Chapter Eight
"The 1989
Race"
"Down to
the Wire!"
The 1989 race was scheduled to begin on 18th May, 1989 at
1100hrs. How could the 1989 race be better than last year’s? The 88 Race had it
all. The 89 race was to even better. It had even more drama, excitement and
humour than last year's. Every runner was to be an actor in the rolling stage
from Sydney to Melbourne. Thirty-four runners were to compete including eight
internationals.
There were to be some changes to the
event this year. They included date and start change and the addition of a
teams championship and "The Gumboot Award".
Westfield Executive, Chris Bates
explained the changes when he said " We have moved the race later into the
year due to the changing weather patterns. Last year's event saw over five days
of the Run held in temperatures well in excess of 30 degrees. These are not
temperatures conducive to good Ultra Running. It also had a very disastrous
effect on our Northern Hemisphere athletes who arrived straight from their
winter."
Another of the changes is that it
will now start from Westfield Liverpool instead of Westfield Parramatta.
"NSW Police have been concerned
at the traffic problems and safety conditions for runners in the Parramatta to
Liverpool stretch in the past years, particularly Woodville Road and Liverpool
Road. In a race like the Westfield, where we use public roads, we always work
closely with the police. We originally considered a controlled start for the
Parramatta to Liverpool stretch but have decided on a Liverpool start. We still
maintain one thousand kilometre event. To coincide with the start of the Run,
Macquarie Street, Liverpool will be closed and a one day festival is planned.
It will be a great spectacle and a great send off for the runners" said
Chris Bates, when explaining the starting venue change.
The 1989 Westfield Run will also have
State teams Championship held for the first time. The mileage of the top two
placegetters from each state will be tallied and the winning State will be the
one with the best total. The sash for the event will be named after an
Australian who has helped pioneer the sport of Ultra Running in Australia. The
sash this year will be named in honour of Australia's best known Ultra Runner,
Tony Rafferty.
A special trophy has been made for
the first Australian runner to cross the finishing line. The award is in the
shape of a gumboot and was designed by trophy makers, Geoff Hamilton and Barry
Higgins. It is handcarved of wood and will be called "The Cliff Young
Trophy".
The 1989 Westfield Run is carrying
prizemoney of $50, 000 which makes it the World's richest UltraMarathon for
1989. First prize is worth $25 000 and tenth prize is worth $1 000. The
Australian Teams Championship is worth $1 000 to the winning team.
Unfortunately the Women's Section of
the 89 Race was cancelled. "We had no application from Australian women.
Although this angered some of the international women, we were not going to put
in the section for overseas runners to run, collect the prizemoney and fly back
home. Women's running in Australia would not benefit. There were no Australian
women last year and only one the year before. Australian women have not yet come
to terms with the event and it's distance and are frightened by it" said
Race Director, Charlie Lynn, at the pre race media conference.
The 89 Westfield Run will once be
conducted over the same course that has been used since 1987. After leaving
Sydney, runners proceed south along the Hume Highway via Mittagong and
Goulburn. And then taking the Federal Highway through to Canberra. They then
proceed along the Monaro Highway and go through Cooma and Bombala to Cann River
in Victoria. The runners then turn right onto the Princess highway and run
through Orbost, Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale, Sale, Traralgon, Morwell, Moe,
Trafalgar, Warragul, Dandenong to the Finishing Line at Doncaster in Melbourne.
Due to police requests to keep the
field together and to make the race more interesting, cut off times will be
used at various places during the race. They are:
|
CITY/TOWN |
DISTANCE |
CUT-OFF TIMES |
DATE |
TIME ALLOWED |
|
GOULBURN |
163KM |
12OO
HRS |
19
MAY 89 |
25
HOURS |
|
CANBERRA |
255KM |
0400
HRS |
20
MAY 89 |
41
HOURS |
|
COOMA |
370KM |
0100
HRS |
21
MAY 89 |
62
HOURS |
|
BOMBALA |
460KM |
2300
HRS |
21
MAY 89 |
84
HOURS |
|
ORBOST |
630KM |
1300
HRS |
23
MAY 89 |
122
HOURS |
|
BAIRNSDALE |
725KM |
1100
HRS |
24
MAY 89 |
147
HOURS |
|
TRARLGON |
845KM |
1100
HRS |
25
MAY 89 |
171
HOURS |
|
WARRAGUL |
910KM |
0100
HRS |
26
MAY 89 |
183
HOURS |
|
DONCASTER |
1011KM |
2300 |
26
MAY 89 |
204
HOURS |
It was only a few days before the
race, when Yiannis Kouros’s place in the 89 Westfield was officially announced.
This was due to Kouros having competed in a 100km event in South Africa a
couple of months prior to the race. He had raced in the Standard Bank 100km
event at Stellenbosch on 2nd February 1989 but staged his own
protest and withdrew shortly before the finish of the race.
As a result the International Amateur
Athletic Federation automatically suspended Kouros. They informed Westfield of
their decision on the 6th of May. This was put on hold by the ruling
athletic body in Greece, who decided not to investigate Kouros's actions for
another month. Westfield received this letter on the 14th May. In
the interim, Westfield were working furiously behind the scenes and lobbied to
the United Nations Association, Australian Anti-Apartheid movement and the
Australian Amateur Athletic Union.
