Sunday, September 6, 2020

Ive finally found my Hero - Chapter Ten

 

Chapter Ten

"The 1991 Race"

"Bryan Smith triumphant!"

 

    Ultra events were to continue almost as soon as the last runner crossed the line in the 1990 Westfield. Bob Burns was to win the Aust 48 hour race in June 90 with a distance of 307.94km. Westfield aspirant, Lindsay Philipps ran a very consistent 240.301km in the same event.

 

            4th and 5th of August 90 saw the second running of the Totos 24 hour Challenge at Olympic Park, Melbourne. Yiannis Kouros was to absolutely blitz the field with an amazing 280.8km. Second was fellow Westfield runner, John Breit with a good total of 238.46km. This would have been good enough to win on any other occasion.

 

            Anyce Kip Melham was to win the Westfield Sydney Striders 24 hour track race in September with a splendid 206.3km. Bryan Smith was to win the CampbellTown Mall 24 hour track race in October with a great total of 222.516km. Peter Gray won the Sri Chinmoy 24 hour race in Adelaide with a total of 202.014km. This was done in scorching heat of 38 degrees.

 

            The CampbellTown 6 Day Race was held in November 90 with Kiwi runner, Sandra Barwick winning with a magnificent 883.631km. Fellow Westfield runner, Tony Collins finished third with 770.104km.

 

Yiannis Kouros was to win his second 24 hour race in a six month period when he won the Wyong 24 hour race on the Australia Day Weekend with 257.81km. This was an excellent effort when you consider that it was run on a soft grass track. Bryan Smith won his second 24 hour race for the year when he completed 250.729km to win the Victorian 24 hour Championship in February 91.

 

The stage was certainly set for the 91 Westfield to be a crackerjack event. There were some top performances by runners around Australia. What would the ninth running of the event bring?

 

1991 was to see major changes in the running of the Westfield Run. "The ninth running of the Sydney to Melbourne Westfield Run will see a number of exciting changes" is how the Executive director of the event, Mr Chris Bates, announced the changes to the Press conference on 16 April 1991.

 

            "We are continually looking at ways to improve the Westfield Run and this year we've increased prizemoney, introduced handicapping for the entire field and through the advice of the NSW and Victorian Police Departments, altered the course of the race to ensure better safety for the runners and the public" said Chris Bates.

 

            The new route for this year's event is 1028km. This is the second longest distance that the race has been run. The event is due to start on Wednesday 15th May 91 from the Westfield ShoppingTown in Liverpool. Organisers have given the runners an extra day to complete the event.

 

            The route this year will go along the Hume and Federal Highway's to Canberra and then the Monaro Highway to Cooma. After Cooma, the course goes along the Snowy Mountains Highway through Adaminaby and up to Cabramurra, which is the highest town in Australia.

 

            The course then goes through Kosciusko National Park, before going along the Alpine Way to Corryong. The runners then head to Wodonga before turning left and heading along the Hume Highway towards Melbourne. The finish will once again be at Doncaster Shopping center. It will definitely be a course that will test all the runners.

 

            Fifty runners applied for this year's run. A final field of twenty four was accepted into the race. There are six internationals in the team who are from France, USA, New Zealand and Japan. There are three women in the event and nine runners are having their first start.

 

            This year's run will be a complete handicap run and the prizemoney will total $100 000. This will include $30 000 for the first runner across the line and $30 000 for the runner with the fastest time. This is the richest ever prizemoney available for an Ultra Marathon. Prizemoney will be distributed to the Top ten finishers.

 

            There were complaints from a few of the runners about the new prizemoney system. Kevin Mansell said "I'd like to see it shared around a bit more. The 24 hour handicap is very tough and the way things are I could run 11th with the second fastest time and hardly get anything".

 

Fellow runner, Tony Collins said " It's worked out well for me but some of the others in the last group are going to find it tough".

 

Australian Ultra Runners Association has established handicaps for the race. The runners will start in four hourly intervals with the first group starting at 1100 hrs on Wednesday 15th May and the scratch group starting 24 hours later. Athletics Australia will also be involved in the running of the race.

 

 

 

The Cliff Young Award for the first Aussie to cross the Finish is again being held with $1000 and the Gumboot trophy. There will also be a new award to remember the late Ernie Cattle. Ernie Cattle from Holbrook ran in the Westfield in 1988,1989 and 1990. He was well known for his sprinting first marathons and died tragically last year when his Ultra light plane crashed. This award will carry $1000 and a trophy. It will be awarded to the person with the fastest marathon to complete the whole race.

 

The three women entered for the race are all new to the event and two are from Australia. They are 38 year old, Dawn Parris from Melbourne, 40 year old Helen Stanger from Sydney in NSW and 39 year old Randi Bromka from Colarado in USA. Randi has the advantage of doing a lot of training in the mountains around Colarado and in the winter she is an avid skier. Both Australian women are confident of upstaging their more fancied American opponent.

 

Top female Ultra Runner, Sandra Barwick from New Zealand is to view the run from a different perspective this year and become an official motivator. Cliff Young and Sandra Barwick are to travel back and forth along the route and do what they can to get the runners to Melbourne.

 

Don Mitchell from New Zealand is competing for the third time. In 1989 he finished sixth and in 1990 he finished fifth. He is confident of improving on last year’s race.

 

Jean -Gilles Boussiquet from Paris is competing in the Westfield for the first time. He is a previous world record holder over 24 hours, 48 hours and 6 days. He is confident of winning and it is only lack of sponsorship that has prevented him from competing on previous occasions.

The Australian contingent is led by Kevin Mansell, David Standeven and Bryan Smith. The three of them belong to the select group of runners that have ran 1000km in under 6 days.

