An ultra marathon is any distance greater that the standard marathon of 42.2km. In the past I have completed 2 ultras and was hungry for a 3rd when this event popped up and gave me goose bumps just thinking about it.
100 km of running/trekking over the Victorian high country was right up my alley and this event was to good to pass up.
Nearing the end of summer 2017, the hard work was done, the training complete and the destination was set, the beautiful Mt Buller.
First sight of Mt Buller
Making our way up to the mountain on Thursday arvo the nerves were starting to kick in as we passed through small towns constantly looking for a toilet stop as we were in full hydration mode.
This event was the first of its type and the hardest 100km ultra marathon in Aus.
There were 2 categories, the invitation only solo event and the team of 2 event.
Travelling up from Melton was myself and team mate Eddy ( Waz and Eds Excellent Adventure) and the dynamic duo of Tom and Dale.
After a good sleep we woke at 4am, geared up and made sure all our mandatory gears was in check and headed to the start line where the fun was to kick off at 5am sharp.
Everyone was full of beans when the start gun sounded and we were off. Some ran, some walked but our hearts were all pumping as the first 3.5 km was straight up hill to the highest point in the race, the summit of Mt Buller.
It was pitch black so no views were to be seen as we rounded the cairn and headed down the treacherous 8 mile spur. The rocky and technical terrain made for slow going especially as it was still dark with only a conga line of head torches to be seen.
By about 6:30 and 90 minutes into the event the sun started to show its pretty face and gave us an indication of a beautiful day to come.
It wasn't long now before we reached the bottom of 8 mile and the lowest part of the race. I had caught up to Ed who had wandered off a bit in excitement and we were relieved to put our torches away and know that the extreme downhill that we had just experienced was over for the time being.
We hit the Howqua River for a small crossing and reached the first aid station.
This was the last time we saw the dynamic duo of Dale and Tom as they got their goat on and took off at a cracking pace.
After a quick stop and a refill of the water we were off again for a easy section along the fast flowing river on a flat single trail that was very cruisey.
The ease and beauty of the river was short lived as we were about to run head first into the toughest climb of the race, 5km of up with almost 900 mt in elevation gain. Time to get the goat on.
Was a tough climb with our legs starting to feel every step but we did make sure we had small mini breaks to recover a little and also take in where we actually were as the scenery looking back toward Buller was pretty nice.
After a grueling climb we finally reached the refrigerator gap check point where we caught our breath and took in some well earned pringles and a banana. Our comfort was short lived as we had another climb to do before we had reached the top of the ridge.
Again it was up at a slow pace, muscles burning and heart soaring on the way up to The Bluff, a nice little peak with great views.
We were now starting to realize the beauty of where we at as the views of the rolling mountains were endless as we were now above the tree line trotting along a ridge that would be covered in snow during the winter.
Before long we had hit the next check point and a cool little place called Bluff Hut where we once again took 5 minutes to regroup and a quick chat to the vollies.
Bluff Hut
From here it was a rolling 4wd track to the next check point and the lay over hut for the hikers who chose to do the event over the 3 days.
Lovicks Hut was a awesome little spot and liked all the check points, maned by fantastic and encouraging people.
We didn't stay long here as we still felt ok and wanted to get a wiggle on knowing that time was starting to slip away and we needed to be at Mt Spec check point by 6pm otherwise we would have to pull out of the event, but we were doing ok and knew we would make it.
Lovicks Hut
Just after Lovicks we were cruising along on the AAWT on a section that I had hiked 3 years ago with Brent so I knew what was in store and I was so looking forward to it.
The single trail that snaked its way along up and down the ridge line was awesome with non stop breath taking views in every direction.
I was stopping for as many pics as I could while trying not to keep Ed waiting as he continued at a steady pace.
We crossed Mt Magdala and headed east toward Mt Howitt keeping the pace steady with a constant shuffle while taking in the panoramic views.
Slowly clocking up the kilometers we come to a spot I remember well from my time up here a few years back, an awesome rock formation called Hells Window.
It was packs down for a few pics and the customary selfie or two.
Hells Window
It started warming up as it was early afternoon so out come Eds big floppy hat to try and keep the rays from his sun deprived English skin.
We continued along crossing the authentically named Big Hill on our way toward Mt Howitt. It was still hard work but we seemed to be making ok ground.
From Howitt we could see our next challenge an the thing I had been looking forward to the most, the mighty Cross Cut Saw Spur.
Cross Cut Saw
Before we could tackle the 6km spur we needed to hit the Gantner Hut check point. We reached Gantner at about 4pm, a cool little A frame hut maned but a group of awesome vollies. Fatigue was starting to kick in now as we had been going hard now for 11 hours and were not quite half way.
Spewing I didn't get a pic of the hut but after a quick stop we were on the move again as we needed to reach Speculation CP by 6pm otherwise we would have to take a fast forward to King Valley and be disqualified.
The target, 9km in two hours, seems doable, so we were off. The crosscut looked amazing and named accordingly as it looked like a saw that was upside down with the ridge being a constant up down up down and it didn't take long to realize that there were no forgiving areas and it was going to be tough.
The rumors were right, the going was tough with no flat part on the spur, we were either slogging up or slogging down and by now we were starting to feel every footstep and wincing in pain with every breath, but we were pushing on.
The sun was starting to drop and the day was getting away from us. Half way only the crosscut we realized that we would not make the Speculation CP by 6pm and the feeling of dread started to kick in with the knowledge that we would have to be driven to King Valley for the night and continue from there ,meaning a DNF.
