The kunanyi Mountain Run is a brand new running event and mountain festival that was held for the first time in April 2022 in nipaluna/Hobart. It comprises of a 27km mountain run, a 68.5km ultra and Australia’s first vertical kilometre race. All events are on and around kunanyi. I ended up entering this years event on a whim and had an amazing day out. I went in with minimal expectations and ended up having one of the best days out running of my life.
Race Info
| Date | 9 April 2022 |
| Distance | 68.5km |
| Elevation | 3950m |
| Location | Hobart, Tasmania |
| Strava | Strava Activity |
| Website | kunanyi Mountain Run |
Course Map
Pre-Race
I was never planning to run the kunanyi Mountain Run Ultra. I was entered in the vertical kilometre race just for a laugh and was focusing on UTA training. My housemate James was signed up for the Ultra. I was sitting in the lounge room with him on the Tuesday evening before the race whilst aimlessly scrolling on Facebook when I stumbled upon a person selling a ticket at a heavily discounted price. Within minutes of the idea crossing my mind the decision had been made that I was going to get the entry and do the run.
I justified my decision based on my fears that UTA might end up being cancelled due to flooding and I didn’t want to miss out on a big one after my recent training block. If the UTA is on then the kMR will be a good training run. It’s easy to find ways to justify ones impulsive decisions.
This impromptu decision changed the tone of my week considerably. I went into full race planning mode. I had to sort mandatory gear, get my nutrition and drop bags sorted and mentally prepare myself for the massive undertaking. The following day I kept gravitating to the kMR website and staring at the map trying to work out a strategy. I had already ran many of the sections of the course and knew how challenging it would be but couldn’t conceptualise the difficulty of stringing together such a massive course with so much elevation. The excitement was building in my household at an alarming rate.
My other housemate Sam was also entered in the VKM race and he noticed that almost all of his mates that had entered were either dropping out due to Covid or like me jumping to the big one. As the week progressed there were more cheap and even free entries for the ultra popping up on Facebook. I had spoked to Sam earlier in the week after I decided to run the full Ultra and he made the comment that maybe he should run it too. Bear in mind that he’s never ran in an Ultra before and was mostly training for the VK in the lead up.
Then on Wednesday I saw a Facebook post from a person giving away a ticket that I somewhat jokingly tagged Sam in. An hour or so later I received a phone call from him wanting to discuss whether he should enter. I could tell from the beginning of the call that the decision was already made and he was just wanting validation. Within the hour he was also on board the ultra train. Excitement levels in the household intensified.
The day before the event was bedlam in our household. James and I have stuff everywhere. While Ziggy is in Cobar waiting on a flight to get him home that is likely to be delayed or cancelled as flights from Cobar tend to be. James and I went to the event hub to do our check in and be there for the pre-race briefing. After this we both went home and continued to faff around with drop bags and gear packing arrangements all while shovelling enormous quantities of mashed potato into our mouths.
Ziggy ended up getting in at around 7pm and was able to quickly get all of his gear together and get to the event hub in time to check in. By the time he got there it was a ghost town. After he got home the excitement of 3 runners getting ready made it hard to get ourselves to go to bed. I managed to get myself off to bed and was surprisingly able to sleep quite well for the few hours I could get in before my early morning alarm was to go off.
Goals
I didn’t want to set too many goals going into kMR. It wasn’t possible to know what a good time for the course is when it’s never been ran before. I set myself a few time goals and some process goals but I didn’t go into this race with high expectations. I was mostly keen for a big day in the mountains and a solid training run before the UTA.
| Goals | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A | Time goal | Finish before sunset (less than 12 hours) |
| B | Time goal | Stretch goal finish before 11 hours |
| C | Process goal | Treat as a training mission for UTA |
| D | Process goal | Run my own race and set a sustainable pace at the start |
| E | Process goal | No racing till the Pipeline Track |
Race Day
Race Morning
I woke up to my alarm at 4:15 am and began the pre-race rituals of eating crumpets, drinking coffee and going to the toilet. Along with a lot of other faffing around I was able to get myself ready without too much stress. There was a lot of early morning excitement in my household with 3 runners all up and getting themselves ready. I drove in with Ziggy. We went and deposited our drop bags and began the nervous pre-race loitering. Luckily there were plenty of friends at the start so conversation distracted us from the imminent bodily destruction. A smoking ceremony was held then we all lined up to start.
