PENDSE CHASES THE 12-HOUR 140KM DREAM

Jon Pendse • May 03, 2019

By Jon Pendse, AURA Member & 1st Male Lighthorse Ultra 12-hour 2019

I’ve been wanting to enter my first 12-hour race for several years now, logically this type of race being the next step up in distance from a 100km ultra marathon, previously having run the Australia Day Ultra 100km race four years in succession.

The Lighthorse 12-hour Ultra has appealed to me over a number of years, and having volunteered last year (and had runners envy) I decided 2019 would be my debut over the 12-hour distance.

Besides I would already be in ‘reasonable’ ultra-marathon shape having run ADU some three months earlier and would be continuing my normal marathon training load. For me, I find having a solid training foundation bodes well stepping up to ultras with not a lot of ‘extra’ training required.

I generally average around 120km to 130km per week if I’m not racing, with two or three double days and probably once a fortnight I’ll throw in a triple day. Most of my runs are about backing up on tired legs.

After having run the Bunbury marathon (2:56:02) three weeks earlier, having run the WAMC 40 miler (4:48:36) four days earlier, and also running in the Margaret River Ultra (80km) seven days after Lighthorse, my target was not so much to race but more about enjoying the experience. That said I did have a target distance of 130km with a backup goal of 120km which basically meant to reach 100km feeling good and then assessing how I was going.

If it was a good day I thought sub nine hours should be very do-able for 100km.

My good mate Kevin Matthews (BK) had also entered the race and having been a DNS at ADU 100 this year (he withdrew a few days earlier with pneumonia), this was to be our make-up ultra where we would run at least the first three or four hours together. We even had our friend Tony Smith (who knocks out training marathons in sub three hours on an almost weekly basis) on board.

It’s so much easier knocking out a large chunk of the race with someone else, even more so when the race has a midnight start when it’s lonely, dark, cold, and scary.

I was actually worried when I got a call from BK on the morning of the race (I thought he may be a late scratching), asking what I had packed (my list was around half a page long). After going through all my items, he was happy there would be enough for both of us (insert sarcastic laugh here). Shortly later, I did get a photo of his race pack which contained one banana, but then I got a photo of two bananas when I asked where mine was.

My fueling strategy was simple – set up my own table, stock up an esky with ice, 40 x 350ml bottles of water, 10 x 350ml electrolytes, a container on table with 15 gels, muesli bars, a hat, sunscreen, and a USB pack to charge my Garmin. Every four hours I’d run out of water bottles on my table, so a brief stop to put another 15 bottles on top of the table would see me through another four hours. Repeat. A gel every 10km, and whilst it was cool, around 350ml water per hour, and one electrolyte bottle per hour, but once it warmed up this became a lot closer to 2.5L to 3L per hour with half going on my head to cool my core temperature.

Onto the race, my suggestion of running the first kilometre in four minutes was quickly knocked back (I wasn’t joking), but in hindsight was probably sensible going along with a 4.45 starting kilometre. BK was already worried we were cooking the pace far too quick for so early in the race. I wasn’t so sure, I wanted to bank some time knowing the forecast of 29 degrees would mean a drastic slowdown over the last two hours.

Six-hour split distances of 70km and 60km would achieve the 130km target. Some simple maths said pace should be around 5:00 to 5:08 for the first six hours, and then a pace of six minute k’s for the last six hours, thinking likely actually running 6:30 to 7:00, when it’s hot it is all about survival. Targets were thrown out the window.

For the first hour and a half BK and I averaged around 4:45 per kilometre, mind you that with every kilometre ticking past BK kept complaining we should be running closer to 5:00. I was feeling very ‘comfortable’ with plenty in the tank.

By around 20km BK had to stop for the toilet and said he would catch up to me in two or three laps. Here was my chance, with BK flailing already, I wasn’t going to slow down to let him catch me, so I decided instead I would speed up and catch him! Then I’ll slow down and run at his pace (not the best strategy in hindsight, but it did work)

I was actually quite surprised when I hit 25km under two hours, which when averaging a comfortable 4:45 that was actually on track for an eight hour 100km time. It was a good idea to slow down and run closer to five minute kms.

