2012 Hares & Hounds Race Report

Bubbling anticipation, thrumming heart, the unknown awaits
Twinkling lights bouncing, inky blackness, anticipating dawn
Footfalls forging steady, navigating earthly scars, toward the unknown
Determined stare, questions within, chasing dreams
Internal struggle, fight or flight, running on empty
Broken body, iron will, sanctuary awaits
Ultramarathon finisher

Ode to an ultra runner
Sean's first Ultramarathon
By Ben Cornelius 2012

On Sunday 8th January 2012 I ran in the 54km Hares & Hounds trail run in the Glasshouse Mountains. It was my first ultra of the year and although I had minimal training I had an alternative motive for entering. The race was to be the first ultra marathon for my friend Sean Peckover. I have gotten to know Sean and many of the other runners and triathletes in Rockhampton since moving here in 2009. Sean has developed a healthy desire to improve his running and challenge himself. He has completed a few marathons over the last couple of years and has entered the 2012 edition of The North Face 100. I have helped Sean where I can by giving him some advice and help with training etc but he has worked really hard over the last few months, put in some very solid training and was ready to enter and complete his first Ultra. I will let Sean tell his story and if you are interested he has a blog which talks about his running adventures. You can find it at: www.runpexrun.blogspot.com

Going into this race I had a less than ideal build-up. I had taken two weeks off following the 74km ultra from Cairns to Port Douglas and after that I was only running two or three times a week. I managed to get in some good hill runs in New Zealand, as mentioned in my earlier post, but I had not run more than 25km and my total volume was about half of where it had been earlier in the year. I entered the race just over a week before race day and only when we returned to Australia and I found out what my shifts were for the week. I had a more important reason for running.

Other runners have recounted how satisfying it is to run for something or someone else, a reason other than for yourself. Some people run to raise money for charity and some run with others to motivate and inspire them and to help them achieve their goals. I have generally run for myself but I felt that I really wanted to be there with Sean and share this exciting journey with him.

I drove down to Woodford on Saturday morning and checked into the motel with Sean and his crew chief sister, Monica, arriving a couple of hours later. Sean was understandably nervous. After dining out on pizza for dinner I got a few hours sleep before waking at 2:30am for a 3:30am race start. We arrived at the Woodford pool and registered, receiving our race numbers and listening to a pre-race briefing.

We took our place at the start and said hi to Mat and his father Stu who I have raced with at five of my six ultra races. Mat was wearing his sandals for the first time in an ultra. Mat has moved away from the confines of shoes and has embraced a more naturalistic approach by running exclusively in sandals or barefoot. We joked a little about how different our choice of footwear was, me in my Hoka elevator shoes and Mat in his ode to the romans, I even remarked during the run that he should run in a skirt to complete his ensemble.

I had never started a race where a form of illumination was required. It was a different experience and actually quite fun. Most of the runners wore headlamps but some carried a torch or used both to help light the way. As the race progressed and the field spread out it was quite an interesting sight to see groups of lights stretching out into the black ether of the early morning darkness.

The course is relatively easy for a trail run and I was using the day as more of a training run and to experiment with my nutrition and hydration which has previously given me significant issues. I had run five times that week for a total of 68km prior to race day. The morning was quite warm with what felt like moderate to high humidity and not before long I was sweating. The early pace was very relaxed and comfortable. Sean and I occasionally chatted amongst ourselves or with other runners who joined us. I was glad that I got a chance to run with Mat and Stu at various times as in my previous races I have taken off too quickly.

Although quite warm, thankfully the sun remained hidden behind clouds for the early part of the morning. I enjoyed running on the wide trails and was reminded of the 100 mile race I entered in September with some familiar landmarks. Our pace remained reasonably constant averaging around the 6 to 6:30min/km mark. I continued to follow my nutrition and hydration plan and together with the slower pace I felt remarkably good. I was having fun, enjoying the company, taking in the scenery and chatting to other runners and check-point volunteers.

As you would expect in an ultra, there comes a time when fatigue begins to set in, muscles tighten and energy levels fluctuate. This is when you draw on your training, your mental preparation and those deposits you made in your running bank (see 'Running Bank' post). As we approached the half way turnaround Sean was beginning to tighten up and we slowed a little taking a few more walking breaks. Walking breaks in ultras are quite important and are a good time to stretch out a little and get some food and fluid on-board. Being an out and back course we had the opportunity of seeing other runners on the return leg. The trail and in-particular the ultra community are very supportive of each other and everyone exchanged pleasantries and positive comments as we crossed paths.

