 Yo, good morning, and it is what an absolutely fantastic morning. It is it's It's it's just gone 530. I don't know what you can see if anything I Can pretty much see about the same which is not much but We have had first light and so this is the perfect time to be starting this 24.9 kilometer trail run slash hike along the Larepin to trail it is a Run that I've never done before it's a it's a trail that I've never been on before So I'm I'm I'm excited. I'm a little bit nervous. I'm a little bit scared. I kind of feel like this is a race Because it is somewhat like a race. I've got a time that I want to complete it in To then qualify for the 2023 West max monster 65 kilometer ultra marathon, which will indeed be my very first ultra marathon. I've I've completed one marathon in my life. It was in Queenstown. It was a Trail run it was up and down and I completed it in just under five hours This ultra marathon that I'm Planning on doing has a cutoff time of I think 15 hours But what I'm about to do today is actually the first section of it So it's a 65 kilometer race today. I'm doing the first 24.9 kilometers and I'm doing it To to log on my Strava, which I can then use As as my qualifying time so to speak They definitely they don't want to send people out onto this trail Into into something like an ultra marathon without knowing that they can you know at least I guess Cover a certain amount of distance. So that's what today's all about. It is absolutely stunning out here right now As the Sun comes up, I will bring the camera back up I've got a full battery on my GoPro. I've got a sky full of stars and I've got a Backpack full of Liquid in the form of water and Gatorade so I'm ready to go My backpack probably weighs about 3 kgs for anyone who's into their stats out there I weigh about a hundred so add three to that about 103 kg worth of weight at the moment Running along a 24.9 kilometer trail and that's exactly what it is. It's a trail so You're not gonna be able to see much, but I'll get my phone Light out and I'm hoping that you can make that out. So this is the Larapinta trail information station and as we come in here we do get some Some crucial information actually the Larapinta trail. There it is going all the way from Mount Sonda all the way along the ranges past Allery Creek Past birthday waterhole Stanley Chasm Jay Creek Simpsons Gap and eventually you find yourself Exactly where I am at the Alice Springs telegraph station. So what I'm planning on doing is If I can work this out Going from here all the way along to here Alice Springs telegraph station to Simpsons Gap section one provides walkers slash runners with a wide range of scenery and terrain This along with its close proximity to Alice Springs makes it one of the most popular sections of the Larapinta trail Allow two days to comfortably complete the section two days I'm thinking more like two hours. Well, actually no, I'm thinking three hours Three hours. That's what you need. I don't have all of it But I do have someone at least that knows where I am and I think that's the most essential thing so Like I said, it's just gone. What is it? Okay, it's 5 31 perfect time Perfect time to begin this. I'm fucking excited. I just need to get going as far as preparation for this goes I've challenged myself recently to Go for a run every single day for 30 days. I did that those videos are actually on another channel Which I'll link down below But for the last week I have tapered down drastically in Preparation for this so my legs should be feeling the best they've felt the most capable they've felt in a very long time I have trained for this. I'm expecting to go three hours or less But all of that and more will be revealed. I'm gonna get my Strava going And because you know the last thing I want to do is do this run to Hopefully qualify for this this race and not record it So I'm gonna get everything sorted. I'm gonna get some music going the light has just began to illuminate the path and I'll see you guys when I see you All right guys so We've just passed the 3k mark and around about 20 and a half minutes, I think Slow and steady is the only way Slow and steady will win will win the race will win the race Two things 3k is through If I didn't bring a torch with me, I would have been fucked especially for that first Five or ten minutes second thing. Oh my god. I just did it again ran into The thickest spider web you'll ever fucking feel These spiders man whenever you go along this trail Whenever there's two trees one on the left one on the right. Oh my god. Oh It's a 50-50 chance whether you're gonna eat and I mean literally eat a fucking spider web and whatever else It's caught in there. I just want to get I just want to get out of these trees man far Anyway, I will take this time just to appreciate together the Sunrise look at that Look at that guys That is absolutely incredible But there's no time to lose So let's keep going all right guys So we've made it we've made it out of that section of trees at least light is well and truly upon us and I and 4.6 kilometers through this run the light Okay, let's talk about positives Positives are I don't have to use a torch positives are I can see where I'm going I can appreciate the beauty Of