Hitting anything under nine hours at the 100km mark, I’d be well on the way to my 130km target.

The good thing on a 2.5km lap is the amount of times you pass a person, and every time it was slightly less scary knowing that I wasn’t alone. Around the 22km mark Glen Smetherham decided to join me for a lap. He told me he was basically doing an interval race, resting, running laps ad-hoc with friends and some of his athletes for support – wow, what a coach! We chatted away whilst running 4:40s, and I mentioned to Glen my plan. But he said the most important thing was focusing on the feeling good part, and then worry about the time later. He said, “If you run low nine hours you might think that was a fail, but if you are feeling great then you are on a path to succeed.” Very true.

After Glen ran this lap with me, I decided, ‘screw the time, let me just focus on my running and getting to 100km feeling good.”

Around 33km, who do I see in front of me? BK! But he wasn’t feeling the greatest and withdrew around the 37kms mark.

I hit 50km just under four hours two minutes, and by this stage I was now starting to think where is Tony (T-Train), he had laughed at the suggestion of joining me and BK on the start line and said you guys are on your own, I’m running five-minute k’s and that’s it.

At five-minute k’s this would put T-Train around four hours 10 minutes at the 50km mark, so no wonder I hadn’t seen him yet, I was only around eight minutes in front. I slightly panicked thinking eight minutes isn’t much, I would like to at least lap him so that I know how much distance I have being the lead runner.

For those of you know him, T-Train isn’t one for slowing down; if anything, he gets quicker the longer a race goes on and many a time he’s rail-roaded me in the last hour of a race.

On the plus he doesn’t know how to run slow (yet), so I wasn’t so sure how long he would last hour after hour. He later succumbed to a Plantar Fasciitis niggle and withdrew around 65km.

I would love to get a three-way battle with BK and T-Train both in full form, that would be some serious competition.

I had already resorted to continuing my pace to 100km and only then re-assessing a new target distance. I crossed my 40th lap just under eight hours 16 minutes. Awesome!

After 110km I was beginning to finally feel fatigued, but was still running consistent lap times even though they were around a minute slower per lap than the previous nine hours.

It was around this time race director Shaun Kaesler had some encouraging words for me, saying I was on track to 140kms, but I told him otherwise where to go, and I’d be ecstatic with 135km.

By 120km I was just under 10 hours, and crowd support had gained by this stage. I’m sure word was going around that I was on track for a big total…each lap more and more people yelling out encouragement.

It’s truly inspirational having so many on the sidelines; many had seen my growth over the years.

The last two hours were the hardest, however I had great support at the aid station keeping me hydrated and cool. There was no time wastage, which meant I could focus on running each lap.

There was also so much support on course from runners as well, with constant encouragement telling me to keep going. Each time I completed a lap I was on a slight buzz knowing I was that much closer to 140km.

The last two hours each kilometre split was consistently around 5:20 to 5:25 (last hour mostly around 5:35), which was well in front of my six-minute average needed to break 140km.

Things were looking good.

Yes it was hot, yes it was hard, but now was the time to ice the cake.

I hit 130km on 10 hours 53 minutes. As an accountant by day, that was an easy calculation, with even almost 11 hours in, 10km required in one hour seven minutes. I now only needed to run 6.5 minutes km’s. Something drastic would need to happen not to be able to run that pace given how I was feeling and where I was at. I was in the zone and today was my day.

That final lap was amazing; it was totally surreal, and I was floating.

This is the stuff dreams are made of. The only problem was, I was going to knock out this lap and still have another 11 or 12 minutes up my sleeve…I had been hoping to time the run to coincide hitting 140km with a minute or two under 12 hours so that I didn’t have to go back out again for a partial lap. There would be nothing worse than finishing one kilometre away on the other side of the course, and then hobbling back to the start. Surely it made more sense to finish near the start line with a very short hobble.

Hands in the air, I was overwhelmed having completed 56 laps and the 140km milestone.

What a day. But then I thought to go out for last 11 minutes or so. I’d already been out for so long anyway, I could even clock up another one kilometre or so…I felt so good, though with the adrenaline pumping I sped up to 5:15s, and managed to knock out another 2.2km.