Riverhead Backyard ReLaps Ultra (Last Person Standing)
“Just one more lap! And these guys are struggling” – this was the repeated thought that got me out of a dark, dark spot – not an unusual dark spot given what we were doing but one that needed a big ladder to climb out of – one of those large fire trucks that has the massive ladders on them.
Although we’d been saying it all day it was Katie coming past and saying it again that somehow provided that ladder. I can’t even remember when now but it was sometime in lap 24 I think cause lap 25 was a great one!
I finished lap 24, did the usual eat, drink rest and crawled up to the start line on the second whistle before starting the “warm up” shuffle from the start line that had become the norm – usually taking a couple of hundred metres to effect the warm up and turn it into a decent jog. In the section before the water tank I continued at this normal pace, but felt so much better than I had the last 2 laps – ending up in the front of our group of 5 – “The Final Five” as I discovered afterwards we were called. We’d been churning out laps, just the 5 of us since lap 18 when Ash Pari finished up. Andrew was battling big time and wasn’t hiding it anymore, Adam looked wreaked but that seemed his preferred state of appearance, Ian suddenly looked done, after having looked the same strong happy state he had every lap, and Katie had gained a knee brace, but looked happy enough, that killer cheeky smile still plastered on her face.
I broke onto the road and started walking up the hill, looking back and not seeing anyone, then eventually they joined me on gravel road that gradually climbs to the top of the course. I was striding out up the hill – using the swinging arms to fasten up the walk that I found most efficient all the way to the top, glancing back and not seeing anyone. “Just one more lap! And these guys are struggling”
I started the decent which on the steeper bits was getting slower as the quads were getting more tired. Not to shelf for the 25th time. Next years course needs to get rid of this section 😊 Getting through this downhill and starting the awesome bending, twirling section of the course, a gentle downhill that for us runners felt like a awesome downhill mountainbike run, best taken at speed and with this many laps under your belt it felt like speed but was probably very pedestrian. I popped back into the event centre and out on the final wee loop before cracking into the event centre and weaving through the tent city finishing the lap in 49:11 one of my fastest laps of the day, but not feeling like I’d pushed too hard. Shit yeah lets go!
Time to back up a bit probably. This was all happening 24 hours after we started. I was competing in an event which is a new format to NZ and I think all 50 of us that were racing. The Riverhead Backyard ReLaps Ultra was an event modeled after Laz’s famous Big’s Backyard Ultra. The idea is that you run a 6.7km lap every hour, restarting on the hour, using the time you have remaining of the hour to rest/eat/drink/do your yoga routine. Fail to make the one hour time limit for the 6.7km and your out – a DNF! This repeats until only one person can complete a lap.
During the Big’s Backyard Ultra in October last year I was following online, eagerly refreshing the screen every hour to see who was still lapping. This was my type of event! I messaged Matt “I’ll just leave this here! Dirt church backyard ultra at Riverhead. I want to organise and run. Same model as Bigs backyard ultra in this weekend. Low key. PWYW just to cover costs. What say you?!”
It started from there. Originally we were organizing it so we could both run it ourselves with our wifes taking over the on the day(s) event management duties. But Matt soon worked out he wasn’t going to be able to run, so joined the ED team with duties in the weekend.
I messaged Laz straight away asking if he would mind us running a similar event in NZ and he came back saying we had a Golden Ticket – the winner of our event would get an entry into Big’s (October 2019) 1 of 20 golden tickets from countries around the world and 1 of the limited 70 entries to Big’s each year.
Shitballs!! Now it was serious and the event was born. 6 months later….da daaaaaa we’re lined up at the start line – 50 brave souls wanting to push themselves to a new limit.
So back to the race, it was great to be feeling good again as we five left on lap 27 and it was normal lap for us all except Ian never turned up. WTF?? We hear later that he was sick out there in the course. The start was pretty sober! One person down from the famous 5 after so long – it was really weird! I was up with Adam at the front at the start and we climbed the road hill within site and i pass him at the top and he was clearly hurting. I tapped him on the shoulder and said something like one more lap, or com’on nearly at the top and broke into a jog. Then within the next 5 minutes my achillies was gone! So sudden! What is happening. I hobbled down the steep hill and try to walk it out – feeling devastated as it got worse and worse! Adam caught me again as I hit the closest you get to the road and wonder if I can keep going and within a few metres realise there is no way I’ll make it back in time let along be able to walk out on another lap – i was done – FORK it!! Adam comes running past starting to hoon, I wondered if he would get back in time as it was cutting it pretty fine for where we were. I hobbled back on long the road so frustrated about an injury coming from nowhere and calling the shots instead of distance and fatigue.
I get back to base and receive an amazing clap from the crowd who are by now so enthralled in what they have been watching, so invested in all the runners, it was really emotional. I hear afterwards that Andrew had collapsed not long after starting that loop and the normally raucous crowd was silent when Katie was back and Adam and I weren’t. Adam then arrived just in time and they both left on loop 29. I then hobble in to be the 2nd to last DNF. The injury ended up being a partial tear at the base of the achillies. My body pretty much shut down after that and the medic was a little worried , but think it was the injury but more the Adrenalin let down after the huge organisational buildup and then participating and eventually the bloomin injury. I ended up heading to the local hospital to get it checked out and arrived back for a kip and then wake up to cheer in the final hours of the 24 hour teams relay. And the story of Katie winning which was an amazing thing to hear!
A week later and time to reflect – I still think back to the weekend and smile.! The disappointment of not finishing in these circumstances negated by the awesomeness of the event, the people, the experience! It was a huge success in all aspects and I can’t wait to organise and participant in the 2020 version.
It was a massive weekend for all but more so for my family. Massive appreciation to my wife Madeleine Collins who took over organisation (together with the Matt Rayment family) on the weekend (it was so hard for me to completely let go Event managing thoughts while running) and pulled it off superbly, whilst also supporting me and making sure the kids were still fed and watered😀 Thanks for supporting me to create this dream event… and one that I also wanted run!!! And my awesome daughters – who were there the whole weekend helping, supporting me and everyone else. You Collins gals rock!!! I’m super lucky.
