I didn’t know running 100 miles was possible when I first started running. As I got myself deeper into the sport of trail and ultra running I learned about 100 mile plus events. I considered going that far to be a silly thing to do. Evenutally I progressed up to running 100km events and I thought at the time that this was far enough for me. It wasn’t long before the urge to go further got the better of me. I have now signed up for my first 100 mile event, the inaugural GPT100, in November. This post documents the beginning of my journey to the GPT100.
Planting of the Seeds
The seed was planted when I saw a post on Facebook about a new 100 mile event in the Grampians. Curiosity had me enter my email and register my interest in the event. I had never heard of the Grampians Peaks Trail (GPT). It’s a new walking track that traverses the Grampians from north to south. Walkers take 13 days to complete it and it happens to be almost exactly 100 miles in length. I watched the video and it captivated me. For the first time I thought maybe that could be the 100 mile event for me.
A few weeks later I was on a work trip reading The Uphill Athlete while waiting for a boat. I came across a page that showed a training plan for a 100 mile event. It was a few days after I ran the Cradle Mountain Run so I was in that post race dreaming stage where you start looking for the next big thing.
It got me thinking about how I would like to commit to a race and use it as motivation for the year. I also worked out that the length of the training plan lined up almost perfectly with the date of the GPT100. I was now seriously considering the possibility of entering. The thought excited me but I wasn’t ready to commit just yet.
Watering the Plant
Thoughts about the GPT were embedded in my mind. I would gravitate towards the website and look at the course and entry information. I was at a point where I had mentally committed myself but didn’t have the courage to officially enter. A few weeks after running the Cradle Mountain Run (5th), I raced the Gone Nuts 50k and came 3rd in one of my better performances.
While driving home from Gone Nuts I was chatting with Niall. A fellow runner who got a lift with me to the event. We had never met before this weekend. He came along to run his first ultramarathon. He runs mens empowerment camps and is a muay thai state champ. I was saying to him that I am more motivated when I have a race to work towards. Particularly around strength work and diet. I then mentioned that I had been thinking about running a 100 mile race.
This is the first time I said it out loud. He straight away told me I should commit to the event and throw myself in the deep end. His charisma and persuasion was almost enough to get me to sign up that day. I didn’t rush out and enter but the thoughts were steadily percolating by this stage.
A few weeks later I overcommitted myself to perform at kMR Ultra by making a blog post about my goals and sharing it widely. I felt a higher level of accountability to achieve my race goals than usual. In the final stages of the race I pushed hard. I dug deep using my last drops of willpower. While I was suffering I pledged to myself to have a hiatus from running Ultra distance races.
I achieved my goal of finishing in under 9 hours at kMR and come joint 6th along with Markus (8:58). I expected to feel elation at achieving the goal but instead felt drained and apathetic. At the finish line I sat dejectedly for hours trying to recollect myself enough to drive home. In hindsight running 3 ultras in short succession is not the best idea. I commited to having a break from racing for a while.
But as per usual a few days later my mind was looking for the next big thing. Justin also ran kMR. So I sent him a message with a link to the GPT100 race suggesting it as the next one. He said it looked cool but wasn’t ready to run a miler. The next morning he send another message saying that he spent the whole evening thining about the event. I had planted the seed in his head now.
Pulling the Trigger
As the dust settled from kMR my mind focused on entering the 100 mile race. I even started following the training plan in earnest. But I still hadn’t officially entered. I knew the date that the early bird prices went up and I was waiting till right down to the wire to enter. Justin on the other hand was still on the fence. The minimum qualification for the GPT100 is a 100km event. The longest Justin had done was 80km so he didn’t think he would qualify.
Justin and I both raced Tolosa Knights, a local short trail race. Afterwards we were chatting about the GPT100 and whether we should enter. I suggested that Justin email the organisers to ask if his CMR result would qualify him for the event. I also mentioned that there was a free training camp that we could attend if we enter.
That evening Justin emailed the organisers. The next day they sent a response approving him to enter the race. This was the final hurdle for Justin and he was now fully on board. So on that Monday morning after Tolosa Knights we both pulled the trigger and entered the event. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so excited on a Monday morning. Shortly thereafter we both registered for the training camp and sealed our fates. The tone is set for the the year. We now have a higher purpose to work towards. My girlfriend also decided to enter the 50km event in the Grampians to run her first ultra. The Tassie crew is growing.
Preparations and beyond
Not long after entering Justin and I planned our trip to attend the official GPT training camp. We spent 4 days in Halls Gap running along sections of the GPT. After this camp we were both keen to get back again and check out more of the trails. We planned our own unofficial training camp to run the first 3 stages of the race. We were able to do it over 3 days with the help of many generous fellow trail runners. Justin and I have both been putting in the milage and have developed borderline unhealthy obsessions with this event.
We are now 13 weeks from the event. The time has come to ramp up specific training and get ourselves ready for the big day. I will continue to document the journey with subsequent posts about the preparations for the event.