Chapter
Seven
"The 1988
Race"
"The
BiCentenniel!"
As soon as the dust settled on the 1987 Run, planning commenced for
the 1988 Race. Charlie Lynn was full time Manager for the Race and his staff
immediately began planning for 1988..
The runners recovered from their
ordeal of 87, and soon had thoughts of next year's race. The ultra runners who
didn't run in 87 were more determined and started upping the miles immediately.
Due to the huge interest in becoming
a runner in the event, Westfield established qualifying standards. It was
obvious that some runners had the score on the board because they had already
completed a Westfield Run or had good results in another race. Other runners
were just making the step up from the Marathon and needed to be tested. There
was a range of Ultra Races now being held in Australia. It was decided that
24hr races would give the runners a Test of their ability and give them a good
Qualifying aim! They had to aim to run 200km in that period.
Once the runners felt that they had
met the qualifying standards, they could put the Entry Form into Westfield
Race. A lot of the runners never met the qualifying standard of 200km, but it
gave them something to strive for. They were rarely accepted if they achieved
under 160km in 24 hours. On gaining entry to the race they received a Letter of
Acceptance.
This Letter congratulated the Runner
and informed him that he had to find sponsorship. The runners also had to
provide a crew of seven. This would include 1 ,manager, 1masseur/physio, 1 cook
and 4 drivers. The runners were not allowed in the event with any less than 6.
The runners would also have to provide two campervans. One 2 berth van would be
directly behind the runner and the 6 berth van would hold the bulk of the crew
travelling about two hundred metres behind the runner. Each of these vehicles
would have to be fitted with CB radios.
The runners had to provide $150 for
vehicle signage and a $300 bond. Not included on this list was food, drinks,
fuel, clothes etc. The average cost per runner worked out close to $5 000 to $
10 000 per year. Some were lucky enough to gain sponsorship, whilst others
would go "cap in hand" to the bank Manager. It meant that much to the
runners and they were all willing to sacrifice time, effort and material to run
in the Westfield.
Future Westfield aspirant, Grahame
Kerruish (Mountain Man), started his long road towards qualifying for the 88
event, when he ran 22h 40m in the Manly 100mile in April 87 and finished forth.
The 1988 event was scheduled to start
at Westfield Parramatta at 12 Noon on Thursday 17th Mar 88 and
finish by 12 noon on Saturday 26th Mar 88. The runners had to 30 Sep
87 to qualify!
Westfield also looked after future
runners by sending them a Medical bulletin written by Dr Kieran Fallon, Medical
director for the 1987 Run. He covered such areas as Training hints, Injury prevention,
Physios, Medical Equipment, Common Injuries on the 87 Run, Diet, Vitamin
Supplements, Warning signs and Drug testing. Most of the runners had already
sought advice, but there were some runners that had entered previous
Westfield’s and were quite blind to what was required.
The first 24-hour qualifying race for
the 88 Westfield was put on by the Sydney Striders at the end of May 87. Future
Westfield aspirants who excelled were Ed Vega (175.25km), Maurice Taylor (
202.398km), Grahame Kerruish ( 165.72km), Graham Firkin (164.995km), Tony
Collins (162.844km), Graeme Townsend (162.23km), Pat Farmer (154.7km), Ernie
Cattle (151.655km) and Dave Taylor (130.040km).
A couple of 50 mile races were held
in Victoria in June 87 with future Westfield aspirants, Bryan Smith and John
Briet putting in good performances.
It was in October 87 when a 48-hour
race was conducted in Perth. George Audley won the event with 335km. Joe Record
amassed 317km to finish third and Ross Parker ran 300.950km to run fifth. They
were all to win starts in the 88 Westfield.
The Colac 6 day race was run in
November 87 and it contained a very high-class international field. A lot of
the runners were previous or future Westfield runners and they all excelled
during the six days. The top five runners were:
Joe Record 890.8km
Dusan Mravlje 863.2km
Pat Macke 856.4km
Eleanor Adams 838.8km
George Perdon 813.2km
Westfield aspirant, Grahame
Kerruish got the motivation to run after crewing for Mark Gladwell who
finished eleventh in 1987. He had already ran in a few Ultras prior to crewing
for Gladwell, but seeing the race for himself was enough to push him to the
next step.
At forty-eight years old, Grahame is
in good health, superfit, non-smoker and a keen follower of the Pritikin diet.
He said "I work on the principle that if you put rubbish into your body,
you get rubbish out of it"
The training programme utilised by
Kerruish would make the strongest man cry. He runs to Hyde Park tower from
Riverwood every day and return in the afternoon. That is 42km every day, Monday
through to Friday and takes four hours every day. On Saturday mornings he
cycles 15km to Lake Gillawarna and goes for a 10km group jog with fellow
Western District Joggers. He then cycles home. Sunday will be a competitive
event, be it a Marathon, Ultra, Biathlon or Triathlon. During 1987 Graham ran
in at least 35 major events, which included 6 City Marathons along the eastern
border
Westfield sent a newsletter on
November 97 to all competitors which supplied future runners with more
information. It included information on The Start, The route, Pre Event
Itinerary, Cut off times, Runners clothing, crew clothing, Badges, Vehicles,
Vehicle signage, Crew composition, Fundraising, Personal profile and various
registration forms that had to be filled out and returned by the runners.
One of the new areas introduced to
the 88 Race was the Introduction of cut off times. The runners would have the
following cut off times to beat to stay in the race:
28 hours 180km Goulburn,
48 hours 275km Canberra,
72 hours t 395km Cooma,
93 hours 485km Bombala,
125 hours 655km Orbost,
144 hours 750km Bairnsdale,
168 hours 875km Traralgon,
188 hours 980km Packenham
204 hours Finish Doncaster.
One would definitely have to be ahead of time from the start. This
idea was thought of by Organisers to keep the field from spreading to far apart
and to make the race more interesting.
Puma decided to help sponsor the
event when they agreed to provide the official clothing for the runners. Each
runner would be given:
3 singlets,
6 T-shirts,
1 Jog suit,
1 Track Suit,
1 rain suit,
4 shorts, and
2 pairs of
running shoes.
This would go along way to defraying some of the costs that each
runner was facing.
