Trail To Triumph - Tony's Journey

Trail To Triumph is a 250 km journey from Moranbah to Mackay via Eungella. It is more then just a brutal 2.5 day run through Queensland's mining heartland, its about mate-ship, perseverance and heart. Foremost though its about commemorating Tony Britton and raising awareness and funds for Mesothelioma (a terminal asbestos cancer) and dust disease research and treatment. The events founder, Matt Britton started the event in 2014 after his father Tony passed away from Mesothelioma in 2013. Before passing from the disease, Matt promised his father to do something "big" to honor his memory and make a difference to other victims. This is Tony's Journey.

Arriving in Moranbah we made our way to the Moranbah Hawks football ground which was to be our base for the night and the starting point of what was to be an epic adventure in the coming 2.5 days. It was straight into organizing the gear I would need for the following morning, whist also taking sometime out with the rest of the group to have a look through the Heart of Australia truck.

Day 1:

Things kicked off early Friday morning ready for a 3am start. We stood together as 'one' in the driveway of the football club,  Matt taking some time to reiterate the reason we were all here and to share with us that this journey was much bigger then just his father and shared with us Brooke's story.

As we left the Moranbah Hawks Football Club behind us we began our journey out of Moranbah, we made our way through the quiet suburban streets, the silence broken by the rhythmic drumming of shoes on bitumen and the not so subtle banter between our newly formed family. Early on it had been established that a 5 minute run, 2 minute walk strategy would be adopted something which I was not so familiar with as walking was not something I put much focus towards during training but I soon settled into the rhythm. The first leg into breakfast was a mostly road with sections of dirt to keep you honest, I say dirt because it was really not trail.... well not as I know it anyway. It was not long after the sun came up that we had made our way into our breakfast stop and the chance to top up any nutrition as well as to get stuck into a bacon and egg roll.... or two. Though it was early on things at this point were feeling strong and I had settled into the rhythm and my nutrition and hydration were ticking along as planned.

From lunch we continued to make our way along Red Hill Road with approximately 22km of road running for the day ahead of us before moving onto the compact dirt road of whats known as Pipeline Road. By now the temperature had well and truly began to climb as road temps peaked at close to 60 degrees while the ambient temperature capped out close to 40. 

Pipeline Road would see us see out the day, a brutal 43km dirt road which just seems to go on forever, a mix of long drawn out inclines and never ending flat sections of dirt which seamlessly disappear into the horizon before reappearing..... a vicious cycle that plays with the mind. It was this section where my day began to unravel, I had managed to hold off the elements throughout what felt like a pretty perfect day however nausea began to creep in and rear it ugly head as I reached 90km, and as the kilometres ticked on I found myself dropping further behind the lead group. I made the call at 98km to not prolong the inevitable as the nausea and the lingering feeling of holding up the other runners became overwhelming, jumping into the near by support vehicle my day was done. As much as it hurt mentally my decision was validated when I passed out the instant I got into the support vehicle only to be awoken as those that finished the day made their way into the back seat for the trip to our overnight accommodation.

Day 2:

Day Two Started where day one had finished off.... on the Pipeline Road. Yesterdays disappointment had subsided and I was determined to focus on the achievements of yesterday and continue to push that positive mindset forward into day two. The body seemed to have held up pretty well with the exception of some slight swelling in the ankles, I had made some slight changes to the nutrition strategy taking away from lessons learnt yesterday. From the beginning it was clear that there would be plenty of elevation during this section as we made our way towards and up the range. Due to unforeseen circumstances breakfast had been delayed which saw us push forward from the planned breakfast stop at Eungella Dam (approximately 17km into the day), as the decision was made to allow breakfast to chase us. With that we continued to push on along Eungella Road, it was not long until the undulating terrain began to take its toll on my shins. Breakfast had finally caught up with us and looking around it was a much needed stop for a few of us as the heat of the day had already begun to take its toll on a few, I looked at my watch and remember it not even being 10am. After a much needed calorie boost courtesy of a bacon and egg roll and a few pieces of fruit it was time to once again endure the grind up the range. 

