Fraser Darcy

Where to start, where to start… big week last week. Culmination of 8 or so weeks on the grind looking towards the Kosci50. I’m happy to report that it was a successful trip. The end.

‘Oi, quit wasting my time trying to be funny and tell me how it really went‘. Fine, fine, but if you just want the actual play-by-play of the race, or the main takeaways from this latest project then click through to those hyperlinked sections. For now, let’s pick-up the story with myself driving across Australia.

Monday 10:30am. Coming off a big weekend following Zatopek, Fukuoka and Valencia marathons I got out the door, locked it, and forgot to check the lights were off. Too late for that, I was in Jamestown now. The plan was originally to drive all day across SA to somewhere in NSW for an overnight stop. I changed that plan to instead just head to Leitchville in Victoria where I stayed in an overnight rest area (for free) before the Alpine Challenge in 2022. Went through plenty of music, podcasts, staring out the window and thinking about things. The tricky part of this 9-10 hour drive was that I’d been pretty much by myself all weekend so was starting to get pretty thin on conversation starters with me, myself and I during the long drive. Dinner for one at Swan Hill in a park was a nice break before arriving into the Leitchville rest area (with it all to myself!) around 9pm. Struggled to get to sleep with a lot going through my brain but having done these solo overnight interstate driving trips a fair few times now I was used to this feeling. Eventually slept.

Tuesday. Having ticked off a fair few life priorities on the Monday before my drive it was refreshing to be able to wake up, cook breakfast and hit the road without so much to do. The aim today was to hit Thredbo, get a look around the course and start to relax before the race. Finishing off The Blue Line for this week’s issue was the other task. As I was driving over today I realised that my training block in Quorn actually represented the longest time I’d been in the same 100km radius since 2019 at 8 weeks. In the time since 2019 there were a lot of weeks punctuated by outdoor ed work and pleasure trips. Sometimes I’d only stay in the one place for a week or so before shifting. Sometimes I’d go 7-8 weeks without staying in the one place for longer than 3 consecutive nights. In the two years I’ve been in Quorn my record has been about 5-6 weeks before heading off to Adelaide or Port Vic or work. To have completed 8 weeks and be away from home for the first time felt a little different. And the last time I was in a place for longer than 8 weeks? Perisher, 2019 ski season. Which is where I was heading back to! Interesting coincidence.

By about 12pm I made it to Corryong, the penultimate town before the drive along one of Australia’s best roads, the Alpine Way, between Khancoban and Thredbo. Little lunch stop, re-fuel and then I was off to enjoy highlight number 1 of the trip. The 70km’s between Khancoban and Thredbo is very windy, quite remote and very scenic. You go from rolling hills, passing the head of the Murray to arriving at the base of Thredbo in a glorious (you know it’s good if I’ve used a word like that) valley. Driving ticked. Now to start relaxing and getting ready for the race with a short jog along the course, ticking off more of The Blue Line. Geez, Thredbo is a nice place to do some ‘work‘ though.

Tuesday night I camped at a place back along the Alpine Way out of phone reception. Nice to settle in off the socials and sit in the back of the Triton by a little creek.

Wednesday. Still one day away from the race. We’re getting there. Started the day with a nice jog around Bullocks Flat, the start area of the race. Great trails and great to have it all to myself. Pretty much finished The Blue Line while sitting in the carpark. After being a mostly domesticated animal for the past 8 weeks it was nice to know I was easily able to slip back into the more nomadic version of Fraser and be productive with these little ‘sit in the back of the Triton and work off my hotspot‘ breaks. Could come in handy next year when I’m travelling for more races.

To break up the Wednesday I took a drive up to Perisher to reacquaint with some memories from my two seasons in 2018 and 2019. This was one of those experiences where beforehand you’re like ‘geez, it’d be nice to go back there and see if anything has changed‘. It was but it was also a pretty lonely looking windy spot at 12pm that day. Anyway, box ticked, photo’s taken, back in the car for more driving back to Jindabyne to check-in for the race.

