Great Ocean Road 60km Ultra
The
Great Ocean Road Marathon and Festival of Distance Running features a 44km
Marathon, 23km Half Marathon, 14km run, 6km run and The Kids' 1.5km Gallop. In 2016, they introduced
a 60km ultra-marathon! This event is held in a beautiful and unique area of
Victoria, Australia on the Southern Ocean. Each year that this event has been
conducted, it has attracted many athletes from around the world, eager to
participate in this challenging and pristine environment.
COURSE MAP
Pre-event -
Warning… long intro!
In
2015, I ran the 44km Great Ocean Road marathon. I had a shocking run and soon
after, I decided to finally have hip surgery. In 2016, I ran the 23km Great
Ocean Road half marathon. I had a great run; I paced well and finished happy. My
goal for 2017 was to run the 60km Great Ocean Road ultra marathon. I wanted to
redeem myself from 2015, and achieve the set of medals (not OCD at all hey?)
Great
Ocean Road is a beautiful part of Victoria and popular tourist destination for
Australians and overseas travellers. I have mixed
emotions of GOR. The good memories include; family road trip, honeymoon in
Lorne and successful half-marathon last year. Not-so-good memories include;
school camp in Apollo Bay (hospitalised with asthma), Ian Gawler conference in
Lorne for Dad (not long before he died), and a bad marathon experience.
This
year, my goal was to become friends with the GOR (and have fun)! I was staying
with a friend and running client (Ricci) and three of her friends who were
running the 23km. My other friend (Serena) was staying in the same complex and running the 60km too. I was already looking forward to
post-race celebrations with Serena (one catch… I had
to run 60km in under 6.5 hours first).
I
admit I was nervous about the cut-off. I wasn’t too concerned with distance (even though this would be my longest
distance ever); I’d run Two Bays 56km in January, Brimbank 50km in March
and Princess Park 50km in April. I’d trained properly and diligently… But I
wasn’t fast. Since returning from injury, I have a different perspective; my
long-term goal is to be running long-term! I’m not trying out for the
Olympic team so who cares if I take an extra 20 minutes to cross the finish
line? Nobody even remembers my finish times anyway. My “plan” (very rough plan) was to run GOR
comfortably; 5-6min/km pace and expect to run/walk the two hills that deviated
away from GOR. For the bigger hills (300m climbs), I planned to jog 800m and
walk 200m. There were conflicting reports on elevation for the 60km; some maps
reported just over 1000m but others were 2000m! That obviously made me nervous
because walking would decrease my average pace. If I went too much slower than
6min pace, I was risking a DNF! I knew I’d be happy to make cut-off (different story to the marathon when my aim
was sub 5min pace… just quietly I think I was a bit cocky considering I ran my
first ultra a few weeks prior).
The
course (and road) reminded me of Two Oceans in South Africa (I ran it in 2015 a few weeks before my dismal performance at GOR 44km). I had an awesome
run at Two Oceans; I ran 56km in 5hrs 13min (900m elevation). I was under no
illusion I could match that now, but it helped me to plan and pace. Having run
the half and full marathon in previous years also helped me understand the
harshness of the road. GOR is the hardest surface I’ve run on (includes the
Monash Freeway, Wings for Life World Run), plus there is camber. The GOR hurts!
But the scenery is really pretty so that makes it OK, right?!
Despite
knowing my body would pay for running the GOR, I was not perturbed. My lead up
was great, my body was feeling relatively good; I had no injuries as such,
however my left shoulder was bothering me (long-standing
thoracic-outlet issue. Most of the time, it doesn’t bother me but when it hurts,
it really hurts). In the month prior, I was meticulous with Chiropractic
adjustments, Myotherapy treatments, Naturopathy and even Kinesiology. Brad taped my shoulder
(amongst other things to help deactivate some overworked muscles).
Two
days before race day, I organised my bags and gear; shorts, calf compressions,
singlet, long sleeve top, hydration pack (and Flipbelt) with gels and Nuun
electrolytes. Also, Garmin, Injinjis and Brooks Glycerin. The weather forecast
was 17 degrees with some cloud cover. Perfect compared to last year; rain and
wind. The day before, Serena (and Peter) kindly offered me
a ride. We arrived in Apollo Bay about 4pm and after checking out the race
precinct, we bought an early take-away dinner. I ordered vegetarian rice from
the local Noodle shop. Ricci and her friends arrived about 7pm and we nattered
about race goals. They headed out for dinner and I headed to bed about 9pm.