On receiving the news from Greece,
Westfield Organiser, David Douglas was quoted as saying "It's been a busy
week but it's been worth it".
There were
thirty five runners lined up for the 89 Westfield. They included:
John Breit - Thirty One year old Sales
Rep from Moe, Victoria. Completed the 88 Westfield and finished second in the
1988 Launceston to Hobart Ultra race. Has a big future in Ultra running!
Kevin Cassidy - Twenty
eight year old Fireman from Preston, Victoria. It is his first time in the
event. Not known how he will perform.
Ernie Cattle - Thirty nine
year old Swimming Pool supervisor from Holbrook in NSW. Competed in last year's
race, but failed to finish. Perhaps he will start this year's event at a slower
pace.
Tony Collins - Forty One
year old Dentist from Norah Head in NSW. Ran last year and reached 920km.
Raised $20 000 last year for Children’s Cancer and is carrying out the same
fundraising venture this year.
Terry Cox(Senior) - Fifty
two year old Salvation Army Officer from Rosebud in Victoria who has started
twice for one finish. Should fill a Top Ten placing.
Terry Cox(Junior) - Twenty
three year old Unemployed man from Rosebud. Son of Terry Cox senior who is
inspired by the achievements of his father on the last two occasions.
Pat Farmer - Twenty Six
year old Landscape Gardener from NSW. Has started twice for one finish. Has
high ambition in the Ultra world and plenty of time on his side.
Graham Firkin - Fifty One
year old Blacksmith from NSW. Ran the event last year and is hoping to go one
better and finish. Has a heart bigger than Phar Lap!
Mark Gladwell - Forty one
year old Bus driver from North Rocks in NSW. Has completed the run twice for a
perfect strike rate. Will be a finisher once again and is hoping to improve his
time.
Ron Hill - Forty eight
year old tractor operator from Victoria. Has raced twice for a perfect
finishing rate. Another runner hoping to slash last year's time.
Frank Kelly - Thirty five
year old Bricklayer from NSW. Has impressed with his performances in the last
year.
Yiannis Kouros - Thirty
three year old Sportsground Superviser from Greece. World Champion! What will
stop him! Hurricanes can't!
Rune Larssen - Thirty two
year old Physical Education Teacher from Sweden. Finished last year and could
give Kouros a run for his money, if Kouros is sick.
Kevin Mansell - Thirty
eight year old Technician from NSW. Has run twice and finished twice. Has
improved his time dramatically and will be a top five finish.
Don Mitchell - Forty One
year old timber Worker from New Zealand. Number Two Kiwi and might finish in
the Top ten.
Dusan Mravlje - Thirty Six
year old Engineer from Slovania. Won in 86 when Kouros was injured. Still loves
a beer.
Ross Parker - Forty year
old Clerk from WA. Has three out of four finishes in this race and will rack up
another finish.
Tony Rafferty - Fifty year
old Professional runner and Motivational Lecturer - Father of the Westfield!
Joe Record - Forty Eight
year old Athlete from WA. Always has an influence on the outcome, even when he
is injured and withdraws.
Bryan Smith - Forty five
year old Lines Officer from Victoria. Finished forth in his first Westfield and
will figure in the placings again.
Marty Sprengelmeyer - Top
American runner who completed the run in good style last year and is sure to
figure in Top ten calculations again.
David Standeven - South Australian
runner who has two starts for two finishes. Has made great improvement in the
last two years and is sure to improve again.
Graham Stenner - Forty
four year old Production Planner from South Aust. Very consistent runner and
aims to finish.
Tomoya Takashi -
Professional singer from Japan. Failed to finish last year, but won many
friends with his 900km effort against all odds.
David Taylor - Has run on
three occasions and has failed to finish each time. Better men would have given
up by now!
Maurice Taylor - Forty
year old from NSW. Trains with Mansell and Gladwell and wants to finish.
Owen Tolliday - Queensland
champion who is bound to improve on his good time of last year. Holds current
Australian 24hr record.
Richard Tout - Kiwi
champion who will once again try and stick it to Kouros and beat the Aussies on
their home soil.
Graeme Townsend -
Thirty-One year old PE Teacher from Mittagong. Failed to finish last year and
desperately wants to improve.
Eduard Vega - Forty Eight
year old Fitter from NSW. Originally from Peru and has shown a big heart in 24
hour races.
Norio Wado - Second
Japanese Runner with a background in Triathlons and IronMan events.
Greg Wishart - Fifty year
old surgical supplier from Victoria. Slowly building a reputation in the southern
state for solid ultra performances.
Graeme Woods - Forty two
year old runner from Queensland who wants to improve on last year's finish.
Cliff Young - The original
champion who wants to give the race one more go.
All of the runners once again had to qualify for the race. Once they
had been accepted, Westfield would send them a letter detailing full
requirements for the run. This would include details such as campervans, crew
size, equipment and runners clothes.
