Lessons I learnt just Running in 2021

The latest addition Kurumi meaning Walnut

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”“This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.”

― Dalai Lama XIV

 

King's Park Perth November 2021

The year 2021 . Another year of control, restraint ,closed borders and uncertainty and lots of worry . For West Australians we have been fortunate . The border closure and restrictions have to some degree set a different tangent of outcomes. I was certain of my position and views .I have now tempered my views .They have not changed but my compassion and understanding of others has. Without rehashing the whole year of training and discovery which are set out in the blog , I have set out below some valuable lessons .

I have tried to distill the main points I think I have learnt about myself in this journey we call life this year .Not to look back or forward but to understand . Aside from finally doing a miler ,the main lesson or revelation has been Meditation.After Wild Goose Chase 100km in June I started to meditate more and even up to an hour a day spread out over the day.Some sessions troubled with thoughts others sheer moments of emptiness of thought and bliss in that I had no thought , no feeling , no worry , no concern.The revelation has been as I meditated more the more I felt at ease with everything.The stress of the day , of life seems to have melted away ,at least for the moment and I seemed to have an inner peace to deal with greater clarity anything in front of me. 

 I learnt a new word...Equanimity .I learnt to not take everything to heart , to react to let every action, thought comment consumed me. In a way , to disassociate from everything but still be connected seems to be the way . To recognize we are all the same energy . I began to subscribed to Tricycle and started listening to the Secular Buddhist ( thank you Chailee) . Rob then suggested listening to Ajahn Brahm and I found the WA Buddhist Society and lots of dharma talks and guided meditations. I read Shinzen Youngs Book the Science of Enlightenment ( well had in on an audio file) It is a work in progress as having had the book read , it needs more then one reading for the understanding to sink in.  But it has helped. 

I did the Coursera Yale course the Science of Happiness at the beginning of the year and it more or less reinforced all the concepts I was picking up .Meditation , and many other helpful hints to deal with life in the course there was a suggestion to keep a gratitude journal which I did for a short while and will return to that in the new year. 

 

Being Conscious of the moment

The main lesson is to live ,conscious of the moment ,the here and now.The past is a memory it is tampered by our unreliable mind and the future is not here. By living in the moment we are enjoying what we have in the now. As one of the many talks I have heard , we can never dip our feet in the same river . To be in the moment is what we should strive for and meditation helps with that.

I have reoriented my goals . Running has not been about winning . I have always been a back of the pack athlete but it was about striving for goals.I realized that I it just made the exercise tiresome and one dimensional. All along I could have been enjoying the total experience of the exercise rather then focused on a time , a result.Its like striving to identify a new insect whilst missing the beauty of the insect or nature.Both reasonable quest but one certainly more inspiring and revealing then the other.

I have learnt to be less judgmental ...On myself and others.In the past I would determine what is good and what is bad. The world has both and more so mixtures of both in all . Whether it is in professional or social life there is no one dimension of the cartoon good vs evil. I have had to hold my tongue and be kind and to not be so quick to judge . A lesson I wish I had learnt 30 years ago and a lesson I am still learning as it is easy to divide the world in black and white .

Impermanence

A very  Buddhist concept but everything is an illusion because we see the world in and through the prism of our mind. A faulty and unreliable machine. As such life is impermanent , we humans strive for stability , happiness and a good life. All concepts that have no meaning . 

 The true goal in Buddhism isn’t to achieve happiness. It’s to achieve liberation or freedom. Once you’ve come to understand that life is impermanent, you can transcend this pursuit of happiness and the constant running away from fear that is so common in our lives and learn to live by letting go. Letting go is the path to real freedom. Letting go of the idea that we are permanent and understanding that we are impermanent and death is a fantastic way to do this. To practice death is to practice freedom. Yet, the only requirement to be happy is to be free. Happiness is the result, but happiness isn’t the goal, and there are two things we can confidently say about death. It is an absolute certainty that we will die, and it is uncertain when or how we will die. The past is past and the future is not yet here, and even the present as we experience it, it becomes that past. Really, the only thing we really have is now. It is only when we believe things to be permanent that we shut off the possibility of learning from change. Sogyal Rinpoche says, “Life is nothing but a continuing dance of birth and death. It’s a dance of change.” 

