FIRST STEPS TO A SOLO 6 DAY ULTRA

FIRST STEPS TO A SOLO 6 DAY ULTRA

Kate Dzienis • November 1, 2021

Contributed by Stephen Redfern, AURA Secretary

Virtual 6 Day Solo Ultra, 25-30 September 2021, Ridge Athletics Track NSW

From Saturday, 25 September to Thursday, 30 September, and running from 5am each morning when the track opened to 9pm each evening when they closed the track for the night, I decided to run my own solo 6 day ultra.

This gave me a maximum of 16hrs of running for each day up at the track.

For the 6 days I managed a total of 655.18km, with an actual running time of 96hrs and the total time from when I started the watch to when I stopped the watch was 136hrs.

Over the 6 days, the total I was able to achieve for each day was:

Day 1 – 140km
Day 2 – 120km
Day 3 – 110km
Day 4 – 100km
Day 5 – 100km
Day 6 – 85km

For the last couple of years I have wanted to look at giving a 6 day race a go as a new personal challenge for me along with all being a part of building up to something bigger for 2022. A part of my plan was to enter into a 6 day race for which I was looking to do down at Adelaide. But with 2020 being cancelled and rolling over to 2021, then subsequently having the border closures again, this was just not going to be achievable.

Hence my decision to do a solo 6 day challenge, and discover my own journey to running for 6 days.

After looking around my own LGA, for which was all that I could look at, I decided on running it up at my local athletics track for a number of reasons. Firstly it was still close to home which I knew I had to go to each night, had facilities there which were a necessity and also it was flat and not a loop with elevation.

Perfect!

For the actual run over the 6 days, I chose to run on the outer edge of the track along the fence line which I nicknamed Lane 9 ¾ (one had plenty of time to think up these things). This was actually really good as it worked out to be approximately 490m in length and the turns were quite gentle, which worked very well in my favour as I ended up running the entire 6 days in the anti-clockwise direction, which I prefer and after trying to change direction on day one it just didn’t feel right.

So being on the outside of lane 8 it ended up working out to about 1400 laps of running the athletics track. Probably something I won’t achieve again in too much of a hurry.

What a journey the run became. One of the biggest things I was able to take away, which will stay with me for ever and feel that I would not have achieved this at any race, was the amazing amount of community support I received each and every day. I was just blown away by how many local runners wanted to come up to the track to share anywhere from a few laps to a couple of hours with me over each day.

To runners starting at 5am every morning to help with set up and get me going, from the 40 or so runners at daybreak on day 4, to having company with the same person every night that chose to come out at 7:30pm and stay to the end. Then there were the families with their children turning up to encourage and cheer me along. I just can’t thank them all enough and would love to be able to name them all if there weren’t so many.

What an amazing local running community we have, and it just makes me so proud to be a part of it.

As part of the journey for my first 6 day, I have certainly learnt so much, and will take this amazing experience and learnings into my future ventures of multi-day racing. Each day was so different and presented its own set of challenges as well as rewards. Almost impossible to say which day was the best or worst, but if I had to choose one, day 5 was as close to a perfect day as I felt I could get.

Keep reading on for more.

DAY 1 (140KM): THE ‘GETTING STARTED’ DAY

The first day was quite interesting, as there was the excitement of starting a massive challenge. But one thing I found when 5am hit was how to start. It took a couple of hours to really settle in and not look at it as just a normal track session. This included dropping the pace from the word go, but finding out with only being on the track for 16 hours total, that still ended up being quite a quick pace for a 6 day. The 100km came up in 10h40m, which sounds great but so much different as the days went on. Overall I was really happy with the day’s total and went home feeling quite good and not too sore or fatigued. I did cop all weather conditions today for day 1 with the start being very cold, to about 8 hours of strong gusty winds and finishing off with the last 2 hours in rain.

DAY 2 (120KM): THE ‘SETTLING IN’ DAY

After an okay night sleep I managed to wake up at the set 4am alarm feeling good, a little heavy in the legs, but feet felt good ready for another 16 hours on the track. A little more overcast today which was nice but the gusty winds were still going and stayed with me until 6pm when it finally died away after 23 straight hours. But what an amazing evening of running it made. I was happy with the day’s total for the 16hrs, knowing it was about being smart and looking at the longer bigger picture.

