Two 100km races in the space of six days, producing two victories and breaking two course records.
It’s just another week in the life of Woodford ultra marathon runner Brendan Davies.
“My body is so adaptable to that high workload and training load it’s more than capable of backing up,” Davies said after winning the 105km Sri Chinmoy Canberra Ultra Trail, then the 100km Hume and Hovell Ultra in October.
“My body adapted to the rigours and it just recovers very quickly.”
The 41-year-old says ultra runners seem to get better as they age. “You’re better able to cope with the pain and the trauma and the mental toughness. You know what’s coming.”
A first-time entrant in both races, Davies ran the Hume and Hovell in Tumbarumba in 9 hours 54 minutes 47 seconds, more than an hour ahead of the second placegetter.
He ran even quicker in Canberra. Clocking in at 9:38:31, he was 10 minutes faster than the course record set by Tom Brazier on the inaugural 100km course in 2013. “It [breaking the record] was a nice little cherry on the cake,” Davies said.
Next on the radar is the Fast 100 Ultra in Hong Kong, a new 100km trail event in February. Renowned American ultra runners Rob Krar and Jim Walmsley will face off and Davies is looking forward to the challenge. “I don’t get the opportunity to race these guys that often,” he said.
“These two are really fast and are definitely the best in the world. I’m coming to the end of my career but this gives me the motivation to keep going.”