grab a lift on a rocket to the stars. But what of the ebb and flow? Just as an economy based on endless growth is unsustainable, so too is an emotional economy of unqualified happiness.

“The brain needs not only perceptual input but perceptual change,” wrote Oliver Sacks in his book Hallucinations.

“And the absence of change may cause not only lapses of arousal and attention but perceptual aberrations as well. Whether darkness and solitude is sought out by holy men in caves or forced upon prisoners in lightless dungeons, the deprivation of normal visual input can stimulate the inner eye instead, producing dreams, vivid imaginings, or hallucinations. There is even a special term for the trains of brilliantly coloured and varied hallucinations which come to console or torment those kept in isolation or darkness: ‘the prisoner’s cinema.’”

“Total visual deprivation is not necessary,” he continues, and “visual monotony can have much the same effect.”

Becalmed sailors, high altitude pilots, desert or polar explorers, long distance truckers and endurance athletes are all at risk of a wandering mind. While Sacks puts forward the notion that monotony can lead the brain to entertain itself, it seems likely that peace, meditative calm and hallucinations are merely differing wavelengths on the same spectrum.

As a kid my grandfather gave me pocket money for mowing his lawn. They had a goodsized plot of land and it would take me a couple of hours to pick my way through the exposed tree roots, insect life and my grandmother’s

plants. The first few times were a chore, but once the task became habitualised time would fly by; in the monotonous cacophony a meditative state would come over me. I’ve never been able to sit quietly cross-legged and meditate, but the noise of the lawnmower overwhelmed my sense of hearing and in doing so quietened my busy mind.

Repeated sensory input, parsed through a brain predisposed to the formation of habits, allows us to automate tasks. Learning to drive a car or ride a bicycle are the classic examples.

When we start out, they overwhelm us. There’s so much going on, so many stimuli, that we don’t know what to focus on and so we’re unable to focus on anything. But pay attention to a skilled runner bombing a section of difficult, downhill single-track and you’ll see a dance of highly focused, restrictive attention and subconscious automation. They’ll be aware of the way light hits a certain surface and instinctively react to what that means for grip and traction. >>

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Just as you become an automaton when driving, the runner will perceive the water ditch or slippery, fallen log a few steps ahead and will adjust their stride to ensure they approach it with tension in their legs and are ready to jump. They probably won’t notice that the birds have gone quiet, the wind has died down or that scavenging hikers have picked a stretch of trail clean of deadwood. Try asking them to describe their sequence of steps, weight shifts, stride length adjustments or how they used their hands to alter their point of balance and you’ll likely get a blank stare.

Ask them to recall the internal monologue, the emotional noisescape, and you’ll get the same dumb look.

In adulthood, running has helped to guide me back to that place of serenity and clarity the mowing provided. The act of putting one foot in front of the other provides a sensory foundation upon which we can sculpt an awareness of ourselves as part of the greater flow. Technical running goes even further. It doesn’t just dull the noise, it mutes it entirely.

Each step lays down a print on the cacophony of our consciousness and emotional memory, to be wiped away and replaced by the next, and the next, in turn. The metronomic sameness of stance-swing-repeat, stance-swing-repeat becomes the impassive sediment that, with time and effort, forms the bedrock of a balanced emotional state. The hyper-focused state of technical trail running gives colour and grain to the strata.

For those of us with the habit of regular exercise, being sedentary leaves us feeling heavy, lethargic and encumbered. We’re seen to carry a grumpy, scowling burden through the day and we are best left alone. Running lightens the load, relieves the pressure, and clears the mind. Add a little stress into the cocktail – an elevated heart rate, muscular strain, a burning chest, the return to stasis will be all the more rewarding.

Distance running, and the inherent discomfort, is particularly good at reminding us of context. Daily life is generally pretty comfortable compared to an Ultra and the experience of one makes us more appreciative of the other. There’s a Lightness to suffering, an optimistic forward momentum, like a pulse running laps of Ouroboros. Lightness drives before it and is driven by Darkness.

All ideas come from sensation or reflection.

Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters, without any ideas; how comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store, which the busy and boundless fancy of man has pointed on it, with an almost endless variety? Whence has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from experience: in that, all our knowledge is funded; and from that it ultimately derives itself.

- John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1996).

Experience has taught me that definition comes from contrast, as much from what something isn’t as from what it is.

Experiencing the dark, cloudy side of the physical and emotional spectrum gives measure and context to the brighter, crystalline wavelengths. Running through the pages of our life story, we find that the outlines of emotion give clarity and definition to the colours and shades of experience. “...man is a bundle of relations, a knot of roots, whose flower and fruitage is the world...” and “his power consists in the multitude of his affinities, in the fact that his life is intertwined with the whole chain of organic and inorganic being[s].” – R.W. Emerson, Essays: First Series.

Essay 1: History (1841).

But what happens when too much becomes

too much? Just as Lightness presupposes Darkness, Balance presupposes Imbalance.

The human mind is a source of constant wonder, as capable of profound love and incomprehensible self-sacrifice as it is of unfathomable cruelty and selfishness. The mind/brain, unique and immeasurably complex, processes the data that streams along the superhighway of our nervous system and sorts through the reams of biofeedback.

A Central Governor to our physical and emotional exertions, it does its best to make sense of the world around; an equation of input, nature and nurture. But everyone has off days and our heads are no exception. You can’t be perfect all the time.

Right now I’m a prisoner of my off-season.

I’ve run so much, and invested such a huge amount of time and energy in running this year that I’m spent; an exhausted shell of my former husk. Running decided that friendship wasn’t enough. It began to sink its venomous tendrils into every aspect of my waking life, like a symbiote that needed me as its host.

The habit became an addiction and consumed me. At the moment, even a short run leaves me feeling frustrated and inadequate. It’s not because I can’t run. It’s because I’m addicted to the fix, the sense of peace, that running used to give me. At the moment it’s just leaving me feeling strung out and lost.

Clearly it’s not running’s fault. It’s hardly the vitriolic, sentient parasite, the Super Villain of my metaphor. It’s not out to manifest the evil of my alter-ego, to eat my soul or extinguish my spark. It’s an addiction that’s started to leave a bad taste in my mouth because I binged. As with most things in life, balance is indispensable. A couch dweller discovers equilibrium in exercise, a relationship flourishes with respect and equality, and an ultra runner somehow balances their work, social and professional-lives with the insatiable

THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON, SO MANY STIMULI, THAT WE DON’T KNOW WHAT TO FOCUS ON AND SO WE’RE UNABLE TO FOCUS ON ANYTHING.

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UPS BECOME DOWNS, LIGHTS BECOME DARKS, YINGS BECOME YANGS AND, IN HONOUR OF SYMMETRY, STRETCHING THE LIMITS OF OUR CAPACITY FOR JOY SIMULTANEOUSLY STRETCHES OUR CAPACITY FOR MISERY.

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need to train, escape or complete. As Nietzsche said, “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.” For me, however, running became my work, social and professional life; no wonder it no longer provided an escape.

When I returned to the streets of Chamonix and crossed the finish line of 2014 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, I found that I’d somehow run across the threshold of an immense cavern. As I stood arms raised and triumphant, a faint, cold, LED light seeped down the wall closest to me.

As the door swung shut behind me, the sunlit cracks in the ceiling above were so far away they seemed like varicose nebulae across an unimaginable expanse of space. Happiness and Elation had grown so fat and comfy watching me gorge myself on running that when they jumped off the SeeSaw and went to play with another kid I found myself crashing down to Earth. The only proof they’d been there at all was a sweaty butt print, a few pairs of dirty trail shoes and a spew-coloured finishers vest.

Memories of cooler temperatures no doubt kept the old frog-in-the-kettle afloat well after he should have jumped out.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Albert Einstein and countless others have suggested that the human mind, once stretched, never returns to its original dimensions; I would argue that the same could be said for our emotional capacity.

The more profound our experience the greater our capacity to feel. Ups become downs, lights become darks, Yings become Yangs and, in honour of symmetry, stretching the limits of our capacity for joy simultaneously stretches our capacity for misery.

Long, dirty runs are a process of meditation, of resetting the timer and cleaning the oven in preparation for another batch of sanity cookies. Clearly it’s not a cure-all, a magic remedy for your anxieties and blossoming

self-doubt, for your anger and frustration or fleeting contentedness. But there’s no question that the inherent simplicity of running exorcises the fog of inaction and gluttony, and quiets a busy mind. The stimuli-rich, and yet monotonous, practice of pounding out the miles at once rounds the edges and sharpens the details of existence.

Running, and particularly the deep imeersion in nature offered by ultra trail running, can lead to a state of peace and resplendent clarity that parallels the most profound religious experience. The pious find the confused soliloquy of emotional noise is hushed and, taken in doses appropriate to one’s condition, it has the potential to cure all but the most stubborn of maladies.

But user beware: excess consumption may have a laxative effect and in those predisposed will very likely lead to addiction.

As our experience of what we think of as positive emotions expand, so too does our capacity for the less desirable ones. The important thing is to realise that these are points on a spectrum, neither fundamentally more valuable than the other. Without Dark, Light has no meaning.

Tegyn Angel is an experienced ultra trail runner having competed in UTMB, UTMF, UTTdP, Northburn and many other Australasian trail ultras. He is co-editor of Trail Run Mag and owner of trail guiding agency Wild Plans www.wildplans.com.

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RUN TO PARADISE HOW TO TURN YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY INTO TRAIL RUNNERS? TAKE THEM TO THE COOKS… AND TAKE YOUR TIME. WORDS: & IMAGES: CHRIS ORD

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I’VE NEVER DNFED IN MY LIFE. WITHOUT ANY PRIDE AND WITH MUCH PREJUDICE, I CAN NOW SAY THAT I’VE JOINED THE QUITTERS’ CLUB. There are no upsides to quitting. You feel a fool. You hate your body for letting you down.

You feel depressed. Maudlin. Morose. Dejected.

Guilty. Ashamed. More pointedly, pissed off.

With all that negativity oozing through my body – not to mention the blown VMO (vastus medialis oblique) muscle, which remained silent for the first 10km of the Round Raro 32km run, then started whingeing at 12km before throwing a truly angry, spiteful spat at 15km – it’s lucky that my first ever failure happens to me in the halcyon paradise that is the Cook Islands. It helps take the edge off all that grieving for an imagined achievement scuttled by injury. Or stupidity, depending on how you judge these things. I’d injured my VMO two weeks earlier.

But applying at least two of the RICE (Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation.) principles, figured I’d come good on race day. Seems two out of four isn’t good enough.

Still, if you’re going to forage through the library of self-pity, you may as well do it sitting beside a sparkling pool, across from a reeffringed lagoon, palm trees swaying, sky azure and tropical mountains dramatic and volcanic in their backdrop.

Looking up, the breeze coming off the mountains seems to be comforting me: ‘There, there, rest up, you’ll run again. Papaya cocktail?’

Yet in their anthropomorphised and wholly imagined whisperings, the sympathetic mountains are in themselves a tease. For they are where I want to be running. Injury-free.

I’d travelled to the Cook Islands for the Round Raro Run, a (blasphemy warning) road run which circumnavigates the entire island using the tried and tested ‘keep the ocean to the right and you’ll never get lost’ route-finder methodology. It’s the only road that goes right round the island so you’d have to be a coconut liquored-up idiot to stuff it up. The event is the

trophy outing in a full week of running action that happens annually every September on the Cook Islands. However, for me it was supposed to be the warm up.

The jewel in Cook Island’s running crown that caught my dirty eye was the Nutters Run, an 8.5km trail run that trades the circuitous road for sweet jungle singletrack. It’s the only cross-island route that dares slice wholly through Rarotonga’s mountainous heart. Like a rooty brown artery, it allows passage of human life through an impenetrable body of jungle green characterised by vertiginous mountains striking up from near sea level to 635m.

While relatively short statured comparable to the planet’s biggest berthas, the peaks are nevertheless impressive last vestiges of Rarotonga’s volcanic origins.

Weaving into the foothills, and sometimes precariously up their flanks and ridges, are wonderland trails ripe for the running, although according to the official maps, there only a few: the cross island being the most well trodden (and generally only run once a year for the Nutters – no locals being nutty enough to run it otherwise); the tough and in parts un-runnable Te Manga and Ikurangi trails; Maungatea, which rises to the cliff above the main town of Avarua; the short Tereora Hill; and the short Raemaru. None will get ultra runners excited, given their lengths are all sub-10km. All, however, will tickle the fancy for those looking to adventure as much as run. Noone will tick off their fastest kilometre on any – in fact, the terrain may just squeeze out your slowest kilometre. For technical runs, however, they rank right up there.

Enticingly, there are many more trails not shown on any official maps, according to local whisperings. One such trail whisperer is Dave Furnell from Storytellers Eco Cycle Tours.

Figuring that a local two-wheel warrior would know where the best trails are, I join one of his outings, which meld the genteel riding with an ongoing commentary giving insight into >>

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the island’s history and culture. As we ride the back roads, Dave explains the Cooks’ farming practises, introduces some fishermen sorting the early morn’s net catch, and then sweeps us uphill to a refreshing swim in a hidden waterfall, apparently with ‘healing’ properties.

All the while my eye scans for footpads darting off into the thicket. Dave and his co-guide Rebecca soon tire of my constant querying about where I can find trails in the foothills we teasingly explore on the ride.

Now, my theory is where there are mountains, there are trails. And Rarotonga’s mountains are some of the most majestic I’ve seen. But jungle mountains in particular have a habit of being impenetrable. Unlike other Pacific Island paradises, there are no villages plonked in the belly of Rarotonga. Every bit of civilisation is dotted along the two ring roads around the island, like a donut of habitation encircling a hole that happens to be stuffed full of wilderness and thus potential. So to the untrained eye, the chances of trails other than the few marked on the tourist map may be slim.

But as demonstrated in florid colours of failure on the Round Raro run, I’m a stupidly bloody minded, headstrong bugger (others use more invective adjectives). And so I persist.

Dave tells me that one of his Storyteller guides often walks trails not known to most and definitely not on any tourist map. He also mentions a book, “It describes a bunch of trails, but it’s out of print and hard to get your hands on now.”

A tease to be sure, but it seems Rarotonga has, for trail runners, a holy grail bible. I try to track it down at the local library, but a rather unimpressed librarian shuts down my quest claiming no knowledge of any such tome.

Of course, Cook Islanders – Cookies as someone quips – aren’t ones for writing things down. Like many indigenous cultures, their traditions going back to 800AD are oral. Chiefs and elders maintain the knowledge of their forebears in their memories and by the telling of tales. They hand down that knowledge through generations, selectively choosing which of their family they tell, those chosen by their aptitude to be trusted with and to remember the 48

knowledge. So while the book may or may not be uncovered in some disgruntled historian’s library, the knowledge may still be found, from the mouth and mind of a trusted one. My mission, then, is to find that person.

Rebecca tells me that her Uncle is one such keeper, but the knowledge remains elusive to me, as it is also explained that it’s not the done thing to just waltz up and start haranguing locals for information. Nothing happens in a hurry on the Cooks – one of the islands’ pure charms – and in that tradition, locals take their good time to give over their trust, especially when it comes to the sacred grounds through which I want to run. So, while I pass the roadside kiosk run by Rebecca’s Uncle, I know that it’s not culturally sensitive to just barge in there, tempting though it may me. It seems this trip is all about a lesson in the virtues of patience. Slow down seems to be the message on all fronts.

I also happen upon another keeper of trail wisdom who is not a Cookie. Len ‘Poly’ Edwards, one of the chiefs of the local Hash Harriers running club has been living on island and organising Hash runs for years. Hash runs, for the uninitiated, are runs where no-one knows the course before running or walking it. It is set by one person only (on Rarotonga, usually Poly), marked by bit of ratty paper and arrows scrawled in chalk. It is a style of running perfectly suited to the Cooks: uber relaxed.

I track Poly down at the kick off to the Hash Run taking place as part of the week of running festivities. Hash Harriers running is my kind of running.

It’s like joining a Comics Convention crossed with a bad bar joke: Batman, Minnie Mouse, a nun, a leprechaun, a pirate and a viking, walk into a temporary bar plonked in a paddock….