Meanwhile, Owen Tolliday
from Buderim, Qld was making his own way in getting accepted for the race. The
thirty eight year old former surfer has only been running for two and a half
years. In that time he won the Queensland Marathon, Road Runners Club 50 mile
race and the Queensland 24 hour title. That success gave him the stimulus to
enter the Westfield.
Tolliday has gathered a good crew for
his attempt at the Westfield. He has sought the advice of Ultra Marathon Guru,
Ron Grant and is eating an excellent diet. Tolliday was well supported in the
local community with Sunshine Coast Tourism, Maroochy Shire, Sunshine Coast
Motor Vehicle dealers Association and Tri-Fitness all throwing their weight
behind his race attempt.
1988 dawned and a 48 hr Race was ran
in Melbourne. Graeme Woods from Queensland earned a place in the Westfield with
an excellent 367.83km for first place. Other Westfield aspirants who booked a
place in the run were Bryan Smith 358.93km, Ron Hill 330km, Barry Brooks 315km
and John Briet with 293km. Several of the Westfield runners also put in solid
performances in the Victorian 24-hour race held in February 1988. By then all
of the runners had their places in the Westfield and were concentrating on
large weekly mileage’s.
It was a month before the race and
Westfield upped the publicity machine in the print media. Press releases were
dished out at a weekly rate. One of the first runners to be profiled was 50
year old, NSW Blacksmith Graham Firkin.
He has a bone disease that is slowly knitting his spine together. This will
leave his spine absolutely rigid.
He didn’t have the illness in 1983 and started running for different
reasons. "I smoked too many cigarettes, drank too much beer and had to
lose some weight" said Firkin He enjoyed his running and had dreams of
running in the Westfield. Firkin has run 200km a week in the past twenty weeks
and was thankful for the support that his family has given in the past couple
of years.
It was early in February 1988 when
the runners were provided with a copy of the Race rules. Westfield definitely
made sure that their organisation ran like clockwork and left nothing to chance
in the lead up to the Bicentennial race. It was two weeks before the start when
the runners received a more detailed itinerary of the events happening before
the run.
Runners to be profiled in a lead up
article in the Sydney Morning Herald were Pat Farmer, Pat Macke, Kevin Mansell,
Mark Gladwell and Graham Townsend, (whose wife is expecting their first baby
during the run). Pat Farmer was quoted as saying "I do not enjoy the pain.
What I do enjoy is the amazing feeling of relief when it has gone"
Owen Tolliday peaked for the
Westfield with a 290km run a month before the race. He started the run around
the Sunshine Coast around 11.30pm on the Friday and finished lunchtime, Sunday.
He had two breaks with 5 and a 1/2 hours total rest. He was happy with the
result of the run and it gave his crew the chance to work together in a field
environment.
The full list of
runners for the 88 event:
|
SURNAME |
FIRST NAME |
AGE |
HOMETOWN |
STATE/COUNTRY |
|
ADAMS |
ELEANOR |
40 |
SELESTON |
UK |
|
AUDLEY |
GEORGE |
52 |
ALBANY |
WA |
|
BARWICK |
SANDRA |
38 |
AUCKLAND |
NZ |
|
BLOOMER |
BRIAN |
47 |
SPRINGVALE |
VIC |
|
BREIT |
JOHN |
30 |
MOE |
VIC |
|
BROOKS |
BARRY |
47 |
BALLARAT |
VIC |
|
CAREAU |
MICHEL |
47 |
QUEBEC |
CANADA |
|
CATTLE |
ERNIE |
38 |
HOLBROOK |
NSW |
|
COLLINS |
GARY |
27 |
UMINA |
NSW |
|
COLLINS |
TONY |
40 |
NORAH HEAD |
NSW |
|
COX |
TERRY |
51 |
ROSEBUD |
Vic |
|
CURRIE |
STUART |
|
MURWILLUMBAH |
NSW |
|
EARSMAN |
DALLAS |
60 |
TAMWORTH |
NSW |
|
FARMER |
PAT |
25 |
GRANVILLE |
NSW |
|
FIRKIN |
GRAHAM |
50 |
DHARRUK |
NSW |
|
GLADWELL |
MARK |
40 |
NORTH ROCKS |
NSW |
|
HANUDEL |
MARY |
28 |
OHIO |
USA |
|
HARRIS |
TREVOR |
41 |
CHAPMAN |
ACT |
|
HILL |
RON |
47 |
DROMANA |
VIC |
|
JAVES |
IAN |
45 |
MANSFIELD |
QLD |
|
KERRUISH |
GRAHAME |
48 |
RIVERWOOD |
NSW |
|
KOUROS |
YIANNIS |
32 |
ATHENS |
GREECE |
|
LARSSON |
RUNE |
31 |
TROLKATTAN |
SWEDEN |
|
MACKE |
PAT |
32 |
GRANTHAM |
UK |
|
MANSELL |
KEVIN |
37 |
CABRAMATTA |
NSW |
|
MARTIN |
ROSS |
45 |
WENTWORTHVILLE |
NSW |
|
MRAVLJE |
DUSAN |
33 |
SLOVANIA |
YUGOSLAVIA |
|
PARKER |
ROSS |
39 |
CRAIGIE |
WA |
|
RAFFERTY |
TONY |
48 |
YARRAVILLE |
VIC |
|
RECORD |
JOE |
46 |
MOUNT HELENA |
WA |
|
SMITH |
BRYAN |
44 |
MELTON |
VIC |
|
SPRENGLEMEYER |
MARTY |
41 |
IOWA |
USA |
|
STANDEVEN |
DAVID |
35 |
CHRISTIE DOWN |
SA |
|
TAKASHI |
TOMOYA |
|
TOKYO |
JAPAN |
|
TAYLOR |
DAVE |
36 |
APPIN |
NSW |
|
TAYLOR |
MAURICE |
39 |
HABERFIELD |
NSW |
|
TOUT |
DICK |
40 |
AUCKLAND |
NZ |
|
TOWNSEND |
GRAEME |
30 |
MITTAGONG |
NSW |
|
TOLLIDAY |
OWEN |
38 |
BUDERIM |
QLD |
|
VEGA |
EDUARDO |
47 |
LIDCOMBE |
NSW |
|
WILKINSON |
GRAEME |
41 |
GUNNEDAH |
NSW |
|
WOODS |
GRAEME |
41 |
ROCKHAMPTON |
QLD |
Ernie
Cattle from Holbrook, NSW is entering the Westfield
for the first time. He has been in the Royal Australian Navy for ten years and
is a Physical Training Instructor with an interest in Combat Survival Courses.