From Noah Rasheta Secular Buddhism

 By understanding Impermanence and having that freedom we will be happier or really liberated.

There is the concept of the three poisons in Buddhism, which is thinking that there are things that if we can have, we’ll be happier. If there are things that we can avoid, we’ll be happy, and the third one is ignorance. It’s the ignorance of thinking that way. 

The truth is that the present moment contains everything that is perfect Milarepa, a famous Tibetan poet says, “My religion is to live and die without regret.” 

In one of Noah Raheta's  podcast . He sets out 11 tools :

The first one is meditation The second tool is to be present. Meditation is the practice for being present. You know that feeling when someone has been talking to you then suddenly you realize, you actually haven’t been paying attention so you kind of have to pause and say, “Wait, say that again.” Yeah, this is the opposite of that. Being present is something that you do throughout the day all the time and you have to remember, and remembering is the trick The third tool is to watch for distractions. We constantly have the urge to check e-mail, check social media. Then fourth, we’re going to let go of all expectations and here’s the thing. We all have expectations all the time.Life is like a Tetris game and we need to quit playing it like it’s chess game That leads us to the fifth tool, accepting people as they, accepting life as it is. This kind of leads to the sixth tool, to learn to be okay with discomfort. The seventh tool, watch your resistance. When you try to do something uncomfortable or you try to give up something, you’re going to find resistance, but you can just watch the resistance and be curious about it. The eighth tool for mindful living is to be curious. See, too often, we’re just stuck in our ways and we think that we know how things should be. We know how people are, how people should be and instead of being curious in finding out, we need to allow ourselves to experiment and let go of what you think you know he ninth step, is to learn to be grateful. The tenth one is to let go of control. the eleventh step. This to me is the most important one. It’s to learn to be compassionate. 

 Death ,Karma and Mindful Living... the Secular Buddhist by Noah Rasheta 

Then from a different perspective there is an interesting interview by Rich Roll with Tommy Rivs about his dealing with cancer and his perspective of life . Not so much from a religious perspective but embracing some of the rules Noah set out for really accepting and living life fully .

Rich Roll podcast interview with Tommy Rivs , A poet of endurance and philosopher of the human spirit, Tommy is a highly credentialed elite marathoner and ultrarunner with many victories and accolades to his name.

Finally a Deepak Chopra interview in You Tube:

 If I could sum up the year it was:

Firstly calming the mind by meditation

Learning to really embrace the moment  

Living with Gratitude and Kindness

Being present not reactive

Not trying to be , letting go of desire.Whether it is to finish a race in a specific time or a material possession .

Not having ego.

 

Finally in the journey of meditation I come across a fair bit of Thich Nhat Hand's  thoughts and articles and meditation practices On his 95th birthday Tryclce did a short piece titled 

Ten Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh for His 95th Birthday

A selection of wisdom and practices from the Vietnamese Zen master and peace activist .

We can learn much from his teachings.

Here's to a 2022 where we learn to embrace and develop these worthy skills.Robert Wright said 

Meditation isn’t the only path to peace, but it might be the simplest and best one.

Why Buddhism is true Robert Wright on the wisdom of mindfulness meditation.

 

 

THE POET OF ENDURANCE RAGES ON: SURVIVING CANCER, THE GIFT OF PAIN & THE HEALING POWER OF GRATITUDE

TOMMY RIVS

THE POET OF ENDURANCE RAGES ON: SURVIVING CANCER, THE GIFT OF PAIN & THE HEALING POWER OF GRATITUDE

Post Feral Training Week 51 -52

Kings Park Hill workouts on Mount Street(below)

After Feral 100 miler ,I had a month of a slow recovery and then a start towards training for Delirious 200 miler. There is the logistics to plan and the crew and that has been good.I made the decision to run delirious only a few weeks after Feral as I felt it was necessary to be calm , to work though the issues and most importantly the Why .That had changed from another challenge this past year to more a journey of discovery and an opportunity to experience the highs and lows and to embrace all the feelings and emotion both good and bad. It is in a way a test of all that I have learnt but not a test to pass but to experience .To be in the moment and to enjoy in nature. First 3 weeks was just walking for 30 minutes as I recovered /I had a good rest with lots of meditation that helped.Only casualties was 2 toe nails. From the end of November I started back on a plan . First week in December I had 4 hours with 2 hours just on the bike path and then drove to Busselton to watch Ironman and on Sunday ran for 2 hours as well.

