I set myself the goal of being prolific this year and it feels like it’s happening. Just when I thought my running calendar was winding down for the winter months, George decided to enter the UTA100 and wanted me up there as support crew. Who am I to say no to a weekend at Australia’s largest trail running event. This post is an update on what I have been up to along with a blow by blow of my hectic weekend in the Blue Mountains being a pacer and support crew. It turns out these roles can be almost as exhausting as running 100km but also just as fulfilling.
The Off Season
After Diverge, I decided to grant myself an off season. For some this means no running at all but I can’t handle that. For me it means less running and less structure. No weekly volume or intensity goals, just doing as much as I feel like and trying to diversify my activities a little.
The reduced training load has been good, it’s been nice to back off a little. But life has found a way to provide plenty of non-running stressors. First being a change of jobs. I applied for a new role, got the role then resigned from my workplace of 11 years.
For those that haven’t worked it out yet, I have been ‘coaching’ George Knight for the past 6 months. I call it ‘vibe coaching’, because I prescribe runs and he kind of does them but also does whatever he feels like too. We get out and run sessions together a lot, so we are more of training partners. One of the main benefits of the arrangement is that I am the only person that actually sees his training data, since he is both a social media and Strava ghost. I keep tabs on it all and act like a little voice of reason / devil on his shoulder / counsellor. I can’t take too much credit for his successes, but it’s been fun being a part of the journey so far.
The recurring theme of his race calendar is that he likes to do them all. After he DNFd Mt Fuji 100 miler he turned his attention to UTA100. To most it seemed too soon but George was motivated to get amongst it, especially since Michael Dunstan and Ben Burgess were racing amongst others in a super stacked field.
With about a week to go, George confirmed his entry. Then asked if I wanted to come up and be his support crew. I was unsure because I was on the verge of quitting my job and uncertain of my future. But I decided to lock in. He booked me flights, I arranged time off work and we made plans for a big weekend in the Blue Mountains. Since I was flying up on the Thursday, I messaged Piotr asking if he was interested in a pacer for Friday afternoon. Piotr was running the 100 miler. He was keen, so now I had plans to both pace and support crew.
Getting to the Blueys
My plan for the weekend was to fly up late Thursday night to Sydney, but before this I had a big day of activities to get through. First cab off the rank was a day of work, but not just any old day. The night before I was officially offered a new job, I had been waiting and preparing for this offer to come through. Mostly so I could resign from my old post. So I headed into work with a fair amount of trepidation about resigning from a role I had been in for 11 years.
I was fairly anxious all morning till I finally decided it was time, and I told my manager I was throwing in the towel. It was a relief to get it off my chest, I had been keeping my intentions secret for a number of weeks and I am terrible at keeping secrets. The rest of the work day was fairly standard, apart from discussing my future plans with some of my colleagues.
I left work early to head to the first committee meeting for the Three Peaks Race. It is an iconic Tassie sailing and trail running race that ran for 25 years up till 2013, it’s been on a hiatus ever since. The Royal Yacht club is planning on resurrecting the event for Easter 2027. I was invited to the committee by virtue of being one of the only trail runners that the chairman of the committee knew. I agreed to come along but I don’t know how much time I am going to be able to offer to the venture. It’s going to be hard to match the effort of the others when the majority of the committee is made up of retirees.
The Three Peaks Race is such a cool format. It combines sailing and trail running with three iconic mountains to be climbed with lots of sailing in between. It traditionally starts in Beauty Point, sails to Flinders Island where runners head up Mt Strezlecki, then sailing to Coles Bay and running up Mt Freycinet and finally sailing to Hobart and running up and back down kunanyi / Mt Wellington. I am super keen to participate in the event and hopefully can help in successfully reviving the event after a long hiatus.
After the committee meeting I headed home briefly, grabbed my bags then went to Cascade Brewery for my defacto brother-in-laws birthday dinner. I was so time crunched that my food didn’t arrive in time and I had to go to the airport. Thankfully I found some overpriced airport food to satiate me before my flight to Sydney. In Sydney I was generously picked up by George’s twin sister Daisy who drove me back to her place then donated me her car to drive to Katoomba in. I finally arrived in Katoomba after midnight, climbing into the weirdly short double bed with George at 1am. It was a big stressful day and my body was feeling it.