Closer to the race, all of the
runners received a Medical Bulletin from the Race Doctor. This outlined the
requirements for the First Aid Kit, a warning about drug taking and drug tests
and information on signs and symptoms of various medical problems that could
occur on the run.
The runners also received a copy of
the race rules, Police conditions of use and route instruction prior to the
start. The runners and crew would be left in no doubt of what was expected of
them. The Route Instruction also contained a copy of "The Westfield Song".
This is printed in full at the start of the book.
One of the runners to gain a start in this year's Westfield was
Graham Stenner from Salisbury, South Australia. The forty year old Production
Planner turned to Running to keep his fitness after retiring from soccer. This
soon turned into an obsession as he tried to improve his endurance at each
outing.
He has competed in numerous Fun Runs,
24 hour Races and the Adelaide to Victor Harbour Ultra. He also carried out a
Charity Run around the Barossa Valley to raise money for the Woodville Spastic
Centre. The distance was 342km and he raised $1900 by his efforts. Stenner was
struggling to find sponsorship to run in the Westfield, but was aiming to beat
the seven day target.
Westfield were helping to promote sponsorship
of the runners with the release of a glossy thirteen page booklet. It was
entitled "Westfield Run - Sponsorship Opportunities - 1989". It
introduced the event , covered the history, the competitors and the media
coverage that it had received in previous years.
Westfield were making three
sponsorship opportunities available. The first was to sponsor the ten
international Ultra Runners that were entered for the event. This would cost
the prospective business $250, 000, but they would get enormous return for
their investment. This return would include advertising in every major
conceivable form during and after the race, product endorsement by the runners
and a week's free Mall leasing in fifteen Westfield Shopping Centres throughout
NSW, ACT and Victoria.
The second sponsorship package
available was to sponsor Yiannis Kouros to the tune of $ 100 000. This entitled
the sponsor to a similar type advertising deal as the international Runners and
the use of Yiannis Kouros to speak at Corporate functions twice after the
event. First prize for the event was $ 25 000. It is not surprising that Kouros
was unhappy with Westfield and would try for more prizemoney with figures like
this being bandied around.
The third sponsorship package was to
sponsor an Australian runner to the sum of $ 15 000. This would get the
business advertising of a lesser scale of the first two options, but they would
be throwing their weight behind an Australian runner. The three sponsorship
packages offered by Westfield were an attempt to make it easier for the runners
and it also helped Westfield to defray the cost of running the event each year
(Approximately $1 million dollars)
The majority of the runners in the
field would still have to raise their own money for the event. It would cost
each runner about $10 000. This would be done by raffles, Garage Sales, Pizza
nights and knocking on the doors of local businesses. Some runners would sell
their prize violin to raise the money to start. That’s dedication!
Ultra runner and rogue, Graham
Kerruish was to see the event from a different perspective this year. He
decided to become an official. In 1987, he crewed for Mark Gladwell, in 88 he
was a runner and now in 89 it was the third side of the coin.
This is how Graham described the Pre-Race preparations. "After my first day with Westfield I said to
myself "Will the event evert take place" as I observed and came
closely involved with the monumental task of putting the race on the road.
Would it ever start? It had on previous years so I suppose this year was no
different. So much to do, cars and vans to be picked up, 2-way radios and
phones to be fitted, signage fixed to vehicles, crews to be finalised, witches
hats collected, clothing and money allocated and always the media to content
with."
18 May 1989 was the start of the
race. The City of Liverpool took on a carnival like atmosphere. Thousands
turned up to see the start of the race.
NSW Runner, Maurice Taylor was
interviewed shortly before the race and said the following about Ultra Running
and the effect that it has on your life "It totally controls the body and
mind. It is something you just have to do. Some days I'll have been out for a
long run and not been happy with it. " I have come home and been restless
and pacing. Before I could sit down to dinner I've had to put on my running
shoes and go out again". He also admitted that it had almost cost him his
marriage "You have time for nothing else. I work and run; that is all I
do. It totally absorbs you".
Thirty three runner were lined up at
the starting line at 1100hrs. Kouros was back in his motel having a sleep. He
was not due to start the race until 2300hrs that night. He had agreed to a
handicap/delayed start. This was to help make the race interesting and make the
field closer together.
The Race started and the runners were
off. A battle for the lead quickly developed. John Breit ran the fastest
Marathon, but Dick Tout and Dusan Mravlje were hot on his heels. All three
runners forgot the rule of running within yourselves for the first couple of
days. They were trying to win the Race in a sprint.
The five
leading Marathon times were:
1. John Breit 3hr06min
2. Dick Tout 3hr10min
3. Dusan Mravlje 3hr13min
4. Bryan Smith 3hr16min
5. Owen Tolliday 3hr23min
Kouros was to start his race at
2300hrs on the first night. It seemed as though half of the Sydney Greek
community were present.
John Breit soon slowed down, but the other two kept up the
horrendous pace for the first twenty six hours of the race. At one stage,
Mravlje shouted at Tout "This is stupid". Tout replied "I
know". Yet they kept up the same pace! They were trying to get a break on
each other before trying to keep Kouros at bay! This was to have repercussions
for both runners later in the race!
