July 20, 2025
The BMF Ultra was my first ever ultra back in 2022 and it was a 60km trail run. I’ve participated in this race the fourth year in a row. I’ve come a long way from there. Although, the 60km category is not available now, this edition was a real tough one.
I have a larger goal to accomplish. I need to endure pain and suffering. The previous day, I cycled nearly 70kms with less than four hours of sleep and on race day I slept very little too. The idea was to run with tired legs and grogginess. The larger goal being lasting longer in Backyard Ultras, when I mean last longer, I’m thinking 48 hours to start with.
Coming back to the race. Considering last year’s edition, I assumed the elevation would be similar and I aimed at a sub-5 hour finish. I was so wrong, the elevation was about 2.5 times more than the last one. The elevation gain for the previous edition was around 420 metres and this one was 1050 metres, this I didn’t expect at all. Not only was the elevation gain more but it was a bit more technical too. This threw off my timing which I planned for. Also, I have been mostly road running the past year, so, my trail legs weren’t really functioning.
I had a slice of bread and cheese, 3/4th of a redbull and started the race. I’ve been reducing energy gel intake over the races and during training. I had two energy gels which I carried on me and pieces of bananas placed at the aid station. That’s it. I had quite a bit of water since I was sweating a lot and the occasional electrolytes. I carried a 500ml bottle in my hand and refilled it when necessary.
There were four categories: 7.5km/15km/30km/45km. Each loop was approximately 7.5km and there were aid stations placed at 2.5km intervals. I ran 6 loops. I don’t mind the monotony. You really needn’t carry a trail bag for this maybe just a hydration vest. The elevation was quite a bit, the trail was technical too. It was a mix of narrow paths with big rocks, mud trails, running at an angle off a rock face, some really good downhill sections and equally challenging uphills. It would have tested any good runner.
I started the first loop really fast, finished it under 47 minutes, from there on, I progressively ran each loop slower. The fatigue hit me like a storm in the fifth loop. I was questioning life choices and even my decision to cycle yesterday. I slept for exactly 5 minutes at the beginning of the fifth loop, I set a timer and slept beside the trail. I sat multiple times during that loop allowing my body to recover. Besides all the pit stops, I was holding on to the third position until the end of the fifth loop. By then my legs were really dead. I had to do one more loop, so, I took one more pit stop, I sat on a rock for about 2-3 minutes and in that interval the runner behind me took over. I didn’t chase him. I was afraid of severely cramping out. I just let him pass. I thought about David Goggins and how he would have been disappointed in me I thought but the most important thing is to finish the race. So, that’s what I did. I finished it. Placed 4th.
For this race I used my brand new Asics Noosa Tri and it was so good. The bounce on it made it easy to run but I could feel some sharp stones when I stepped on them. The Noosa Tri isn’t a trail shoe so I was slightly worried the upper mesh may tear off whenever I brushed against a rock. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t too much. There were certain steep slippery downhill sections where I really thought I should have brought my trail shoes then I was too excited to see how these shoes would perform over long distance but to my surprise the shoes had good traction on a sandy downhill and I was relieved.
I finished the race with a big smile and better than expected. I had a friend waiting for me, she ran the 15km and finished third, guess what she is my client, I coach her and that was a real special moment. I cramped right after posing with my medal (I took home the 30km medal instead of the 45km) I had my first proper meal for the day but appetite wasn’t too great though. Hopped onto the car and drove back home.
The end.
Practice 