Race check-in was the first sign that the race is actually getting near. I was in and out to avoid the crowd and relaxed out of the way under a nice big tree by cooking up some pasta for lunch in, you guessed it, the back of the Triton (Mitsubishi would do well to sponsor me). The main objective today wasn’t really the check-in, or the carb load, or checking out Perisher, they were all just filler activities, it was really checking in to my accommodation at Thredbo I was sharing with three others from Sydney (one of whom I knew from the Australian contingent at Worlds). Come 4:30pm, that objective had been met and the Kosci Crew of Maddy, Caleb, Ben and myself had gelled nicely.

The night before a race is generally filled with anticipation and white rice. This was no different. I couldn’t sleep much because of how hot the house was (designed to hold the warmth in winter obviously but not that handy in summer). Like anyone before a race the questions or topics of thought in my head were:

• How would I feel in the morning? Tired? Ready to go? Unsettled stomach? What if I can’t poop before we have to leave?
• What was the competition going to be like? What would the pace be like? What would I do if a pack formed?
• How would the weather play out? Was the trail going to be as nice as I thought? Would I miss my alarm?
• What other factors were there? Were the 27km runners going to be in my way? Were the aid stations going to be easy to access? Would I forget any of my mandatory gear?

You can think about these questions until the cows come home. I don’t have any cows though so that means I’d think about them forever. Bad for sleep. Instead, I tried to focus on what I could control and just think about running a good solid race. If I was proud of my effort and mindset at the end of the race (which is not a very objective way of looking at which kind of sucks) then I would be happy with my result. Provided I didn’t make any stupid mistakes. And also, I’d be happy if I didn’t absolutely nuke myself and cramp in the last thirty minutes like I have done in some ultras. Progression towards the unobtainable ‘complete‘ race is what I was after. I had an image of what that looked like, I just had to go and make it reality.

Thursday. Race day. Finally, if you’ve been reading along and didn’t just click on the hyperlink. Up at 4:30, I didn’t miss my alarm, I did poop, I did feel good. Could’ve been a little poppier in my legs but we take what we can get.

On the road with the Kosci Crew out to the start at Bullocks Flat around 5:30am, excitement was high. Ben was running his first ultra and was a little nervous but ready to go, Maddy was lining up as an ‘elite’ with me and also excited while Caleb was playing the role of Max Verstappen/support crew and would be making his way around the course to cheer us all on. Little shakeout jog to start and then bam, 6:30am, the gun went.

Some bloke went off in front with poles swinging off his vest. Not a contender. Settle down mate. Next it was me, a runner from Japan (who’d flown over especially for the race and had also been to the World Champs), a runner from Finland (who had also been to the World Champs and had been in my race and beat me there) then a break back to some more Australian’s. I was feeling comfortable and the three of us: me, Japan and Finland started to build a little lead. I knew the first 17km’s were pretty much dead flat in a trail sense, and only had a little rise in the first 30km’s. My advantage over the other Australians was that I was a much better road runner so my strength on the course was the first 30km’s. Do I go out then, use my advantage to build a lead and then hang on for the final 20km’s or was it better to just cruise at a more comfortable level than the others and hope to be fresher come the back 20km’s?

By going out with Japan and Finland at a pace where I didn’t feel I was pushing myself but was still going fast I thought I’d got the best of both worlds. Yes I was using my strength early and wasn’t going to die wondering about that option (but would wonder about what would’ve happened if I started slower…) and if I was good enough with this strategy I would just hang onto either of Japan or Finland and then sprint past them at the end. Simple right? I turned off my brain for most of the first 17km’s and enjoyed having the trail to our little group of three. This is what trail running is about, nice little trails, nice pace, good temps, no-one around. You can see I’m setting it up early to say things didn’t stay like this for long.

At the 17.1km mark we started to bump into the runners completing the 27km race. We were all ‘sharing‘ the singletrack which is hard to do if you’re running twice as fast as someone who doesn’t know you’re behind them. I had to say ‘on your right’ as I passed runners very frequently from here until the 35km mark. At times it did open up a bit better and I didn’t need to excuse myself as I passed people but at other times I almost ran into a tree as I tried to dodge some muppets who thought they owned the place.