I didn't feel that bad as we would still be completing 88km but would be disappointing not to do the whole 100.
As we neared Mt Speculation we were content with the fact that we would not make cut off so took the time to enjoy where we were. The sun was lowering so the light and the shadows over the mountains were breathtaking.
There was a section nearing Mt Spec that required a bit of rock hopping and scrambling but this was a little fun even though our legs were in major pain and ready to find new owners.
The views from the top of Mt Speculation were amazing. There was a lone hiker that had set up her tent on the summit waiting for what was going to be a beautiful sunset.
View from Mt Spec.
The last couple of kilometers were straight forward, downhill and we could see the checkpoint from a distance.
We rolled in a little after 7pm and were so relieved that we were done for the day. We had traveled about 60 grueling kilometers and were in need for a rest.
The head person at the check point informed us that we were not allowed to continue and that we would have to be driven 12km to the King Valley to lay over there for the night.
We were looked after like royalty, the vollies were amazing, cooked us some food, we even had a beer but I was feeling down that we had failed.
We pulled up a chair by the fire and watched as other runners joined us and were told of the same fate.
We had worked so hard, trained our ass off and I wasn't ready to hop in that car. I spoke to Ed and he agreed that we should stay here for the night, even if it was sitting in front of the fire and head off in the morning. After asking the organizers they were happy for us to stay and we convinced one of the solo runners to stay with us as all the others were driven away.
Eddy, me and our new friend Canadian Pete were given a tent and a couple of blankets to rest in for the night. We can safely say that we had no sleep but the rest was good and by 5am we were up and on our way trying not to wake the amazing vollies that were more than accommodating the night before.
We made our way along a 4wd track for about 8km. The three of us were feeling ok and keeping to a steady pace and making good time. Now it was time to head down into the King Valley via Muesli spur.
We dropped over 600mt in about 3 km down this technical spur but had a bit of fun and by now we were able put our head lamps away as we had first light.
Scramble down Muesli Spur
At the bottom of the spur is was easy going as we said seeya to Pete as he was moving and wasn't looking back.
By 8am we had reached a popular and busy camp site and a major check point, the King Valley Hut.
I had a can of coke and a Vegemite sanga before we took of to start our way up again.
King Valley Hut.
Not long after leaving the King Valley we needed to cross a few rivers before the long slow slog back up to the high country.
From here it was up, up , up along a main 4wd track. We slowly climbed and the going was tough as it didn't let up and we were 80km into our journey and we were hanging for the finish line.
It took a few hours before we hit the iconic Craig's Hut as seen in the Man from Snowy River. This was a cool little check point with once again nice people manning it but the hard work wasn't over, we still had a half marathon to go and needed to summit two major mountains.
Craig's Hut.
After another sandwich and a water refill we were once again on our way. Sore everything, major blisters, fatigue, we were both in a world of hurt but needed to carry on.
With every step there was pain and from this point we both new that running or even jogging was out of the question as our bodies would not have handled it.
The next check point was the summit of Mt Stirling (1750mt) but it was not going to come easy, we needed to work for it and climb up into the clouds.
Mt Stirling summit.
After a banana and a drink we were marching on, downwards towards Howqua Gap Hut and the final aid station. Every step down was a reminder on how many steps we needed to take back up to the summit of Buller.
We passed through the last aid station not staying long as we now only had 12km to go, but it was mostly up hill so probably a good 3 hours. Brent and I had camped at Hwoqua Gap Hut a few years back, it was a cool little spot.
The section up to Buller was cool, a zig zaging mountain bike track and it was here where we caught up to Ole Mate Pete, he was done but pushing on.
We finally made Mt Buller but the challenge wasn't over.
We needed to climb to the summit cairn before coming back down to the information center and the finish line. From here on ever step was a challenge, every muscle was shot, we had nothing left but the smell of victory and the admiration we would receive once crossing that line.
We had heard that our staying out at Mt Spec and not taking the fast forward had earned us a lot of respect and that only one team had finished the whole 100km in front of us. That was of coarse Tom and Dale, huge effort boys.
Mt Buller Summit, 2km to go.
We were 98km into our adventure and the finish line was almost in sight. We had trouble lifting our legs for every step but the thought of crossing the finish line after an epic event kept us going.
It was all down hill from here and as we trotted into the village we stopped for a second, looked at each other, smiled and said "we did it" hugged it out and got our trot on, it was time to forget about the pain and run the last few hundred meters.
As we turned the corner and the finishing shoot was in sight to my surprise we heard a massive cheer, there were people everywhere that had come out to watch us finish.
The feeling was so amazing, we crossed the line, Ed and I hugged each other as Chris Ord, the race director come up to us and presented us with the rare finishing belt buckle.
We had complete strangers come up to hug and congratulate us. It was a nice feeling knowing we could just sit down and not have to take another step if we didn't want to.
A cold beer was on offer and went down a treat as we composed ourselves and started to comprehend what we had just achieved.
Was a little disappointing we had to have a lay over but this event was brutal with a lot of people not finishing.
What an adventure. We had just run, jogged, trotted, walked and sometimes crawled 100km, bloody hell. There was a lot of pain, tears, we struggled and could have given up at any time but pushed ourselves to our absolute limits, and we would do it all again.
One thing was for curtain, Waz and Ed did absolutely have an excellent adventure.