 

Mansell along with Mark Gladwell will be aiming to be the first runners to complete five Westfield's in a row. Kevin Mansell has gone from being an alcoholic and smoker to one of the best athletes for his age in the country. He was asked why he was coming back for his fifth Westfield to which he replied "It's the new challenge every year. Now the challenge is just to finish another one because noone's ever finished five in a row before."

 

He was also asked about his race tactics to which he replied "I try to run my own race without worrying about anyone behind me or anyone in front of me. When you're running well it's not very hard to motivate yourself. I set myself little goals along the way."

 

David Standeven etched his name into history in 1989 when he beat Kouros by half an hour for line honours.

 

 

 

Bryan Smith has two forth placings and a second to his name. He must start the short priced favourite for this year's run. Bryan Smith is employed as a lines Officer with Telecom and it was only last week that he was climbing the Towers around Mallacoota as part of his every day job. He also gets to train in hilly areas which will help him in this year's race.

 

Maurice Taylor from NSW will also be a leading contender for this year's race. He finished in the Top five in 1989 and 1990. He is confident of repeating his success once again.

 

Owen Tolliday is returning to the race after a years break. In 1988 and 1989 he finished in the Top ten and his recent form suggests that he should not be overlooked.

 

26 year old, Peter Gray from Geelong was the youngest to finish in last year's event. He has been running very well in 24 hour events and should be much improved in 1991. Peter draws inspiration for his races from the Rocky and Chariots of Fire Soundtracks. He has them playing over the support vehicle's loudspeakers and loses himself in the music. Peter Gray will be raising money for the Geelong Salvation Army Alzheimer's Appeal during the 91 Westfield.

 

Andrew Law from Tasmania is back for his second attempt. He finished twelfth last year and was the first Tasmanian ever to finish. Since the 1991 Westfield, Andrew has spent six months dealing with injuries. Two of those months were even spent with his leg in plaster. His tibial tendon had snapped at the 700km of the 1990 race. Surgeons had to remove 4cm of his tendon and then had to have lots of physio and exercise to fully recover. He also had specially made orthotics to help the muscles in the arch of his feet return to normal.

 

After six months of training, he attempted 7km and 10km runs. He would return home with the odd sore spots, but it didn't look as though he would make the starting line for this year's race. It was two months before the race when Andrew's trainer, Albert Johnson suggested that he take the orthotics out. Andrew's form improved dramatically as a result. He had some tremendous runs over Mount Wellington and was looking in top condition for the race.

 

There are also nine newcomers in the field. These include 23 year old, Craig Rowe, a labourer from Dee Why in NSW. Craig has spent a few years in prison and is using the event to show that he can achieve something worthwhile with his life.

 

52 year old, Keith O Connell is the oldest in the race. This is his first event, but he has crewed for runners over the last four years and should know what tis expected of him.

 

Shaun Scanlon from Miller in NSW is having his second start. He is an ex-champion boxer and should do well if he shows his fighting spirit from his pugilistic days.

 

Twenty five year old, Lindsay Philips from Queensland is having his first start in the event.

 

One of the many people that supplied information for this book was Queenslander, Jan Collins. She was a crew member for Lindsay Phillips in the race and provided a wonderful insight to the life of a crew member in the Westfield. Excerpts from her letter are printed on the next few pages;

 

Apparently Lindsay had some problems raising the sponsorship and it only all fell into place in the last few days when we set off from Brisbane - Ray Chatterton, crew Manager, Val Case and myself backup and 2 young men (non runners) - we were still well short of the required crew of seven.

 

Charlie Lynn was adamant that Lindsay would not start unless he had a full crew on board. So on arriving in Sydney a plea for help was broadcast over one of the popular radio stations and a young fellow was game enough to take the trip on. Graeme came from Parramatta and was an absolute God-send when he answered the radio plea. He was such a handy-man and as we had lots of problems with vehicles etc, I don’t know how we would have managed.

 

For instance on race start day we still did not have strobe lighting on the vans and he wired and rigged that all up before nightfall. And also that afternoon he and I were off the route to some little town chasing around hardware stores for little bits and pieces to rig up the van before night driving.

 

Coming into Canberra it was soon noticed I was the only crew person who had been to that city so I was designated navigator for sure there. Once again I found myself at Belconnen running around Supermarkets etc I have no idea wha the res tof them did, probably slept or showered. I always seemed to miss out on both. As a matter of fact my first shower wa sin Albury at a Truck stop. "Dear me wha tam I doing here?"

 

For instance we were told at our crew briefing in Liverpool we would only drive for two hours at a time. Some days I was driving 4/5/6 hours at a time and he would not let me talk at all. "You just concentrate on Lindsay". Well I'm a chatty woman and to sit in silence and not say boo really got on my nerves so we had words(and tears) about that. I guess we were all under stress because we were thrown together at the last minute with the mammoth job of getting this fantastic runner to Melbourne

 

Another memory, running through the Snowy Mountains. Lindsay pleaded for the trees to stop. "When are these trees going to stop" he said. I guess he was sick of the scenery!.

 

Jan Collins also wrote an article on her crewing experience in the Westfield. Here are some excerpts from that article:

 

The first shock came when the crew manager placed into my shaking hands the keys to the Toyota Dyna 4 berth campervan which I and another lady, Val Case had to drive to Sydney " straight through and be there by 9am the following morning". Thank goodness it was automatic and really fairly easy to handle once out on the highway. We took it in turns and she very graciously handed me the keys in time for Sydney's peak hour traffic.

 

On arrival in Sydney we had pre-race briefing, shopping for food for Lindsay and seven crew members. I also had to do the banking find a Caravan Park for two vehicles for that night and had a very polite confrontation with the Liverpool Traffic Police as I was parked in a one hour parking bay for most of that first day. Being a women comes in handy sometimes. That night I also had to arrange with the NRMA to attend one of the vehicles whose batteries were playing up.

