JESSICA SMITH TAKES THE WIN AT NTTD BACKYARD

Kate Dzienis • Oct 30, 2023

Contributed by Jessica Smith, AURA member (Perth, WA)

NO TIME TO DIE BACKYARD ULTRA, ADELAIDE (SA), 15-17 September 2023

No Time To Die would be my 8th backyard in three years and to be honest, I was feeling a bit burnt out and feeling like I needed a break from the format. I had also been dealing with a long-term injury (plantar fasciitis) so my expectations going into the race weren’t high.

With that in mind, the goal was just to try and have some fun, enjoy the format and meet some people in a new state (I’m from WA).

Setting up camp with the WA and Tassie crew, it really was fun from the beginning. The James Bond theme made it like a big party and the first few laps with Brad Halls (aka Mr ‘smiles gets the miles’) were awesome!

Heading into the first night a little group had formed with Emma, Laura, Joel and myself – aka the ducks, settling into a comfortable walk/run strategy (QUACK!). We slowly ticked off each milestone as we headed towards 100km. I was struggling a bit so it was great to be running with the others. Jaryd (my partner and solo crewman for this event) arrived at about midnight which gave me a little boost – I no longer had to crew myself and felt I could relax between laps. The crew really are so important.

Once the sun came up I perked right up and the tutu lap, then the 24-hour milestone had me in a great mood. My foot hadn’t gotten any worse and I started to think what could be possible long term. There were 14 people left at the 24 hour mark as we headed towards Saturday afternoon. Lap 24 turned out to be my second quickest lap of the event. I was riding on the 100mi buzz and came in just under 43mins – 5mins quicker than my usual 48mins.

As it happens in the backyard, numbers rapidly dropped after 24. By lap 28 we were down to 4 runners, then two laps later we were down to the final 2, just as the sun was setting. Being top two is something I have feared in the past, but this time I was excited for it. I was so determined to be the last one standing and approached the second night with renewed energy. By this point I was certain my foot wouldn’t be a limiting factor and tried to ride this high for as many laps as I could. I knew things could turn quickly in the night.

To get me through the lonely hours of the second night, I spent time reflecting on previous backyards. I spent the time acknowledging the highlights and lowlights from previous events, reflecting what I’d been through to get here. I used those memories to spur me on and thinking that this might be my last backyard for a while, I wanted to make it a good one! I wanted to add ‘Last One Standing’ to the memories. With all this going through my head, I was also very conscious of the night getting darker and my lack of sleep starting to catch up with me.

Around 11pm (lap 36) I started to get tired. Really tired. I started bumping up the caffeine to help me make it around, whilst also trying to get some sleep after the laps. Sounds counterintuitive but I was struggling to get around the laps without caffeine. I had a stash of Panadol and no doz in my pocket and just having this with me on the laps gave me confidence that there was a strategy in place if the fatigue got worse. Lap 38 was my worst lap. I managed a 5 minute sleep just before heading out but I could barely talk.

I was so tired. I stumbled around the course, swaying back and forth every time I stopped to walk (the tail bike told me later that he was worried for me crossing over the boardwalks and potentially falling in). I worked out that I was worse when walking so I slowly jogged all the way in. I’ve been in this state of fatigue before and knew I could ride it out if I could just get through the next few laps.

I tried another nap at the end of lap 38 but had to get up for a toilet emergency. No good! Needed to try for another nap after the next lap. Popped a no doz and tried to run the whole way around for a longer rest after lap 39. This seemed to be working and I was making good progress up to half way. This is when everything changed. The other runner, Holly Ranson, came up to me and we had a quick chat where she basically said she was almost done. I tried not to read into this too much as things can change so quickly in a backyard. I focused on my game plan of getting through the lap for a nap.

Then, as we were running past the village for the final 1km, Holly said goodbye and ran in to ring the bell and DNF. I stood there dumbfounded. Was that it? Was I the last one standing? I turned to the tail cyclist confused and just said, does that mean I just need to finish that 1km loop, then I’ve won? He nodded. I yelled out to Jaryd in the village to let him know, then boosted the final km of the course. I crossed the line for the final time, the last one standing of No Time To Die 2023.