EMMERSON UNSTOPPABLE AT BTU

Contributed by Kellie Emmerson, AURA member/2019 Brisbane Trail Ultra 110km 1st Female

Brisbane Trail Ultra 110km, Qld on 6 July, 2019

I hate training through winter. With a passion. It’s a big shame that my European A races always mean training through the cold, miserable rainy Melbourne winter! But it meant that I didn’t hesitate to say yes to a weekend away in ‘sunny’ Brisbane in the middle of winter.

The Brisbane Trail Ultra was a brand new event put on by Shona Stephenson and her enthusiastic team. It fell at the start of July, coinciding with school holidays, my mother-in-law’s birthday on the Sunshine Coast, and the perfect timeframe out from UTMB for a good lead-in race.

I flew into Brisbane very late on the Thursday night and Uber’d my way to the athlete accommodation a few hundred metres from the start line. Beth and Aaron were still up and we stood on the balcony catching up and chatting about the race excitedly whilst looking over the river and city lights. It was so nice not to feel cold for the first time in months!

The next morning we slept in and then headed for an easy trot along the last few kilometres of the course, along Southbank and over the river. Although short, this little run saved me and a few others the next day.

Coffee, breakfast, food shopping took out most of the day before heading to the athlete check in and briefing at the finish line next to the Maritime Museum on Southbank. There was a buzz of excitement in the air over lots of discussion of the unknown. There were lots of interstate runners, lots of international runners (mostly Japanese) and no-one had ever run the race before. Although exciting, it’s always a little daunting running an inaugural event. You need to go into it knowing that some things will go wrong, be prepared to deal with those, and hope that most variables have been controlled.

The next morning came quickly. My hubby Tegyn had arrived late during the night but got up with me to make me coffee and provide some reassurance. Gotta love him. I was out the door by 5.15am, picked up by Amanda and off to the start line for weigh in. The first wave with the majority of runners had started at 5am, and we were warned that one had already managed to get lost. Not a great start! It felt a little strange to be starting with less than 10 runners, but it turned out to be a great idea. I started out fairly hard, but comfortable, and without planning it Ben Duffus and I kind of used each other. I didn’t want to get lost, and knew that his local knowledge would ensure that didn’t happen! He had opted for a crappy head torch in the dawn light, and so my Ay Up provided plenty of light for us both! I stuck with Ben for about 25 mins before he ramped it up. Vlad had pulled away early.

We had lovely conditions for the first hour, but soon the sky opened up and it didn’t stop raining for the majority of the race. I was drenched, but happy to not be cold. I felt too warm to put on a rain coat so toughed it out and turned into a prune. It really wasn’t that enjoyable being so wet for so long, and brought up all sorts of extra chafe issues!

We spent the first few hours catching up to all the earlier 110km and 100mile starters. It was nice to have some company out on course and some targets to chase down. We ran through some beautiful single track and were required to clip our bib with an orienteering control punch to prove we’d been there. Apparently we also ran to a few lookouts, but there were no views today.

Up until the first crewed checkpoint at 46km (Mount Nebo public school), it was fairly runnable with a few pinchy climbs. I was happy that the last thing Tegz did before I left in the morning was to add the map to maps.me on my phone – this came in handy at a few decision points during the race. Some others weren’t so lucky and I had started to notice a few runners going the wrong way.

I made sure they put a marshal out at one of the main decision points to save any other poor souls! I ran into the 46km checkpoint feeling pretty good. A quick weigh showed that I had lost just over a kilogram. I shoved down some boiled potatoes and took some for the road. I had decided to try a new nutrition plan with a bit more savoury than sweet, and it worked a treat!

The next section was insane. I think this was Township break. I was not expecting these sorts of hills in Brisbane. And the non-stop rain just added to the challenge. Extremely++ steep ups and downs. Ropes and trees the only thing saving you from sliding all the way down. It was hard going, but nice to have a bit of a change. We soon started to get caught by the 60km and 30km runners. They had started at later intervals throughout the day. Every time I saw one of my buddies it was a great pick-me-up. I really liked this format. A nice downhill single track led into Gold Creek reservoir where my crew were waiting to refuel me.

I don’t recall much of the next section other than another lookout and lots of koala signs. I’m guessing koalas don’t like the rain either because I didn’t see any.

Slaughter falls and the red bull climb was next. I had decided that it would be silly for me to attempt anything quick after so many kms already in the legs. So I just plodded along, mostly hiking. I was surprised to later hear I came 7th up this. The last section seemed to go on and on. I was really determined to get out of the forest before darkness hit. Steph Auston ran past and had exactly the same idea. 

We soon made it to a street, and that lead towards the city. Cities make me nervous. More people means more tampering, and sure enough that’s exactly what happened. We ran blindly towards the centre of town, wherever that was! I tried to keep some other runners in my sight, hoping that they knew the way. The traffic police were amazing in enabling quick road crossings, but many of the ribbons has been ripped down. I was soon turned around by someone running towards me – we were all going the wrong way! She was on the phone getting directions, and a bunch of us ran back towards Suncorp stadium and made the correct turn.

Again I tried to keep some others in my sight, but we all soon came to a big bridge unsure of the next step. A few seconds to have a good think about it, and I remembered the bridge! This is where I had been on our recce run the day before. I was so happy to know the way, leading the other guys and acknowledging that I had about 10mins to make it under 12 hours. I powered home along Southbank and finished in 11.58. The finish line was buzzing and I was very happy to be done!

I was really happy with how this race played out for me. Nutrition had been spot on, I had no real low patches. Gear had worked well – Hoka Speed Goats were perfect for this race, as was my Camelbak Zephyr to carry all the mandatory kit. I had taken my time making decisions, not panicked, and made the right choices to keep me on the right track (most of the time!).

I ran within my own comfort zone all day, and finished a lot quicker than I had initially anticipated. It was a well organised event that offered heaps of options for everybody, from 30km to 100miles, and even relay options. The team had put a lot of effort in, and I’m sure it will only get better from here!