Jen Segger's TNF100 Race Report : An Adventure Down Under
Posted on 20/05/2011
Last week, the Salomon International Running Team packed their bags and boarded planes. The destination, Australia! The purpose, to explore the trails in a new part of the globe and to share our passion for running with the people of Oz.
Originally, this trail running adventure had been planned as a two-part adventure, something that appealed to me greatly. First, the team would take part at the TNF100 (the North Face 100km Ultra Running Race) in the Blue Mountains of New South Whales in Australia. The crew would then head onto Japan immediately afterwards and participate at the inaugural Mount Fuji 100miler. With 100km races not being my distance and this race course lacking major mountain climbs and descents, I had planned to just enjoy Australia and use it as training. I would make the Fuji race my A priority. However, with the recent earthquake devastation in Japan, the race was cancelled and re-scheduled and we would no longer be doing the double header. Looks like I’d have to give it my best at the 100km distance.
Originally, this trail running adventure had been planned as a two-part adventure, something that appealed to me greatly. First, the team would take part at the TNF100 (the North Face 100km Ultra Running Race) in the Blue Mountains of New South Whales in Australia. The crew would then head onto Japan immediately afterwards and participate at the inaugural Mount Fuji 100miler. With 100km races not being my distance and this race course lacking major mountain climbs and descents, I had planned to just enjoy Australia and use it as training. I would make the Fuji race my A priority. However, with the recent earthquake devastation in Japan, the race was cancelled and re-scheduled and we would no longer be doing the double header. Looks like I’d have to give it my best at the 100km distance.
I departed Vancouver on the night of May 5th, keen to get the 14hr flight over with and eager to see many of my Salomon team-mates and friends that I had not seen since Advanced Week last year in France. We were all arriving early in order to take care of any jet lag and to spend some time launching the new XR Crossmax shoe in Australia while sharing our passion for the trails with the runners and retailers Down Under. A full schedule greeted us and, so did a full Salomon crew. We were 8 athletes in total: Killian Jornet, Ryan Sandes, Francois D’Haene, Grant Guise, Julia Bottinger, Nerea Martinez, Devon Crosby Helms and myself. Thankfully we had massage therapist Angi and foot doctor Jamie there to keep us healthy. Community managers Anna “Frosty” Frost and Adam “Proton” Chase did an outstanding job of keeping us on task and co-ordinating the entire week. From Salomon Australia, we had support from Naima and Fabi and senior shoe designer Patrick Leick from France. What can I say, we were well supported by our awesome SALOMON FAMILY!
Our Pre-run week was busy but filled with great opportunities to both see the city of Sydney and to interact with the local trail running scene. We enjoyed runs through Centennial Park and the nature reserve in Manly. The day after we arrived, everyone was keen to run some of the course we headed to Katoomba for a day of on-course running in the Blue Mountains. One of my favorite runs during the week was a pre-breakfast “tourist run” with Adam and Jamie as we ran to the Sydney Opera House and through the Botanical Gardens, trying to wake up the sleeping bats in the park. The team enjoyed a great time doing the Tower Walk – a 360 degree view of the city and the mountains beyond. We explored local coffee shops and visited various shoe retailers. Nicely timed, we got to help with the launch of the new XR Crossmax shoe to the country as well through a Corporate Day for the leading retailer shoes in Australia. The new “Killian’s Quest” video of his record attempt on Kilimanjaro was showed several times! Fabulous and inspiring view, I look forward to sharing it here in Canada.
As the race approached, the team left the city on Thursday and headed to our new home for the next few days in the Blue Mountains. Daily massages continued with Angi, Anna found us some great places to eat and relax in and we pre-scouted the race course a bit more. My best friend Jo who now lives in Melbourne, flew in as well to help crew for the team, a huge highlight for me to have her there.
By the time that Friday rolled around, we were all keen to get on the race-course and get going. While the weather had been sunny, the wind howled all through the night and the skies were clear. With Australia now going into their winter, temperatures in the mountains were colder than usual, well, maybe just colder then we were expecting. By Saturday morning, I had made great progress on my sprained ankle from 3 weeks prior. I decided though that just to be safe, I would tape it up! My plan was to really push hard on the downhills and in order to do that, I needed extra stability in the foot and mental confidence.
On Saturday morning, the race got under way at 6:57 for us first wave runners! We began with a fast 6km on roads before making our way onto some fabulous trails. I was so happy that we had pre-run the course some and had spent time taking in the sites before the race as there was NO looking about on race day! It was head down and go time.
For me personally, I didn’t have the race I was hoping for. At 10km’s in, I was feeling great, running in 2nd place and starting to believe that I would actually have a solid performance. However, I sprained my ankle, the other one, the healthy one, at just over the 15km mark. I tried to brush it off, dig deep and put it inside my trusty pain box! I was eventually able to re-focus my attention on the race and to catching Devon. Several km’s before CP2, I managed to catch up and when she pulled out at the checkpoint due to back pain, I took the lead. However, I wasn’t feeling great at this point due to lack of food, realizing later that it was because I had focused all my attention on pain management. Just after I passed through CP3, I saw Nerea close behind and we ran it into CP4 together. I tweaked my ankle leaving CP4 and all the pain returned. I told Nerea to go on and I would just cope! 8km outside of CP5, I was passed by a local women who would go onto win the race. It was a long haul from CP5 to the finish at CP6 for me. I had dug deep into my pain box and just pushed through, knowing that it would be a mental battle to the finish but I would not give up. Given the circumstances, I’m happy with my 3rd place finish and for still breaking the course record.
Australia was yet another adventure of a lifetime. Congrats goes out to all my Salomon team mates and a huge thank you to the entire Salomon family for the support to allow us athletes to live our dreams. Every time I lace up my shoes, I am proud to be represent a brand that stands for so much more than just trail running!
Australia was yet another adventure of a lifetime. Congrats goes out to all my Salomon team mates and a huge thank you to the entire Salomon family for the support to allow us athletes to live our dreams. Every time I lace up my shoes, I am proud to be represent a brand that stands for so much more than just trail running!
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