The North Face 100 - 16th & 17th May 2009

I probably got interested in this race not long after I had decided to have a go at The Cradle Mountain Run. I followed the Coolrunning forum and there were only good things said about the race, and it just sounded like such a great experience in some great trail running country.

I actually put my entry in for this race before I had even completed The Cradle Mountain Run and for quite some time I wasn't really sure if it was such a wise decision to make. Even though I was somewhat unsure, I knew that I wanted to have a crack at a 100km ultra as it is such a significant milestone, just as it is for a cricketer to score 100 runs.

I used Cradle Mountain for a base and just continued my training once I had fully recovered.

Leading up to The North Face 100 I was quite nervous, unsure, and I didn't really seem to have all of my "ducks in a row", so to speak. Even the night before the race, after I had registered, packed my drop bags and all my other gear I still felt like I wasn't ready. I had an early night to bed and set the alarm for 4:15am to give myself plenty of time to get the body going and prep for the race.

Throughout the night it was blowing an absolute gale and I was hoping that it wouldn't be like that in the morning. However, when I awoke the wind was still quite strong. I did all of my usual pre-race stuff, crossing of my checklist and before I knew it, it was time to head over to the start of the race at the York Farimont Resort.

I dropped off my drop bags containing all of my supplies that I could access at checkpoints 3, 4 and 5, then headed off to the nice warm lobby in the hotel, soaked up the fantastic sunrise and waited for the call to head to the start line.

We were called to the start line. It was not until we lined up at the start that I actually felt ready. Speeches were made and then we were off.

The start was quite civilised, with the fast guys disappearing into the distance and everyone else trying to fit in to where they think they should be for a 100km run.

It wasn't long until we were into the bush and were greeted with some fantastic views over the Blue Mountains. The trail headed down, and quite quickly headed down very sharply, down steps that at times were almost like ladders. I had heard people talk about steps and stairs in this race, but I don't think you can appreciate just how many there are and how steep they are until you see them. Being only some 6 or so kilometres into the race I must admit I was bit concerned regarding just how many more stairs there would be.


The next few kilometres were quite frustrating at times, with faster runners wanting to pass me and slower runners in front of me that I wanted to pass, all on narrow single track. It wasn't until the Golden Stairs that it started to get tough; and real quickly too. To give and idea of how steep the stairs are, at times you are using the steps in front of you to pull yourself up. It definitely sorted a few runners out, and upon reaching the top we were at Checkpoint 1, Narrow Neck - 17km.

After leaving Narrow Neck, we had a tough climb which then levelled out to provide some nice consistent running. It was along this section that finally I wasn't being passed by faster runners and I wasn't passing other runner myself. It was nice to finally feel like had a nice rhythm and I also enjoyed finally being on my own.

The next major hurdle was the Tarros Ladders; two ladders that took us vertically down a shear cliff. The hurdle was due to a long line of runners waiting, and it wasn't until I got some way down the line that I could see it was going to be a long wait. It was blowing a gale here and in no time I had my gloves and gortex jacket on, but it was still cold. Probably the only positive aspect of the wait was getting to chat to other runners.

By the time it was my turn to descend the ladders, which was some 30 or so minutes later, I was starting to shiver so I was happy to be on the way down. The first ladder was simple but the second ladder was a pain because my pack kept on catching on the rope cage, and I had to almost put my chest on the ladder to stop it from catching.

Once down at the bottom it wasn't long at all until I had to take my cold weather gear off because I was getting too hot. The rest of this stage was rather uneventful with some nice running into Checkpoint 2, Dunphy's Camp - 38km.


Not long after leaving Dunphy's Camp there was a rather nasty sharp climb up onto Ironpot Ridge, where we would run the out and back leg on the same piece of single track. Once up the top we were greeted with some brilliant views and relatively easy running. However, as we descended Ironpot Ridge the trail turned into a very steep and loose surface that was exceptionally tough to keep traction on. My trail shoes had just enough grip to get me down without sliding too much, but other runners were practically skiing down the trail as their shoes didn't provide much grip.


I passed the 45km mark and soon I was thinking about the halfway point. A couple of creek crossings, a tough climb and I had passed 50km; the halfway point. Even running on the flat was starting to feel like hard work and I was trying to understand how exactly I was going to complete another 50km. I wasn't at all having thoughts of not making it, but it just seemed like such a massive effort and I was trying to comprehend how exactly I would survive another 9 or so hours. It interesting that as ultra runners, even for us the task ahead seems so difficult.

