The Ultimate 200 miler experience

The next section was a lot of fallen trees, and branches, and we were constantly over and under, and all I could think of was how was I going to manage this section on the way back! It was reasonably warm out there, and we wore our legionnaire hats to make sure we got plenty of protection from the sun. We hadn’t really seen anyone, except for passing Reid, but as we came in to Dog Road, we saw Aimee on her way out from that aid station. This aid station we changed our shoes and Shannon washed our feet and changed our socks. I was surprised that I couldn’t get on my planned 2^nd pair of shoes, same size as first pair, and so was on to pair number 3 which were half a size bigger and I had only bought the week before to wear towards the end. At least I had them, and they felt super comfortable. We were fed, and our packs all refilled. Just as we were about to leave Reid came in, saying he had stood on a snake, sadly this was to take him out of the race, and we were devastated for him and the medic who had to adopt protocols to keep him safe.

The next section, about 18kms, of long slightly sandy, soft track that was just long! It was starting to get dark, during this section, and we were headed to Pingerup where Shannon and Heath were, and again a no crew access. We made the aid station some time around 9pm, and were spoilt with the most delicious pumpkin soup, pretty sure I had a snickers here too. We left there all refuelled and happy, and now it was cooler too. It was just over 16 kms to Broke Inlet and we were making good progress, the moon was up, and we were just happy to hike along and just enjoy the company of each other, although at this stage there wasn’t too much chat. As we got closer to the aid station Felix was in front, his blisters were starting to annoy him, and he definitely was not the happy, chappy he was at the beginning of the day.

Sadly when we got to the aid station he definitely wasn’t feeling the best, and Suzi put him to bed, and we hoped he might feel better after a sleep. Tim and Amie were just leaving as we arrived, glad of each other’s company I think. We were fed risotto, toasted sandwiches, hot cup of tea, and had about a 20 minute nap in the lovely comfy chairs. Suzi sorted all our chargers, etc, and our bottles were all refilled. Shannon was sleeping at this stage having spent the whole of the first day as medic. Sadly when we were ready to leave, Suzi said Felix was staying at the aid station, and we were to head off on our own. Ian arrived as we were about to leave and we left him snuggled on the chair under a blanket, he looked comfortable. We were sorry to leave Felix behind, but still headed off in good spirits.

The next section to Mandalay Beach was a long one, just over 21kms, and it was very overgrown in parts and very moist). We still enjoyed our own company, and made jokes about the over grown wet grass, and were glad we had our gaiters on to hopefully protect us from any danger noodles. I was excited as we were finally heading towards the coast, and gradually daylight broke as we got closer. It did seem to take a long time to get there as over each crest I thought we were nearly there. Eventually we caught up with Aimee and Tim, and they pulled over to let us pass, we didn’t know at the time that Tim was struggling and Aimee didn’t let on. Finally after just over 4 hours we arrived, and we saw Shannon, who had caught up with a bit of sleep. Big Kev was with his crew, and he was about to leave after a huge 3 plus hour sleep, but he did say the next section was tough! Allison was sleeping as she was joining us to pace out of Walpole. I can’t remember what I had to eat here, but it would have been good, and I had a cup of tea which was like gold. Shannon checked our feet and changed our socks. While here Aimee came in with Tim, and poor Tim didn’t look good. He was taken off to be looked at, and poor Aimee was very upset. She had got him to the aid station by helping him each time he fell, and pretty much carried him there. Fortunately her crew of Candy was able to look after Aimee, and when we left to head out, Bianca managed to persuade her to come with us. Shannon and Candy walked down with us to the boardwalk, and after a quick photo, sent us on our way to Mt Clare, with the first few hundred metres along the beach. At the same time Michael joined us, who had had a good sleep and was raring to go. The four of us walked along the beach together and then up in to the dunes, and eventually Michael took off. Those dunes were steep and very soft sand, so it was challenging that was for sure. It was very pretty being able to see the coast, and we certainly enjoyed that section before the trail headed inland, and just seemed to go up and done for ever, with sections of steps, which I knew would be challenging on the return leg! Eventually we came across the suspension bridge which was just before Mt Clare, and that was a challenge for me in itself, and then found it was also a challenge for Aimee too. 

