Naseby 200 Miles Race Report

by Adam Keen, Run Coach at Aerobicedge

Intro

When I did my first 100mile race, which was actually Naseby in 2015. I remember thinking that if you’re going to do these long races or beyond, then you need to take it seriously and if you haven't had a good 3 - 6 - 12 month build up and aren't pumped 2-3 weeks out then don't turn up. From what I experienced at my first 100 and then the next couple I had good races but there were still hours and hours of pure hell 😮.  But I had got through. So doing those races not ready was not something I would recommend or ever do. It’s just too hard and you will be suffering for a long time. If you train and are pumped for race day, get your strategy right, have a little luck, then you can maybe enjoy 70-80% of the race and then only feel like dying for the last 20% ✅ what a sport 😂. In a 100mile race I would consider that a great result. However, go in on a whim, with a poor build up and your maybe in hell for over half of the race! So last week I clearly decided to break my own rules and fuck around and find out...I found out. Buckle up this is my ride for 200 miles / 77 hours.

Naseby

If you don't know Naseby, one day maybe pay a visit or sign up for the Great Naseby Water Race held at the end of August every year. It's a great gathering of staunch supporters of the race and attracts a real mix of characters and people looking to run far. Distances range from 50km all the way through to the 200miles and everything in-between including a 60km team's option where you run 30km each. Naseby is the highest town in NZ at 2000ft, has a shop, a pub, a curling rink and a 10km figure 8 loop amongst its many mountain bike trails. It's this 10km figure 8 loop that causes the most suffering and drama once a year.  

Deciding to run

Having not trained a heck of a lot the last 6-7 weeks I found myself looking at the distances and wondering what would be a good option. Clearly with only a couple of brain cells to rub together the 200 miles was that good option. Starting on the Wednesday and giving me a full 4 days I figured I could do 40km twice a day with a break in-between. Go for dinner at the pub, get a few hours sleep at nite and still be done before the cut off on Saturday nite. What a great plan a real light bulb moment 😏🔫 Let's begin shall we! 

The Race - Wednesday Day 1 / Burger 1 

So Wednesday morning 8am 10 tough people and one idiot (that's me) line up to start our first of 32,10km laps of the Naseby forest. A classic Naseby day full of sunshine and hope makes for a nice first 80km and i'm done for the day at 6.58pm and ready for a meal at the pub. Chicken burger, chips and a handle of coke is the meal of the day for me and a welcome 1000 calorie addition to my meagre rations that I have survived on during the day. Once back on course I figure that getting another lap in after the hour or so dinner break is probably a smart option so lap 9/90km is completed at 9.52pm. 10pm time for a 2 hour sleep, nice and toasty for a couple of hours which was amazing and nice not to have any pressure of racing this mad distance.

Thursday Day 2 / Burger 2

Back on course around midnight and crack through another 3 laps between 12am - 5am which was good time wise, total kms 120. I manage to see a few other runners out on course although most are just on their own dealing with their own demons and the insurmountable task of chewing through 320km. 5am and i'm trying to stick to the plan and make up for my lack of training so its back for another 2 hour kip and recovery. Another good break which is mostly to give the legs/feet a break more so than the sleep factor, although that is a nice bonus. Back up and at it and I chew through Laps 13 - 18 from 7am to 6.49pm. By the end of the day my last couple of laps have blown out to around 2 hours 30 per lap rather than the 1 hour 30 I had been doing, so starting to get a bit of a grind. This is a really long way! Who knew!? Dinner time back at the pub and this time its the Beef burger and I'm joined by one of my athletes Rob Soaper who has run from Dunedin! Back out on course around 8pm its a slow couple of laps and time to hit the hay around 1am. Again trying to preserve myself the sleeping bag is a welcome escape from the grind and the negative temperatures of the nite.

Beef burger for the win. Rob enjoying his dinner. The big fella ran for 3 days and then run the 50km at Naseby on Saturday for a total of 200km!

Friday Day 3 / Burger 3

I'm back up at 5am having had a decent few hours sleep and head off on lap 21 / 210kms only 110km to go once this lap is done 😢 Somehow i've managed to time this lap perfect and get to run in with Shannon Rhodes one of my athletes who completes his 200 miler in 47 hours 19 for 2nd place. A phenomenal run from him which gives me a boost. After some quick celebrations with him at the finish line everyone promptly reminds me that I need to get cracking again! I'm joined by Allan Staite for the next few hours and he helps get me around a few loops. By this stage i'm really hobbling and have finally realised that my knee is causing me some grief. I get into the cold water at Hoffmans dam to try ease the pain which works to some degree but its starting to look like a even slower crawl to the finish line and there's still over 100km to go. Around 5pm i'm at 250km and decide its time for pub meal number 3. I'm also told that there is a Spa I can use in town, it just needs to be heated up. Back at the pub there's a chicken burger waiting for me and it's good to catch up with some other runners. Head to the Air B n B for a spa which I'm hoping will help my knee and revitalise me for a strong finish but alas the wood burner heated spa is agonisingly slow to heat so I settle for a shower and its back to the cold and the start/finish area. It must be around 7pm i'm back on course and get two more laps done and then 2 hours sleep at 11pm.