After passing through the 50km mark, the track went down and I actually wasn't enjoying it at all. It seemed that my downhill legs were getting a bit tired and I preferred it when the track went up. Soon I arrived at Checkpoint 3, Old Ford Reserve - 54km.

At Checkpoint 3 the marshals were doing mandatory gear spot checks. It's quite a pain having to open up your pack and show that you had thermals, maps, and phone, but I understand why they do it and completely agree that it should be done. I finally got around to removing some of my ankle strapping that had been annoying me for the last 30km, why I didn't do it earlier I don't know. I refilled my hydration bladder, restocked my food supplies from my drop bag and also had a sausage on bread. The sausage would turn out to be the nicest and most satisfying food that I ate all day!


As I checked out I heard a couple of locals saying how the next 8km was very runnable, however at the end of the runnable section was the dreaded climb up through Nellies Glen. It didn't take long for the last of the usable sunlight to disappear and I was finding it tough to pick my foot placings; so it was time to get the light out.

Never having run at night time before, other than in training on trails I know like the back of my hand, I was unsure how easy the markers would be to follow in the dark. It didn't take long to find out that the reflective tape used to mark the trail stood out from at least a couple hundred metres away, and it was going to be a piece of cake to keep on track.

I was now at the bottom of Nellies Glen and for a while it climbed gently, but quickly turned into some exceptionally steep climbing up steps. I did resort to using my hands to press on my knees and take some strain off my quads, but I was making reasonable progress and eventually came across some other runners. I think I must have passed around 4 runners on the climb so I was very happy with that given it was such a tough climb.

Next came the road section into Katoomba and I knew that the next checkpoint wasn't too far away. I must have mucked up my Checkpoint 4 distance, because I was sure it was at 64km and finding out that it was at 67km messed with my mind for a while, but I managed to stay calm about it and not get too uptight. In the few ultras that I've done I've learnt that losing your temper just ends up making you go into a downward spiral. You need to stay positive and calm. An extra few kilometres than I was expecting later, and I was at Checkpoint 4, Katoomba Oval - 67km. I didn't waste any time at checkpoint 4 as it was bitterly cold.

I was now on the way to the final checkpoint. I headed off towards the 3 Sisters not really knowing what to expect. As I started to negotiate the near vertical Giant Stairway, I was right next to the 3 Sisters and the light from my headlamp disappeared into nothing. It was absolutely spectacular to be looking at the 3 Sisters at night time and descending into at first glance what seemed to be a black hole. As spectacular as this section was, it was horrible on the body. I really had had enough of descending by now and the Giant Stairway wasn't any fun at all.

Finally I reached the bottom and was able to return to some run/ walk intervals. I knew that at the 80km there was the dreaded climb up to checkpoint 5. However, during my preparation for this race I didn't really give much consideration to the downhill sections. And running down into the valley turned out to be quite unpleasant. It just seemed to go on forever and the constant pounding from either walking or running downhill was just not fun at all. I was actually eagerly waiting for the trail to go up. I never thought I would say that towards the end of a 100km event.

I asked a local runner how far we were from the main climb and she told me that it started after the second creek. As I arrived at the second creek there were runners that passed me quite sometime ago putting shoes on after having taken them off to cross the creek. I couldn't be bothered taking my shoes off at that stage so I ploughed through the creek and actually found the cold water to be refreshing on the feet. I had also made up a few minutes on other runners.

I was happy that the trail was now climbing. Don't get me wrong though, it was still a bloody hard slog up the climb over the next 10km. I had a mix of running on my own and also with others. Not much was ever really said apart from the usual "How are you holding up" questions. On the way up I passed a runner who was wrapped up in a space blanket and another runner was helping him. The SES were on their way to pick him up. It was quite reassuring to see the SES so often up this climb and their camp fire half way up provided a nice spot for a moments rest and a bottle of water. Without the bottle of water I probably would have run a bit short on this stage. It was amazing that in such cold conditions I was drinking so much water.

