Run Ultras… Like a Girl
This Sunday, February 27, Sydney’s Centennial Park will see runners of various shapes, sizes, and abilities compete to see who can run the fastest 100… kilometres.
Quite deliberately, the inaugural running of the Centennial Park 100 coincides with the park’s first Car Free Day for 2011. As elite competitors and ragged survivors alike circle 28 times, bounded by the inner fence of the park’s iconic horse track, Sydney-based distance running coach Sean Williams anticipates growing public interest.
“The sandy soil has enough firmness to produce decent speed, yet enough cushioning to help keep the ultra runner’s legs in good shape for the 100km journey,” said Williams. Already, support from volunteers, sponsors, and the over-subscribed field of runners has been tremendous, and he expects “strong spectator support in the park on race day, as the thousands of park-goers realise the incredible distance these runners are covering.”
Technically, ‘ultra-marathon’ means running any distance greater than 42.2km. Race Director April Palmerlee has herself competed over distances up to 155km, picking up interstate victories along the way. She feels that for many Australian runners, the attraction of going the extra mile lies in the field being smaller than “shorter runs” (such as full marathons), a low-key approach – “the start is typically someone shouting ‘Go’ in the dark” – and the lack of commercialism.
With interest in running exploding locally and globally – for some as adventure, for others a health essential, or even inspired by bestselling books like Marathon Man and Born to Run – the first-time Race Director welcomes new curiosity. Some runners worry these events “will lose their unique flavour,” she says, fearing “that they won’t be a quirky, unusual, daring thing to do any longer. For the time being, though,” she thinks “the growth in the popularity of ultra-running is a good thing.”
Even within the running of unimaginable distances, there is another revolution of sorts. Last year, with their top 3 runners covering more than 650 km, the Australian women’s team took 3rd place in the 24-Hour World Championships. This year, Australian athlete Sharon Scholz was named female International Ultrarunner of the Year. And at Australian races, more and more men are getting “chick’d”.
Essentially the word in the running community, says Palmerlee, is that “if you want to win an ultra, run like a girl.” Being beaten by girls still annoys some blokes, even in this age of Aussie enlightenment, but her advice is simple – “get used to it”.
100km start 6:30am, 50km start 7:30am, both events to finish by 6:30PM. See www.cpultra.com or come by on the day for more.
By Roger Hanney