At 7.00am
on the first morning of the race the five leaders were:
1. Dick Tout 216.2km
2. Dusan Mravlje 206.2km
3. John Breit 199.3km
4. Bryan Smith 199.3km
5. Graham Woods 193.5km
#Yiannis Kouros
had been running for eight hours and had already covered 102km.
It was early on the first morning of
the race, when the Race Doctor, Kieran Fallon answered a call from Marty
Sprengelmeyer for some treatment. The Doc attended and administered a massage
and a rub. Marty and the crew left. It was a couple of minutes later when
Kieran put out an SOS (on his Mobile). He had left his keys in the support
vehicle and could not get on his CB to get them back. They were eventually
returned and the doctor continued with his rounds!
All of the runners except one were to
make the first cut off point at Goulburn. Eduardo Vega withdrew at the 142km
mark with exhaustion. South Australian runner, Graham Stenner had a very
uneventful first day. He reached the township of Goulburn in 21 hours. This was
ahead of his planned schedule, so he took a two hours sleep break whilst the
crew shopped for supplies.
The second leg to Canberra was to
find two more runners out of the race. Kevin Cassidy was withdrawn with a calf
muscle tear and Tony Rafferty withdrew with exhaustion.
Tony Rafferty had this to say about
pulling out of the race that he helped pioneer by his own great deeds:
"Pulling out of a high profile race is a soul destroying experience. Many
people suffer - sponsors, friends, crew and loyal supporters one seldom meets -
they arrive every year and stand in isolated spots in inclement weather with
smiling faces, encouraging comments, and waving arms. In contrast, I won't
forget the know-all critics who crawl from the gutter to say I told you so; the
tall poppy clippers who suggest retirement; the fence sitters who fold their
arms and smirk.
It's a shame that the tall poppy syndrome exists in this country.
Even champions have a bad day and should be left alone so that they can bounce
back better than ever.
At the beginning of the second day on
the road the placing's had changed slightly. They were:
1. Bryan Smith 354.9km
2. Graham Woods 346.9km
3. David Standeven 343.2km
4. John Breit 340.5km
5. Kevin Mansell 330.6km
# Yiannis Kouros had moved into eighth
spot and covered 314.3km. He was starting to look very dangerous.
Graham Stenner continued with his
race and earned himself another two hours sleep by the time he got to Canberra.
He was in eighteenth place, but was starting to notice the cold damp nights.
Swedish runner, Rune Larssen was
struggling early on. He was fatigued and had a pain in the chest. After a while
he decided to get rid of his negative thoughts. His idea was "There are
450 students at the school in Nosebro where I work. When I'm coming back to my
job again, every kid is going to ask me how I did in Australia. I don't want to
answer "I dropped out" 450 times. This had the desired effect and he
picked up his pace for the rest of the race.
The section from Canberra to Cooma is
one of the toughest on the course. The runners had to run 115km and had 21
hours to do it in. The cut off time was one o clock Sunday 21st May
89. Eight runners were in danger of not meeting this cut off. It was seven
hours tighter than last year! The Race Director, Charlie Lynn realised that the
1.00am cut off was too severe, so he extended it by one hour. All cut off were
then extended by an hour to compensate.
Three runners were withdrawn during
this stage. They were Dick Tout (knee problems), Frank Kelly (bleeding ulcer)
and Terry Cox Jr(exhaustion). Terry and his father had been running together
throughout the race. There last ten kilometres into Cooma had to be run in less
than forty minutes. They both made it, but Terry (Junior) was spent as a result
and could not continue. It was definitely one of the gutsiest efforts seen on
the road between Sydney to Melbourne. He had age and time on his side though
and was determined to come back in 1990.
At 0800
hrs on the 21 May 89, the Top five positions were:
1. David Standeven 520.2km
2. Graham Woods 509.6km
3. Yiannis Kouros 5.05.7km
4. Don Mitchell 497.3km
5. Kevin Mansell 497.3km
Media attention was to focus on Cliff
Young through out the race. He struggled to make the cut off point at Canberra
(255km) and Cooma (370km). Cliff was to finally retire at the 415km mark. He
was 10km short of the Bombala cut-off.
The race director, Charlie Lynn came
out on the road that night to help Cliff make it to the cutoff point. Charlie
calculated that Cliff would have to run eight kilometres an hour for the rest
of the distance. This usually would not of been a problem, but he was reduced
to walking. He was walking up the final hill, where he could see the lights of
Bombala 10km away. He realised that it was time to finish and said "This
is it. There's no way I can make it now. Thanks everyone, I've done my
best."
He then announced his retirement from
future Sydney to Melbourne Races. In a touching gesture, Cliff turned to the
waiting media, who were also braving the howling winds and dreadful colds, and
said "Thanks I don't think I have ever seen anything bad written or said
about me and you have all been great. Westfield Official, Graham Kerruish was
working on the Cooma-Bombala sector and had these memories about Cliff's Westfield
retirement.
"The
Gallant Guy of running Cliff Young who put Ultra Running and the Westfield run
where it rightly should be, on top, has been battling all the way since Cooma.
