Articles & Reports - 24/7 Gym | Personal Training | Bike Fitting | Coaching - Bassendean, Western Australia

Ironman World Championships

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -1100

Congratulations to Matt Burton on winning his Age Group (18-24 Years) in a time of 9:09:42 at the 2011 Ironman World Championships in Kona over the weekend! A well deserved achievement for a very hard working athlete.

Well done to Jonathan Woods from Tasmania who finished his first Ironman World Championships in a time of 9:41:28.

News June 2011

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -1100

Congratulations to Amos Gollach(20-24) on placing 4th in the Challenge Cairns Ironman Triathlon distance event with a time of 10:24 and to Scott Bailey(35-39) 4:53, and Marty Clancy-Lowe(50-54) 5:50 on completing the Half Distance event.

Claire McClean (Para-Cycling) has been achieving some great results and huge PB's recently in her category racing in Europe. Yesterday ( 10th June) she won gold in the World Cup Time Trial event in Segovia, Spain. In her words ' I destroyed the field, 6 girls in my category, 1 min start gaps, I was last rider off and caught all riders. Put 1:58min into second place, the German competitor. I averaged 42.4kmph, on exactly same circuit as last year, where i did 40.1kmph.'

News May 2011

Tue, 31 May 2011 00:00:00 -1100

Congratulations to Robert Watson on the 3:04 result in the 2011 London Marathon.

Another PB and ran the perfect race with a negative split and the last 10km as his fastest! Awesome result.

Well done to all ‘Trysport’ clients who participated in and completed the 2011 Busselton 70.3 event.

Congratulations to Matt Burton (18-24) and Kelly McCombie (30 -34) on winning their respective Age Group races and to Sue Webber 4^th (50-54), and Ben Bevan 7^th (30-34).

The Auburn Half Ironman is considered to be one of the toughest courses in the World! Congratulations to Thomas Plotts on completing the challenge in 6 hrs 3 mins last weekend. ( all the best to you Tom with the Alcatraz Triathlon this weekend!)

An amazing achievement by Tom Clipston last month! Tom successfully completed a 600km race from Resolute Bay to the North Pole! An account of the experience can be read here http://www.polaraceteam.com/

Well done to Julie Saunders on achieving a sub 9 hour time in the Comrades Marathon run on the weekend. Julie’s time of 8:54:22 is amazing for her first attempt and in doing so earnt herself the much sought after Bill Rowan Medal!!

Everyday Hero

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -1100

Support Terri & Joyce as we conquer the City to Surf Marathon to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease.

Joyce has been recently diagnosed with MND & was a 'late-bloom' runner who managed to complete a half marathon. Now, she's going to be covering the full Marathon with a little help from her friends! :)
The plan is to push Joyce in an adult pram over the 42.2kms and give her the wonderful feeling of competing again & to feel the wind in her face!

Click here to donate.

http://www.everydayhero.com.au/terri_andjoyce

Terri Budge

Singapore 70.3 Half Ironman

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -1100

Congratulations go to Matt Burton (4:19:41 - 19th overall), Kelly McCombie (4:57:37 - fastest female age group time) and Barb Wood ( 5:24:40 ) for winning their respective Age group races in the Singapore 70.3 event last Sunday.

Well done also to Sue Webber ( 5:27:56 ) who placed 3rd and Amos Gollach ( 4:58:13 ) who placed 6th.

Six Foot Track Marathon

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -1100

Well done to Kylie Williams for completing the Six Foot Track Marathon on the 12th March, 2011. It was a great achievement, as this challenge was done with very little training done in the previous month, as a result of an injury. A mental battle, that Kylie won, great work! Challenge completed in 6hrs 45 mins.

My Kona Expeience

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -1100

My Kona Experience – 9 October 2010

The Build Up

Training for Kona and maintaining a full time job definitely has its challenges. I’m lucky I have two understanding bosses! People close to me knew that Kona was always going to be a special day. I was on a mission in the months leading up to Kona and nothing was going to get in my way. But there were periods when I really questioned what I was doing. Andrew (“Budgie”) was always there with words of wisdom and endless encouragement and reassurance.