Ernie is regarded as a Fitness Fanatic in his local community, but has only
been running seriously for the past four years.
Ernie has always sought new
challenges in life and believes that the Sydney to Melbourne will be that
challenge. In the past four years, he has run many Marathons and Ultras and has
been eating twelve low fat meals a day. His other interests in life are
canoeing and flying Ultra Light aircraft.
Twenty-seven year old, Gary Collins from Ettalong in NSW is
one of the younger runners in the race. Prior to 1987, Gary's sporting
expertise lay in the surfing, swimming and Martial arts. He was watching the 86
Run on TV with his ankle in plaster and was so impressed with the efforts of
Dusan Mravlje that he got a pair of tin snips and cut off the plaster. He then
went for a run and hasn't looked back since.
He had plenty of knockers prior to
the 87 event. He had to train with $6 specials from K-Mart but still completed
an incredible 698km in his first race. He qualified for this year's race with a
credible 150km in the Sydney 24hr Race and is confident of completing the full
distance of the 88 Westfield.
Tony
Collins, a dentist from Norah Heads in NSW is competing to raise money for
Camperdown Children’s Hospital cancer research. He was forced to withdraw at
the 928km mark with shin trouble in 1987 but had raised $11 000 for the appeal
and was ecstatic at his efforts.
Salvation Army Officer, Terry Cox from Victoria is competing in
the event for the second time. He crewed for Pat Macke in 1986 and was so
inspired by his effort, that he ran in 87 and completed the course in 8 days,
16 hours and 35 minutes.
Terry has done many Runs for charity prior to 86 and held the record
for the longest distance covered on a Treadmill. This was recorded in the
Guiness Book of Records. Terry has been covering at least 200km per week in
training. Some of this mileage includes running backwards up hills.
An Army Officer of a different sort in the field was 41 year old, Trevor Harris from the ACT. Trevor is a
Warrant Officer in the Australian Army and twenty months ago the Westfield was
an impossible dream. He was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident. On
recovery he set himself to run in the "Westfield". He has been
running 250km a week and has run eight Ultras and five marathons in
preparation. Trevor is aiming to be the first Aussie home.
Dallas
Earsman from Tamworth, NSW is one of the older runners in the race. He is a
60 year old Car Salesman. He completed 185km in the 85 run, before having to
withdraw with tendonitis. He was injured last year, but is fit and raring to
go. His best distance over 24 hours in 140km.
Pat
Farmer from Granville, NSW is the youngest runner in the field at
twenty-five. He competed last year and completed 367kms.
Farmer has crewed for several top
Ultra Marathon Runners in other races and when asked why he wanted to run the
Westfield said, "Because it's there". Pat watched Molloy win in 84
and has been inspired ever since.
Forty year old, Mark Gladwell from North Rocks,NSW has only been running for the
past three and a half years, but finished eleventh in last year's Westfield. He
has run between 240 - 280km per week in training and believes that his Army
service will help him to discipline his mind in this area.
Mark started running after meeting,
Kevin Mansell at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and the pair have not looked
back since. Mark got sponsored per kilometre last year and raised $10 000 for
the NSW Spastic Centre.
Dusan
Mravlje from Yugoslavia is a previous winner of the event in 1986. He had
to withdraw last year, after completing 480km. He cannot understand much
English, but he certainly endeared himself to the Australian public when he
went on a "Pub Crawl" on the last day of the 86 race. He has
completed over twenty Marathons and has excellent time of all ultra distances
between 100km and 1000km. He is certainly one to watch in this year's event.
Rune
Larsson from Sweden is competing in this event for the first time. He has
won or been placed in every Ultra event in Europe in the last twelve months.
His training regime includes Orienteering, Cross Country Skiing, running,
Canoeing, Kayaking. In winter he will ski from one end Sweden to the other and
in summer he walks and covers the same distance. He believes that these solo
adventures give him the necessary mental capacity to compete in Ultras.
Rune also has a best Marathon time of
2 hours and 18 minutes, which was recorded at Boston. This is definitely world class.
He is a bachelor and said "Who could keep up with my lifestyle?"
The 1988 Westfield is starting on St Patrick's Day. This suits Tony Rafferty to a tea. Tony has run
this route fourteen times and has also run from Fremantle to Surfers Paradise and
was the first person to run along the dreaded Birdsville Track.
1986 was a good year for Tony. He won
the 1000-mile Race in England and finishing sixth in the La Rochelle 6 Day
World Championship. He has started in the last five Westfield’s and has only
failed to finish on one occasion. A remarkable achievement in itself!
Joe
Record from WA is a full time Ultra runner. He finished fifth in 1985 and
1986. In the first two years he withdrew with injury but was close to getting a
major place on each occasion. Joe boycotted the event in 87 and ran by himself
from Sydney to Melbourne. He won the Colac 6 Day Race last year with a total of
890kms and should help to influence the outcome of this year's Westfield.
Telecom Lines Officer, Bryan Smith from Melton, Victoria is
competing in the event for the first time. He has already run 227km in a 24
hour race and should be very competitive.
David
Standeven from Christie Downs, South Australia is competing in the race for
the second time. He finished seventh last year in a time of 8 days 9 hours and
19 minutes. He began his running career in 1982. In 1986 he ran in two ultra
Marathons and won both.
The first was the Manly 100-mile race
which he won in an outstanding time of 14 hours and 13 minutes. He then won the
Aust 24 hour in October 86 and scored the Aust 200km record at the same time.
He weighs slightly over 50kg, and is training over 300km a week. He has a heart
bigger than Phar Lap.
Maurice Taylor from Kogarah in NSW is another first timer. He has been running
since 1976 and has run in thirty marathons, six 50-mile events, three 24 hour
events and the 85km Cradle Mountain Run. He has a best distance of 202.3km over
24 hours and should do well in this year's Race.
