World Record Attempt Race Report
I've had quite a few messages asking for a race report so here's me having a stab at a very blury...but memorable...24 hours.
This report actually starts 48 hours before on the Thursday. I woke up with a bug that put me in bed for the whole day. I woke up feeling slightly better (and covid negative) on the Friday, but this definitely wasn't in the plan.
So on Saturday at 10am the buzzer went off, the clock changed from 24:00:00 to 23:59:59, and I started to run...awkwardly. And that's how I ran for the first hour. Telling myself to relax over and over in my head.
The first 4 hours went to plan. I was running at 12kmph and feeling good, however towards the end of the 5th hour out of nowhere I felt cramp in my right leg. I hadn't had any cramp in the last 14 months of training so this shocked me.
I got off the treadmill, Luca gave me a quick rub down, had some salt...and I got back on and started running. But it happened again the next hour. And the next hour. I was 8 hours in and had cramp 3 times and was 2.7km behind which was playing on my mind big time.
I slowed down a bit in the 10th and 11th hour to see if I could get my legs back under control but by the time I was 12 hours in I was 11.9kms behind.
It was in the 14th hour, approaching midnight, that I had bad cramp again and when I got off to have a rub down I had some pumpkin soup and was violently sick.
After this break I got back on, looked at the clock, looked at Luca and said "I'm too far off aren't I?".
I had known it for a few hours but it was the first time I'd said it out loud.
"Yes, sorry my friend" Luca said looking at me directly in my eyes.
I paused the treadmill, got off, hugged both Luca and Vicki, and then got back on.
"OK so we have a new goal. People will be here in the morning so let's aim for you to finish strong and get over 200km".
Shortly afterwards I went to the bathroom and Luca could sense I was dissapointed and bottling it up. He turned to me just as we got to the door and said "it's ok"...and I burst into tears. It was just what I needed.
The next few hours are a bit blury but I had a few power naps where I laid down on a sofa covered with a sleeping bag. It was only a few minutes but I dropped into a deep sleep each time. There is nothing worse than being woken up from a deep sleep and being told you have 10 hours left to run on a treadmill!
Hours 15-20 were quite slow as far as running, but the atmosphere was amazing. It was a dance party, and Vicki was centre stage giving me energy and love.
At around 6am the sun came up, and I knew I had to pick up the pace to hit my goal of 200km.
With the sun came people. And with every new person that turned up I got an injection of energy. The last hour seemed to take forever despite everyone celebrating with cheers and cow bells every 5 minutes!
But eventually the clock ran down to 00:00:00...and it was all over....207.9km.
I wobbled off the treadmill, kissed Vicki and the kids, and was so relieved.
I just about managed to string a few words together of thanks, have a picture taken with the Cancer Council, and say thanks and goodbye to most people in the room before being violently sick.
It wasnt quite the world record I was hoping for. But it was one of the most amazing experiences I've had in my life.
But now its time for bed. So I'll post some reflections and thanks tomorrow...