The punch line, however, is that everyone must try to run back-trails around the villages, onto the beach and through farmer’s yards, past goats and pigs, through ditches, following route clues dropped with much sense of humour by Poly, who admits to throwing in a few red herrings.

Those who show up without costume (it’s a welcome all-comers policy – you don’t need to be a member of a Hash Harrier club to join the fray) are supplied with something colourful and

wonderfully ridiculous on the spot. For the Hash Harriers, it seems, the joke is on anyone who takes running too seriously, the focus being on fun, frivolity, post-run Pythonesque speeches and awards of ridiculousness and, like any good community that binds, plenty of beer chugging to the chant of ‘downsies’ while wearing a toilet seat necklace. I do like this mob.

I settle in for the after run feast – known as the best and cheapest ($10) feed on the island and bend the ear of Rebecca, a physiotherapist, who has lived on island for a period. She mentions a 2-3 day trail mooted for overnight camping tourism. The cogs of my dirty mind grind with thoughts of what such a trail may mean for runners.

Back with Poly, I ask him about his usual courses.

“I keep them mostly off-road. I try to anyway.

I think it’s the best way for those new to the island – or even those who have lived here for a while – to see places they haven’t seen before.

It’s a small island but trust me there’s plenty of places to see and the best way to see them is running through them.”

Pushed on his off road knowledge, he gives up the gold: “There are lots of trails out there, In fact, there’s one from my front door. It runs up to the lookout above the hospital, but could easily be extended, and easily turn into a ridgeline run and on…”

He had me at ‘ridgeline run’.

The maths was adding up. Lots of locals who talked of lots of trails. There’s dirty gold in them there hills.

But back to the problem of the trail run that we know exists already: the Nutters’ run. I’m here to get a story. This story you’re reading.

But how when I can’t run?

After taking on the three or so kilometre Hash Run with my six-year old daughter tagging along (me in a mad hair wig, her in a tiger beanie), I suggest to my wife that I can jog-walk the Nutters with my offspring. We’ll be the ‘mascots’ sweeping the field, I suggest, thinking the experience my daughter will have – “six year old becomes trail runner by default” – will produce a semblance of story.

At this point, I stumble across the Black/ >>

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Tour de Cooks: book your run holiday to paradise!

Tour de Trails is organising a Tour de Cooks to coincide with the 2015 Run Festival, with all accommodation, food, on island transport, runs and other activities (including a Storyteller ride) inclusive. We can also arrange flights for you via our partnership with Flightcentre Active Travel if you wish. Accommodation will be a selection of high-end resort and mid range, according to budget. For more details and/or to register your interest (required by March 2015):

Cook Islands Running Festival Although it’s not officially a cohesive festival, we’ll call it one.

It includes the main Round Raro 31km run which loops the island and is run to raise money for local athletes to compete in New Zealand. Even for picky trail runners, it’s worth bustin the bitumen for this one as it’s a beautiful run, passing through all the villages and fringed by palm trees and sometimes crisp white beaches as you trot around. Plus there are several Hash Harrier events including a Round The Rock Relay and of course the Nutters Run.

chris@tourdetrails.com www.tourdetrails.com

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scrambling and indeed climbing up steep rutted sections rising to ridges. This is pure ‘fun’ running. And for my wife, someone who hasn’t run, let alone run a trail, in six years, it’s a mountain of a challenge. I get nervous for her and order a double Daiquiri.

Come Nutter’s Run race day we drop my wife at the start and then make for the endpoint trail head, walking in to capture photos of runners emerging from the foliage. It’s a tense wait: a flip of a coin whether my running saviour will come past and wallop me for the torture I’ve goaded her into, or…

I see the smile before I see the rest of her.

Like a Cheshire cat with dirty paws, my wife leaps down the steep trail. There’s no walloping just hollering. She, rather than my daughter, has become a trail runner by default.

Of course, seeing my wife so amped, I can’t crush the urge to rush into the very same jungle. I ignore the fact that the reason she ran on my behalf is because of a bung leg. I put it on the line, drop the family back at our hotel for another session of poolside lazing, and, in a very un-Cook Islands fashion, rush round the island to the trail head. It is nearing dusk, and I have images of a sunset viewed from atop the Needle. I start off gingerly, mindful of my leg.

White strategy. I say Black, my wife will say White. I say don’t worry about taking my pace on the trail, my wife – now unpressured – leans the other way.

“Okay, I’ll do it. But only to help you out.”

And it starts rather begrudgingly like that. I run with it and thank her for the offer but no, I’ll get over the mountain somehow, limping or otherwise. But the seed is sown. Over the coming days, as we explore the island, sometimes venturing into its jungle heart along the numerous trails that dive in, that sentiment of ‘doing a favour for one’s husband’ ever so gently transposes to her actually looking forward to the run, it becoming about an experience for and about her, rather than a favour for me. She gets nervous. I drink more cocktails than I should knowing that I’m well and truly benched.

To assuage my wife’s nerves, we recce the trail with our daughters and I swing from being thankful for her sacrifice, to being outright jealous. I want to run this trail. I need to run this trail. It is simply captivating and my kind of terrain: tough, technical, where the running involves as much upper body as lower. Ducking under branches and vines, jumping over trees,

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The trail rises sharply, repeatedly weaving over a bubbling river. If ever there was a trail that underfoot screamed ‘rolled ankle risk’, this is it. But I now have jungle fever and the injury is forgotten as I concentrate on footfall and pump the legs hard to reach the top. I’m doing something very un-Cook like: I’m rushing.

At the Needle, where only hours ago my wife was getting her first true taste of the trail, I scramble up the sheer sides and find what could easily be a sea eagles’ perch. The view over the island and across the ocean squeezes more air from my lungs, just as the sun drops below the horizon. I stop, I breathe. Maybe it was the waterfall with those healing properties, but my leg hasn’t complained once.

From up high, as tropical shadows cast across the jungle carpet, I reflect on what it is to run in the Cook Islands. The secret: slowing down. Time here is all about ‘The Art of Slow’.

It takes time to remember, time to know people, time to gain trust, time to drive round the island, time to get served, time, time, time, everything takes time. But in taking time, the Cook Islands gives it back to you in spades.

And if you’re not already a trail runner, it may just turn you into one by default. Cook Islands is magic like that.

This is an ideal target for a ‘running family’ be it one family member being the main addict, or all, because there is a run suitable for everyone (as shown, even a non-runner can knock into the Nutters Run!) and plenty on island to do for the non-runners from diving, walking and riding to cruising the (extensive) cocktail menu. Importantly, this is a perfect family holiday destination as it is safe, logistics are easy, there is a lot to keep the kids entertained, food is great, and the locals friendly.

It’s just one of ‘those’ places that locks in as an instant family tradition classic. Get here for it every September (17-23 September 2015, celebrating its 38th year). www.cookislands.travel STORYTELLERS ECO CYCLE TOURS www.storytellers.co.ck

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CHRIS ORD // AUSTRALIAN EDITOR

F R E E D O M R U N N E R S Two accomplished ultra runners, 2350km of southern African landscape, one pressing issue keeping generations of young African women from attaining an education. Samantha Gash talks freedom and running.

WORDS: SAMANTHA GASH IMAGES: TIM ANDERSON AND COURTESY SAMANTHA GASH

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WE ARE 15 DAYS INTO OUR 32-DAY RUN ACROSS SOUTH AFRICA AND I CAN TELL I AM FIXATING ON LITTLE THINGS. WITH JUST UNDER 1000KMS COMPLETED, THESE LITTLE, INSIGNIFICANT THINGS ARE BECOMING UTTERLY CONSUMING TO MY BRAIN. I CAN’T SEEM TO LET THEM GO, WHICH MAKES ME MORE FRUSTRATED. This morning I made my lunch – an avocado and cheese sandwich, cut it in half and wrapped in glad wrap. With pride I give it to my boyfriend Mathieu, a.k.a. ‘expedition leader’, to pack in the car. Making my own lunch may not seem like a big deal, but with the large volume of running Mimi and I need to cover everyday we don’t have much brainpower to do anything else. We are blessed to have an incredible crew that does so much for us and allow us to focus on moving forward for up to 13 hours every day.

Although I love and definitely need it, the single-minded focus that is required to undertake such expeditions is something I am not used to. Ashamedly, I am far more programed to work on one task, whilst dreaming of something else and reflecting on what has already passed. I don’t applaud myself for this, in fact I know it is the cause of some anxiety and for sure it can’t be productive.

When I first started running, my mind was so consumed on survival that there was little space for any other thought. This time round I am finding my mind is far more open. Whilst I am staying focused on one day at a time, I am also thinking about developing a veggie patch, chatting to Mimi about her decorating plans for her house and we are constantly talking about how we are going to continue our fundraising when we return home.

Now, back to my sandwich and why I am fixating on it. Two things happened last night; firstly, crew member Max asked what treat we wanted from the supermarket. This was the first time into the trip that we were passing one

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and without hesitation Mimi said sparkling water and I asked for avocados. When they handed these treats over to us we were like kids on Christmas morning. After I made my lunch, I placed the avocados in my own bag as I didn’t want them to get squashed and I guess I was being a tad protective over them.

The second thing that happened is Mathieu told us we need to consume more calories.

14 days in, I weigh 43.3kgs and both of us are looking like death as we finish each night. Mentally we feel fine because we are so committed to our purpose in running across South Africa, but physically I knew I wasn’t in good shape to last the distance. This announcement was challenging for Mimi as it would mean we would need to take a lunch break to get the calories in. I keep trying to remind her that this isn’t a world record run and a 30-minute stop wouldn’t kill her – actually it would do the opposite.

Long story short, and we are 16kms into day 15 and Mat tells me he has left my sandwich behind, but will make a new one.

I am uncontrollably furious, disappointed and consumed with the idea that my avocado supply will be unnecessarily smaller by the end of the day. It takes me over 8kms to move past this. What can I say? This is certainly not a normal response but something I see myself doing every now and then with small, insignificant things.

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pon reflection, when it came to dealing with big things, both Mimi and I were able to manage them pretty calmly. Big things for us included; running on average 61kms every day; coping with immensely challenging terrain; navigating a trail where no trail exists; being evicted from a part of the trail by a Parks security officer and having to find an alternate route; the boys telling us we had an unexpected additional 4kms after we thought we finished

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for the day; getting 2kms from the finish line and being blocked by a high electrical fence; having wildebeest, rhinos and buffalo as running companions; having nine people sleep in one room as our accommodation was booked for the wrong night; being carried across a high water pass in the shovel of a tractor; and spending all day and night with someone who is the opposite to me in most ways. These were part of the journey that Mimi and I had created and signed up for.

Mimi and I had spent close to two years planning the Freedom Runners project. At the time Mimi told me about the Freedom Trail, which is a mountain bike route through some of the most remote areas in South Africa, we had never met. Our similarities extended to both being coached by the incredible Ray Zahab, an ultra and adventure runner (and so much more) from Canada, and to being female ultra runners.

When Mimi described the isolation and technicality of the route I was immediately intrigued. However, the distance for the Freedom Trail on Wikipedia is marked at 2300kms, which meant the time commitment and logistical preparation would be huge.

The project became a reality in my mind when I realised the length of the expedition could be used for an awareness and fundraising campaign that could support young South African women. Specifically, the issue that Mimi and I wanted to address was the unaffordability of feminine hygiene products for women in rural South Africa and how that impacts girls going to school.

We soon learnt the benefit of time, as many people needed it to comfortably digest an issue that related to menstruation. I never thought I would say the words ‘menstruation’ and ‘period’ so much in a public setting. This project

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definitely got me outside my comfort zone in more ways than one.

Throughout the two years of planning, Mimi and I Skyped over a hundred times and emailed most days. This was a complicated and multifaceted project, beginning from the charity through to the funding, navigation and logistics. We made more than our fair share of mistakes along the way. We liaised heavily with the organisers of the annual Freedom Challenge mountain bike race. They assisted us to secure the permits, approvals and accommodation throughout our run. This was crucial, as our run would have us enter (often via climbing up ladders over fences) game reserves, nature reserves and private farms.

When the run began on 25 September 2014, the anxiety levels of both Mimi and I were high.

Just the night before we were told we couldn’t do the first 20kms of our planned route. It was determined too unsafe as it was on a highway with little-to-no shoulder. All we wanted to do was start running and prove to ourselves that we could manage continually large volumes of running for just over a month. Mimi was much more familiar with this, so I had no doubts in her capabilities, but after day six I was definitey in new territory.

Time often passed far quicker than I would have imagined. Mimi and I had lots to chat about as we discovered how to run with each other and about each other’s personalities. We had different strengths and weaknesses that ultimately benefited the expedition. We each had the opportunity to be the informal leader and follower and I think that is an invaluable component to a partnership – whether in expedition or in life.

What was probably the biggest struggle for me as the days passed and kilometers clocked up, was my dependency on the crew. A by>>

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judging myself for being in pain and keep my mind still and silent. It was time for positive action – I drank several bottles of my Infinit mix, Turbo superfood boost powder and dosed up on my Juice Plus+ capsules.

After a long sleep, I woke at 3:45am and began a routine of getting down the same liquids, stretching out the body and eating a hearty breakfast. As I began to run I couldn’t believe it… my body was cooperating and with each 10kms getting knocked off I felt relieved, grateful and stronger. From then onwards I became religious on my pre-run and post-run routine and it served me well as I finished the expedition injury free.

Finishing the run seems like a blur. I do remember feeling very ready to stop running whilst not wishing the time to rush by any quicker, as I knew this was such a special and unique experience.

It has now been over five weeks since we finished our run and I am still digesting everything that happened. I can’t believe we slept in 30 different places across South Africa, often with families who taught us so much about the people and areas we were running across. The change we saw in the terrain and landscape was immense – from the colours, the expansiveness and the formation of the hills and mountains. We crossed South Africa on foot, but it will be forever etched in my heart.

product of being the ‘runner’ is that you are always ‘taking’ and have very rare moments of being able to ‘give’ to your crew. I didn’t consider this situation beforehand but bizarrely it made me feel a little useless, vulnerable and out of control at times.

It didn’t take long into the expedition to experience physical vulnerability. From day three to day 10 I had to endure constant sharp pains to my gut. Perhaps as a consequence of changing water sources, not being accustomed to having my body shaken up like a washing machine for so many hours or because I was nervous about my own abilities… who knows!?

Yet a swollen and painful stomach led to a muscle breakdown all over the body (shins, quads, VMO). My body had shut down on the final 12kms of day 10 and I was subjected to walking to our accommodation – this would become our longest walking stretch outside of two very technical sections.

Mathieu and I have always said that if something isn’t working and you can’t get yourself out of a rut, you need to make a change.

After hobbling into our accommodation, my turnaround point came through a call with Ross Kinsella. After a remote assessment of my pain, Ross said I needed to focus on resting and getting the good stuff in. Easier said than done, but I consciously make the choice to stop

THE FREEDOM OF EDUCATION Sam and Mimi ran an average of 80 kilometres a day for 32 days on South Africa’s 2,350km Freedom Trail. They continue to raise funds for their project which aims to benefit the one in 10 school-age girls in Africa who miss class during menstruation or drop out of school completely at puberty, because of a lack of sanitary products and toilet facilities, and negative social stigma.

Funds raised will go towards setting up a social enterprise business to help keep girls in school. The business will employ women to make and distribute low-cost feminine hygiene products for the Namahadi Community in the Free State Province of South Africa, and will be project managed by Save The Children for one year. This includes the provision of all materials and supplies, wages, skills training, and health and hygiene workshops for 12 South African women who will manufacture the products. They have to date raised $43,000 of their $50,000 target. You can find out more and donate using a donation link found at: www.freedomrunners.org

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Words and images: Tegyn Angel

PLEASURE & PAINE

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FOR A PLACE OFT DESCRIBED AS BEING PLONKED AT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, TORRES DEL PAINE LOOKS REMARKABLY LIKE TRAIL RUNNING HEAVEN. TRM ’S CO-EDITOR, TEGYN ANGEL, HEADS DUE SOUTH TO TAKE ON AN INAUGURAL TRAIL ULTRA WITH PLANS OF A TROT FURTHER AFIELD FOR THE PURE JOY OF IT. WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

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LET ME GET THIS OUT THERE, RIGHT NOW, BEFORE WE GET INTO THINGS. IN 12 YEARS OF FAIRLY EXTENSIVE TRAVEL I’VE NEVER VISITED ANYWHERE MORE PROFOUNDLY MOVING, MORE INCREDIBLY MAGNIFICENT NOR MORE PALPABLY ALIVE THAN THE PARQUE NACIONAL TORRES DEL PAINE IN PATAGONIAN CHILE. NOT THE GALAPAGOS, NOT THE NEPALESE HIMALAYA, NOT THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK. Patagonia gets into your head, into your soul. Jaws hit floors at the hyper-saturated seemingly-HDR photographs of the Cuernos (horns) of Paine and the ridiculous trinity of granite towers. But this is nothing compared to the way the landscape shakes you like a rag-doll when you’re knees-deep in it.