Thirty six year old, David Taylor from Appin in NSW is back
for his third attempt. In 1986 he completed 557km and last year he managed
170km before missing the cut off at Goulburn. He has ran from Sydney to
Melbourne and back again in 1987. This took 22 days and 16 hours and 15
minutes. Tony Rafferty is the only other runner to run from Melbourne to Sydney
and return! He is confident that he will make it to the finish Line on his
third attempt.
Japan will be represented by forty
six year old Professional Folk Singer, Tomoya
Takaishi. TV crews from Japan have covered the event during the past two
years and are expected to be in bigger numbers this year. Since 1975, he has
competed in Marathons, Triathlons and Iron Man ultra races in the USA and
Japan. He is known for his ability of smiling, no matter what pain barrier he
is suffering.
Graeme Townsend from Mittagong, NSW is competing in the event for the first time.
He has played first grade cricket, won the NSW Junior and Senior Table Tennis
Championship and has a major in Physical Education. His original plans were to
run in the 1989 Event, but his 162km in May 1987 impressed officials that they
asked him to run in this year's event. Graeme's wife, Cathy is expecting their
first baby during this year's race!
Dick
Tout from New Zealand is entering the event for the second time and is
tipped to fill one of the major placings. He finished third last year in a time
of 6 days, 2 hours and 29 minutes. He differs from the normal Ultra Runner in
that he races to win and doesn’t accept second best. Since his first ultra in
1981 he has raced in 14 events and has eleven wins to his credit. Dick has
completed over 25 marathons and has a best distance of 247 kms over 24 hours.
Eduardo
Vega from Lidcombe in NSW emigrated from Peru in 1984. He has been running
in Ultra events in that country since 1978. He got accepted into the race after
running an incredible 175km at the 24-hour race in 1987. He spent half the
night in hospital suffering from dehydration, but was discharged from hospital
at 0600 hrs in the morning, went back to the track and started running again.
Exactly the guts and determination that officials are looking for!
Graeme
Wood from Queensland is another first time starter. He is a full time
runner and motivational speaker with a personal best of 212km over 24 hours. He
trains up to 200km a week and has the luxury of an all-female crew for this
year's event.
Kevin
Mansell from Cabramatta, NSW is running for the second time. Kevin finished
14th last year and took just under nine days. On finishing last
year, Kevin said "All my life I've been looking for a hero. Now I've found
one…. ME".
Kevin began running five years ago
when he joined Alcoholics Anonymous to quit drinking and break his eighty
cigarettes a day habit. It was at that meeting that he met fellow Ultra Runner,
Mark Gladwell and neither have looked back since! Kevin is unsure if he likes
running or not, but likes the satisfaction on completing a hard run. He is
training over 300km a week and is expected to vastly improve his time on last
year's effort!
Ultra Legend, Cliff Young is not running this year. He is in retirement but will
be Morale Officer for this year's run
Rod
Martin from NSW is also running in the event for the first time. He is a
courier company manager and holds all the Long distance Running records with
the Parramatta Athletics club. He has only recently moved to longer races and
has a sixth place in the 1987 Sydney to Wollongong and 134km at the 24hr Trial
Race.
It was announced at the Press conference two days before the start
of the Race, that champion Yiannis Kouros would start twelve hours behind the
rest of the field. Race organiser, Charlie Lynn originally asked Kouros a week
ago to start twenty-four hours behind the rest of the field. Kouros rejected
this saying that he did not have enough time to change his tactics. Kouros has
been offered another $5 000 on top of the $25 000 first prize if he makes up
the 12 hour delayed start and is the first to cross the Finishing Line.
Several of the runners protested when
this Delayed Start was announced at the Press Conference. Victorian Runner,
Brian Bloomer threatened possible protest action by the rest of the strong
field. "It'd be nice if the runners ran down the road and waited at the 50
mile mark until Kouros joined us and then we'll all start off and have a fair
dinkum race" Bloomer also said that if the Australian Ultra Runners
Association had any teeth they would pull all the runners out of the race.
Tony Rafferty was furious and said
"It's ridiculous and makes a circus of the whole race. What's all this
business about Kouros automatically winning - he's a human being and we haven't
seen the best of some of the other runners yet"
Michel Careau of Canada was annoyed
and said, "A race is a race. All the runners should start at the same
time. Psychologically we should all line up together. Now instead of chasing
Kouros, he will be chasing us. It is unfortunate, but it will not change the
way I will run my race".
Race Organiser, Charlie Lynn explained
safety reasons and a need to sustain the public interest as reasons why Kouros
would be starting twelve hours behind the rest of the field.
By the morning of the race, the
runners had calmed down on the handicapping issue and realised that they still
had a job to do. Brian Bloomer, who twenty four hours earlier had suggested
some sort of combined runners protest was quoted as saying shortly before the
race" Kouros might well win or lose by a month but it's no good crying
about it -we'll just go out and run".
The day of the race was now here and
the World's largest Point to Point footrace was ready to start. It was the
sixth running of the event and 1015km long. It had Bicentennial endorsement and
the promoters are hoping that it will be a major part of Australia's 200th
birthday. The Mayor of Parramatta presented each runner with a medallion and
certificate. This was very well received and is sure to be treasured for years
to come. The journey was set to encompass a variety of terrain and meander it's
way from Sydney to Canberra and then through the Snowy Mountains before winding
up in the flatlands of Gippsland and the Finish at Melbourne.
It promises to be a great battle in the Womens Race as well. There
are three women lined up for the event. They are Eleanor Adams (UK), Mary
Hanudel(USA) and Sandra Barwick(NZ). Media coverage for the event is promising
to be at an all time high. Channel Nine and a Japanese Film crew are making
separate documentaries.
The race was finally underway at
11am. A huge crowd was at Westfield Shoppingtown, Parramatta and lined the
roads on the way out of the city.
Firstimer, Ernie Cattle was leading
at the Marathon stage. He went through at three hours and two minutes, which is
a very fast for the start of an Ultra! By tea time, the field was starting to
be in some sort of order. Dick Tout was in the lead from Dusan Mravlje, Ernie
Cattle and Patrick Macke was in forth place.
