With the high rise of the moon near-on midnight November 12, 2016 a private dawn service is held for 25 ultra runners. Complete with The Last Post played on a bugle and a minute’s silence, a commemoration is observed before entrants of the Lighthorse Ultra 12hr event head out into a darkened, night-silent course in Western Australian bushlands just 23kms north of Perth.
It’s the kind of place where Australian history survives, as a mixture of sand, cycle path, and compacted limestone takes runners past an 1870s-built residence, now in ruins, as well as foundations and remnants of other buildings scattered throughout the regional park.
And amongst those runners, a former British military soldier who had been meticulously planning his race for weeks.
Planning strategically, and meticulously, as all tactical soldiers do, for a podium finish.
It’s difficult to envisage Tony Smith making any enemies in life. Modest, yet confidently spoken, Tony has established himself in WA as a major gun to give others a run for their money, particularly when it comes to going against him in long distance events. And he’s not giving up his top dog place in the running community any time soon.
Now aged 47, Tony began running as a young boy in the south of England. After discovering the coordination that came with ball sports just didn’t reflect all that well on him, he engaged vivaciously with school cross country and track events – and found a calling that would embody a part of who he was to become later in life.
Tony’s father set the scene with his own successful military career, providing a safe and secure family environment, and teaching the discipline, hard work and respect that many military families encompass. Straight out of school at the tender age of 17, Tony tried his hand as an apprentice vehicle mechanic, but feeling it wasn’t for him soon followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the British military.
From a Private Soldier to a decorated Warrant Officer of the highest ranking, Tony gave 24 years of his life to the armed forces before packing up all his treasured belongings and moving permanently to WA with his wife. It’s those two decades of time and utmost experience as a serving military officer which has given him the mental resilience and physical prowess to attain podium places in almost all of his official races in the state he now calls home.
“The British military is very big on its enlisted soldiers playing sport – you don’t need to excel at it, but you do need to be of a reasonably good standard,” he says.
“Each unit will have a football team, or a soccer team for instance, and it’s an important part of military life because it all comes down to team work.
“Even if you are doing an individual sport like running, you’ll be part of a cross country or road racing team because it becomes less about the individual, and all about everyone else to get a good result.”
Whilst Tony took advantage of becoming a part of his unit’s running team, he honed in on a physical ability which would see develop into a secret weapon for future races. His combat training was well and truly creating an electrically fast runner, and despite getting older during his time as a soldier, Tony soon found himself becoming the army’s junior sports team manager.
And when it comes to life after serving, initial military training never really goes away – in particular all that is mental.
“When you leave the military, and as you get older, you need to recalibrate your goals, and in terms of running I had to begin moving smarter rather than just faster,” he says.
“The 50k run is where I’m reasonably strongest, because that’s where I can put into place a plan of sorts, a strategy, and it’s where I know I’ll get the most satisfaction.”
To provide an overview of Tony’s most recent achievements in the running calendar, he won the Goldfields Pipeline Marathon in both 2014 and 2016, took home gold at the 2015 Australia Day Ultra 50k (3:48:13), claimed first place in the 2016 Feral Pig Trail Ultra 50k in a time of 4:11:36 and stood tall while taking second overall at the 2016 Lighthorse Ultra 6hr (123.880k) where he personally ran in remembrance for all military personnel.