At the 19km mark we hit the first aid station. I filled up both my flasks knowing that I felt a little warm and wanted to stay on top of my fluids early. I had already drunk 0.5L of water and 0.5L of electrolyte and replaced each of those (I had two empty flasks with me that had electrolyte and sodium powder all ready to go inside them to make it easier to fill up). By filling up two flasks I took a little more time than Japan and Finland (who only filled up one I presume) and subsequently dropped off the back of them. No biggy, this allowed me to run at my race pace without the pressure of them behind me. It also meant I could now use the element of surprise if I was ever in a position to overtake them. I whacked my headphones on and got rolling at the same pace I was at before. I probably got a little too hyped at this stage upon reflection and might have done better if I saved the music energy for later. But, in my defense, I needed something to keep me in the flow/zone that was being disrupted each time (about every few seconds) I passed a 27km runner. A song goes for 3-4mins on average and so this extended my concentration to 3-4 mins not 3-4 seconds. Passing Caleb for the third time this morning already I was pretty comfortable in third place with him telling me fourth was a couple of minutes behind. Great spot to be.

At the 28km mark I was at the end of my tether with passing people and recognised that internally. I had to do my best to not get too negative. We hit the first of two major uphill sections around this mark and I slowed to a fast walk up the hill. I could’ve pushed harder here but I knew I was in third, there was still 20 km’s to go and as long as I kept the tacho just under the red line I’d be well-positioned.

Sure enough, by the top as it started to flatten out I was still in third, a little more tired than I wanted to be, but overall still happy with the effort I’d been giving. Another stop in at an aid station around the 32-33km mark to refill my water and electrolytes (2L’s consumed so far) and I was ready to hit the first of two downhills. Downhills on stairs have been my weak spots in races this year (I don’t have any to practice on) but I felt I was doing my best at running fast enough, dodging others and not sending it too hard so my quads were cooked for the rest of the race. Just as I got to the bottom fourth place went past me at a much quicker pace. Shit, I thought I was doing ok today downhill but obviously not. I latched onto him for a bit and made it to the bottom only twenty seconds back. If I could stay in the top 5 for the race that would be a par score I thought given the level of international and domestic competition. Top 3 earnt a free entry to a prestigious European race in 2024 (OCC at UTMB) that would’ve been a nice option to have (I was unlikely to exercise it though) while top 5 earnt a free entry back to the Kosci50. So basically, stay top 5 and I could have another excuse to come back for a week long holiday that I was already really enjoying.

Heading slowly back uphill in the 35-43km section of the race I felt the temperature warm up and my energy levels plummet. Shit, is this the part of these longer trail races where I once again blow up? It’s happened to some degree in the following races: 2016 Yurrebilla (first ultra), 2017 Yurrebilla (second ultra), 2017 Barossa marathon, 2018 Bogong2Hotham, 2022 Five Peaks, 2022 Alpine Challenge, 2022 Heysen 115km, 2023 World Champs, 2023 Brisbane Trail 35km, 2023 Hounslow Classic.

That’s a long list. To pump up my confidence when I read this blog back in a year or so, the longer races where ‘the rot‘ has set in but I haven’t necessarily blown up and have just managed it well have been: 2019 Five Peaks, 2020 Federation Ultra Trail, 2022 Belair Marathon, 2022 Melrose Trail Running Festival. Add to these the 2022 Pichi Richi Marathon and 2022 & 2023 Adelaide Marathons where I handled them even better than those above gives me a less than 50% success rate at handling the shit part of races. I wanted to finish knowing I gave a good effort and ran well all the way to the finish line. I also know that if I can believe I can do this and not get negative than that’s more than half the battle in these scenario’s.

So as fifth place passed me to put myself back into fifth, with now no margin for error for my free entry top 5 position, I was now right on the edge of success. I was running and walking some of the singletrack uphill towards what felt like an abyss with no one else out there. I may as well been walking the plank. This is what running a trail ultra is all about I reminded myself though. This is the challenging moment you wanted. A race where you had people in front to chase and people behind to run away from in an environment where it’s just you and no-one else. I’d like to report saying that I put the bit between my teeth like a dog playing tug of war and grinded my way up the hill to take the lead. I didn’t though but was doing the next best thing of making sure I was going as fast up this damn hill. I was smashing more gels than I planned to try and get some energy going but I just felt crap and almost uncoordinated on my feet at times as I navigated the slightly more technical trail. It could’ve also been because I was constantly looking over my should, waiting for 6th to appear and drop the hammer to escape from them.

