"Strength does not come from success. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength" Mahatma Gandhi
Standing on the start line..... things this time felt different. There were no nervous butterflies, there was no feeling of anticipation, none of that usual pent up tension..... I was calm.
My lead up into this years edition of The Guzzler had been some what up and down, a string of nutrition issues during long training runs and the relentless battling through the heat of Brisbane's warmer months had played on my mind a lot leading up to the event. News of a family illness added weight on race day eve, preparation suddenly seemed more of an after thought, logistics had a feeling of slight uncertainty, I found myself scurrying around with less then 10 hours before the start sorting gear, measuring nutrition, sorting out my crew bags..... yet standing on that start line and I was calm....
The 30 second count down began and the atmosphere and music ramped up.
I usually attach motivational messages to my bottles in my drop bags, you know the ones... "keep pushing", "you got this", those small messages of encouragement that keep you going, that keep your focus on the journey. What even most closest to me don't know is I carry those with me constantly, on the wallpaper of my phone, my laptop, and on a card in my wallet... the quote that sits above. But today there was no need for drop bags as my crew was on course. 10,9,8.
I steadied myself, adjusting my much loved BTR buff my focus drawn to the three words I had written on the inside of my wrist earlier that morning "Control the Controllable".
We were off.
Starting at Simpson Falls picnic area at the base of Brisbane's Mount Coot-Tha, it was an easy flat start before beginning the climb up Powerful owl. As per the previous year this was a section of the race called the King of The Mountain a race within the race, I took this climb fairly conservatively knowing that it was going to be a long day. Reaching the top and with the leaders insight it was down the familiar decline of Jacksonia, through Gap Creek and the undulating trails toward South Boundary Road. Things were tracking well as I made my way around the narrow single trail that hugged the edges of Enoggera Reservoir, a quick thumbs up from my crew who had made their way around to Walkabout Creek to view the runners as they came into checkpoint 1 (Walkabout Creek).
A quick exit from the checkpoint and I headed towards the rolling hills of Mount Nebo Rd Break. Things were feeling comfortable and all signs were pointing to a great day, I had put in the work, and it was paying dividends as I made light work of the short, sharp climbs along this section. 24km in I was greeted by the cheers of my BTR family, a quick top up of my water and some banana and I was on my way, through the gates into hell. Entering the 'Hell Hole Hussle' I had worked my way into 4th overall but with still over 70km of technical, hilly trails still ahead of me it was not time to become complacent. Gold Creek checkpoint (32km) beckoned and as I made way down the gentle slope of Gold Creek road. It was a refreshing feeling being greeted by my crew, I had come in under my planned time but things were feeling great with the body and the pace feeling comfortable. Some quick words of encouragement, fresh chilled nutrition bottles and a refreshing ice towel and I left my crew behind and pushed towards the halfway mark and the next checkpoint at Lake Manchester.
Following the winding, rugged single track around Gold Creek Reservoir, it was hard to not be distracted by the beautiful shimmering views of the water this trail frames. The junction at Layhys Break was where the 100km runners parted ways from the shared section of the course as I took a left and headed up Layhys Break up to Gold Creek Road Break.
I made my way along Gold Creek Road Break finding a more consistent stride as the trail widened and things flattened out. I relaxed into my stride, then as quick as I had found my groove my race was over.... a slight misstep was enough to cause my knee to twist, and I knew my day was done.... a sharp pulsing pain was followed by a dull ache, I made an effort to try and jog hoping it would subside but I already knew with still over 60km to go and the main crux of the course still ahead of me I would need to make peace with the fact my first DNF was inevitable. I still had 6km till I reached the water station at the 42km mark and with little chance of having medics get to me I began the painfully solemn walk, things were slow going from that point on, the passing runners carried the message of an injured runner with them as they reached the water station and with about 1km to go I was relieved to come across one of the volunteers from the water station who had made their way back to find me.
Certainly a day of mixed emotions, the overwhelming feeling of disappointment and failure in some kind of collaborative dance with the feeling of progress, strength and the acknowledgement that till the point of "bad luck" this had probably been my strongest run to date where things were in balance, the mind was focused, and the body was strong.
Until next year.... there will be redemption.
Result: DNF
Thank you to my Family, my coach Ben Duffus, my Physio Mat Britton and my BTR family, my family at MAW Brothers, TrailBrew Nutrition, Inspire Athletic, Chris Adams and the team from Injinji Performance Products The support from all of you makes this journey so much easier and fun along the way. Also a huge shout out to the team behind The Guzzler you do an amazing job with this fantastic event.
Anthony Gordon
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