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UTA22 Recap 2019 by Sarah Alchin

It was August 2018 when I first suggested to Cherie Metcalfe that we should do UTA22. My husband Ben had decided he did not want to do the 50km again, and that he would be doing the 100km in 2019. So I thought, instead of letting him take all the pain and glory, Why not create some for myself. Typical of Cherie she immediately agreed to my crazy idea and we found ourselves counting down the day until tickets were on sale. UTA sells out every year, so you need to buy your ticket ASAP. UTA has about 10km of downhill running, 11kms uphill and the final km is up the dreaded Furber Steps, all 952 of them, at the end of the race when your legs are screaming and cramping. But more on those steps later. It has a bit for everyone and, as I love to bomb a downhill, I was excited about it.

For the first time I really committed to my training. And it really ramped up after Christmas. My long runs were getting longer and longer. And for a person who had never run more than 10km I was pretty excited about that. My final long run was 18kms up and down Quarry Hills - three times over. I found myself 6kgs lighter by the end of my training, despite the fact I could not stop eating!! Soon enough we were in the car making the trip to Katoomba, complete with a boot full of race gear, the kids and my mother in law. Race day dawned and the weather was perfect - 17 and not a cloud in the sky - meaning that we no longer had to carry a thermal or waterproof jacket. A lighter pack could only be a bonus. UTA22 begins at Queen Victoria Hospital in Wentworth Falls, so we soon found ourselves being bussed out to the start line. Excitement was high and I had butterflies in my stomach. Something I hadn’t felt before a race in a long time. My hope was to complete the race in 4 hours of less, but also told myself just to finish would be an achievement. After a welcome to country by David King, a local Aboriginal elder, we were off, finally!!!

The first 8kms is mostly downhill but the danger is go out too hard and you risk tearing up your quads. And you’ve still got all those hills and steps to climb! So my plan was to be conservative, and save my legs for the hills. Jelly legs are real! The scenery is simply breathtaking, and the sight of The Three Sisters is amazing. For the first time during a race I actually took some photos. You just cannot help yourself.

We hit the aid station after 2 hours, and while I originally planned to do it in 90 minutes, I was feeling pretty good. I had 10kms to go with 2 hours left on my desired finishing time, but also about 1000 metres in elevation to climb. I was still feeling confident because while the climbs were tough, there was also relief from the climbs by a short downhill. Cherie was struggling with tight calves and a sore knee from all the downhills. But like The Terminator she is, she would finish every climb before me. With about 5kms to go, we hit the proverbial wall. Our legs were screaming. I had been struggling with patella tenderness for a few weeks so my knee was sore. I was also losing a toenail, which I had taped, but every downhill step would set my poor toe on fire. Added to that the work our calves and hamstrings were doing, we were suffering!! Our solution - start running. After all we are runners, not hikers. The last 5kms are completely runnable. Up and down, but not impossible. And once we started running we actually felt better! Plus we were at 3hours 30 race time and we we really wanted 4 hours!

Alas it was not to be. By the base of the Furber Steps I could have cried. Those steps are, quite simply, brutal. It was the longest kilometre of my life and I suffered like never before. Those steps? Pure determination is what gets you up them. How can you possibly train for climbing 952 steps, some in terrible condition, some steep, metal steps after you have already run 21kms! They feel never ending. But I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Sometimes pulling myself up by the railing, sometimes bent so low I was touching the step in front. Funnily enough I must have passed about 20 to 30 people on those steps. I just refused to stop to rest, fearing that if I did I would never be able to get started again. You just have to keep going. Cherie was probably suffering more than me by this time, and we actually climbed hand in hand for a bit reassuring ourselves with the contact. I baptised those steps with my sweat and tears (and possibly some fruity language) and I’ve never been more proud of myself as I was when I finally got by the time I got up those steps. I probably looked like a baby giraffe trying to walk for the first time. The support of the crowd is just phenomenal. I’ve never experienced that on either the road or the trail. Yes a race with an LRC cheer squad is an amazing feeling but it is next level at UTA. Spectators are calling out to you “keep going Sarah”, “Sarah, your amazing”. They are clapping, yelling and ringing their bells, and you just feel like you have to keep going.

Majell Backhausen (sometimes coach to ultra runner Lucy Bartholomew) calls the Furber Steps the “Train of Goodness”. You have to get on it to finish. And I never understood that until I got on it. You get on that train and it pulls you up, and you pull the person behind you up. And you hate every minute of it, but then you love it.

We finally hit the finishing chute, running hand in hand, and our kids ran out to join us. Finishing was just surreal and the greatest feeling ever! Of course some goose ruined it by shoving past me so he could sprint to the finish line. You gained 5 seconds, mate. Hope it was worth it!!! And as I predicated, after I finished I cried in my husbands arms. I just couldn’t help it as the enormity of what I had just done came over me.

So I now lie here in bed typing out my race recap. My toenail hurts - it fell off. My knee hurts. My calves hurts. My toes keep cramping. I’m utterly exhausted. And I have to get up at 5am to get Ben to the start line of his race, and crew for him tomorrow.....the things we do for those we love!!! Before I finish I just want to say thank you to everyone who followed me on the app, sent me messages or commented on Facebook. Your support means the world and knowing my LRC teammates were following me and cheering me on was one of the things that kept me going. To Cherie and Mike - you are both bloody legends! For two die hard road runners, to venture out on the trails with me, I will always be grateful. Cherie probably cursed my name every one of those 952 steps!!

And, if you have stuck around to read this recap to the end, and you are still thinking “What is she on about with the Train of Goodness?” Well, you’ll just have to come back to UTA next year with me. Of course I’m going back!!! Toot toot!!!

#lalorrunningclub #lrc #uta22

Jason has just done the UTA11 and the UTA22 his struggling right now on the UTA100 No one is around to uplift him and his in the loneliness bit of the race, his helped so many over this passed weekend. He now needs support. Please send LOVE via his Facebook messenger lol ❤️❤️ Thank You ❤️❤️ #UTA11 #UTA22 #UTA100 https://www.instagram.com/p/BxnD5mXhoOT/?igshid=1wqudbbxlixjk

#uta11 #uta22 #uta100