Great North Walk 100s

This weekend is the The Great North Walk 100s, which consist of two trail runs – a 100 mile event and a 100km event – between Teralba near Lake Macquarie and Sydney.

In the 100kms, there are two names in the men’s and ladies races that stand out.

Lou Clifton has been on fire all year and it would be a strong man to bet against her winning here. She finished 4th at Six Foot Track, 3rd at UTA, won the Mount Solitary ultra and then also bagged a top ten place in the Eiger ultra trail too. Also look out for Kyley Norris who won this race last year.

For the men, Vlad Shatrov is on home turf for a shot at some of the longer stuff having won Six Foot Track earlier this year. Vlad’s been knocking up some fine training runs on the course of late and I’m sure he’s got fellow Central Coast’s Clarke McClymont’s 100km record in his sights.

Ultra Running is a different challenge! It is all about setting yourself up to perform well at major 2018 Ultra events and setting the challenge of doing well both on and off road! Time on legs, hills, challenging terrain, isolation and being on your own for extended periods of time are the unique challenges of Ultra running.

To be at the pointy end you also require speed and the strength adaptions to ensure you run well for extended periods!

Vlad Shatrov said the following: “Comrades 2017 tought me a lot and since then Ive increased my running specific strength work and trail running – this years Great North Walk 100 race for me is all about seeing if the training i have now incorporated will serve me well in 2018! I cannot wait a perfect challenge of endurance and mental  toughness to hopefully set me up well for next years goals.”

Best of luck to all runners this weekend and here’s hoping there’s a solution to the challenges at Heaton Gap this Saturday.

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