Four weeks out from race day I got sick, every athlete’s worst nightmare. It was a disaster and I felt like all my hard work was turning to crap. Budgie reassured me that I would be fine and as always he was right. After two weeks of being sick and the race getting closer I had no option but to have a course of antibiotics. One week out from race day I was back to 100% health and was very relieved.

I arrived in Kona with my Mum 10 days prior to the race. I really enjoyed the lead up to the race and made the most of some well earned (in my opinion) R&R after one of the most hectic schedules I have endured. The taper was definitely in full swing. The most surprising thing for me was how relaxed I actually was given the world championships were only a few days away. Leading up to the race entailed swimming at the pier, a few bike rides and a few runs. The roads around Kona were so smooth and leading up to the race I felt the bike was going to be quick however two factors were always going to be a challenge – the heat and wind.

Thursday before the race two of my brothers, Ben and Sam arrived in Kona. It was great to see them and I am so grateful they came to share the experience with me.

Day before the Race

I woke up early the day before the race. A short ride and run was completed and then I packed my T1 and T2 bags. Gear check in wasn’t until 3pm so I tried to relax all day – it was a little challenging as I was starting to get pumped up for the race. At check in time the nerves hit me as soon as I got to transition area. The nerves came at the right time and I started to focus on the race.

Following gear check in I met my brothers Ben and Sam, my Mum and my Aunty for a coffee. It’s probably not the best thing to have in the afternoon before a race but it was a good way for me to relax after the nerves that struck me at check in.

Final discussion with Budgie on Skype and I was ready for Race Day.

Race Day

I slept really well the night before the race and the alarm woke me at 4am. After breakfast I was on the shuttle bus to the start line. I found myself going through the race in my head. Body Marking and getting into the water went really smoothly. I saw my brother just before I entered the water – a final good luck wish from him and a big hug got me a little emotional. I entered the water with 2000 competitors – what an experience. Once I was in the water I turned back towards the pier and took it all in. The atmosphere was amazing. I hadn’t experienced such a crowd at any race I had been too. I couldn’t believe I was here yet at the same time I deserved to be here as much as anyone else in the water. After a few moments reflecting on my personal journey to the start line in Kona I got myself into position to start the swim. Before I knew it the cannon fired and I was swimming. I managed to make it to the turnaround in good shape, then received two kicks in the face. After the first kick I stopped for a breath, and then I got swam over, so I told myself to suck it up and keep going. Before I knew it I could see the pier again and I was going through the transition in my head. It’s a long standing joke with people close to me that I have a cup of tea and read the paper in T1 so I was going to prove them wrong this time. As I exited the water I looked at the time 1.04.48 – I was off to a good start.

T1 came and went and I really thought I was quick but it turned out not as quick as I thought! Before I knew it I was on the bike. I had never been in a race where so many people were passing me at high speeds at the start of the bike leg. I was feeling good on the bike but people kept passing me. I decided to stick to my pace. Unfortunately one of those people passing me slowed right in front of me and I got a drafting penalty of 4 mins. I couldn’t believe it but there was no use arguing it. I made the most of my 4 mins on the side of the road and reapplied some sunscreen and had a stretch. It was hot on the bike and the cross winds up to Hawi made it tough. But the bike went really quickly and before I knew it I was getting off the bike and heading into T2. I finished the bike in a time of 5.23.28. I was very happy with my bike time considering that included a 4 min penalty!

Onto the run and what a run it was. As soon as I got off the bike I felt good running. I really had to slow myself down over the first 10km but I got into my target pace and managed to stick with it. I felt good the entire run, well until I hit the 38km mark. The support I had from my brothers out on the highway and up to the energy lab was amazing, something I will never forget. As I approached 2km to go the crowd gave me such a boost. As I was running towards the finish line I felt a huge rush of adrenalin – it was a combination of the crowd, the journey and the accomplishment. I looked up at the clock as I approached the line – I had to look twice as I could not believe the time I had done. My Run Time was 3.31.18 a PB by 9 minutes. I finished my first World Championships in a time of 10.08.12. I could not believe what I had just done, it was a very overwhelming experience. I could not stop smiling after I crossed the line.

I finished 9^th in my age group and was the 3^rd Australian female.

The Support from my family, friends and coach was invaluable.

My Kona experience has taught me that if you put your mind to something and have a vision you can achieve anything.

