A Tough Race Donegan Will Never Forget

Kate Dzienis • May 30, 2023

Contributed by Danielle Donegan, AURA member (NSW)

WEST MACS MONSTER, LARAPINTA TRAIL (CENTRAL AUSTRALIA), 20 May 2023

The West Macs Monster Ellery 128km started on 20 May at 9am with a 36hr cut off time. Getting to the start line I knew this was going to be a tough race. The fastest women’s time on record 22.5hrs. Given that, I knew I was going to be running for more than 24hrs.

The run starts on flowing trail and absolutely beautiful scenery. Before long (4km in) I started to realise how hard it was going to be to stay on track and not get lost. After heading off a cliff, I climbed back up and was on the right track again. Thirty kilometres flew by and all went to plan. The aid station was great, reloaded and ready to tackle 4km of riverbed and 40km of ‘un-runnable’ territory.

The riverbeds are stunning with the gorges changing shades of desert red with the movement of the sun. Three kilometres in and I was faced with a cliff climb or swim decision. It was 3pm, plenty of time to dry, so I swam! I put the pack in a dry sack, shimmying into the water and getting to the other side. I felt I’d fall off the ledge if I kept going along the cliff. The water was freezing but so invigorating. Feeling buoyed, I kept running.

I made it to Razorback Ridge in perfect light. Scaling huge rocks and making sure to stay on track. From there we ran down – one of the few runnable downhills for the race!

I came into Birthday Point aid station to traditional cowbells and party lights. I was feeling nauseous but knew I needed to push out of there fast. A quick cheese toastie and I was ready to climb Brinkley Bluff. I had trained for hills, this was my jam! Loved every step!

From there, we ran down through riverbeds into Stanley Chasm where the first drop bag awaited. That was 65km done and dusted. Some potatoes, sausages, a change of shoes and shirt, and I was on my way. The night was hard though. The wind was blowing hard. The riverbeds are so tough on the feet and navigating. After Stanley is the high route. There’s some rock climbing up and down. The wind blew my poles out of position. It’s loud. You follow tracks that end and need to visit gurumaps to get back on track. The night sky was so clear. There were so many stars and so much to love.

With daylight breaking it was time for a coffee and fruitcake. And more riverbeds… then at Mulga Camp the best cheese toastie I’ve ever had or will ever have again. The sunrise was stunning. It gave me a second wind and I was off to Simpsons Gap. By this time the 65km racers were starting to pass. They were speedy at the front and all very encouraging.

At Simpsons Gap I had to dig deep. I hadn’t drank enough water and was ready to stop. But another change of shoes, a ginger beer, some watermelon and some kind words from the race director and I was on my way to the finish line.

From here it got hard. People kept telling me I was close – I was 23km away and hurting! Euro Ridge was beautiful, but it was not the last hill! I kept going.

Unfortunately night fell again and I had to pull out the headtorch, but not for long. I did it in 34:00:57, 128km (plus 4km extra) and I crossed the finish line. The cheers were on point. The hugs were great!

This is one tough race, one that I’ll never forget.

West Macs Monster, you are a beast and I loved running this amazing trail.