As Cliffy was in my work sector I saw this Giant of Ultra running slowly
surcuming to the harsh terrain and the bitter biting cold wind. His steps had
become noticeably slower, he dragged his feet, stops became more frequent, but
still he pushed on with dogged determination. I last saw Cliffy on the track
around 11.00pm Sunday evening, emerging from his campervan, the media clustered
tightly around him, sensing sensation, eager to interview Cliffy and to get a
story.
A
bitter biting wind was howling down the Monaro Highway, a wind that would have
dropped many Aussies half Cliff's age to their knees long before this. I knew
Cliff was in trouble making the 12 midnight cut off and around 11.30pm with
8.6km to go the grand master of Ultra running retired from the race stating
that he would now give away doing Multi-Day events and stick to smaller events
like 24-hour runs - not bad for a great achiever at 67 years of age. It was quite fitting that Cliff retired in the mountains because in
a lot of ways he was "The King of the Mountain".
Rosemary Nash was crewing for Cliff
Young and had this to say about his sad retirement on the outskirts of Bombala,
"Our runner retired amidst the tears and fog 8km short of Bombala, after
running 451km a monumental effort. I suppose we knew it was coming and the
disappointment felt, not for us but him, for his hopes and aspirations, but
again also with a sense of pride in his accomplishment. No regrets because in
his own words "I gave it me best". That is all any crew should
expect, not to push for their own personal glory of crossing the line but just
to play their part in assisting the runner to do his best".
Graham Stenner was just leaving
Bombala when Cliff turned up in his Van with his crew. They exchanged a few
words before Graham continued running.
The next stage was between Bombala
and Orbost. The time was 2.00pm on Tuesday 22 May 89. From Bombala the road
becomes dirt until the half way point and then into Victoria through Cann River
and then over the monstrous hills to Orbost. There were three more withdrawals
during this stage. They were Graeme Townsend who was medically withdrawn, Ernie
Cattle who was suffering from fatigue and overuse injuries and Marty
Sprengelmeyer who retired five kilometres out of Cann River.
It was at this point that David
Standeven from South Australia took the lead. David had been a quiet achiever
in the sport and took a few people by surprise when he hit the lead. His move
did not cause much initial excitement because Kouros was in third by the
beginning of the forth day.
Problems then began to appear in the
Kouros Camp. Kevin Mansell was in second position. Kouros overtook him as they
entered the Hills of East Gippsland. Mansell came back at Kouros and passed
Kouros on the next down hill. This went on over the next twelve hours for a
distance of 160km. Mansell went passed Kouros five times on that day.
Legend has it that the first time
Kouros passed Mansell, Kouros gave him his T-shirt that he gives to all the
runners. Mansell gave the shirt back to him when he passed him going down the
hill. It is believed that the shirt kept passing hands during the afternoon.
Mansell remembers the first time he
passed Kouros and said in the Press Conference after the Race, "I vividly
remember the moments leading up to the first time I passed him. A Japanese film
crew started to hang around me. It was as if they could smell that something
was about to happen, and when I eventually did pass Kouros, they all yelled
'Number one, number one. Beat Kouros, beat Kouros!"
Swedish runner, Rune Larssen was
overjoyed when told of Mansell overtaking Kouros. He lept six feet into the air
and said "Even if Kevin blows out he will always be a hero to me because
he's done something I've always wanted to do".
It was about this time, when Rune
Larssen passed an unofficial Aid Station. "On a long straightaway there
were nothing but sheep pastures as far as the eye could reach. In the middle of
all this there was a farm and by the mailbox at the end of the road stood a
little boy, maybe six years old, and handed me a can of beer. That kind of
beverage was not one of my cravings at the moment, but I did still stop to take
a sip. The can was only half full and the content was defizzed. It was apparent
that the boy had been standing there all day offering the runners something to
drink. The situation made me think about how life can be for someone growing up
among the sheeps, far away from playmates."
Could Standeven now stand the final surge from Kouros over the last
300km. Standeven kept to his game plan, but Kouros was slowly closing the gap.
It was within 100km of the finish and Kouros was gaining at 1km an hour.
Standeven picked up the pace and the statistical projections had them finishing
within seconds of each other. The Westfield was now a race!
Graham Stenner now had less that 300km
to go to the Finishing Line. He was starting to struggle and was having
problems with his knee, but he was determined to make it to the Finish.
It was on the third last day of the
run when John Breit withdrew at the 744km mark. He was 19km past Bairnsdale and
had knee-swelling problems. Dusan Mravlje was also to retire on the far side of
Sale with muscle problems.
A very funny story appeared in the 23rd
May edition of the Westfield Newsletter. It went as follows: "Kouros and
his two vehicles had stopped by the side of the road. On the other side of the
road a vehicle was parked with high beam on. Moose from Kouros No 1 Van said to
no 2 Van, "If those lights aren't dipped I will break the headlights with
a crowbar. It happened to be a Police car and the Policeman with his CB radio
on 22 heard Moose's conversation! The policeman went up to Moose and asked who
it was that was going to smash his headlights! Moose admitted sheepishly that
it was him!