Leg 1 – Wellesley Park to kunanyi Summit
I started the race with Ziggy. We headed out through the Cascade paddock staring at the ominous mountain before us. We fell into an extremely conservative pace. We were chatting to each other and a woman from Adelaide who went on to be the third place female in the race. The conversation kept us from going too quick and distracted us from the early race urge to go fast. Ziggy and I soon lost our new friend as she took off ahead and we continued up Myrtle Gulley track.
I was mostly walking these steep sections. I usually try to run up these hills but was so scared of blowing up early that I took the extremely conservative approach. Ziggy and I were together all the way through to Junction Cabin. Due to our slow start we had already begun overtaking people which is always a good feeling. As we cruised up Hunters track I started to get ahead of Ziggy. I fell in behind other runners at this stage.
After a long slog I popped out at the Chalet where I quickly filled up a flask at the spring and continued along the Organ Pipes track. This section was a dream. Finally some runnable single track and one of the more spectacular sections of the course. It was a glorious morning and I was revelling in the beauty and the excitement of the day to come. I ran at a decent pace till I hit the Zig-Zag track where I fell back to a sustainable power hike and cruised up the steep track to the summit.
It was a good feeling popping out at the summit. I knew there was finally some runnable trails to come and the day was stunning. I ran into the aid station and saw a friend Jess leaving as I entered. At the end of the first leg I was still feeling super fresh and full of energy and excitement for the legs to come. I am glad I took it easy on the climbs and I think it paid dividends later on in the run. Just as I left the aid station I saw Ziggy entering and we gave each other some encouraging banter.
| Leg 1 Summary | |
|---|---|
| Split time | 1:55:36 |
| Total time | 1:55:36 |
| Position | 42 |
| Leg Distance | 12.7km |
| Total Distance | 12.7km |
Leg 2 – Pinnacle to Myrtle Forest
From the Pinnacle aid station the course follows the road for a few kilometres of gentle downhill. This is a great opportunity to open the legs up a bit and allow gravity to do the work. It is spectacular to look out over the kunanyi back country where our course heads.
After the few kilometres of sealed road I took a left turn onto Big Bend fire trail and it was a steep downhill which at this stage was a nice change for the legs. This continued for a few kilometres till another left turn onto the Mt Connection trail. This section was one of my favourites. My legs were still feeling fresh and the trails were runnable but technical enough to be stimulating and fun. I overtook a few people along this section and started to lift the pace a little.
The trail then popped us out onto a short section of fire trail then the steep descent down into Myrtle Forest where the second aid station was located. I was excited to head into this station as my friends Tim and Dan were running the station. I was supposed to be volunteering with them till I jumped ship and decided to run the event. The steep technical descent and excitement meant a fast run down the the station. I was feeling good so allowed myself to speed up and I was having so much fun. I saw James, my housemate for the first and last time in the race climbing back out of the station as I was descending. Coming down into this station I caught up with Jess and we chatted as we entered the aid station.
I had a drop bag here so spent some time rummaging around and chatting to my friends. I left this station still feeling fresh and ready for the climb out.
| Leg 2 Summary | |
|---|---|
| Split time | 1:33:48 |
| Total time | 3:29:25 |
| Position | 35 |
| Leg Distance | 12.1km |
| Total Distance | 24.8km |
Leg 3 – Myrtle Forest to Mountain River
A unique part of this event is the ability to cross paths with other runners at differing positions in the field. Such as when I was coming out of Myrtle Forest I was able to see Ziggy and getting to see James on the way down. It’s nice to be able to see more mates out on course compared to a traditional race where you only see the people running alongside you.