You don’t see Patagonia – you feel it. It’s a deeply emotional relationship that skews your decisions, goads you towards the irrational and overwhelms the senses. Becoming attached to the place is not optional, it’s inevitable.

In his book Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why, Laurence Gonzalez expands upon Charles Perrow’s idea of accidents as the output of a complex system. He uses the approach to dissect and analyse accidents in the outdoors.

“By roping themselves together, they had created a deceptive system,” wrote Gonzalez in an analysis of the 2002 climbing disaster on Oregon’s Mount Hood.

“What we call ‘accidents’ do not just happen,” he continues. “Accidents are made up of conditions, judgements, and acts or events that would be inconsequential by themselves. There is not some vector of pain that causes them.

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People have to assemble the systems that make them happen. Even then, nothing may happen for a long time.”

Throughout the book, Gonzalez presents various case studies that, put together, paint a vivid picture of the anatomy of an accident and the psychology of those who survive them; or don’t. One common thread that ties all these tragedies together is emotional investment.

People often lead or allow themselves to be led into danger because attachment to an expected emotional reward blinds them to the reality of the situation or their own abilities.

The plan had been to hit Torres Del Paine early and take a couple of days to fastpack the full circuit and the so-called “W” (about 130km) before meeting up with a press contingent who would take a more leisurely route to hotel Rio Serrano, just outside the national park. We were all heading to Patagonia to report on and run the inaugural edition of the Ultra Trail Torres del Paine, invited as a representative of Trail Run Mag. But there was absolutely no way I was going to miss squeezing every single drop of goodness out of my time there. I wasn’t here to compete, just participate, so it didn’t matter if I was a bit wasted. What could go wrong?

Having hiked the “W” back in 2004, I was keen to recce the rest of the circuit for a commercial trail running tour planned for 2015. I would hit Punta Arenas and transfer the following morning up to Puerto Natales and onward the same day to Torres Del Paine.

The agent handling all press arrangements had reluctantly agreed to my ridiculous schedule and would shuttle some gear to the hotel, allowing me to go light for a few days. Time was precious and I had to hustle but it was >>

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capable tourists. I’ve already done the “W” and, although it’s still open and patrolled by park rangers, I’d rather not retrace my steps. There might be a bit of snow around the back, but last time I was in Nepal I broke trail through waist-deep snow for nine hours. What could go wrong?

achievable. Again, what could go wrong?

The cogs that could grind out an answer to that question started to turn before I’d even left home turf. My domestic transfer was booked too tight and I missed my connection, spending an unplanned night in Sydney. An already short trip just got tighter, adding an element of time pressure into the system. Arriving in Santiago I found my debit card wouldn’t work (the first time this has ever happened), adding an element of financial stress into the system. Arriving at the bus station early the next morning, I booked a ticket through to Natales and from there planned to transfer directly to a bus bound for the park. The hotel clerk, the bus agent and the ticket agent at the bus station that morning had all confirmed there were afternoon buses to the park; what could go wrong? I was two weeks too early. Looks like a night in Puerto Natales. At least they’ve built a Micro Brewery since I was there ten years ago!

Finding information on the circuit had been frustratingly difficult while still in Australia. I’d spent hours trying to find backgrounders on the web and the press agent hadn’t been able to help much. With some unexpected time to kill in Natales I went looking for the local National Parks office. I didn’t even get to the front desk; up on the wall was a huge poster of Torres Del Paine with big red “closed” signs plastered all over the northern half of the circuit. Shit. I’ve just flown halfway around the world and I can’t do the hike I’ve been dreaming of for the past ten years because I’m a few weeks too early?

You’ve got to be kidding!

Now, I’m an experienced outdoor guide who’s spent plenty of time in alpine environments. I’m adequately prepared and only a month early had proven my fitness at UTMB. The trail is tough, sure, but it’s a commercial route regularly hiked by far less

Captain James Gabba was a member of the US Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, a “lethal, agile and flexible” group of special operations soldiers that are the Army’s “premier directaction raid force” and some of the best-trained soldiers in the world. Their training is intense, up there with that of the Navy SEALS, Australian SAS and British SBS. Gabba is also one of the ill-fated subjects of a case study in Deep Survival.

Gabba […] was taking a guided commercial rafting trip down the upper Gauley River in West Virginia when the raft hit a rock. Gabba, thirty-six, was thrown from the raft, and his guide, trying to save him, fell in too. The guide tried to rescue Gabba, but Captain Gabba “just laughed and pushed him away.” Gabba floated calmly downstream, and if he was anything like the Rangers I’d known, he must have felt that he was in no real danger because of all the training he’d had under much worse conditions. He must have felt good, too, masterful, confident. He’d eaten, he’d slept – hell, he could do this until the wheels came off. Then he arrived at a place where a big rock blocked the middle of the current. Gabba was sucked under, pinned, and drowned.

Deep Survival, P.59-60 >>

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adventure race, the Patagonian Expedition Race, started in 2004 and was joined in 2012 by the Patagonian International Marathon.

2014 saw the first running of the UTTdP, winding its way through the national park of the same name. 2015 will see the first running of a new event, the Ultra Fiord, featuring four events at 30, 70, 100 and 167km. The 100mile course traces route from Torres del Paine, through Patagonian fiordland and Provincia Ultima Esperanza (Last Hope) and all the way to Puerto Natales. The shorter courses will join on at the 60km mark of the Miler, Hotel Rio Serrano, and bail out at various points depending on the event.

So what about the race? While the first 50 or so kilometres of the 109km (and the first 10km of the 67km) were on the same gravel road that the Patagonian International Marathon follows, the remainder of the race followed incredible single track and joined the worldfamous “W” route that traces the southern half of the Torres del Paine massif. Bloody hell. If there’s a more incredible backdrop for a trail race I’m yet to see it. Glaciers and their watery, sediment-rich, azure children. Sheer granite faces that defy both gravity and time. Rivers falling and running, water spouts, gale-force winds. Condors, Guanaco and Antarctic Beech forests. Dirty singletrack both runnable and technical, and an international field of runners motivated by the region’s love of craft beer and spit-roasted meat. If ever there was a trail race for the bucket list, this is it.

People often speak of regret and how hard it is to live with that niggly little voice in the back of your head asking “what if?” Personally, I’m grateful I had the opportunity to run the inaugural Ultra Trail Torres del Paine and am proud of having made a conservative decision with regard to the fastpacking trip. The circuit isn’t going anywhere and I doubt the race is, either.

I’m not an Army Ranger. I’m an outdoor guide and instructor, and a trailrunner. I’ve done some pretty cool things and been through some pretty challenging situations. I’ve only come close to dying once, that I know of. But that doesn’t mean my confidence in my ability to survive in an environment I feel comfortable with is any less hubristic, or any less dangerous, than that of Captain Gabba. Just as the false assumption of a hypersensitive immune system may cause anaphylaxis to defend from the vicious attack of a lonely peanut, a false assumption in the assessment of risk or environmental variables can cause us to stride arrogantly into a situation we’d be better off avoiding. And so I would fastpack the open “W” – rather than tackle the half-closed full circuit – and “race” the race.

I’m writing this from Melbourne, Australia.

This morning (not to mention lunchtime and this afternoon) I had a brilliant cup of freshlyground Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. I spent time running with a good mate and as I write my girlfriend is sitting a few metres away. I’m alive and comfortable. The emotional attachment I had to running the northern half of the Torres del Paine circuit, and the disappointment I felt at having to abandon those plans, is nothing but a memory I can reflect on dispassionately.

While it’s an ill-conceived philosophy to live your life in fear of the unknown, it’s worse to live it ignoring the fact that things CAN go wrong. It’s irresponsible to dive headfirst into danger when everything seems to be telling you to let this one through to the keeper.

NIGSA, the organiser behind the Ultra Trail Torres del Paine (UTTdP), pioneered adventure sports in Patagonia. Their original

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Keen to pound Patagonia’s trails?

CHECK OUT ANY ONE OF THESE AWESOME TRAIL RACES:

ultratrailtorresdelpaine.com ultrafiord.com patagonianinternationalmarathon.com patagonianexpeditionrace.com Or, keen to run the full Torres circuit, at your own pace, with some added luxury and a guide?

Tegyn Angel’s Wildplans Trailrunning Expeditions, in partnership with Tour de Trails, will lead a small group tour of the full circuit in October 2015 (TBC – according to trail openings and conditions). The tour will include comfy accommodation, full guiding, and a few luxury extras. Places are limited and bookings are due prior to June. Enquire directly with Tegyn on info@wildplans.com or check details out at www.wildplans.com

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CHRIS ORD // AUSTRALIAN EDITOR

Kings of Kepler Running coach Shaun Brewster fears he can never go back to ‘normal’ trails again after taking a first crack at the legendary Kepler Challenge, in Fiordland, New Zealand. Like many others who tackle the South Island icon, it won’t be his last.

WORDS: Shaun Brewster IMAGES: Graham Dainty and Chris O’Driscoll

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IT MAY SURPRISE MANY TO KNOW THAT THE KEPLER CHALLENGE – NOW TOUTED AS THE BIGGEST JEWEL IN THE BEDAZZLING CROWN THAT IS NEW ZEALAND’S MOUNTAIN RUNNING ROSTER – BEGAN LIFE IN A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER’S STAFF ROOM IN THE LATE EIGHTIES. At Fiordland College, in nearby Te Anau, three running-addicted colleagues had set about a plan to run the Milford Track in celebration of its centenary. They were looking to hold a race to raise funds in order to build a giant statue in honour of Quinton MacKinnon, the man who had rediscovered the track.

Realising that the logistics of running an event on the end-to-end Milford were prohibitive, they quickly cast eyes to the then not-quitefinished Kepler.

The mountain challenge, which today sells out in minutes, was then born when, in 1988, 150 competitors lined up to tackle the fresh trail that was barely trodden on in parts.

Conservation Ranger at the time, Ken Bradley, described it as “aligned but not formed – the surface was rough and uneven and basically runners would be jumping over tussocks and choosing their own paths.”

This was adventure running in its early days, and free forming the route – indeed helping add early layers to its foundation – was considered just fine by these hardy men and women. Even back then, the time taken by Russell Prince to win the inaugural event was impressive: 5 hours 17 minutes 34 seconds.

Today the race hosts 450 runners, many of whom come back year after year.

While walkers step around the loop in three to four days, Challenge runners smash over the total ascent of 1350 metres, topping out at a highest elevation of 1400 metres, in little more than four and a half hours. The current record is held by New Zealander Martin Dent, at 4 hours 33 minutes and 37 seconds.

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on the banks of Lake Te Anau, one would be forgiven for thinking that they had came to in a Scandinavian ski resort town. The town of Te Anau is immaculate in appearance with views to snow capped peaks in all directions leaving visiting trail runners drooling in anticipation.

And, perhaps, with their legs trembling.

While more that 2500 people did their very best to secure a spot this year in either the 60km Kepler Challenge race or its baby brother, the 27km Luxmore Grunt (an up-andback to Luxmore Hut near the top of the first mountain peak), only 450 people are granted a start in the Challenge and 250 in the Grunt.

From the moment you walk into registration on the Friday afternoon, you are struck with the notion that despite its popularity, this is very much a ‘heart and soul’ type event.

The volunteers (many of them previous participants in the race) are eager to assist you in any way they can. There is a hint of excitement on their faces as they hand over bags of sponsors’ goodies and tell you to enjoy your run tomorrow. Clearly, they know what you are in for just as they know you will not be disappointed.

Even for a laid-back Aussie, I was still taken by the overly-relaxed way in which information is communicated here. Leaving Queenstown airport and asking for directions from the hire car company, the counter assistant offered only: “Te Anau, oh that’s easy. You just head out that, way there, drive for about an hour in that direction then turn right, then drive for about another hour and you’ll be there.”

It sounded too simple to get us there, but she was spot on; only one road to turn right on and an hour to get there.

At the race briefing on Friday night, the event coordinator announced with a very serious tone that if we are to drop at any of the aid stations, the only way to get back out is by helicopter or jet boat – and yes, that there will be one available if needed. Obviously this made perfect sense to the locals as they didn’t blink an eye, but you can >>

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metaphorically by the views. In all directions, you are surrounded by the stuff of mountain running dreams. Ridgelines that make you want to rush onto them, peaks that scream to be conquered and plummeting valleys that make you wish the pack on your back was a set of wings.

In the distance, Luxmore Hut comes into view, a crowd of volunteers attending to runners being processed through the mandatory gear check and refuelling stations.

A chopper swoops around from behind touching down briefly before taking off to ferry equipment and people to aid stations scattered across these crazy mountains. After leaving Luxmore Hut (which looks more like an alpine resort) we move further up the mountain toward the first of two peaks.

What comes next is easily the most spectacular and unforgettable couple of hours of running most people will ever be blessed to experience. The earth around is covered in shale, with some tussock grass that will last only until the next dump of snow. Only a week or so earlier, these tracks were closed due to the foot of snow that had fallen and the high risk of avalanche. Now, most of the snow has cleared to allow fast and free running along singletrack that drops off on one side into what seems an abyss. Joining one peak to the other is a series

tell who the internationals are by their hushed comments, “So if I drop, I’ll get either helicopter or jet boat ride? Hmmm, I think that old knee injury is starting to flare up, Shaun…”

In the first moments of sunrise on Saturday morning, runners assemble on top of the control gates, which manage the flow of water from Lake Te Anau into the smaller rivers and tributaries that feed from the lake into the Fiordlands. Having only experienced starting lines on home (Australian) soil, I must say the runners are surprisingly relaxed and quiet in comparison. I take this as an ominous sign, as they are likely to be conserving energy for something very big and very bad to come.

With the sound of a horn we’re off and quickly the pack funnells into single file as we snake our way through what is surely an enchanted forest along the lake’s edge. Ferns and ancient trees covered in thick green moss flank us on both sides for about 5km before we begin to slowly, and then very quickly, gain altitude toward Luxmore Hut. The climb is long and arduous but coming out of the tree line and onto the barren and exposed mountain top can only be likened to being born. You are all cosy and warm, enveloped by dense foliage, then suddenly swept away, literally by the wind and 78

of knife-like ridgelines that falls away on both sides so sharply that if distracted long enough to place a misguided foot, you would again curse the no-wings predicament of humanity.

Running the ridges, I’m torn between stopping dead and staring slack jawed at spectacular vistas, or simply letting feet fly and float over the trails, carried by the same howling winds that steal away the constant stream of superlatives coming from my mouth.

The next checkpoint looks more like an Afghani sniper’s nest, with army personnel huddled under tarps, radioing information back to base. The camouflage uniforms worn by the burly NZ army troops manning this check point add another level of awesomeness to what was already shaping up as an epic day.

A stack of stairs and some switchbacks later, it’s back in the green shelter of the Fiordland wilderness. The extra layer of clothing donned when leaving the tree line now comes off, as the temperature rises quickly out of the icy wind. Up to this point we’ve seen many switchbacks... but nothing like what now faces us! Backward and forward, descending fast and furious, knowing full well that if this keeps up much longer my quads may very well divorce me before I can reach the bottom.

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down the trail doing exactly that. At the front it’s high competition, back in the pack it’s high jinx.

The run home to the finish line is a magnetic experience as you are drawn down the valley.

You can hear the announcer calling from kilometres away, a booming voice floating down the crystal clear waters flowing along next to you.

Crossing that line, as always, brings bittersweet feelings of the end of something that you know can never be replicated. Yes, we can come back and run it again (if you get a ticket in the lottery that is entries-open day), but we will never again get to run that trail for the first time and take in those views that make us stop mid race, and stare.

