FROM ADRENALINE RACER TO HIPPIE RUNNER
Kate Dzienis • August 23, 2018
Contributed by Rob Donkersloot, AURA President
A few years ago I reckon my ultra running was about the adrenaline rush. About a week before race day it would start – the scarier the race, the bigger the rush. I would feed it like a smack addict, with harder races, longer distances. If I wasn’t jumping out of my skin at the start line, I would be worried there was something wrong. Everything was about the goal, the pace plan. Achievement or failure. During the race itself my mind would focus on what lay ahead, the pain that was waiting for me. Just to top up the adrenaline.
Then in 2015 after falling apart at Great North Walk, I fired my then coach, a hard core ‘man’s man’ legend in US trail running circles, and replaced him with a self-proclaimed hippie, a legend in Australian ultra track running circles.
I was introduced to meditation, and how to think differently about my running, both before and during events. In December that year, I stood on the beach for the start of Kosci, and rather than excitement and adrenaline, my mind was at peace and totally calm.
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Try being a hippie runner, and concentrate on the journey rather than the achievement. You may find you like it.
Results from Trail Run Australia Sunshine Coast 24hr and Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra.
contributed by sue robertson delirious west 100 miler - 8 April 2026
MAY 2026
The Delirious WEST 200 Miler on the Bibbulmun Track again proved brutal in 2026, with a small field of runners and a significant proportion recording DNFs as the days wore on. This year’s race reinforced the event’s reputation for high attrition, where long gaps between aid, tricky coastal sections and accumulated fatigue regularly stop experienced ultrarunners short of Albany. After two previous heartbreaks at Delirious WEST, Gabe Alves lined up in 2026 for a third attempt at the 200‑mile distance. This time he overhauled his entire approach, from pacing and sleep strategy to nutrition and managing the physical issues that had forced him out in past years. Between the mental battles of the long nights and the constant push to keep moving when everything says to stop, this video captures the reality of a multi‑day struggle where giving up isn't an option. Tag along to see Gabe face down unfinished business at the 2026 edition and find out if this third journey finally leads to the breakthrough he’s been chasing: Delirious West – Unfinished Business .
Results for No Time To Die, Sydrey's Frontyard, and the IAU 24hr Asia and Oceania Championships in Japan.
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IN OTHER NEWS
Results from Trail Run Australia Sunshine Coast 24hr and Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra.
contributed by sue robertson delirious west 100 miler - 8 April 2026
MAY 2026
