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Race Report: Herdy's Frontyard Ultra by Kevin Matthews
Herdy's frontyard ultra - 16 march 2024 - Herdsman Lake, WA
contributed by kevin matthews, aura member (city beach, wa)
Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra 2024, another beast of an event coming probably a tad too soon after the Delirious West 200 miler a few weeks prior. This was to be my fourth Herdy’s finishing assist to the great Phil Gore in 2021 with 47 yards (laps/hours) and then a 34 yard effort in 2022 and 28 yards in 2023. This was my 10th backyard ultra and I had harboured thoughts of a possible retirement from this format of racing.
The issue I have with the format is it allows you to push yourself way beyond what you would normally consider achievable. This is a double edged sword as the mental torture running these events is real and you tend to break yourself physically and mentally. Basically they take too much out of me and because it’s a race against the clock, on the hour, every hour, you never get time to rest, the clock is always ticking. Running 6.7km in an hour is easy, until it’s not and then how far do you push your mind and body. This format gives you the opportunity to test your limits.
Grabbing a decent spot these days is getting more and more difficult. I was one of many who turned up before the 8am time constraint to grab a spot. With nearly 400 runners space was a premium. It remined me of an old Western style gold rush with gazebos substituted for wagons and horses. Luckily I managed to secure my preferred 3mx3m spot of real estate, close to the start line. With these types of events where you are back at the start line on the hour, every hour, you need to be comfortable in your ‘downtime’. A BCF Wander reclining chair, gazebo and a table are the bare minimum. You then need to add change of clothes, massage gun, fisocrem, food (and lots of it), toiletries i.e. drugs, tape, sudocream, etc., basically a cut down Chemist Warehouse. This year I spied a few weber barbeques, enough fairy lights to be visible from space and heaters and fans of all shapes and sizes. Every year people get more and more ingenious, I’m sure I’ll see a blow up pool one day.
My good friend Simon Bennet joined me in the gazebo and we were both gunning for 48 hours, albeit this was quickly amended to 24 hours after a brutal early evening and night of heat and humidity that zapped all the energy from out already tired legs post Delirious. Funnily enough the last two years at Hardy’s have been humid and both times I’ve suffered on tired legs, luckily I have a very short memory albeit it comes back to me pretty quickly after a few hours running around the a lake. I’ll probably type the same thing for Herdy’s 2025.
The event starts at 4pm Friday afternoon so before you know it you are treated to a spectacular sunset, and if you get to the right point at the right time ], great photos. The trail section at the end of the loop is always amazing at sunset, it just comes alive bathed in the last remnants of the sun’s rays before giving way to night.
So the event itself started well enough, I had friends from work at the first bridge, about 800m from the start, so would sprint off and reach it ahead of the field, do a bit of ‘show pony; shenanigans’ and then wait for the field to catch me up before jogging in with the lead runners. I was quite relieved when they got bored of waiting for me and decided the barbeque was a better place to be at the sun disappeared. Although the first few laps were without incident I wasn’t eating and when my Wife brought down a pasta dish I couldn’t face it, albeit it was pretty dry. I had a few mouthfuls and then decided I could survive on the electrolytes, rookie error. As the night went on the heat and humidity didn’t disappear and it was an uncomfortable night for all runners.
I started to return to the pack and I soon found myself surrounded by head torches and finishing mid pack at best. Walking breaks became a thing and my recovery time suffered accordingly. This is what Lazarus Lake , the architect of these events, meant when he said ‘ a backyard ultra is easy, until it isn’t’. The clock is always ticking unlike most Ultras when if you feel you need a break you just take one, time is not your enemy. In a BYU the distance is very do-able but you get worn down over time and your recovery time decreases, minute by minute until eventually you have none.
Looking at Strava I could see resting time disappearing before it faded completely as I started to finish and then walk straight to the starting coral, with my crew changing my water, feeding me and adding ice to neckerchief and arm sleeves as I walked through. No time for any ‘chair rest’, it was continual movement. This is the first time I had done this, normally I’m going ok and then I quit, even when I lapping in the high forties or low fifty minutes. This strategy of not spending any time in the reclining chair was used to good effect by Harvey Lewis when he took out the Bigs World BYU Championships in October last year. He’d come in around the late fifty minute mark and then sit on a log near the starting corral while his crew changed his nutrition and hydration and then off he’d go again. Other runners would come in earlier but eventually be worn down by the effort this would take deep into the competition, and I’m talking three or four days. Harvey had a sweet spot of getting in with just enough time but not expending too much effort on the course. By doing this he outlasted everybody.
