So having gone from crippling back pain to running a double marathon in just a few months Joe sets off for the ‘Kosciuszko 100’.
The Kosciuszko 100 is 100kms up and down Mount Kosciuszko and through the surrounding mountains and ravines … in the middle of summer. I am no longer surprised when Joe completes the course, finishes in the top 30 runners out of 1000 starters and his back mostly holds together.
There was definitely some work to be done to get his legs back on track as he had another 100km race marked in his diary. This was 100km in the Blue Mountains with multiple rises to the top of the ridgeline before dropping down into the valley again … and again and again. The absolute killer in this run was that the final kilometer was vertically up the 1000+ steps at the 3 sisters at Katumba.
Imagine running 99km up hill and down dale on rough tracks, through streams and in the heat of the day for 14 hours and then being faced with 1000 step stair climb.
This run nearly broke Joe – he was on the treatment table for weeks as we tried to put his legs back together. In fact it so shook him up that he said he was going to give ultra running away for a while and train for his first triathlon instead. Only one minor problem – Joe cant swim.
To be continued …..
