An Unstoppable Summer With Harvey Lewis

I traveled to the paddocks outside of the small town of Nanango in Queensland, Australia for the Dead Cow Gully Masters Backyard Ultra. Race Director Tim Walsh was proud that his family had owned the property since 1877 and in recent years he has made it a Mecca for ultra running. Athletes from four countries; Australia and New Zealand primarily but also a solo athlete from South Africa and myself from the USA representing the field. The race exceeded expectations. I lasted to my furthest distance and a new American record 375 miles, 90 yards before being the 3rd to final athlete out. Phil Gore outlasted the full field, with the assist of Sam Harvey. Phil set a new world record of 102 yards, 425 miles. One of my biggest surprises was that Tailwind was quite popular in Australia. I was happy to see as it was my go-to electrolyte drink also. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Badwater given only having 2 weeks in between and because 375 miles was the furthest I’ve run at one go, minus the Appalachian Trail. I got out for low-intensity fitness still daily from walks with our dog Carly, treading water in the pool, sauna sessions, short yoga sessions, push-ups, planks, and shorter runs. 

While I didn’t feel my tank was full, I was amazed my body kept forward as well as it did in Badwater. I actually ran one of my fastest splits ever to mile 42. Once we started the idea of being conservative didn’t register, and I just felt like pushing. I would say the number one thing that helped me to continue for 135 miles and well after my muscles were fully fatigued was nutrition which Tailwind was my primary ingredient. 

I’m excited to be off to the Azores with RunQuest Travel at the end of this week.I’ve been taking guests to Portugal now for 10 years. I’m looking forward to running up some volcanic trails, jumping into hot springs and cool waters. My next race will be the Canadian Death Race in Canada with all trails and more vert. It will be fun to change gears!