Following the first week the routine build has been a hill session and a speed session and an easy run and then long runs on the weekend with some walking on sand . It has been a nice easy build. 

 

City Beach walk on Sand 12 December 2021

 

The Feral 100 miler 6 November 2021

  “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. 

Breathing out, I smile. 

Dwelling in the present moment 

I know this is the only moment.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

 

 

 

    

                                            I live, I breathe
                                            I let it rain on me
                                            I sleep, I wake
                                            I try hard not to break
                                            I crave, I love
                                            I've waited long enough
                                            I try as hard as I can

                                                                  

 

                            

Sunrise Mt Cooke

 

Remarkably as I finished my first miler late afternoon on Sunday 7 November 2021, the thrill , the overwhelming relief , joy and high I use to get from such events is not there. The odd feeling was no doubt of achievement , of quiet thankfulness , the overwhelming satisfaction of kindness ,love and concern that I felt from everyone around from the MFR group I have been with for over a year , Rob , the Vollies, the runners at the back of the pack and the spectators at the finish line  . This remarkable transformation for me over a year has been down to the coaching of Rob in respect to 2 aspects of running :

• Not about speed and physicality , but the mental ( though training is important) 
• the sort of the spirituality of running if there was such a concept .

For me the meditation and scaling it up has calmed my thought processes, that as others had described as though the colour of life around me has become so present and magnified. The sole training of the mind to remain in the present seems to calm the soul and mind that no event , incident ,emergency or episode has jarred me like situations in the past. 

15 years ago as I started swimming in the Ocean I recall the anxiety attacks which I dealt with by confronting it head on and with just sheer determination of practice to overcome and I learned to love the ocean for the freshness and openness with nature.Though that same fear and anxiety would come back from time to time.

This time the mind has become the control as we cannot change our external forces but we can control how we see the world .It is our mind and emotions that really determine our flow in the world and how we see , feel and react to the external forces. It makes me realize quickly what I can effect and what I cannot and to accept with equanimity the situation. It has been an eye opener. It is still a learning journey of decades but one I enjoy starting. Oddly the more I have meditated the more I do not worry or stress .As I train , it has become more the default set to my mind. For that I am thankful .It is never perfect but we are never perfect, we strive to be and that is the journey. 

So there as the race is finished , the lows of the day and the highs of the day seem to even out.Is that good or bad.Well for an emotional heart on the sleeve character possibly I miss out on the highs , the tears of joy crossing the finish line, but oddly I felt so much joy seeing Jonathan finish I was moved to shed a few tears (maybe it was the tiredness seeping through,but it was gladness for what he had achieved) .This time round there was none of that .Maybe I was just so tired or like the highs they had been filed down by the mind as were the lows. I honestly had no low points or points I felt I had loss control. At the end the tiredness was overwhelming but not sufficient for me to stop ,just slow down.

The start of this long journey goes back to 2019 when Feral was cancelled (extreme heat that weekend and the Bib was shut down) I know why now. I did do the 50km run on Sunday and that was hot . I had run into Rob literally as he was training for a journey run in Sumbawa a few weeks earlier. I knew him as the Aura President . I then spent the next year 2020 not really training but having spurts of activity .It was a weird year. A Covid year. My entry rolled to 2020 and I started the Feral at midnight and 15 km into the race it was over as I walked and shuffled to Sullivan's rock and threw in the towel . That started the call to rob and the Mind Focused training . It was not easy . Goose in June the first test was a DNF .I was wanting to give up at 40km . Rob at Big G calmly said just go for another loop and it worked. The hallucinations the cold night the solitude did not freak me out. I was coming to understand the importance of the acceptance of everything or equanimity with everything a race will and does throw at runners. But the disappointment of being pulled 5km from the finish line after being sent the wrong way on the last loop was a lesson to be learnt. Not quite accepting yet.Not quite understanding equanimity .

