Gone Nuts Adventure Run is Tassie’s only 100km + trail running event. I have participated in the event many times over the years but never tackled the full 101km distance. This year I decided to finally take it on. Myself and my friends Ziggy and Kev all had an epic weekend on the trails with Kev ticking off his first Ultra, Ziggy running a stand out performance and me getting it done despite many struggles. This post is an account of my first time running the full epic.
| Distance | 103.1km |
| Elevation | 2425m |
| Location | Wynyard / NW Tasmania |
| Total Time | 11:49:13 |
Race Day
Early Start
Race day begins with an obscenely early start. I am out of bed at 3:15am and we are out the door by 3:50am driving from Sisters Beach to Wynyard. We are stopped by a traffic light and road works that are still in place on the same section highway as last year. The works look unchanged after a whole year. It is frustrating sitting at a red light at 4am on an highway with no other cars around.
At Wynyard we wander to the yacht club and hop onto the bus to take us back the way we just came and all the way to Stanley. On the bus I down my second iced long black of the morning and am feeling far too caffeinated for that time of the day. Ziggy and I chat quietly as we motor along the highway. My second coffee is causing internal rumblings and inflicting a diuretic effect that pushes me to a near pant wetting stage by the time we arrive at Stanley.
As soon as the bus doors open I bolt to the toilet which turns out to be a great strategic decision. I complete my urgent toilet visit and leave to see a large queue has formed. I feel satisfied to have averted disaster and avoided the line. I can now relaxedly undertake my pre-race loitering. Standing around at the base of the nut we can already hear the raucous calls of the Shearwaters on top. It turns out they too, are early risers.
Michael, the race director performs a final pre-race briefing before we move towards the start line. I move towards the front of the group near Gareth who I know will head out fast. I have committed myself to a quick start. I tend to alternate between conservative pacing and pushing the limits in races to see what is possible. I am still trying to learn how to find the right balance. I guess that is part of the appeal of this sport, there is always so much wondering about ‘what ifs?’ when it comes to race strategies, but on race day you can only test out one plan and if it doesn’t work then you’ve got to problem solve to get through.
Stanley to Mawbanna (0-27km)
The race begins at 6am on the dot and I head out fast. The pace is immediately halted by the brutal climb up the Nut. My calves are on fire halfway up. It’s a brutal warm up into a long day of running. On top we begin our circumnavigation in a clockwise direction. I was later told that the loop of the Nut can be ran in either direction. I haven’t fact checked this. On race day I just follow whoever is in front.
The Shearwater gauntlet is particularly bad this year. I ran the first 50km a couple of years ago as part of a relay and only had to deal with a couple of birds. This year there must be hundreds of them. Their reaction to us running with head torches is to run directly at our feet then try to fly making jumping over them difficult. I feels like I am in a real life game of Crash Bandicoot. There is even a large wallaby hopping along beside me which made me wonder how and why it is on top of the Nut.
While rearranging my phone in a pocket my concentration lapses for a second and I take a hard fall onto rock. Both my knees are gashed and bleeding and it’s less than 2km into a 103km run. Not an ideal start. I drag myself up and continue with new found focus to dodge the birds. I love this start. It is epic to look behind and see a trail of headtorches encircling the Nut.
On completion of the Nut lap we descend back down the steep path and through the streets of Stanley. The pace is ridiculously fast and I am silly enough to keep Gareth in my sights. The first 25km is the most runnable and flat leg of the course now that the Nut is out of the way. So in the interests of making hay while the sun shines, I run faster than I probably should be.
I am wearing my HR strap for the race and use it to guide my pace. I am occasionally looking and seeing that my heart rate is approaching 160bpm, I am in the upper end and I worry about the sustainability of this level or exertion. But I am having fun and feeling fresh at this stage so I fly along the flat sections through Stanley and along the beach.
I notice a slight course change from previous years . Rather than running along the side of the highway we are running through paddocks and bush alongside the highway. Far nicer running although a bit rougher under foot than the road running. I know there is a boat crossing coming up at 17km or so. I can still see Gareth in front of me. At this stage I am coming second.