The climb up Mt Clare, wow, that was steep and high, and long, and I was desperate for a toilet stop. Fortunately there was a hut at the top, and I have never been more relieved to reach that little hut!!! I guess it got me up quicker! It was a lovely downhill from there to the aid station where we were spoilt again. Some delicious food from some lovely young people. I had the burrito (stole it from my daughter), and Bianca had the toasted Reuben sandwich. Shannon looked after our feet, washed them and changed into cleansocks because they were full of sand, we refilled, sunsprayed, bug sprayed, and it was a nice short leg to Walpole where we knew we could have a sleep. It was a pretty section to get there, although some sections were exposed so we were glad we had plenty of sunblock on.

Well in front of cut off, we arrived at Walpole at 2.20pm, (cutoff 7pm), so we enjoyed the luxuries of a shower, food, clean clothes, and a sleep in the rec centre hall. I went out like a light, but Bianca had the delights of both mine and Ashley snoring! It was warm in there, but I slept for my full 90 minutes. It was reasonably hard to wake up, but we got moving, and had a bit more food, before heading out with all equipment recharged, including ourselves. With the added boost of my dear friend Allison to pace us all the way to Tree Top and return it was going to be great. It’s a lovely section starting alongside the inlet before heading up into the Tingle tree forest. The trees are so huge, and have such a huge girth. We arrived at the aid station just after 7pm, it was a nice short section to here. We were warmed up with delicious warm soup and bread, and Shannon checked on Bianca’s feet. Mine were ok, just having a couple of hot spots that Shannon kept under control. 

It was a long section to the Tree Top Walk, we saw a few frogs which Alli didn’t like, but saw no other wild life. We did see other runners though, we saw Big Kev, and that was right where we hit the 100 mile mark, so we did take a selfie as you do. During this section we saw Nicole, Andy, Rob, and Adam, Glen and Darlene, it was lovely to have just a short chat before getting on our way. Just in front of us was Ashley, running with Julia. It was dark, but we still kept up a good pace, and Alli kept us entertained. Suzi was at Tree Top when we got there, Bianca was tired and definitely in need of a sleep, because she hadn’t been able to sleep at Walpole. Pretty sure she curled up in Suzi’s car for a while, before Suzi then sorted her feet and other chafing issues. I had a little sleep in a chair, but was really cold, and Alli closed her eyes for a bit too. We were given hot soup here which was very warming, and then refilled everything, before heading off to do the under tree walk. It was very dark in there, and I am not sure quite where we went, but we did a circuit, and got to enjoy the bathroom facilities there. 

We left there at 2.30am, glad to get moving again, as it was so chilly. It is a long section to do and then turn around and do the same section, but at least we knew it was going to get light, and the next section after this was short and then back to Walpole for a big sleep. I remember treading on a frog along this section and the poor thing screamed. Daylight when we finally returned to Tingle Tree, and I flopped in the chair and promptly fell asleep. It couldn’t have been for long, but the smell of bacon cooking woke me up, and I was handed a bacon sandwich and a hot cup of tea, heaven! Again able to use the toilet facilities was a luxury before we headed off to Walpole. Rebecca from the aid station was out admiring the trees and took a couple of photos of us before we headed off. 

This section Bianca and Alli decided to rename the dangers on the ground! Oh dear, Dwayne Johnson was the word if a rock was on the ground, Trump if it was a stump, and Twiggy Forest if it was a branch, oh dear, the giggles, I was more confused than ever, and it would have been hilarious for anyone who was listening! As we came closer to Walpole we came across Cookies crew who were enjoying the beautiful walk alongside the inlet. It was lovely to see them out there, always nice to see another familiar face. Sadly Cookie had had to pull out due to stomach issues. Finally we made it to the hall, and we were greeted by Rosa and many other familiar faces.

We were fed again, and then went and had a shower, clean clothes, heaven, and the girls bought the stretcher beds out, so we could sleep outside in the shade. They did a fabulous job of recharging all our watches, phones, battery packs, and head torches! Cut off this time was 1pm, we had arrived at 10.34, and so we planned just a 30 minutes sleep. It was just lovely. We were all ready to go, and Amanda and Wayne, Kelli and Peta , Simon and others were all there to see us off. Donut in hand from Amanda, and then Sarah says she is going to pace us through the section, how lovely. We had to say goodbye to Allison, who had done a fabulous job of pacing us, but needed to get to Busselton for the Jetty Swim on Sunday. Thankyou Allison for joining us on our journey. It was a good distraction to have Sarah along and she kept us engaged in conversation, it is a pretty section along this part to Mt Clare. Some tree cover, soft footing underneath, and bright blue sky. We had left Walpole at 12.20, and made it into Mt Clare by 2.13. We rested and weren’t in a rush to get out.