Event day -
I
set the alarm for 4:50am. Serena and I agreed to head to the bus by
5:45am. I woke, ate some oats and drank a cup of tea. I dressed in my gear that
was laid out and grabbed my bag, which I packed the night before. We walked to
the bus in the dark with all the other crazy runners. There was a vibe in the
air of anticipation and excitement. The bus trip was painless but I made sure
to sit at the front to avoid motion sickness. As we discussed our mantras and
strategies, the sun began to rise over the ocean. It was beautiful. I was reminded of my previous mantra… Float
like a butterfly, sting like a bee! This year, my mantra was… Tip-toe through the tulips. In order to
save my joints, I wanted to stay light on my feet.
When
we arrived at Lorne, we dashed to the ladies and made final touches before
congregating at the start line. I saw Tash Fraser (running extraordinaire) and wished her good luck! Then a familiar
face approached me; it was Bruce (my
savior from my marathon run). How fitting that we would meet again at the
start line of GOR! We wished each other luck and suddenly the race had begun!
Start – 21km
The
first few kilometres I maintained pace evenly between 5-5:10min/km. I was in
control. About 7km we reached our first hill and my pace decreased to 5:55min
(still within my desired goal). I was feeling good except for my left shoulder.
I had referred pain down into my elbow (nerve
pain, which is really difficult to ignore).
If
I’m being honest (which I usually am)…
I was actually fighting some significant mental demons by 8km. I was happy with
pace, legs, energy and motivation… BUT my shoulder was giving me the shits (pardon my language)!
I
was thinking I might pull-the-pin or run the marathon instead of the ultra. I
was telling myself I had nothing to prove. And I convinced myself I couldn’t
run 60km with sharp, shooting pain going down my arm. I’ve run with it before
and my arm freezes… it becomes glued to my side (which makes running awkward)!
About
8km, I saw my running friend Bruce. Thank God! I didn’t complain (like I did last time we ran together).
I simply focused on relaxing, breathing and chatting! I had a gel at 12km and
sipped electrolytes from my pack. We maintained 5:15min pace (which was Bruce’s goal) until I started
to drop off around 16km. The pain was affecting my ability to run, and I was
not happy. Shaun Moore (running the blues
away) caught up to me and we talked as we ran. Shaun has achieved a mammoth
task of 5 ultras in 5 months! As we approached the half-marathon point, he
spoke about the reasons behind his quest. It was inspiring running with Shaun
(even if it was only for a couple of kilometres). I reached 21km in 1hr 50min (8min slower than when I ran the 44km but
despite my shoulder, I was in a much better place).
21km – 42km
At
22-23km we approached another hill and I sat back into an easy pace
(5:30-6min). I made myself a promise not to walk until I turned off the GOR
(and hit bigger hills). I hoovered some lollies and chose to hold off on the
second gel. I continued sipping electrolytes.
At
30km, I stopped for the loo and tried to mobilise my shoulder; I circled my arm
and inhaled deeply into my rib cage. A lovely fellow RMA (Michelle) asked if I
was OK. I said yes but truthfully I wanted to scream. I’d trained hard for this
event, my legs felt good, my hips were hanging in there so why did my shoulder
have to make so much noise? I opted to drown out the noise by listening to a
podcast (ultra runner podcast). I craved distraction!
Around
33km, I came to the first hairpin turn. I stopped for a drink of water and more
lollies. I began my 800m jog uphill. For reasons I can’t quite explain, my
shoulder eased a little. Perhaps my posture changed or maybe the 200m walk
breaks helped or the softer surface made a difference? I didn’t really care why
but I was so grateful! Finally, I felt good! I could still feel my shoulder but
the referred pain was quieter. I stuck to my plan of 800m jog and 200m walk
until I reached the peak after 4km uphill (around 300m elevation). I was happy
with my pace and execution of my plan. On the rise, my splits were 7:05, 8:11,
7:56, 7:38 and 7:50min. On the downhill, I concentrated on relaxing. I ran a
casual pace of 5:30-6min (to save my quads). Taking a break from the harshness
of the GOR was beneficial for my body. Plus, I loved connecting with fellow
60km runners. It was a good section
of the course for me (which is odd, considering it was the steepest part). I
had a second gel and more fluid. On the decent, I reached the marathon point in
just under 4 hours.
42km – Finish
When
I reached the bottom of the first climb, I received a pink wristband to show I
followed the ultra course correctly. I paused for another drink and handful of
jelly-beans. As I began running along the GOR again, I noticed my shoulder
hurting a little more. It wasn’t as bad as the first 30km and my headspace had
shifted from, “there’s no way I’ll make this” to “I know I can do this!” I was
looking forward to the next climb! Overall I was feeling comfortable (even
though I’d just run a marathon).