central Australia on this crisp Well, it's not crisp anymore. It's actually heating up but look the negatives about the Sun and there is one there's only one and that is that When we think about spiders and spider webs I can actually see them I can actually see the spiders coming now So let's hope and I fucking hope that I am out of the woods No pun intended. So all right, so That is the that's the Stuart highway that is heading all the way to Darwin. That is the sign to say Continue along here. I don't know what kind of terrain we're gonna find But I'm having a fucking good time I can tell you that much and Running along these trails With a GoPro in my hand and a fucking camel back. I Really do feel like an ultra runner. I'm not gonna lie. I really do So 4.8 K's Pretty much three three miles 33 minutes and 50 seconds. Let's keep going whoo Lucky I saw that You know, I was just thinking as we As we drop down the other side of a ridge You know, let's let me just give you a quick look at one of these spiders. Hey, look at that look Look at that That is literally I'm gonna say four inches Four inches. Here's another one. Look at this shit. Oh Fucking hate it But hey, it's just a thought just a thought I reckon if enough of these spiders Worked together They could probably catch a human if enough of these webs With spun in the right place between the right two trees I I I'm not gonna put I'm not gonna put it past them. I am not gonna put it past them They could They could indeed catch a human and hey, maybe they are trying to maybe they are certainly felt like it But on the other hand if they are indeed only trying to catch a bug of some sort Then I can only imagine it's gonna be a fucking rude awakening when my big old head runs through them a real rude awakening in fact They'd be in their best interests To get the fuck off the trail All right guys next time Don't even try me now. Honestly, it's been ridiculous at times. I've been literally running Running with a window wiper My very own window wiper in front of me. It's been absolutely fucking Ridiculous at times, but it does seem does seem as though we're kind of We're out of the thick of it you could say so Checking in once again six and a half K's 47 minutes Slow and steady wins the race I've got 30 minutes of GoPro battery. I'm sorry 30 minutes of memory on the scope row So I don't want to use it all up in the first half, but there is one more thing. I wanted to tell you and I've got to be really strategic. I have to be strategic around When I walk instead of running because I mean there is quite a bit of elevation and the last thing I want to do is burn out my legs like You know in the first 10 K's so I have walked probably a K all up So one K of six and a half. I've walked that has slowed me down, but it's necessary And I'm sure any other ultra runners any other marathon runners Will will agree Hopefully so feeling pretty good feeling positive feeling Optimistic about my chances of qualifying in under four hours. I am gonna I'm gonna shoot for under three But I will have to see So I will see you guys at the 10 kilometer mark. How's that? Look for trains Geez you'd have to be pretty fucking unlucky All right guys, I lied eight K's through Almost an hour. I Don't think three hours is gonna be possible this trail is humbling me But I've just got one thing to say guys Just one thing if you just give me a give me a quick second you see Simba Everything the light touches is our kingdom What about that shadowy place? You must never go there, but I will this fucking go Holy shit got a burst of energy there. I don't know where it came from. I honestly don't The phenomenons of trail running I guess All right guys, so I didn't really want to stop for anything, but this is this is something I have never ever Come across before it looks as if there's some sort of grub some sort of hairy grub that May have or may have not seen the human centipede because For mine it looks as if we've got a Ferry grub centipede one two three four. There's got to be at least 50. What the fuck is going on here? Can anyone tell me? That is some weird shit, bro, that is some spiders are one thing I don't know what the hell is going on there The spiderwebs just don't stop all right. Oh This This hill or this ridge. I believe it's called is absolutely kicking my fucking ass. Holy shit 11.2 case through An hour and 29 minutes I Feel like I feel like we're most of the way up. What's called Euro Ridge? I Read about it When I was looking up this section of the trail, I believe it is the highest point And I also believe it gives you some pretty epic 360 degree views of Central Australia I Guess bit of a backstory. I mean shit actually I could probably run now I lived here I lived here in Alice Springs for like Jeez almost 10 years Came back and forth to New Zealand a few times went to Thailand probably like three or four Bali three or four But predominantly I stayed here in Alice Springs and there's not much to it But it does have it does have beauty and actually just recently Alice Springs has been all over the Australian media because of This apparent crime wave By troubled youths, which is absolutely true. I mean It is happening. Thank God touch wood It hasn't really affected