When Yiannis Kouros started at 11pm.
Dick Tout had covered 120km.
Dick Tout and crew became the first
runner and vehicles to use the new Bypass Road between Goulburn and Canberra.
The preliminary speeches were being made by the VIPs and Officials when along
came Tout and crew heading straight for the ribbon. "Determined not to be
upstaged, the ribbon was officially cut and Tout calmly jogged through followed
by his support crew. They became the first runner and vehicles to use the
bypass and the event was duly reported on ABC TV."
It was early in the morning when Dick
Tout was seen chasing three sheep along the road. New Zealanders have an
affection for sheep but this is ridiculous "Needless to say, instead of
lamb chops for breakfast, Dick had to settle for a massage".
Brian Bloomer's van was spotted
during the night with an assortment of hubcaps and junk in the van. The
Westfield Newsletter Reporter suggested that they would "Probably have a
trash &treasure sale at the end of the race"
The top
ten placings after twenty four hours of running were:
1. Richard Tout 242km
2. Dusan Mravlje 225km
3. Owen Tolliday 204km
4. Patrick Macke 203km
5. Rune Larssen 201km
6. Bryan Smith 198km
7. Ian Javes 194km
8. Marty Sprengelmeyer 193km
9. Joe Record 192km
10. Graeme Wilkinson 192km
Women's Placings
after 24 hours were:
22 Eleanor Adams 163km
26 Mary Hanudel 159km
34 Sandra Barwick 144km
The second day of the race dawned and
there were two withdrawals. They were Dallas Earsman from NSW who withdrew
after covering 150km, suffering from blisters. Tony Rafferty was also withdrawn.
He covered 168km, but failed to reach the first cut off in the allotted time.
Tony had competed and completed the course on the last five occasions. Every
Champion has one bad race. Unfortunately the critics and cynics who seem to
gleefully surface on masse every time a Tall Poppy fails in Australian sport
were soon out and baying for Tony's blood.
Yiannis Kouros was moving through the
field. As he passed each runner he would present them with a T-shirt bearing
the words "Yiannis Kouros -Ultra Marathon Man". In other sports this
would be regarded as One-upmanship, but Kouros felt humble every time he passed
a fellow runner. Kouros knew the responsibilities that came with being the best
Ultra runner in the World.
Dick Tout was keeping his slender lead,
but was being challenged by Larsson, Mravlje and Macke. New Australian runner,
Byran Smith was moving through the field and was up with the leaders.
Michel Careau smashed the Canadian
48-hour record when he recorded 288.5klm. The previous mark stood at 277.6km.
The funniest story of Day two goes to
the crew manager of Graeme Townsend's crew. Graeme needed to go to the toilet.
One of his crew called the Manager for a "Date Roll" to which his
reply was "I haven't got any date roll , but will a banana cake do?"
Top Ten after
Day two were:
1. Dick Tout 405km
2. Rune Larssen 376km
3. Dusan Mravlje 368km
4. Bryan Smith 367km
5. Patrick Macke 348km
6. Owen Tolliday 346km
7. Yiannis Kouros 345km
8. David Standeven 306km
9. Graeme Woods 305km
10. Tony Collins 304km
Women placings
were:
13 Eleanor Adams 295km
24 Mary Hanudel 270km
25 Sandra Barwick 268km
Day three started and Dick Tout
maintained his lead. He was initially troubled by Kouros's twelve hour handicap
but like the champion he is, he stuck to his own plan and kept motoring down
the highway. Kouros was moving up fast and was third by the end of the day.
There was a battle between Rune
Larssen and Dusan Mravlje for second early in the day, but by the end of the
day Larssen had slipped into forth.
Rune Larsson was struggling with the
heat, but would come alive of a night time. This was described by Larssen when
he said "The nights became my best time for running. It was pleasantly
cool for the body and the eyes had all the stars of the southern sky to look
at. The Australians are crammed together in a few big cities on their great
continent. The countryside is peacefully desolate, and at night one will not
see too many cars."
Quote of day three must go to a crew
member who said to his noisy companion "Shut up or you'll wake up the
runner…………when he's asleep, we don't work!"
Marty Sprengelmeyer was moving well
and had plodded into eleventh place by the end of the day. Pat Macke was
suffering in the Australian heat. Newcomers to the race, Bryan Smith and Owen
Tolliday were having a great race though and were in fifth and sixth position
respectively.
One of Ian Javes crew members had an interesting situation today.
They were going through a small town, when a crew member related an interesting
incident to a Race Official "I just had a young lady approach me and ask
'What does a runner's crew member feel like?' - so I showed her".
Two Australians had to withdraw
during the day. Brian Bloomer was withdrawn after completing 202km. He was
suffering from extreme runner’s knee. Graham Firkin withdrew at the 385km mark
with the same injury. Firkin had suffered for the last 170km and had made a
distance record for the Sydney Striders in the process. His wife and friends
were very proud of his achievement. He vowed to return next year.
The top
ten placings after Day three were:
1. Richard Tout 575km
2. Dusan Mravlje 536km
3. Yiannis Kouros 532km
4. Rune Larssen 524km
5. Bryan Smith 524km
6. Owen Tolliday 495km
7. Patrick Macke 494km
8. David Standeven 479km
9. Joe Record 476km
10. Graeme Woods 474km
The Women's
Positions were:
12 Eleanor Adams 451km
28 Mary Hanudel 404km
33 Sandra Barwick 397km
The forth day started and the heat and the hills were taking their
toll on the runners. Dick Tout was maintaining his lead. He had no problem with
the heat because he had trained for it and had the sun on his side. On the
other hand, Kouros was really suffering. His body was covered in sunscreen and
his crew were even running with large towels next to him to ward off the heat.
During the afternoon, Dusan Mravlje
took over second from Kouros and kept his position as day moved into night.
Brian Bloomer decided during the day
to split himself and his crew up amongst the other three runners in the
NutraSweet Team. His crew members went to Eleanor Adams and Mary Hanudel's
crew, whilst Bloomer joined up with Rune Larssen. Larssen immediately picked up
his pace and improved during the rest of the day.
Night fell and the cold was to
Kouros's liking. By morning, he had passed Mravlje and was within 25km of Tout.