 

PEV1 is crewed by the driver is crewed by the driver who must watch the runner constantly for unannounced stops - Lindsay was great at this - so a very delicate foot on the brake is the tune for your alloted time driving. The navigator does just that but also keeps the Westfield Log, a massive book with every known signpost between Sydney and Melbourne and must put down the exact time the runner passes all these markers en route.

 

He/she also keeps a timed record of all stops whether it is for a sleep, massage, icing of feet, a rest, passing urine, a real pit stop or whatever so deep concentration is again called for here. The third person in this vehicle looks after the runner's food and drinks which entailed keeping an eye on the time and drink content.

 

Lindsay drank every half an hour and we varied the formula between plain water and maximum, So Good with Sustagen, milo, malt etc and vegetable or fruit juices and glucose. He was fed main meals four times a day, plus chocs, nibbles, cake , whatever he felt like whenever. This person also has to feed the other crew members in that van and I quite often forgot to feed myself because I was so busy. Oh and should I forget to say I also had to spend many hours out on the road behind Lindsay, jogging, walking, and general encouragement. When relieved of duty in the PEV1 youi either tore back the 300m to the other van at night or called them up for crew change.

 

Just a rare incisive view in to the different world of crewing. The runner you are crewing for certainly takes looking after twenty four hours a day for the duration of the race and any crew that haven't been willing to do this has resulted in a less than 100 percent performance from the runner.

 

Thirty five year old, Russel Prince from New Zealand has excellent times over the shorter Ultras, but it is unknown if he will translate this to the longer distances.

 

Tatsuya Muramatsu from Japan is having his second start. He completed 479km last year and is confident of completing the event this year.

 

World Champion Ultra Runner, Yiannis Kouros decided not to compete in the 1991 Race. Westfield Race Director, Charlie Lynn was dismayed at Yiannis' decision and expressed his feelings in a Press Release titled "Inside Westfield 91". Here are excerpts from that Press Statement.

 

It's ironic that the World's Greatest Race will be even greater without the world's Greatest ultrarunner.

           

            The Kouros saga has generated a fair bit of media comment.

 

            Nobody disputes that Yiannis Kouros is the greatest Ultrarunner of all time. His achievements in four previous Westfield Run's, the Colac 6 day race, the New Zealand Ultrathon and the Greek spartathalon are legendary. He is the Greek God of U;traRunning.

 

            So why is he not competing in the 1991 Westfield Run?

 

            Only Yiannis Kouros can really answer that question.

 

            From a race organisers viewpoint it seems he has been badly advised.

 

            His manager's demands for appearance money, race expenses, and clothing exceeded $ 80 000. His booty would probably have increased to $ 140 000 with prizemoney.

 

            One would hope the sport could eventually afford such largesse, but in 1991 it is simply out of the question.

 

            Yiannis seems to have forgotten that he achieved his fame through the Westfield Run. Without it he would still be a relatively unknown groundsman at a Sports Stadium in Athens, Greece.

 

            He also seems to have forgotten that it was the Westfield Race Organisation which stood behind him when the IAAF imposed an international ban on him for competing in South Africa in 1988. Westfield had the ban rescinded and Yiannis won about $40 000 as a result.

 

            But rather than thank the sponsor for the fame he has achieved, an dfor the support he has received, he has chosen to knock them instead.

 

            Kouros's recent actions indicate that he considers himself to be bigger than the sport.

 

            He is naive or is being badly advised.

 

            Westfield's decision to stand firm against his demands should encourage him to change either his attitude, his sport or his manager!

 

            Either way the other Westfield Runners will benefit. They not only have more prizemoney but they also have a real chance to win it.

 

            It looks like being the greatest race yet.

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

Yiannis Kouros was to run solo from Sydney to Melbourne at the same time as the 91 Westfield. His run was sponsored by Parklea Markets and his manager, Theo Premetis was to claim that it was the only time that the police would allow him to run . Premetis also said that Kouros wanted to prove that Westfield did not own ultra Distance running and that other companies could afford to sponsor the world's best Ultra distance athlete. The time for his run was never properly recorded and the terrible mix up when he finished was an anticlimax to all his previous finishes in previous Westfield's.

 

            The start of the 1991 Westfield was absolutely great, with Julie Andrews giving a fantastic rendition of 'Advance Australia Fair', whilst the runners waited on centre stage to be called to the starting line.

 

            'Chariots of Fire' played and the final countdown began. The Mayor of Liverpool fires the starting pistol and sends them on their trip down the bitumen road towards Melbourne.

 

            Helen Stangar' attempt on the 1991 Westfield Run was recorded by Bill Hick in his account called " 1991 Westfield Run - The Unfinished Journey". Bill was on Helen's crew for the journey and had helped her with training prior to the event.

 

            Helen's race started well, but the organisation of the crew left a lot to be desired. As Bill Hicks described it "The start of Helen's race began with all the precision and timing of a derailed freight train".

 

            The oldest runner in the field, Keith O' Connel, takes the lead early. All of the runners starting at this time are novice "Westfielders" and are happy to chat for the first few kilometres.

 

            The support vehicles and crews are allowed to join their runners near the Macarthur Tourist Centre at Liverpool. Robert Channells moves into the lead near the Campbelltown exit. He leads at the Marathon mark, with young Lindsay Phillips on his heel.

 

            The marathon times of the first group indicate that they all intend to run sensibly and are not going to burn themselves out in the first 100 kilometres.

 

Marathon times ( Group 1):

 

1.         Robert Channells                    3 hr 56m

2.         Lindsay Phillips                      3 hr 56m

3. Randi Bromka 4 hr 02m

4. Helen Stangar 4 hr 02m

5          Dawn Parris                             4 hr 05 m

6.         Harry Clements                       4 hr 22m

7.         Keith O Connell                      4 hr 26 m

8          Craig Rowe                 4 hr 48 m

 

            Just after the first group go through their Marathon, the second group of three runners leave on their arduous journey. They are T. Muramatsu, Shaun Scanlon and Eduardo Vega. Eduardo Vega leads this second group as they go through the marathon.