DAY 3 (110KM): THE ‘IT’S GETTING REAL’ DAY

Not much sleep last night, only really getting about 1hr of proper sleep before the 4am alarm went off. The legs and feet took a bit to settle down during the night but it was made up with it being an absolutely perfect morning for running and best of all no wind to run with. What made the day even better was seeing the community come out to support me and encourage me along by joining me on the track for their runs and training as well. I finished with another good consistent total with now 3 days of 16hrs of running and no breaks during the day

DAY 4 (100KM): THE ‘MENTALLY FATIGUING’ DAY

Even though I had managed an extra hour sleep last night, getting about 2 hours over the previous night’s 1 hour, it was all catching up as going into day 4 was only about a total of 6 hours of sleeping, which just became unsustainable. This was the day I found to be slightly fatiguing, which made for some hard running and trying to keep some good nutrition in the body. We changed up the plan today to include smaller portions of food intake but more often. Despite this I still managed to run the whole day without any breaks and finished with triple figures, but by 9pm I was definitely tired with the last few laps including perhaps a little sleep walking…? Hopefully will help for a better night’s sleep.

DAY 5 (100KM): THE ‘REWARDING AND ENJOYABLE’ DAY

Slept so much better last night, getting about 3 good solid hours sleep and waking up feeling a new person ready for the day’s running. This became my favourite day of the entire six, where everything just fell nicely into place, including the legs and feet feeling strong, no fatigue today and nutrition was working well, giving me heaps of energy. With this I was able to pull out another triple figure day, going home feeling great. But that was about where it stopped.

DAY 6 (85KM): THE ‘FINISH-LINE-IN-SIGHT-DOESN’T-MAKE-FOR-AN-EASY’ DAY

Not a good last night, made it back feeling tired quickly, not prepping for this day and breaking routine. Along with the legs a little heavy now, I basically didn’t get much sleep at all, still awake when the alarm went off at 4am. I knew this was going to be a hard day, especially when I dropped my one and only piece of peanut butter toast that I wanted to eat on the drive out face down on the garage floor. I was starting the last day behind the 8-ball from the word go with being massively sleep deprived and it was to show as the day went on. The morning 4 hour session still went well with managing to break the 600km barrier when I wanted at 9am, but then it started to fall apart a little and the next 4 hour session I managed to only clock up an extra 10km. So for the first time in the whole 6 days, we changed strategy and at lunch time I went down for a half hour sleep, getting up and feeling like a new person, running a really good next block. Then we decided at dinner time to do it again and go down for a second half hour sleep before the last final 4 hour push to the end. This allowed for a really enjoyable finish pulling off some good kilometres to give me a respectable total in the time that I had available. If not for the track closures, I felt I could have kept going for longer.

The journey was amazing, and I found that the discovery has left me with so many positive memories. I remember messaging someone who I respect very much in the 6 day running community at the end of day 5 and simple said, ‘I have discovered the why.’ Something I really wanted to be able to do. The whole discovery of the 6 day is about working through all the moments and being able to piece it all together to come out with such a complete experience, that the journey ends up becoming the reward. And what a reward it has been.

For the 6 days of running the body held up really well. The legs, whilst feeling a little heavy as each day went on, became stronger the further I ran and were more free at the end of day 5 and 6 than they were at the end of day 1. I was really lucky with my feet management, to the point where I had not one single issue on them for the whole time and they required no maintenance or taping at all throughout. I put this down to being really smart in how I ran at the track and never dragging my legs or feet at all for the entire time.

I cycled between two pairs of shoes. For the morning half I wore a pair of Hoka Clifton 8’s (wide) and for the afternoon half changed into a pair of Hoka Bondi 7’s. This I found to be just perfect.

For my clothing, I had a set to change into ready for each day, and apart from changing the top according to the weather conditions throughout the day, I pretty much kept the same on from start to finish. Figured if it was working don’t change it.

Nutrition was definitely interesting, and what we really discovered running in my first 6 day race, was having to adapt to each day with what worked for the body, fatigue and energy levels. Whilst I could sustain a fairly normal running plan over the 1st 3 days, from day 4 I found it was more about the consistency of taking in smaller lots but way more often. Easier to digest and burn. Overall I was really happy with the plan and never found to be lacking too much. This I feel showed with after losing about 3kg over the first 3 days I was able to maintain the same weight to the end.

Lastly this compete journey would not have been what it was for me with the memories I managed to take away, without all the amazing support that I received. Even though it was still a solo run and journey for myself, the encouragement and support from all my friends never made me feel lonely out on the track, and with this at no point did I ever find the time running around the track repetitive.