Our next 2 pacers would be with us from here, Chailee who was already there, and Neil, Bianca’s partners who was about 15 minutes away. I did try and eat here, the food was so lovely, but struggled to get any food in. I was kindly given some protein balls cut up in foil that I could nibble on when I felt like I was hungry. The vollies here were so kind, and gave us a lovely send off, along with our crew as we headed out and up Mt.Clare. A reasonably gentle climb up here going the reverse way, but nice and steep going down the other side, and then there was that suspension bridge again.

I was relieved we had hit this section towards the end of the afternoon as during the day this would have been way too hot for me. It is a beautiful section though, lots of rolling hills, and plenty of steps! The narrow steep steps I was dreading, Chailee was there in front of me to make sure my pole went in the right part of the step, and I completed that section without disaster, thanks Chailee. We could see the sun dropping down through the sky, and around every bend I was hoping we would see the sunset, we had many steps etc, but finally we were rewarded with a bench to sit on, and a chance to watch the beautiful sky change as the sun went down, pure joy! We finally made it in to Mandalay where Shannon was, just after 9pm, and were offered a bed to have a quick nap. I don’t think we slept but we surely enjoyed putting our feet up for 30 minutes, thankyou.

 We were then fed, I think I had fritters, Bianca had soup, and Shannon and Scott washed our feet and changed our socks. Ashley was there and also getting his fee sorted, I think he left before us. We were out just before 11pm, and it was a long tough section to Broke Inlet. I remember there being a lot of sticks on the ground, that kept getting caught in Bianca’s gaiters, and we were both pretty tired on this section. Thank goodness for pacers who can just gently push us along. Eventually we made it to Brooke Inlet, oh my, this was a great reset moment. We were given the comfy chairs, shoes off, socks off, everything give to recharge, and glorious food, again. We had bacon and eggs, and I think hash browns, cup of tea, and then covered in a fluffy blanket, buff over our face, we fell asleep. Our pacers also got fed, and then given a spot to lie down. We slept like the dead for 90 minutes, and I remember being woken up by Shaun, who was so excited because we were 7 hours in front of cut off! 

We felt so much better, were fed again, a delicious bacon and avocado sandwich, clean feet, and clean socks, and we were ready to go again. The best thing was it was cool, and it was raining a little bit, so felt fantastic. It would be a while before we saw our crew again, as there was no crew access at Pingerup, so hopefully they went and put their feet up somewhere. They had done a phenomenal job, as were our pacers who were keeping us company along these long sections. Bianca and I were still hiking at a decent pace, and were very happy with how things were going. It was a nice section to Pingerup, probably helped because it was cool, because it would not be so nice across the Pingerup Plains on a hot day I think we got in to Pingerup around midday, maybe a bit later, and were greeted with our dear friends, Amanda, Wayne, and Emma and Sean. There might have been a few tears here!! We were treated like royalty, the comfy chairs again, socks and shoes off, blankets, food, plenty of food. Pikelets with jam, and then delicious quesadillas, oh they tasted so good. 

We were tucked up, and we had another sleep, about 20-30 minutes here, it was divine. When we woke we were given hot drinks and then our dear friends had the lovely job of trying to put my toe socks on, Bianca was getting her feet massaged by pacer and partner Neil. We left there reset again, and felt good. The next section is easy, but long. 18kms on a wide path, that varies between gravel and sand, it is just a bit monotonous, but Chailee and Neil kept us going with some chatter, along with patches of silence. We were still moving well, and I was really happy with how things were going. Eventually we could see the aid station in the distance, Dog Road,it was about 5.00pm, what a great sight. Shaun Kaesler was here, and swiftly had grabbed a bench and whisked me in to a gazebo to give my back a bit of a massage, as my lean had started to come in. It doesn’t hurt, but I start dropping that right shoulder and look lop sided. 