 

Their times are:

 

1.         Eduardo Vega                         3 hr 53 m

2.         Shaun Scanlon                        3 hr 57 m

3.         Tatch Muramatsu                    4 hr 00m

 

            Eduardo Vega fell off the pace slightly from the 55 kilometre mark when he contracted a stomach upset. Shaun Scanlon was running confidently and was confident of breaking 200 kilometres for his first 24 hours of the race. Muramatsu was looking as though he was an improved Ultra runner on last year’s run.

 

            It was twelve hours into the race when the third group of runners left from Westfield Shopping Centre at Liverpool. Those runners were Andrew Law, Peter Gray, Tony Collins and Mark Gladwell. There was only a small group of well wishers present when the haunting music of "Advance Australia Fair" echoed through the centre. Westfield Executive, Chris Bates fired the gun at 11.00pm and the small group were off into the cold dark that faced them outside.

 

            It was 11.00am on Thursday when the final group of runners were under starters orders. It is twenty four hours after the first group had left and the scratch runners were now started on their own journey.

 

            The marathon times for the first group of runners were:

            1.                     Russel Prince              3 hr 02m 02s

            2.                     Don Mitchell               3 hr 28m 23s

            3.                     Owen Tolliday            3 hr 33m 14s

            4.                     David Standeven        3 hr 40m 24s

            5.                     Bryan Smith                3 hr 4om 33s

            6.                     Jean Boussiquet          3 hr 56m 39s

            7.                     Maurice Taylor            4 hr 00m 07s

            8.                     Kevin Mansell             4 hr 00m 07s

 

            Russel Prince is running well from the beginning and is letting the rest of the field know that he is in it to win. Bryan Smith reaches the 100km mark in 9 hours and 32 minutes, but is 19km behind Prince. Owen Tolliday is running aggressively and reaches the 100km mark in 9 hours and 12 minutes. Kevin Mansell and Maurice Taylor are running steadily and know that the race does not start until the forth day/.

 

            Don Mitchell and David Standeven are two minutes ahead of Smith at the 100 kilometres mark.

 

            The Frenchman, Jean-Gilles Bousiquet ignores the fast spurts from the other runners and settles into a steady gait. He is taking his time and getting use to the Australian conditions. He knows that the race does not start until the Monday or Tuesday.

 

            The front runners have been going for 24 hours and Russel Prince has completed 225km. Bryan Smith has 209km. Boussiquet has 201km and Maurice Taylor, David Standeven and Don Mitchell all have 188km to their name. Kevin Mansell is struggling with tonsillitis, but is determined to finish and complete five Westfield runs in a row which is an ultra achievement in itself!

 

            Meanwhile, Robert Channells is in the lead and has a 20km break on Keith O'Connell. Helen Stangar and Randi Bromka are in third and forth place. Helen has a 10km break on her rival. It is evident that these two runners are going to fight out the women's first prize.

 

            Bill Hicks remembered this part of the journey when he said "We've just finished a rough night. Helen ran to exhaustion and had to stop and be ferried to a motel in Canberra. Because of the sudden decision to stop, and major electrical problems with the lead vehicle, both night shift vehicles went with Helen. This left Hicky and Telf standing on the side of the road at midnight guarding the crew's witches hats and log book. The temperature dropped to zero degrees that night. Eventually Robbo came and got us and Billy guarded the spot in one of the vans until 4.30am when Helen got back on the road again.".

 

Helen Stangar was only a day into the race when she had a beautiful gift given to her by the side of the road. "She was just about to stop for a break when out of the dark stepped an elderly gentleman with a red rose for her. It was a beautiful thought and one that Helen has said she will always remember."

 

            It was only a day or so into the race, when motivator, Sandra Barwick needed a pit stop and stopped by a bush near the side of the road. She turned her head and saw the body of a lady. Being the curious type, she headed over and ascertained that it was a sex doll. Cliff Young was delighted with the find and tied it to the front of the vehicle for the trip into Canberra. It raised a laugh with everyone concerned.

 

            Russel Prince reached the Canberra mark late on Friday afternoon. He has completed 250km of the race, but finds that Bryan Smith is only 500 metres behind him. Both runners have very capable coaches with them for this event.

 

            Fred Hellyer who is an expert at the Ultra game is coaching Bryan Smith. He was on Geoff Molloy's crew in 84 when he won. Fred is confident that his charge will be the one to beat in 91 and records everything that Bryan eats, drinks and wears.

 

            Max Marsh is the coach of Russel Prince. Max has looked after Dick Tout and Sandra Barwick on previous occasions and is regarded as one of the best running coaches in the southern hemisphere.

 

            As Robert Channells passes through Michelago, the top runners are approaching Canberra Robert now has a 7km lead over Keith O Connel and a 65km break over the scratch runners.

 

            Robert Channells arrives in Cooma at 0230 hrs in the morning. There is usually a crowd of some description to see the runners into Cooma, but Westfield is old news now and everyone is home in bed. Keith O Connell continues his consistent run and passes Robert just before sunrise.

 

Tony Collins is now in third place. He is 6km behind O Connell as he hits the Snowy Mountain Highway towards Adaminaby. Tony had a handicap of 12 hours and has already passed nine runners. He has had two and a half hours rest in his first 55 hours.