me but in saying that I mean Alice Springs used to be fucking vibrant. It used to be buzzing used to be buzzing with tourists And people that came here for work but You know as is the case with a lot of places that rely on tourism Cova just absolutely slammed it completely fucked it up So Alice Springs is still getting its getting back on its feet but what's happening in the moment is There's just so many children so many kids that don't have anywhere to go You know, unfortunately, they don't have the best Example from From the elders in whatever family they're from I mean I'm not gonna I'm not gonna use any blanket statements here Like I said, it doesn't really affect me. I've lived here for long enough that I mean fuck I've seen it all, you know, I've seen it all but Yeah, we do have a bit of an issue at the moment and I mean the Prime Minister came here a little old little old town of 30,000 people had the Prime Minister to try and address the public for one and just I don't know encourage the town to be resilient to get through this because it will pass but Anyway, yes Geez fuck Oh, are we there yet? Are we there yet? I think we might be I'm gonna take I'm gonna take a I'm gonna take a calculated rest At the top of this ridge I'm gonna fill up my little book my little water bottles and then we'll continue And it should be around about halfway so I'll see you there actually I reckon that might be Euro Ridge right up there Right up there Let's go. All right guys So I guess this is it. I don't know if there's a sign I feel like there should be Feel like there should be but when you talk about a ridge. I mean Can you get much more ridgy? than this Wow Look at that Far out. That's amazing. I Mean I've seen it before but actually I haven't seen it from this side before I've seen it from over that side anyway We continue It's kicking my ass So I'm trying this trail is absolutely kicking my ass. I'm not gonna lie. So I'm gonna put the camera away Maybe that's Euro Ridge wishful thinking Time will tell All right guys So this oh shit. Would you look at that? I was gonna say They talked about it enough in the brief and there you have it guys There you have it Euro Ridge in all of its glory. All right. Fuck it. Let's keep going Okay. All right, actually I told myself that I would I would stop and refill Reef in my bottles as much as I don't want to stop I'm going to I'm gonna stop right here. I Think it'll pay off It'll pay off in the end So after this I am gonna put the camera away for a wee bit Just concentrate on finishing. I'm not gonna waste water. That's for sure. So I was just about to tip that out That would be the dumbest thing I could ever do because I mean when we started literally like an hour and a half ago It was probably 24 degrees, but as soon as the Sun comes up I mean that temperature jumps from 24 to 30 and then in another hour It'll be 35 degrees guys and in another hour after that it'll probably be some something like 37 or 38 so literally every single literally every minute that you can be on this trail out of the Sun is a Really crucial minute because the Sun just it just screws you it really does but um this is This is hugely important doing what I'm doing now because I can feel myself fading and I need some carbohydrates and That's what this is gonna be. So put that back in there put that Back in there, and I've just realized I made a crucial mistake I've been on my feet. Oh That was a mistake. I needed a rest of course Another important thing you don't leave rubbish on the trail so I'll be putting that back in my backpack and Going on my merry way Actually surprised. There's no ants on the ground. I don't know why that is Anyways, I'm not gonna do the usual YouTuber transition and Run away and then come back and grab my camera. No, no, no, no. No, we don't have time for that We're gonna go All right guys. We just made it down the trail Not quite sure what this is But it looks like some sort of little camping area. So I feel like oh Shit have a look at this All right, whoa officially 13.5 K through 10.3 to go. Let's fucking do it two hours exactly All right guys talk about frustrating Okay This is treacherous. I don't Actually, I've yeah, I've gone the wrong way. I've gone the wrong way. Okay. I'm back on all right I was lost there for about a minute Okay Jesus Must be all the rain that we've had recently all the grass is overgrown all right 15 I'm almost immune to spiders, but not quite West side no, it actually is that she is the west of Alice Springs Alice Springs splits the Macdenow Rangers and as as the The the compass which suggests to the west of Alice Springs is the West Macdenow Rangers and to the east other east and I am at this very moment walking slash running along the West Macdenow Rangers in Central Australia at this point I've got a tally of near misses Because they are a thing this trail. You really do have to concentrate Like like if I was gonna I was gonna give any suggestions to anyone else doing this like this is the first time I've done this trail But you've got to concentrate man. You really do and With that in mind I've tripped. I haven't actually fallen they do say that there's only one guarantee When you're running on the trails and that is you will