It was at this time in the race that
a very appropriate poem was published in the Westfield Race Newsletter. It
didn't have a title. I have named it "A Crew Member's Lament:
The
Vans a mess
The
Crew is blue
The
Lights don't work
They've
lost his shoe
His
meal is late
There's
no clean plate
But
on they go to Melbourne
The
ups & downs
The
fly arounds
For
ice & soup & biscuits
The
clothes won't dry
The
socks are high
Yet
on they go to Melbourne
They
plot, they plan, they calculate
What's
army time & what's the date
"Your're
looking good-good on you mate"
and
still they go to Melbourne
The
bleary eyes
The
mornings new
But
remember Dear Supportive Crew
He's
out the front
He
runs the race
And he drives you to Melbourne
Kouros now realised that he might not
win Line honours and picked up his pace once again. Standeven was exhausted,
but he sensed that he might be able to hold off the challenge from Kouros. He
kept on struggling. It was at this time, that Standeven's two children were
being driven to Melbourne in the hope that they would see their father pull off
a historical victory. Standeven's daughter, Rachel said "We are all really
excited and proud of what he has done, so we are going over to surprise him at
the finishing line".
The last withdrawal of the race was
Joe Record who had run a very strong race. Joe withdrew on the second last day.
Legend has it that he walked into a Pub at Traralgon, ordered a beer and stated
that he was stuffed. Definitely an understatement!
There was only ten kilometres to go
and Standeven was delirious. He was running on memory. His crew was yelling at
him to follow the lights of the police escort vehicle. Every media camera and
reporter had joined the group in Victoria.
Kouros then started to worry about
what was going on. He had plenty of energy left, but realised that he may have
miscalculated his final effort. He picked up his pace to 15km an hour as he
entered the last 20km. As usual, thousands of the local Greek community turned
up to cheer him on. The police were working overtime to maintain a clear path
for both runners.
Standeven had five kilometres to go when he slowed to a halt. He
could only just maintain direction. His crew tried to lift him, but nothing
seemed to register. Somehow he kept following the flashing blue light, but it
was very slow. The gap shortened until the lights of Westfield came into view
and it was clear that Standeven would be first across the line.
He fell across the Line and was
embraced by his teenage daughter, who had been crying over the last few metres
" Come on Dad, come on". He then collapsed into the arms of his wife,
Cheryl, suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. He was rushed to hospital by
ambulance. Westfield Race Director, Charlie Lynn said "He went beyond the
limit of human endurance" .
Standeven's family was there at the
end and were ecstatic at his victory, but shocked at the condition that he was
in. His father said "He went hard at it all the way, especially towards
the finish"
Standeven's mother, Marjorie, was
over the moon at her son's performance "Once he takes the lead, he wont
let go. He's happy because he achieved that aim - he' s very happy"
Ultra Runner, Peter Armistead was an
eye witness to Standeven's heroic efforts and wrote later "The next couple
of hours unfolded the most dramatic event I have ever witnessed in
sport….Around 5km to go he came to a stop and only a desperate effort by his
wife and another lady got him moving again. One of his handler's lines of
"Remember the 3 d's" were repeated many times before the finish and
it seemed to inspire him on. The 3'd's were determination Defies Defeat and it
certainly looked like it would…..Finally the exhausted warrior completed what
must be the greatest ultra running effort by an Australian".
David Standeven was a hero in his
home state of South Australia. The Editor of the Adelaide paper was to write in
his Editorial on May 24, 1989 " Not since Cliff Young trudged into the
history books in an earlier ultra Marathon has a runner so captured the
imagination. He came from obscurity. He turned in an inspired and indeed,
heroic performance. This does not detract from the achievement of the Greek
runner Yiannis Kouros, the champion from the land where the marathon was
born…..But it was the local boy who took our breath away by the sheer tenacity
with which he overcame exhaustion to take line honours. At the moment of
triumph neared Cheryl Standeven said of her husband: He is very determined and
he has a big heart!" He sure has!
David Standeven became the third man
ever to beat the six day mark for 1000km. It was first done by American, George
Littlewood in 1896, Yiannis Kouros was the second person in 1984 and Standeven
became the third with this remarkable run. Race Director, Charlie Lynn said
"Standeven has put Australia into the record books of ultra distance
running"
One race observer who is involved
with distance running for a living, questioned if ultramarathon running could
qualify as a sport. Geoff Kirkman ( Offcial this year, leading the race in 86
until the tragic crash) was nearby and said " That's what I thought when I
was running marathons. I look at this and thought it's not running, but until
they've tried it, they don't know. It's like a miler looking at a marathon
runner, or a sprinter looking at a miler, there's no comparison. But I can tell
you, it's sport. It's a tough sport, there's no doubt about that".
Kouros crossed the line thirty two
minutes after Standeven and was declared the winner by Westfield Officials on
corrected time. He looked as though he had just gone for a Training Run. Whilst
Kouros was bathing in the glory and making his way to the Presentation area,
Standeven was being loaded into an Ambulance with a drip in his arm.
