Getting back to business

Every now and then a window of opportunity opens. For some of us we are genuinely lucky to have these windows open more frequently than others. Sometimes it is just a crack and you have to lever the window open enough to squeeze through. Well over the Australia Day long weekend in January I managed to squeeze through one of those window openings.

For many years I have wanted to run the Bogong Boomerang. For the uninitiated that is a beast comprising a continuous out-and-back on the notorious Bogong2Hotham race course. One way is 64km with over 3000 metres of elevation gain. Out and back is double the distance and the elevation gain becomes irrelevant as your legs turn to putty and any incline or decline becomes a test of mettle and a real test of the integrity of your knee joints. I completed it solo and self-supported, which means no crew and no food/gear drops. I carried everything I needed from the start and only collected water from sources along the course. It took me 34hrs and 34mins but was an amazing journey across the most spectacular country. It took me a lot longer than anticipated but I was very conservative and most importantly got through without any major hiccups with my heart.

Which meant I could look to my next big challenge. Before my heart went south last year I had been planning an attempt to run the Bibbulmun in WA. At nearly 1000km I would need at least 3-4 weeks to set-up and run it. I am still a long way away from that kind of fitness or overall health. But running parallel to the Bibb is the lesser known Munda Biddi trail. Primarily designed for mountain biking, it is not yet complete at around 580km. With huts further apart than on the Bibb it would require more careful planning but it was a much more realistic goal. So on Monday 5th March, I plan to start running south from Perth on the Munda Biddi. I will have little internet access but will try to relay progress via sms for Phil to post here occasionally. I will also be carrying the Spot tracker and you can access that via the link top of right hand column (once I start).

My heart condition has highlighted to me that when a window opens I need to jump through it before it closes again. The opportunity might not present itself again. And this run will allow me to test my health in a safer but still challenging environment before I start looking to the Alps yet again.