The
next 5km, my average pace was 5:30min. The people around me were running slower
(they were marathon runners but I’d run an extra 8km off-road). It was strange
passing people after 42km. I listened to an ultra runner podcast interview with
Karl Meltzer (USA ultra runner) and took in my surroundings. The conditions
were ideal; sky was clear, ocean was calm and temperature was cool. Every so
often, my body whispered to me… tightness in my hip flexors or a twinge from my
ITB. I consciously flopped from my head to my feet (I told myself to switch-off
everything). I continued placing one foot in front of the other with very
little effort (but I was feeling tired). My shoulder maintained minor pain for
the remainder of the run.
About
47km, I came to the second hairpin turn. I stopped for water and asked someone
to grab my pre-made vegemite sandwich from my pack. I hoped to stick to my plan
(800m jog and 200m walk). After 200m jogging I was fatigued. I could’ve pushed
through but decided to renegotiate with myself! The new plan was 200m jog and
800m walk (now that sounded much easier).
Once again, I began jogging… I checked my watch… Only 70m… Really? I made it to 100m before I walked (so my plan worked for the first hill but
not the second one). I was ahead of schedule and confident I could make
cut-off. I elected to give myself a break and walk more. After all, the hill
was steep!
I
ate one-quarter of my vegemite sandwich and gave fellow runners words of encouragement. My splits for this climb; 6:23, 10:44,
10:56 and decline; 5:28, 5:55, 5:55 (I
have a feeling I lost satellites around this time but Strava fills in the
gaps).
At
the bottom, we were somewhere around 53km and I was given my second pink
wristband. I was on the home stretch. One foot in front of the other… Cliffy-shuffle… Run Forest Run… Just keep
swimming… Tip-toe through the tulips! My body was tired after 5 hours of running but
I was relaxed and happy. I attempted to take another gel (I’d only had 2 gels,
quarter of a vegemite sandwich and lollies). I sucked back a bit and carried
the packet in my right hand until the end. I hydrated often.
My
splits for the final 5km were slow; 6:12, 6:12, 6:19, 6:25 and finished a
fraction stronger with 5:38min pace. Although the last few kilometres were
tough and tiring, the people hanging outside their cars from the opposite
direction were awesome! They were yelling, “Go
Kate!”… “You’ve got this!”… “You’re amazing!” I smiled weakly as I focused
on the finish line. I thought about how close I was and started to feel sick. Stay in the moment… You are going to finish
this… Don’t push!
As I
approached the finishing chute, everyone was clapping and encouraging me. I
crossed the line in 5 hours 52min! Friends were on the sideline showing their support. Including Serena, who had already finished. It was an
awesome moment. One of the happiest running moments in my life! I made the
Great Ocean Road my friend (and I had fun)!
My
body was feeling tired but good. My legs and hips were amazing. My shoulder was
average but still not as bad as the first 30km.
Who
would have thought the last 30km would be easier, and the steepest hills were
the best part?! It just goes to show, anything can happen in distance running.
You should never give up because you might feel better just around the corner
(or over the hill)!
Post event -
After
we took post-race photos, and I met up with two of my running clients (both
achieved GOR 23km personal bests), we headed to the apartment for a shower. I
was drinking my chocolate milk when Ricci and her friends returned. We just
missed each other at the finish line. Ricci also managed a GOR 23km personal
best (I was a happy runner and coach)! I placed 8th (happy with top 10).
The
pub was next door to our complex so we could relax and have a wine (or four)!
And that we did! The post-race celebrations were the best! There was a
rock-band playing, other runners partying and a dance floor. We wore our medals around our necks and soaked up the joy and danced the afternoon away (I didn’t dance the night away… we bought take-away at 7pm and I fell
asleep at 9pm… I woke at 1am because I was hungry)! It was crazy fun!
Lessons -
1. Get
my shoulder fixed! I’ve had the issue for 20 years and never investigated it (time
has come for a proper diagnosis).
2. Relax
completely and breathe deeply (especially if you feel any pain).
3. Don’t
worry about pace! There are rolling hills the whole way so focus on effort
level instead of pace. It’s more enjoyable and easier to manage.
4. Don’t
try to keep up with the Joneses… (self-explanatory)
5. Look
up and take in the scenery!
6.
Never give up because you might feel better just around the corner (or over the
hill)!
7.
Never miss a good post-race party!
Event feedback and will there be a next time -
The
event, scenery, weather and people were awesome! This is a must-do race! It is highly
organised and professional. The finish line is outside the front of the Apollo
Bay hotel, which offers a fun, supportive atmosphere.
The road
is hard on your body but the scenery is second to none! According to Garmin,
the ultra course measured 59.3km and 1300m elevation (however I think I lost
satellites).
For more information on the 23km and 44km distance, please see
previous race reports. Thanks
for everything Great Ocean Road!
