Australian 24 Hour Track Invitational 2020 by Joe Ward
Where to start with this race report? Wow!
Lets go to the start line …
It’s Saturday 25th July at 8am, I’m standing on the Australian Institute of Sport athletics track in Canberra. The weather is perfect for a long run (cold and cloudy) and I. AM. READY!
I’m lined up with the best ultra runners in Australia. The best athletes I know. My heroes. Aussie team reps, World Record holders, Commonwealth Medal winners, Tailwind Trailblazers and I’m proud to say, friends.
Stephen Redfern aka “Shaggy” stands to my left. Shaggy is a superhero athlete and we’ve hung out at a couple of trail events and the occasional training run too. I’ve soaked up his kind words and nuggets of advice about track ultras. His CV is incredibly impressive. This guy runs 360km multi day events around his garage for fun!! His mindset is incredible but he also has a secret weapon. Her name is Penny and she is amazing!
Then there’s Luca Turrini. 100km speedster, 24 hour treadmill world record holder, founder of Outruncancer and winner of the annual Coogee to Coffee!! Need I say more?? My Italian brother from another mother. I’ve learnt so much from Luca including the importance of meditation and mindset and good coffee! Luca ran with me for three days through a storm in 2016 during my FKT run from Brisbane to Sydney. This guy knows how to run long and his positive energy is infectious!! You know it’s going to be a great day when Luca is around. Luca is a gentleman with a huge heart and HE CAN RUN LIKE THE WIND BLOWS!!
Also on the start line is my new Commonwealth Champion friend and fellow Polish runner (I’m half polish) Joasia Zakrzewski aka “Jo-zoom!” This lady has won EVERYTHING!! From 5km events to sub 2:40 marathons!! Her secret?? Coffee and cake!! She would go on to dominate this event and break FIVE records in 24 hours!! Go Jo-zoom!! 😀
I’m also lined up with Matt Griggs, champion long distance walker and super strong long distance runner. This guy is a frickin warrior and we’ve done a couple of training runs together in Sydney. Matt Eckford, Aussie rep and Vice President of AURA and the amazing organiser of this event. Matt is tall and broad shouldered with a huge smile. A great guy but you know just by looking at him that this guy was born to be a Champion! He was running the event and simultaneously running the event!! What a legend!!
Simone Hayes, Aussie rep and superstar athlete/coach/mum! Simone and I share the same amazing coach Martin Fryer, the same career choice (Running Coach and PT) and the same race strategy!! 13/2 all the way Simone!! Coooeee!! 😀
In Victoria there’s two more awesome Australian team athletes lining up on a track in Victoria. Unable to attend the race in Canberra due to the unfortunate Victorian border lockdown but unphased and ready to rock and roll!
John Yoon is an Australian team rep and long distance superstar, as is Nikki Wynd. Everyone knows John and Nikki. Two of the very best elite athletes Australia has to offer. Pretty sure Nikki has won everything from Badwater to Ultra Runner of the year. It’s a little intimidating lining up on any start line with John and Nikki but when you can’t see them, it’s even more scary!! John Yoon would go on to push me all the way to the finish!! More about that later 🙂
Safe to say, with all these awesome athletes present, I’m feeling some serious imposter syndrome on the start line! I’m trying to control my emotions. Words from friends, family and my coach are bouncing between my ears.
“Keep your head in the boat!” – Emma
“Love and surrender.” – Martin Fryer (my amazing Coach)
“Run fast daddy!” – Nia, my eldest daughter x
It’s been a long road to the start line but in hindsight and with a huge amount of gratitude, it’s been an absolutely beautiful journey! Here I am on the start line of my first 24 hour track event and I’m exactly where I dreamed I would be. Apart from the imposter syndrome, the overriding emotion is pure joy. I finally have an opportunity to show what I can do and my body is rested, hydrated and more ready than ever! Lets do this!
3, 2, 1 and we’re off! Wow, we’ve started. Settle in. Control your breathing. Relax. Breathe. The race starts at 18 hours. THIS IS HAPPENING!!!
Before I started, I had split the race into three sections in my head. 12 hour warm up. 6 hours of work and then 6 hour cool down to the finish. Total 24 hours. Simple right? 😀
I’ve done a thousand long runs in training of 3.5 hours plus around a track and some 6 hour runs, not to mention all the 100 mile events, 240km events and multi days so I was happy with this. I just had to find that long run brain and relax into my race strategy.
My amazing Coach Martin Fryer “The Flyer” had helped me devise a strategy of 13/2 over the last 9 months and we had practiced running in Zone 2 to build efficiency and speed at a super low heart rate. 13/2 is 13 minutes of easy relaxed running at a relatively low heart rate (Zone 2) with 2 minutes of brisk walking to use for eating and shaking my legs out. 13/2 every 15 minutes would mean I would get a total of 8 minutes of walking every hour and as long as I hit 2.5kms distance every 15 minutes, this was all I needed to achieve my 10kms per hour minimum target and hit 240kms overall.