The next test WTF again was a DNF . Quads blew up on the downhills. But there was an acceptance and calmness . I learnt sometimes tough decisions have to be made but it is knowing when to make them. I could have struggled through WTF or rested and went round the next day. Maybe again fate had played a hand . I was pretty Ok after a few days and able to pace Jon in Delirious 10 days later. That was an experience in 4 days and knowing I could handle the conditions, the trail ,the low spirits and there were lots was heartening. I saw lot of great runners and how they handled themselves .I saw the beauty of running without expectation and worry .

Those were the seeds of a rather unorthodox preparation for Feral 100 2021 but a WTF DNF meant Feral was a chance for redemption and practicing what I had learnt. If things are going to go wrong and they inevitably do we must learn to accept with equanimity that which is thrown at us and we know we have the strength to deal with these curve balls.

The lead up to the race started with a race planner 2 weeks before the race .A little late but better then none. I had practice with WTF a month earlier. Downloaded the course again on Garmin and GAAI .  Had all my lights and batteries recharged. Got my 2 power banks .Got food , lots of nuts , bars and lollies, coke , chocolate milk and coconut juice and even noodles at the Perth Hills Discovery Centre  aid station. 

Had my running gear sorted and shoes and socks . I felt confident that I had prepared well. The only time I felt some anxiety was the long ride out to North Bannister on Albany Hwy. Meditating was hard .I did try. Then at 1120pm we arrive and there is just a dirt road and darkness . As Shaun gathered the 45 runners round a clearing in a circle he spoke about the adventure , the new found mates around us , savor the moment .It will come with the lowest of moments but  we can do this. That is my limited foggy recollection .But I will forever remember looking up into that star lit night and I thought how lucky am I standing here about to start this adventure and I am surrounded by so much of this great southern night sky . At that moment there really was no fear anxiety or worry I knew it was the right thing to do whatever happened I was doing this because I wanted to .I was in the moment and I was feeling everything I could from the moment.Nothing else matted. For that little gathering I must thank Shaun as it forced me to look up .

Without much fanfare at just 11.59 Emma counted down the start and off we went heading towards Albany Highway on a 3km loop and then back to the start . I was at the back and continued running down Albany Hwy till someone shouted the turn around  was the Hwy. Back I came . I just ran my own race and probably after passing the start line and about 8-10 km into the race ran into Rosa and Ash . I stuck with them as there was no race strategy other then not to go out hard. That continued till they got to Nerang and used the toilets.I went ahead thinking they would catch me pretty quick but it wasn't till we were at the foot of Mt Cooke that I saw them coming.That was about 30km into the race. We climbed it together and fortunately did not get too lost we had a spectacular sunrise waiting for us. Timing was good.

Rosa's picture of the sunrise

the 3 of us on Mt Cooke

Climbing Mt Cooke

It was a further 10-12km to Sullivan's Rock and the First Aid station.Got there just before 7am >I had my tailwind refilled and coke and coconut water. A quick bite of a small muffin . Just a bit too dry and I headed off and waited for Rosa and Ash at the top of the rock .As they came we followed the course on my gpx and we were back on the bib heading for Brookton Hwy Aid station about 31-32 kms away. The sun was up and this section Rosa said had a fair bit of climbing and gnarly sections . There was a fair bit of climbing and then some good down hill sections There is Mt Cuthbert and Mt Vincent on the course. We stuck together till about 5km out Ash dropped off the pace and Rosa and I ran into Brookton .It was warming up . I had a good break and refueled .Had a hash Brown . By this stage I had taken 2 Nurofen and 2 Panadol and 1 salt tablet.As it turned out may have not had enough salt during the run.i had an icy pole and headed out of the Aid Station.With Rod there all went well . I got a cold Ginger beer and that helped with the hydration. I think I had 15 or 20 minutes at the aid station .Changed my top and headed out. Checked with Rob and Shannon that Mt dale I thought was 13km but maybe 17.8 km. Got to Brookton after 1.15pm and I think I left at 1.40 or 45pm

