Yesterday was the day that entries for this year’s GNW100s went in, and according to Dave Byrnes, esteemed organiser and adventurer extraordinaire, the list is now pretty much full for those that wanted to enter. That means (fingers crossed) that all of Ultra168 is in for this year’s run, and if we’re honest, is one of the most eagerly anticipated runs for ultra runners.

Being back in the UK at the moment, my entry was sent off at 9pm on the dot to account for the time difference and will now see the start of a hardcore 3 month training programme to complement some of the initial training I’ve done for this race over the last six to eight weeks – in other words it’s time to get serious 🙂 The Glasshouse 50km race I used as a bit of a marker to get myself into some kind of reasonable shape ahead of what will be some very tough training ahead.

It’s August 1st (still here in the UK) and that means the start of a new training block for all of the members of Ultra168. Some of us have been ‘in training’ for a few weeks now, but merely keeping things ticking over I’d say rather than really full on, flog yourself to-death type training. Remarkably, it’s pretty humid here in the UK right now. It’s not overly hot (25 degrees or so), but the humidity was up this morning as I headed out along the quiet country lanes of Warwickshire where my parents live. A ‘brisk’ 20kms was enjoyed, but the legs were still a little heavy, which means that I’m still not 100% over the tough 52kms or so up in the Glasshouse Mountains last week, coupled with 24 hour flight back to the UK and a few thousand kms driven, it’s perhaps no surprise that I’m not bouncing off the walls just yet, but I can’t wait to get stuck in now.

There’s no doubt that this block of training is likely to be the hardest that each of us will commit to. Rumours are abound that this year will see a flux of entries from quite a few of the well-known trail top guns in Australia, some of whom will be moving up to the 100 mile distance for the first time. That means more competition out on the track, and each of us have big ambitions for this race, which we regard as ‘the’ 100 miler in Australia.

Words by Dan Bleakman

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Dan

I'm a mediocre runner who can bat above his average when I train hard. A man of extremes, I do enjoy everything life offers and consider it an absolute pleasure just to be able to put one foot in front of the other and let my mind wander somewhere different.