Finally we were rewarded with short section of downhill before coming to what was for me a much anticipated trail section through the lush rain forest of the Eungella National Park. For me trail running does not get much better then this.... dodging vines, jumping and ducking fallen trees, of all the 200km I completed.... this relatively short 10km section is where I felt most at home, and for a short period I had forgotten all about the pain developing in my shins which had began to cripple me on the undulating terrain we had left behind. This however was short lived, with 3km left before lunch I was bought to a agonizing holt as once again the pain began to shoot through the lower section of my shins, I tried all I could to ease the pain but it just would not subside, by this point there was really no other way but forward as turning back was just not an option, I began what could only be referred to as a 'death march' determined to get to the upcoming lunch stop. 3km has never felt so long but finally on the back of some reassurance and encouragement from a few runners that had caught up and followed me in I made my way into the lunch stop which also doubled up as our overnight accommodation at Eugella.

 As I arrived at lunch I had all but ruled out shin splints as the cause of my pain as I had 'bombed' it down the final hill pain free, "10 minutes till we leave" was the call I was greeted with as I made my way into the hall..... 10 minutes..... at first I thought I heard wrong, by this point I was in a lot of pain my shins, ankles and now due to what I could only put down to compensating for those other injuries my right knee had also began to fail me. It was at this point my thoughts to the third and final day that lay ahead of me and with that I made the decision to call and end to my day and take advantage of massage, needling and ice baths to make sure I could get things at least in some way ready for the day to come.

Day 3:

The light was finally visible at the end of the tunnel, and with just under 50km left it was simply a training run that was between me and the finish line of Trail To Triumph. I had done all I could do to get the issues of the day before sorted and was determined to get the final day done. Just as the previous two days day three had its own challenges, long grinding straights of bitumen, unforgiving heat with zero shade to hide in and the unrelenting pain that had hindered my running for the past day. For me today was all mental it was all about disappearing inside myself turning the mind off to the outside world and just moving forward.... I was hurting..... we were all hurting, if anyone said they felt great they were kidding themselves, however we continued to push forward as one unit, as one family. 

"Walking at the white post", "Running at the yellow sign", "walking at the letterbox on the right" the rest was a blur as I cleared the mind of all but the commands of our naturally appointed run leader and the rhythmic drumming of shoes on the road. As we came into lunch by this point the pain in my right leg had brought me to nothing more then a shuffle, with massage tables filling quickly I was limited in my options as to how I would find a solution to the constant pain. 12km was all that lay before us and the much anticipated finish at Mackay Base Hospital, I fueled up and had by this time got my knee attended to by one of our doctors, as I relied on strapping tape to hold things together for the final push to the finish.  As we drew closer to the end the relief of the strapping was short lived as walking again become undesirable. 

As we crossed the bridge over the Pioneer River and our destination came into view it was only then that the magnitude of what had been achieved over this weekend began to set in, We had all set out as individuals with a common purpose yet each with our own goals, goals which by some were achieved and by others on this occasion were unobtainable, yet at the end we crossed the line at the finish as one family, as equals brought together by our common goal which was achieved by all, to honor and remember those who are no longer with us due to Mesothelioma and other related lung diseases and to raise awareness so as to hopefully prevent more families suffering in times ahead.

I feel so privileged to have been apart of this event for 2021 to be able to show my support to my good friend Matt Britton and to be surrounded by so many inspirational people, I have made new friends, explored lands of our beautiful country many others would not get to see and got to share this experience with my parents. I finished the weekend short of my goal however have taken away so much from this experience its hard to be disappointed. I will return in 2022 with the lessons I have taken away from this year to obtain what was just out of reach in 2021. 

If you wish to find out More about Trail To Triumph or donate towards this amazing charity you can visit the website via the link on my blog.

Thank you to my Family, my coach Ben Duffus, my Physio Mat Britton and my running family, my family at MAW Brothers, TrailBrew Nutrition, Chris Adams and the team from Injinji Performance Products, the volunteers/crew who took time out of the busy lives to get us all through it and to those that donated and sponsored the event. The support from all of you made this journey so much easier and fun along the way. We also had some amazing photography out on our journey and I would like to credit them for some of these amazing photos.