Things were really starting to get tough now and I was not really feeling like eating much but I was forcing down what I could, and every time I did eat I always felt like I instantly got stronger and could press on. Sure enough though, a bad spell was never far around the corner, well that's how it seemed anyway. Soon I could hear generators and not long after I was at Checkpoint 5, The Queen Victoria Hospital - 89km. Once again it was bitterly cold here and I filled my hydration bladder as quick as I could, replenished some of my food supplies and I was off on the final 11km of the race.

The body, although not feeling overly flash, seemed to keep on plugging away and slowly covering the k's. I had been on my feet for 16 hours 23 min and I knew that I would sneak in under my 20 hour goal unless I did something stupid.

I passed a girl bringing up her dinner on the side of the road and when I asked if she was OK, she said that she'll be fine so I pressed on. Next I saw a guy running towards me and I jokingly said that he was going the wrong way (I thought he was a spectator) but he was actually in the race. He didn't believe us when we told him we were going the right way until we got to the next section of arrows. I was amazed that he wasn't able to follow the markers, but then again his light was quite ordinary and probably didn't pick up the reflective strips.

The final 11km really was quite horrible. There were lots of steps and at this stage my mind had switched off. I knew I was going to make it but I really wasn't interested in more than a brisk walk and I was still hating anything that went down. People seemed to be passing me regularly and progress was just so slow, but I was still moving forward and covering ground. Soon though, I could hear people cheering so I knew the finish was close and I picked the pace up a bit. All of a sudden I popped out onto the gold course; the finish was just around the corner. I picked the pace up even more as I could see the finish line and eventually crossed the line in 19hrs 01min 28sec. I had finished!

This race is by far the most rewarding run that I have ever done and I think the fact that it is the big milestone of 100km is one of the reasons why. It really is an amazing experience to complete something that (a) you never ever thought you would do; and (b) something that even for yourself seems like such a difficult task. The highlight for me would definitely be the night stages and probably from the 50km mark to the finish where it required a bunch of physical and mental toughness to keep pressing on.

I reckon that I'll be back next year!

Split	Race Time	Overall Pos
17k Narrow Neck	02:43:48	198
38k Dunphys	06:31:48	197
54k Old Ford Reserve-In	09:16:12	181
54k Old Ford Reserve-Out	09:30:05	175
67k Katoomba falls Oval	11:40:27	171
89k Queen Vic Hospital	16:23:49	163
100k Fairmount	19:01:28	164

Course Elevation Profile
Course Map

2009 Cradle Mountain Run - Feb 7th

I first read about The Cradle Mountain Run in late 2007 when I became interested in going beyond a marathon, as they had become somewhat routine for me and I was after more of a challenge. It just sounded like such an awesome run and the things that made it sound attractive included the brilliant scenery, completing The Overland Track in one day and that the run is fully self sufficient. Also, there is no vehicular access to the track meaning that there is no easy bail out until you reach Narcissus, where you can opt to jump on the ferry for the last 20km if you don’t have enough in the tank to finish, are injured or if you miss the cut off time. It sounded like such an adventure and after the completion of the 2008 Cradle Mountain Run, I made my mind up that the 2009 run would be my goal. 

The Cradle Mountain Run is known for having one of the most stringent selection criteria of almost all other trail ultras around. I had a number of good marathon times that met the entry criteria, but I needed to gain some experience out on the trails as that was something that I didn’t have. Luckily, about 2 weeks after I decided that 2009 would be my goal, the South Australian Road Runners Club (SARRC) announced that they were putting on a 56km ultra along the Yurrebilla trail in the Adelaide Hills. Brilliant, I now had a local trail ultra that I could use as my short term goal! I pretty much completely stopped my long weekend road runs and did all of my long runs out on the trails. Not only was I gaining valuable experience out on the trails but I began to love running trails much more than running on the road. The other trail event that I focused on was the SA 50k Trailblazer, and running with a more accomplished runner and on a very hot day it taught me many valuable lessons about what can happen out on the trails.

 Whilst I trained hard I eagerly waited months for the 2009 Cradle Mountain Run entries to open, and I was so keen to make sure I got a spot on the run that I entered at the first available opportunity. I had just a bit over a week of waiting and thinking whether or not I had done enough to have my application accepted, when I received a call for Alec Hove the run director letting me know that I had. I was in. I pretty much booked flights and accommodation the next day and finalised what my training program would be for the next 3 months. 