Kevin Mansell was to finish in third
position. He finished nine hours and four minutes behind Standeven. Since 1987,
Kevin had reduced his Personal best by a massive 67 hours and 56 minutes.
Mansell was ecstatic when crossing the line and said, "I still can't
believe my time. Not long ago, breaking the six day mark was a distant dream,
nearly an impossibility I thought. It's equivalent to a runner in the sixties
breaking the magic four minute mile!".
Kevin Mansell was coached in the race
by Bill Carlson. Carlson also coached three other runner's in the field. They
were Maurie Taylor, Patrick Farmer and Mark Gladwell. Carlson was to describe
Mansell as the 'Classic Non-athlete' but qualified this when he said, "The
only advantage I have with Kevin is Kevin is prepared to totally maximise,
which is the hardest of the lot. That's what separates Kevin from the other
guys. He uses total determination to leave the others far behind. I can't say
enough about Kevin".
The three year training partnership
between Mansell and Carlson has been successful, but Mansell would have liked
it to have been more successful in the financial area. He won $5 000 for third
place and $ 500 for winning the Teams championship, but he will be living in a
caravan and can't afford to run a motor car. He explained that the prizemoney
will go back into training "It costs me $50 a week to train and that's not
counting the pair of shoes I wear out every three weeks. They cost $150 a pair.
I just think it's about time something came our way, but then again that's what
I said after last year's race."
Graeme Woods crossed the Line in forth,
but was later disqualified. He underwent a positive drug test during the race
and the sample returned positive for the drugs, Ephedrine and Prolintane. These
are both stimulants and are banned by the IOC and the IAAF.
At the 600km mark, Graeme was suffering
from a respiratory infection and a well meaning crew member gave him some
patent cold remedy tablets. These did not clear the infection, so Ephedrine
tablets were prescribed at a chemist on route. It was a genuine mistake, but
Woods realised that he had to "Cop it sweet" when told of the drug
test results. He lost $3 000 in prizemoney and had no reward for his hours of
training!
The day after Standeven crossed the
finishing Line he was interviewed by Journalists along with his wife. "I
was uncertain what drove me on. I can remember being urged on by the crowd and
the fear of humiliation if I was beaten in the dying moments of the race"
He also had a feeling during the last few kilometres that Kouros was right
there next to him "I thought that if I reached around I could touch
him".
Standeven started running to keep his wife company on long runs.
Standeven got bored with that and soon found himself doing , Marathons and
Ultras. When he first went in the Westfield he finished seventh, last year he finished
fifth and this year he planned to be the first Aussie across the Finishing
Line. He certainly achieved that!
Standeven's physio, Ian Ford made
sure Standeven stopped every five hours. His socks were changed, feet were
plastered, his legs were massaged and then ice packs were packed on his legs
for the next fifteen minutes.
Over the next three days, seventeen
more runners were to cross the line and finish the Greatest Race on Earth.
Graham Stenner continued down the
Highway and on the outskirts of Melbourne he was in 11th place. He
was within 20km of the finishing Line and found that he was starting to fall
asleep when he was running. His crew tried everything. This included copious
amounts of black coffee and sing along sessions all the way to the Finishing
Line. He crossed the Finishing Line in a time of 7 days and 19 hours. It was an
emotional moment for himself and his crew. He had exceeded all his expectations
and was wrapped.
Graham Kerruish was an official on
the run for the first time. In previous years he had been a crew member and a
runner. He wrote this about the race on conclusion:
It
has hurt me as I officiated during the run to watch my buddies slog It out on
the wind swept, cold and rainy roads, see them battling through the night,
striving for cut off points only to see some of them unashamedly drop to their
knees, bodies exhausted, racked with injury. Their faces told the story.
Bloodshot glazed eyes hanging on stressed anguished faces, staring forlornly
ahead as their Melbourne goal shatters on the sweeping merciless roads. I
observed all of this and cried tears of blood inside me as I writhed and
watched from the inside warmth and comfort of my vehicle.
One of the buddies that Graham Kerruish was talking about was Sydney
Strider, Graham Firkin. Graham completed 292km last year but had to withdraw
with a leg injury. Graham was determined to finish this year and he did. It
took over eight and a half days, but in the words of Charlie Lynn, "It
proves that man can do anything he sets his heart on". Graham's story was
recorded by his manager, Alf Field and is entitled "A Record of an
Epic". I would not have done justice to the story by summarising it in
this chapter. It can be found in full in the last chapter, which is on Favourite
Articles. It is worth skipping a few chapters now to read it!
Graham Firkin was interviewed by a
Journalist towards the end of the run and was asked about giving up. He said
that the thought had crossed his mind quite a few times during the run,
"But then you might be running along in the middle of nowhere in the
middle of the night and you see an old lady wrapped in a blanket standing out
the front of her house just waiting to say 'Good on ya'. Really you wouldn't
miss it for all the world".
Westfield put on a party for the runners, crew and friends from
6.00pm on the last evening of the race. There was plenty of food and drink for
every runner and crew. The celebrations continued until about 5.00am in the
morning. It was a well deserved party for everyone involved.