Firstly the biggest thank you goes out to my beautiful wife Penny Redfern, who without her selfless support for the whole 6 days that started at 4am with me and often went past when I was done each evening, would not have made this whole journey possible for me.

To Stuart Wallace who came out each morning to help Penny with set-up and get me going on the track, to Daniel Tyce who chose to leave the comfort of his couch each evening to keep me company for the last hour and half, in all the conditions and moods. To Simone Hayes, who knew when to turn up just at that right time when I was needing a boost and lifting my spirits out on the track, and bringing me home on that last night, making me run my quickest lap of the whole 6 days on my last lap. Then there was the crowd of 20 or so runners and community who were there on the last night to cheer me to the finish out on a dark track at 9pm at night.

Thank you to everyone from the community for the great support and memories.

I’ll be ready to run the 240km Coast 2 Kosci race in November to finish off the year. After this I can now also concentrate looking towards 2022 and planning for my next big adventure in the wings.

By Kate Dzienis February 19, 2025
The latest in race results, covering Cradle Mountain Run, City Run, Oscars 100 Hut 2 Hut and Yaberoo Trail Ultra.
By Alexis Oosterhoff January 30, 2025
Results for the 2024 AUTRA Points Competition have been finalised, and are available on our Points Competition page. Full details of the top 10 (as shared on Facebook during January) are detailed below, and results for all participating AUTRA members can be found in the documents at the above link. It was a real battle throughout the year between our top two finishers, Phil Gore & Kevin "BK" Matthews, with both giving it their it their all at events, and through contributions to the community - volunteering at multiple events, and submitting articles to our monthly newsletter, Ultramag. They finished within 2km of total distance for the year (Phil on 1203.087km, and Kevin on 1205.510km), and it was only Phil's final volunteering effort on 6 Inch Trail Marathon in December that gave him the that very narrow victory. As you'd be aware from previous communications, this marks the end of the Points Competition. With trail running (of all distances) now incorporated into AU T RA's constitution, and after careful consideration of the costs of the competition payouts in it's current form, the committee felt it was time for it's retirement. This marks my seventh and final year of delivering the points competition to membership (2018-2024), after taking on the role from Cheryl Symons. It has brought me great joy in doing so, and I feel like I've had an opportunity to get to know so many of our members through seeing their race (and volunteering) performances over the years! I'm continuing in my role as the AUS/NZL statistician for DUV (from whom we shared the data for the points comp), and you can expect to continue to find your ultra-race result on their site. 1st Place - Phil Gore (WA) - 86 points Phil's achievements this year have included a massive 265.653km (and 2nd place) at the IAU 24h Asia & Oceania Championships, wins at the Red Dirt Backyard Ultra (33 laps), the Australian leg of Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship (96 laps), and the Soochow/Taipei 24h Ultramarathon (270.826km). He also knocked out an easy (!) 72km at the Light Horse Ultra 24h in between supporting his amazing wife Gemma. Those two 24h wins netted Phil new Oceania 24h Open Male records, IAU Level 1 qualifiers, and pushed him to the top of Australia's 24h trophy board (with only the great Yiannis Kouros having run further). Phil topped-up his points by contributing one article to Ultramag, worked as an Event Director at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, and volunteered at a further five events through the year. He finished on 86 points. 2nd Place - Kevin Matthews (WA) - 84 points Finishing in 2nd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Kevin Matthews. He monstered his way through the year with finishes at Australia Day Ultra 100km, Delirious WEST 200mi, 24 laps at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, 190km at Light Horse Ultra 24h, 23 laps at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, and also completed Feral Pig 100 miler, Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km. And to top things off, he contributed five articles to Ultramag, and volunteered at five events. BK ran 1205km in Ultramarathon races this year, all of them AUTRA-listed, and surpassed 100 marathon finishes (including 51 Ultramarathons!) Kevin finished the year on 84 points, a massive 34 points ahead of our 3rd place finisher Sue Robertson. 