Eventually the time had come to head over to Tassie for the run. I was fortunate enough to ride in Dale and Keith Lancaster's car up to Cradle Mountain on the Friday afternoon. Dale has completed the run 12 times and Keith twice, so it was extremely valuable getting 90 minutes of question time from two runners with a wealth of experience. 

We soon arrived at the Cradle Mountain Lodge ready for the pre run briefing, which all went smoothly apart from when the ranger gave us a forecast for Saturday as being hot and approximately 32 degrees. This resulted in a lot of sighs amongst the group; this was not the weather that we wanted for an 80km run. I had my mandatory gear checked, had some dinner and then we were off to the cabins at Waldheim. 

I was slightly concerned about how good the Waldheim cabins would be and what is was going to be like sleeping in a cabin with 6 other runners, all most likely having their own pre run routines. The cabins were very tidy, having a gas stove, kettle, running water/ sink and a fridge. The running water was untreated and boiling was recommended. I had my own bottled water and didn’t need to worry about that. 

I met all of my cabin mates, everyone did some race preparations, there was a little bit of chatter and before I knew it people were heading of to bed and it was only 8:50pm. I had nothing left to do and figured I may as well hit the sack too. At least I was going to get a good chance of getting a few hours of sleep before my 4:15am rise time. It wasn’t long after I went to bed that it started raining and at times there was some very heavy rainfall indeed, and this continued throughout the night. I’m a light sleeper at the best of times but in between the heavy rain I managed to get some good sleep amongst my tossing and turning. 

I woke up at about 4am and just lay in bed waiting for my alarm to go off. My alarm went off and I figured that the others in my group heard it so I got up and started getting ready. I didn’t turn on the light and I assumed the others would start getting up soon but they didn’t. I thought I was making more than enough noise to wake them up and I was surprised that no one else had set an alarm. Eventually it got to 4:45am and I thought I better make sure the others all woke up as the 5:15am roll call was fast approaching. Everyone was up in a flash when they realized what the time was. 

Before we knew it, it was time for the first roll call and to have our race numbers written on us. It was raining quite heavily and at this stage the rangers forecast seemed to be rather incorrect. 6am approached and we all headed down to the start of the track where there was another roll call and not long after the countdown to the start of the run. The run had started. It was quite an uneventful start with the faster runners disappearing into the morning darkness and the slower runners fitting in behind them. I made sure that I was near the back as I didn’t want to get stuck running with guys faster than me. I needed to pace myself as this was my first attempt at running 80km. 

It really didn’t seem like we had been running for long at all when the track started to head up for the climb up to Marions Lookout. I let a few faster guys pass me and it seemed like there weren’t a lot of runners behind me. I found myself running with some guys around my pace as we headed up to Marions Lookout, and the weather seemed to turn for the worst. It was getting very windy, quite cool and also started raining. As bad as the weather was it was still quite spectacular running on the top of Marions Lookout. 

Kitchen Hut was passed and now we were running around the base of Cradle Mountain which was an awesome sight. The terrain so far was quite rocky and some sections required rock hopping. I think the term “track” has been quite loosely used here! 

We then headed down past the Waterfall Valley but not down to the campsite. I almost got the map out here until I saw a runner on the other trail. I followed them. 

The running through to Lake Holmes, Lake Windermere and Windermere Hut was quite straightforward with a mix of trails, including a good amount of duck boarding and board walk.

Heading through Pine Forest Moor the track conditions started to become a lot more difficult and I soon discovered what people are talking about with regards to the tree roots and mud that the Cradle Run is famed for. The mud didn’t “suck” any of my shoes off, but at times I could feel it having a good go as I tried to pull my foot out of mud deeper than ankle deep! “How much worse could this get” I thought to myself? If it wasn’t muddy or tree rooted then there was so much water running along the track that it seemed like we were running down creeks. I was running off an on with a 68 year old veteran of the Cradle Run who has completed the run 11 times, and he said that the track conditions were on par with the worst that he as seen. 

Frogs Flats was next and I stopped to adjust my sock that had slipped down a bit (I wear two socks). I also tried to fix what felt like lumps under the balls of my feet but I couldn’t sort that out so I continued on. 

