MATTHEWS ECSTATIC TO TAKE THE WIN AT NO TIME TO DIE

The event started at 4pm on Friday afternoon giving us three hours of daylight before we’d need the head torches. I prefer late starts because it means you get to the night earlier so are better prepared to get to the sunset, and if you can get to the sunset you’ll give yourself a good chance of going for the first big milestone, 100km or 15 hours. After that, it’s the 24 hours or 100mi target, then 36 hours (150mi) before the holy grail of 48 hours and 200mi. In the back of my mind this is always the end goal.

The course for the ultra was flat and fast which gave us more time in the business class gazebo with the WA crew. As it was new to us I found the hours ticked over quite quickly and sunrise came around before I knew it, a pleasant surprise. Personally I find the first 15 hours in a backyard ultra the hardest, I struggle to get used to the constant stopping and starting but as I passed the 100km mark I could normally find a second wind to make the 24 hour goal. I have always gotten to the 24 hour mark at all six previous backyard ultras and this was a minimum for this one. I was relieved to hit this goal together with seven other runners, the final eight.

Hydration wise I was running with a 500ml collapsible bottle filled with Bix, various flavours. I love Bix as the flavours are just so good, you can enjoy the drink. Once every five or so laps I would switch to Maurten, which are very, very good and I highly recommend all their products. I particularly like the chewable bars and always feel a boost after eating one, they do make a difference. One caveat is the caffeine gel, this is just too much for me and I used it once in backyard ultras before testing it in training first; rookie error I know. Gave me a headache due to the amount of caffeine, could be a personal thing so test before you use in racing scenarios.

For nutrition, I always eat big meals when I would normally, i.e. 4-5 Weetbix early morning drenched in brown sugar, pasta or similar for lunch and rice and meat for dinner. In-between these larger meals I would snack on something every lap. A gel or similar every three or so laps, chocolate bar every two laps, tin of rice pudding once a day and loads of sweet tea. Always have some form of nutrition every lap. Balancing calories out to calories in takes some doing, remember you’re constantly exercising.

While I’m offering insights into backyard ultras here’s another little gem: break the lap down into three separate sections. By doing this you’re able to hit targets quicker and not have to wait for the full lap i.e. roughly every 2-3km have a point where you can tick a box. For this course it was 2km to a bridge and then a further 3km to the wetlands walking point (up a small rise). 

Another tip is, as with all ultras, you will have ups as well as downs and it’s knowing when you are in a down part of your race and having the ability to mentally drag yourself out of the dark place and into the light. Working with Rob Donkersloot of Mind Focused Running has allowed me to recognise when I need to mentally man up (can I use that term anymore?) and concentrate on changing my attitude. In a backyard ultra it’s so important to do this, more so in this format because you have the ability to work on this while you rest, on your chair, each lap. If you are feeling a bit down, chat to your crew or anybody who will listen, they will help with words of encouragement and sometimes that’s all it takes.

Friday sunset was spectacular and after the sun disappears it’s just you and the small beam of light ahead of you. Time to put on my Taylor Swift mix and audible (77 hours of Sherlock Holmes stories read by Stephen Fry). 

The magnificent eight joining the 24 hour club. It was a relief to get to 24 hours because anything else was now a bonus and I knew I could get to the second night. Runners started to drop out quickly after 24 hours and by lap 28 we were down to the final four. We had lost Nico at 100km/15 hours. Renton equaled his PB of 20 laps but was timed out on lap 21, so close to his 24 hour dream which I am sure he will get to at the Hysterical Carnage in November.

Margie pulled the pin after lap 24, treating this as a training run with the World Satellite Championships in a few weeks. She had easily finished first on all 24 laps and looked relaxed. Jen got to lap 29 and then rang the bell at the start of lap 30. She had plenty left in the tank but was lapping a tad slower than Becky and I and thus found herself running alone. In the end she just wasn’t enjoying the solitude.

