For Dubbo's Matthew Pellow, entering the 100km Ultra-Trail Australia event was something he always wanted to do but winning it was something he did not expect.
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Thirty runners from Dubbo made the trip to Katoomba earlier this month to compete in the event of 11km, 22km, 50km and 100km scenic trail runs.
Pellow is usually a triathlon champion but decided to branch out into the long distance event and finished in just under 10 hours.
"It was interesting. It was my first over that distance and also my first race over a marathon but when I did a marathon I actually didn't race it seriously, I just kind of did it for fun," he said.
"It was quite a step up. I really enjoyed the trail aspect. The run itself was quite difficult with the stairs and all the elevation gained throughout the race, the 100km it actually felt quite a bit longer than I could of imagined just because of the amount of elevation gained it the race."
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Pellow admitted training for triathlons may have put him in good stead for the event.
"The strength from cycling and mountain biking helped me quite a bit but in terms of preparing the race I did a lot of stair climbing. There's a particular climb in Wollongong that I was going up and down and I think the longest session I did was six-and-a-half hours," he said.
The Dubbo product admitted he always had the ambition to take part in the event before his last minute entry.
"I always thought I was suited to ultra running. In terms of training I'm able to maintain a high running volume from week to week without getting injured so you could say I believe I have a quite resilient running technique," he said
"So, basically, I always thought I was suited towards it and I don't tend get fatigued as quick as other people I'm training with in longer stuff so generally I'll be a bit slower initially but I'll catch up as the training session goes longer."
Competitors had to run up 951 stairs in the Ultra-Trail Australia earlier this month before a final push to the finish line, which is something Pellow admitted was on his mind for hours.
"I was very excited. I had the lead from about 75km so I had to carry the stress of the lead for the last 25km," he said.
"The thought of the finish line was in my head for the last couple of hours.
"There is actually a big set of stairs at the end so the fatigue set in at that stage so I delirious, you could say.
"I was relying on these sugar gels you take to stop myself from getting really dizzy. I was sort of having to ration out my energy gels to make sure I got to the finish line. Coming up the stairs it was a pretty awesome feeling and to get the win on my first go is just hard to describe.
"It's something I've always thought in the back of my mind I was suited towards but never ticked that box and gone and done one and that was year."
Pellow also wished to thank his loved ones and also acknowledged he will a race again but is in no hurry to do so.
"I've heard some really nice words from all my friends and family in Dubbo so that's really inspiring me to go pick another race," Pellow said.
"I haven't picked one (next race) yet. I'm being a little bit cautious because I do believe to be quite stressful on the body especially the intensity I held for that amount of time but I'll have to do another one for sure. I'll end up being on the start line again somewhere down the track."
As the Ultra Trail Australia is only held once a year this also means Pellow is the Australian champion in the 100km event with a time of 9 hours 51 minutes.
Among the other competitors from Dubbo, Sharyn Lyons took out the age champion for the 11km event and was the oldest female competitor in the entire trail festival.
Josh Gibbs and Peter Fisher both earned themselves a bronze buckle for completing the 100km course in under 20 hours.
The trail consisted of a remarkable 4460m of elevation in the 100km.
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