ROBERTSON’S FIRST 100KM

ROBERTSON’S FIRST 100KM

Kate Dzienis • Jul 31, 2020

Contributed by Sue Robertson, AURA member

Australia Day Ultra 100km, Australind (WA), 20 January 2018

Having come from a horse riding background, I did not run. I let my horse do that, and I just enjoyed the ride.

I started running after I retired from a retail managers position, and thought I best do something to keep me fit. My daughter and I joined a gym where I lost a few pounds, and after watching my sister and brother-in-law on the other side of the world doing their amazing running events, decided I would try the sport of running. 

My daughter Bianca and I progressed through to triathlons, and that had been amazing in itself. The run part was always hard for me, I had shitty knees and used to run with stretch bandages around them, which progressed to Rocktape to keep them happy.

In those days 5kms was very hard, but we did progress to 10kms, and it moved on from there. Along with my triathlon friends we progressed to half ironman races, where you had to run 21kms, and although slow we did manage to get there. My first marathon event, I did with six of my dear triathlon friends – it was the Perth marathon, and oh that was hard, but we did it and we stayed together and finished together. 

I am fortunate to have done several marathons since, and Bianca and I progressed to a 50kms ultra in Bunbury on my birthday back in April 2014. During that run we befriended two girls who were running sometimes in front of us, and sometimes behind us, and they were using this run as a training race mainly to do the Kep Track Ultra. I volunteered to help with that one, and was in awe of the runners, and knew in my heart that I wanted to do that one day.

In that same year I progressed to doing some trail running with friends, training for the 6 inch Trail Run. I loved it and on the day ran with two other girlfriends, and although I had a fall and chopped up my knee, I finished the 47kms. I then proceeded to move on to Ironman for the next two years, but still the desire was there to do this long run. 

Kep Ultra was no more, but thanks to some dedicated and passionate people we have some new races in WA. In 2017 there was a new run, the Feral Pig, a 50 miler along the Bibbulman Track. This time I had no friends to run with, I was on my own. 

I am grateful that on the recon run I met with a guy called Peter and we were a similar pace. Feral Pig was a huge challenge, we did finish, I was eternally grateful for Peter staying with me, and we had the company of another lovely girl, Caroline for a large part of the run too. 

We finished after nearly 19 hours, and 50 miles (85kms) done.

Peter had mentioned he was doing the Australia Day Ultra (100kms) the following January. I had always done the 50kms on that event, for the past three years anyway.

Two days after Feral Pig, I signed up for the 100kms. I was so close to that distance that I had only dreamed about, it was too good to let it go.

Fast forward to the ADU. Race start was midnight on the Friday night, it was eight laps of 12.5kms approximately. It wasn’t trail, but quite a nice pathway with beautiful views of the estuary and there are aid stations and support.

My friend Allison drove me down there, and was going to be my pacer from 9am, and thank heaven for her. I had had issues with Plantar Fasciitus for weeks beforehand, but had some treatment with shock wave therapy which appeared to be working, but you still don’t know what might happen on the day – it’s a very long way to run 100kms!

It was race day. People milled around with headlamps and high vis vests on, and we got our bibs and transponders on, and then it was race briefing time. Just after midnight, Peter and Sally, who was joining us, and I left the start line. Knowing we had about five hours of running in the dark, both Sally and I were happy to have company.

Volunteers were at the aid stations of which there were three – one at the start, one at about 2.5kms out, and one at the turnaround of 6.25kms. They had Tailwind, water and fruit. 

I grabbed both cups, and a piece of banana at each station as I went past. We were running to a time of 2.30 and .45 sec walk, and really doing quite comfortably, it was working well for me. The first three laps passed pretty quickly really. 

We were able to take off our headlamps and vests at the turn around into the 4th lap, and it was lovely to see the dawn, and finally be able to see where we were going. 

Sally had always said she would finish at the 50kms mark, and Peter was just doing a slightly slower pace in the 4th lap. On the way back in to finish the 4th lap, the 25kms runners were going out. I left Sally, changed my top, grabbed an LCM bar, and started off again on my own. Peter was just in front of me, and for the next lap or so, we leap frogged each other.

There were quite a lot of runners at this stage out on the path – there were the 50kms runners, and still some of the 25kms runners. The 6th lap was getting hard.


It was getting warm, so at the turn around in to the 7th lap, I grabbed my water bottle belt, a cooling towel and a peanut butter sandwich. I walked with Allison out for the first 2-3kms on that lap, and then she encouraged me to shuffle, faster than a walk to the next shady spot, then walk again, and then a bit later we did it again.  On the 8th and final lap, the presentations had started and we were cheered as we left to finish the last 12.5kms. 


Thanks to Allison I shuffled a bit more on this one, and it was feeling a bit more comfortable to do that, even though my legs were tired.  At the last turn around we were cheered as we came in, cheered as we left, and I knew I was going to finish this. 


Getting toward to the finish, I was happy to still see the archway finish still up, but knew most people had gone home already. Allison skipped away in front of me to take a pic as I came across the finish.  Then 200m out, I saw my friend Raquel, who had given lots of words of encouragement at the aid stations. Before I knew it, there were  about 10 people forming a human arch for me to go under! Overcome with emotion from such an amazing day, the race directors were there and volunteers as well as my friends. As I posed for the photo before the arch came down, I was given a trophy for the Longest Day. 


I am so bloody proud, I am so bloody lucky, I did it, 100kms on my feet.


Pictured: Sue Robertson at the 2018 Australia Day Ultra 100km in Australind, WA. Photographs – Supplied. 

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