As Rob crossed Brookton hwy with me it was on to the next Aid Station .I was now 73km into the race. A km down the road I started to get sick and had my first spew. Then a toilet stop in the woods . Felt a bit better but should have realized the lack of salt despite the hash brown with salt was not going to be enough. This section I was alone as Rosa was still resting at Brookton. I did get passed by one of the guys with his pacer near the Mt Dale Hut .We all thought the aid station was here but it was a few more kms away .We got there in the end. Great to see the Mt Dale Aid station with Harmony and had a rest. I was making the cut offs and I had got there by 4pm . The next Aid station was Beraking. I did get a little lost but just before Beraking Rosa caught up with me .Great to have company and I managed to keep up with her. Beraking was about 11.5 km away and was about the 98km mark of the course. Alexis who was sweeping the Start to Brookton was there putting in a long day and night like Rob .  Great to see them and managed to get a hot cup of green tea. We were there about 6 pm .I was not able to hold down much and had spewed a bit more . I had some water melon and kept drinking as much as I could but knew I was not getting enough food or fluids in. Again no panic just accepting that I was still able to move forward. The last leg to Allen's was about 13 km and was dark and we both set off as Kate came in with the sweeper Mark. They caught up with us along the way and we soldiered on. This was a long slow stretch I think it took us about 9 or 10 pm and then the last push to PCHC . Kate had a rest at Allens as we started off from Allen's . I had a bit to drink and some fruit. This was a gnarly section with lots of climbing and un-runable sections ,not that we were running . I just recall how long and slow this section was . Rosa eventually dropped me about 5km I guess from PHDC . This section took a lot of time and I got in at about 3 am . I think we would have left Allen's around 10pm but that is my best guess as my Garmin had reset when I was recharging it and in the end died at the Kalamunda turnaround. I was cold and feeling really tired.

Camel farm Aid station having a melon

Kalamunda Aid Station

Camel Farm

Crossing the Weir

At the finish

Rob smiling , me not so much

On the last leg

 

I had a rest for about an hour .BK had just finished so he was sitting at the finish line telling me how tough the out and back course was ...he called it the Death Loop. Didn't quite register as I was just trying to get warm and have a little sleep Jon Storey did have a go at BK for being so discouraging. remember that much. Did not work .Harmony came over and I did mention I was just waiting for Rob and she offered to wake him up.He came over and we agreed we would leave as soon as he was ready and I think we left soon after 4am. It was dark and  I just followed him out . It was a slow march but anything slightly downhill he encouraged me to jog and I was able to do it. I don't remember much else. Accept seeing Shaun and Sarah and his pacer coming back and Shaun giving Rob and me a hug. Then it was off down and up the weir .A bit of discussion about whether to follow Mundaring Weir road but we found the point to cross Mundaring weir Road and then the long walk up hill and there were lots .I could not recall how many hills there were .

Glad to get to the Camel Farm aid station and had a cup of tea which I kept down. A short rest and then we headed for Kalamunda. Ran into Glen and Darlene as we were heading to the Powerline and they said it was only a gnarly 4km section. I wasn't really projecting other then moving forward. We also ran into Rosa as they were heading down the climb and we pushed ahead but Rosa caught me on the climbs . We also had the runners for the 23km start rushing down as we headed up to Jorgensen park. It was good to get to the turn around .had a bit of fruit and a coke and then started the last leg back. It was on the climb back down when I had another spew. . But it was just knowing that there was no projecting just dealing with the moment. No expectation . My watch had died ( forgot to switch the power bank at PHDC Aid station) and I was relying on Rob's watch and following him .This did make me slightly disorientated as I really could not recognize the Bib course

Towards the end ,I was really tired with the heat and the lack of food ,suggesting to Rob we have a rest when he told me that we were at the end. Nothing in the last 4 hours of the Bib looked familiar other then the Weir and the road crossing. In fact I thought Rob was taking me on an extra long course as a test .Not quite delirious but just rationalizing the time I was out on the last leg. Importantly I was not disagreeing but prepared to take the challenge? It wasn't and we were pretty much on the bib course all the time , again the importance of being focused in the moment. 

The finish was an anticlimax. I was relieved to finish but as stated above there was none of the raw unbridled emotion. A quiet sense of finishing what I set out to do and comfortable with my effort. 

As I drove home , collapsed into a deep sleep  and after letting everything sink in, I have identified the learning's both practical and more esoteric:

 1 Definitely prepare for the unknown in that to expect the unexpected.Here my throwing up which I had not experienced before

2 Meditation in the weeks leading to the run were valuable

3 re evaluating my food , nutrition and salt intake before a race is now critical. I will have to put more effort into the food intake and what is in the drop bags.