Unfortunately in a backyard ultra you each run the lap your way and if others are on the same strategy, and running similar times, that’s great and you have some company. It’s hard to adjust slower or quicker for company because eventually this will come and bite you. I knew Jen was suffering but was worried if I started to slow I’d lose the time I craved in-between laps and fatigue would start to set in, a minute here or there towards the pointy end of a backyard ultra is so important, trust me! This is why events such as Herdy’s in WA are so popular because the field is nearly five times larger and you have company well past 30 laps, it makes for big totals. This event will grow and solitude will be a thing of the past even deep into the event.

Becky and I are pictured below starting lap 31 and setting a new Women’s South Australian record. Becky had been struggling with knee and hamstring issues for quite a few laps but was always smiling and never complained. We managed to get to midnight together and this was always Becky’s primary goal so she decided to pull the pin and grab the assist, handing me the opportunity to run one more lap for the win.

It was surreal running the last lap alone albeit with an accompanying bike, knowing each step would be my last on that course. I was quite sad, truth be told, as I had a bit left in the tank and would have probably made sunrise and then who knows. Easy to say that sitting in my lounge typing this a week later but I really do believe there was more to give. Saying that, I was more than happy to stop, take the win and scuttle off to one of the pods with a warm swag and a stretcher bed to fall asleep. Becky sets a new SA Women’s record, 31 laps.

To the winner the spoils. As well as a trophy for first male I was also presented with an overall winner trophy and a boat. Not a bad haul I reckon albeit I have to give the boat back next year… actually, I have to arrange to get the boat to WA as it’s currently in the Ultra Series SA storage unit. I’m under no illusion this win was down to nothing more than timing, with the Australian Satellite Championships in a month’s time all the top backyard ultra runners were preparing for that. I had decided against running the Satellite Championships as my racing calendar has been, and continues to be, hectic…and another trip over east was just one event too far. No Time To Die was booked in from the start and to take a win was beyond my wildest dreams, I am truly blessed so far this year. At my vintage I treat each win as my last and an unexpected bonus for all the hard yards I’ve put in over the last twenty or so years of racing. That being said this one was very special.

All that was left to do on Sunday morning was pack up the event village and go and watch the annual SA Aussie Rules final, what a better way to recover? Shaun did provide the best bacon and egg sandwich I think I have ever tasted in my life, albeit I was so hungry I could probably have eaten a sweaty thong and thought it tasted good…? A few coffees later we were sitting at Adelaide Oval barracking for a team I had no idea even existed hours earlier (we lost by the way).

I need to thank the volunteers who put in massive shifts over many days, the race directors Shaun Kaesler and Michelle Hamlin, who went above and beyond what is expected and continue to do so every event. My fellow runners who all helped, offering encouragement every lap, these little comments make a big difference. I probably didn’t chat as much as I could have but do try to help my fellow competitors if I can, this event did take a lot out of me and I didn’t really settle into any rhythm until lap 24. I need to take my Shokz head phones out more and will concentrate on this at Hysterical, promise!

Finally to team WA and Becky, you guys rock and I had such a great weekend, pre-event and post event. Becky was just bloody good to spend time with and her crew were always so supportive of her but also me, they must have felt sorry for the bald old fella alone towards the end. Jen gets a special mention as she just went about her business and yet again finished on the podium, so consistent and in the near future Jen is going to go long, very, very long.Margie looked the top runner all day long and it was lucky for me this was a training run for her, as I said earlier I was successful by timing rather than talent.

That’s it for the inaugural No Time To Die, a raging success and my one and only win. So happy with the result but also with the whole weekend, spending time with like minded people doing what we love and that’s the point really. I now need to get ready for the Melbourne Marathon in a few weeks and then the Feral Pig 100mi four weeks after that before taking on the Hysterical Carnage four days post miler, that will be interesting but I choose to enter so it’s down to me. What could possibly go wrong?