Our new pacer was here Rebecca, and it was lovely to see her. We had seen her at Brooke Inlet, she was there to see her husband Chris who was doing the 100 miler, she kindly gave up watching him finish his first hundred so that she could pace us from here to the end of this event, so grateful. After my massage, we were put in the comfy chairs again, and given delicious spag bol, and shoes and socks taken off and feet washed. Covered in a blanket I slept again for about 20 mins, and then had a hot cup of tea, before we got sorted to leave. We also had another pacer, Nick Heath, who had kindly come on board when a call had been put out. He was supposed to have done the 100 miler, but sadly had car trouble which prevented him from getting to the start. It was 6.45 pm as we left Dog Road, and were now on the back straights of the race. Dog Road to Chesapeake Rd (East), was the section with all the branches, and Nick was great in pulling things out of the way, and helping us climb over, and dipping under many, many logs and branches. It was an exhausting section, but it certainly was entertaining at times.

This was our last night, and the end was in sight, which kept us moving still pretty well, and the little naps we had had during the day certainly were helping us keep our hiking pace up. We arrived in to Chesapeakjust before 9.30pm, and Suzi was here. It was getting chilly now, and I enjoyed a cup of tea and a cookie, in fact 2 cookies. We got the massage gun out, and Suzi used it on Bianca’s legs and on my shoulders. We didn’t stick around long, due to the cold, and we were kicked out by 9.47pm! One more aid station to go, and we would be on our way to the finish. What a feeling, we were going to make it, if nothing dire happened. It was a reasonably long section again, but both Rebecca and Nick kept us going, and casual chat kept the minutes ticking by. I was ready for a sleep again when we got to Chesapeake West, but it was oh so cold. Felix was here, having been and set up our camp site for Sunday/Monday night, he was helping us with lights, and food, and trying to keep us warm. It was too cold to sleep even though we tried to scrunch up in the chairs and close our eyes. I had some hot noodles here, and not sure what Bianca had. Both Rebecca and Nick were cold too, and friends who were running were coming in from the 100 miler, and not hanging around. Harmony was here too, she had a sleep in Felix car, probably the best place. Eventually Rebecca said it was just too cold to sit there any longer, so we should get going. We had been so lucky with pretty warm nights the other 3 nights, so it was a bit of a shock to be so cold. Saying thankyou and goodbye to the last aid station we were on our way to the finish line. We left there around 3.00am and were well in front of our predicted finish time. We still needed to have a sleep somewhere though. Gradually dawn broke and we were glad of some of the sun’s rays.

Eventually we came across a hut, and although there was a couple in a tent in there, Bianca and I literally curled up on the wooden floor and attempted to have a 10 minute nap to recharge just a little. The couple were up when we got up, and informed us it was only 15 kms to the finish! It seemed to be the longest 15 kms though, in all honesty. Rebecca and Nick trying to keep the positivity up as we hiked with still good pace towards that finish line. We came across the Emu cans about 3kms maybe from the finish and did our selfie with the cans. So close, but goodness those kilometres were not going quickly. Finally we could see the finish line, we were able to pick up a little jog, unbelievable. About 100 metres from the line we stopped and had a moment together, realising what we had done, there were tears, and then smiles, and then we jogged down and crossed the finish line to the applause of so many of our running friends. 

It was EPIC! I heard Heath call us in, and Simone was there with our medals, what a special moment. Our team No Pain, No Champagne all there, minus 2, giving us hugs, it was pretty amazing. The team got us there, there is no doubt, it makes a massive difference when you are looked after for 5 days, and all you have to do is run and eat. Shannon presented us with gorgeous champagne glasses that the team had organised, with the team name on, and a running girl, how bloody special was that. It was lovely to sit down and not be told we had to get up again in a hurry, dear Amanda bought us a bottle of bubbles for us to enjoy in our new glasses, and we just sat there and enjoyed the feeling of what we had just achieved. Thankyou to everyone who gave us this amazing opportunity, our team, the volunteers, the race organisers, and race directors, and event director Simone. This was incredible!

Pictured: Sue Robertson, Andrew ‘Felix’ Poli, Bianca Harding, Shannon Wakefield, Suzanne Poli and Allison Ratcliffe. Photograph – Shannon Dale.