When I realise we must be approaching the river crossing I increase the pace hoping to catch up with Gareth and catch the same boat trip across. The trail takes me through a thick tea-tree forest and I duck and weave around tight corners making moving fast difficult. When I hear the sounds of an outboard motor and know I’ve missed the boat I moderate the pace. I am not waiting long till the boat is back. By this stage Markus has caught up along with another runner. We all get a ride across allowing our legs a short break.
The three of us run together along the train tracks and stick together all the way through to the Mawbanna aid station. Markus and I ran almost the entirety of kMR together last year, so we are back in a familiar territory running together pushing each other to move fast. I am testing out an ambitious nutrition strategy using my homemade drink mix. I have prefilled flasks that I just need to add water to at the aid station which allows for a quick transition.
Mawbanna to Rocky Cape (27-51km)
We run as a group out of the aid station. This next section is an undulating maze of forestry roads and tracks through thick foliage. On the map it looks ridiculous with all of the twists and turns. I am starting to feel fatigue from the fast start. After a while I decide to let Markus and the other runner get ahead so I no longer feel any pressure to maintain their pace.
I am both fatigued and starting to struggle with my drink concoction. My ambitious nutrition plan has me downing 107g of carbs per hour, which is an extremely high target. I thought I would be capable of making it work because I have done it in training runs. But most of my training runs were only between 3-4 hours long. I am now approaching my 4th hour running and the drink is not going down well.
At the mini-aid station in the forest I fill my drink mix flask still intending to forge on with the plan. But not long after leaving I decide that I need to back off from the drink if I want to have any chance of survival. Each sip makes me belch and feel sick, I think I’ve reached my upper limit of intake and my body is not agreeing with taking any more into the tank.
I leave the aid station knowing that the enormous hills are soon to come. Two years earlier when I ran this stage I accidently wore brand new shoes that were half a size too small. It was at this stage that my toes were ruined and I was having to walk tentatively down the steep declines. I am feeling a lot better this time around. At the top of one of the hills there are people filming with a drone. I can see they are filming while I fly down a steep hill. I run fast knowing I am on camera and I end up sliding out and ending up on the ground. The footage of my fall ended up making it into the official event reel.
After the undulations of the big hills are done I am spat out onto gravel road for a few kilometres before coming to the Rocky Cape aid station. I force myself to keep moving at a decent pace. I run through all of my planned aid station activities in my head. I am reviewing my whole nutrition strategy and also planning on visiting the portaloo. The day is heating up and I am already going into a dehydration hole.
Rocky Cape to Boat
I arrive at the Rocky Cape aid station in 4:50, still on track for my 11 hour goal but I am feeling bedraggled. I get my drop bag and ask the volunteers to help fill flasks while I run to the portaloo. I lose 5 minutes in the toilet and I come out I see Ziggy arriving into the aid station. All of my earlier gains are so quickly lost by spending time at the aid station but I need the time to regather myself and my belongings.
While I am at the aid station another runner passes through without even stopping or acknowledging the aid station volunteers. I can’t believe he’s just pushing on without even grabbing any water, he may have a support crew helping him at other locations. I bid farewell to Ziggy and head back out onto the long road down Rocky Cape.
As I run along the road I am struggling and the heat of the day is intensifying. I drink nearly a whole 500ml flask along this section of road. At the turn off into the Rocky Cape National Park there is a small water tank that I use for another refill. I can see Ziggy behind me on the road and making up ground on me as I struggle up the hill.
My condition is horrendous, I am nauseous, tired and unmotivated. Mentally I am struggling knowing that I am only slightly over halfway and feeling completely spent. I start entertaining thoughts of getting through to Sister’s beach and calling my mate Birdy to come and pick me up. We are staying at his house just out of Sisters and the thought of going home and laying down is making me have bad thoughts.
Ziggy finally catches me and I tell him of my nefarious ideations. He is also going through a rough patch, but not at the point of considering pulling out. We run and chat for a while before he pushes ahead obviously not feeling quite as dire as me. Back on my own I start to allow my thoughts to drift off to interesting places. The exhaustion brings up all sorts of existential thoughts and emotions.
In my state of disassociated contemplation time flies by and my condition starts to improve. I am back in the game again, loving the majestic views across the epic coastline. Now through my darkest hour I am locked in to finish this thing. I am annoyed at myself for even considering DNFing. Never have I seriously considered pulling out of a race before. It feels as though I have committed a thought crime. Fighting past these compulsions to quit is all part of the battle of running 100kms.
