HEYDEN AIMS FOR ANOTHER 100KM PB

Kate Dzienis • April 30, 2021

Contributed by Andrew Heyden, AURA member

Coburg 24hr/Australian 100km Championships, 17-18 April 2021, Harold Stevens Athletic Track Vic

I starting planning for the my next A Race back in December having fully recovered from my 50km in late October. I was in good ultra form and thought the best options were another 50km, to find the extra minute for the age group world record or try to better my 100km PB.

I wasn’t confident that the Canberra Running Festival would go ahead given the size of the field and Covid restrictions so I opted for the Australian 100km Championships knowing it would be a smaller field and less likely to have issues going ahead.

The race was on the track this year as part of the Coburg 24hr Track Festival which has been going since 1983. A track ultra would be a new experience and challenge.

Training went well through January and February and whilst training solo most of the time, I gained confidence winning the February and March Striders 10km races on un-tapered legs. The elements of training were the same as in 2020, not too much speedwork (very little under half marathon pace) and lots of runs over hills, plus some longer 40km and one 50km run. I kept the weekly mileage the same at a max of 110-120km over 12 weeks and all was looking good.

In late March though I was getting bored of training on my own. I had done a few long runs with my usual gang but most days I was running solo around St Ives as I’m not working in the city at present, my last role having been made redundant.

Then in early April, two weeks out, I got a heavy head cold and felt rubbish for a week. I missed a few runs and could only plod a few. My confidence waned and I lost the mental edge, not helped by the stresses of my job search and interviews the week of the race.

Race day came and I took a flight to Melbourne in the morning. Had a light breakfast and banana for lunch.

The race started at 2pm and within 20 minutes I knew three of us were competing for the national medals. My planned 4.15 pace felt right and the Coros watch was measuring accurate on the track (it has a great feature, you set it to the lane you are in and it adjusts for the bends). Whilst the laps were boring, it was good watching the 24hr runners in Lane 1, who had started 2 hours earlier, and hearing their camaraderie and banter.

First focus point was the 2hr mark when we changed direction on the track. Average pace was around 4.16 and I was in 2nd and on for my first goal, the 6hr Australian M45 age group record.

I remained focused on getting a gel down every 7km and ticked off the laps between each gel.

Pace remained good through 30km and I set my sights on running strong until the sun went down.

Three and a half hours in, with the setting sun, it got cooler and I started to fade, my body clock just didn’t like the setting sun. I tried to convince myself that the cooler temperature would make it easier to run the same pace but it wasn’t happening.

Pace slipped to 4.20-4.22 as we went through the marathon and I set my sights on running strong to 50km. It was now dark and I didn’t feel great under the floodlights, shivered a bit but got myself together. Feet were good but I had a slight pain in my right shin. Pace slipped to 4.30s and it was way too early for that, not a good sign.

Still another 20km needed by the 6hr mark for the record and was looking tough. My mind started convincing me to let it go and focus on consolidating my 2nd place in the 100km, if I push now for the 6hr record I might blow up. Kept the gels going in every 7km and took some CurraNZ (blackcurrant) capsules to help the muscles in the late stages of the race.

About 68km and I slipped to a 5 minute kilometre. My hip flexors were now the problem, they had tightened and not comfortable and made it very hard running below 5 minute kilometres. Still a long way to go.

Finally through to 6hrs, race director Tim Erickson handed me a small sandbag and I held it for a lap until the 6hrs call and dropped it for exact measurement. I knew I had missed the record by just under 1km. Could I have pushed for it, how much would it have taken out of me.

At this point Anthony in second caught up with me and that was a good boost to switch on and hang on to him for the next 15 minutess. I knew from the live lap TV display on the start/finish line that he was 8 laps behind.

My mind was failing a bit now and I couldn’t remember if I had taken a gel at 84km. My crew told me that I had but I didn’t remember doing so at all. It was so important to have a crew members keeping an eye on me, huge thanks to ultra legends Kay Bretz and Dion Finocchiaro.

Now to keep moving through to 90km but it was bloody hard going. I was determined not to stop. Got the kms back to 5.10 pace and made the call not to switch to Coke as the gels were just about staying down. Finally just 5km to go and the end in sight (albeit I had already crossed the finish line 210 times !). Laps had been passing so slowly. At last just 10 laps to go and I found a second (probably fifth) wind, back under 5 minute kilometres again.

I finished in 7 hrs 46 mins, way off my PB. My fastest kilomere was 4.04, slowest was 5.22 and average 4.40. Second Overall and runner up in the National Championships again, as in 2018.

It was great meeting winner Clay Dawson (winner in 2019 too) and 3rd placed Anthony Boyle, both great blokes.

Kudos to the 24hr runners, I went back to watch them in the morning and they were all moving well

It wasn’t my day but I’m happy I finished it off.

Positives – runner up in the National Championships at 47 years young ain’t bad, quads held up well, no blisters or chaffing, nutrition went well. I think I actually only enjoyed the first 25 laps and last 7 or 8, not the 200 in the middle.

Learnings – running into the night was really hard, running laps on the track was brutal, going into the race mentally drained made for a tough day, just didn’t have the mental resilience I needed to push through faster. Whilst I love the Nike Next %s, I didn’t feel they were as beneficial on the track vs road and probably come into their own at sub 4 min kms for me.

I’m still drawn to the challenge and history of ultras and this hopefully won’t be my last. This year is the 100th anniversary of the iconic Comrades Ultra Marathon, I was originally hoping to tackle but of course was cancelled months ago. Glad I could fill the void with another decent challenge.

Legs are good post race, very little soreness but am taking the week off running and just cycling instead.

Time to rest up and find a job and then I’ll find the next running challenge.

Pictured: From left to right Phil Ryan (1010), Axel Carlsson (1014), Anthony Boyle (1013), George Mihalakellis (1011), Andy Heyden (1007), Stuart Hughes (1009) and Clay Dawson (1012) starting in the Australian 100km Track Championships. Photograph – Coburg/Supplied.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

AUTRA News Report 19-02-2025

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.

Final 2024 Points Competition Results

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.