Kelly McCombie

Race the Planet - Kimberley

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -1100

Racing The Planet Kimberley Race May 2010

By Barb Wood

Part 1 training

Racing The Planet is a week long endurance race which covers 250km over 6 stages. Competitors carry all of their own gear including food, mandatory equipment and essential personal items. The coordinators provide drinking water and a space in a tent that you share sardine style with 8 to 10 other people. Every night the camp is set up by a dedicated team of volunteers and includes approx. 25 sleeping tents, a medical post, and even a cyber tent with satellite internet. Water is boiled over an open fire for hot meals and drinks every morning and night.

Four races are held every year for the Racing the Planet series. They are the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, and the Sahara in Egypt. Once you have completed these three, you can enter the elite club and be invited to race in Antarctica.

Just over 3 years ago a separate “roving” race was introduced to the series, which means a different location anywhere in the world is chosen. A friend of mine John Wilding, who is trained by Budge, raced the Atacama Desert in 2008. He came back saying that they would be holding a race in Western Australia in 2010 and that it would be either in the Pilbara or the Kimberly’s and that was it for me. I was in come no matter what!

I live in Paraburdoo in the Pilbara and Budge has trained me thru several different races including marathons and Ironman.

With this race Budge had 6 of us under his guidance all from Para: John, Stephanie Anderson, Ben Aldous, Cassie Arnold and her partner Simon Heditch and I.

We all work different shifts so we only trained with each other occasionally. Most of the training was “packed marches” that commenced around the 2 hour duration at the start of the training programme and finished with a 12 hour march near the end in the heavy going period.

I’m a runner; definitely not a walker, and packed marches consisted of wearing a backpack with up to 12kg of rice in it (the guys had to carry more). The walking in itself was a challenge as it was something so different to what I had ever done, so I actually looked forward to getting to the “Big Stuff”. If only I knew then what I know now!!!! The race was being held in May and we all commenced training in December. Our summer temperatures here are usually 46 degrees most days and so our training would start at 3 to 3:30 am when it was a “cool” 35 degrees. A couple of year’s back I was followed by a dingo when I was out cycling. I tell the story that it chased me but I think it was trying to work out what kind of animal I was. What started out with me yelling at the dingo to try to scare it off into the bush, turned into me sounding like a complete lunatic screaming in terror because it was running along beside me instead of away. So understandably - to myself anyway -I have had a huge paranoia about dingos ever since, and to do Budge’s training programme I was going to have to be very brave and walk amongst the dingos out in the middle of nowhere. Barb, the Dingo Whisperer! I always started in the dark and did a couple of bog laps around town until it got light. I felt like a complete dork walking around town carrying a fluro orange backpack, looking like I was going camping somewhere and not on a training workout. If a dingo was going to eat me, I wanted it to do so in the light and so I stayed in the safety of town while it was still pitch black.

I did a few 7 hour marches with Stephanie; now that girl is a walker and I would struggle to keep up pace with her. Sometimes when marching on my own it would become more of a dawdle if I didn’t focus on what I was doing. We usually paced out just over 42 km during that time. We always had to put out drink supplies the night before, but on one occasion I had left a 5 litre water bottle sitting next to a tree close to the edge of town, and when I arrived for a refill someone had taken it. Unbelievable!!!

For one of the 10 hour training marches John and I headed 40 km by car away from Paraburdoo about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. We drove to a part of a mountain range where a lot of exploration drilling had been done and so there are quite a few different roads that can be walked on but it’s extremely hilly. The idea was that we would park the car and do 2 three hour walks with an hour thirty out in one direction and back to the car for a pit stop and the last one we would walk 2 hours away from the car and back. We decided to do it at night because the heat during the day was pretty unbearable and also it was a full moon and we felt that we would be able to see quite well.