But they never came. I was in 5th at the top of the last major uphill stretch. It was time to put the bit between the teeth and push on to the finish. Up at around 2000m altitude with almost 4 hours of running done that’s hard to do. The grimace I wore looked like I had been in pain for days I reckon, not that I was pulling out a mirror to check. I felt my eyes were squinting so much from grimacing they were locked into horizontal slits. Out these slits though I could see 4th place only a minute or so in front. Shit. I didn’t think I was gaining on people. I took off a bit harder to catch him before briefly stopping at the final aid station. I needed just 500mL of electrolytes as an emergency measure in case I cramped on the final downhill. This may have cost me thirty seconds but not doing so could’ve cost me the race.

Taking the stairs two at a time with no regard for pleasantries as I once again bounced past other runners the first warning signs of a cramp flared up in my adductors. Shit. Glad I had the 500mL’s of electrolytes. Smashed that, gave a few groans and then had to continue pushing myself down the hill. It’s not that rewarding to finish on a downhill because it requires so much concentration to actually run fast compared to just running hard and fast over a fire track in the last few km’s. Oh well, I couldn’t do anything about that, I just had to finish and finish fast.

I never saw 4th place again but didn’t know if 6th had caught up either. By the final 400m I had enough open terrain to know that 6th wasn’t going to catch me and I could enjoy running through solidly to finish in the top 5 in a time of 4:38. Done. Very glad it was over.

Immediately I was just happy to be done. I’d given a good consistent effort across the whole race, had some ups, battled through the downs, but had put together what I call a ‘pretty complete’ race. At no point did I make any stupid mistakes and only if I was fitter and better at the downhills I might have done better. In the overall results, Finland man won, vindicating my theory that if I was good enough I could’ve just stayed with the leaders and ran all the way to the finish in first. Second place was an Australian runner who passed me when I was fourth, third was the Japanese runner and fourth was the Australian who first passed me on the first downhill. Post-race at the finish line area I smashed some coke and was ok-ish but pretty mentally fatigued. Caleb and I hung around a bit until Maddy finished her race (and in first place). Successful day out for the Kosci Crew so far with Ben still to come.

A shower, some food (staying at Thredbo made life very easy) and then we were back at the finish line chatting to other runners while waiting for Ben to finish. He crossed the line late afternoon and was very up and about so we carried that energy to the river, with a couple of celebratory VB’s before rounding out the day with a chicken parmigiana. Day well done I’d say.

Friday. Woke up to publish The Blue Line at 6:30am. Always gets the heart rate up when I hit send. This time I was confident in no errors and ended up receiving some good feedback. It was great to spend the rest of the day basking in the success of being finished with the race while enjoying watching the 100km and 100 Mile races make their way around. I went out for a jog at Guthega to stretch the legs and was a lot sorer than I felt on Thursday arvo. Shows I did push my body to the limit. I probably enjoyed that little jog the most out of all the runs for the week to be honest because the stress was off, it was great weather, I was out on my own in a nice part of the world and every now and then a runner would come through and looked they appreciated the random support I was giving them. I had this feeling after the World Champs Long course support crew work I did, but boy, to have a similar feeling of ‘how cool is this‘ while ambling around on Friday was a nice bonus to finish the week.

And then before you know it, it was Saturday morning 6am and I had decided to make tracks back to Adelaide. Alternatively I would’ve stayed till Sunday morning, been able to do some more watching, some more chatting with other runners etc. and then be pushing it to get back to Quorn at a reasonable hour and fresh enough to rock up to my final week of teaching. Why make life so difficult for myself though? By driving the 13 hours or so back to Adelaide on Saturday I ended up arriving at Mum and Dad’s (to which they were also unexpectedly there as well) around 7pm and had dinner waiting for me. Great success.

Sunday was an almost ‘free’ day in my mind given the original plan was to be driving back on this day. I organised to jog with Georgia, which given her recent commitment to running has been on my mind to do more of, in the morning, picked up a small age-group award at a SARRC breakfast and was then once again, back on the road for more driving to Quorn. By 5pm I was done. At home. No more driving. Trip report ends there. End of story.

