Hitting the first 100km

After completing Australian Alpine Ascent 80km in March this year, and enjoying the experience, I knew I wanted to sign up for a 100km trail event later in the year. I’m relatively new to both ultra distances and trail running, and my coach Jenny Morris suggested that Hume and Hovell would be a good first 100km event, she wasn’t wrong!

On October 11 myself, my husband and our 3 children left our home in the small rural town of Bombala and travelled across the mountains. With our caravan in tow, we made it to the event hub at Henry Angel Trackhead where we camped Friday and Saturday night.

After collecting my race pack and having all mandatory gear checked at the Tumbarumba Bowling Club, it was time to return to camp for a high carb rice dinner, last minute crew bag check and a good night’s rest (which didn’t quite eventuate with all the excitement).

My alarm went off at 4:30am on Saturday morning. It was time to put my contacts in, dress in race wear and have a coffee and breakfast. We made our way over to the start line at 5:40am for a quick race briefing and event start at 6am.

The 100km event is made up of two out and backs. The first is 38km in total and very scenic, running alongside creeks, through native trees and onto Mannus Lake, the turnaround point. I chose not to take advantage of crew during this section, knowing I was capable of running the distance I have completed numerous times in training whilst carrying all the gear and fuel I needed, and maintaining a positive mindset.

I made it back to Henry Angel in just over 5 hours and was met by my family. This is the first crewed event I have participated in, and despite all the prior angst we nailed it! I quickly took off my vest to change shirts, disposed of all rubbish, inserted new bottles with cold tailwind, topped up fuel, had my mandatory gear check and was back on course all within two and a half minutes.

By this time, it had warmed up and there was no breeze. The course followed the track in the opposite direction and was thick grass for the first several kms. There were several rocky sections to navigate, and small water crossings prior to the aid station 7km in.

After here the vert kick in, although the gain was felt over a fair distance and wasn’t too challenging. After a short section of gravel road, it was back to single trail. There was another aid station at 60km before continuing onto Paddys Dam and the Pines turnaround where I was once again met by my family. After another quick pit stop I was back on my way, still feeling strong at 70km and 10 hours in.

6km into the return I had a fall. I would like to give you an elaborate story of tripping over a rock, or a tree root, but in reality I fell over nothing. Luckily I wasn’t injured, but it did slow me down as I became more aware that I needed to concentrate to make it to the finish in one piece.

I went into the event knowing it would get hard, especially after a tough mental event 3 weeks prior at Surf Coast 50km. However, I managed to keep a calm head and surprised myself by coping very well mentally.

Fueling was a concern. As anyone who has completed a 50km+ run knows, it is hard to train for this when the event is so long. Again, everything went well and I was able to take on 6 gels, 2 packets of chews, 2 koda bars, 2 handfuls of pretzels, 3L of tailwind and 5L water.

At the 93km mark I ran into a brumby foal that followed me for 1.5km, nudging me in the bum every few steps and slowing me down considerably. I was horrified at the thought of walking into the Junction Campground aid station with my ‘friend,’ however 50m prior we walked across a foot bridge and the foal slipped and fell into the water (it was a short drop). I thought I heard the foal retreat and quickly made my way forward alone and told a volunteer. It turns out the foal was a newborn and had been abandoned by its mother. The track maintenance team assisted the foal on Sunday and she (later name Junction) was taken to a rescue farm, a good result for all.

The last section of the track was back through the grass. I had maintained 7th position for much of the race and was overtaken about 2km prior to the finish.

My goal time was between 14 and 16 hours. I crossed the finish line in 15 hours, 13 minutes and 50 seconds, 2^nd female and 8^th overall. In hindsight I know I didn’t push myself enough, I had a fun day out and finished in good spirits and physical condition. It’s hard to have regrets given this was my first 100km, but I can’t wait to tackle the distance again and attempt to reach my potential.

This was my favourite event to date. It was small in comparison to some, and so well organised. The volunteers could not have been more helpful and positive. There were rocks and dirt trails as expected, and a great deal of thick grass that was very unexpected and made it slow going in sections. It was scenic, and it was rugged. It was hot, and it was chilly once the sun went down. I genuinely enjoyed every minute. It's now time to rest and recover before a shorter event in late November, and planning for 2025. I'm so happy I found my passion for running and the ultra/trail community.