When I first started running at events, there were a few that were quickly on my wish list. Or rather a ‘dream list’ as I really thought they were so far out of my reach, both physically and financially. The Outback half marathon was one of them and running at Disney was another. In many ways, the fact that I’d managed to achieve some of my wish list just compelled me to see if I could achieve others and the turmoil of COVID times was the final deciding factor – life is short, book the trip. And so we did.
Last Thursday, we were up early to board a flight to Yulara from Melbourne. The training leading up to the event had been appalling with illness, injury and the general chaos of life all getting in the way. With recent travel issues, I also wasn’t confident our flight would actually be running and, equally, wasn’t sure I would avoid Covid long enough to make it on board. However the stars aligned and our flight left on time, with us on it. Along with my class pet, Artemis, who came along for the ride and to share the journey with our class back at school.
The Outback marathon is an iconic event in a few ways. The course is situated around the township of Yulara, taking in views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta and running on red desert sands. Organised by Travelling Fit, it is also a trip rather than an event as, to participate, you need to book the package of accommodation, meals and optional tours. We had opted for the silver package, mostly due to time limitations but felt our 3 nights and 4 days would be enough of an experience.
Landing in Yulara, we were transported on coaches to the resort and our accommodation, Sails in the Desert. Again, there are multiple accommodation options but we figured this might be a ‘once in a lifetime’ thing so wanted to splurge. Walking into our room, we were glad we did – what an oasis in the desert. So roomy, plush carpets and furnishings, comfy bed and linen and a patio to soak up some Winter sun. A perfect home for a few days.
Dinner on the first night is included as a ‘get to know you’ event by the pool at Sails on the desert and we met a fabulous bunch of people on our table. Even better, many of them were sharing their own disrupted training cycles which instantly put me at ease about my own. Dinner was a buffet with plenty of options and delicious food. So far, ticking all of the boxes.
We were up early the next day, handed our breakfast backpack and headed out on the coaches to watch sunrise at Uluru. Coffee and tea were set up out there for us so, with a hot coffee in hand, we greeted the day and marvelled at the beauty of the rock, the landscape and the colours of the morning waking up. We were then dropped at the start of the base walk and set off at our own pace. Gary and I strolled, enjoying being up close to Uluru, especially around the side with more sensitive, culturally significant sites to the local Anangu people who have been caretakers of the land we were walking on for thousands of years. We stopped to munch on some breakfast and enjoyed the tranquillity. Despite a couple of coach loads of us having been dropped off, there was clearly room for all and, while we obviously saw people, we didn’t feel crowded.
We had been given multiple options for the morning, depending on how energetic we were feeling – we opted for a medium option and walked about ¾ of the base walk, around to a section we had seen on our previous trip. From there, we journeyed to the Cultural Centre were we browsed the information about the local history and had a coffee (yes, another one – it had been an early start, after all). Then it was time to head back to the resort for some lunch and an afternoon of relaxing.
In the late afternoon, we met up with everyone at the town square to buy some merchandise and listen to the race briefing. Oddly enough, I actually was really nervous and the race briefing helped me relax a bit by preparing me for what the event would be like. Another dinner followed, this time carb loading with a range of pasta on offer. We ate fairly quickly and headed to bed – another early start on race day.
Race day
We’d set our alarm for 5am as we’d decided to grab some toast and juice for breakfast at the restaurant before the buses left. Quite a few others did the same – great that it was open with the breakfast buffet on offer for us to get some fuel on board.
Then it was onto the coaches to be taken out to the start/finish line. I hadn’t realised that the race started at the Field of Lights exhibit and it was really special watching the sunrise with the twinkling artwork on display. Definitely one of those moments when you pinch yourself to check it’s real. What was equally as real were the toilet queues. Understandably, toilets are limited in the bush and there were 6 portaloos for us all however I did have some great chats to people while waiting. I have to say it’s the first time I’ve joined a toilet queue in the dark and not got into the toilet until the sun had risen! There were also tables and chairs, a big bag drop area and drinks available. We sat and took it all in and, even though my nerves were definitely still there, I was trying to just enjoy it all.