It’s funny how you always start out on these training adventures feeling ten foot high and bullet proof. Walking up and down huge hills for the first hour and half was great! It was still light and the place was just awesome especially knowing that there was no one else around. Also, it didn’t feel like we had gone along way away from the car in that time. When we set off for the second time, in a different direction, the hills fatigued us quite quickly, especially with carrying the extra weight. I was walking along and stepped into a bit of a hole and landed flat on my face (with the extra weight on your back you just seem to go “bang”! It doesn’t give you the chance to try and right yourself before you fall). I had previously commented to John that I hope I wouldn’t step on a snake; he assured me that there would be no snakes because it was so dry no animal would live there. Of course I believed him - until I nearly stepped on one and discovered another disadvantage of carrying weight on your back: it’s really hard trying to jump!! Our second pit stop back at the car was a lot longer than the first one. It felt too easy to stay and just hang out especially since, after 6 hours of hiking, we were both really feeling it. A big lighting storm came thru and it was great being out watching it but a bit scary as well. We saw a fire burning on our way back and were hoping that it wasn’t close to the car but it ended up being quite a long way from us.

We finished around 2 o’clock in the morning and had to drive home which really was not a good idea as we were both absolutely shattered. I think it felt like the longest drive of my life because I was desperately trying to stay awake in the passenger seat so I could keep talking to John to keep him awake. I honestly think I was feeling delirious by the time I did get home from fatigue and dehydration.

As always, the memory of the pain disappears as you look forward to conquering the next challenge of another long training day. So when the 12 hour day came John and I trained together again. This time we got dropped off 80 km out of town (we decided one way only was going to be the way to go). We only have 2 roads out of Paraburdoo: one that leads 80 km to Tom Price to the east and the other that we call Nanutarra Road that is 270 km to the main highway to Nanutarra Roadhouse to the west. We went that way and dropped off drinks every 10 km on the way to the starting point. I had been suffering with plantar fasciitis and had taken a couple of extra Voltaren in the hope that they would see me thru. I was petrified that I would get dropped off and then not be able to make it back because of my injury. John would then have to leave me to get help and that’s when the dingoes would eat me in the dark!!! Once again we set off at 4 pm and walked while the sun was still up. We had a few cars and trucks pass us in that time and we must have looked like a couple of real nutters out walking miles away from anywhere! Once it got dark we thought “the hell with this marching we want to run and get this over and done with”, so we ran any downhills and flats and walked up hills, which was sometimes difficult to know what was what in the dark. All was good to the “50 km to go” mark and I decided to take another Voltaren just because it seemed to have helped and I wanted it to stay that way. However, I overdosed and I think taking them with only gels and fluids in my gut wasn’t a good idea - actually it was really stupid L because another couple of km’s down the road I started to feel not quite so good in the stomach and decided that I couldn’t run - we would have to go back to “marching”. Anyway to cut a long story short, in the last 30 km I could only just tolerate water and was truly wishing that a dingo would come and eat me and put me out of my misery! At the 20 km mark out of town we both laid down on the road. It was about 2 am, me on the edge and John was lying more out on the road. We were on a slight bend which was not a good idea but if a car had come we would have heard it coming from miles away. The feeling of wanting to sleep was so strong and God it was so nice being off our feet because they were on fire! I left all my rice under a tree there as well, which I should have done about 75 km’s earlier on hindsight. At that point the thing that kept us going once we got up was cursing Budge and his training programme and how we would like to have him with us right now suffering with us and no way would we ever, ever do 12 hours again; 10 would be the absolute limit and for me I was never going to “march” again because look at me, I was injured and sick all because I wasn’t running!(sorry Budge we really have the highest respect for you but it felt good at the time!)

We were definitely a sorry looking pair walking back into town and by the time we made it back it was light and for the people that saw us I was hoping that they would think that we had just been out for a quick walk and not come in from 80 km away because they think we are nutters anyway at the best of times.

The Race

On a visit to Perth before I had commenced training I went into Trysport and saw Andrew. He told me that I needed to carry extra weight at the start of this race to enable me to have extra reserves to get thru easier by day 3 or so.

So as always I do like to do whatever Budge recommends but I wasn’t so sure when I was lining up the day before the race commenced, sporting a distinct muffin top over the top of my race pants. I’m pretty sure that isn’t exactly what he had meant. I can honestly say that I really didn’t feel like I was primed and in great shape like I usually do with Ironman racing.

The biggest thing about this race was the fact that we would be carrying everything that we needed for the week. I swear I packed and unpacked my backpack that many times!! I was carrying around 5 or 6 kg just in sports powders, add to that my dehydrated meals (I had one for each day and had thrown in 2 extra in case I got really hungry which I ended up not taking), snacks of sultanas, jelly beans, nuts and hot chocolate that I didn’t end up taking, a sleeping mat that was the size of a placemat and as thick (I was really looking forward to sleeping on that NOT! ), a sleeping bag , no pillow (and I like sleeping on 2 pillows) and I would be wearing the same race clothes for the week and had camp clothes of a pair of skins and a light t-shirt.

