Kiwi runner wins $10k in ‘race with no end’
New Zealand runner Sam Harvey has outlasted 200 other competitors, and screaming Achilles tendons, to win the richest prize in “backyard ultra” running.
Harvey, from Christchurch, ran for 69 hours and 462km to win the $10,000 prize at the Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra in Queensland.
The backyard format sees competitors run a 6.7km loop each hour, until only one person is left standing. The race has no defined distance, and only ends when everyone other than the winner is physically and mentally unable to continue.
Harvey has become one of the world’s leading athletes in this event, which is redefining the limits of human endurance, and last year equalled the then-world record of 101 laps (677km) when finishing runner-up at the Dead Cow Gully event.
Harvey was pushed to run for nearly three days in this week’s event, by Australian Ryan Crawford.
But just before dawn yesterday, the lack of sleep caught up with Crawford, who became disoriented and had to be picked up from the course by race organisers.
“My brain just wasn’t working,” Crawford said afterwards, attributing this to only getting a few minutes’ sleep between laps.
Harvey ran strongly throughout the event, often completing “hot laps” which allowed him to grab up to 15 minute naps before starting the next lap.
However, Harvey said his Achilles tendons felt as if they were about to explode, for more than two days, and his victory was constantly hanging on a strand of damaged tissue. “I ran that entire race, basically just thinking at any point now, my Achilles is going to rupture, and I’m going to be out of this thing.”
But painkilling gel and shoe changes helped him keep going.
Harvey had hoped to break the world record of 108 hours/724km, or even push to 120 hours/804km, but required another runner to keep going with him to reach those targets, and had to stop when Crawford pulled out.
He had sensed Crawford was struggling during the second night, so “put the burners on” and dropped his opponent, leaving him well behind, and becoming disoriented in the dark. “I would have liked to have gone further,” Harvey said, “but at the same time, when you smell blood, you’ve got to attack.
“So yeah, good couple of days at the office.”
Harvey was supported by his wife, Anna, parents Michael Harvey and Merryn Pugh, and other family members who had flown to Australia to ensure he could keep going as long as possible, by getting adequate nutrition, massage, and rest.
In a double victory for New Zealand, Cambridge athlete Jane McAlpine was the leading female runner, completing 39 laps/261km.
McAlpine broke the women’s record for the Dead Cow Gully event, and was in the final group of seven runners, before her vision became blurry, and she had problems eating, and pulled out.
The backyard ultra format was created by American running guru Gary Cantrell, better known as Lazarus Lake.
It has grown rapidly in recent years, with numerous new events being created, including a world team championship event, which takes place in October.
Harvey has indicated he will race in this event.