Tout was starting to do it hard and by the end of Day four he was only 12km
ahead of Kouros. Both runners took breaks at Lakes Entrance realising that the
hardest part of the race was in front of them. Rune Larssen and Dusan Mravlje
were third and forth.
Australians filled fifth to eighth
place. They were Bryan Smith, Owen Tolliday, David Standeven and Graeme Woods.
During the day, two more runners were
to withdraw. They were Ernie Cattle and Graeme Townsend. Cattle completed 450km
and withdrew with foot ligament damage. Graeme Townsend completed 480km and
decided that he had enough. Thirty eight of the original forty three starters
were left in the field which was spread over 210km.
The top nine
after Day four were:
1. Richard Tout 702km
2. Yiannis Kouros 690km
3. Rune Larssen 644km
4. Bryan Smith 643km
5. Dusan Mravlje 640km
6. David Standeven 617km
6. Owen Tolliday 617km
7. Pat Macke 612km
8. Graeme Woods 609km
9. Joe Record 582km
The top women
positions were:
13 Eleanor Adams 557km
24 Sandra Barwick 513km
26 Mary Hanudel 510km
The fifth day of the race commenced
and the late summer sun continued to have a dramatic effect on the thirty eight
runners left in the race. The lead runners were lucky. They were out of the
highlands and were running along the Victorian coastline.
Tout did well with the stop at Lakes
Entrance. Kouros was allowed to have an extra hour's sleep by his crew. When he
awoke he was livid and took after Tout. He had 30k to make on Tout.
Bryan Smith and Dusan Mravlje were
fighting it out for third some 30km behind Kouros. Larssen was not far behind
and was waiting ready to strike.
All of the runners have special
signals to their crew when they want something. Kevin Mansell listens to music
on a walkman. He raises his arm when he wants a change of music. Yesterday, he
raised his hand and an attentive crewmember hopped out with a tape. Kevin asked
"Why?" to which the crewmember replied "Because you held up your
hand". "No I didn't. I was waving to me mate!"
The distance between first and last
was now 230km. Three runners pulled out during the day. They were Rod Martin,
Stuart Currie and Eduardo Vega. It was the first Westfield for all three
runners but they could hold their heads up high.
The crew of Owen Tolliday were
confused when they thought that Owen was coming towards them. A second look
told them though that their runner was going the right way. He had had his
shorts on the wrong way and had been like that for the last two days!
It was 0115 hrs Tuesday 22 Mar 98
when Yiannis Kouros took the lead. Tout was asleep, whilst his crew watched in
silent amazement. Tout's manager summed it succinctly when he said "Tout
will now go out and prove that he is King of the Roads… Kouros is God of the
Roads…and no-one can beat Greek Gods".
By the end
of the fifth day, Kouros had a eleven km lead over Dick Tout.
Top ten after
Day Five was:
1. Yiannis Kouros 848km
2. Dick Tout 837km
3. Dusan Mravlje 793km
4. Bryan Smith 791km
5. Rune Larsson 778km
6. David Standeven 754km
7. Graham Woods 742km
8. Owen Tolliday 739km
9. Pat Macke 735km
10. Joe Record 720km
The female
milege was:
Eleanor
Adams 687km
Sandra Barwick 628km
Mary Hanudel 622km
Day six of the race dawned. Dick Tout
continued hot on the heels of Kouros. There was only 12km between the two
runners. Dusan Mravlje and Bryan Smith continued the battle for third. The
experience of Mravlje was to win in the end.
The effect of the heat was eventually
too much for Rune Larssen. He had been training in the European winter for the
race and the Australian heat was to much for him. At 0100 hrs in the morning,
he was admitted to Sale Base Hospital because his crew suspected dehydration.
He was ordered to take a long rest by Hospital staff. This was to cost him a
place in the top five.
Four Australians were in the bottom
half of the top ten runners. They were Owen Tolliday, Graeme Woods, David Standeven
and Kevin Mansell. Kevin had put the best run of the day in.
Graeme Woods revealed a new talent today of fossicking for gold! He
was staggering along the road when to the horror of his crew, he dropped to his
knees. They rushed to assist. He straightened his body and held aloft a dollar
coin.
The 30 degree heat continued during
the day and four more runners withdrew. They were Maurice Taylor, Joe Record,
Barry Brooks and Alan Fairbrother.
Fairbrother had suffered personal
tragedy prior to the event when his marriage finished. "My wife, Mary is a
fantastic woman but she could only take so much. It's not easy for a wife to
hear her husband say 'honey I'm just going for a run, I'll be back in three
weeks".
Barry Brooks remembered one funny
story from the race "I asked for
some nutravite for the chafing around my backside. The crew member that was
runner at the time had absolutely no medical knowledge, jumped into the body of
the campervan and yelled "Barry wants the NutraGrain for his bum!"
Kouros maintained his lead, but
struggled during the cold of the night. Between midnight and 0700hrs he only
managed 7km. During this time, Tout closed in and was only 6km away at one
stage. Kouros finally came to life, when he got to the outskirts of Packenham
and a big group of locals and the Shire President were there to meet him. This
was enough and Yiannis was back in action. It wasn't long before the crowd was
lined four deep and were all cheering for the Champion of the Road.
The top
Ten after Day six was :
Yiannis Kouros 982km
Dick Tout 964km
Dusan Mravlje 934km
Bryan Smith 923km
David Standeven 900km
Graeme Woods 875km
Owen Tolliday 863km
Marty Sprengelmeyer 848km
Kevin Mansell 841km
Rune Larssen 825km
The three women
placings were:
11 Eleanor
Adams 824km
21 Sandra
Barwick 757km
22 Mary
Hanudel 756km
Day Seven of the race started. Over
5000 people were to see the great Yiannis Kouros finish at 4.14pm on Wednesday
23rd Mar. His elapsed time was 5 days 19 hours and 14 minutes. His
win gained him front-page news coverage all over the country when Television
News and Radio Stations used the story as Headlines for the day. He received
$20 000 for winning and another $5 000 for beating his twelve hour handicap.