3rd Place - Sue Robertson (WA) - 50 points Finishing in 3rd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Sue Robertson. Sue completed the Ultra Series 100 miler trilogy of Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST, and rounded out her year with the Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km races. She received 30 points from the racing at AUTRA-listed events, and was awarded a further 20 points by volunteering across eight events and contributing two articles to Ultramag, for a total of 50 points for the year. Thank you Sue! 4th Place - Margie Hadley (WA) - 47 points Finishing in 4th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Margie Hadley . She was the top-female finisher at both the No Time to Die Frontyard Ultra & Wild Dog Backyard Ultra, 2nd at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, ran 182km at the Australian 24h Track Invitational and placed 3rd at Coast to Kosci. Margie received 47 points in the competition 5th Place - Melissa Robertson (NSW) - 44 points Finishing in 5th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Melissa Robertson. Melissa took out 1st place at Irrational SOUTH 200 miler, 2nd place at Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place at Hume & Hovell 100 miler, 3rd place at Rumble in the Jungle and 6th place at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100 miler! She also volunteered at the GNW 50km event, receiving 44 points in the competition! 6th Place - Aaron Young (WA) - 42 points Finishing in 6th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Aaron Young . Aaron finished in 1st place at each of the Ultra Series "Triple Crown" of 200 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), 55 laps at Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship, and rounded his year out with Feral Pig 100 miler. Aaron receives 42 points, just nudging ahead of Maree Connor (who also finished on 42 points) on a count-back 7th Place - Maree Connor (NSW) - 42 points Finishing in 7th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Maree Connor. Maree had an outstanding year, achieving 2nd place with 221km (and an IAU Level 1 qualifier) at the IAU 24th Asian and Oceania Championships, 1st place at the Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place with 67km at the Southern Sydney 6h race, and 1st place with 116km at the Narrabeen Allnighter 12h. Maree also competed at Spartathlon race this year (for which she contributed an article to the September Ultramag on her experience), receiving 42 points in the competition. 8th Place - Darren Linney (SA) - 41 points Finishing in 8th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is SA's Darren Linney . Darren completed 34 laps at No Time to Die BYU, 199km at the Adelaide 24h race, and 814km at the Australian 6 Day race, for a total of 1241km raced and 41 points . 9th Place - Tristan Cameron (WA) - 40 points Finishing in 9th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Tristan Cameron. Tristan completed the Ultra Series Triple Crown of 200 mile races (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), along with Feral Pig 100 miler, for a total of 1154km raced and 40 points. 10th Place - Jen Millum (WA) - 39 points Finishing in 10th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Jen Millum . Jen finished 1st at all three of the Ultra Series Trilogy of 100 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), and was 2nd female with 35 laps at the Wild Dog Backyard Ultra. With a volunteer stint at the Yaberoo Trail Ultra, Jen finished the year with 39 points in the competition.  To view the complete list of members who secured points in 2024 click here and then follow through to Points Summary under the 2024 tab. All winners have already been contacted, with cash prizes distributed for 1st - 7th places, and AUTRA Store vouchers sent for 8th, 9th & 10th.
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IN OTHER NEWS