All day I have been seeing the same spectators, obviously people supporting other runners that are driving along the course. One of these supporters has been offering me water and bananas whenever I see him. When I pop out of the National Park in Sister’s Beach he is sitting there and again offers me his selection of wares. I accept some chilled water from his esky and it is glorious. By the time I reach the Sister’s Beach aid station I have finished this water and am ready for more. I am a water consuming machine, having shunned the drink mix I am now on straight water or water with electrolytes.
At this aid station I see a runner leaving that I think might be Ziggy. I wonder if I will be able to catch him. Feeling good, I leave this aid station inspired for the remainder of the day ahead. The run along Postman’s track is fun and I am looking forward to making it to Boat Harbour where I expect to find some friends for a much needed morale boost. I am now falling behind the 11 hour pace but I’ve long since stopped caring. My toes are starting to feel aggravated from all of the smashing and I plan for a shoe swap at Boat Harbour. The rocky beaches before Boat Harbour slow my pace but I persist and eventually make it to the road that leads to the aid station.
Boat Harbour to Wynyard
As I approach the aid station I see Birdy and his partner Em spectating. Then my mate Dan runs up an greets me. At the aid station Piotr and Dave Lennon are waiting too. I now have a support crew to help me through the aid station. I swap out shoes, refill flasks all while Piotr pours water over my head. The crew are efficient and won’t let me hang around. So after doing all of my tasks I hit the road and Dan and Birdy run with me along Boat Harbour beach.
I am feeling motivated from the boys razzing me up but as I start climbing the paddock hill I realise I have left all of my food at the aid station. I slow down and call Dan asking if he can find my stuff and bring it to the spot were the route passes the road. Thankfully he agrees and I can put my mind at ease knowing that I will have energy to see me through.
I am now using poles on the hills, I picked them up from my Boat Harbour drop bag. They are a godsend for the relentless paddock climbs. I don’t usually use poles on downs but today they are a welcome assistance allowing me some support and helping me take the load off my tender toes. I love and hate this final section. It it glorious but relentless.
I encounter one of the landowners unofficial aid stations which allows me to stock up on some sugar. The people that set up the aid station are sitting in camp chairs spectating and chatting to a group of 50k runners. I tell them I forgot my food and they insist I take as much as I want. I love the renegade aid stations along this leg of the course. I take a few chocolates and am on my way again.
I am so slow now, running when I can but doing a lot of walking. Eventually I make it to the road where Dan is waiting along with Jesse and Susan. They give me my supplies and I hear brief updates on how all of their runs went earlier on. I am looking for any excuse to slow down and take it easy. They send me on my way with a few encouraging words.
The paddocks are so hot by this stage of the day. I am a moving salt crystal. But I am still moving and enjoying the journey. It is a majestic day, just a bit hot for running for me. I soon approach the ‘heart break hill’ climb. I just lean on my poles and chip away at it. I can see a gazebo with an esky at the top. This is welcome motivation.
When I finally reach the top there is another runner sitting on the esky. We have a chat and both fill up water and ice. I put as much ice as I can down the back of my shirt. It is such a great feeling. The cooling carries me all the way up the Table Cape climb with ease. I think many of my troubles come from overheating. In the bushland along the edge of Table Cape I see my first and only snake for the day. It’s surprising to not see more on such a sunny day.
At the lighthouse I have a brief stop to refill flasks and continue on my way down towards Wynyard. I am happy now knowing that I am going to get this thing done no matter what. The descent from Table Cape hurts my poor toes but the assistance from gravity is appreciated. When I reach the road I approach the dreaded river track with unusual optimism. The track has a bad reputation because it is an out and back along either side of a river that seems to go on forever. I have never had a good time around this track but today I am happy to reach it knowing that I am nearly done.
The shade of the trees allow me to cool down. The light undulations of the trails are nice for me to run on without hurting my toes. I look at my watch and calculate that finishing in under 12 hours in within reach. This arbitrary time goal and the allure of the finish gets some wind back in my sails. I think I can see Ziggy on the other side of the river and I call out but get no response.