Kouros was absolutely wasted when he
crossed the finish. "He had lost his voice and he coughed all the way
through his Press conference after the race" He said that he felt awful
and would not race in the Westfield again. The Greek God was starting to show
some chinks in his armour. Even if it was hard work being the best in the
world! Kouros also announced that he was contemplating moving his family to
Australia. He knew that there was more recognition for him in Australia than in
Greece.
Dick Tout was to finish second at
9.18pm on Wednesday night. If Kouros weren’t there, would the crowds have been
excited about Tout winning.
Dusan Mravlje continued to hold third
place over Bryan Smith. Kevin Mansell was once again being the "Mover and
shaker" on Day Seven. He was in seventh place and serving notice to the
rest of the Ultra World.
Tragedy struck the race, when Mary
Hanudel was hit by her own support vehicle. The story is that she stopped
suddenly and her vehicle had nowhere to go! Her ankle was trapped under the
front wheel. She was transferred to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and needed
a skin graft and surgery for tendon damage. Police attended the scene but no
one was charged over the incident. Mary placed no blame and invited her crew
back in 1989.
Rune Larssen was to be told of Mary Hanudel's tragic accident when
he only had 100km to go in the race. He had been admitted to Sale Base Hospital
and was drawing deep within himself to finish. Rune struggled to accept this
and as he said in his own words "But this was a tragedy I could not accept
- the absolutely worse and most difficult thing during the entire race. I
limped down the road with a depressed and dark mind. All the joy was gone for a
long time" Mary Hanudel and Rune Larssen were very good friends. They were
later to become married and now have a couple of children.
The Top Ten after Day Seven were:
1. Yiannis
Kouros 5days 19
hours 14 min
2. Dick
Tout 6 days
11 hours 18min
3. Dusan
Mravlje 6 days 14
hours 10 min
4. Bryan
Smith 6days 15 hours 33min
5. David
Standeven 6days 20hours 33min
6. Graeme
Woods 1002km
7. Kevin
Mansell 993km
8. Owen
Tolliday 980km
9. Marty
Sprengelmeyer 962km
10. Eleanor
Adams 958km
The last day of the race dawned and
the tail enders inched towards the Finish. 43 had started and 23 were to
finish.
It was announced today that Champion
boxer, Jeff Fenech wanted to do the Westfield. He said, "If I enter the
event, I'll be doing so not just to make the distance, but to win". He
also said that he wanted his trainer Johnny Lewis to be his crew chief!
Two more runners were to withdraw on
the last day. They were Terry Cox and Japan's Tomoya Takashi. At the 909km mark
he called it a day. On retiring he promised that he would bring more Japanese
runners out next year. Tomoya was to be the star billing at the Westfield Post
event celebrations.
Considering that Tomoya had only
been running 80km a week, his efforts astounded everyone associated with the
run. No one was more surprised with his effort than his manager, Ian Taylor.
"I predicted all along he wouldn't get to Canberra, Cooma, everywhere else
but Bairnsdale. And I thought he'd get to Melbourne, I was amazed at his
run".
His crew were underprepared and had
no idea of what was going to happen. One of his crew fell out of the van
shortly after the start! Tomoya countered these negatives with plenty of
positives. Ian Taylor said "His temperament was great. He might have been
boiling inside but he never did his block once. His legs were really good, very
supple. He had a better running action than anybody in the race. When he was
going he was really going. And his feet were brilliant. He only got one large
blister on the last day".
Ian Taylor was hoping that Tomoya
would compete next year with a better support crew and be better trained. He
was sure that he would be an influence on next year's race!
One of the success stories of the
1988 Westfield was Kevin Mansell. Kevin finished seventh this year in a time of
seven days, four hours and fifty-five minutes and in the process he took thirty
eight hours of his 1987 result. When the term "Little Aussie Battler"
was coined, Kevin Mansell was definitely the picture in the dictionary. His
family split when he was young and he was placed in an orphanage with his
younger brother. On leaving the orphanage he became an alcoholic. He joined
Alcoholics Anonymous and has given up drinking since 20 September 1977.
It took him four years before he got
in touch with the rest of his family. It was along hard road, but brother,
sister and Kevin became a family again. At the time, Kevin was smoking eighty
cigarettes a day and was starting to pay the price. It was 20 April 83 when he
gave up smoking.
As a result, the weight piled on. It
was suggested that he started jogging. He almost died with exhaustion after
running his first session, but six months later he ran in a 12 kilometre Fun
Run. It was six months after that when he ran in his first Marathon. He only
made it to the thirty kilometre mark, but was introduced to coach, Bill Carlson
and has not looked back.
Kevin concedes that each challenge
has been difficult, but he has had to accept them. "I had to accept the
fact that I was an alcoholic and do something. Similarly I had to accept the
fact that I was smoking too heavily and it was killing me". Kevin realises
that Ultra Running is a new kind of addiction and it gives him the discipline
needed in life.
Kevin spoke of last year's run when
he said "I wanted to prove to myself in last year's run that I was equal:
I made the statement that I had found my hero, and it was me. For the first
time in my life I was able to say 'Hey mate, don't look down on
yourself'".
Kevin's final words at the Press
conference were "For a change I'm starting to get a little bit of
recognition, and why not. That pleases me, and why not because I've worked hard
for three years."
Marty Sprengelmeyer from USA was to
finish in ninth place in a time of 7 days, 8 hours and 40 minutes. He was
wrapped with every phase of the Race, but was disappointed at not seeing a
kangaroo.
This is best told in Marty's own
words when he said "I had expected
to see kangaroos all over the countryside and was disappointed when all I saw
was two dead ones along the side of the road. Late one night my crew leader,
Ken Murray, decided to take matters into his own hands. He had our big vehicle
drive in front of me. While Donna was giving me something to eat on the other
side of the campervan he got out the other side covered with dark brown towels
and a pillow on his stomach. When I came in front I heard this commotion in the
woods. Something was hopping along making kangaroo noises! It was Kenny the
Kangaroo! It completely cracked me up. We were all laughing for a good long
time.
Up to the official cut off point at
11.00pm a further seventeen runners finished the race. Eleanor Adams and Pat
Macke crossed the line together. Pat Farmer at 25 became the youngest ever
finisher in the Race.