4 Again the sense of calm and gratitude was invaluable especially in the moments alone and in the dark. Absolutely no anxiety which was a regular feature of my races  

5 An absolute sense of gratitude I was able to race , to be in the moment , to take part , to be in nature ,amongst a great group of people , friends and finish.

lost nails post run

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The strava map of the run incomplete as Garmin died about 18km from the end

Delirious 200 miler 2021 5-11October 2021 A pacers perspective

A Wildworld

 

If there is any lesson to be learnt in this adventure called Delirious 200, it is that there is joy and friendship and gratitude even when the spirit is low.

 

I had never paced or crewed a runner but last year in 2020 just before the Covid lock down I had volunteered to pace Jonathan Smith a local WA runner who I had met whilst training for UTA in 2019.

We had done a few walks prior to the race In particular in 2020 on Australia Day we walked from Cottesloe to Mullaloo and back , 50km overnight. Then last year we tried to walk Cape to Cape but made it to Gracetown before it got too dark to cross the river mouth further ahead at night. We managed 50km and a further 20km the next day.

He had failed to finish Delirious 2020 having gut issues just before Walpole so this was a second go at a very difficult race postponed again in February 2021 with WA having a lock down in February the usual month for Delirious.

 

That is the synthesis of the start of Delirious 2021  on 5 October 2021 at Northcliffe. I missed that start line heading down to Walpole and along the way meeting Jonathan at the aid stations .I got lost at Dog Aid station so missed him .That was about 50 km into the race and saw him at Broke inlet 85km in and then again at Mt Clara aid station on Thursday morning about 10km before Walpole. This was a particularly hard section as there was lots of water . Jonathan or 99 as his bib number (aka Barbara after agent 99 actress in Get Smart) was now a few hours behind his expected finish times at the various aid stations but this was only day one . I returned to Walpole to meet up with Sam main support crew member with all the gear (tents and stove) and leave my car and wait for Jonathan to arrive . He got in before 1pm  and had a shower and sleep .

Sam and I at Walpole waiting for Jon

Tingle?

 

Walpole to Tree Top Walk 

We set off at 4pm for Giant Tingle tree Aid station and then the Tree Top walk .The distance to Tingle was 7.5km and then about 23 km to Giant  . All that I recall of this section is as we started it was light but within 90 minutes it was getting dark and then the torches are out. It starts to drizzle and then rain as we walk through the Forrest. It is a quick stop at Tingle with Sam there and chance to get water and some food down .It was then on to Giant walk . Again lots of water on the track and it rained for a bit . By now it was pretty late and we were hoping to have a sleep at Giants so rang Sam and asked if he could set up the tent. When we got there and looked at the course and aid stations we discovered we had a cut off at Conspicuous Beach  which was 8am the next day meaning Friday so we had no time to rest we just had to leave after Jonathan had his foot looked at by the medic. We did the tree top walk and waited for the medic. After that we left heading for Conspicuous Cliffs.

 

Tree Top Walk to Peaceful Bay

From Giants it was just trying to stay awake and conscious of cut off .  For Jonathan it 2 nights with less then 3 hours sleep. I don't remember much other than after the Conspicuous beach aid station it was getting warmer ,it was mid morning by then and we had to be at peaceful bay by 3pm .This was a 30km section from Tree Top and lots of scrub and undergrowth . This is where Fee and Mick her pacer passed us and then we were all stopped by a snake possibly dugite or brown and a large one.A call to the Race Director Scott and we got the ok to take an access road then called back to go back on the path and not divert.We lost about an hour. Jonathan and I accepted the decision . Fee not so much . In retrospect after the race I accepted it was part of the race there would be snakes and we would just have to work our way round them . The snake eventually moved . We saw 3 more after that and I just tried to cause as much vibration through noise so they move off the path. We got to Peaceful bay with 10 or 20 minutes to spare .I was ahead of Jonathan and probably too far ahead but wanted to get in as quickly as possible to get food and water before Jonathan came in and Sam able to focus on Jon .

