GILES CLAIMS LAST-ONE-STANDING FORMAT

By Kate Dzienis

In its first official year the Mirrim Wurnit Back Paddock Ultra from June 15 to 17 was Australia’s first last-one-standing format race and held entirely on a private property in the Macedon Ranges near Romsey, Vic.

And whilst 34 endurance runners from across the country started to race through as many of the 6.7km laps as possible it was West Australian runner Dave Giles who took the crown, successfully completing 33 laps.

The rules were simple – every hour runners were required to complete one lap and then stand at the start line ready for the next lap.

If they were not back, or not at the start line, it was a DNF (did not finish).

Giles entered Mirrim Wurnit on the back of having attempted another gruelling endurance race, the Down Under 135mi in Vic on May 3 and said he took it easy in the lead up.

“I still felt a bit broken post Down Under so was keeping the mileage fairly low just trying to recover properly without losing too much fitness,” he said.

“I was actually feeling very under-prepared going into Mirrum Wurnit and given the well-known names on the start list I was sure I would be a DNF, just really hoping not to be the first one to drop out.

“It’s completely different to anything I’d been involved with previously with no defined distance or time limit so you’ve got no idea how long you’ll be out there for.”

Giles said he had an arbitrary goal of hitting the 100-mile or 24-hour mark and then seeing how he felt.

“I tried hard to not over-analyse the race and just enjoy the moment, chatting with other runners and soaking up the scenery,” he said.

“A few runners carrying injuries dropped in the first few laps and then nothing seemed to happen for about 10 or 12 laps.

“All I could think was, ‘This thing is never going to end’.”

It was at this point that Giles’ main focus was to get through each lap at a consistent pace with enough time to ingest food and have a stretch.

“When it got down to the last three runners – myself, David Turnbull from SA and Shane Holstein from Alfred Cove, WA – I still was fairly confident I wouldn’t be the last one standing,” he said.

“They both looked strong and I was starting to fatigue, so when they both dropped out I was very surprised.

“It wasn’t until I was heading down the hill from the turnaround point that I eased up and knew I had it.”

Having completed 33 laps it was estimated Giles had completed about 221-kilometres across the entire weekend.

Pictured: Dave Giles flying down a hill in this year’s Mirrim Wurnit Back Paddock Ultra. Photograph – Chris Ord.