Jazz Kuschke chats to winning lady and tie-third place overall of the 2011 Salomon Sky Run, Linda Doke.
Tell us what happened over the last 10 kilometres? You finished tied third with Lance Chapman and Nico Schoeman, but you guys ran only the last 10 together, is that right?
I ran on my own from Balloch right to the top of the Bridal Pass. I had passed Isaac Mazibuko just before Wildfell – he was walking and looked really tired. That’s when I realised I was sitting in 3rd place overall. By the time I reached the checkpoint halfway up the Bridal Pass, Isaac had found his second wind – he powered past me just after that, suddenly looking really strong and I didn’t see him again!
Lance caught me at the top of the Bridal Pass – he didn’t have a GPS and wasn’t sure of the route, so we stuck together for the rest of the race. Quite a while after it got dark, and I guess about 3km after the Turn (the penultimate check point), we spotted a light coming towards us out the darkness. Much to our surprise, it was Nico – the batteries in his GPS had died and he had no means of navigating, he’d been lost for ages.
So the three of us pressed on together, both guys reliant on me for navigation, and unfortunately for them we had to move at my pace… which was incredibly slow by then, as I was running on empty. Those last 12 or so km’s took ages – the best I could do was walk! (see answer 3 for reason why!)
Many runners and experts have been quoted as saying the race only starts at Balloch. You were the third woman into Balloch, am I right? What was your race strategy; and, did it go all according to plan?
Nope, I was the first woman into Balloch, not the third.
My race strategy was to go out at a steady pace rather than be drawn into starting out too fast. And it worked – after the initial climb out of Lady Grey, I watched Su disappear at pace into the dawn light, and I held back, maintaining a comfortable pace.
It worked – I caught her soon after Snowden (CP3), around the 30km mark. My plan was to keep steady until dropping down into the Balloch Valley, and then pick up the pace for the 6km or so into Balloch. And that’s how it worked – Su and I ran with a small group of guys from just before Avoca til the start of the Balloch Valley, and then I pulled ahead. I managed to create quite a gap coming into Balloch, and reached there in 9hr30.
The second half of the race is by far the hardest, and I knew I needed to make the most of the daylight. I pushed hard over the Wall, down the other side, on the dirt road to Wildfell, up the Bridal Pass, and then on to the Turn, knowing every minute run in the light was time scored – running in the dark is slow! So yes, my race strategy went all according to plan up until the Turn, and then it went awry… (see next answer!)
How important is nutrition for a 100-kilometre race? Can you tell us a bit about what you fueled on?
Nutrition for any endurance race is critical. Just as you can’t drive a car on empty, you certainly can’t run 100km without good reserves and good fuel.
I’d planned mine carefully, I knew what I should consume when, and I had stashed ziplock bags of my tried and tested fuels (PeptoSport, peanuts and raisins, energy bars, baby potatoes) in the many pockets of my Salomon Skin pack. I stuck to my nutrition plan the whole day, and all was going well… And then once it became dark, for some crazy reason and without even realising it, I just stopped eating. A big mistake! I should’ve known better.
Unfortunately, by the time I realised what I’d done, it was too late, and anything I tried to eat just made me nauseous. I literally covered those last 12km or so on an empty fuel tank. And it cost me big time: at the Turn, I was 1hr10min ahead of the next lady, Su; and yet she crossed the line just 30 or so minutes after me.
How do you stay motivated out there? Did you have any bad patches where you had to dig deep mentally?
The last 20km or so of any ultra are the toughest. The legs are tired, the mind starts playing tricks with distance calculations, and the kilometres seem to take forever to tick by.
Fortunately I’m pretty good at digging deep and staying motivated – I think years of endurance racing has taught me that as long as I’m moving forward, I’m closer to the finish line! The last 10km of this race were like that – I felt so drained and it took all my strength to pick myself up every time I sat down. Nico and Lance were unbelievably patient with me, they were brilliant!
Besides the awesome result, obviously, can you lift a highlight or two from the race?
One of the highlights of Sky Run for me is always running along the Dragon’s Back, a narrow section of rocks just after Avoca (+/- 43km) where there’s a sheer drop-off on either side, and views spanning vast vistas. Another memorable moment this year was the feeling of running into Balloch feeling really strong.
What’s next on the calendar? Will you take bit of a break or is it right back into training?
Hah! I have plans for 2012, but they’re still in pencil, not quite in ink yet. As for a break, that was what last week and this week is for – next week I’m back into training!
View the Salomon Sky Run Gallery 2011
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