The climb out of Myrtle Forest is steep and I am reduced to a power hike most of the way up to the fire trail. When I popped out on the fire trail I chatted to a female runner from New Zealand that was living in Tassie for a while doing heaps of running. I then pushed forward a bit and ran alongside Justin Dyer who I met the night before at race check in. He told me of his epic bush walking traverse of Tassie starting in Penguin and finishing in Cockle Creek.
The Mountain River track is a steep descent. I let myself freewheel at a nice pace down and ended up ahead of Justin and back on my own again. The downhill is long and a definite quad basher but I was feeling good after so much downhill training as part of my UTA program. The end of the mountain river track spat me out onto a gravel road. I was exposed to the full force of the sun and I began to heat up.
This section was the hottest I got all day. Luckily there wasn’t too much gravel road till I reached the next aid station where I took some time to refill my flasks and drink some coke. I decided to fill an additional flask for the next section because I knew it was going to be a long one and the day was warm. I was also developing a headache so I needed to stay on top of hydration to keep that at bay.
| Leg 3 Summary | |
|---|---|
| Split time | 1:40:44 |
| Total time | 5:10:09 |
| Position | 35 |
| Leg Distance | 12.4km |
| Total Distance | 37.2km |
Leg 4 – Mountain River to Cathedral
I left the aid station and started to climb the steep ascent back up towards the Montagu thumbs. The enormity of the day started to hit home. My headache was not going away and I still had so much further still to go. The climb was so steep going up the old Montagu track so I didn’t bother trying to run. I got into a consistent hiking pace but probably a bit slower than usual which kind of allowed me to rest a little even while climbing on of the most gruelling ascents. I took the time to do some admin on my phone by messaging my girlfriend, my parents and then finally my soccer team to let them know I might not be in the best form for the game the next day.
Once I reached the top of the climb the track was runnable again and I took off but I was still concerned with my headache. After lots of fluids and a caffeine gel I was running out of options till I though that maybe taking a panadol might help. I’d never thought of taking panadol on a run till a week earlier when I was listening to a podcast that mentioned potential athletic performance gains from paracetamol due to it’s ability to lower body temperature.
I stopped and quickly dug out my first aid kit and took a couple of panadol and kept moving. As I continued along the traverse of the Montagu Thumbs my condition improved. I was able to move quickly along this terrain and started overtaking many people. Quite a lot of runners didn’t seem that comfortable with the rock scrambling and it slowed a lot of people down. It was nice to run into Leary who was scrambling ahead of me complaining about how much of the course was un-runnable. I overtook him and by this stage the panadol was kicking in and I started feeling amazing.
Once I reached the summit of Cathedral rock I was feeling wonderful, borderline euphoric. I sped down the steep back of the mountain and once I hit the proper track descending from Cathedral rock I went full speed down the switch backs. I lost count of the amount of people I overtook in this section. According to the tracker I gained 14 places in this leg. Whilst most of the people I was passing were starting to struggle I was feeling as though I was improving.
Running through the forest into the aid station I passed Dave on his way out. I high fived him and when he asked how I was feeling I said something along the lines of ‘fucking amazing’. I cruised down into the Cathedral aid station where I spent some time rummaging in my drop bag. I savoured the can of vanilla coke I had frozen and stashed in there.
| Leg 4 Summary | |
|---|---|
| Split time | 2:09:57 |
| Total time | 7:20:06 |
| Position | 21 |
| Leg Distance | 11.1km |
| Total Distance | 48.3km |
Leg 5 – Cathedral to Finish
I left the aid station feeling good after the short break. On the way out I ran into Ziggy and I was pleased to see him still travelling so well. He expressed excitement to get to the aid station and eat a cold sausage he’d left in his drop bag. Not long into the forest I took a turn and went over the river. The rock hopping was getting difficult on shaky tired legs. Then there was the climb up siphons ugly cousin or whatever the track is called onto the pipeline. I grinded up this steep climb and once I hit the pipe line track I implemented my race goal. The race starts at pipeline so I pushed as hard as I could down the pipeline track trying to maintain a decent pace. I think I was able to get a few 4:30m/km splits but they were hard fought.
