Aiming for an elusive 240km at Southern Sydney
southern sydney 24 hour ultra - 31 august 2024 - sydney, nsw
contributed by michael griffin, autra member (taringa, qld)
On Saturday, 31 August 2024, I took on the Southern Sydney 24-hour track ultra, hoping to crack the elusive 240km mark. My journey to this event had started several months earlier in June when a bout of COVID in the weeks prior had derailed an attempt at the Butter 24 hour event up on the Gold Coast. Within hours of finishing the event, disappointingly short of my goal, I was Googling more 24 hour races on the east coast and landed on the SS24. Getting in touch with the race director I learned that the event was sold out, but I should join the waitlist. Preparing and training in readiness I eventually had confirmation – I was in!
On the weekend of the event, the weather was not what was expected for this time of year. We had gusts of up to 40km/h, which meant our gazebos were at constant risk of becoming airborne, and the temperature hit 26°C. But out there on the track, it felt more like 30+ with no shade in sight – I definitely missed having trees around!
The race kicked off at noon, and it was already warm. I kept a comfortable pace, trying not to concern myself about the rockets who shot out of the gate and just focus on my own race. My nutrition plan was working well – I'd made my own carb drink, and it was doing its job keeping me hydrated in the heat. Communication with Bronwyn, my amazing support crew, was Formula 1-level smooth. She had everything dialled in perfectly, passing me nutrition on the run and making sure I stayed fuelled to our plan without missing a beat. We’d planned a combination of principally energy drink, baby food and flat Coke for later and so far it was working well.
The wind was relentless, but at least it was only a headwind on half the track. For the other half, I got to enjoy a tailwind, which was a small blessing. Every time it picked up, though, I had a moment of anxiety about whether our gazebo was going to stay put – thankfully, it did.
The first few hours felt good. I was running efficiently, chatting with other runners, and making a few new friends which is a great thing about the format of the 400m track events. No-one is ever out of eye-sight of each other and regardless of how many kilometres you’ve covered, you’re all still bunched together and within smiling range.
During the afternoon and evening, the 6 hour and 12 hour events were finishing up. I was excited to see that running buddy Carol had broken an NZ national record which was very impressive given the conditions. Although I felt a little envious of her being done for the day, I still had my own goal to chase! As the sun dipped, the temperature dropped fast. I still felt pretty warm, but the support crews started pulling out beanies and puffer jackets. One bonus of running: you stay warm while everyone else freezes!
Night-time also meant the appearance of the infamous cheese toasties from the aid team. Tempting as they were, I stuck to my plan and politely declined – maybe next time. For now I’d be sticking with my plan. Around this point Bronwyn took a brief break, leaving me in the care of our next-door neighbours Carley and Gary. This was incredibly generous of them and a testament to how inclusive and friendly the ultra-running community is.
The night wore on, and by 12:30 am, when Bronwyn returned, I’d hit 130 km. It was then I realized my goal of 240 km was slipping out of reach, but I kept pushing at a pace I knew I could hold. My feet were holding up well, and there were no signs of cramping, a testament to our electrolyte strategy, run coaching and the strength and conditioning work leading up to this event.
Dawn came as a relief – not just because it meant daylight, but because I could hear the birds waking up. Plus, it meant the return of the coffee van! Although I was happy to continue to get my caffeine from flat Coke, I know the support crews would have been happy for some hot, nourishing coffee. Adding to the vibe, the 3-hour runners had joined us on the track, bringing some much-needed fresh energy.
I crossed the 200 km mark at 9:30 am, which was a huge personal milestone being my previous maximum distance. From there, it was time to grind out as many more laps as possible, running as much as I could with walking breaks thrown in. By 11:30, though, my body had given everything it had. Flashing vision and extreme fatigue hit hard, so I took a breather, regrouped, then collected myself for one last lap.
As for the goal? I came close but not quite. I managed to cover 212 km, which was good enough for second place overall and a new personal best for me in this format. Despite not achieving what I’d set out to, I’m really proud of how it went down, especially considering the tough conditions that made the race more of a physical challenge than I’d anticipated.
In the end, I’m proud of the effort. Bronwyn was an absolute rockstar throughout – this is 100% a team effort and there’s no way I’d have been able to achieve the distance I did without her keeping me fuelled, warm, cooled and motivated. Huge thanks to my coach Jodie O’Borne, strength and conditioning coach Erin at Healthfit Coaching and Gaby at IntensEatFit for nutrition training. We didn’t quite get there but we are on the way – let the science experiment continue! Thanks also to Race Director Stephen, the amazing volunteers at the event and of course all the other runners and support crews. Despite the fact we know it’s going to hurt, despite the emotional rollercoaster we know is coming, we give it our all and come together to achieve something truly amazing.
Now, it’s time to recover – starting with the cheeseburger and fries on the drive back to the hotel!
For the numbers people, here's some stats from the event.
- Kilometres run: 212.381
- Hours of running: 24
- Calories burned: 16,360
- Litres of energy drink consumed: 8.5
- Number of baby foods consumed: 8
- Weight lost from the event: 4.7kg
- Number of toenails lost: 0 (so far… 3 are looking very sketchy)
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