Herdy’s starts a 4pm so you have two sunset twilight laps before you are cocooned in the little circle of light given off by your headtorch, albeit with nearly 400 headtorches on course for the first few night loops it was a pretty special spectacle. At this time you put on your audible book, music or podcasts to keep your mind active as you swan around the lake. Early evening is normally a relaxing time as you have a good period in your chair and you’re still excited about what lies ahead. This time though something was different, without any nutrition I was struggling and every lap was starting to take longer and longer. I always find the first 15 hours of a BYU testing at the best of times, this year I was in trouble early.
My lowest ever return from a BYU was 24 hours, my first one at Birdy’s back in 2020. I had promised my Wife I’d be back in Perth by a certain time so pulled the plug when I was feeling great. My last lap was in the high thirty minutes, what could have been? The following year I ran my furthest, 47 laps at Herdy’s 2021. Early in the game I knew I was never getting anywhere near 47 laps but was determined not to finish with less than 24 hours, 100 miles. I just need to get to the sunrise and then I was certain I’d be good for a 24 hour finish.
When the sun eventually poked up from over the horizon I was in deep strive, no nutrition for many hours I was banking on some weetbix and a sweet tea to save my race. This was dutifully delivered by Karen just before 8am. I wolfed down the weetbix and drank the tea and I was back in the game. I repeated the feat the next lap and things started to look up albeit I was still lapping slower than I liked. As the day warmed up I resorted to icy poles and would take four or five onboard as I staggered from the finish to the start line. My times were now in the middle fifty minutes, no time for any sitting down. This went on from lap seventeen to twenty when I came close to pulling the pin.
On lap 21 I was ready to quit. I walked virtually half the course to the drunk fountain and was ready to walk it in. I was dead last and gathered up my mate Graeme who was on the phone arranging to be picked up. As we contemplated the best way to DNF Aaron Young came running past and said we still had thirty minutes, we could still make it. That was all the encouragement I needed, it was on. I set off in hot pursuit of the two runners ahead of me and Graeme joined me. We both made lap twenty one but my time was now limited, I’m talking one or two minutes between laps, enough time to sit down in the start corral and ask myself why I was doing this?
I survived lap twenty two and set off on lap twenty three unsure of whether I’d make it or not. I was now walking to the first bridge, in stark contrast to the first laps when I was sprinting to get there first. Now I was last by a country mile and there was no running, this was one of my two walk breaks. I would walk to the fist bridge and then walk again to eh drink fountain. After a rest at the fountain I would try and stagger home. By doing this I survived probably five or six hours longer than I thought I could. This was an invaluable lesson and one I will take onboard at my next BYU.
At the end of lap twenty three I was done. Horizontal in the start corral now, no more sitting. I lay there waiting for the one minute warning. I knew this would tough but I had to complete lap twenty four, come hell or high water. For this lap I ran, I use the word ran in the broadest sense of the word, to the first bridge so I could at least see my fellow runners. I used this as inspiration to keep moving forward and came in, lap twenty four, dead last but made it in fifty eight minutes. That was it, mission accomplished.
Karen handed me and coffee and I collapsed to the floor. My equal worst result in terms on distance (laps) but I had learned some valuable lessons. My nutrition and hydration needs to improve and you can run for many more laps if you avoid the chair and time your walk breaks according to the weather and also your general overall condition. These two lessons alone make Herdy’s 2024 a success, as well as an eleventh equal finish from the 376 starters which wasn’t a bad result either.
So Herdy’s 2024 was a B+ for effort. Had to work hard to get through the first night with very little nutrition and managed to at least keep my 24 hour minimum finish time for BYU number 10. Retirement was very short lived and I can’t wait for my next BYU in a few months time…until then I have the Lighthorse 24 hour ultra soon. No rest for the wicked, why would you?
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