Yiannis Kouros was surprised by the
great improvement of the Australian runners. "I did not expect to get
beaten by an Australian. But it is good, not only for Standeven but for
Australia and ultra-running".
Kouros sumed up what it takes to be a
great Ultra Runner: "I think it is the head. You must be positive and say
to yourself 'I can do it', without worrying about anything or anyone else. You
must train your head to tell your body 'I do not feel pain' and never let your
body dictate terms to your head".
A few days after the run, Kouros visited the Evangelistra Greek
Orthodox School in Thornbury and looked recovered from his run, except for
wearing a pair of runners with the toes cut out. He also announced that he was
planning to move his family to Australia. He said that he loved Australia and
loved the people.
New Zealander, Dick Tout was
disappointed at having to pull out of the race after 318km, but was impressed
with improvements that the Australians had made. "There is a new era in
ultra racing, we have to move forward. There are new aspects to the sport and
the Australians have caught up and passed us. You've got your tail up and
passed us by. I have to admit it."
The 1989 Race had it all. The
champion was only a certainty to start in the race a week before due to the
apartheid controversy. Dusan Mravlje and Dick Tout had an exciting tussle at
the beginning. They were both trying to get a break on Kouros and a break on
each other. They were both injured and neither finished.
Kevin Mansell and Yiannis Kouros had
an exciting tussle through the Hills of East Gippsland. This may have taken the
edge of Kouros and that is why he could not catch Standeven at the end. Kouros
and Standeven had a titanic struggle at the end of the race, with Standeven
getting over the line half an hour before Kouros. Standeven was dead on his
feet but Kouros looked as though he could do an about turn and run back to
Sydney.
Kevin Mansell also wrote himself into
history by beating six days for a 1000km. Graham Firkin finished at the rear
but proved that he had a hear bigger than Phar Lap, Graham Woods was
disqualified for drug taking, even though it was an innocent gesture by a
concerned crew member. The 1989 Westfield had it all.
OFFICIAL POSITIONS AS DETERMINED BY Westfield
|
PLACE |
NAME |
COUNTRY |
OFFICIAL TIME |
HOURS RUNNING |
AVERAGE SPEED |
|
1 |
Yiannis Kouros |
Greece |
5d2h27m |
122.45 |
8.25 |
|
2 |
David Standeven |
South Australia |
5d13h55m |
133.9 |
7.55 |
|
3 |
Kevin Mansell |
Nsw |
5d22h59m |
142.99 |
7.07 |
|
4 |
Bryan Smith |
Vic |
7d4h5m |
172.1 |
5.87 |
|
5 |
Maurice Taylor |
Nsw |
7d7h0m |
175 |
5.78 |
|
6 |
Don Mitchell |
Nz |
7d9h11m |
177.2 |
5.71 |
|
7 |
Pat Farmer |
Nsw |
7d13h47m |
181.8 |
5.56 |
|
8 |
Rune Larsson |
Sweden |
7d14h10m |
182.2 |
5.55 |
|
9 |
Mark Gladwell |
Nsw |
7d17h20m |
185.3 |
5.46 |
|
10 |
Owen Tolliday |
Qld |
7d19h0m |
187 |
5.41 |
|
11 |
Graeme Stenner |
Sa |
7d19h45m |
187.75 |
5.38 |
|
12 |
Greg Wishart |
Vic |
8d0h55n |
192.9 |
5.24 |
|
13 |
Tony Collins |
Nsw |
8d1h50m |
193.8 |
5.22 |
|
14 |
Ron Hill |
Vic |
8d4h47m |
196.8 |
5.14 |
|
15 |
Terry Cox (SNR) |
Vic |
8d7h25m |
199.4 |
5.07 |
|
16 |
Tommy Takaishi |
Japan |
8d11h52m |
203.85 |
4.96 |
|
17 |
Ross Parker |
Wa |
8d11h56m |
203.8 |
4.96 |
|
18 |
Dave Taylor |
NSW |
8d12h13m |
204.2 |
4.95 |
|
19 |
Graham Firkin |
NSW |
8d16h25m |
208.4 |
4.85 |
Westfield RUN 1989 WITHDRAWALS
|
NAME |
COUNTRY |
DISTANCE |
|
JOE
RECORD |
WA |
808KM |
|
DUSAN
MRAVLJE |
YUGOSLAVIA |
803KM |
|
JOHN
BREIT |
VIC |
744KM |
|
MARTY
SPRENGELMEYER |
USA |
557KM |
|
ERNIE
CATTLE |
NSW |
513KM |
|
GRAEME
TOWNSEND |
NSW |
499KM |
|
CLIFF
YOUNG |
VIC |
451KM |
|
NORIO
WADA |
JAPAN |
437KM |
|
TERRY
COX (Jnr) |
VIC |
370KM |
|
FRANK
KELLY |
NSW |
339KM |
|
DICK
TOUT |
NZ |
318KM |
|
TONY
RAFFERTY |
VIC |
214KM |
|
KEVIN
CASSIDY |
VIC |
191KM |
|
EDUARDO
VEGA |
NSW |
143KM |
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