This year’s winner (Martin Dent) hit the finish line in sniff under five hours, which considering the terrain is nothing short of stupidly impressive. The last souls to cross the line did so in closer to 12 hours but likely with more views (and checkpoint shenanigans) etched into their memory than the pointyend runners. You can be absolutely certain though, that every runner who had a medal hung around their neck, from first to last, experienced some kind of magic in those glorious mountains.

turning rally car like run that demands focus.

Eventually the Earth decides it has given runners enough of the gravity-assisted stuff and levels out onto a gently-undulating and well-groomed path that could comfortably accommodate a wheelchair at times.

An intriguing facet of this race is how well supported the checkpoints on course are. There are somewhere in the realm of nine checkpoints over the 60km course, with each representing its own theme. There was the ‘Where’s Wally’ checkpoint with everyone in red and white stripes and glasses. We had Christmas with Santa and his elves, a circus party with more colour than Mardi Gras and even a Hillbilly camp resplendent with an underwear-filled clothesline, an overall-clad farmer and his wife toting a ukulele. Every checkpoint brought its own humour with the volunteers getting into the fun of the event by trying to outdo each other.

We were later told that as one runner approached the final checkpoint, he spotted a man drinking a beer. Without hesitation he snatched said beer and promptly skulled the majority before trotting off down the track toward the finish. The owner of the beer shouted after him: “Don’t you want to finish it off?” Without hesitation, the runner returned, took possession of the beer and disappeared

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Shaun Brewster and Chris O’Driscoll are the lads behind the trail training genius programs – including the now famous ‘Bulletproof Legs’ and recent ‘Goat’ – offered up by Brewsters Running www.brewstersrunning.com.

They paid their own way to New Zealand but were graciously hosted in Te Anau by the Kepler Challenge organisers.

Be sure to have your finger on the buzzer when next year’s entries open for the Kepler Challenge and the Luxmore Grunt. More information at www.keplerchallenge.co.nz

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Words: Richard Bowles Images: Sam Costin / www.samuelcostin.com

SOUTHERN AFFAIR On a 14-day run along South Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1200km Heysen Trail, the ground beneath is not the only thing that rises and falls like a rollercoaster, as discovers Richard Bowles.

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’VE HAD THE PLEASURE (AND PAIN) OF RUNNING IN SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST AMAZING PLACES, LIKE WHEN I RAN ALL 5000KM OF AUSTRALIA’S BICENTENNIAL NATIONAL TRAIL, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE GREAT DIVIDING RANGE IN VICTORIA TO ITS UNRECOGNISABLE END IN TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND. I’VE BEEN SPOILED RUNNING OVERSEAS, LIKE WHEN I RAN ACROSS ISRAEL AND SUMATRA. AND EVEN IN THAT COMPANY I ALWAYS THOUGHT NEW ZEALAND HAD THE BEST TRAILS GOING, ESPECIALLY AFTER I RAN THE COUNTRY’S LENGTH ON THE TE ARAROA TRAIL. BUT ALL OF THAT HAS SINCE BEEN TOPPED BY THE TRAILS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. YEP, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. BIG CALL? BOO, YOU MIGHT DECRY ME, BUT AS FAR AS RUNNING OUT BUSH IS CONCERNED, I’M IN SA’S CORNER.

Australia’s outback. This is the arid, red desert Australia is so famous for. It really is the edge of nothingness out there, the last town: Parachilna is nothing but a pub (it seems no matter where you start or finish running in Australia there is always a place to get a refreshing frothy).

It was at this very pub that I hooked up with my three-man support team. The next day I would begin a two-week, 85km-a-day rugged run along the continent’s ancient backbone.

Waking up beside the start of the trail was a delight. At 6am it was cold and the base of the steep-walled gorge we slept in wouldn’t see any light for another couple of hours.

In the hazy darkness the country had such presence, as if the rock absorbs the sun’s rays throughout the day so it can glow deep red at dawn to spite the light that would not reach it until later in the morning.

With a skip over the sty I was on the trail.

The ribbon of dirt followed a dry creek bed through the rocky gorge for the next 30km, to the first checkpoint for the day. As the sun rose and light blossomed, the wildlife came out and I was joined by kangaroos and birds. Rock wallabies danced on the gorge walls and lizards captured what heat they could. What a way to start a running adventure.

Others had warned me that this landscape provoked love and obsession, after all the trail is named after a man who devoted his life to the Flinders Ranges, German-born Sir Hans Heysen (1877-1968). Heysen was a well-known

Why do I feel so strongly about it when I don’t live there? Though I originate from the Mother Country it has nothing to do with the similarities in accent between Adelaideans and West End Londoners. The feeling comes from a 14-day, 1200km run along Australia’s rocky spine, a run that captured my heart. I’m talking about The Heysen Trail in the Flinders Ranges.

I started my mission in Parachilna Gorge at the northern end of the trail, deep in South

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Australian artist who spent most of his time lost in the Flinders Ranges, painting its beauty.

Even this early on in the adventure I was beginning to feel how the hills serenade you.

At the first checkpoint I waited around for the team, my anxiety increasing with the passing time. My biggest concern at this point was water and with another 30km before checkpoint two, I knew I was in serious trouble in a desert with no fluid! Forty minutes later I decided to push on without water only to stumble upon my support team 200m away, hidden from view over the brow of a hill. It seemed the heat was starting to get to me.

I quickly packed with supplies and was off again amongst the rocky outcrops under an expansive blue sky, the blazing sun at its centre.

The highlight of the day was its end. The final 20km had me running up and into the famous Wilpena Pound, a stunning arc of rock that encloses the land in a natural amphitheatre. With the setting sun, the country cooled and animals stirred to life again. Colours washed across the mountainous sandstone walls and my pace slowed so I could take in this once-in-a-lifetime moment. The plunging sun hovered for an eternity before it disappeared and after drinking in the magic moment I had to scale down the other side of the Pound in the dark. Rock climbing on tired legs with no more security than the lonely

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beam of a head torch wasn’t much fun, but as I rolled into camp that night I knew the next 13 days were going to be something out of the ordinary.

Camping at the base of the Pound certainly was extra ordinary and when the sun came up I didn’t believe there could be such a thing as a bad morning in this part of the world. Saying that, my legs throbbed, making getting out of the tent a challenge as my joints seized.

The next few daysrepeated a pattern – beautiful mornings leading into some of the best running in and out of gorges, dry creek beds and dusty, red, singletrack, ending with romantic, starlit nights. The only part that wasn’t special was starting every day with a creaky body and with tiredness my fuse grew short. Like in any relationship, spending too much time with the trail can see you getting a little grumpy.

Grumpy turned into emotional and on day five I was bawling an endless flow of tears. I didn’t really know why, I was exactly where I wanted to be, but these huge runs strip back your layers and you become fragile. Everything becomes enhanced, colours and sounds pop out from what was already a breathtaking environment. It can be overwhelming.

Surprisingly, I was looking forward to seeing civilisation. I had been so swept up with the trail I had almost forgotten that it existed, >>

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rarely seeing a farmhouse and never people (crew aside). As it nears the city, the Heysen ascends into the Adelaide Hills though before I was to see a little suburbia, I had one last, long leg of dirt roads through rolling farmland.

This is when I fell out of love with the trail, myself and running.

But to be able to move forward with anything in life you need a little resistance – something that that pushes back slightly, making each step forward require more effort.

Making it worthwhile. And on I stepped, seeking her worth.

The team were excited to have this stretch of farm roads leading towards Adelaide. It’s a great opportunity to cover more ground in a day and with the support vehicle alongside, I could also liberate myself from my backpack and focus on doing the ‘easy’ kilometres.

It rained, which never helps my mood. The team noticed the shift in me and drove ahead a couple of kilometres at a time to give me space, present only to water me, feed me, ask if I was okay, then drive another 2km ahead. Each time the team left I watched the four-wheel drive get smaller then disappear into the foggy mist and my heart would sink and I felt like a child lost in a supermarket. A vast array of greens and browns were magically reflecting off the fields and we all seemed so small in the world.

I knew the team were only just down the track, but it felt like I would never see them again,

that I would be lost in this wet wonderland. But even in her darkest moments she was still so beautiful.

Seven days in and the honeymoon period returned. As I approached the stunning hills the views across Adelaide and beyond to the ocean were spectacular. However, being closer to civilisation meant that I wasn’t the only one out there and I bumped into lots of people enjoying the rolling hills on foot and bike, their presence a double-edge sword.

I enjoyed the inflation of ego and the energy these people gave me as they cheered me on after hearing about my journey. This is where I got both angry and jealous. I had seen all of the trail, I had to tackle everything she threw at me, and you people come and take your piece of the brighter, lighter side of her character and I have to share that with you… Rightly or wrongly, I felt that had an emotional connection that was more deeply rooted. I couldn’t help but think of Sir Hans Heyen and how he was drugged by the Flinders’ beauty all those years back back, and how my deep experience of the Heysen was akin to his.

The trail changed again as I met her wine country. The vines were red and gold though their regimented rows felt too precisely ordered after the previously wild and unstructured trail, seemingly sterile in comparison. Vines gave way to forest tracks as I headed towards the final stretch to the finish.

Just when I thought I had seen all of her,

I came upon her rugged coastline. The blue ocean was overwhelming, such a change from the reds and yellows of the outback in which I had started, the greens and browns that described the rural farming centre, the greys of the only-distantly-glimpsed concrete jungle and the golden leaves of the wine region. Every colour has a personality and I had experienced them all. Here was the escape from the claws of this relationship. I could let go, feel free in knowing I was going to finish what I had started.

Still it wasn’t to be that easy. Whales breached only 100m off the beaches I ran along, dolphins played in the surf, and climbing up and over each gully to the next beach took all I had. I ran through most of the night, trotting along the edge of the cliff tops under an almost full moon.

When I knew I was one kilometre from the trail’s end, everything I had experienced came flooding back to me and I was drowning. Deep down I knew we would be parting but did I forget that it had to finish? The waves crashed upon the jagged land, clouds painted pictures in the sky, the coastline shimmered, time slowed down.

I had a 14-day record under my belt and, more than that, one of the best trail experiences of my life. Still what it really felt like was a passionate summer affair with South Australia’s Heysen Trail. I still smile when I think of her. And I can still feel every step of her worth.

www.richardbowles.com.au

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HAVING TREKKED ACROSS THE ROOF OF AUSTRALIA, NONRUNNER KYLE WILLIAMS DECIDED HE’D LIKE TO UP THE CHALLENGE ANTE AND RUN THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS’ MAIN RANGE, KNOCKING OFF TWENTY-ONE PEAKS IN A ROW, ALL NUDGING OVER THE 2,000-METRE MARK. ACCOMPLISHED ULTRA RUNNER JAMIE SMITH JOINED HIM FOR THE 80PLUS KILOMETER ADVENTURE.

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IT’S A BONE CHILLING ONE DEGREE CELSIUS IN THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST ALPINE RANGE. THE WIND BLOWS RELENTLESSLY ACROSS THE EXPOSED RIDGE, MAKING THE TEMPERATURE FEEL WELL BELOW FREEZING. IT’S AFTER MIDNIGHT AND I AM IN THE MIDST OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, SOMEHOW TRYING TO NAVIGATE AN OFF-TRAIL ROUTE THROUGH THE BLACKNESS, SNOW GRASS AND ENDLESS ROCK BOULDERS TO RAMS HEAD RANGE, ONE OF THE 21 2000M MOUNTAIN PEAKS WITHIN THE SNOWY’S MAIN RANGE. Accompanied by best friend and adventure partner Jamie Smith, we have been at this for nearly 19 hours as part of our ‘A21 Ultra Adventure’: a 70km ultra marathon across the Snowy Mountains Main Range that aims to climb its highest 21 peaks.

With two peaks to go, my body is hurting.

My quads are heavy with each stride through the unstable snow grass, my hips and ankles feel like they are slowly being crushed in a vice with each passingkm. Worse, my mind is starting to rebel. Energy-sucking mountain peak scrambles, endless off-trail running, and night time navigation are not usually part of the deal in ultra running - especially for someone like me who has never run an ultra and who, 11 months before, struggled to even run 20 minutes without pain. My mind has reached that moment most ultra runners will experience, turning inwards to ask the eternal question; ‘Why the hell am I doing this?’

As I stand in the darkness amidst a howling wind, my ability to truthfully answer this question will determine if I even continue…

Flashback: An Idea Is Born The seeds of this crazy idea were first planted back in 2011. Jamie Smith and I decided to attempt the ‘Aussie 10’ challenge: a 50km offtrail traverse across the Main Range to climb Australia’s 10 highest peaks all in one day.

At the time, I had been leading corporate adventure groups through Aussie 10 in two gruelling days, so we both saw it as a massive challenge to complete it in just one.

Unfortunately, our attempt didn’t go to plan

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and we had to pull out after only three peaks.

Disappointed, we knew at some point that we would be back to finish what we started.

In the ensuing three years, Jamie dived head first into the world of trail running, becoming a veteran of over 21 ultras, including The North Face 100 on three occasions and the Great Ocean Walk 100. Jamie also used trail running as a vehicle to help raise over $50,000 dollars for The Royal Women’s Hospital as part of ‘The Milk Run’ events with fellow Victorian trail runner Matt Bell. Well known and regarded throughout the local trail running community, Jamie has a reputation as a fearless competitor, never dropping out of any race he has entered.

On the other hand, I didn’t do much running at all, although as a former Army Physical Trainer, I have been involved in health and fitness for 20 years. In 2006, I caught the adventure bug after leading a corporate group across the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.

Following this life-changing experience, I led another six Kokoda expeditions and various other adventures across Australia.

In 2007, my quest for adventure took me to the Snowy Mountains for the first time and I immediately fell in love with its challenging terrain. This culminated in 2013, when I became the first person to complete the ‘A2k’ nonstop. ‘A2k’ refers to climbing all of Australia’s 26 2000m mountain peaks. This first took 48 hours of continuous hiking across the Snowy Mountains, through 130kms of off-trail snow terrain, gaining nearly 6000m of elevation, surviving hours of hallucinations and bone-chilling snow blizzards that dropped temperatures down to minus six degrees.

Early this year, post A2k, Jamie and I started talking about the lapsed Aussie 10 idea again.

The challenge for me was that while I had mountain and endurance experience, I hadn’t run in over six months and could barely run 20 minutes without pain. Even so, inspired

by Jamie’s ultra efforts and not wanting to let down my best mate, I was confident that with some focused, patient training that I could run an ultra as part of Aussie 10.

A let down was to come. As we began planning and researching the adventure, we discovered the Aussie 10 had in fact been run many times. At Jamie’s urging and with a shared >>

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Little Twynam. As sunlight lit up the trail, I got a real feel for the unique magic that is trail running in mountains. As Jamie explained, the feeling of being connected with your surrounds while running through the trees, over rocks in the cold light of morning is hard to beat.

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desire to do something unique and pioneering, we went back to the drawing board and the concept of ‘A21 Ultra’ came about: climbing all 21 2000m peaks within the Main Range in a hybrid adventure ultra run over 82km.

The evolution of our challenge would add an extra 11 peaks and 30km more than originally planned. Maybe not so much of a big deal if you’re a veteran ultra runner, but for someone who had never run any form of ultra before, it was a truly fearful concept.

Exit Main Range Stage two took us out to the northern part of the Main Range, where the real unique adventure aspects of our run kicked in. Off the Main Range track, there is no designated running trail. Instead, there are footpads: a mostly overgrown ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ undesignated walking trail about one foot in width. Miss the footpad and you end up smashing your way through snow grass. For the uninitiated, snow grass is spongy, densely tufted clumps of ankle- to knee-deep grass that is incredibly difficult to run on. It’s like running in beach sand - soft, unstable and draining only worse.

Having navigated out here in atrocious weather during A2k, I knew the footpad well enough to get us through our next two peaks (Anton and Tate ) mostly unscathed. Bagging Tate was pretty special for Jamie. With his oneyear-old sharing the same name, we shared a few emotional moments dedicating it to him, before starting on the return journey back to

Moment Of Truth After 11 months of training, the moment of truth finally arrived on 19 November 2014.

