NO GOALS, NO EXPECTATIONS

WORDS: PHIL GORE IMAGES: HEATH WATKINS, PETER BARRY

WTF ULTRA 2022 - WA

The WTF Ultra has a rich history, holding the title of the first 100-mile trail race in WA. I first heard of this event in 2015, but had no interest in running anything further than a marathon back then. 100 miles was a distance I never considered doing – not even in the ‘maybe one day’ category. So, WTF was an event I never imagined I would take part in.

Eventually, I did progress to becoming an ultra runner, but I gravitated towards the timed and backyard events, and still didn’t really consider entering the 100mile or point-to-point races. When I heard that 2022 would be the final year for WTF, I thought that if I’m going to do this event, it’s now or never.

However, with my A-race of the Backyard Satellite Championships only 3 weeks later, it would have been unwise to sign up for the 50or 100-mile distance.

Fortunately, with the new addition of the 50km, it worked out perfectly as a training run, and meant I could still be a part of it all. Although not technically a point-to-point race, it would still be my distance PB for a nonlooped course (WTF consists of three out-and-back legs, two of which you complete for the 50km).

About a week and a half before the race, I made a trip down to Dwellingup with my mate Chris to do a recon run. We covered about three-quarters of the course, just missing the second half of leg 3. Before the recon run, I remember thinking that the race would be a nice easy 50km run with a few little hills, but afterwards I was thinking “What the f*** have I signed myself up for?” (I could now understand the inspiration for the event’s name).

It felt a lot harder than I imagined it would be, and the hills weren’t exactly ‘little’.

I had guessed the event might take me around four hours or so, but after previewing the course I thought five hours might be more realistic (or possibly even optimistic).

On race day morning, I was picked up by mates Shannon and Justin Wakefield at around 4am and we made the drive down to Dwellingup from Perth. They would both be running the 50km as well. My wife Gemma would drive down later to see me finish, and I gave her a ballpark estimation of ‘about 5 hours, give or take.’

We arrived at race headquarters, Nanga Bush Camp, about 5am. I collected my bib and placed my drop bags in the relevant containers. The HQ was a hive of activity and nervous energy as runners made their final preparations. At 6am, everyone started at the same time and ran the first leg together. I started out conservatively and stayed with the front of the pack for a short distance, before taking the lead about 1km in. I was on my own for a lot from that point. That’s one of the things about a non-looped course – it can get a bit lonely.

The first 9km was along a wide fire trail, and whilst it was undulating, there weren’t any serious hills. With my headphones in, I couldn’t hear the footsteps of Nigell Lee who was quite close behind me, so I was slightly surprised when he pulled up alongside me.

I paused my audiobook and we had a bit of a chat, he was doing the 50km as well. After the first 9km, we reached Aid Station 1, which was just before the aptly named Loop of Despair. This loop was about 5.5km, the first 1.3km of which has about 180m of elevation. And you had to do it twice!

As I had reconned this part of the course, I knew what to expect, but for some reason it didn’t seem as bad as I remembered it. Nigell and I were still both together as we ascended the hill, and we helped spur each other on. There were only a few little sections here and there that I walked, the rest of it I was able to run (as opposed to the recon, where I had walked almost all of it).

After the uphill was out the way, it headed back down, nice wide trail at first but then it narrowed into a single track that was quite overgrown.

As I got to a water crossing, I let Nigell pass me and I stopped and pulled out two plastic bags from my pocket. I placed them over my shoes, waded through the stream, and made it across to the other side without getting my feet wet. Shortly after, the course looped back to Aid Station 1, where I had to turn around and head back up the hill and do the Loop of Despair all over again.

Nigell and I stayed roughly together for the second loop as well. Up and down we went, and again I pulled out the plastic bags to help me cross the stream. We then passed the aid station for the third time, and I dumped my rubbish before heading back towards the race HQ. Back on the wide fire trail, I was able to pick up the pace and started to pull away from Nigell.

I was back to being on my own, so I put my audiobook back on. I think there was slightly more elevation on the way back than on the way out, but it didn’t seem to slow me down too much. I embraced the undulating nature of the course and every now and then I would pause my audiobook and just focus on the surrounding environment and being in the present moment.

I made it back to the race HQ and was greeted by a lot of familiar faces cheering me on. It was a nice morale booster. I had completed 29km by that point and was feeling pretty comfortable. I quickly stocked up on nutrition supplies and headed out on leg 3 (the 50km skips leg 2).

There were no surprises for the first part of this, but once I passed the halfway point it was all new ground to me. It was the only part of the course I hadn’t reconned. This was probably for the best though, as there were some really tough hills in this section that I would have been dreading the whole race had I known about them beforehand.

All it required though was a slight mind-set shift. Instead of looking at these hills as a hindrance, I saw them as an opportunity. Every hill was an opportunity to practise my power hiking, which I knew I needed more training with. I ploughed on through until I got to the 40km point, where I turned around. I got to see a few more friendly faces on the return, and we cheered each other on as we passed. I also got a good indication of how the field was spread out. I worked out I was at least 4km in front of second place, and so I had all but assured first place (not that I had that as a goal, but it was nice to know).

Feeling confident with just over 5km to go, I kicked it up a notch, which was helped even more by it being mostly downhill. I was ecstatic to finish in first place in a time of 4:22:11. I even had time to have a shower and get changed before my wife showed up about 10 minutes later.

Should have given her an estimate of 4 hours.

This was the first non-backyard event I’d gone into without any performance goals or expectations of a podium position, and I’m super stoked with the result. As much as I’m proud of my time and position, what I’m more chuffed with is how I felt during the race and how much I enjoyed the experience. I wasn’t fixated on pace or stressing about what time I was going to finish. I felt strong from beginning to end and it was a massive confidence booster. Mind Focused Running definitely played a big role in this.

The other thing that helped me do well in this race was getting my nutrition right. I felt I had the right amount of energy from the start right through to the end. Thank you to Gaby Villa at Intenseatfit for working with me on my nutrition plan.

Thank you to race director David Kennedy for all the time and energy you’ve put into this event over the last nine years, and thank you to all the volunteers who helped make it possible. Hopefully a way can be found to continue this event in an official capacity for future years.