16/02/2020
If you don’t set yourself a tough challenge you never know what you’re made of. Oscars Hut2Hut 100km Ultramarathon challenged me in so many ways and I now know what I’m made of
From the moment Ben and I passed through the start line arches at 5am Friday morning with our head torches on, each carrying 13kg backpacks I didn’t realise it would be tough from the get-go. Ben was not well at all and threw up multiple times going down 4 Mile Track and across the ridge line. I was worried watching him throw up with a sheer drop to his right. After 10km we crossed the river, came into the 1st check point. The medic checked Ben over and pulled him out immediately. They turned to me and said ‘do you want to continue as a solo?’ I wanted this adventure so badly but didn’t want to leave Ben behind. With tears in his eyes Ben said ‘you go on, you can do it, I know you can.’ I gave him one enormous hug put my pack on and left the check point with the biggest tears I’ve cried in a long time.
I then had to run like the wind for 20km to make the first cut off so I could continue on that day. Our plan was to do 70km the first day and 30km the next. I was running along a ‘goat track’ with a 200m sheer drop to the river and so had to really have my wits about me (and stop crying intermittently). I did another 13 river crossings and checked into Pikes Flat at 12pm. I’d missed the cut off time. They wouldn’t let me continue for the day.
The 4am wake up waiting for the gun to go off at 5am and we’re off! I start Day 2 with a river crossing then a 4 hour solid climb from the river, up Mt Stirling, across to Howqua Gap, into Buller Village and straight up to the Summit. Ben was waiting for me at an Aid Station in the village, we hugged tight and cried. He said you are doing amazingly well, really strong, go finish it and see you in 10 hours. And that’s what I did... at 8.30pm as the sun had just gone down behind the mountains I came into the Mt Buller village and did my Glory Lap!