The Guzzler- The Big Sipper

The Guzzler has always been a favorite event on the racing calendar for me, since it's first installment I have found myself toeing the line at this increasingly successful event. 

I had spend Saturday taking in the event as a spectator as I cheered my wife around the 50km course as she tackled her first ultra, a perspective I had not had the pleasure of viewing in the past, to experience the emotions and atmosphere that I would otherwise not be aware of when I'm racing. However what I was aware of was the grit and determination it takes to cross that finish line so to be able to stand at the finish and clap and cheer my wife over the line of her first ultra is a memory I will always hold dear.

The usual feeling of race day nerves was hard to escape as I woke on Sunday morning, gathering my gear and making my way to Mount Coot-Tha, where we were to be picked up by bus and transported to the start line of The Big Sipper. It was a surreal (but oh so cool) feeling to be essentially dumped on the side of a mountain road, following a trail through the morning darkness into the middle of the bush, before a dimly lit arch came into view marking the start line. 

Participants continue to arrive and the tunes began to pump, cutting through the mornings silence. I ran through my race plan in my head, calming my nerves, I knew I had put in the work and knew I was ready even with such a short turn around from my hit out at Brisbane Trail Ultra. My eyes were on the prize, I had set my goal... To go under the current course record and knew that's what it would take.  

Then.... It was Go Time.

I took the first 5km of the rolling downhill start in my stride, knowing in 21km there is not much time to find your feet and I watched as the top three runners disappearing out of sight. I made my way along an out and back section leading into the one and only checkpoint of the race, receiving positive praise from my coach and race leader Ben Duffus as he passed by on his way around the reservoir. At this point I knew I was in fourth place and with still 16 km ahead of me I felt confident I could make up the ground needed to find my way on to the podium as my strengths lay in the mid to later sections of the course.

As the halfway mark approached, a runner became visible in front of me, as I closed in the decision was made with 10km to go it was time to put the foot down, there was one major climb to come in the closing stages, but I was confident I could keep the intensity to the end. Making the climb up from the reservoir on to South Boundary I pushed the pace, checking my shoulder as I made my way onto Boscombe Road Trail towards Gap Creek.

Passing through Gap Creek with plenty of fresh air behind me I knew all I had to do was just hold on, although grew curious about how far the next runner was ahead. It was now just down to the final climb, the climb that is Kokoda.... as I reached the top cramp began to find its way into my calves, with just over 3km to go I had no intention of letting this effect my race, I had created the time and took advantage of a few seconds to stretch each calf against a near by tree. The pain subsided and it was time to get it done. The final couple of kilometres everything just felt good, I knew I had run a near perfect race, I had secured myself a podium and had achieved my goal of getting under the previous course record. Crossing the finish line in third place, being greeted by my family and my coach.

Results:

Finish time: 01:42:49

Place (overall): 3rd

Category: 1st 

Thank you to my Family/Crew, my coach Ben Duffus, my Physio Mat Britton and my BTR family (with special mention to Ben Bergan and Noelis Rheault) , my family at MAW Brothers, TrailBrew Nutrition, 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. 

Anthony Gordon

Ultra Trail Australia 100 2021 Race report

 "I want to let known my gratitude and respect for the Dharug and Gundungurra people as the traditional custodians of the land in which was our play ground."

As has been the case on a number of occasions in the past twelve months injury hampered my lead up into this years Ultra Trail Australia. I was determined to get things right, or as right as they could possibly be and stand on the start line to give myself the best possible chance to achieve the goals I had set.

This was my second visit to the Blue Mountains for this event so I was confident that course knowledge would aid me this time around. Staring from start group one I was focused on getting myself in a good position early to avoid the congestion build up that is known to happen through Landslide and at a later stage 'Tarro Ladders'. It was obvious early that thermoregulation was going to need to be monitored as icy winds contributed to a below zero wind chill factor for a good part of the day, so I had no intention of spending much time in the checkpoints. The first 44km in some way feels like a bit of a blur, as I made my way into Checkpoint 3 situated on private land aside the Six Foot Track. My crew was there waiting with a refill of nutrition for the next leg of the race, I was well ahead of my planned time..... maybe to ahead as I completed the first 50km of the course 15mins faster then my best 50 km time, the legs felt great, nutrition was going to plan and the niggles were at bay for now so I just focused on going with what felt right.