Pacing the UTA 100 Miler
I felt horrendous when I woke on Friday morning. George and I had to check out of our accommodation then float around till 2pm to check into our new place in Blackheath. I needed to get my pacing bib so we braved the crowds at the expo. It is such a mission when you have to park so far away and walk. All I needed was a pacing bib but it took us far too long, there were so many people to talk to. It doesn’t help that everyone wants to talk to George.
I was getting worried about my schedule so we managed to escape the event village, do a quick woolies run then, drove to Michael Dunstan’s house where George wanted to cook pasta. Michael and George were both so chill, this temperament definitely helps, it’s easy to waste a lot of energy pre-race on stress and prep. I was going to hang out but got a call from Jorgia telling me that Piotr was running ahead of schedule. We decided to make a move, so I drove to Katoomba Aquatic centre to meet so we could head down to the Six Foot Track aid station.
I pulled into the carpark and started sorting out my gear, I looked up to see Bridie Temple coming over for a chat. She was doing the same as me, getting picked up for a pacing leg. It was good to catch up, but I was feeling overwhelmed trying to sort my bag and chat but I somehow managed to get everything I needed and walk over to Jorgia and Alex who were taking me down to meet Piotr.
Alex was driving his brother in laws Tesla and it was full to the brim with running stuff exploding from woolies cooler bags. They were supporting Piotr Babis and the other Piotr, it was the full Piotr support crew. We drove down to the Megalong Valley and it was a good opportunity to get my bearings straight since I would be coming back down the next day. We arrived at the aid station and it was quiet and sombre. No runners had passed through at all for the weekend but I could see from the size of the setup it was equipped to deal with hordes.
We got ourselves setup and the waiting game begun. I was still so unsure of my temperament, it was almost like I was getting sick. My gut was rumbling, I had a headache and just generally felt ‘off’. Despite my ailments I was keen to run. I hadn’t run in over 2 days and was eager to get out and about. In the past when I have tapered for events I sometimes feel a similar weirdness. I call it ‘taper sickness’, I dunno if it’s a real thing or not but I am certain it messes with me a bit. Maybe it’s due to my body being so used to running that stopping shocks the system. Because of this I rarely like to go more than a few days without running, my body wants and needs it.
We stood around in waiting in anxious anticipation, eventually spotting two runners approaching. It was the two Russian men who had been leading the whole race running alongside each other essentially the whole way. Their pace was impressive, they were flying and looked seriously motivated. I noted the time they arrived. Then we continued our waiting and the minutes ticked by. Piotr arrived around 30 minutes after the Russians. He requested his second ‘shower’ of the day, this consisted of Jorgia pouring two bottles of water over his head. After the shower and shirt change we got going. While he was showering the fourth place runner Chris Lenkic had been and gone. We headed out of the aid station with Chris still in sight but out ahead.
Piotr was still moving well although I could tell he was feeling it. He was over 90km into his 100 miles. As I warmed up my condition improved, so did the weather. The sun came out and lit up the epic cliffs behind us. Watching the tracker I had worried whether I’d be able to keep up with Piotr in race mode, but I was having no issues. We were moving at a fun pace and every now and then I would have to remind myself, wow this is pretty quick for like 100k deep into a race.
We chatted as we ran through the farmland, past a vineyard with a wedding taking place, through a paddock of inquisitive cows and along some nice flowy single track. We closed the loop and stopped back in at the Six Foot track aid station. Here we heard that Chris was now 10 minutes ahead, this motivated Piotr to chase. I lead him along the gravel road towards Nellies Glenn at a brisk pace. The dusk colours on the cliffs were vibrant. Darkness descended as we ascended Nellies. I was trying to help push Piotr but we were disappointed when a photographer told us we were 15 minutes behind. Despite our concerted effort to close the gap it was widening. We double checked with the next marshal and he confirmed the 15 minute gap.
My earlier malaise was completely replaced by excitement and the thrill of the chase. It was so much fun being out at the pointy end of a 100 miler where people actually race rather than battle for survival. At the Aquatic Centre, Piotr ate McDonalds cheeseburgers, a mainstay of his nutrition strategy, while I raided the aid station baked goods. They had fairy bread and I could not resist my carnal desires.