By Kate Dzienis February 19, 2025
The latest in race results, covering Cradle Mountain Run, City Run, Oscars 100 Hut 2 Hut and Yaberoo Trail Ultra.
By Alexis Oosterhoff January 30, 2025
Results for the 2024 AUTRA Points Competition have been finalised, and are available on our Points Competition page. Full details of the top 10 (as shared on Facebook during January) are detailed below, and results for all participating AUTRA members can be found in the documents at the above link. It was a real battle throughout the year between our top two finishers, Phil Gore & Kevin "BK" Matthews, with both giving it their it their all at events, and through contributions to the community - volunteering at multiple events, and submitting articles to our monthly newsletter, Ultramag. They finished within 2km of total distance for the year (Phil on 1203.087km, and Kevin on 1205.510km), and it was only Phil's final volunteering effort on 6 Inch Trail Marathon in December that gave him the that very narrow victory. As you'd be aware from previous communications, this marks the end of the Points Competition. With trail running (of all distances) now incorporated into AU T RA's constitution, and after careful consideration of the costs of the competition payouts in it's current form, the committee felt it was time for it's retirement. This marks my seventh and final year of delivering the points competition to membership (2018-2024), after taking on the role from Cheryl Symons. It has brought me great joy in doing so, and I feel like I've had an opportunity to get to know so many of our members through seeing their race (and volunteering) performances over the years! I'm continuing in my role as the AUS/NZL statistician for DUV (from whom we shared the data for the points comp), and you can expect to continue to find your ultra-race result on their site. 1st Place - Phil Gore (WA) - 86 points Phil's achievements this year have included a massive 265.653km (and 2nd place) at the IAU 24h Asia & Oceania Championships, wins at the Red Dirt Backyard Ultra (33 laps), the Australian leg of Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship (96 laps), and the Soochow/Taipei 24h Ultramarathon (270.826km). He also knocked out an easy (!) 72km at the Light Horse Ultra 24h in between supporting his amazing wife Gemma. Those two 24h wins netted Phil new Oceania 24h Open Male records, IAU Level 1 qualifiers, and pushed him to the top of Australia's 24h trophy board (with only the great Yiannis Kouros having run further). Phil topped-up his points by contributing one article to Ultramag, worked as an Event Director at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, and volunteered at a further five events through the year. He finished on 86 points. 2nd Place - Kevin Matthews (WA) - 84 points Finishing in 2nd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Kevin Matthews. He monstered his way through the year with finishes at Australia Day Ultra 100km, Delirious WEST 200mi, 24 laps at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, 190km at Light Horse Ultra 24h, 23 laps at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, and also completed Feral Pig 100 miler, Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km. And to top things off, he contributed five articles to Ultramag, and volunteered at five events. BK ran 1205km in Ultramarathon races this year, all of them AUTRA-listed, and surpassed 100 marathon finishes (including 51 Ultramarathons!) Kevin finished the year on 84 points, a massive 34 points ahead of our 3rd place finisher Sue Robertson. 3rd Place - Sue Robertson (WA) - 50 points Finishing in 3rd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Sue Robertson. Sue completed the Ultra Series 100 miler trilogy of Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST, and rounded out her year with the Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km races. She received 30 points from the racing at AUTRA-listed events, and was awarded a further 20 points by volunteering across eight events and contributing two articles to Ultramag, for a total of 50 points for the year. Thank you Sue! 4th Place - Margie Hadley (WA) - 47 points Finishing in 4th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Margie Hadley . She was the top-female finisher at both the No Time to Die Frontyard Ultra & Wild Dog Backyard Ultra, 2nd at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, ran 182km at the Australian 24h Track Invitational and placed 3rd at Coast to Kosci. Margie received 47 points in the competition 5th Place - Melissa Robertson (NSW) - 44 points Finishing in 5th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Melissa Robertson. Melissa took out 1st place at Irrational SOUTH 200 miler, 2nd place at Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place at Hume & Hovell 100 miler, 3rd place at Rumble in the Jungle and 6th place at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100 miler! She also volunteered at the GNW 50km event, receiving 44 points in the competition! 6th Place - Aaron Young (WA) - 42 points Finishing in 6th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Aaron Young . Aaron finished in 1st place at each of the Ultra Series "Triple Crown" of 200 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), 55 laps at Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship, and rounded his year out with Feral Pig 100 miler. Aaron receives 42 points, just nudging ahead of Maree Connor (who also finished on 42 points) on a count-back 7th Place - Maree Connor (NSW) - 42 points Finishing in 7th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Maree Connor. Maree had an outstanding year, achieving 2nd place with 221km (and an IAU Level 1 qualifier) at the IAU 24th Asian and Oceania Championships, 1st place at the Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place with 67km at the Southern Sydney 6h race, and 1st place with 116km at the Narrabeen Allnighter 12h. Maree also competed at Spartathlon race this year (for which she contributed an article to the September Ultramag on her experience), receiving 42 points in the competition. 8th Place - Darren Linney (SA) - 41 points Finishing in 8th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is SA's Darren Linney . Darren completed 34 laps at No Time to Die BYU, 199km at the Adelaide 24h race, and 814km at the Australian 6 Day race, for a total of 1241km raced and 41 points . 9th Place - Tristan Cameron (WA) - 40 points Finishing in 9th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Tristan Cameron. Tristan completed the Ultra Series Triple Crown of 200 mile races (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), along with Feral Pig 100 miler, for a total of 1154km raced and 40 points. 10th Place - Jen Millum (WA) - 39 points Finishing in 10th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Jen Millum . Jen finished 1st at all three of the Ultra Series Trilogy of 100 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), and was 2nd female with 35 laps at the Wild Dog Backyard Ultra. With a volunteer stint at the Yaberoo Trail Ultra, Jen finished the year with 39 points in the competition.  To view the complete list of members who secured points in 2024 click here and then follow through to Points Summary under the 2024 tab. All winners have already been contacted, with cash prizes distributed for 1st - 7th places, and AUTRA Store vouchers sent for 8th, 9th & 10th.
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