As you can see the burger pics have taken a turn for the worst much like my legs. Andrew Glennie (founder of Crush the Cargill) looks on with admiration.

Saturday Day 4

1am Back into it and on to lap 28 / 280km which I get done in a little over 2 hours which isn't bad. Now for the grind to the finish. The next couple of laps are slow going around 3 hours but this also includes stops for food and drink etc. Lap 31 at 11.30am and I manage to get through pretty quick and on a high. Glenn Sutton joins me for 5km which helps a lot, he's one of the toughest blokes I know and it's good to have him push me along. Final lap 32 is a real grind but I fight through, very much over it and get across the line at 1.47pm, 77 hours and 47 minutes after starting.

At the finish line with one of my athletes Shannon Rhodes who smashed the 200 miles and was 2nd overall. If you want to look this good after 200miles you can sign up for a weekly plan here www.aerobicedge.com 😉

The Aftermath

This really was too much too soon and i'm pretty cooked. Fingers crossed some rest and good food will see me right. But this is the most ruined I have felt following a race and that isn't helped by the fact that I should have known better. Other than a swollen knee and a ankle that at times feels broken i'm trucking along. I have been to see the physio and all going well once the body settles down I will be back stronger and the mind should be a hell of lot more hardened than it was before. Despite my inadequate build up, 200 miles is one hell of a long way so who is to say that things would be much better if I had been better prepared and had gone quicker. It's a terrifying prospect racing that distance and it was inspiring watching the other athletes who were out there going through wall after wall when I was either asleep or at the pub! The winner Brandon Purdue who was finished in a little under 47 hours ended up in hospital after the race with some decent injuries and on crutches when he made it back to prize giving. It sounds really appealing right? Actually all but one of the 11 entrants did not finish so it can't be that bad! And it is a slow burn so if your after a interesting couple of days and looking at stretching out over the 100 miles etc then Naseby is a great option.

Lessons 

Cooked at the finish line  💪

As a coach I help people prepare for these events and for some of them the distance or the difficulty is really at the edge or sometimes beyond what is possible. With time and the right preparation I get to see people every weekend finish their first 50km, 100km, 100 miles, 200 miles etc etc and once you see that so many times you realise that with the right attitude and mindset that nothing is impossible. However the people I see succeed, put in the work. They complete their training sessions week after week and put everything into their race preparation. So my first lesson from this torturous 200 mile experiment is to set your goal and then have a solid build up of months to get ready and give it everything that you have. You will get more out of Ultras if you can put together consistent weeks and months of training. And the distances, the organisers and yourself deserve the best you out on the course. Lesson number 2: You may have to adjust your plan to succeed. Get creative. People think it's funny that I was going to the pub and having dinner during a race, but it was really a key part of getting in a lot of calories and having a decent break. If I had tried to follow everyone else, race and try to push through I would have got chewed up, I simply wasn't ready and hadn't had the prep needed, so making adjustments, having sleeps and pub meals went a long way to making up the difference. Thirdly, be careful when using a race for anything other than a race. What do I mean by this? For me this 200 miles wasn't a race it was a chance for me to get some kms in the legs and experience backing up day after day like a stage race or a fkt. But using races in this way the same as people will use a race as a B race or a build up race for their A race can be very difficult. Once you're in that race setting the adrenaline is going and it's very hard to hold back. For me I thought I could do 80km a day but once I started I was well ahead of that target and then it was hard for me to let go of the buffer I had, so I pushed through. So it can be very hard to get right and my gut feeling, and this is for me but maybe something to think about is that if you're in a race then race and if you're training then train but just be careful trying to mix the two. 

Naseby 200 Mile buckle with the appropriate post run hydration

Naseby next year:)

The Great Naseby Water Race is a regular on my calendar and has been for years. Next year I will hopefully be on the start line for the 200km race which will bring up 1000kms for me at Naseby. Which I think will be double the bling - a 200km buckle and a 1000km buckle ✊ Big thanks to everyone that ran with me, sorted me food, drinks and a million other things. I really wouldn't have got around without everyone's support. Really despite the suffering, it was a magic week and awesome to see everyone again. If you're thinking of having a crack at a new distance or your first ultra then Naseby is a great place to do it. The organisers, community and athletes make this one of the great grassroots events to include on your calendar. See you out there and if your in need of a weekly run plan to help organise your training don't hesitate to get in touch 💪

7 of the 10 finishers of the Naseby 200miles 2023