 

Jon at Peaceful Bay

Peaceful Bay Caravan Park with Rob

Peaceful bay

 

 

Peaceful Bay to Parry's Beach

We were out of Peaceful bay at 3 and had some fish and chips before heading to Boat Harbor.This involved a 6-7km track to the inlet mouth where we had to canoe across the inlet . There was Roy Chipperfield , Fee and Lou her pacer and us . Great fun with the sweeper Clarkey going all the way to Parry's Beach. This ended being the hardest part . As the sun set we were on the beach heading for boat harbor . This was my second night out and Jon's third .The waves were thundering into the beach as the sun set and there was no one for miles .If anything it was the most beautiful part of the race but then as the sun set the real slog started. Lots of climbing in the dark as we swung inland for the most part before eventually getting back to the beach front trying to find the route to the aid station.It was dark and both Jon and  I were hallucinating .I kept seeing the lights in front of other racers as though they were going in and out of cafes and walkways .Jon had the same hallucination. Our spatial awareness was stuffed and kept feeling like we were on walkways and on a ledge. At the end there was a 1km trek inland to the aid station over 2 water courses which were up to my shorts in freezing cold water in the dark and in the rain with wind thrown in. I was at the lowest ebb then.Fee was really cold and all I remember she had waded through the water and Lou was using her foil blanket to keep her warm as she lay on the ground with Lou trying to cover her in the foil with the wind just blowing at the foil blanket. We got to the aid station and stayed there. I tried to have a sleep . Jon tried to rest in a chair.Eventually  Fee Left and we then got thrown out just after midnight. (we got shown a way round the 2 water courses) Roy was with us with the sweeper as we slowly walked to Parry's beach about 12km away. I recall a discussion with Jon about he was happy if he finished here as he now knew his limits. This was a really hard session. There was just lots of up and down on the track and we could not really make out the trail. Lots of rain and wind. Remember my Garmin going out and then another few hours of just Jon and me. Struggling though the howling wind and passing a few others .Then we were  alone and by then the wind had died down as we got into Parry about 5 or 6am . I thought at that point we were out.Despite the low point surprisingly there was no stressing and angst .Surprisingly or maybe just dog tired there was an acceptance of the outcome. I had found the race so far whilst tough surprisingly serene in many ways .There was the absolute beauty of the coast despite the wet conditions and I would be forever grateful for the experience. Sam and Ralph were there so we went straight to bed . I was out in a few minutes. The next morning about 4 hours later Sam wakes me up and says Jon has gone.They woke him up after an hour and Ralph was pacing him to Monkey Rock. I felt so much better after the sleep and had a quick piece of toast and headed with Sam, to Monkey Rock. We saw Jon through safely and the clock was now on to get to Denmark Recreation Centre by 3 pm Saturday 10 October 2021.I had the luxury of a few hours till 3pm to get ready for the last push

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conspicuous Beach

 

 

 

 

Denmark Recreation Centre to Cosy Corner

 This was the last night session .From the Recreation Centre it was by car / wagon to Nullaki Jetty and there was Roy, Fee and her pacer and Jon and me. We got there at about 3.45pm and after the picture at the Jetty we started off heading to lowlands. About 23 kms . We were on our own for the most part .My lights went towards the last few kms . There was fairly large burnt out part of the forrest /bush in this section and as there was no wind it was fairly still .We got in before the rest of the group although we could see and hear them at some points . I managed to recharge my lights and have some pot noodles and then an hour sleep or sort of sleep . We the headed out . At this point we were feeling like we were making reasonable progress with getting to Cosy Corner in the morning by 8am . The others eventually caught up with us with Kelli sweeping from the back. Jon was tired and we were really slow in this section as it was the 4th night for him and the third night for me .Fortunately it was a reasonable night with no rain and the temperature was fine. We had the beautiful light as the sun broke . We managed to push through and get to Cosy Corner before the rest. We were now within reach when just earlier today all hope was lost.