As we stood in the pre-dawn darkness at the Charlotte Pass trailhead, my stomach turned over in equal parts nervousness and excitement. This was tempered by the tingling sense of fear at the monumental task ahead, making my running vest feel just that little bit heavier.

At 5:15am, we stepped off. Following the Main Range Track, our first stage took us 10km across the spectacular headwaters of the Snowy River and along the steady climb to Blue Lake, one of Australia’s five glacial lakes. As the sun rose across the mountain range, we bagged our first three peaks: Watsons Crags, Twynam and

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the Main Range and our first checkpoint.

Similar to our outward journey, we ran the parts we could (mostly the flats and the downs) and power hiked the ups, but running off-trail on a disused footpad is tough going. Even for a veteran ultra runner like Jamie, who discovered the off-trail sections took massive amounts of energy to cover far less ground than you would over a well-formed trail.

Peak Central Finally, after nearly six hours, we made it back onto the Main Range and to our first checkpoint. Due to the remoteness of the area, we organised for our support crew to hike in some 90 minutes to meet us. Getting to that first checkpoint was a relief. By that point, we had only clocked up 30km due to our grinding snow grass and footpad battles. Thankfully, with some fuel on board and the magic hands of sports chiropractor Pete Garbutt to help realign our bodies, we were soon off onto the next stage: ‘Peak Central’ Peak Central allowed us to blitz five peaks over a two hour period atop the Main Range, before we headed to the western edge of the Main Range to climb ‘The Big 4’ peaks including Mount Townsend (2209 metres) Australia’s second highest mountain. >>

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THE STATS Recorded on: Garmin Fenix 2 Distance: 82.53kms Time: 19:40:00 Elevation Gain: 4,193m Temperature Range: 1-10.6 degrees Minimum Elevation: 1,727m Maximum Elevation: 2,228m Keep up to date with Kyle’s future running adventures – he’s thinking a crack at the current Aussie 8 record (highest mountain in each state and territory), held by the SUM8 boys. www.kylewilliams.com.au

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The Big 4 & Kosciuszko Unlike Mount Kosciuszko which is essentially an easy walk up an old service road, the ‘Big 4’ Western peaks all require real climbs and scrambles. Enroute, we were once again trailless and fighting our way across through the ubiquitous snow grass. As we scrambled our way up Townsend, we crossed the 42.2km mark, officially passing into ultra territory. It would have been a notable moment if we both weren’t feeling so low. Jamie defines it as the ‘hump’ stage of an ultra - the midway point where you get tired, your drive to push forward lessens and you struggle to find that next gear to move up to.

After nearly five hours, we finally bagged ‘The Big 4’ and headed back towards Australia’s highest mountain Kosciuszko. Whilst bagging Kosci is not hard, traversing to Kosci via the infamous Kosciuszko Stairs and ridgeline snow drifts is brutal, particularly after running nearly 60km.

With Kosciuszko done, we made it to Rawsons Pass for checkpoint two. Red Bull and jelly snakes never tasted so good. With some more running repairs from Pete, Jamie and I set off for arguably the toughest stage of the run.

Enter The Ramsheads In the South of the Main Range lie the three Ramshead peaks: North, Central and South.

Each one is far off the beaten trail, with two of them requiring some hardcore rock scrambles to summit. While ‘only’ a 15km return journey,

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with no trail or footpad to follow, Jamie and I soon commenced a true endurance ’death march’ through the endless snow grass into Ramshead country.

While our Ramshead journey was backdropped by a magnificent red and orange sunset, the sheer beauty of the scene was tempered with increasing fatigue from the snow grass grind. There were few words spoken. Whilst we were dealing with our individual demons, both of us knew implicitly the other would endure until the end.

Some four hours later, we finally escaped the clutches of the Ramsheads. With the night well and truly upon us, the howling Easterly Main Range wind cranked into life, battering us with her 65km an hour gusts as we started making our way towards the home stretch.

‘Why Am I Doing This?’

We quickly knocked off the Etheridge Ridge peak, before a final crew stop at Seaman’s Hut, and then onwards for the final 10kms and the last two peaks.

As we made our way towards the penultimate peak, Rams Head Range, I fell into a mental hole. The unrelenting physical and mental beatdown of my first ultra hit me hard. I had reached that ‘Why?’ moment when everything turns inwards.

And so it was, here, in the sheer darkness and unrelenting wind gusts, in the middle of Australia’s toughest alpine range, that I came to realise my ‘why?’: personal growth.

From my novice perspective, trail running and ultra adventures are but vehicles for testing

ourselves beyond the pure running against time aspect. It’s only when life tests you, when you are faced with situations that make you doubt yourself or make you feel lost, that we truly find ourselves and learn what makes us tick. For better or worse, I was in the middle of getting that kind of reality check. It was a crux moment where I could choose to keep moving forward and grow from the bitter experience. Or I could stop. And take on board whatever that choice would mean.

With thoughts of failure in my head and emotions welling up, I just had to hang in there. I took that crucial step. I replayed the argument over in my mind, and took another.

Over and over. I kept choosing ‘forward’.

Motion. Pain. I guess I wanted enough to know what was on the other side. The last two peaks ended up a blur.

Finally, after 19-odd hours, 82.5kms and more than 4,000 metres of elevation gain, Jamie and I reached the ‘finish line’ at Charlotte Pass. We crossed as we started: side by side, stride by stride, a team until the end.

I collapsed on the ground from the sheer emotional and mental effort, as much as the physical. Spent and elated at once, the reality of becoming the first to knock off 21 of Australia’s highest peaks in one session of running was at the forefront of my thoughts. I had faced my fears, rooted as they were in a non-runner’s attempt to become a runner by setting a challenge that on paper was beyond me.

Further, on the roof of Australia, I’d persevered to become an ‘ultra runner’.

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Rann Raider Words: Tristan Miller Images: Tristan Miller & courtesy Run The Rann

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As the bloke known for running 52 marathons in 52 weeks in 42 countries, Tristan Miller has participated in a lot of exotic events across the globe. One exception, nagged: heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d not seen much of India. So when an invite to a new Indian ultra event dubbed Run the Rann pinged his inbox, flights were booked in minutes.

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IT’S A LONG FLIGHT TO ANYWHERE FROM AUSTRALIA, BUT AFTER A HOP TO SINGAPORE, A SKIP THROUGH MUMBAI AND A JUMP FROM AHMEDABAD, I’VE TRAVELLED FURTHER THAN A SIMPLE AS-THE-CROW-FLIES 10,000KM: I’VE JOURNEYED BACK IN TIME. INDEED, I’VE LANDED IN THE RANN OF KUTCH AND JUST A FEW HUNDRED METRES FROM THE ARCANE DHOLAVIRA RUINS, KNOWN AS ONE OF THE CRADLES OF THE LARGEST, GRANDEST, MOST ADVANCED METROPOLISES OF THE BRONZE-AGE INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION. Located on India’s western seaboard, on the border of Pakistan and abutting the Arabian Sea, the Rann of Kutch is a vast seasonal salt desert and marshland. In 1980, archaeologists exhumed an incredible Harapan city here, complete with structures dating back 5000 years. At its height, it supported 20,000 citizens, making it a serious Old World hub in an era also encompassing the great civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Today, the Rann of Kutch is a cracked desert land of vast salt marshes, unforgiving cacti and an environment harsh enough that it inspired author Salman Rushdie to set several scenes there in his Booker Prize winning novel Midnight’s Children, including one where the protagonist faints from heat stroke. One of

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the hottest places in India, it peaks nearing 50 degrees Celsius in summer (sensibly, we aren’t running in summer). Civilisations fallen and disappeared, bar some fringe dwelling Hindi villagers, its modern day permanent population – Indian asses, flamingoes, black cobras and giant monitor lizards – are now being bolstered by 150 runners intent on tackling the inaugural Run the Rann.

Basecamp for the event is a series of permanent huts and large desert tents, much like you’d expect Lawrence Of Arabia to have employed. In fact, these are the first of many welcome surprises on this inaugural run adventure. We’d been told to bring sleeping bags and so had anticipated roughing it in small tents. However, my British roomie, Justin, agrees that these are the most elaborate, luxurious tents any of us has enjoyed on an adventure run, with a secret room in the back housing shower, vanity (complete with toothbrush and vanity kit) and a sit down toilet. Ultra running has, it seems, joined the glamping set and I feel like desert royalty.

As is my luck, I lost my bag and running gear in domestic transit from Mumbai.

Assured it would show up eventually – on Indian time – I do my best to not let it distract and as is the way on these ‘intimate’ runs, every one of my fellow competitors offers a bit of kit to get me through the race. >>

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The international contingent numbers around 16, mostly present at the request of Frenchman Gaël Couturier, the race director.

Previously editor of Runner’s World France, Gaël is known for regularly showing up at the toughest races on the planet. Indeed, while I often quip that I’m the “World’s Greatest Participant”, this guy beats me hands down.

His participant experiences have obviously sparked motivations to run his own show.

With past winners of Western States 100, UTMB and many other famous international ultras mooching around camp, I am in incredibly esteemed company. I try to play cool, but shake a few hands far too vigorously.

My bag shows up at 6am on race day, just in time for 7:33am start as the sun peeks over of the desert horizon. We stand on the edge of a massive salt flat, with the distant hills of Pakistan interrupting the horizon.

The event offers three distances – 21km, 42km and 101km (it’s a lucky number, apparently). Never one to bite off just what I can chew, I’d chosen the full 101km (in 2015 there will also be a 160km – Ed.). Alongside the small international contingent stand many Dholavira locals, including border police, invited to take part along with those who have travelled from further afield – Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai – running being a bit of a boom sport amongst India’s emerging middle class.

After a lot of hand shaking, hugging and mobile phone selfies, Gaël gives a short speech

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and bellows in Francophile-accent “Go, go, gooooo!” With that, we are suddenly trundling along the beach.

I still get excited at the start of these races knowing that most runners will pass through similar emotional gateposts: pre-race nerves; starter pistol excitement; switch on time; bold running; competitive running; fatigue; doubt; fear; near resignation; grin and bear it; conquest of fear; hero time; ethereal running; and, finally, emotional release and tears over the finish line. I will experience all of these stage markers out on the Rann.

Heading north along the western edge of the island, salt flats spread before us with a rocky shelf shouldering to one side. It is hard to believe that this great expanse was still a navigable lake in the time of Alexander the Great. It still floods in monsoon season, rising to knee deep across a lot of its reach, and becoming a wonderland of birdlife, including one of the largest migratory hotspots for flamingoes in the world.

It isn’t long before we leave the flats to climb onto the island proper, where we happen across a simple pink Hindu temple, the majority of the Indian state being Hindu despite majority-Muslim Pakistan being just to the north. A couple of snaps of the temple and an unhappy-looking Indian ass later, and it is off over the hills again.

I’m running near a big Dutchman named Peter and the two famous American ultra runners, Krissy Moehl and Nikki Kimball. We roll through an area known as the Pre-Historic

Park, which features fossilised tree formations and is known for its congregation of fossils across numerous pre-historic periods. The race then starts to push back on us, with steep climbs and a few craggy gullies to traverse.

Runners spread out at this point and it is all we can do to keep track of the ribbons that mark our path. A few times we veer off course, only to lose the flags, halt, backtrack and eventually discover our mistake. A few markers are clearly missing and we are later told that goat herders, or their ravenous beasts, may have stolen our desert guideposts.

A few of the (undoubtedly faster) foreign runners are certainly misguided, as I temporarily find myself in second place of the 101km race. But, knowing they are safe, I’ve no intention of turning around and finding them – they’ll catch me soon enough.

For a long while I run with Swede, Kenneth, who takes it upon himself to teach me a few key Swedish phrases to keep us on track – vänster (left), höger (right), rakt fram (straight ahead). Unsure how Swedish will assist in a Hindu speaking state, I just keep chuffing along, eventually saying goodbye to the half marathoners and later the marathoners, including Ken, as they take leave to head in a southerly direction, back to the bottom of the island.

I continue rolling east, trying to find the far edge of Khadir. Trundling through the 23km-mark, I feel a familiar sharp pain in my dodgy right calf, a problem I had anticipated, <<

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but had hoped would remain dormant until later. I slow down and the Americans glide by just as we pass another brilliant pink temple, a beacon of human faith amid the plains that must have sucked a lot of hope from many Indus-era pioneers. The American girls chatter away like it was another Sunday long run – just with added salt, goats, temples and not a café in sight.

I’m following the principles of Febfast, a kind of pagan ritual where, throughout February, you abstain from caffeine, or sugar, or alcohol…. or all three. The sugar seems to create the most problems for me and I’m unsure that I can go the distance without sampling the fine array of sweets that the Gujaratis are offering at basecamps and checkpoints. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel in another 30kms without decent glucose energy to draw on.

As luck would have it, the pit stops have plenty of dates on offer. Then, when they run out, I turn to a classic Greek gentleman named Spiros who introduces me to a new world of race nutrition – the dried fig. Luckily for me, Spiros is not having a great day of it, so he can’t up the pace and run away from me. I con him out of more figs than he may otherwise have been willing to relinquish.

Spiros and I run the back half of the race

together and I find a soul mate out on the plains. We skirt the bottom of the island, along the endless salt flats that drift south into eternity. As the sun sets, a ball of fire on the tabletop horizon, I come to a slow halt and take in the perfect scene.

“Spiros,” I whisper, “This is the most romantic experience I’ve ever had. If only you were a little prettier.”

With that we laugh and the spell is broken.

Soon after we turn to see a full, luminous moon leap into the stars behind us, lighting our way across the plains back to camp.

It is not quite midnight by the end of the 101km race and we are spent. Spiros and I hug and I find myself fallen in love with India’s Rann of Kutch. It is an ancient place, on the surface so devoid of humanity, but upon running across its thresholds, found to be flourishing with beauty and, indeed, wildlife. Now, every February will herald the added character of Gaël hosting a throng of adventure runners who will take pleasure in tapping it out over the plains and islands that once hosted the cradles of Bronze Age civilisation. The ancient citizens of the Rann would barely have been able to imagine that their global descendants would return here, not to rebuild empires, but simply to run alongside their ghosts.

The next Run The Rann is on 1-6 February, 2015 www.runtherann.com/ Tristan Miller’s book Run Like Crazy about his 52 in 52 challenge can be purchased from www.runlikecrazy.com

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EVENTFOCUS Words and images: Mead Norton / www.meadnorton.com

THAILAND ULTRA MARATHON Northern Thailand makes for a wild setting for the latest exotic ultra trail marathon to log onto the worldwide calendar.

Photographer Mead Norton gets along to the first outing of the Thailand Ultra Marathon for a taste of the northern hillside trails.

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have been to some pretty wild places around the world and photographed different events from big wave surfing in Hawaii to triathlons in Samoa and mountain bike races in New Zealand and America, but nothing has proven quite so remote and exotic as the location for the new Thailand Ultra Marathon.

Brainchild of Marcus Phillipot, an occasional ultra runner having completed UTMB, the Tarawera Ultra and the Brasil Jungle Marathon, the Thailand Ultra Marathon is a 100km/50km dual outing set in and around the remote Shan tribal village of Ban Tham Lod, located in the far north west of Thailand, snuggled up against the Myanmar border. It is an area known for traditional living populated by the Karen and Lahu people, and famous for the Tham Lod Cave, the entrance of which runners pass by in the Thailand Ultra Marathon.

Marcus evolved the notion of an ultra in the hill tracts while visiting the area on a whim when unexpectedly stuck in Bangkok for ten days. Hiking and running through the trails connecting the villages around Ban Tham Lod, Marcus thought an ultra here would offer a super tough challenge for elites yet still give mid-packers enough amazing views and cultural immersion to make the journey there worthwhile.

It took a few years to develop from simple mid-run fantasy to putting it on the ground. At first he and partner Julie met with resistance and disbelief from locals who were unconvinced that it could actually be pulled off.

After all, running is not something the remote hill tribe population does for enjoyment.

After months of emails and inquiries the pair managed to gain traditional permissions to host the race from village leaders and formal ones from local government officials.

Marcus then recruited Jakar, one of the local guides to help him map out the final course.

It was decided that a 50km loop with 100km competitors facing two laps was the best option to keep runners nearer villages at all times and so closer to aid. In reality, organisers ended up shortening the long course by cutting out the second lap of the 50km loop and replacing it with two 12km loops, again out of concern for safety and access in the pitch of night.