The next and final leg of my pacing job was by far the most fun. I was thriving and Piotr was more motivated than ever to close the gap. I wanted him back in third before my job was done. UTA is known for it’s stairs and this leg delivered. Up and down constantly, skirting under epic cliff faces and into beautiful gulleys with creeks and stepping stones. I would get ahead, open my phone up and try to decipher our position. I worked out that we were closing in. At the Gordon Falls timing mat we were only 4 minutes behind, we’d made up over 10 minutes in a short period.
Piotr was convinced he could see a headtorch out ahead, I never saw it myself but didn’t argue knowing how motivating it was for him. Every now and then I would hear him call out from behind, I would worry he’d fallen over, but it was just him yelling at himself to get psyched up. We kept pushing all the way to Fairmont. I was sending out voice memos to the support crew briefing them for the next pit stop. He wanted to be in and out rapidly to maintain the momentum and close in on third. When I finished my pacing leg we’d got the gap down to 3 minutes and I was certain he was going to get him. Momentum was building but I couldn’t stay awake to watch the race sadly, I had George to get back to and support.
I made my way back to Blackheath, eating the two cold big Macs Piotr generously donated me as payment for my pacing work. George was meant to be relaxing all afternoon but instead he got the car hung up on three wheels and had to get NRMA to come and tow him. By the time I got home he was back to chilling. We discussed the following days plans. Set our alarms for 3am and climbed into our new super comfortable double bed for a few hours of sleep.
I didn’t get to see the outcome of the 100 miler till the morning. Sadly Piotr didn’t catch third, he got so close but ran out of steam in the final 10k. Still an epic effort and it gets him a spot at UTMB next year!!
Support Crewing the UTA 100
The early morning start was relaxed till it wasn’t. George somehow has an astronomical amount of gear, nutrition, and stuff with it strewn all over. There was a crew bag, it was enormous and contained enough calories to run 200 miles. We still managed to hit the road with plenty of time buffer, I dropped George, got a park not too far away and wandered to the start. They moved the start time to 5am this year for some reason. It’s kind of good in some ways but it means more running in the dark at the beginning and less sleep the night before.
I loitered around at the start chatting to people and witnessing the palpable excitement of the elite runners. Some looked like sling shots fully tensioned ready to release. I watched the first few waves head off then sauntered to the car. I had almost 3 hours till my supporting duties were required down at Six Foot so I decided to drive back the place in Blackheath and have a nap. This was the best decision. I was feeling rubbish again, lack of sleep plus 38km of running in the legs from the night before.
The 20 minute nap worked miracles, I woke up feeling great and began my day of smashing caffeine. I got to Six Foot aid station with plenty of time but the place was already bustling. I struggled to find a table in the supporters area, eventually setting up shop on a table with Ben Burgess’ mum. We got chatting and she randomly asked me about the Three Peaks Race, she was keen to do it, I told her I was on the committee and it is coming back.
The front runners started flowing through, first Quidu, then Michael Dunstan. George was 10th when he arrived, I was slightly concerned, he likes to be up front. He was in good spirits but said his chest was playing up. A torn muscle in his ribcage area caused him to DNF at Mt Fuji and it was returning to haunt him. It was concerning but he headed back out looking strong. On my way to the Aquatic Centre I saw Michael Dunstan getting aid at the water point. So I stopped there and waited for George to give him a couple of flasks. He was still moving well, my concerns about the chest were alleviated somewhat.
George’s family were waiting at the Aquatic Centre. His parents, sister and grandparents were there to spectate and cheer him on. George arrived looking good and moving well. He’d gained a position and was enjoying himself. All good signs. I had faith that he would gain many more places. The chest niggle seemed to have kept the pace sensible at the start and was working in his favour.
It was at this stage that Colin Taylor began calling. After each aid station my phone would ring and he wanted the low down. He was fired up and wanted me to get George moving. We know what George is capable of and Colin’s froth levels were getting me fired up. Support crewing at the pointy end is a full on job. There’s hardly any downtime between aid stations. By the time I pack up, drive to the next one, find a park, walk in and find a spot there isn’t much waiting till the runners start arriving.
