A TOUGH WTF, BUT OH SO WORTH IT

Contributed by Alexis Oosterhoff, AURA member

Waterous Trail on Foot, 25-26 September 2021, Dwellingup WA

It’s a few minutes before 6am in Dwellingup, WA and WTF race director David Kennedy has just started the race briefing. The instructions are detailed, and then without taking a breath we heare “3…2…1…go.” The race is away!

Headquartered at Nanga Bush Camp (NBC) in Dwellingup, an hour south of Perth, this is the 9th official WTF (Waterous Trail on Foot) race, with 100mi, 50mi and multiple relay options. It’s also the third iteration of the course – originally run from Dwellingup to Jarrahdale along the Munda Biddi trail, the event moved to the new location in 2019 in an effort to reduce volunteer requirements and enhance the accommodation option, and had two primary legs for the 50mi race, repeated for the 100mi. This year a third leg was added, with significant tweaks to legs one and two, with the general consensus being a much improved course albeit significantly more challenging – in 2018, the 50mi had 1400m elevation, in 2019/2020 it was 1850m, and this year 2450m! That’s a 35% bonus over last year at no extra cost, and I think everyone felt it. To enhance the challenge for 100mi runners, there’s a belt-buckle on offer for those finishers under 24 hours, and despite some deep talent in that event, no-one was successful this year (by comparison in 2018, 15 of the 20 finishers received buckles).

Leg One was run to the south-east of HQ, following an undulating fire track along the river for ~7km before reaching the first aid station. For the last few years this leg then followed ‘the powerlines of joy’ for around 13km before runners turned around – this year however it was a 5km loop (done twice) which started with a brutal climb, hit the powerlines for around 500m, and then dropped into some beautiful flowing single track closer to the river. With two creek crossings per loop, keeping one’s feet dry was a real challenge, and there was a significant quad-busting knee-twisting descent that set the scene for the remainder of the race. Runners then returned to HQ with 29km and 1200m elevation under the belt!

Leg Two had runners head west along the Munda Biddi trail, with several km of twisty undulating bike trail (and some awesome switchbacks) before hitting the aid station at Stringers at the 8km mark. In previous years this leg then continued along the Munda Biddi, but this year followed the ~9km King Jarrah Walk trail loop, which began with a doozy of a climb. Mostly single track, runners encountered amazing wildflowers while contending with a lot of rocks under foot – it was quite the effort to maintain a decent pace through here. Coming out onto Munda Biddi trail, runners returned to aid two and then back to HQ. Around 33km and 800m elevation on this leg.

The final leg three was probably underestimated by most runners. Just 21km and ~600m elevation, it headed north on Munda Biddi before crossing onto the Bibbulmun track. Undulating doesn’t describe this leg – it was relentless up and down, and on tired legs, knees were screaming and quads were busting. Running through the pine plantation was a wonderful experience, though some of the creaking noises would have been quite spooky for those doing it at night. The turnaround point seemed to take forever to find (just 10km) and was at the bottom of yet another steep decline – not great for your headspace when you know it’s up up up on the way back (though, surprisingly, this leg seemed easier to run on the way back, perhaps because the end of the race was in sight?).

On their own, each leg seemed not too hard, with a great mix of runnable track and trail and fabulous views. Put together, they created an amazing course.

First over the line in the 100mi was Beck Hefferon in a time of 24:30:59, and first male was Edgar Cepeda Colin in 26:46:25. Of the 14 starters in the 100mi, just seven were able to complete the journey, a testament to the added difficulty of this year’s course. 

In the 50mi event, 2015 winner Nathan Fawkes returned to take out the event in 8:51:56, with the 2020 winner Casey Edlington taking out back to back wins in the women’s race in 9:57:42. All up we had 28 solo finishers in the 50mi event, 12 women and 16 men. A few of the finishers took advantage of the generous 36 hour cut-off by having a feed, shower and sleep after the first two legs, and completed the race in the daylight on Sunday morning. This included 78-year-old Bill Thompson, local legend, who has finally hung up his Dunlops for 100mi events. Bill has 12x Glasshouse 100mi finishes (first one was in 1997), six GNW 100 milers and has twice finished at Western States!

The 50mi event also featured five relay teams, with creative names including “Double Trouble”, “Weekend Runaways”, “Sh*ts ‘n’ Giggles” and “Burrito Now”. The relay winners “Double Trouble” finished in an amazing time of 7:04:03! And to show just how family-orientated this event is, one of the teams featured three teenage daughters of participants – they showed absolute grit and determination through the day, and although ultimately a DNF, they gave it their all. Some future champions in the making.

There was just the one relay team in the 100mi, consisting of six runners “Mixed Bag of Toenails” finished in 24:56:34. 

FEEDBACK FROM RUNNERS INCLUDED:

+ Beautifully brutal course

+ Brutal course with a fantastic option to have a full night sleep and complete a 50miler in 2 days

+ Tough, honest and beautiful course – I think the technical, steep climb up the King Jarrah trail with tired legs from Leg one (was the toughest)

+ Spooky pine Forrest & spooky tree noises leg 3

+ Nothing like starting the third leg with carbs! (I won’t say who this was, but let’s just say he’s another of our well-known RD’s in WA enjoying a run for a change)

+ This was a beautiful course that had a fantastic mix of runnable terrain and challenging hills. Everything from winding single-track to soft forest trails, plus awesome volunteers at the aid stations, makes this an incredible event. Should be on every runners bucket list!

+ I love the atmosphere at WTF and feel so at home in Dwellingup that I’d consider doing the 100 miler next year

+ It’s the first race where I haven’t asked myself “why tf am I doing this”. Loved every minute, only bad part was having to stop for a couple of hours while my teammate got to have the fun

AND FROM OUR VOLUNTEERS:

+ I find volleying is the best thing ever when you can’t run yourself, it soothes the soul to be able to give back.

+ Brilliant day on the Stringers ( I thought it was called swingers 🤣) aid station haha. I laughed and definitely had a few tears with a few of you! One thing about our running community is how we all look after each other it’s amazing to watch 🙏 WTF is one of my favourite races and it was really hard not to be able to race,but to still be apart of it and help you all achieve your goals was pretty special to me.

+Trail runners are the most friendliest and laidback bunch of crazy people who loves spending as much time at aid stations as they love spending time on the trails! 😁 Also a tip to volunteers…Always wear a sportsbra so you are prepared for those unexpected runs to rescue/assist trail runners

Speaking of volunteers – no event can be a success without the generous donation of time and energy from a handful of volunteers. This year’s event cut down the requirements to just two aid stations (on legs one and two), along with the aid available at HQ, and a few marshals on leg two. Once again, we were blessed with smiles and enthusiasm from each and every volunteer out there. And while I don’t want to single out anyone in particular, I have to draw attention to Lucia and Peter who were our HQ vollies/finish line angels, staying up through the freezing and silent night to welcome home finishers through all hours of the morning. They have filled this position for each of the last nine years, and are always so full of enthusiasm and support. Absolute legends!

We are were so lucky to hold this event knowing the difficulties so much of the nation is experiencing with Covid lockdowns.

Pictured: Startline shivers. Photograph – Alistair Nicholson.