fall You will fall at some point. I haven't yet, but I have tripped three times that's because I Wasn't lifting my feet high enough And it just caught a quarter rock and I've also almost rolled my ankle twice and I mean, that's really dodgy Tripping on a rock is one thing, but actually rolling your ankle like I'd be fucked. So thank God. It wasn't serious Touch wood. It doesn't happen again But yeah 15 and a half K's through two hours 13 minutes Let's go Right guys, I thought Now was just a good a time as any To get the camera out we're at Scorpion pool As far as my watch is concerned I'm 17 0.99 kilometers through make that 18 and the time is 2 hours 32 and if I want any hope of finishing this on two legs Then I'm gonna have to be strategic about the last seven Kilometers and my strategy is simple walk uphill Jog downhill and See how I feel with the flat parts but I mean It's just it's necessary. I'm simply not conditioned. Like I said before this this thing has humbled me and I Mean it's beautiful, but fuck it's getting hot I just went for my first piss before and It looks like I'm radioactive Which means I am severely dehydrated so You know I did I bite off more than I could chew no no I am I am gonna finish it and I'm gonna finish it on two feet, but Some serious shit It is some some serious shit out here some serious terrain there ain't nothing out here to help you So you got to be prepared And I guess I probably wasn't Okay Let's keep going sup Tell you what This trail is relentless The spiders are relentless The Sun is fucking relentless, and you know what I'm relentless too. I will finish this I have bitten off a little bit more than I can chew. I'm just coming up to 20 K's which means we've got about five to go by my watch I'm just taking some some weight off my legs because I desperately need it. I am feeling fucking fatigued Excuse the language throughout this video, but it's just come out So yeah, I'm just hanging out with the ants for probably another 30 seconds or so and then I'll take off I'm gonna lie guys If I could I most probably would stop right now I'm getting a little overwhelmed with the heat Fuck I need some shade man. Holy fuck Yeah, okay, so this is the first time I've actually felt I Don't know worried somewhat This is tough man, it's real tough no sunblock No food. I've got to keep going. I know that much but man My oh my how the tides turn I am I'm over three K's away from the finish Three hours 22 minutes. I think I'll do well to finish in under four hours. Honestly It's gonna be funny man looking back at some of the clips at the start of this. I was feeling confident very confident In fact, I even made reference to the Lion King But right now I just want to finish and I'm fucking worried because I told I Told Miffy she's gonna be my ride at the end of this to get there right about now And I think I'm at least half an hour away. So she's gonna think what what is this guy doing? Where is he? So I better keep going, but man, it's just hard, bro Man respect respect anyone who can do this shit All right guys just checking in That is Simpson's gap We were thin striking distance I'm not gonna strike. I feel like Absolute shit And I need water badly right guys Here we are My watch has just ticked over 25 K's I'm gonna stop it because I need to It's actually a safety risk and you know what broke my heart You know what broke my heart just then Just as I was running in My ride was driving out Literally, so I don't know what the fuck I'm gonna do now. There's no reception out here Oh But that is section one of the Larapinta trail done Done and motherfucking dust it See you guys at home All right guys, it's 2 30 We began this Quick maths nine hours ago at 5 30 in the morning It took me three hours and 55 minutes well actually I Was it three fifth? Yeah, I don't know what it was. I'm gonna have to check but um It took me almost four hours to do it and four hours was the cut-off time. It was the target that I was aiming for I I Felt like I was gonna pass out if I I didn't want to push over the last four or five K's because It was just too much my legs felt like they were about to fall off I I'd stopped sweating because I think what happened is, you know, I just got rid of all the water in my system I took in three liters of liquid throughout the run, but it wasn't enough by any means There was a point With water about halfway through I can't remember what it was cool but it was a little campsite that we did go past and You know in future Efforts, I think it would be my best interest to stop make that one of my designated Stopping points and refill with water for sure I had a couple of liters of Gatorade. It's not Gatorade. It's like a cheaper version and honestly by the end of that If they were fucking hot And was making me feel sick. So I I've I've literally I got home. I finally got home. Oh, that's right Got and none of this is complaining by the way This is just being open and honest and transparent I got I got in after five out, sorry after four hours of fucking hard slog I got into Simpson's Gap and I knew it was gonna be close I knew that I was gonna be at least half an hour if not 45 50 minutes later than what I'd actually said now There's no reception out on the trail