ALPINE CHALLENGE 100 mile -28-29th November 2015
First I would like to thank everyone for their words of support & encouragement throughout the entire event. As well as all the messages once I crossed the finishing line. I was overwhelmed as my amazing crew Sharon Kearney & husband Phil kept me informed of all your kind messages. You all became part of my epic journey.
For this entire year I had been preparing myself for this challenge. Every bit of training, sacrifices, dedication & commitment proved successful. It still seems so surreal that I have conquered the Alpine 100 Miler.
With a 55% of DNF’s no more words are needed to describe the extreme toughness of this challenge. Not just due to elevation (7300m) or the extreme changes of temperatures (warm in valleys & cool on the mountain tops) but the ongoing & endless roughness of the terrain for the entire 160km’s. The beautiful Victorian Alp’s soon became my ongoing enemy. Making me dig deep to find every ounce of energy & mental toughness to tackle the next climb or decent over each peak. It was without doubt a mind game.
Mount Bogong the first was amazing. On reaching the summit at only 35k in, I suddenly get a true perspective of the terrain around me and what I was about to come up against. The terrain was unforgiving underfoot and at times the trail became an obstacle course of crossing rivers and climbing over & under fallen trees.
Totally dependent on running rivers for water for many parts of the course, soon made me ration & carefully navigate myself on the unmarked course. It became a relief if I came across another runner & joined them for awhile. But with many dropping out of the field throughout the afternoon runners soon became far apart. I was determined to make it over Mt Nelse to Pole 333 & up to the top of Mt Hotham before the sun set. Seeing the wild Brumbies on the high plains was amazing.
It was night fall when I got to see my crew again. Now 89km’s in I was fatigued cold & extremely overwhelmed to greet a smiley Sharon & Phil. I was now about to face a tough descending leg into a valley in the darkness. My body was shutting down wanting rest & solid foods were not going to sit. So a warm cup of soup, warm night clothing & wanting some company to tackle the darkness ahead. It was at this checkpoint I joined forces with another runner Mat who was also battling. Both our crews eagerly encouraged us to stick together & fight out the night taking some stress of them as well.
Into the darkness we headed with our next checkpoint being Harrietville. In this leg we also teamed up with another runner Robby also keen to defeat the miler. Time passed quickly in the darkness & our pace was slower. The three of us all knew we had yet to tackle Mt Feathertop in the darkness after a reunion in the middle of the night with our crews.
The ascent up Mt Feathertop was a killer. Our bodies tired, legs burning & only running on pure mental adrenaline. As we reached the summit amongst the clouds, wind & frosty cold air that burnt our skin the three of us soaked up the defeat for a brief second before heading back down. The sun had just risen & the realization that we had now been on our feet for over 24 hours was mind blowing. The Alp’s had also given us a frosty wind to face as the sun rose behind the clouds.
As we headed back to pole 333 after checking in at another checkpoint. It was here when we were informed of the overnight DNF’s & we were traveling in the top 10 finishes.The highlands knocked us all around. It had been over 8 hours since we had seen our crew & even with each other’s company we all were desperate to see them. On greeting them into the next day it was very emotional. We knew we had to keep moving & our stop had to be brief. We were all desperate to hit the final leg to that finish line. Along with the realization that I was now traveling in as 1st female. I had survived the night & now just needed to keep it together & keep my pace.
The last leg home to Bogong Village finishing line seemed endless. My legs were burning, body tired & thankfully my feet had gone numb. Mat had stuck by my side throughout the day while unfortunately we had to leave Robby at the last checkpoint for some war wounds that needed patch ups.
I crossed the line with Mat taking out 1st female. I HAD DEFEATED the 100 mile Alpine challenge. 6 major climbs in just under 35 hours.
It was an emotional finish not just for myself but for my crew Phil & Sharon. They were there for the entire journey through my highs & lows. Their commitment to reach checkpoints some on foot for several Km’s to deliver me my nutrition & encouragement. I could not have achieved this without them.
Katherine Stark , Thank you for following me the whole way even when you could not be there, via communicating through Phil & Sharon.
WHAT IS NEXT…well I think I need a couple of good nights sleep & rest. Along with my crew who after putting up with me for 35hrs also need a medal.
Love My Running 😊
Find out more about this event and the race results here.
Kathryn's Running Tales 