 

By midday on Saturday 18th May, Robert Channells has regained the lead from Keith O Connell. The field positions are:

Position

Name

Handicap

Distance

1

Robert Channells

0

418.1km

2

Keith O Connell

0

413.8km

3

Helen Stangar

0

400.3km

4

Tony Collins

12

398.7km

5

Craig Rowe

0

389.0km

6

Tatch Muramatsu

4

384.7km

7

Eduardo Vega

4

384.9KM

8

Russel Prince

24

383.1km

9

Mark Gladwell

12

377.5km

10

Bryan Smith

24

377.3km

11

Peter Gray

12

375.2km

12

Randi Bromka

0

372.5km

13

Lindsay Philips

0

370.4km

14

Harry Clements

0

370.0km

15

Jean-Gilles Boussiquet

24

365.9km

16

Andrew Law

12

346.1km

17

Dawn Parris

0

341.8km

18

Don Mitchell

24

337.5km

19

Owen Tolliday

24

337.0km

20

Maurice Taylor

24

329.0km

21

Kevin Mansell

24

320.2km

22

Shaun Scanlon

4

305.7km

23

David Standeven

24

276.7km

 

           

 

 

 

 

All of the runners are still in the field at the end of Day three, but there are worrying cracks starting to appear. David Standeven is struggling. His crew are trying to urge him on and he hangs on in the hope that he will make good. Owen Tolliday set a great pace for the first 250km but has groin problems and has to get treatment in Canberra. Shaun Scanlon takes a long break in Canberra. Kevin Mansell has tonsillitis, but is vowing to complete the race and make it five in a row.

 

            The people of Adaminaby turn out in force to greet Robert Channells as he reaches there in mid Saturday afternoon. The town puts on a free BBQ for all of the runners, crews and officials. This is well received by all concerned. It is unfortunate that David Standeven and Owen Tolliday are forced to retire before the township, but they come into town to sample some local hospitality.

 

            By midnight, the runners are headed for the mountain. The temperature has dropped to minus seven degrees and thick black ice has formed on the road.

 

            Tony Collins is running well up the mountain and captures the lead from Robert Channells. Russel Prince has a 11km lead over Bryan Smith and is only 30km behind Tony Collins. Meanwhile French runner, Jean-Gilles Boussiquet is running well and is only 16km behind Bryan Smith.

 

            The women are also running very well. At Adaminaby, Helen Stangar is in third place. Randi Bromka is having tendonitis problems and Dawn Parris is getting stronger after throwing off an ankle scare early in the race.

 

            The generosity of country people never ceased to amaze runners, crew and officials throughout the nine years of the Westfield Run. Bill Hick, who was crewing for Helen Stangar remembered one such incident of country hospitality. "Whilst getting ready to meet Helen the local farm kids came out with some Anzac biscuits for all the crew. A great thought. Then a couple of hours alter in the dark this little boy appears next to Helen and gives her some biscuits also. As if that wasn't enough, he returned puffing a few minutes later with some more for Barb who was running with Helen at the time. You don't meet kids like that every day."

 

            Tony Collins is the first to reach Australia's highest town, Cabramurra. This milestone occurs at 0400 hrs on Sunday morning. Keith o Connell moves into second place from Robert Channells. Bryan Smith also moves ahead of Russel Prince. The French runner, Boussiquet also moves further up the field.

 

            It was at this stage of the race when Bryan Smith overtook Helen Stangar. "Not long after Helen started, Bryan Smith came up beside her and slowed for a chat. They ran together for a while and Bryan even had a plate of porridge with her. The comradeship between these athletes is extraordinary.".

 

           

 

 

 

By midday on Sunday, May 19th, the positions are:

POSITION

NAME

HANDICAP

DISTANCE

1

Tony Collins

12

548.9km

2

Keith O Connell

0

526.1km

3

Bryan Smith

24

508.6km

4

Eduardo Vega

4

506.2km

5

Robert Channells

0

505.4km

6

Mark Gladwell

12

500.8km

7

Russel Prince

24

498.6km

8

Helen Stangar

0

497.8km

9

JeanGilles Boussiquet

24

496.5km

10

Tatch Muramatsu

4

492.2km

11

Craig Rowe

0

490.8km

12

Peter Gray

12

476.0km

13

Lindsay Philips

0

473.3km

14

Andrew Law

12

472.3km

15

Maurice Taylor

24

466.2km

16

Kevin Mansell

24

456.2km

17

Don Mitchell

24

452.2km

18

Dawn Parris

0

449.6km

19

Randi Bromka

0

447.5km

20

Harry Clements

0

443.6km

21

Shaun Scanlon

4

428.2km

 

           

The runners are finding it easier to travel the mountains during daytime, because they can see the task in front of them. It is a different story of a night time, when the temperature drops, black ice forms on the road and it is very easy for them to lose their footing as they are plodding through the night.

 

Tony Collins is the first one to cross the border into Victoria. He enters the small township of Corryong as the sun sets. He is having bronchitis trouble, but is determined not to give up the lead position. He is known as a runner that will never surrender. Bryan Smith is now in second position and is running off the mountain as Tony passes through Corryong.

 

Russel Prince is in fifth , whilst Jean-Gilles Boussiquet is content to run back in the pack. Andrew Law is picking up the pace as he runs through the mountains. His training over Mount Wellington is starting to pay dividends.

 

It was about this stage of the race when a very funny incident happened in Helen Stangar's crew.

 

 

 

 

"As we drove into the township Barbara asked us to stop so she could do a big wee. She was busting. We told her to nick into the bush on the side of the road and nobody would know. "Trust me!" The moment she left the vehicle, Hicky got on the radio and told every crew within earshot about Barb's little dash into the bush. The calls of "Good Luck Barb" and "We hope everything comes out okay in the long run" filled the air waves for the next few minutes. Even the Japanese crew responded, although we're not sure exactly what they said. Well Barb was having trouble. I think the cold weather had frozen up the plumbing. Eventually she emerged from the bushes which she thought had covered her actions. The natural thing to do of course was to let all those concerned know that everything was okay. The airwaves ran hot with messages of congratulations for Barb. Once again the Japanese sent Barb their best wishes. Now I ask you, where would you meet a group of people more concerned for the welfare of a fellow human being?"