So it was either get picked up or not and unfortunately in this case it was the latter Just as I was running in literally probably 500 meters from the from the end I Saw this little white car and I thought oh shit They've seen me they've seen me and I started waving out and everything in and and and that car kept going and it and it kept Going in and it and it and it kept going and Unfortunately, what had happened is that after three hours and 55 minutes of running slash walking The last five K's were pretty much all walking by the way And I stopped multiple times first 10 K's feeling fucking brilliant and you'll probably see by the Statistics that I run through but um, yeah, we got there. We got there in the end I had to wait an hour extra for my ride Tried to get some water on board just couldn't couldn't get enough Needed some food. I had blisters Sunburn that's another thing Didn't take any sunscreen because I I started so early and I thought well, I'll definitely be done by 830. Well, no, no no, no, I wasn't and It just got hotter and hotter and hotter, but I told you guys about that on the on the journey So, you know, I'm just reiterating things here Anyway got home and I spent the next hour and a half in bed I literally felt so fucking shit that I I mean was it the fact that I got up like a couple hours earlier than normal maybe Was it the fact that I was completely and utterly dehydrated? Most probably and it's been a struggle ever since I got home to to take on enough water and enough Electrolytes to actually rehydrate me It was a real effort this morning a real effort something I can be proud of But something that I didn't prepare for properly We did 25 kilometers along the Larapinta Trail From Alice Springs to Simpsons Gap First time I'd ever done it first time I'd seen that trail I think I mentioned halfway through that I had run along the ranges, but not on this side I've done it on the other side of the the valley so Yeah, it was all new to me probably probably, you know, probably eight up jeez I'm gonna say a hundred hundred and fifty spider webs, and I wouldn't call them spider webs. I'd call them ropes The majority of the webs that I ran into were literally anchors They're anchors for these massive spiders and their massive spider webs and And so, you know being an anchor an anchor point The amount of times that they run up and down that web I don't know how many it's got to be at least 10 20 and so it's really thick really thick and I mean Geez they didn't stop the spider webs did not stop I think by the end of the round the spiders were actually running out of my way because I was just relentless I was relentless. I was just eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner to be honest I was at that point. I wanted to get back to the finish line so much that I Mean And I had such low energy I mean Using a human window washer like I had done during the first five or ten K's just was completely off the table I didn't want to expend any in it any extra energy than I than I had to so look When it comes down to it the five Ps apply it to this challenge This 25 kilometer run that I did and that is proper preparation prevents poor performance now How would I prepare? Better in the future. Well, I'd get up just that little bit earlier I would take on more water prior to starting. I would bring food with me. I would stop at The water station halfway through and fill up everything that I had I'd probably go for actual Gatorade or Powerade rather than this cheap crap that might look the same, but I don't know I just didn't make me feel good didn't make me feel good whatsoever I Would take sunscreen and I would not only get up a little bit earlier to get some water on board, but I'd also start that run in this kind of heat Literally an hour and a half beforehand I would be right. I'd I'd be quite happy to be running in the darkness for the first two hours I'd be quite willing to do that. I feel like, you know It wouldn't make it easy the trail is treacherous at times, but It would make it a lot more comfortable. I mean, I'm doing this in the middle of summer I mean, it's almost, you know, call me an idiot. Call me what you like, but Look, I really wanted to do it. I wanted to challenge myself This is my day off during the week day off from work and And you know, I wanted to make the most of it and I certainly did that but like I said, man I've spent an hour and a half in bed. I've got up, you know, my legs are fucking killing me And it's not as if I haven't run 25 kilometers before but I certainly haven't run it with 800 meters of elevation That's over 2,500 feet. Now, I don't even know if that's a lot or not, but it seemed like a lot Okay, let's have a look at a couple of stats here So 25 K's total 825 meters of elevation gain Total time of three hours 54 minutes and two seconds. I burnt 2,624 calories my average heart rate was 151 beats per minute, which I think is a little bit on the low side It was up Upwards of, you know, 155 160 for the majority of the time But I feel like that's skewed because of the times that I had to stop But I just had to man. I had to you know thoughts were going through my head about This this fella back in April of last year who died You