In what feels like no time I reach the highway bridge turn around point. Since I stopped thinking about the bridge I stopped caring about how far away it was and got a pleasant surprise by the sight of it. Now in a good mood and heading in the right direction I increase the pace further. I still am not sure exactly how much further there is to run. The course has been lengthened slightly and GPS watches can’t always be trusted at this stage of long runs. So I push as hard as I can to maintain good splits on the return leg.
I eventually hit Guttridge Gardens with 15 minutes to get it done. I can see the finishing arch off in the distance and it gets me fired up. I push hard and lay down a fast pace along the water front to the finish. The feeling of a strong finish in an ultra is one of the reasons I participate in these sports. It’s hard to explain and you can only truly understand if you experience it for yourself. I come through the finish having achieved my 12 hour goal. I am so happy to have finished in spite of my urges to give up.
Results and Wrap Up
At the finish I learn that Ziggy has had an amazing run, overtaking many other runners to finish in 4th position. Markus is also at the finish having been overtaken by Ziggy around the river at the end. Ziggy’s performance is impressive, he ran the entire river section without walking at all. Kev comes through in just under 13 hours, an impressive time for his first ultra.
We hang around for presentations then grab pizzas and head back to Birdy’s where we sit around the fire and recount tales of our respective journeys. All in all it was a good day out. Battling through adversity is what makes these things fun. No one runs 100kms without a few rough patches in there.
I truly love this event and I would highly recommend it to anyone. The course is incredibly varied traversing some awesome coastline. Being able to see how far you’re headed along the coast is both epic and intimidating. There is such a good vibe with the community getting behind it. I am already thinking that I will be back next year, it’s too much fun to be missed.
| Position | Runner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 4th | Ziggy | 11:14:29 |
| 5th | Markus | 11:18:16 |
| 7th | Joe | 11:49:13 |
| 9th | Kev | 12:58:07 |
Gritty Details
Race Goals
❌ 107g of carb per hour (failed miserably)
✅ Keep track of hydration and stay on top of it in the heat (kind of succeeded in the end)
❌ Sub 11 hour finish
✅ Sub 12 hour finish fallback goal
Pacing Plan
Rough pacing plan is to get to 50km in under 5 hours then hopefully do the final 50km in 6 hours, allowing 3 hours for legs 3 and 4. In theory this should be feasible. But everything gets difficult in the latter stages of a 100km race.
My rough strategy is:
- Rocky cape in 5 hours
- Boat harbour in 8 hours
- Finish in under 11 hours
Drop Bags
I had asked my parents to be my support crew. They were both super keen. That was until they realised my sister was coming to Launceston for a wedding that weekend and my young cute nephew, their grandson would need babysitting. The priorities were obvious and the cute baby won out.
It was no issue for me though. I opted for a couple of drop bags and to rely on the aid stations. The below table outlines my drop bag plan and contents. I also had a finish line drop bag with a change of clothes and a towel so I could shower at the end.
| Bag | Location | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocky Cape (50km) | Gels, drink mix, anti-chafe stuff, spare socks |
| 2 | Boat Harbour (75km) | Spare shoes, socks, trekking poles, gels and food, drink mix, anti-chafe stuff |
Nutrition and Hydration Strategy
My strategy was to intake 1 x drink mix and 1 x energy gel per hour. Giving me a carb intake of 107g/h. I was able to maintain this plan till around 45km into the run. I believe that I wasn’t able to properly hydrate and get the drink mix in at the same time. I suspect my stomach was reaching it’s limit.
The below image is a summary of all of my race day nutrition and hydration intake. For the second half of the race I struggled due to the heat and nausea. My race was far from perfect in this department. It is something I am always trying to work on and improve. It’s a hard one to get right.
Course Map
Photo Credits
- The cover photo and pinterest image are made using photos by Dave Lennon
- My finish line shots are from the Gone Nuts facebook page, unknown photograper
- All other photos have attribution in the caption, those not credited are taken by myself
Joseph Nunn: An avid trail runner based in Hobart, Tasmania. He loves getting out for big days on the trails. The best days out make for a good story, this website is a place to document the trail tales.
Reading through your race report again to get me hyped up for GN101 this year 😁
Sadly I won’t be there this year. First time missing it in years. Hope you have a good run!