KOBER’S RUN AT HOME, RUN AS ONE VIRTUAL RACE

Contributed by Jutta Kober, AURA Member

Like a lot of runners, I’ve been enjoying the slightly lighter training load and the focus on base training in this crazy world of dealing with Covid-19 and the associated race cancellations.

Sometime early this year I signed up for the Ultra Series WA Light Horse Ultra which was to take place on the ANZAC Day long weekend. My race was going to be a 6-hour event of running laps of a 2.5km course in Perth’s northern suburbs. The event also includes a 1-hour kids’ race and options of 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours for the adults. Of course, the race got cancelled due to Covid-19.

So, without a goal I went back to base training and running for fun. That was until my coach and ultra running legend Scotty Hawker announced a virtual race to raise much needed funds for mental health organisations in Australia and New Zealand. Acknowledging different levels of self-isolation and lockdown across the world, the race ‘Run at Home Run as One’ promoted running as a way of beating the isolation blues and connecting participants in different parts of the world, all while raising money for Beyond Blue in Australia and Mental Health NZ.

To appeal to a broad range of people, the race format was left open for each participant to decide. The event flyer says “you choose the distance…you choose the donation”.

With this new race goal, I chose to stick with the 6-hour format of the cancelled Light Horse Ultra as part of my own virtual ‘Run at Home Run as One’. I decided on laps of Herdsman Lake in Perth as it’s close to home, pretty and less likely to be busy than other potential locations. Herdsman Lake is a 7 and a bit kilometre loop with varied surface ranging from bitumen to limestone and some dirt in what I call the ‘trail’ section.

My goal was to run 50km in 6 hours, which seemed an achievable goal but ambitious enough to pose a challenge.

I was really looking forward to this ‘race’ more than I had expected. I was ready and eager to push myself, even if I was the only competitor.

On race day morning I woke up at 3:30am, got my gear ready and after a short drive arrived at the start location, a little carpark next to the Herdsman Lake path. My car boot was my aid station as well as the start line. The finish line would be wherever I hit exactly 6 hours race time.

One of my running friends, Peta, had also decided to run at Herdsman Lake and she was just parking her car as I pulled up. We decided to start off in different directions so we would pass each other at times and could wave ‘hello’ every half lap or so.

At 5am we set off on a dark lap around the lake. My partner JC had decided to run with me for the first lap. It was drizzling on and off but otherwise the run was pleasant. It wasn’t cold and I wore my Light Horse event shirt from a few years ago. It seemed appropriate. About half way through the first lap I passed Peta coming the opposite way. Then there was no one else, it was dark and quiet. After the first lap JC said goodbye and I was on my own. I kept running in the dark and quiet, just me and my head torch lighting up the path, other than running into Peta every half lap.

Focusing on each lap as an interim goal I barely noticed the kilometres ticking by. Not long after starting my third lap the sky opened up and I was completely soaked within minutes. The path had quickly become waterlogged and I splashed along passing walkers, now out after their ANZAC Day tribute.

Running in the rain felt invigorating and I happily splashed through the puddles. The rain soon turned into a drizzle that stayed for most of the morning. The sun managed to come through the thick clouds every so often, alternating between drizzle and sun.

I just kept running, focusing on each lap. After my fourth lap and just over three hours into the race I changed direction and was now running anti-clockwise to mix it up a bit.

I expected ‘racing’ without a race to be hard; to be pushing myself without the support and the motivation of a race. I actually found it enjoyable and my mental determination to achieve my goal and to run to my best ability was no different than during a race.

Sometime during my sixth lap my watch told me I had just passed marathon distance. Only 8km to go to my 50km target distance with still one and a half hours of race time left.

At this point I was certain I’d hit my target and was quietly wondering how much beyond 50km I could push myself. My legs felt heavy and sore and keeping at target pace was getting harder and harder. I reached my target of 50km towards the end of lap 7 with around 38 minutes to spare. How much could I push my tired legs for the last half hour?

As I came to my car aid station for the last time, I could see JC waiting for me and ready to run the last part with me. He kept encouraging me along on my tired legs, convinced I could make 55km. We kept running, hit the ‘trail’ section and came out back onto the main path. With 10 minutes still to go my watch showed 54km. I made it to 55.61km as my watch ticked over to 6 hours.

Finished, and very happy with my effort.

Thanks again for Scotty and Liz Hawker for organising this event!