In training I had practiced my brisk walking and gradually become a much faster walker. From 6kms per hour walking pace to 7kms per hour to 8kms per hour (around 7 minutes per km walking pace). Martin taught me the best long distance runners are also the strongest walkers!! This was a massive breakthrough moment for me!! I learnt that if I improved my walking pace, my running would improve too so I had spent many afternoons marching furiously around the local parks looking like an angry, slightly bald, possibly crazy lost hiker. I was used to getting strange looks from the tennis players at Manly Oval and Keirle Park. I considered it all part of the mental training. Smile! “Good morning!” 🙂
Martin and I had also worked on my running power with plenty of 15 second hill sprints, Lydiard hill sessions, long hills, short hills, 2.4km half marathon efforts, 3 hour progressives and Zatopek intervals. I had speed, power, endurance and an absolute confidence in my Coach and my 13/2 race strategy.
To reinforce this strategy, Martin gave me a 5% fade over the 24 hours. So my first 12 hours I would need to accumulate an extra 3kms or so (123kms ish at 12 hours) in order to give me the fade in the next 12 hours. My first two hours I would need to hit 10.5kms an hour, then 10.44, then 10.38 etc. Genius! Psychologically, I felt like my race was only going to get easier as the day progressed and this worked well for me. This is going to get easier the further I go 😀
The first few hours were relatively uneventful. I settled into my race and nutrition strategies and soaked up the first few easy kms. It felt great to tick off a marathon and then 60kms feeling very comfortable.
My nutrition strategy was given to me by my awesome nutritionist Tamara Madden of Mad on Nutrition. This lady is a nutrition guru!!
The plan was to use my walking breaks to get some food in and give me time to digest the calories.
15 minutes – Tailwind
15 minutes – Banana
15 minutes – Tailwind
15 minutes – half a Vegemite sandwich
Then mash potato every 4 hours, with the occasional cup of water to aid with digestion.
Later in the race I would focus more on sugar from Kit Kat’s and Snicker bars and hit the caffeine! The Ultra runner diet is so healthy!! 😀
In the first 4 to 8 hours, I focussed on front loading the calories and forcing myself to eat so I would have energy in the later stages. Joasia noticed the number of bananas I was going through and started saying “Another banana??!!” Each time she passed me which was quite a lot!! Bananas have always been one of my favourite fuels and I highly recommend them as an easily digestible source of carbs for this long stuff.
My expert crew, Chris Jackson, Anna-Lena Richardson and Jon Richardson, got into a great rhythm with me. Anna kept the super positive energy going with lots of beautiful smiles, Chris offered encouraging wise words and fist bumps and Jon was reading my mind like an alien! Somehow Jon knew what I wanted before I asked for it!! I couldn’t have asked for a better crew. All three of these guys were exceptional and brought the exact energy I needed at precisely the right time. I was feeling very blessed to have these three exceptional individuals by my side.
Chris Jackson even snored all night the night before the race which you would think would cause frustration! But in a serendipitous way, Chris’ snoring forced me to reevaluate my mindset and remember not to sweat the small stuff. First world problems mofo!!
I meditated at 3am the night before the race and took myself to a place deep inside my mind that without Chris I may not have ventured. Thanks Chris!!! 😀
Chris did so much more than just snore of course!! Apart from giving up his entire weekend, he has been my supporter throughout the year. 2020 has been a challenging year for me and my family and Chris has been my rock. You cannot ask for a better friend. Thanks Captain!!
Anna and John of course deserve special mention too!! These two are an ULTRA POWER COUPLE!! Both accomplished ultra runners and incredible athletes. These two are destined for greatness and they inspire me every day. They are both full of love and energy and it’s such a joy to have friends that believe in you as much as these two.
They say you are the sum of the five people you hang out with. If this is true, I’m a very lucky individual. THANKS DREAM TEAM!!
So lets jump to hour 11. I passed 100kms right on target at just under 10 hours and it felt great to get a PB for the 100km mark. My plan was initially to wait until 18 hours before hitting the caffeine but the tiredness arrived at 11 hours. Time for some caffeine. “We’re bring the caffeine forward a bit guys!”
With some caffeine at 11 hours (around 7pm on Saturday) my legs started to feel strong again. I felt I could kick things a bit. I increased my pace and hit 12 hours at 121kms slightly behind schedule but still faster than 240km pace so I was happy.
Anna shouted, “it’s the night section Joe! You own the night!”