 

Helen Stangar is now 6th and has a sixty kilometre lead over Randi Bromka, who is suffering from shin splints. Eventually the mountains become too steep and she is forced to withdraw at Cabramarra. She has reached 500km and reaches our highest town at 0307hrs on Monday morning. Day four of the race starts and fourteen runners have left the high country and in the state of Victoria.

 

A couple of one liners heard in the Stangar camp during the race were "Hicky, that was coffee with one tea you wanted wasn't it?" and "Hicky, is there anything I can give you that you would normally get at home". It's hoped that Bill didn't take the lady up on that offer.

 

By midday on Monday 20th May, Tony Collins has a 27km lead over Bryan Smith. The Frenchman, Jean-Gilles Boussiquet has ran well off the mountain and is now in third place. The placings at the start of Day four are:

POSITION

NAME

HANDICAP

DISTANCE

1

Tony Collins

12

690.5

2

Bryan Smith

24

663.3km

3

Jean-Gilles Bousiquet

24

639.8km

4

Andrew Law

12

637.6km

5

Mark Gladwell

12

634.0km

6

Keith O Connell

0

621.5km

7

Maurice Taylor

24

619.0km

8

Russel Prince

24

609.0km

9

Robert Channells

0

608.0km

10

Helen Stangar

0

606.1km

11

Eduardo Vega

4

605.9km

12

Kevin Mansell

24

592.8km

13

Don Mitchell

24

592.2km

14

Lindsay Philips

0

590.5km

15

Tatch Muramatsu

4

586.2km

16

Peter Gray

12

576.9km

17

Craig Rowe

0

575.7km

18

Harry Clements

0

555.3km

19

Dawn Parris

0

542.0km

20

Shaun Scanlon

4

527.9km

Tony Collins keeps his lead despite suffering from bronchitis and exercise induced asthma. It was the approaching air of Wodonga that helped onset Collins bronchitis after running through the cool mountain air for the previous four days. "I feel strong and have the smell of victory in my nostrils. My body is holding up well and with the exception of a touch of bronchitis I feel good. I just have to keep going and hopefully things will go my way." Tony Collins was only able to train about 70km a week due to work commitments with his practise. This makes his effort in this year's race even more remarkable.

 

Bryan Smith is keeping a good pace, but is finding it hard to catch Tony Collins. At the same time, Andrew Law manages to sneak into third from Jean-Gilles Boussiquet.

 

It was at this stage, when fellow crew members of Bill Hick got their revenge. It was probably Barb exacting revenge after his piece of public broadcasting a couple of day's earlier. She hid his clothes in the shower and he spent 30 minutes and about 2km walking backwards and forwards between the vans trying to remember if he really did get his gear out, and if he did, what van it was in.

 

Barb was quick to get into Hick's bed very quickly later on in the race. Hicky had set up his mattress at the Corryong Caravan Park. He wrote a few notes outside and had a few minutes of sunshine before going back in the Van and finding barb asleep in his bed.

 

Russel Prince is forced to retire from the race with bronchial pneumonia at Tallangatta. Shaun Scanlon also retires from the run at Tooma Dam after a great effort. Meanwhile, Maurice Taylor and Kevin Mansell start making their way through the pack with good running.

 

It is 0300hrs on Wednesday morning when Bryan Smith finally catches the distant reflection of Tony Collins support vehicles. Smith had only had 3 hours and 49 minutes sleep since leaving Liverpool last Thursday. It is only another hour before Bryan finally catches Tony. At the time, Tony is having a rest, but gets out of bed and walks a few hundred metres with Tony. It is a great show of sportsmanship that is only found in Ultra Running.

 

At midday 22nd May the placings are:

POSITION

NAME

HANDICAP

DISTANCE

1

Bryan Smith

24

813.6km

2

Tony Collins

12

810.9

3

Andrew Law

12

775.2km

4

Maurice Taylor

24

759.0km

5

Jean-Gilles Boussiquet

24

757.5km

6

Mark Gladwell

12

755.6km

7

Lindsay Phillips

0

736.2km

8

Don Mitchell

24

732km

9

Eduardo Vega

4

731.8km

10

Keith O Connell

0

731.4km

11

Peter Gray

12

729.1km

12

Kevin Mansell

24

727.1km

13

Robert Channells

0

705.1km

14

Helen Stangar

0

697.5km

15

Craig Rowe

0

694.9km

16

Harry Clements

0

675.5km

17

Tatch Muramatsu

4

660km

 

Jean-Gilles Bousiquet and Andrew Law battle through the night. The Frenchman is forced to rest early in the morning and Law has a 20km lead by midday. At the same time, Maurice Taylor moves into 4th place.

 

Dawn Parris is forced to withdraw from the race at 1100hrs. She had covered 606km in six days, but a severe ankle injury and severe tendonitis has taken it's toll. "It's not fair. Everything about me is fantastic - my crew is in high spirits, I feel great, I'm motivated, but this bit in my instep just won't let me run - and it won't go away!"

 

Tatsuya Muramatsu failed in his second bid to complete the Westfield Race. He said he had dedicated his effort to a training partner who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer a week before he arrived in Australia. "It's not just my legs that hurt but also my soul" said Muramatsu, shortly after withdrawing from the race. He was going ok until a viral infection caused him dizziness and constant vomiting.

 

Helen Stangar is 140km further down the road from Dawn, but is going through her own hell. She has been on the road for seven days and covered a remarkable 750km. In that time she has only had 13 hours rest. Unfortunately it seems as though Melbourne is out of reach this year.