We also had compulsory items to carry such as toilet paper, wipes, lights, a compass, and a blister kit that I foolishly cut down by half by the time I had finished packing for the last time. On weigh-in day, my backpack was 10 kg but then I would be carrying 2 kg of water on top of that. Everyone else’s was around the same, all except John whose pack was about 7.5 kg. We accused him of trying to hide some secret from us all as he was now a veteran of this event after having done the Atacama; we tried hiding a couple of rocks in his pack but he found them!

We were bussed out of Kununurra to the first camp site and we all went our separate ways to find our tents and meet the people that we would be lying right next to for the next week. I think the worst thing about the camp was the fact that there were 4 portaloos for 198 competitors and around 60 or more Support /TV/Medical Crew, and even worse, they were right next to each other. I could see I was going to get over any inhibitions about bodily functions and body odour real quick.

Each day is a different distance depending on the terrain and the conditions. We had a late start for the first day of 37 km. It was so humid! The Kimberley’s had had a late wet season so there was plenty of water around and they have cane grass that grows around 6 ft or more. We followed pink marking tape tied to trees, cane grass and whatever else they could tie it to. I was caught up in a pack and was running, kind of, at least it wasn’t marching but whatever it was it felt like it was all done pretty blindly. There were holes and cracks in the ground that were covered by long grass. The word would just get passed down the line as you got to it “HOLE”!!!

We had quite a few creek crossings and when I finally finished that first day and took off my runners I was shocked at what my feet looked like they were pure white and just totally pruned up from having been wet all day. This was what brought so many competitors’ race to a halt a few days down the track from having wet feet for hours on end.

The first camp was in a dry river bed but we had water near by and got to lie in it and wash our race clothes and body. We had to sleep on top of these huge round stones and with my placemat mattress I figured I wouldn’t get much sleep. However, I discovered it was easy to reach under the ground sheet and pull away the rocks that were sticking in my back. I was quite comfy really apart from the fact that they had done away with the tent walls because it was so hot, so everyone was sleeping under gazebos and they were set up right next to each other. I lay right next to the Italian camp - they were all really hairy and slept on top of their sleeping bags in there jocks and snored all night every night but I scored some ear plugs and all was sweet.

John took a beating on Day 1 from the heat and humidity and this was to carry on for him into day 2 as he hadn’t been able to keep anything down and had to pull out of the race after 20 km or so. He had a rest day for day 3 and recuperated and then was able to go on and do day 4 and day 5 which was 100 km then onto the finish but was unfortunately not recognized as a finisher. Everyone else had come in OK on Day 1. Simon’s feet had taken a beating with blisters and these were to become infected by day 3 and he could not walk on them at all. Steph was to end up going the same way and by the morning of day 4 she had pus pouring out from the soles of both of her feet and had to pull out. Both Simon and Steph were driven back into Kununurra where they ended up at the hospital having their feet debrided and were put on antibiotics and we didn’t get to see Steph until the finish line but Simon came out in his car to see us all and to cheer Cassie on during her 100 km trek.

Day 4 was only 17 km but after a 2 km flat run along a dirt track it came to a gorge that was really steep and you virtually climbed for what ended up being close to 2 hours. I was flat and felt like I was out of fuel. The track was so rocky, even at the top, it was impossible to run. John caught up to me probably half way a long and in his group was another female competitor, it was enough to spur me on and pull out the reserves that were stored in that muffin top and I was off like a scalded cat.

The camp for night 4 was accessible only by helicopter so they could only drop of water, medical supplies and medical staff. We were sleeping under the stars; it was beautiful, it was all terraced and had a swimming hole. The only thing was there were a million ticks.

Cassie and I slept next to each other on our space blankets hoping that the ticks wouldn’t be able to walk on it. Even though it was hot I slept inside my sleeping bag and put on Aeroguard all night long. The ground was so hard it wasn’t a good sleep to start the 100 km on.