As she said this, the rain began to fall slightly heavier than it already was and you would think this would be a disadvantage … but I’m a Pom from Romford in Essex. I have spent half my life running and training in rain. In fact, most of my PBs have come in rainy conditions. I was born in the rain! The rain is my home! 😀
As the rain fell and the night grew colder and darker, I felt stronger and stronger. This was most likely also due to the caffeine and not simply because of the rain!! I had 4 days without coffee before race day to take maximum advantage of this caffeine kick and it had worked beautifully!!
I managed to accrue a couple of extra kms over the next few hours and hit 100 miles in under 16 hours which felt fantastic. My fastest ever 100 miles! Jon told me I was bang on schedule. As I ran past Luca, he pinched my bum and said, “Joe … you can win this!” Hearing Luca say this made me feel even stronger. My friend and hero was telling me it was possible. Thanks Luca.
I knew, all I had to do was hit 18 hours and then I could begin my “cool down” ha ha! Sounds ridiculous but I knew I could fade later in the race and still hit my target if I kept these extra 2/3kms in the tank and that felt great psychologically. It’s great to be ahead of the curve and hitting your splits. This is a great source of comfort when your body is falling apart ha ha
I had set my Garmin to Ultratrac mode so the battery wouldn’t run out. This was great for battery life but unfortunately not very accurate for distances. Several people pulled out of the race during the night and as I moved up the field I was feeling happy but unsure if I was maintaining the correct pace. I had to trust my body that I wasn’t running too slow because my watch was showing all sorts of nonsense. I felt I had some efficiency but I was only just barely hitting 10kms per hour according to the timing board, sometimes just under!
At around 20 hours (4am) I passed 200kms and I knew I could take my foot off the gas a little. Joasia was around 7/8 kms ahead of me still so I was unsure if I could catch her but I was happy to be first male. Maybe a little complacent? My crew told me I was gaining on Joasia but her lead felt unreachable and I had zero motivation to try catching such an awesome athlete. She looked too strong and too confident. Joasia had destroyed the field and taken all of their souls, Goggins style. What a Champion! She broke 5 records during this run and deserves all the praise she receives. She is a Polish warrior!! Clearly made from the same stuff as the Polish heroes of history.
My brain unfortunately started to calculate ways I could slow down and the totals that I would be happy with. The Scientist was taking over. STOP!! I need to keep moving!! I need to find the mongrel!!
After a toilet stop, I slowed to a walk.
As I walked around the track somebody shouted that John Yoon in Victoria was only 1.5kms behind me (less than 4 loops!)
I didn’t have much left so I began to run some straights and curves. This is all I felt I had. Run the straight 100 metres. Walk the 100 metre curve. Run the straight … Maybe this will keep me ahead? Surely John hasn’t got much left either??
Kit Kat, Snickers bar. Some Panadol Extra.
“John’s running 2:21 loops and catching you up! He’s only 1km behind now!!”
Then my crew gave me a revvie strip.
“Nope! No way! I hate these! They taste like Duracell batteries!”
“EAT IT!!”
I should really trust my crew. I ate it extremely reluctantly!
I ran a couple of laps whilst forcing myself to chew the revvie strip. It was disgusting!
22 hours into the race. Was I going to fade to the finish line? Is that how I was going to let this end? John is an aussie rep and absolutely capable of overtaking me! How do I want this story to end? Choose Joe.
I remembered the words of my coach – “Then in the last two hours you switch to your fast twitch muscles and you see what you’ve got.”
I switched engines and grabbed my AirPods. I want this!
The caffeine kicked in.
2:30
2:25
2:20
2:18
2:15
2:11
2:07
2:03
2:00
1:59!
I ran through the rain to finish the way I wanted to.
239.5kms in first place and running strong and tall.
This race report feels incredibly self indulgent so I apologise if it’s long winded, too detailed or a bit boring!! I have written this more for myself than anyone else. And for my Coach of course. I am very grateful for this perfect race. I know races like this don’t come along very often.
There are so many important components to this result. Thank you to Aussie athlete John Yoon for pushing me to the finish line. I can’t wait to run with you mate!! I feel like I know you so well!!
Thank you to Matt and Katie Eckford for an awesome race. You are amazing people thank you! Matt, you dominated the race for so long and I sincerely hope I get to run with you again Champ!!
Thanks to my amazing Coach Martin Fryer! You’ve taught me more than you know Coach. You have created ripples through my community and my family and I am so excited for our next adventure 🙂
Thanks to my exceptional support crew, Anna, John and Chris. I am incredibly grateful to you three!! Thank you dream team!! Xx
Friends, family, running buddies. My sponsor Tailwind Nutrition Australia. My nutritionist Tamara Madden.
Some words from my Coach to finish …
“Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal can exist. Herein lies the peace of God.”
Aussie Aussie Aussie!! 😀
Joe x
ABC Interview at the finish line … https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YAbrQLFJjXY&feature=youtu.be
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