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10 November 2014

Yearly Review

Yearly Review

Favourite race of 2014 - Mt Arthur Wellington
November & December 2013

No races due to injury in right ankle. Spent a lot of my time on the bike and rehabbing the injury with a return to full load late in December.

January 2014

Skycamp: Got my first look at Bright and the Buffalo Stampede course……

Knapsack 6hr Lap Race: 4th male 60km 6hr 7min. First race and long hitout for 2014.


February 2014

Running Wild Wentworth Falls 16km: 2nd place 1hr 24min 37sec new PB. Poured with rain but was fun and fast.

Orange Colour City Marathon: 4th place 2hr 59min 44sec. Snuck a sub 3 in a last minute decision to run.

March 2014

6 Foot Track Marathon: 26th male 3hr 56min 41sec new PB. Ran a planned and smart race to allow a good finish. Will be my last 6 Foot for a few years.

Results


STS Manly Dam: 3rd place 1hr 34min 9sec. Tough run but managed a good result.

Results


Lithgow King of the Mountain: 1st place 22min 5sec 1st win ever!!! Up a big hill and back down. We ran way over distance but I managed to get my maiden victory by getting away on the descent.

Orange Volcanic Mountain Challenge: 52min 17sec 7th place. Finished well in a deep field.

Results


April 2014

Buffalo Stampede Ultra Skymarathon 2014: 12th place 10hr 32min 34sec. My big "A" race for the year. Very happy with my performance and I am coming back with the intention of shedding some time and going sub 10hrs in 2015.

Results


STS Big Trail Run 46km: 1st place 4hr 3min 58sec. Dress rehearsal for the TNF100. Was battling a hamstring problem and felt pretty good until I kicked a rock up into my leg and corked my calf.

May 2014

Bathurst Half Marathon: DNF. Hamstring went at 5km. Very disappointing and the start of rough times ahead.

STS Kamay Short Course: 1st place 30min 3sec. Ran quite restricted but no mishaps with hamstring.

TNF100: DNF. The writing was on the wall after 3km and my hamstring went out at 31km, pushed on to 36km but eventually turned back to CP2. Very disappointing and a big reality check for me.

June 2014

Glow Worm Tunnel Ted English Bolt: 1st place 26min 52sec. Hamstring was good and I was starting to feel better at this point. Fitness at pace was quite poor.

July 2014

Mt Arthur Challenge: 1st place 39min 29sec setting course record. A true mountain run, flat-up-down-flat, favourite race of the year.

Results


STS Manly Dam: 2nd place 40min 48sec new PB for the 10km. Happy to sit back and wait until the back half to push it along. Nice little battle and a strong finish.

Results


August 2014

Centennial Park Ultra: 50km Mixed Pairs 1st place 3hr 51min 46sec. I popped late on but happy to get a good fast longer run in. It was great to run in a team with Kel.

Results


RunningWild Glenbrook: 25km 1st place 2hr 14sec. I was in second for most of the 27km but pushed the downhill and managed to reel in the win. Close to the best executed race of the year for me.

Results


September 2014

Edgell Jog: 26min 53sec 5th place and a PB. Hit the hill a bit hard and blew up a touch towards the top. Felt confident throughout the whole race I’d hold 1st local and managed this prize. Will have to keep knocking time off in the future to get that podium!

Results


STS Duffy’s Forest: 1st place 1hr 19min 40sec. I enjoyed the familiar trails of St Ives and really enjoyed a controlled and fun 20km run in the bush.

Results


Canberra 101km Trail Run: DNF injury. I was going to plan and had worked through a rough section when I kicked my foot and fell. Unfortunately the pain never subsided and I pulled after persisting for 15km, very disappointing and grounding.

October 2014

Sky Camp – I attended this time as a coach. I had a blast and we saw the entire course across the weekend. A new perspective and view on the Stampede was built and it is again my "A" race for 2015. I enjoyed rubbing shoulders with everyone across the 3 days, it was an opportunity to be sponge to soak in the knowledge.

STS Big Coast Run: 2nd place 2hr 14min 26sec. Ka-boom I went on the sand. Put to the sword but happy with the run on beautifully tough course.

November 2014

Carcoar Cup Half Marathon: 2nd place 1hr 17min 59sec. On my own but pretty happy with the run. All boxes ticked with a view to run much quicker in 2015.

So that’s the wrap for 2014. Plenty of races and new trail found. I had a good year but it was up and down due to injury and form drops. I’ll learn from everything and aim to come back better each time. I can’t wait for 2015 and I’m kicking my training off this weekend at Narrowneck where I’ll be running with Kel to the finish.

At a glance;

                        Races – 22 (4 ultras)
                        Wins – 8
                        Podiums – 4
                        DNF’s – 3 (2 ultras)

                        Best Performance – Buffalo Stampede Ultra 12th overall

Big thanks to the following for doing what they do;

Kel - best wife ever!

Family - no way we'd be able to run without your support and time.

Up Coaching/Brendan Davies - Brendan has supported me from day one and continues to. Not going to get a better mentor in my opinion.

Mountain Sports - big supporters and great friends. Can't wait until 2015's events!

Sydney Trail Series - I love my monthly trail race in the city, new trails await next year.

Hammer Nutrition - backed me again at Canberra, looking forward to potentially working together on a permanent basis in the future.


4 comments:

  1. I know it was a bit of an up and down year for you mate but that's a fantastic year's growth (again). A couple of times you were just about to lift the training and performances to a new level but misfortune stuck cruel blows. Next year will be a great one for you, I can tell. Thanks for your kind words too! Onwards and upwards!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks mate, I'm sure we'll have plenty more days out in the mountains too.

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  2. Great year on the trails Wes and some well deserved strong results. Also good attitude to work through injury disappointments, but thats all part of it, and you will be better and tougher for it. Good luck for 2015, another big year ahead I reckon!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Greg, I am looking forward to be apart of STS again in 2015. It's such a great series!

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