Fairmont Resort was hectic, the 50k runner were swarming the place. I couldn’t work out where to set myself up. Thankfully I saw Mikey’s crew in a designated 100k crew area. I swam through the crowd and set up shop next to Ben Butler’s dad. Ben and George arrived together, Ben in 4th, George in 5th. They both claimed many souls over the preceding section. George was in and out quick and I was getting excited. He was building a head of steam and the podium was within sight. I packed up again, wandered back to the car to begin my journey to QV Hospital.
QV was the worst aid station of all. The road in was terrible and I almost squished a pedestrian between my car and one on the side of the road. I decided to park on the side of the road and walk in, it was nearly a kilometre of walking. I started getting nervous about timing and ran to get there. When I arrived it was more hectic than Fairmont. I had to search for a place to fill flasks, then find a spot to setup shop. In the end I decided to setup just past the aid station and get George to run through.
Again it was Ben Butler’s dad and I nervously waiting for our runners. George arrived first, in 4th place. He was moving fast but looking pretty rinsed. I forced water into him, as I had been doing at all aid stations. Gave him sunnies, flasks, gels and a solid pep talk and sent him off on his final battle. Ben came in about 10 minutes later, suffering from smashed up toes. With both of our runners gone Ben’s dad gave me a lift back to the car. That was the last aid station till the end, our work was done, now all we had to do was wait and see.
I got to the finish just in time to see Michael Dunstan win. I was so stoked to see him get it, so well earned and deserved. Then came Quidu shortly after, he put in a solid chase and kept Mikey honest. In third place was Adrian the American.
Rachel the Outopia rep asked me to come into the finish chute to see George finish, they lent me a media lanyard so I could get in. Well it didn’t work out as planned, we got absolutely reprimanded by the UTA finish chute police lady. It was less me getting in trouble and more Rachel for giving me the lanyard. So I ended up back out on the sidelines when George finished and missed filming it because they didn’t even call his name.
George secured 4th place but wrecked himself in the process. He needed his grandfathers wheelchair at the end, then revealed that he had been ‘pissing blood’ for quite some time. Off to first aid he went. They got a urine sample and after an hour or so he was allowed to go. The word rhabdo was floated around but if it was properly serious he would have been sent to hospital. I saw the sample and it looked more like coke than bloody, extreme dehydration for sure. The result secured George some prize money and a guaranteed spot at CCC in 2027. Next year’s calendar is already filling up.
George and I went back to the finish line later that evening to see Aimee finish her 100km. She’s a Tassie trail runner and another of the few athletes that I coach. It was awesome to see her get it done and get a silver buckle. She scraped the buckle by 3 seconds they told her, on the official results it was by 1 second!! We dropped her home from the finish and finally got to go to sleep after a monumental day on the tools.
Wrapping Up and Looking Forward
Somehow this weekend was my first time properly crewing and pacing. Pacing was fun but crewing was stressful. I felt a baseline level of anxiety all day, mostly anxious anticipation. It’s imperative to get to each aid station before the runner arrives, once you arrive you wait. The problem is you don’t know when the runner will arrive and what state they will be in, so you kind of worry and exist in a constant state of nervous anticipation. It is exciting and I loved being able to find a way to get amongst the event without running but man it is tiring. I’m glad to be home now and catching up on sleep.
George is now off in Europe for his mega race season. I am starting a new job in a few weeks time. It feels like the year of change and growth. I am having a few weeks off between jobs. Hopefully to recharge my batteries and start the new role with vigour and enthusiasm. If I feel motivated I might use some of the downtime to focus on writing some of the long overdue blog posts that I have half drafted (there’s over 10 of them).
In my time off I am going to plan out the rest of the year. I’ll finally build out my annual training plan and work back into structured training for the remainder of the year. It will be nice to race less and train more. With my new job I might even be able to incorporate a run commute. Exciting times ahead.
Thanks for reading
Joseph Nunn: An avid trail runner based in Hobart, Tasmania. He loves getting out for big days on the trails with mates or racing against them.
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