It was difficult and painful running at a high pace after going so slowly all day. The exertion of this section made me start to feel waves of nausea. I kept diligently staying on top of my nutrition and hydration even though it made me feel sick. After many kms down the pipeline there is a torturous climb up to silver falls. This is when things started to feel hard. I had to focus on keeping moving and not slowing down. Finally at to top the the climb there is a nice run down into Ferntree.
At the pub there was a small aid station setup. I had the most efficient transition at this station. The volunteer filling both of my flasks whilst I sculled multiple cups of coke. Majell was at this station and was egging me on. He told me I could catch Jess and that I was on track to get under 10 hours. This little bit of encouragement was enough to throw fuel on the fire. I felt the urge to stop mucking around and get back out there.
This final stage of the race I felt possessed with a desire to finish and to overtake people. If anyone were to make eye contact with me at this point they would have had an intense feeling of staring into the eyes of a deranged monster. At this stage the climbs were hard but I tried to run where I could. Any of the downhill sections I smashed as fast as I could, which was surprisingly fast for this stage of an ultra. Coming down through Ridgeway I flew past Dave who made some comment about me being a monster. He wouldn’t have expected me to catch him after our earlier meeting where I was multiple kilometres behind him.
The steep descent into waterworks was a fast one. I felt like I could smell the finish at this point. Shortly after I spotted Jess in front of me and gradually gained on her. Majell had put a target on her back for me. I soon cruised past her and another bloke on the climb out of waterworks. I continued pushing knowing I was so close and still fighting off waves of nausea due to the exertion. I crossed Huon road and ran through some fun technical mountain bike trails before finally being spat out onto the Cascade paddock. I went hard along here and overtook my final adversary before getting to the final road section and down into the finish line chute.
I was greeted by a few friends that were spectating and James who had finished nearly 40 minutes before me. The MC immediately started interviewing me and I struggled to string a coherent sentence together. I said a few words that probably made no sense then stumbled over to show the gear check person something they asked for. I then waddled over and parked myself on a beanbag where I sat for some time feeling cooked and fulfilled.
| Leg 5 Summary | |
|---|---|
| Split time | 2:23:14 |
| Total time | 9:44:21 |
| Position | 10 |
| Leg Distance | 20.2km |
| Total Distance | 68.5km |
Results
| Final Results | |
|---|---|
| Total time | 9:44:21 |
| Position Overall | 10 |
| Gender position | 7 |
| Goals | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| A | Finish before sunset (less than 12 hours) | ✅ |
| B | Stretch goal finish before 11 hours | ✅ |
| C | Treat as a training mission for UTA | ✅ |
| D | Run my own race and set a sustainable pace at the start | ✅ |
| E | No racing till the Pipeline Track | ✅ |
Post Race
I spent the next few hours hanging out at the race hub. I was able to see Ziggy finish later. It was good to see all the runners from my household finish and get decent times. It would have been a bit sad if one of us DNFd. I felt good enough to go to a friends garden party for a little bit after the race. Then later on in the evening I went back to the Race hub to get my drop bags. I ran into Dan at the hub and we had a beer. I recounted my day and we watched ultra runners trickle through the finish.
The following day I fronted up to my soccer game and impressed my teammates by going out for a run. I almost kicked a goal too. If the goal had gone it I may have considered this to be the best weekend of my life. Either way it was a great one and I am already planning to get back on the course next year and get in under 9 hours. A few days later the UTA was officially postponed till October. I didn’t mind one bit after a weekend that fulfilled my long distance running desires.
Joseph Nunn
An avid trail runner based in Tasmania who likes getting out running and then talking about it