For those of you who have been living under a (Trail) rock, (and therefore not been subjected to my droning on about this for the last 3 months) there are only 5 more sleeps until the starting siren blasts across the autumn leaved spectacle of the Fairmont Leura’s grounds, freeing 1,000 or so nervous, impatient souls to, at last, go about their day’s business. That business happens to be the business of running/walking/climbing/crawling through 100km of beautiful, rugged Blue Mountain terrain. Depending on a mix of genetics, fitness, age, career choice, mental strength, lifestyle and sheer luck, the day ahead may be as comfortable as being back at the hotel bar for a 5pm sundowner with the hundreds of spectators milling around the finish line, or as brutal as being pulled from the course late the following morning after missing the 28 hour deadline.

The North Face 100, set in the high country 1.5hrs West of Sydney, is a 100km trail race through some of the most spectacular mountain country Australia has to offer, and has been described by Dean Karnazes (50 Marathons in 50 days) as the hardest event he has ever completed. I am loath to argue with the great man, particularly as I am yet to attempt even a half marathon on the road, but I am more likely to agree with my friend Tony Weir, who reckons the hardest ultra marathon you have ever done is always the one you have just finished.

Anyway, let’s not get bogged down in the detail: it’s pretty bloody hard. The course is a mix of some of the most technical and infuriating trail terrain you will ever run on (think the best trail runners in the world taking over an hour to complete the last 8km), plenty of rolling firetrails for the roadies, drop downs into the beautiful Jamison and Megalong Valleys, and unfortunately three pretty ugly climbs back out. Over the course of the day (and night, and perhaps next day) runners will come across didgeridoo players on rocky outcrops welcoming you to country, jazz bands playing in a field 20km from the nearest town, ladders down vertical drops, beer and pizza stalls set up in derelict hospital grounds shrouded in fog, and hundreds and hundreds of supporters cheering every runner of every standard like they are, well like they are incredible for even attempting such a crazy feat.

Make no mistake, this is one compelling, addictive event. Within minutes of crossing the finish line last year, I vowed to Beth, my mother in law, I would never, ever, ever do it again. The next morning, hobbling downstairs to breakfast on a pair of screaming quads with one hand attached to the handrail like it was a life support system, I re-affirmed my position on the matter. Looking out the hotel window over some well-earned bacon and eggs at the brave soldiers still streaming past into the finish line after more than 24 hours of punishment, the looks of utter exhaustion in their faces hardened my resolve. This race is just too hard, I’ve done it twice, I have nothing left to prove.

Beth was up last weekend and kindly reminded me of those conversations whilst I was checking my mandatory gear list for this years event…she can be a bit cheeky like that!

So what is it that keeps drawing us (my wife competes as well, this year she is doing the 50km solo) back to this event? Well you have to love trail running, that is a given, and of the ultra’s in Australia that I have done or supported for, this has the most single file genuine trail running by far. The second factor is that this is a festival. It sets up unbelievably well, with the 3 supported checkpoints pretty accessible and very well attended with a carnival atmosphere in their own right, the start and finish is right at the Hotel many runners are staying which creates a real buzz, the jaw dropping scenery in the background, the check-in and dinner the night before where you catch up with people from all over the place, and rub shoulders with some of the international stars, the one km race for kids the day after, and the fact that it is in a town we now try to holiday in every year anyway! This is an event I would go to even if I wasn’t running in it.

We take 4-5 days, take the kids and the mother in law, and enjoy the local sights. Leura is a beautiful little town, with great shops and gourmet food. We take the kids on the scenic railway trip, take some hikes down to Wentworth Fall, check out the Three Sisters, eat at the same pizza joint every year on the Thursday night with whichever friends are in town, do the same nerve-settling 5km light jog on the course on Friday arvo, and then sit in the hot tub while the kids do races in the outdoor pool on Sunday, hoping the water therapy will relieve some of the aches and pains before the drive back to Sydney the next day. It is just a beautiful place to hang out. Unfortunately the price of entry in mid May is one round trip by foot, 50km or 100km being the only choice on the menu.

So why Ultra’s? Despite all my gushing about this event, I promise you there will be some considerable amount of time come Saturday when I will be exhausted, nauseous, sore everywhere and completely disillusioned with this stupid, pointless bloody sport! It is possible that at some stage I will seriously contemplate not finishing. Why would someone keep going back into that environment with those challenges as given? I assure you, that aside from the top 20-30 runners this is not an athletic event, it is an exercise in sheer bloody mindedness. As an example, there is a section of 2-3km of quite accommodating bitumen road coming out of CP5 (89km), before you drop down into Wentworth falls. Last year I was feeling pretty good rolling along at that point, on track for just inside my target time. I thought I’d push pretty hard on the road piece, as it gets quite slow once onto the trail. I felt like I was flying, and after about 500m I looked down to check my speed on the watch, guessing from experience I was travelling around 12-13km/hr. The watch dis-agreed, I was poking along at under 10km/hr on flat bitumen road. That is not athleticism!

Given the number of crazies that keep showing up in a sport that is exploding in popularity, I am sure there are a multitude of reasons why people run Ultra’s. For mine, it is pretty simple. I have not found another sport where there is so much camaraderie, generosity of spirit, concern for fellow competitors, and shared wonder at the beauty of the arena we get to race in. I love that when I am on the track, feeling absolutely rubbish, I can draw strength from the fact that I have friends all over the course and all over the country monitoring my progress on the internet, silently willing me on. I love the friendships formed from training together.

As for the physical bit, given our very comfortable material existence in this modern world, getting to the point where you think you have nothing physically left to give is actually a rare privilege. And the pleasure gained from having the chance to say well I’m here now, I might as well take a look and see what is beyond this point, because it doesn’t come around very often…that’s the addictive bit.

That’s enough raving on for today. I hope to drop several (much shorter) posts in over the rest of the week, to give you some more insights into what consumes the mind in the week leading up to a race.