"Mountain Man" Grahame
Kerruish crossed the finishing Line three hours later at 0200hrs. He was given
an extension to finish after the official cut. On finishing he said "The
Mountain Man has made it": He was to write an excellent story on his run
at a later date title "On the Run with Mountain Man". This is covered
in a later Chapter.
Twenty two others finished the race
as well. The 1988 Westfield certainly wrote itself up as a Bicentennial event.
It also wrote another chapter in Ultra Running history. As Rune Larssen said
"The road down to Melbourne was really worth all the hardship"
FINAL PLACINGS Westfield RUN 88
|
PLACE |
RUNNER |
COUNTRY |
TIME |
DATE/TIME FINISHED |
|
1 |
YIANNIS KOUROS |
GREECE |
5D 19H 14M |
4.14PM 23/3/88 |
|
2 |
DICK TOUT |
NEW ZEALAND |
6D 11H 18M |
9.18PM 23/3/88 |
|
3 |
DUSAN MRAVLJE |
YUGOSLAVIA |
6D 14H 10M |
12.10AM 24/3/88 |
|
4 |
BRYAN SMITH |
VICTORIA |
6D 15H 33M |
1.33AM 24/3/88 |
|
5 |
DAVID STANDEVEN |
SA |
6D 18H 33M |
4.33AM 24/3/88 |
|
6 |
GRAEME WOODS |
QLD |
7D 2H 5M |
12.05PM 24/3/88 |
|
7 |
KEVIN MANSELL |
NSW |
7D 4H 55M |
2.55PM 24/3/88 |
|
8 |
OWEN TOLLIDAY |
QLD |
7D 7H 29M |
5.29PM 24/3/88 |
|
9 |
MARTY SPRENGELMEYER |
USA |
7D 8H 40M |
6.40PM 24/3/88 |
|
10 |
ELEANOR ADAMS |
UK |
7D 10H 5M |
8.05PM 24/3/88 |
|
11 |
PAT MACKE |
UK |
7D 10H 5M |
8/05PM 24/3/88 |
|
12 |
IAN JAVES |
QLD |
7D 18H 5M |
4.05AM 25/3/88 |
|
13 |
GEORGE AUDLEY |
WA |
7D 21H 16M |
7.16AM 25/3/88 |
|
14 |
MARK GLADWELL |
NSW |
7D 23 H 18M |
9.18AM 25/3/88 |
|
15 |
PAT FARMER |
NSW |
7D 23H 18M |
9.18AM 25/3/88 |
|
16 |
MICHEL CAREAU |
CANADA |
8D 2H 30M |
12.30PM 25/3/88 |
|
17 |
SANDRA BARWICK |
NZ |
8D 4H 10M |
2.10PM 25/3/88 |
|
18 |
RON HILL |
VIC |
8D 6H 15M |
4.15PM 25/3/88 |
|
19 |
ROSS PARKER |
WA |
8D 7H 6M |
5.06PM 25/3/88 |
|
20 |
RUNE LARSSEN |
SWEDEN |
8D 11H 6M |
9.06PM 25/3/88 |
|
21 |
GRAEME WILKINSON |
NSW |
8D 12H 9M |
10.09PM 25/3/98 |
|
22 |
JOHN BREIT |
VIC |
8D 12H 22M |
10.22PM 25/3/98 |
|
23 |
GRAEME KERRUISH |
NSW |
8D 16H |
2.00AM 26/3/98 |
One of the most successful runners in
the race was Dick Tout. He finished second to Yiannis Kouros and improved
eleven hours on his 87 time. In the end there was only sixteen hours between
himself and Yiannis Kouros.
Tout is different from the usual
Westfield Runner. He has run a two and a half-hour marathon and is a successful
businessman. Why would he need to prove himself in this event? He runs more
like a runner than an endurance athlete!
Tout is also different from other
runners because he doesn't believe in doing the extra miles that some subject
themselves to. He averages 140 kilometres a week with an occasional long run of
fifty kilometres. Running is the major part of Tout's training program, but he
also adds aerobics and gym work to his schedule.
Tout had a professional crew for the whole race. They were all first
class runners in their own right and possessed the dogged Kiwi determination.
Especially when it is Kiwis versus the Aussies!
After the race, Tout said how he
visualised the race before hand. He knew that it was the toughest course in the
world. He was still upset over the Kouros handicapping controversy, but was
happy with Westfield and knew that it was improving every year.
Race Director, Charlie Lynn was happy
with the progression that the 88 Westfield had made. He saw it as a balancing
act between the needs of the runner's, sponsors and the media. He concedes that
the handicap given to Yiannis Kouros was the hardest decision he has made in
the context of the race, but he believes it was a success.
He was also happy with the introduction
of the cut offs. He thought that more than one runner would get knocked out,
but says it was a success as the runners had goals to obtain on a daily basis.
He was also happy that sponsors like Nutrasweet had come on board and helped to
make the event a success.
Controversy continued after the race
on the handicap given to Yiannis Kouros. Was it a delayed start or a handicap?
Did it really effect the other runners because Yiannis Kouros started twelve
hours behind the opposition? All of these questions were debated in Australian
Ultra runners Association Newsletter for the next couple of months. The simple
fact was that the organisers regarded Yiannis as a class above the rest. They
had safety worries if he started at the same time as the other runners. It
still made the race very interesting as he had to play catch up for a few days
and the determined Dick Tout did not give up without a fight.
All of the runners recovered in their own way after their battle
between Sydney and Melbourne. Grahame Kerruish had his feet packed in ice
immediately after the race. He ran in the Canberra Marathon just to blow out
the cobwebs a couple of weeks later! Barry Brook is having doubts on wether he
should have kept going. He wakes up in the middle of the night with his feet
still pounding the pavement!
Tony Collins was ecstatic at his
effort and glad that he raised $ 25 000 for research into Children's cancer.
Owen Tolliday was exhausted, but vowing to run again in 1989. Dave Taylor was
planning to retire, drink beer and potter around the garden. Kevin Mansell was
more than happy with his great achievement and planning his next run. Every
runner in the race, finisher and non-finisher should be proud of their effort.
To have run a marathon is to have lived - to run an Ultra of this magnitude is
to have lived and experienced another dimension!
No comments:
Post a Comment