From Coping Mechanism To So Much More by Geoffrey Langhans

Looking back at 2023...on Good Friday in 2020, I tackled the Yurrebilla Trail knowing that it would push me beyond anything I’d done before. I’d never heard of ultra running before and I wasn’t the trail fiend that I am now but I did it for a different reason. 

I did it because I had to. 

Six months prior my now ex-wife left me and my ability to sleep departed just as promptly. In an attempt to sleep better, I started exercising to exhaust myself and what started as long walks evolved into jogging and then running greater and greater distances. The further and faster I’d go, the fitter I became and so I’d have to go further and faster again to aid me in my quest for sleep. 

Yurrebilla turned into a double mara, closely followed by running past the 100km mark for the first time and then somehow, I heard about the Adelaide 12hr race coming up in October that year. Given I was running ultra distances nearly every week, I thought why not?

During that race, I met some inspiring people and got my first taste of a community that is unparalleled. I’ve played many sports to various levels, none so more than table tennis in which I have represented SA and sit on the Board of Directors, and while I’ve enjoyed each of those sports, there have always been too many of those who seek to win at all costs. Those who will bend and break rules and certainly never support others. I’m sure ultra running has some like this but I’m yet to meet one. 

Who I have met are countless people who go out of their way to help others: to encourage them and help them achieve something they could not have done alone.

Ultra events also took me to remarkable places I didn’t know existed. Some on my own doorstep. Then there are the wildlife encounters that you can’t plan for. I’m sure many of us have almost (or actually) stepped on more snakes than we’d like but I’m still grateful to be out experiencing the nature around us. 

So late in 2022 when I was looking ahead, I realised I had the opportunity to simultaneously take running further, travel to see more of this amazing country and meet many more inspirational people. 2023 was going to be my year of running. I filled my calendar with ultras across SA, WA, Victoria, NSW, the ACT, Queensland and Tasmania. There were track, trail and road races. Point-to-point, loop, distance and time based, as well as LOS events. 

In every single one of them there was something I am thankful for experiencing and people I am grateful to have met. I didn’t enjoy everything: the humidity in Queensland and northern New South Wales, or the monotony of the athletics track weren’t very fun but it was still worthwhile doing those events. Even the Alpine Challenge in Falls Creek where I DNFd with a few torn ankle ligaments had positive lessons that I could take away.

As I reflect on my year that had 19 ultras with one to come (the postponed 12hr Dusk to Dawn in Adelaide), I am nothing but happy that I decided to make the most of the chance I had in 2023. If you are reading this and have an ultra event (or more) that you are considering signing up for but have some doubts whatever they may be, do it. Take the time to travel further because it’s worth it. 

The people, the experiences, the feelings: get out there and embrace this community all you can.

GEOFFREY LANGHANS