With the 100 km stage we had a 6 am start and quite a lot of water to get thru. We had to swim a couple of sections but part of our compulsory gear was a dry bag that you had to put your back pack in. I had scored Simons 90 litre bag so my back pack just plopped straight into it. Had it been the 35 litre bag that I had bought it would have been a tight fit and a struggle to get my pack into it. So I thought I had it pretty well made and would get thru really quickly. I refused to swim in my runners and I had a spare pair of socks just for the long day to change into half way thru the day. So I took off my runners and socks and put them in the dry bag. I got out the other end to put my shoes back on and found that everything was absolutely saturated: my water bottles had leaked a litre and a half of fluid into my shoes and my socks, spares and all!

It took me 3 hours to travel 10 km out of the gorge area; later along the road I was to pass Ben and John. I stayed with John and walked thru 2 aid stations in the middle of the day and at sunset from station 6 I decided to head off on my own. We had been told that they had sighted crocodile tracks between station 7 and 8 and try and be with someone if possible. It was in the back of my mind that I should wait but off I went and then when the sun went down completely I suddenly thought oh my god what if there are dingoes out here! The Dingo Whisperer returns.

There was a guy at station 7 who asked if I would run with him because of the croc advise we had been given, but after a few km’s he was travelling faster than I could at that stage, so he left me when another runner came from behind and they ran off together disappearing into the dark.

I wondered during that day if I would ever be able to run normally again or would I be destined to doing the “Cliffy Young shuffle” forever, as I felt like that is how I had ran the race each and every day. Looking back it was an awesome day and it was great when we were all finished and in camp 6 Cassie came in around 3 pm the following day. She had spent a little bit of time at station 6 where anyone could stay the night if they wanted to. She had got in around 2 am or so, and in the morning had stayed for 2 hours then headed off. She said she didn’t get any rest because there had been lots of people in and out of that station throughout the night. It was the only point on that day/stage where they had hot water for people to make their meals and Cassie said it had been too noisy to sleep there. I thought she had been terribly brave to head off out of there at 4 in the morning because you had to go across a salt flat that was quite muddy and slippery and at least I had picked my way across in the light. Anyway, when she came in to camp we cheered her in and my biggest comment was “Man you smell really bad!!!!!”

The last competitor arrived in at 6 pm so they had taken 36 hours. The majority of competitors had rested for large parts of that day and from the previous night. I have never ever seen so many people limping around, myself included, from blisters which managed to go septic instantly. I had only one foot that was bad but was quite stressed that I wasn’t going to make the last day which was going to be 12 km with rocks, cane grass, and we were told a swim across the river to start with. The organizers almost had a mutiny on their hands with this news but they decided because of the state of everyone’s feet, the finish was going to be 5 km only and we would be driven out to the start line and would start in waves. I was going in the last wave with Ben and we had to wait in camp till 11 o’clock that morning. I was so hungry as I hadn’t had a lot to eat, mainly because I had nothing left! (My muffin top had gone as well). Lying back watching everyone limp by as they left to go to the finish line was quite entertaining. There was a team of 4 guys whose feet were really really bad and as they shuffled pass we were laughing and telling them that they looked like Geisha girls the way they were walking but at the awards night I felt really bad when the story was told that they had taken 2 hours to do that last 5 km and that one of the guys had actually de-gloved both of his little toes. Ouchy!!!

I was still wondering how I was going to do 5 km. I had 2 pain killers left that I had to time right but once I got warmed up, I was running almost normally. My backpack was now probably only about 2 kg or less. I managed to get in under 30 mins and finishing was truly glorious and finally having a shower and putting on clean clothes after a week was even more glorious.

It was a fantastic adventure and I would like to do another race one day. The Gobi Desert in China appeals to me for some reason but right now I want to get back into Ironman for a bit. I think what I really liked most was the camp and spending the 7 days with 8 other people: strangers at the beginning but in the end they felt like a special family. Everyone looked out for each other and if someone got in late or was suffering really bad everyone else would get their meal together for them and set up their bed (can you believe people had blow up mattresses that folded down into nothing. I am so going to have to get one of them next time, with a pillow!).

For anyone that would like a taste of what the country was like, Racing The Planet is holding a 100 km race in Kununurra in September 2011. It promises all of the terrain we had and more and I know I want to be at the start line as long as I don’t have to do any 12 hour pack marches to train for it!