Then main crux of the course lay ahead and for me this is where the UTA100 really begins. On route to Check point 4 situated at the Katoomba Aquatic Center, I pushed along The Six Foot Track keeping my pace in check mindful of the climbing that was to come, continually trying to deviate my focus from the towering cliffs where I was to eventually end on top of. The climbing began as I ascended up the stairs of The Six Foot Track approx 380m vertical gain in the space of about 3km, brutal after a solid effort already in the legs, I had already decided to hike this section and use it as an opportunity to take in some good nutrition and get the mind in check for the remainder of the race. Reaching the top it was an easy trott through some more single track before the consistent feeling of bitumen leading into the Check point. My crew was a welcome sight and as before it was a quick refill of the staples and a quick run down of how things were playing out within the race, to this point I was tracking well still out in front of my goal time and the body was behaving, with body temperature in mind I quickly send my good byes and made the push to the final major Checkpoint. 

I'd have to say the next section of the course leading into Queen Victoria Hospital is always a stand out for me and by far the most brutal of the course. The track from Katooma towards Wentworth Falls gifts each runner with amazing views of the surrounding landscape as they traverse across the cliffs edge, giving it its reputation as a popular walking track in the Blue Mountains from Katoomba towards the Three Sisters. 

I had not really taken to much notice of the wind up until this point but it certainly had a kick during this section as I pulled down my sleeves to give some protection from the chill, it was reasonably quick going down the giant staircase as I used my gloves to allow me to slide using the hand rails minimizing the impact on my knees reaching the bottom the never ending theme of UTA continued.... What goes down must come back up… After descending into a valley it was a seeming endless and unrelenting climb back up the stairs and onto the flats leading in to Checkpoint 5, but I had done this before and knew the end was insight. I made my way into Queen Victoria Hospital, by this point things were starting to feel tough, I was still on track to hit my goal however it was going to take some work, the legs were tiring and feeling the effects of the harder push in the first half of the race. 

I began the final push towards the finish and the cheering supports that awaited the finishers at Scenic World. "Its now just a training run" I told myself as I made my way out of the checkpoint. I had complained to my crew of niggles that were beginning to surface and just hoped things would hold together for the final section of the race. "make sure you save some legs for Kadumba" is a common piece of advice thrown around the traps when running UTA, and with good reason.... 8 km's of continuous declining fire trail that descends 650m causing the most seasoned of quads to scream in these later stages of the race. On reaching the bottom its then all up hill, I passed through the emergency aid station set up with just over 8km to go paying know attention the warming glow of the fire they had set up..... "I know cruel right".

I had began a mix of hiking and a steady jog as I made my way up the steep ascent towards the cliff lines of the Three Sisters, by this time the light had faded, so the torches were out and the views were now faint outlines. With 5km to go I made my way through  Leura Forest along Federal Pass, by now the day had taken its toll and my calf had reached its point, running had now become painful and I had accepted that the last 5km was going to cost me my sub 12 hour goal... I used the time to reflect on the day that was, thankful of being able to do what I am doing in the surrounds I was blessed with, voicing my congratulations to each runner along those final few kilometres for the task we as individuals were on the verge of accomplishing.

The final push, I gritted my teeth and put all I had into the final climb up the 951 stairs of Fuber steps, my calf begging me to have mercy. As the top drew ever so closer the sounds of cow bells and cheers grew stronger, making my way along the boardwalk and into the finishers shoot, although different this year running down that finishers shoot at Ultra Trail Australia is a feeling that will never get old. My race was done. Although not all the goals I set out to achieve were accomplished on this occasion I walked away with a 50km PB of more then 15mins, a 100km PB of more then 1 hr 30mins and the much sort after silver buckle. All in all a good day at the office.

Results:

Finish time: 12:49:10

Place (overall): 77

Category: 30 

Thank you to my Family/Crew, my coach Ben Duffus, my Physio Mat Britton and my BTR family (with special mention to Ben Bergan and Noelis Rheault) , my family at MAW Brothers, TrailBrew Nutrition, 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. 

Anthony Gordon