Pelion Hut (31 km) was now not too far away and I could see that I was not going to meet the 13 hour split time, and I was actually getting a bit worried of missing the main cut off time. This kind of threw me a bit as I thought I would easily get there in time. Given that I didn’t know how difficult the next 4km was it also added to my concern. Next I managed to twist my left ankle making things even worse. I’m known for having bad ankles so I hobbled on for a bit. Luckily my ankle seemed to loosen up but it did knock my confidence around and was probably a good wake up call, reminding me that I need to have 100% attention on where I’m placing my feet. I ended up making it to Pelion at 11:24am so I had 36 minutes up my sleeve, but I knew I had to run well and not loose much time over the next 30km. The furthest I had previously run was 56km so I was a little unsure how I’d fair getting to Narcissus (60km) considering what the track conditions were like. 

I was stilling feeling like I was in good shape and the track conditions and scenery were changing that much that I didn’t have any problems with my mind wandering. Some intermediate goals that I had set were to get to the first check point, half way (40km), to have been running for the longest time I ever have, and to cover the marathon distance. I like motivational tools likes this in conjunction with using my GPS.

Running through to Pelion Gap, along side Douglas Creek it was evident from the water falls about how much water was flowing as they were a raging torrent. The track continued with rocks, roots and more mud up to Pelion gap and through to Kia Ora Hut and the checkpoint at Windy Ridge Hut (49km), where I arrived at 2:58pm. This checkpoint had no cut off time associated with it. Alec Hove asked how I was feeling; I was in good shape but really starting to feel the pain come on a bit stronger. Alec told me that there was tea and other refreshments available at Narcissus so it was encouraging that he didn't seem concerned about me not getting to Narcissus in time. I had 2 hours to travel 10km so how hard could it be?

The track started to become a lot friendlier and it did seem like I was making good time, although I wasn't exactly moving fast. I started to have some rough patches along this section. Although it seemed like as long as I kept moving forward, eating and drinking then I'd eventually come good again. It seemed to get to a point where as much discomfort as I was in, it didn't get any worse and I could keep on pushing forward, albeit rather slow! Narcissus was approaching and although I could see I was going to make it under the cut off I wasn't going to have much time up my sleeve. I got to Narcissus (60km) at 4:38pm so I only had 22 minutes to spare, but it was a relief knowing that I could continue and couldn't be forced to take the ferry ride home. There was Coke, ANZAC biscuits and shortbread at this checkpoint and they all went down very nice indeed.

I set off on the last leg of the run and I split it up into manageable chunks to make it easier to handle mentally, and just focused on each section. I would aim for half way to the half way point, the halfway point, 10km to go and then single digits to go. If you look at the profile of this section on the map it looks flat but don't be fooled. Because the rises and falls aren't big enough to go over a contour line it looks flat but it isn't. The short ups and downs combined with having to jump over logs and deal with more roots and mud makes the final section quite tough.

I passed a runner going in the opposite direction to meet some else and he told me "about an hour to go". I was pretty much in a state of run, walk, run, walk but I didn't at all feel like I wasn't going to make it to the end. I pressed on, passing someone waiting for a runner to come through and they said "20 minute to go". I'm always weary of comments like this from bystanders, but sure enough I eventually arrived at the Hugel River bridge where I was told that there was only about a kilometer to go. I looked at my watch and noticed that 14 hours was rapidly approaching so I pushed hard. At this stage due to the emotions and adrenaline flowing through my body resulting from knowing I was almost at the end of my biggest challenge, it allowed me to run pretty much pain free. I'm not sure how fast I was running but it felt fast to me. It was definitely a bit more than a kilometer but eventually I could see the finish and hear the cheers. I crossed the line in 13 hours 58 minutes. The last 20km had taken me 3 hours 20 min which is pretty much what my marathon PB is! I finished 6th from last but I didn't really care, I was immensely proud of my effort. 

To sum up this run I would say that it's really a great adventure. The scenery is brilliant (when you get a chance to look at it) and the track is just so diverse. There aren't really any overly challenging climbs, but the difficultly lies in the rocks, roots and mud. I think I am going to have nightmares for the rest of my life about tree roots! You can read all day long about the tree roots on this run, but I don't think it's possible to get an appreciation for what they are like until you run the track.

I would really like to thank the efforts of the Cradle Mountain Run committee. Everything over the weekend was just so well organised and there was such a friendly atmosphere.

I will be back!

(Here are some photos that Buzz Burrell took on the day as well as his run report.)