RACING AGAINST HERSELF, AND HERSELF ONLY: MAREE CONNOR

Contributed by Maree Connor, AURA member

BRISBANE TRAIL ULTRA 100mi, BRISBANE (Qld), 8-10 July 2022

In July I ran the Brisbane Trail Ultra (BTU) 100mi for the second time. While I came home as the first female, I certainly had to dig deep for it this time. To me, running ultras and long distances is all about learning who you are and what you’re made of. Having only started running seriously about 4 years ago after spinal fusion surgery and running my first ever ultra in 2019, I still have a lot to learn. I learnt a lot in this race. 

Last year I came into this same miler fresh and ready. I ran well and broke the female course record in 23hr 29min by 4.5hrs and finished 4th overall. My plan for this year’s race was to do a similar thing (not blow the record away of course, but race myself and match my previous time). I only ever race myself and I don’t care if that means front or back of the pack. I worry only about me and what I can control, what I can do, what I can change or create during any race. 

This year I came into BTU under a different set of circumstances. Instead of focusing purely on trails this year, I dipped my toes into the world of track and for the very first time ever in my life I stepped onto an athletics track in June! I raced a 24hr event in Sydney – the Southern Sydney 24hr Track Race and AURA’s very own 24hr Championship for 2022. I finished as first female at the 24hr track race with 211.632km and was 4th overall.

When I signed up for this event, I knew that I had committed myself to BTU 100mi again and I had to decide which event would be my ‘A’ and which would be my ‘B’ race. I had thought about this for months leading into both events, knowing they were so close together and that putting all my effort into one would likely jeopardise the other.   

Following the track race and in the 5 weeks between the two events, I rested and let my body guide my training for the upcoming BTU. Knowing I had the fitness and the endurance for it, I focused mainly on recovery and doing short trails. I tested myself in the middle week managing a 40km tough trail with 1500m elevation in just over 4hrs so I thought yes, I’m recovered, I’m ready – little did I know…

Arriving in Brisbane 2 days before the race, my head was in a good place and I toed the start line under the false guise of no body fatigue. 

BTU 5am start and I set off easily in the front group but after a few good hills and only 3hrs into it, I noticed the legs just didn’t have that feeling. You know, that feeling where they effortlessly glide up hills and on hover over technical singletrack. To me they were not light and bouncy; each hill was just a bit harder than I wanted it to be. Emotionally I was not worried, mentally I felt strong, but the physical body – it just wasn’t right and I knew it early. Everyone who runs ultras has a basic understanding of the fact that you will go through good and dark places during all races and this is fine and normal. But only 3hrs in was far too early for that so I had to make some changes – work out what I could do and try to take it in my stride. I had to shift from my original race plan and advised my crew that it would potentially be a long day out. Having fallen off the back of the front group I would do my best to keep up but I have no idea what my best was yet and how long the race would eventually take me. 

Never in my mind did I consider stopping. With plenty of men and women out in front of me, I chose to focus only on myself. I was just grateful to be out there running and I couldn’t wait for the beer at the finish line and I thought about how well my body works after having a time in my life where it didn’t. This really was a wonderful way to spend a week end and I was grateful it wasn’t raining – the weather was Queensland perfect! I chatted with a few people along the course and generally enjoyed my day out in the glorious mountainside. 

I was running where I could and pushed myself to keep a reasonable pace however it was progressively getting slower and slower. I was the second female out on course from check point 2 (45km) and 10-20min behind the leading female most of the day. At check point 4 (87km) I collected my pacer and while having company was nice, our pace remained tedious. I was still always moving forward though determined to hike as fast as possible with my running pace was annoyingly slow.

By 106km around 10pm, I passed the leading lady who had just tackled the notorious Township Break. She had done a brilliant job at setting the pace for us all day. It was bittersweet to find out a few hours later that she had withdrawn there after we’d seen each other as I had hoped we could spur each other on over the final 50-60km as the only 2 women left in the race.

From there, knowing that I was out there by myself as the sole surviving female on course was crazy and shows how brutally tough this course is. I wanted so badly to run but the legs argued and didn’t allow. Instead, all I could do was hike. So, I continued to hike the absolute heck out of the back end of that course and on multiple attempts at trying to run, I found my run pace was slower than my hike pace anyway and with way more effort. I finished as 10th overall in 27hr 51min conquering the 7600m of elevation. 

The hard days are what make ultra-running truly amazing. I am grateful to have such a beautiful support network of friends and family, my crews and pacers who always give their time freely and without anything in return. I am so thankful to be able to even take part in ultra-running. I’m delighted to have won 1st female in both my events this year. I have learnt so much more about myself as a result. I learnt about my tenacity and mental toughness and what I bring to the table when it gets hard. I leant that I can keep going even if the race is not going to plan. I learnt I possibly found my physical limit…370km of competitive racing in 5weeks might be it! But who knows… maybe that altogether in one race is doable.

Mentally I know I am capable of much, much more and I will strive to better my physical limit over time and as I mature in this sport and I don’t discount these latest efforts. I learnt I want to try a LOS to test my determination and this body in a different way. I learnt that I will continue to take away everything I see and learn after every event and better myself each time for the next time. I also learnt that these tough days teach us much more than the days that go to plan and that I my body is wonderful and powerful, even on what I would call, my bad day. 

Pictured: Maree Connor taking the 1st Female win at the 2022 Brisbane Trail Ultra 100 miler. Photograph – Elements Photo and Video Productions.