The next hurdle was to get people to sign up, a task given the logistics of getting to the remote location and the general proliferation of ultras on calendar. A disclaimer pointing out that several extremely poisonous and potentially deadly snakes live in the area – including the krait, cobra and viper families and several species of pit vipers – surely didn’t help, either. Then there was

the intimidating course profile. But to the organisers’ relief entries rolled in, the 50km race selling out early on.

Those who ran this year are now calling it the toughest race in all of Thailand and at the same time one of the most scenic. One participant, who travelled to train on the course 15 times prior to race day, referred to it as “the most beautiful hell”. With one hill nicknamed ‘Heart Attack Hill’ slotted in the first 20km, runners quickly know that they are in for a long, hard day, one that will involve between 2500m (one lap) and 5000m (two laps) ascent.

The course was so scenic that Chris Bachhman, winner of the 50km race, estimated that he spent ten minutes taking photos and video along the course, which almost cost him the win as second place took advantage of his sightseeing.

The race is split up over two weekends as Ban Tham Village has limited capacity to host guests. In its inaugural outing, this allowed some runners who became instantly enamored with the course, to run it twice – taking on both editions on back-to-back weekends (one of them being Australian Nick Mallett). Despite the punishment any ultra delivers, you know that a course must be quality when those who take on 100km on one weekend, come back for another 50km the very next weekend.

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NUTRITION

WORDS - ALAN MCCUBBIN

The Sweet Spot

WHEN DOES GOOD ADVICE BECOME BAD ADVICE? SPORTS NUTRITIONIST ALAN MCCUBBIN LOOKS AT HOW ATHLETES CAN TAKE THINGS TOO FAR WHEN IT COMES TO NUTRITION….

How often do you talk to other runners about nutrition to find out that they’re taking some mammoth dose of nutrient x or supplement y? I’ve heard dozens of stories from clients and athletes over the years, ranging from people taking triple doses of protein shakes through to one unfortunate soul who ruined his goal race by loading up on huge amounts of magnesium in the hope of preventing cramps. He certainly prevented the muscle cramps, but instead of racing he spent the day sitting on the toilet.

So often the mentality in nutrition (and particularly sports nutrition) is “if some is good, more must be better”. If one protein shake helps recovery, then three will make my recovery three times as good. Fluid prevents dehydration and improves performance, so let’s guzzle down as much as possible. As you’ll see, this mentality not only doesn’t work but in many cases is detrimental, not only to your performance but to your health.

Hormesis: it’s a term that comes from toxicology, so what on earth does hormesis have

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vitamin overdose (or toxicity) occurred during Antarctic exploration in the early twentieth century. There were a series of unexplained illnesses and deaths from liver failure in this group. On investigation it was found that the deaths were caused by Vitamin A toxicity. This in turn was traced back to the diet of the explorers who were eating seal and polar bear liver, an extremely high source of Vitamin A. Since that time, other studies have suggested that taking high-dose vitamin and antioxidant supplements might not be a good idea. In 2012, a Cochrane Review (one of the most respected and thorough reviews of scientific studies available) was published, reviewing all studies of antioxidant supplements (betacarotene, Vitamins A, C and E are all considered antioxidants). They concluded that there was no evidence to support the use of antioxidant supplements for the prevention of illness, and in fact “Beta-carotene and Vitamin E seem to increase mortality (ie. death), and so may high doses of Vitamin A.” So it looks like you’re better

to do with running and nutrition? And what is hormesis anyway?

Hormesis is used in biology to describe a relationship between the dose of something and the benefit or harm from it – in particular when too much of something is just as harmful as too little. Because of this, the optimal dose of anything that follows this relationship can be described as a “sweet spot”. One of the most simple examples that follows this relationship is sunlight – too little exposure and you’ll be Vitamin D deficient, and too much results in sunburn and, eventually, skin cancer.

And when you look at sports nutrition strategies and the role of various nutrients in this context, virtually everything your body extracts from food follows this relationship.

Vitamins – too much of a good thing?

Yes, you can have too many vitamins. Vitamins can be divided into fat-soluble (ie. can store in fat deposits, mainly in the liver) and water-soluble (dissolve in water, excess is usually flushed down the toilet in your urine). The earliest example of

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just eating your fruit and veggies.

And even the humble Vitamin C tablet appears to be detrimental, at least to exercise performance. Several studies have now looked at Vitamin C in doses of around 500mg/day (a dose typically seen in Vitamin C tablets and some multivitamins). They have found that Vitamin C supplementation does not improve performance or adaptations to training, and in many studies it has found to be detrimental to the processes in the body that are responsible for training adaptation and performance gains over time.

What about carbs, protein, caffeine and other common nutrients that cyclists focus on?

Other nutrients also demonstrate the hormesis effect, but of course in each case the sweet spot is different. The sweet spot for carbohydrate during exercise really depends on the type of running you’re doing, and varies from none required up to about 90 grams per hour. A lack of carbs during prolonged high intensity exercise can result in low blood glucose, which most of you have probably experienced as “bonking” or “hunger flatting” at some stage. Excessive carbs will cause gut problems in most people, although the amount needed for this to happen varies greatly from one person to another, and even changes when you train either with lots or no carbs.

Extra carbs are also extra energy (kilojoules or calories) that may not be wanted depending on the situation, and for those with insulin resistance (typically described as pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes) an excessive amount of carbs can cause a large rise in blood sugar, unless medication is adequate to counteract the effect.

I’ve previously written about the sweet spot for protein per meal or after exercise. It’s about 20-30g of animal based protein, and possibly more for plant-based protein sources. This dose helps to maximise the adaptations to exercise that occur in the muscles, and to prevent muscle loss during a period of weight loss. Excessive protein is not particularly harmful in otherwise healthy people (at least in the amounts that

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humans can physically eat), although it can increase the amount of calcium lost in your urine and contributes extra energy that may not be wanted. And it’s not going to help with performance.

Caffeine has a pretty well defined sweet spot too, with probably more research done in this area than any other supplement. Around 2-3mg per kg body weight seems to be optimal.

Whilst you won’t have a problem with caffeine deficiency (unless you’re a regular coffee drinker who gets withdrawl), excessive caffeine doses (mostly over 10mg/kg) can cause the same problems seen with the use of stimulant drugs – anxiety, insomnia, gut problems, muscle twitching, irregular or rapid heartbeat and, in extreme doses, death.

Even water follows the pattern of hormesis.

Too little and your performance is compromised (if you’re sweating enough out for long enough to be an issue of course). Too much over a short period of time is fairly harmless, but over a longer period (several hours) some people fail to pee out the excess, resulting in fluid overload or hyponatraemia. This is of particular concern in ultrarunning, where the duration is long and the opportunities to drink can be greater with checkpoints and hydration bladders. And because the intensity is relatively low (compared to shorter events on the road or track), the body’s heat production and hence sweat rate is lower per hour.

I’ve finished off with a table that summarises the “sweet spot” for each of these nutrients and supplements. The consequences of excessive amounts vary in severity from “no further performance benefit” to “risk of illness”. In some cases the dose required to reach “toxicity” is so high that it’s unlikely that you could ever achieve it from a practical standpoint. But it’s important to understand the concept of hormesis, so we can move away from the “more is better” mentality that plagues many athletes and fuels a multi-billion dollar sports food and supplement industry.

NUTRIENT/DIETARY SUBSTANCE

“SWEET SPOT” FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE

CONSEQUENCES OF EXCESSIVE INTAKE

Carbohydrate during exercise

Varies depending on energy needs – in endurance exercise >3hrs (with high intensity efforts) - ~80-90g/hour

• Extra energy (kilojoules or calories) that might contribute to weight gain or failure to lose weight • Malabsorption of carbohydrate leading to gut problems • Elevated blood glucose (in people with Insulin Resistance)

Protein (per meal/snack/post-exercise)

~15-30g of animal based, rapidly digested protein (eg. skim milk, whey protein, egg protein). May require more for plant sources, slowly digested proteins and when part of a large meal

• Extra energy (kilojoules or calories) that might contribute to weight gain or failure to lose weight • Increased loss of calcium through the urine • Potential for accelerated loss of kidney function (only if kidney function is already impaired)

Caffeine before/during exercise

Around 2-3mg/kg body weight before exercise

• Reduced capacity to concentrate and perform skilled tasks • Tremor (in some people)

Antioxidants (Vitamin A, C, E and others)

Small amounts contained in a normal diet of fruit and vegetables

• Possible reductions in training adaptations from high dose supplements • Evidence that high dose supplements may increase risk of some cancers

Water/Fluid

Varies greatly depending on individual sweat fluid losses and perceptions of thirst

• In most people – needing to pee frequently, disrupting your run • In a small number of people – fluid accumulation in the blood, then hands and feet, potentially lungs and brain. Can cause death if severe and not adequately treated.

Named hyponatraemia for the characteristic diluting of blood sodium levels.

Alan McCubbin is the President of the Sports Dieticians Association of Australia and Director of Next Level Nutrition. He advises all types of athletes from beginners to a swag of professionals, including in the trail, enurance and adventure running space. www.nextlevelnutrition.com.au

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REVIEW

TRAIL SHOES // LA SPORTIVA BUSHIDO

take outs LA SPORTIVA BUSHIDO

Great for: Rough technical trails, the rockier the better; steep mountains.

No so great for: Runners who like super-flexible minimalist shoes or with paddles for feet.

Test conditions: Everything from sandy coastal single track, rocky Grampians’ terrain to muddy snowgum-lined alpine trails.

Approx 250km.

Tester: Ross Taylor Tester mechanics: heavy runner, midfoot striker.

VITALS

$199.95 Information online at: www.mountainrunning.com.au/ bushido/

BUSH WARRIOR BUSHIDO – THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR – OR BUSH-I-DO? CHOOSING BETWEEN AN ITALIAN SHOE COMPANY APPROPRIATING A JAPANESE CULTURAL CONCEPT AND MY MISAPPROPRIATION, I’D PROP FOR THE LATTER. AND IT’S APT BECAUSE THE LA SPORTIVA BUSHIDOS DO ALL KINDS OF BUSH, FROM SANDY COASTAL SCRUB TO HIGH ALPINE SNOW GUMS AND EVERYTHING INBETWEEN – THE ROCKIER THE BETTER. The Bushidos are a ruggedly handsome, aggressive midweight trail running shoe that look chunky at first glance – they’ve got a 116

heavily lugged sole, protective plate under the forefoot and a TPU cradle/shank – but when you pick them up they’re lighter than you would expect (298g for a size 9). While not a minimalist model, they do approach the form with a slim(ish) 6mm drop, which is balanced by leaning to more traditional 19mm of foam and rubber under the heel.

My first run in these shoes is forever etched in my memory: running north from Cape Nelson on the Great South West Walk (down near Portland in Victoria), kicking up clouds of a billion butterflies at every step, the Southern Ocean a gleaming blue monster on my right (if I had Anton Krupicka’s long hair and bare

La Sportiva Bushido

chest it would have been a trail runner’s wet dream). It’s a run that taught me the first lesson about the Bushidos – they’re stiff. Having been running mainly in über lightweight, soft shoes – like the La Sportiva Helios and Asic GEL FujiRacers – my feet were tender after 25km (admittedly, a big hit-out for the first time in a shoe). Even now, many more kilometres latter, the Bushidos remain quite rigid – pointing toward a preference for steep mountain terrain.

Compared to my usual trail shoes, the Bushidos are very stable to run in – more akin to heavier road shoes but without the weight – and they are a delight on rough technical terrain, where you can bound along with

The Bushidos are a ruggedly handsome, aggressive midweight trail running shoe that look chunky at first glance

confidence. They are responsive, but at the same time offer plenty of protection.

A lot of my running is done in the Grampians, Victoria, on very rocky surfaces, so the extra protection was noticeable compared to the pounding you can get in something superlight like the Helios. The outer sole lugs provide good grip on both rocky and muddy terrain, while the Frixion rubber (which has its origin in La Sportiva’s long rockclimbing heritage) is extremely sticky and adheres well even to wet rock.

I’ve long delicate foot appendages, such as you find on a well-bred aristocrat or artiste, and the Bushidos – being of Italian origin – fit my feet nicely without being too snug. People with paddles for feet may find them quite narrow, while I’ve read online that they size small (so try before you buy), although I was spot on my

normal size. The sock-like mesh inserts add to the nice snug feel of the shoe, although I did find that they seemed to make my feet get quite hot (admittedly I regularly get hot feet). My narrow foot swims around in many shoes, but the TPU cradle and lacing system held my foot nicely in place, even on really steep or snakey terrain. Perhaps because of the stiffness of the shoe, I could feel my heel rub at times, but it was never enough to cause any problems.

For anyone who loves the suppleness of many minimalist shoes, the Bushidos will feel stiff and claustrophobic, but as a heavier runner with weak ankles I have found them excellent, offering great support and protection yet light on the scales. La Sportiva spruik them as ‘sky runners’, and they definitely excel on steep, technical terrain, in the wet or dry, rock or mud.

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REVIEW

TRAIL SHOES // HOKA ONE ONE TOR SPEED WP

take outs

A NEED FOR SPEED?

HOKA ONE ONE TOR SPEED WP

Great for: mixed ground; flat and easy-angled terrain; rock pubs

Hoka One One Tor Speed WP

Not-so-great for: steep or very technical ground; fashionconscious trail models Test Conditions: single track,

IN 2008, LONG BEFORE HE EVEN KNEW WHAT ‘CULPABLE HOMICIDE’ MEANT, OSCAR PISTORIUS WAS EMBROILED IN A LONG AND DETAILED TECHNICAL DEBATE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT HIS FLEX-FOOT CHEETAH PROSTHETIC LEGS CONFERRED ON HIM AN ADVANTAGE OVER ABLE-BODIED RUNNERS. ONE OF THE ARGUMENTS WAS THAT THE CARBON-FIBRE LIMBS SPRUNG HIM FORWARD UNNATURALLY AND THUS SHOULD DISQUALIFY HIM FROM COMPETING IN THE 2008 OLYMPICS. SINCE 2010 THE SAME ARGUMENT COULD BE USED AGAINST HOKA ONE ONE: THEY LITERALLY BOUNCE YOU OFF THE GROUND LIKE A MOONWALKING ASTRONAUT AND THROW YOU INTO YOUR NEXT GAIT CYCLE. CHEATING, OR ACCEPTABLE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANTAGE? EITHER WAY, THEY LOOK RIDICULOUS. With the traditional aesthetic slur out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks: Hoka originated the MiniMax running shoe category (minimal drop, maximum cushioning) and has sought to introduce a new trinity of running shoe design, namely the Midsole Volume, the Meta-Rocker and the holy Active Foot Frame.

These may sound like your typical marketing buzzwords but for the uninitiated here is a brief demystification.

The most obvious design feature is the whopping great slab of EVA closed-cell foam in the midsole. There’s no secret here – thicker foam (Midsole Volume) provides better shock absorption and more cushioning to reduce fatigue and wear and tear. It’s that simple. The Meta-Rocker is a fancy name for the curvature of the heel and toe, which is designed to promote natural foot motion and provides the momentum throwing you forward, and the Active Foot Frame translates as a splayed outsole combined with an all-enveloping bed into which your entire foot can sink for 118

fire trail and sand around Bungonia & Stanmore Tops, with some Inner West asphalt thrown in for good measure.

superior stability.

And so to the Tor Speeds: named for the Tor Des Geants, a 330km mountain race across the Italian Alps, Hoka is taking aim at a niche market here, even more so in Australia. At 349g each (neutral cradle, medium width, 5mm heel drop) the Tor Speeds are billed as “The lightest trail running shoe to offer ankle stability with aggressive Vibram grip”. Now, I’ve never been one for waterproof trail shoes – there are plenty of models that can take you through a river with no appreciable reduction in comfort – so consider the membrane for heat retention on frosty winter runs and as a barrier to sand ingress for all you beach and desert runners out there. The ankle support (sorry, Anantomic Ankle Glove) is comfortable enough that its presence didn’t bother me in the slightest and hey, on an uneven trail it might just make the difference between limping home and striding manfully onward with the merest wince.