The Hares & Hounds race is based on solo runners (Hares) who depart at 3:30am and are followed an hour later by the relay runners (Hounds) who run in teams of 2, 3 or 4. The first Hound caught us just before the turn-around running at a pretty quick pace. We reached the turn-around just over the 3 hour mark and were on target for a 6 to 6.5hr race. We refilled our bottles, posed for some photos and talked to the crew chief and some other supporters and headed on our way back to Woodford.

From this point Sean got to experience what ultra running is all about, running long, dealing with the course, dealing with the weather conditions and challenging himself to keep going to achieve his goal. Unfortunaetly Sean struggled with his nutrition and hydration plan which in a race like this can have drastic consequences. To someone who has not experienced the feeling of constant nausea, dehydration and sapped energy levels it is difficult to appreciate how challenging it is to keep moving forward when every part of you is urging to stop. The talking had stopped (well on Sean's behalf anyway. I kept yabbering on (sorry Sean)), I would look to Sean and he would give a little shake of his head and look down. He was broken but he was NOT beaten. I was glad that I was with him to help him through this as I had been in his position many times before and could appreciate how he was feeling. I tried to support Sean as best I could by setting small goals such as running to the next marker or a certain point on the course up ahead. Sean showed me what he was made of and forged ahead, jogging when he could, walking when he had to and never giving up.

The sun had burned away what was left of the clouds to provide yet another challenge, as if the distance was not enough. We continued to click off the kilometres and slowly but surely we put one foot in front of the other. With about 5 kilometres to go we were joined by Roger who ran with us to the end and provided moral support. Roger is a great guy and has a wealth of running knowledge having completed around 75 marathons. About two kilometres from the finish we took advantage of a photo opportunity to commemorate the day and pushed on to the finish. As with many things, the promise of achieving a difficult task lifted our spirits and with the finish line in sight Sean squeezed out what little reserves he had to run to the finish and become an ultramarathon finisher.

We finished the 54km trail run in 45th and 46th place overall in a time of 7hrs 29mins and 46secs. After crossing the finish-line we gratefully accepted a bag of ice which we placed on our necks to help cool down. At the time we thought that we were the last of the Hares but were later surprised to find out that there were another 12 people behind us with the last official finisher coming in after 8hrs 40mins. There were many casualties on the day, as there inevitably are in ultras, with quite a few people failing to finish for whatever reason.

I felt really good after the race and with a new application of sunscreen, a change of clothes and some more supplies I could have continued on for some more fun and adventure. However all good things must come to an end, and I still had to drive over 620km that afternoon. I grabbed a couple of sausages and bread from the free BBQ (provided for runners as part of the minimal entry fee) and couldn't resist a bit of showing off running around as if I had limitless energy. I had a quick chat with Mat who pulled up really well running in his sandals and managed to run a negative split coming in under 6 hours. Inspiring stuff as always Mat.

We drove back to the motel and I had a shower, changed clothes and packed the car. I presented Sean with a gift, my Glasshouse Ultra finisher's mug which I received for my first ultra in September 2010. For some reason the Hares and Hounds is the only Glasshouse race where they don't hand out a pottery mug to finishers. I have two others and wanted to acknowledge Sean's awesome effort by giving him the mug in recognition of his achievement.

After almost 7 hours of driving I made it back to Rocky in time to relax at home with my family for a while before Holly and Ethan went to bed. I don't know what was worse, running in the heat for over 7 hours or driving for that long in a car by myself. Actually I would rather run than do that drive any day.

I am really pleased with my own performance, I was able to really enjoy myself and my nutrition and hydration plan worked out really well. The run also brought my weekly total up to 122km which is not bad for my first week back. I would like to thank Monica and Roger for their support and say a huge congratulations to Sean, although the race did not go to plan you showed true spirit, courage and strength. I hope you can recognise what you have achieved and be proud of yourself.

I don't have any ultras planned for the next couple of weeks so I am going to try and concentrate on building my strength and stamina. I will try and get back to my weekly updates but most of all I want to have fun and....

Keep running.