Soon enough, it was start time and we were gathered in between the flags. I tried to move as far back as I could but hadn’t judged it that well as there were still quite a few people behind me. They did the countdown and….we were off! Gary and I started together as he was doing run/walk intervals and was starting with a walk. This wasn’t how we usually started events together and made a really nice change. After a few minutes, he was off and most of the others had overtaken me which was completely fine with me. Time to do my own thing. I chatted to a couple of women from Brisbane who were walking the event then moved on a bit as I was doing some small bits of running early on. My calf felt ok but I was very keen not to push it early, not really knowing what to expect from the course.
One of my biggest concerns had been about the surface we were going to be running on but their description of ‘mixed’ was completely accurate. Early on, we were on tracks with corrugations and some soft sand but that would give way to areas of harder sand and, sometimes, gravel or dirt road. There are small patches where you’re on the sealed road but that’s really just when crossing over somewhere. From the map, it had been hard to predict what it would be like but the course was unique and wonderful. For most of it, you felt like you were running in the middle of the desert but with an ever changing landscape of dunes, views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, scrub, trees and the occasional man made reminders that were actually on the outskirts of town. The surface changes meant boredom just wasn’t an option – a few small hills thrown in, some scrambles through softer sand, a dirt road or two – always something different.
And the people along the way were fabulous. Quite early on, I was keeping a similar pace to someone so we got talking – Rick from South Carolina. He turned out to be a fabulous companion for a significant part of the distance as our chatter made the kilometres absolutely fly by with us both surprised when our watches ticked over another kilometre (or mile!). As well as this, others who passed us were friendly and welcoming, something that isn’t always the case at other events. There was a very genuine and touching camaraderie about this event, both on race day and across the weekend, which played out with lots of ‘well done’ and ‘you’re doing great’ from marathoners and half marathoners out on course.
The aid stations are plentiful, popping up about every 3km, with friendly volunteers ready with drinks and jellybeans to top you up. There were even two (very welcome) portaloos at pivotal points on the course. The marshals were also endlessly encouraging.
This one was definitely measured in smiles not time. I had known I would walk most of it and did just that but, due to that, got through without any calf pain and feeling pretty good the whole way. In the last 3 km I started to struggle physically, just with tiredness, sore feet and gradually developing hatred of sand. But none of it was enough to take the shine off it and my smile stayed firmly on my face throughout. I could hear the ruckus at the finish line before I could see it and managed a run for the finish chute, feeling quite emotional crossing the line and feeling very fortunate to be able to do such an event in such a special place.
Post run, we sat, devoured sausage sizzle lunch and re-hydrated as we applauded others coming in. Being such an inclusive event with a generous cut off meant finishers continued well into the afternoon and were being greeted as warmly and enthusiastically as ever. Eventually we decided it was time to wash off the red dirt so headed back to the resorts for showers and a rest.
Not too long a rest though, as it was back on the coach later in the afternoon for sunset drinks and nibbles at Uluru. The sunset didn’t really play ball as the clouds had rolled in but none of us cared. It wasn’t about the sunset – it was a chance to share our joy at what we’d achieved, chat to new friends, share pictures of our how much sand we’d accumulated on our toes (yes, really, it was a thing!) and generally celebrate the awesomeness of the event. This was followed by dinner at our hotel – a delicious buffet which was the perfect post-race meal.
On our final morning, we managed a sleep in, kind of. A 7am alarm which neither of us needed as our bodies were well and truly awake already. We had breakfast at our hotel and then checked out before catching our coach back to the airport. I’m writing this from the air, heading back to Melbourne and still have the smile on the face as I relive the memories.
I know, this has been a massive blog. That’s because, despite it being a short holiday, it felt like we packed in so much. When we first signed up for this, I thought it would be a one off and something that, once I’d done it, I wouldn’t want to repeat. How wrong could I be? I would definitely do this one again. The magic of the place, the friendliness of the people, the inclusiveness of the event, the meticulous organisation of the itinerary – it all blended perfectly into a brilliant event that I feel you’d want to keep coming back to, no matter how many times you’d already been.