In testing I found the Tors good on rocky ground where the tremendous cushioning helped to disguise the unevenness of the trail, although I couldn’t help thinking that the shock absorbency was working both ways, absorbing my energy rather than translating it into forward movement. However, on more technical ground the lack of sensory feedback, combined with the reduction in forefoot flexibility and higher elevation than normal, did result in some instability.

While the Meta-Rocker had a much more pronounced effect on flat ground and felt great on road or trail, on steep slopes the raised toe (unsurprisingly) failed to bite into the ground and aid ascent, while I was literally hurled down hills at near-uncontrollable speeds.

Tremendous fun but probably not the wisest way to proceed.

The Tors use a soft Vibram sole, the feel (and sound) of which immediately reminded me of walking into a dingy rock pub that hadn’t changed its carpets in 20 years. The tread pattern niftily uses Hoka’s Time to Fly emblem as a multi-directional v-shaped lug, very

Tester: Dan Slater, current Wild Endurance 50km record holder

Tester Mechanics: slight pronator; heel striker; moon walker

VITALS

$249.95 AU Information online at: www.hokaoneone.com.au

effective in most instances although it proved less grippy on smooth slopes, again due to the Meta-Rocker’s lack of contact with the ground.

One more thing - excuse me for straying off-topic here - but I think the Tor Speeds would make an excellent travel boot. Hear me out – you’re backpacking around South America and planning to do the Inca Trail, and maybe some hiking in Patagonia, but you don’t want to carry your heavy hiking boots for three months. Of course not! But pop these in your pack instead and you’ve got a waterproof boot with minimal ankle support for carrying a day pack, plus you can use them as your runners, too. Think of these as very light and versatile footwear for most travel scenarios.

Ultimately, Oscar Pistorius was allowed to compete in the 2012 Olympics, but how will Hoka be judged by the Australian trail rat fraternity? If you’re seeking waterproof ankle support in your running shoes then you don’t have many models from which to choose, and you could a lot worse than the Tor Speeds.

Like Oscar, they put in a very respectable performance, although I trust their future is considerably brighter than his.

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REVIEW

TRAIL SHOES //NEWTON BOCO AT

Image: chris ord

take outs NEWTON BOCO AT

Great for: Groomed trails, formproficient runners

No so great for: heel strikers, sensitive feet, shy people

Test conditions: Great Ocean Walk plus local trails. Approx 125km.

Tester: Chris Ord Tester mechanics: midfoot striker, prone to left leg injury

VITALS

$179 /AU Further information at: www.newton-running.com.au

NEWTON’S LAW LOVE ’EM OR HATE ‘EM. THAT SEEMS TO BE THE POLARISING EFFECT OF NEWTON’S BOCO AT’S (BOULDER COLORADO ALL-TERRAIN), THE SECOND TRAIL-ORIENTATED OFFERING (FOLLOWING ON FROM TERRA MOMENTUM) FROM A BRAND USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TARRY STUFF (PARTICULARLY IN TRIATHLON).

forceful opinions over a brewski at the bar post mountain hit out.

Firstly, you’ll have to choose that bar carefully, as the lurid green of these puppies will be outlawed in many country pubs. As always, hues bright or otherwise have never impacted performance (have they?), so we’ll leave the fashion findings to your own personal taste or lack thereof. Besides, fluro is the new black, if current running store shelves are anything to go by. So this colour is just ‘what the kids are wearing these days’.

The major flare-up of opinion on these will be anchored in two things: the midsole design

And it’s true, there’s enough difference about these – from their garish colourway to their specific approach to dictating a style of running form – that will get trailites offering a few 120

Newton BOCO AT

and the grip.

Firstly to the forefoot. Newton as a brand employs across its models, trail and otherwise, a design philosophy of ‘encouraging’ forefoot running by designing into the midfoot sole a slight but noticeable hump or convex bulge underneath the ball of the foot that is meant to help a runner roll forward onto the toes when you land. Partly a (slight) propulsion, partly a deterrent for getting lazy and falling back to mid-to-hell strike, as if you do that, then you have to ‘get over the hump’. It’s rather distracting. But get it right – land on the sweet spot of the hump and it’s actually

a good feeling. Your cadence feels ever so slightly quicker and it concentrates your form, instilling better habits.

The entire mid and outersole is built around this function. The reality on first wear is, as one online punter put it, “totally bizarre. Like there is a clump of mud stuck underneath the forefoot of the shoe that I can’t scrape off.”

So if you can get used to it, and you have good form (or want it) then these shoes are a good choice. That said, they work much better on smoother, more consistent trail surfaces – as soon as you get into the technical stuff, the bulge lessens its function, given you’ll be landing all over as you change stride, fall and form to match terrain you are tackling. Still, you don’t notice the bulge in this instance anyway.

I was fearful of experiencing some tenderness or bruising as a result of the design, but aside from some initial, noticeable

depression on the rear inside heel that made walking in them (when you do use heel) feel unbalanced.

The upper on the BOCA is well constructed, with a gusseted tongue, reinforced eyelets and materials that buffeted their way through the bush without much sign of wear and tear early on. There’s some breathability via the sidewall mesh, but hot-footed runners may find the sheeny upper material (ripstop nylon treated with water repellent) a little warm. Good, then, for cold run days. They seem to repel more of the environment than most trail shoes.

If these came with slightly more aggressive grip, and without the trademark Newton bulge in midfoot, I’d recommend them to one an all.

As it is, specifically keeping in mind that your mechanics may argue a little with this shoe depending on whether or not forefoot running is your strong point, I’s suggest testing a pair out first, somehow. Or at least know that when you buy them they take a little getting used to.

If your form can hack the demands, these will prove a tidy pair of shoes for a lot of fire-togroomed trail running Down Under.

annoyance, I soon got used to the feeling and went with it. My proving ground of the Great Ocean Walk, a 100km trail of mixed surfaces (but in general not overly technical) proved these shoes to be decent workhorses. Of course, they will work your calves more than many shoes, being up on your toes more, and you should condition yourself for that before taking these on a long run.

To grip. Many other reviewers found the bite on these offered great performance: the outsole has high-density rubber front and rear with an exposed midsole section. The sticky rubber on one hand gives good grip and feel for the surface you’re running on, but on the other, I found that it lacked in mud and smooth but gritty surfaces, and I still found overall that the feedback – the ground feel – was middling at best. I prefer to feel the earth a little more.

The upside to these is that the cushioning is quite good, the stack height on the BOCO AT’s a sizeable 28mm and 25mm. Downside, for whatever reason (perhaps because if you’re wearing these you should never be near your heel anyway), there seems to be a lean-in

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REVIEW

TRAIL SHOES // RAIDLIGHT R-LIGHT 002

Image: chris ord

take outs RAIDLIGHT R-LIGHT 002

Great for: steep and rough mountain running; adventure racing, gadgety-types No so great for: minimalists Test conditions: both technical and groomed trails. Approx 55km.

Tester: Chris Ord Tester mechanics: midfoot striker, prone to left leg injury

VITALS

$189 AU Information online at: www.hardcorebrands.com.au www.raidlight.com/en/

ROUGH TRAIL RAIDER EVER SEE TRANSFORMERS? BE THAT THE OLD CARTOON ON TELLY OR THE MODERN DAY SLICK FLICKS (PREFER THE FORMER MYSELF). EITHER WAY, IN THE RAIDLIGHT R-LIGHT 002, YOU HAVE THE FRENCH TRAIL RUNNING SHOE EQUIVALENT. LOOKING AT THESE YOU ANTICIPATE THAT ALL THOSE SLIGHTLY EIGHTIES-ESQUE COLOR PATCHES WILL START TO DISASSEMBLE AND REASSEMBLE THEMSELVES INTO ANOTHER FIGHTING FORM.

transforms as you get to grips with them.

I’ll be honest. Initially, out of the box, I hated them. Big, bulky, old fashioned looking to my eye – although fairly light considering their visual size at 320g. Indeed, the first time I tried them on readying for a run, I shunted them straight off, thinking I wanted to simply enjoy this particular run, and that wouldn’t enjoy it in these. So I whacked some familiars on instead and left them to test them another time.

Okay, so that’s not a great first (aborted) date and presumptuous on my behalf. But looks can be deceiving, right Optimus Prime?

When I did get to slipping my foot into these, I was actually blown away. That was after I actually got my foot in. With a fully stitched in tongue, it’s a squeeze, but comfortable

And in a way they do. Unlike their robot counterparts, however, the physical profile of these remains intact, but the expectation of what they can do and how they perform 122

Raidlight R-Light 002

once in. Those used to a minimalist will feel a little clunky straight away, but it is surprising how quickly they, ahem, transform to feeling perfectly moulded and super comfortable on the foot.

I’m used to a lower ride, so the higher stature of these with a 12mm heel-to-toe drop and a whack of material between your foot and the ground means they land squarely in the traditional camp of trail running shoes. That extends to protection, making them super suited to serious mountain terrain, their stiffness particularly in the mid to rear foot, also applicable to steeper terrain.

The lacing system is cleverly designed as non-crossover, meaning it gives firm hold-in but also has a little give in it for foot swell. As is

the way with most European-models, the fit is snug and slim – no big boned big foot will get into these, but for those that do manage to get in, it’s a very comfortable ride.

In the midsole, there is a four-axis shank, lending to its stability on trail and firmer ride.

The outer is super strongly-built, with double stitching holding everything in place. The durability of these – I judge having only run approx. 80-100km in them – is up there with the best.

Here is where the transformer analogy really kicks in. Or should that be Inspector Gadget analogy. One of the selling points of Raidlight shoes is adaptability and customisation. Set in the heel, underneath the inner sole, you will find a small detachable cushion block that can be lifted out and replaced with a firmer or softer ride cushion (this is obviously only pertinent to heel strikers and when walking).

The AbShock pad is an easy customisation to make with three pads to choose from: Medium-Gel, Dynamic and Absorb. The inner sole itself can be customised to five different types from Neutral through Pronator, Supinator, Slim Fit or Ultralight. Then there’s the Grip Pad – Raidlight offer buyers the

option of never-ending replacement of soles, with different hardness options that you can choose when replacing. Select Poly Grip for most surfaces or Winter Grip with Icelock pads made from fiberglass designed for excellent grip on ice.

Other accessories that cover every gamut of adventure running include R-Stab Fit, a removable plate that ‘gives you wings’, fitting under your mid sole to provide more surface lift and stability on sand or snow. There is also Protect Fit, two styles of gator membrane for which the shoe has specific attachments points to match, giving better than usual performance for the brand-specific gaiters.

The thing about Raidlight – not a brand seen much to date in Australia, but soon to sprout up courtesy of distribution by Hardcore Brands – is that there is significant heritage and therefore in-field development bolstering its credibility. Founded in 1999 by Benoit Laval, an avid runner who ran more than 100 trails on all continents, it has become a popular brand with Adventure Racers. Now, Adventure Racers are the type of guys and gals who, when the trail running fraternity stop ‘cause the trail peters out’, just keep running into the untrammelled

wilderness, often for more days-on-end that most ultra runners can ever claim. They are tough as nails. Their running conditions are tough. And their gear needs to be the toughest.

And Raidlight has built its product around the requirements of adventure racers. Ergo…

They are also typically French – there’s no apologies for being a little garish or for those little design features that look like useless flash to you and me, but in fact each little accoutrement has purpose (i.e. those little flaps for attaching gaiters perfectly – no Velcro stick strips needed).

A final analogy: I once had the pleasure of being sat in a Peugeot rally car. Another French bit of kit made to eat up wild trails.

That ride was one of the best of my life. That rally car did things on dirt roads that no other rally car could. Brutally fast, at one with the environment, with little mechanical tweaks that just worked for going fast in the bush.

Transpose that to Raidlight - another French design that kills it in the bush, sturdy, hardnosed, fast. Of course, like the Peugeot, you gotta learn how to navigate the trails to get the best from it.

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SKYRUNNER DAVID ROSS RUNS UP THE BEN LOMOND TRACK FROM QUEENSTOWN. WWW.SKYRUNNINGANZ.COM

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PRESENTED BY

TAKING ON THE NIGHT SHIFT, RUNNING AT THE G-SPOT ON STELLENBOSCH MOUNTAIN, ON A PHOTO SHOOT FOR WWW.EXTREMELIGHTS.CO.ZA. HENK VENTER WWW.HENKVENTER.CO.ZA

THE FLIP SIDE OF GETTING SOME VERT. RED BULL DEFIANCE ADVENTURE RACERS ABOVE LAKE WANAKA, NZ. RED BULL CONTENT POOL

KIERAN RYAN TAKES IN THE STUNNING RUN VISTAS FOUND IN THE WONDERLAND RANGE, GRAMPIANS NATIONAL PARK, VICTORIA. JERRY REDMAN

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PRESENTED BY

AN EARLY TASTE OF THE ULTRA EASY 100 COURSE UP TO ROY’S PEAK, NOW PART OF THE SKYRUNNING ANZ LINE-UP. SKYRUNNING ANZ / MARCUS WARNER WWW.SKYRUNNINGANZ.COM

THE FINAL AND MOST SPECTACULAR STRETCH OF THE GREAT OCEAN WALK, VICTORIA WWW.TOURDETRAILS.COM

NEW ZEALANDER ALAN CROWE PACES ABOVE THE COASTAL VISTAS OF THE GREAT OCEAN WALK TRAIL RUN TOUR TEGYN ANGEL / WILDPLANS WWW.TOURDETRAILS.COM

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AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE ATHLETES JARED KOHLAR AND ALEX HUNT HIGH ABOVE LAKE WANAKA COMPETING IN THE RED BULL DEFIANCE ADVENTURE RACE, NZ. RED BULL CONTENT POOL

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SUMMER HAS COME 128

You know they’re there: those pristine trails.Close.Not far from your doorstep.

You can smell them…

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Or maybe that’s just the sweet waft of dirt not-long ground into the lugs of your trail shoes, which sit by the front door — a welcome reminder of the weekend’s mountain jaunt.

But the blood screams for more. The legs are sore, yet they pine for a warm down. A warm up. A flat out blast along some winding, wet, wonderful singletrack. But where to go?

Only got an hour (which you know can stretch to three).

Trail Run Mag has the answer(s). Here. In this guide.

Each edition we’ll bring you step-by-step trail run guides, all within an hour of a major city or town in Australia, New Zealand or Asia, all between 5km and 30km, all worth zipping out to for a trail fix.

We’ve also included some post-trail goodness ‘cause we’re human; we’re caffeine freaks too (strong latte – sometimes double espresso, but only on race days), and we love the smell of fresh eggs and bacon after pounding the paths. Welcome to the goodness guide.

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Ainslie-Majura Loop, Canberra, ACT, Australia

PRESENTED BY

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hinze dam, Gold Coast, Queensland

Werribee Gorge, Victoria, Australia

Win Salomon gear!

We need trail correspondents! If you think there’s a cracking trail the world needs to know about, go research it, write it up, shoot a photo and send it in. We do have a bit of a style going, so be sure to check out the guidelines and download the pro forma before you do at www.trailrunmag.com/contribute If your guide is chosen as the ‘Editor’s Pick’ of the issue, you’ll win some great Salomon Trail Gear. The best guide submitted to be published in Edition #16 (out March 2015) will receive an Agile Set 12 backpack (RRP $139.99), and an XA run cap (RRP$29.99), valued at $159.99. Just for going trail running (with a camera!)?

Yep, that easy!

So go running, get writing and start window shopping at www.salomon.com/au

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PRESENTED BY

IMAGES: Matt Judd

BEN LOMOND

1.5 + hours

Your Guide: Matt Judd www.juddadventures.com

Lomond saddle. Remember this junction for the return journey. From here it’s onward and upward!

One could argue that New Zealand boasts more killer trails per capita than anywhere else on the planet. And if one did argue that, one would have to say that Queenstown was the capital, so close is it to a plethora of singletrack gold. Thing is, you don’t even have to step far from town centre to be able to tackle a monster mountain run. Matt Judd, usually found on the Gold Coast, nipped over the Tasman to have a play in the hills, Ben Lomond to be precise.

to lift your eyes and take in the ever-changing, spectacular views of the surrounding region. You will eventually come to a DOC sign at the Saddle indicating the Ben Lomond Summit track to the left (your route) or the Moonlight Track/Arthur’s Point to your right – go left. There’s a chair not far on from here that affords great views of the mountains if you need a sit down.