Now for the analysis and key takeaways from the race/adventure:

Takeaway 1: Pretty Complete race. Craft progression.
Running a race that goes for 4.5hrs and being satisfied with it is a lot more difficult than it sounds. In a 5km that might last for 13-20 mins, it’s pretty easy to concentrate the whole time. In 4.5hrs the focus and energy can easily wax and wane. I was happy I caught myself getting frustrated and losing belief in myself a few times and recognised that I needed to flip this. Ideally I wouldn’t lose frustration or belief. I was also happy I carried the ‘more training‘ mindset at times in the race because I think that best exemplifies the fact that working towards the ‘complete‘ race is unobtainable. I can strive to ‘master my craft‘ but will never be 100% perfect. Also saying that ‘you have everything figured out and are an absolute master‘ is the biggest knob head comment to make to yourself. If you think you’ve got it all worked out and all sorted, everything’s neat and tidy in your brain, it’s like looking out at the garden saying ‘yep that’s it, I’ve raked every leave and stick, there’ll be no more weeds because I’ve got them all and all the plants I have will live forever‘. Just doesn’t work like that. Being in the ‘more training‘ mindset allows you to be ready to respond when a new leaf falls on the ground or a new weed pops up. As I do these bigger races though and reflect on them I do think I am getting closer to the asymptote of the ‘complete‘ race.

Takeaway 2: UTMB Index
My evidence for Takeaway 1 is that this race was actually my best ever ultra according to the somewhat objective analysis calculated by the UTMB index. I don’t know the exact calculations it uses but it’s a score based on your time, the difficulty and length of the course and your time and position relative to the other runners on course (taking into account their previous UTMB index score). So, because I finished pretty close to some strong international and domestic runners I was rewarded with my best ever score (803 compared to 790ish). That’s great and what’s also great is it shows that I’m progressing to get better scores. I struggle with ultras/races where I don’t have evidence or history to compare my time to others (this was once again, the first time this course had been used). Using the UTMB index allows me the opportunity to do so. Hopefully it’s right.

Takeaway 3: Where can I get better?
Easy one. I can get better at managing my effort more consistently over 4.5 hrs. Better at power hiking, better at technical downhills with stairs. I knew this already. Did I practice these skills much over the preceding 8 weeks? No because I prioritised what I enjoyed in training and that’s running bulk km’s, zoning out to music and podcasts and covering the ground at 4:30/km.

Takeaway 4: Trail running commercialisation.
This was my first race under the UTMB World Series banner. The leading international event management business in the world of trail running. The hype was big, the costs were big (lucky I received a free entry) and the focus on elite athletes was small. The race commentary at the end of the 100km as one of the top trail runners IN THE WORLD was approaching the finish line was a great example. Did they use this commentary time to go through his results? Talk about his profile? Discuss his training and background? No, it may as well have been any muppet from Japan…To add to this non-focus one elites, why do they think it is a good idea to run two races on the same singletrack at the same time? To increase the amount of runners and profit? Probably. It’s also frustrating to think about how prohibitive trail running actually is now compared to how I generally perceive trail running. I enjoy trail running when it’s just me or a couple of others at best, running fast, feeling good, feeling disconnected, feeling free.

At the big races there are lots of people and lots of distractions and lots of costs. Cost to get there, cost to stay there, cost for entry, cost for mandatory gear. Not a very accessible sport which, to me, sucks. One of my motivators with sharing my running info is that it hopefully gets more people into doing some of their own running and thinking about how it all works. By highlighting the prohibitive nature of trail running, due to the increased commercialisation and drive for profit, it becomes difficult to see how someone who is just a recreational runner will bother enough to actually get involved in trail running as a sport unless they fit the demographic that I see at these events (mid-30’s to mid 60’s in age, high disposable income, drives a car that is less than 10 years old).

In saying this, I do understand people have to make money somehow to make it worth putting these events on but I’m aware my lasting impression is continually ‘are trail running races really meeting the expectations of what I enjoy about trail running?’. You could argue the Trail Running SA vibe that I enjoy, cheap $30-$40 entry, usually race by myself out in front, easy to get to, familiar areas and people, might have sabotaged my view on these bigger events and so maybe I just need to re-calibrate my expectations or earn more money (so the cost feels less prohibitive), get better so I can race on my own, and bring more mates with me. Will be good to use those parameters for further research.