know, the Larapinta trail have taken has taken names. It has taken people out That fucking trail at this time of year has taken people out, but it didn't take me out although I Felt like it did that was about to at some point. Anyways guys, I started with a pace of 622 per K 711 737 back under 7 643 per K 737 756 756 728 938 and 724 Those were the first 10 K's and that included Some decent elevation But I still had a full tank of gas at that point. I felt like I could do it all day But no, no once I got past that 10 K mark. We hit some real elevation and my pace just slowed from there. So The next three K's were like going up and then going down Euro ridge which if you remember correctly was the ridge the the highest point along this trail section one of it and Kilometre 14 I started running again Running slash walking 754 830 841 735 818 925 That was kilometer 19 kilometer 19 was done in 925 I knew that I had five kilometers left But I didn't know how much energy I was gonna have left never in my wildest dreams guys Would I imagine that the final Six total kilometers Would take me 10 14 16. That's 30 40 50 59 59 minutes the final six K's Took me an hour Took me an hour. So I got through 19 K's and in Just under three hours and the final the final six man. We're a fucking grind bro. They were hard They were extremely hard Every single time I looked up I saw more elevation and I thought when is this gonna end when is this going to end and Lo and behold it did. I feel like even just mentally having completed that now It's gonna put me in a better spot moving forward But you know the challenge today was to finish section one of the Larapinta trail 25 kilometers or 24.9 to be exact in under four hours and we did it so really I mean that's a huge tick a Huge tick a huge tick. I don't know how sunburn I look right now, but I do I feel I'm not feeling the best man I'm not feeling the best I'm in recovery mode Hey, I mean 21 K's 21.1 K's means that I actually ran a half marathon along the trails today So that was pretty sweet. I think I did that in about three hours But yeah, look that's that's enough from me today today was an interesting day Learned a lot, but I am gonna have to go back to those five P's once again proper Preparation prevents poor performance. I'm not gonna say that today's performance was poor But I did bite off a little more than I could chew. I hope you guys are doing well out there This is the first video on the channel for like three four months I'm happy that it's not a reaction video I'm happy that it's actually to do with where I am and what I'm doing in my with my life at the moment being in Alice Springs for Probably about two and a half months for anyone wondering for anyone still here being back in Alice for two and a half months and You know, I've just been a Being as present of a dad as possible. It's it's It's tough man, it's it's tough at times being a dad But it's very rewarding and I love my kids like nothing else. I really do I I They're the apples of my eye they are You know, I'm not gonna say the cliche They are everything to me because at the end of the day, I am an independent man I do like doing my own thing such as what happened this morning But I mean they they mean the world to me and I will continue to try and inspire them and motivate them and and back them With whatever they want to do. I couldn't say exactly what the future holds But for now, I do have a full-time job. That's probably why you haven't seen a huge amount of content on this channel recently But I have actually started a new channel and it's called it's okay to talk. You can see the link on my homepage and What I've done over there is begin to talk about things begin to discuss certain things certain addictions among other things basically just covering where I'm at in life, but I've decided to Publish the videos in a 30-day challenge 30-day series type format. You'll you'll see what I'm talking about You'll see what I'm talking about I won't say too much more It's good to connect with you guys again It's gonna be funny to edit this video back because I haven't looked at any of the footage, but you know, I was so confident I was so confident, but man Man this central Australian heat is relentless But yeah, thanks guys. I've probably repeated myself a bit too much. We did start really well I got through the first 10 K's. I thought man, I'm gonna get under three hours here easy, but no no the The ETA slipped from three hours to 315 then 315 to 330 and and then I actually wondered whether I was ever gonna finish But we did Tate is almost home from school right now So I'm gonna put the camera down and spend the afternoon with my kids and and prepare to hit the sack Hopefully pretty early tonight. Thanks for watching guys. This channel will never go away. I'll never go away YouTube YouTube has YouTube has an interesting place in my life certainly a very Special place, but it has it's almost broken me The pressure that I've put on myself due to this YouTube channel has almost broken me multiple times But I will talk about that more in the future. I'm still here. I'm still trucking and We've just done 25 K's along the Larapinta trail. Thanks for watching guys, and I'll see you in the next one peace