RUN IT: There are plenty of variations to how you start/ finish this run, but this one takes in a little bit of the lake before taking you up the steep stuff!

1. From the gondola base, head down Brecon St to the lake. You’ll cross several roads during this time but the lake is a pretty easy landmark to find!

2. When you get to the lake turn right onto the

wharf keeping the water on your left. Follow this until the wharf ends and a path begins, leading you beside Lake Esplanade heading out of town towards Fernhill. Follow it.

3. You follow the path for 800m or so where you will come to One Mile Roundabout. Here, take the right-most road (there’s a gravel path on the side) which takes you to the One Mile Creek Walk and the old power station.

4. When you get to the old power station take the straight-most option which is signposted. Be careful not to follow the mountain-bike only trails in this area.

5. The next bit takes a little care navigating as you need to follow the orange trail arrows randomly fixed to trees on the route. It’s not hard to follow, but you need to keep your eyes out for the correct way. The going through here is steep.

6. Continuing up, you eventually find yourself in

a clearing (Midway Clearing, but this is not midway for your run!) which you will need to cross, finding the DOC sign to the Ben Lomond Track. Follow the track and after more honest (steep!) work, you’ll find yourself at the edge of the treeline.

7. 300m or so from when you break through the

trees, there is a track junction at which you want to continue straight on in the direction of the Ben

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Searle Lane in the middle of town – serves a consistently good brew and hearty sized meals.

If you’re chasing a post-run beer, it’s hard to overlook Pub on Wharf – located on Steamer Wharf in the heart of Queenstown - where you’re treated to an affordable-yet-quality menu, a dizzying array of beer choices (Sassy Red – thank us later), and you can sit outside and watch the world go by next to the lake.

Hard to beat.

8. Follow the Ben Lomond Track up, being sure

9. Continue to follow the tramped route, which sees you climb steadily up before taking you around to make your final approach to the summit from the north-west. You made it!

TRAIL TIPS NEARBY TOWN/CITY: Queenstown (the run starts/finishes in the centre of town) EXACT LOCATION: Skyline gondola base on Brecon St TOTAL ROUTE DISTANCE: 16km (give or take) TOTAL ASCENT/DESCENT: +/-1600m TIME TO RUN: 2-3hrs for elites. 5-7hrs if you’re taking it easy and enjoying the views.

TYPE OF TRAIL RUN: Out-and-back with a loop option to finish DIFFICULTY: Hard DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: Native forest, breathtaking views of Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountain ranges, beautiful singletrack running FEATURES OF INTEREST: The run takes in either native beech forest or douglas fir forest down low (depending which way you run), and opens up above the treeline to spectacular lake and mountain views in every direction. Do NOT forget the camera for this one!

10. Coming back off the summit, re-trace your route back to the saddle and continuing on the Ben Lomond Track towards Queenstown. You will eventually get yourself back to the track junction you first approached that sits about 300m on from the treeline. This time, take the left path which directs you towards the gondola station.

11. Following the signs to the gondola station is easy enough, and once you arrive you can take a pit-stop or keep making your journey back to town. From the station, follow the Skyline Access Rd down for 600m or so until you reach the signposted entrance to the Tiki Trail – this is the trail you’ll follow back to the finish.

12. The Tiki Trail signs guide you all the

way back down the steep trails, following the orange tree markers where signs aren’t present.

You’ll come to a few mountain bike track junctions along the way but the walking route is well marked. And you’re done!

Note that the track is in an alpine environment and can be difficult and often dangerous to navigate in winter conditions (snow and ice!). It always pays to check in at the DOC office in town to find out about track conditions before heading out, and if you can find a local to accompany you – even better!

WEB: www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/ tracks-and-walks/otago/queenstown-wakatipu/ ben-lomond-track/ MAP: www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/parks-andrecreation/tracks-and-walks/otago/wakatipuwalks-brochure.pdf

POST RUN GOODNESS:

ONLINE

Queenstown is perhaps just as well prepared for post-run goodness as it is for the delights of running. For a coffee or quality diner-style breakfast, Joe’s Garage – hidden away on

MAP

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AINSLIE-MAJURA LOOP

2-2.5 hours

Your Guide: Will Lind / www.functionalrunning.com.au The bordering Mt Ainslie and Majura Nature Reserves are a trail runner’s choose-yourown adventure, with as much remote escape as you could beg for considering the adjacent suburbia. Mt Ainslie and Mt Majura are two iconic Canberra mountains within close proximity on which runners, hikers and mountain bikers have spent decades engraving trails. While well-formed fire trail connects the mountains, and undulates around both peaks, there are hundreds of under-used singletrack trails up, down and around the two mountains that make the area a wondrous running escape. With endless variability, the adventurous, elevation-seeking types have an ever-changing playground, while those after a more sedate path will equally be at home in this convenient yet stunning inner city bush park.

RUN IT:

1. Park at the car park behind the Australian War

Memorial off Treloar Crescent and start by heading up the concrete stairs just behind the picnic area (Remembrance Nature Park).

2. After a short wooden bridge and a slight stair run ignore the temptation of the fire trail taking off to your left and right and instead start the AinslieMajura Loop by continuing straight up to the summit of Mt Ainslie. This classic mountaintop run rewards you with a view back into Canberra’s centre, taking in Parliament House, Lake Burley Griffen and the Brindebella Mountain Range (an alluring backdrop for trail runners).

3. Ninety-nine per cent of runners and walkers will turn back and descend, but instead you’re off to explore. Continue up over Mt Ainslie, keeping the car park and the radio/communications tower on your left. Coming across the summit you’ll pick up the first real trail, which descends abruptly and reasonably technically down the shoulder of the mountain. Here on in the trail will pretty much be yours.

4. Follow the trail until it flattens out and hits a small dirt car park and road. If you come to a fire trail first, know that this is the same fire trail that

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circumnavigates Ainslie and you can always come back to this track to use as a reference point. Take the left and you’ll arrive at the carpark referred to above. You’ll need to cross the Mt Ainlise Road, and run alongside it for perhaps 70m before diving off to the right and running past the Canberra Pistol Club.

TRAIL TIPS NAME: Ainslie-Majura Loop NEARBY TOWN: Canberra EXACT LOCATION: War Memorial Car Park, Treloar Cresent, accessed off Fairbairn Avenue.

5. On this back end of Mt Ainslie you’ll enjoy

undulating fire trail and probably share the path with nothing more than local wildlife.

TOTAL ROUTE DISTANCE:

6. A slightly more serious climb that peaks at an

+/- 17km (skip the Mt Ainslie ascent to shorten the run.

Skip Mt Majura altogether for a roughly 10km loop around the Mt Ainslie base)

intersection of choices marks the point at which you’ll take a right and continue climbing.

7. Running up, across and down this ridge will

take you into the Mt Majura Nature Reserve and soon enough, you’ll hit the base of Mt Majura.

TOTAL ASCENT/DESCENT:

8. Again, take a right and follow the fire trail that

+/- 600m (two approx. 220m ascents plus undulations. Total elevation varies according to how adventurous you are)

puts Mt Majura on your left shoulder, and enjoy continued isolation and undulating terrain. The flora changes from classic dry Australia bushland to plantation pine, and you’ve now run your way to the Majura Pine Plantation.

TIME TO RUN: 2-2.5 hours

9. Before long you will run out of fire trail and it will be time to summit Mt Majura, starting with picking your way up some rarely used single track until you hit Mt Majura road. A short, steep punch up the road brings you to the summit where you can get back off formed road and onto our beloved fire trail for a steep, fast, rocky descent.

TYPE OF TRAIL RUN: Loop trail with almost excessive amounts of variability DIFFICULTY: Medium to Hard DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: Fire trail, technical ascents, fast descents, single track, exploration, plenty of tree cover, bushland and pine plantation

10. At the base of Mt Majura, you can flow back

along the fire trail putting Mt Majura at your back and angling for Mt Ainslie. Running around the front side of Mt Ainslie on the fire trail will bring you back to the start.

FEATURES OF INTEREST: Views

11. Confident and prepared runners feel free to

of all corners of Canberra, including rarely seen vistas from the back of Mt Majura.

dart off on the hundreds of alternative trails and paths you’ll find. It’s easy to find your way as the two mountain tops are always in sight and your isolation is fairly deceptive – the city scape is often well within reach, just kept well hidden by the surrounding bush land.

ONLINE / MAP: www.tams.act. gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0006/390597/cnpmapmtainslie. pdf

POST RUN GOODNESS: The War Memorial café does reasonable coffee and treats, but for a more substantial meal head into Kingston and try Penny University or many of the other nearby food and coffee joints on offer.

ONLINE/MAP

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HINZE DAM

45 min or 2 hrs

YOUR GUIDE: Matt Judd / www.juddadventures.com While the Gold Coast heaves with its urban energy, just out back, there’s a place that registers barely 400 residents, and is crossed by some silky singetrack that will make you swoon. It’s one of the haunts of local trail guru, Matt Judd, whose event company Those Guys Events run its March 8 outing of the Gold Coast Trail Running Series here. Must be good…

RUN IT:

1. Start this run from the upper car park

adjacent to the Hinze Dam visitor centre.

2. Your first 2km is across the dam wall – it’s a

perfect warm up as it’s pancake flat and doesn’t take much thinking. The views over the dam are particularly pleasant in the early morning.

3. Once across the dam wall, follow the trail

through the open gate and up the first few switchbacks to a track junction. This loop can be run in either direction, but for this run you’re going right at the junction.

4. Running on from here, you soon come

to another junction. This time, you want to continue straight on to the southern loop (see the linked map) – don’t continue around to your left.

5. Once on the southern loop this section is

easy to follow as there’s only one trail in/out.

About 400m from the track junction there is a potentially confusing spot where the return section of the southern loop passes close to the section you’re on – you’ll know it when you get there - and for now you want to go hard right, resisting the urge to run straight through.

Follow the trail.

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“potentially confusing spot”. Again, you’ll go hard right here (almost a hairpin at this point) rather than running straight through. 400m on from here you’ll come to another junction, this time continue on your current heading (the other option is very hard left – ignore it).

This trail is also a section of the long course option at the Gold Coast Trail Running Series “Hinze Dam” event on March 8, 2015, hosted by Those Guys Events (www.thoseguysevents.com.au). Details at www.gctrailrunningseries.com.au

7. This next bit is super fun, without any real track junctions, and really runnable, flowy singletrack… open up the legs and let fly! There is one track junction where the family loop cuts off the main loop but if you follow the blue marked trail you can’t go too wrong. This trail eventually spits you out at the mountain bike event use area – this is obvious and you can’t miss it.

trail tips NEARBY TOWN/CITY: Mudgeeraba (20min drive) EXACT LOCATION: Hinze Dam Visitor Centre - Advancetown Rd, Advancetown.

8. From the event use area, continue on the trail, which soon heads into a technical little rock garden section and on to yet more runnable trail sections. Excellent fun! Follow the marked trail, ignoring the one track junction on your left that is the family loop short cut, and you’ll eventually find yourself at the junction at the top of the switchbacks. From here, go right onto the switchbacks and down to the dam wall for your gentle run home.

TOTAL ROUTE DISTANCE: 11.2km TOTAL ASCENT/DESCENT: +/- 340m TIME TO RUN: 45mins if you’re moving quick, 2hr if you take it easy TYPE OF TRAIL RUN: Loop trail with an out-and-back to start/finish DIFFICULTY: Medium DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: Flowing singletrack, undulating trails without any significant steep sections, buffed trail

Note that while the track is open to runners and walkers it is also a mountain bike trail, so you should be aware of bikes ahead of and behind you – in most cases it’s much easier for the runner to jump aside to let a bike past on the narrow, winding trails.

FEATURES OF INTEREST: Views over Advancetown Lake (Hinze Dam), eucalypt forest

POST RUN GOODNESS:

ONLINE REFERENCE: www.gcmtb.com.au/ TrailInfoHinzeDam.asp

Thankfully the View Café within the Hinze Dam Visitor Centre (www.viewcafe.com.au/home/) is open from 9am weekdays and 8am weekends, and serves a range of food options and pretty good coffee. If you’re keen to get back to the Coast and don’t mind a 30min drive, Blackboard Coffee (www.blackboardcoffee.com.au/varsity/) at Varsity Lakes (just across the motorway from Mudgeeraba) has spectacular coffee and saltedcaramel cronuts - that’s a donut-croissant love child - that have to be tasted to be believed!

BEST MAP: www.gcmtb.com.au/Files/ Hinze%202.pdf

ONLINE MAP

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PRESENTED BY

IMAGES: Isaac Walker

1.5-2 hrs

WERRIBEE GORGE Your guide: Isaac Walker www.functionalrunning.com.au Boasting 500 million years of geological history, Werribee Gorge retains a wild, rugged natural beauty, yet is a hidden gem only a short drive from the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. Its 575 hectares protects a plethora of native flora and fauna, offers spectacular views and has great opportunities for some tasty and sometimes rather technical trails. It also has great scaleability, as a loop circuit with a good sidetrip offers stepped distances from 8km + 4km and multiples of, with each circuit ending back at your car.

RUN IT:

1. Park at the Quarry Picnic Area and start

off on the waymarked Circuit Loop in an anticlockwise direction.

2. The trail rises up to Eastern Viewpoint

(with views across to the quarry picnic area), across the bulge to Picnic Point where you get the first glimpse down into the gorge proper, and then to Western Viewpoint, which marks the start of a gnarly descent.

3. The Circuit Loop starts to kick arse scenery-wise as it winds its way down into the gorge from Western Viewpoint. Wide, easy, rocky trails transform into nice flowing singletrack down alongside the Werribee River. Majestic cliffs pop up all along the gorge, and with the sun shining on them they look truly supernatural.

4. Once down to the river, follow it south east, being mindful that on quite a few sections you need to ‘rock-hop’ – take it easy.

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5. Coming out of the gorge you finish with a run alongside a historic aqueduct – here’s where you can get a bit of speed on.

trail tips NEARBY TOWN/CITY: Bacchus Marsh (10km/10min), Ballarat (50km/35min), Melbourne (67km/50min)

6. The aqueduct leads you out of the gorge

to Meikles Point Picnic Area where you take a left. Here is the biggest climb of the loop, a nice widetrack ending with a small section of singletrack that brings you back to Quarry Picnic Area where you started.

EXACT LOCATION: Old Quarry Car Park, off Myers Road, accessed via Pentland Hills Road exit on Western Fwy. TOTAL ROUTE DISTANCE: (one loop plus side trip) 8+km (Park Notes says 10km) + 4km

7. For a few extra kays and views, keep

running anticlockwise, briefly retracing your earlier steps until you come to the Centenary Track, which detours right off the Circuit Loop Track and takes you on an out-and-back up to Island Lookout.

TOTAL ASCENT/DESCENT: +/- 770m (one loop and side trip) TIME TO RUN: 1.5-2 hours TYPE OF TRAIL RUN: Loop trail with an out-and-back side trip

8. The Centenary Track delivers you down

to Junction Pool and crosses Myrniong Creek.

You then leave the State Park area and enter the W James Whyte Island Reserve. This is basically farmland with a short, and in some places overgrown, section of singletrack before leading up and up and up a hill on a 4WD farm track.

There are usually lots of kangaroos in this area and, if you’re here early enough, it’s prime position for a gorgeous sunrise.

DIFFICULTY: Medium DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: Technical sections, good descents, challenging ascents, flat speedier sections, ‘rock climbing’ and some spectacular scenery.

FEATURES OF INTEREST: Views over Werribee Gorge, the Gorge itself, historic aqueduct

9. A 1km loop at the top takes you around

ONLINE REFERENCE: http://parkweb. vic.gov.au/explore/parks/werribeegorge-state-park

the top of the hill with views on all sides – the best being into Werribee Gorge.

BEST MAP: http://parkweb.vic. gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0020/315632/Park-note-WerribeeGorge-State-Park.pdf

POST RUN GOODNESS: In nearby Bacchus Marsh, Baby Black Espresso Bar (10 Church Street) serves up decent coffee plus breakfast and lunch staples like focaccias, as does the retro funky Little Lucky Café (3 Grant Street), both set in quaint old houses.

ONLINE MAP

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