 

   

 Sandpatch to Finish 

 

 

 

 

The easiest part for me as it was a 10km run from 1pm with the deadline cut off of 3pm but before we started we were informed that as the last 3 runners had been given the wrong directions they were given an extra 45 minutes to finish the race. We just needed a few more minutes as we crossed the line at about 3.05pm .It was hot and Jon was definitely tired .340kms tends to do that. It was overwhelming. I was glad to have been part of the run for 165kms of it .I got to test myself in all sorts of weather and terrain .Learnt about digging deep and the mind oddly was calm for the most part. I did get reactive regarding the snakes just voicing disappointment in having been diverted onto the access road only to be called back Jon felt the same way but we really just got on with it . The only other flare up of emotion was wading through water to get to the Boat Harbor aid station. That was a low point but again we just plodded on . Again in retrospect we had nothing to complain about everyone had the same course and the RDs could not get the vehicle down to the beach because of the water obstacles so we had to go to the aid station.Just made it really hard.

 

The end was a relief and emotionally draining.After 4 days with 5 hours of sleep I felt done and shed a tear just getting there . Just felt I had given it everything but then you find there is always more to give. As we both found when we had thought all was lost at Parry's beach, a sleep later and there was a chance to live to fight another day and we did.

Lessons learnt

1. Getting the time and pace is crucial as far as finding sleep spots
2. having a camper van at aid stations will help
3. Eating at the aid stations
4. have back up lights after both my sets went on the way to Lowlands ( we thought we were out so we did not have a chance to get our gear sorted out from Parrys but we regrouped) 
5. trying for an hour or 2 of sleep along the way would have helped .Working out where to aim for the night runs and trying to aim for a pace that was sustainable knowing we would slow at night especially .So sleeping at night for an hour or 2 may be more effective . Possibly a recce of the course may help
   
6. getting crew and pacers help as when tired after 2 days ,decisions are really going to be hard and better made by fresh heads.
7. foot preparation especially in wet trails crucial as it slowed down many runners . My feet were pretty good as I had only 2 blisters .Did change shoes twice as they were soaked through and had fresh socks and I used nappy rash cream on my feet .
8. Always have back up power sources for the watch and phone.
   

Facebook Post following Delirious:

 Rob Donkersloot:

What an amazing week that was witnessing Mind Focused Running team members take on and conquer the Delirious West 200 mile race from Northcliffe to Albany on the Bibbulmun Track. Watching Fee Salmons overcome the incredible hurdles she was facing and struggling with cutoffs was incredibly emotional, Kevin Matthews absolutely proving he can finish a race that's over 100km and running it superbly while all the time focusing on the number one goal... to smell the roses while getting the DNF monkey off his back and lastly Nick O'Neill who found out that focusing on experience rather than performance doesn't mean you give up a great result; third place, sub 3 days plus a one hour PB all the while relishing having his teenage daughters crew for him. So very very proud of each of their performances.

But as well as that, and equally as important were all the other Mind Focused Running team who were at the event crewing, pacing or volunteering showing what a special group MFR is Louise Wallace, Alexis Oosterhoff Natalie Beasley Linda Phillips Bill Irving Kelli O'Neill Rebecca Kirkwood Emma Luscombe Peta Moore Jodie Phillips and the honorary MFR Sue Murray. I should make special mention of John Cooke who after not quite getting his miler done at WTF a few weeks ago ended up pacing Jonathan Smith for close to 170km, an incredible performance. That's 14 Mind Focused Runners participating at Delirious in one shape or another, over half the team... brilliant guys!

Jonathan Smith :

Delirious West 200 Miler - Oct 2021

4 days later and the swelling has gone down and I can finally see my kneecaps. I keep having slight panic attacks every 40mins wondering where Roy and Fee are and whether we’ll make it to the next cutoff

Massive thanks to my awesome crew Ralph Bates, Hosam Aly and John Cooke who ran 170km himself

John Cooke:

I would just like to thank the Vollies at the aid stations ,sweepers ,RDs , crew members particularly the ones in the back of the field , and everyone at the race for the time ,the support , the love, the care and even words of encouragement these last 5 days . As a pacer /crew it was wonderful to see and at times especially at night supporting a runner I did not have the chance to thank them ,just too delirious and focused on making cut offs but it is truly appreciated . It Made the journey an experience to treasure and very grateful for the opportunity . Lots of great memories and an emotional roller coaster.

 

Sandpatch Aid station pretending to drink a bush chook

The finish line Delirious 200 miler

with Ralph Bates

Roy Chipperfield