 

When Yiannis Kouros went past Helen Stangar earlier in the race, Billy Collis "decided to do the right thing and play "Zorba the Greek" over the outside speakers as Kouros went past our lead vehicle. Billy, typically stuffed it up. As he ran past all that could be heard from our vehicle was the "Heel Toe Polka". Billy's comment was "Well that's Greek isn't it?""

 

 

 

 

Robert Channels is also struggling to stay in the race. His running high has dipped to a running low. He is trying desperately to focus on the finish, but his body is fading and it seems as though it will be too far away. It is 0900 hrs on Wednesday when he withdraws from the race.

 

The tailenders of the race are now Harry Clements and Craig Rowe. The cut off point at Benalla is now over them like a prison sentence. Harry Clements manages to get into a rhythm and keeps it going towards the cut off, but Craig Rowe must be near the end of his race. His feet have doubled in size and are badly blistered. His final run is one of the great achievements of the 91 Westfield. Officials and onlookers watch as he struggles towards the cut off. He is hallucinating and his feet are killing him. He makes the cut by a whisker, but is asleep by the time he lies down in his van.

 

Charlie Lynn predicted on the first day of the race that Craig Rowe would last less than two days of the race after seeing Rowe smoking a cigarette on the first day. As a result of Lynn's broadside, Rowe adopted the moniker of "Smokey Rowe and the Nicotine addicts" and blasted Lynn in the Race Newsletter. This provided good motivation for Rowe as he kept plugging on down the road.

 

Bryan Smith goes through Seymour and has 80km to go to victory. He has a 12km break over Tony Collins, but his crew are not relaxing. They very much know the fighting spirit of Tony Collins and know that he will not give in without a fight.

 

At the beginning of day 6, Thursday May 23rd, there are fourteen runners left in the field.

Position

Name

Handicap

Distance

1

Bryan Smith

24

948.8km

2

Tony Collins

12

936.0km

3

Andrew Law

12

897.5km

4

Maurice Taylor

24

886.2km

5

Kevin Mansell

24

871.9km

6

Jean-Gilles Boussiquet

24

859.2km

7

Mark Gladwell

12

854.4km

8

Don Mitchell

24

851.5km

9

Eduardo Vega

4

851.4km

10

Keith O Connell

0

837.3km

11

Peter Gray

12

836.0km

12

Lindsay Phillips

0

821.0km

13

Harry Clements

0

821.0km

14

Craig Rowe

0

819.5km

 

The runners have now passed their final check point. Many of them have been defeated. The remaining 14 runners are now set for the most difficult task they have ever faced.

 

            Towards the end of the race, the Westfield run even rated a mention in the 21 May edition of the UK Evening Standard. The "Mick Dennis" column described the race but portrayed it as a pointless exercise and finished the article with the comment "Would you buy a set of dentures from Tony Collins?" Oh well, any publicity is good publicity!

 

            Helen Stangar and her crew were close by when Craig Rowe was at the end of his race. "The next 20 minutes was one of the saddest parts of the race. Craig, because of his background, had more to gain from this race than any other competitor. To his mind his whole future depended on his performance in this race. If he didn't perform he would be a failure. His courage proved to be one of the finest competitors you could ever wish to see. He pushed himself beyond the accepted limits of endurance. He was in agony, and hallucinating, yet he wouldn't give up."

 

            "Helen, practically unable to walk herself, supported Craig for about 200 metres and talked to him as nobody else could, as somebody who had just been through the private hell he was now going through. At the end of their walk together Craig withdrew from the race. Just when you think all the emotional times are behind you, events like this bring back to reality of just what this race does to people." Said Bill Hick when describing the human drama that was unfolding on the Hume Highway.

 

It is shortly before midnight on Wednesday night when Bryan Smith finally crosses the Finish Line. His time is 6 days 12 hours and 15 minutes after setting out from Sydney. There is only a small crowd waiting at the finishing line, but it is a great experience for Bryan and his wife, Jan. He has won $30, 000 for winning line honours and another $ 30 000 for recording the fastest time of the race.

 

Race doctor, Joe Graiche said Smith had 'genetic superiority ' over the other runners. "His stride and physical stature are above all that I've seen. He has the ability to be better than Yiannis Kouros and experience is all he needs." Is how Graiche described the winner of the 1991 Race. Dr Graiche further added that "He was the only runner who did not require any medical attention throughout the entire race. Unlike the other runners he did not use any NSAIDS (anti -inflammatory drugs). He came out of the mountains without any chest problems and probably will have only minor blisters."

 

Bryan Smith later described the Snowy Mountains as the hardest part of the course. "The most difficult part was coming over the Snowy Mountains when it was very cold and only about minus eight degrees. It was very steep and I had icicles dripping off my beard but I had speakers on my car and listening to the music helped."

 

 

 

 

Smith began running ten years ago and ran his first marathon two years after that. It was only a couple of years after that that he ran in his first Ultra. He described his training for the race when he said " I'm normally a night owl and I started training a few months before this race by staying up late at night: during the run I only got about seven hours sleep altogether"

 

Smith was interviewed by "The Mail Express" a couple of weeks after the run and declared that he would not run in the Westfield again. "I want to go out on top. And the race is so demanding on the body that if I ran it again I don't know if I could do that."

 

Smith cited four reasons for his success. They were a better training schedule, a great support crew, thermal clothing and massages. His better training schedule involved a more consistent mileage around the 160km a week. He made sure he had the right clothing prior to going into the event and he took two masseurs with him for the event. This is so they could work on both legs at once.

 

One of Bryan's masseurs was Fred Hellyer who is a seasoned Westfield campaigner. Hellyer mapped out the course prior to the event, advised Smith when he had a hill to tackle, how steep it was. Hellyer also advised on when rests should be taken and when to power walk. Fred Hellyer was part of Geoff Molloy's crew in 1984 and has picked up a wealth of Ultra knowledge over the years.