Takeaway 5: What did I actually get into ultras for? Is it still the same thing that is motivating me?
I realised this one while thinking about Ben who was doing his first ultra. My first one was in 2016 and I think I signed up because I had a few friends who paddled Bass Strait with me doing it so I wanted to join. We didn’t run together or train together but I think I got involved more so because one of them, an older mentor/pseudo brother, had enjoyed it the year before. Anyway, I did it mainly to see what it would be like and if I could do it. Much like Ben doing his first one at Kosci (hence why I was reminded about it).

Since that first ultra I did the same one the next year to see if I was any better, then I did Bogong2Hotham to again experience doing that race in one go (i.e. not racing it per se). Then I had a break, trained for B2H again, it got cancelled, trained for another race (Hubert 100), it got cancelled (COVID), and then ticked Federation Ultra Trail out of pure frustration of not getting the opportunity to use my training (so I pretty much just ran it being mad the whole time I remember). Then I had a break to focus on climbing. I got back into ultra’s because I missed them and wanted to see how I would go being a little older and wiser. Ticked a few in racing mode but was more focused on my own performance and not really worrying about how I would compare to others, or whether it would put me in a position for Australian selection etc. Which is where I am at now with racing ultra’s. I have drifted from my initial motivation of getting into them and am now motivated to race them so I can do my best yes, but also beat others and call myself the champion. I do have an ego.

The other part to this is I enjoyed running ultras because I perceived I wasn’t good enough on the roads to be competitive (to a standard I would be happy with). That’s changed as well now and I also enjoy comparing my own times in 5k’s and marathons to past Fraser (which you can only do in ultra’s if you race the exact same event). Perhaps then, the racing instinct that is motivating me at the moment is not being well met from the slower paced, sufferfest style of an ultra. What event does satisfy it then?

Takeaway 6: The marathon is calling me.
The marathon I think. When I first ran a marathon, to keep the nostalgic theme going, in 2017 I trained well, raced well for most of it and then blew up at the end which slightly put me off. I didn’t really train well though, I just thought I was doing it right and also thought I was fuelling enough during the race. I now know this to be wrong. Hence, now older and wiser to handle the marathon I am looking forward to turning the screws a bit more on this event. It is the focus of a lot more of the running content I consume and is the type of hard training I enjoy when not just doing easy running on roads or trails. If I continue to race both ultras and marathons I will continue to be average at both. I’d like to see what happens if I just focus on the marathon for 12-18 months, do 2 in 2024 at least, and only dabble in short trail races (<2hrs) when the calendar permits (need at least a month before and after the marathon to not let those trail races interrupt my training too much, unless they are just local ones). I kind of know the progression I will follow if I keep doing ultra’s. Keep training, keep getting on podium’s in interstate races, getting frustrated by little idiosyncratic things about trail races but generally enjoying myself as I travel around Australia. With the marathon, there are more unknowns to what the progression is like. Can I get to sub 2:20 or sub 2:15? Can I podium at an interstate marathon? Can I back up regularly and be like Yuki Kawauchi? Can I improve my 5km, 10km and half marathon PB’s along the way? Curiosity is what drives me.

Takeaway 7: Trips away with others are great. Felt like a climbing trip.
Final one. Hang in there folks. Doing this race amongst a week of driving/travelling was made better when I was staying with the Kosci Crew. It reminded me very much of climbing trips of days gone by. I should make more of an effort to organise others to do similar trips like this in the future. Doing it with people I am closer to may improve this sentiment and improve my performance. Not a bad thing.

We got there. Now it’s done. Thanks for following along and reading all the way through or even just clicking onto the link. If you didn’t get the info/race report you were after because you found this blog on Google well that’s unfortunate for you. Doesn’t bother me.

As a guide of what’s coming next on fraserdarcy.com, I’m finishing off my last week of school at PASS this week then heading into Christmas holidays. Supported by mostly easy running for a week or so to let the body recover. Thanks for reading and thanks to those who sent messages of good luck or congratulations.