 

Tony Collins is now 18km behind and is assured of second place. He eventually finishes in a time of 7 days, 4 hours and 17 minutes. The real winners out of Tony's run are the youngsters undergoing cancer therapy at Camperdown Hospital in Sydney. Since 1989 he has raised $100, 000 for them and declared that he would donate his $15 000 przemoney from this event to them as well.

 

Andrew Law knows that he cannot catch Tony Collins, but he can’t afford to slacken as Maurice Taylor is only 17km behind him. Maurice is running another consistent race and is assured of finishing in forth place.

 

Kevin Mansell is 13km behind Taylor and is holding off a determined challenge from Jean-Gilles Boussiquet. Boussiquet picks up the pace as he enters Melbourne and comes within 300 metres of Kevin as he enters Melbourne.

 

Mansell is not intimidated though and increases his speed to 14kph as he goes through the city. The Frenchman also picks up the pace and chases Mansell right to the Finish line. This is a classic duel between two world class champions.

 

Mansell holds off and crosses the end in an emotional state. He is in a frenzy and takes a while to settle down. "Mentally I feel great man. Of course physically I feel like crap, but it's worth it. I love this race and I want to run the next five in a row as well. That's my target, 10 Sydney to Melbourne finishes".

 

By the time the Frenchman crosses the line, Kevin Mansell is the first to congratulate him. Unfortunately, the Frenchman suffered crew problems during the race. There was an interpreter on board for the race, but he was injured so his crew have to cart out a mini tape recorder and tape his race plans before relaying them to his wife in the first support van. His crew were relatively experienced (only two had previous Westfield experience)and were arguing with each other. This is ridiculous when Westfield invited a top overseas runner for the event and can’t look after him properly.

 

Don Mitchell finishes two and a half hours after the Frenchman and declares that it was his last. This is the third time that he has finished the Race. Eduardo Vega is the next to finish. This is the first time that he has finished within the allotted time. Last year he finished 47 minutes after the cut off. He crosses the finish line after 8 days 1 hour and 59 minutes and is wrapped in his success.

 

Mark Gladwell and Peter Gray are the next to finish. Both are seasoned campaigners and Mark joins his friend Kevin Mansell in the record books as being the only runners to finish five Westfields in a row. Peter Gray was asked about the race on completion and said "I said to myself it's gotten to the stage it doesn't matter what placing I come because this race is the best in the world. I had that much energy level at the end I just jumped up in the air in relief" Gray also went to great pains to explain after the race that he did not go for dips in the Tumut Lake, as had been reported in the Press during the race.

 

Keith O Connell is the next to finish in a time of 8 days 10 hours and 51 minutes. He has crewed for other runners on previous occasions and can be seen plodding around in all the NSW endurance events. He is wearing a large grin and his humour is as sharp as ever as he runs through Melbourne towards the finish.

 

Sandra Barwick was lucky enough to run the last stretch of the race with the first and last runners, Bryan Smith and Keith O Connell and enjoyed sharing the experience with both of them. This is what Barwick said about her Westfield experience on the other side of the fence. "This experience has given me another outlook on Ultra Distance Running. The gratitude I have at seeing how hard the organising side work, but most of all the satisfaction I have got in giving something back in the way of support - motivation to everyone on this magnificent run and to Ultra Distance Running, a sport I am dedicated to and a very special part of my life along with everyone involved in it.".

 

Queenslander, Lindsay Phillips didn’t quite make it to the finish line. His race ended at the 1000km mark when 2300hrs ticked over on the last day. Considering the problems Lindsay had to even get to the starting line, his achievement was excellent and he should be a runner to contend with in future years.

 

`          

 

 

 

The following quote was said by Helen Stangar during the 1991 Westfield. It typifies the spirit of the typical fighting Ultra Marathon runner.

 

I'm going to win!

But,

If I can't win, I'm going to run a PB

But,

If I can't run a PB I'm going to run

The best I possibly can on the other day.

 

 

 

Westfield RUN 1991 - FINAL PLACINGS

Position

Runner

Country

Handicap

Time

Position(fastest time)

1

Bryan Smith

Australia

24

6d12h50m

1

2

Tony Collins

Australia

12

7d4h17m

5

3

Andrew Law

Australia

12

7d9h32m

7

4

Maurice Taylor

Australia

24

6d23h22m

2

5

Kevin Mansell

Australia

24

7d2h26m

3

6

Jean-Gilles Boussiquet

France

24

7d2h47m

4

7

Don Mitchell

NZ

24

7d5h8m

6

8

Eduardo Vega

Australia

4

8d1h59m

10

9

Mark Gladwell

Australia

12

7d20h45m

8

10

Peter Gray

Australia

12

7d21h28m

9

11

Keith O Connell

Australia

0

8d10h51m

11

 

WITHDRAWALS

Serial

Runners

Country

Km

Date

Time

Reason

12

Lindsay Phillips

Australia

1000km

22May

2300

Retired

13

Craig Rowe

Australia

920.5km

22May

1402

Retired

14

Harry Clements

Australia

874.1km

22May

1403

Tendonitis

15

Robert Channells

Australia

770.0km

22May

0900

Retired

16

Helen Stangar

Australia

750.4km

22 May

0900

Retired

17

Tatsuya Maramatsu

Japan

664.1km

21 May

1310

Viral Infection

18

Dawn Parris

Australia

606.7km

21 May

1100

Tendonitis

19

Russel Prince

NZ

588km

20 May

2330

Bronchial Pneumonia

20

Shaun Scanlon

Australia

526.5km

20 May

1731

Tendonitis

21

Randi Bromka

Australia

500km

20 May

1507

Tendontis

22

Owen Tolliday

Australia

442km

19 May

1730

Hip/Groin strain

23

David Standeven

Australia

422km

19 May

1657

Retired

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