TRAIL RUNNING
P H OTO G R A P H Y BY AU R O R A I M AG E S
LOTS OF HEAVEN, A
LITTLE BIT OF HELL
AND ONLY ABOUT
HALF THE DISTANCE
OF A MARATHON.
RUNDIRTY
I
n the Pace UTA22, the Blue Mountains
finally boasts a trail running race that's
accessible to novices but also attracts
the elite to this spectacular sporting
landscape.
From the old Queen Victoria Hospital
at Wentworth Falls to Scenic World at
Katoomba, the 21.6km Ultra-Trail Australia
challenge is short enough yet hard enough
to entice the entire spectrum of trail
running enthusiasts.
The Pace UTA22 was first run
in May, 2016, as an approachable
companionevent to the established
UTA100 and UTA50, and amongst its 800
debut participants was mother-of-two
Lesly Jones, who came 309th in 3:28:31 in
what was her first trail running race.
They shared everything from the ecstasy
of the the Blue Mountains scenery on the
Kedumba Pass descent, to the leg- and
lung-burning agony of the Furber
Steps ascent.
Despite the torture of the 951 steps of
Furber, which she likened to childbirth,
Blue Mountains-based Jones loved
running the UTA22. It was a joy that came
after serious misgivings.
"In the week leading up to the race
I started worrying about a number of
things including 'coming last', 'dying out
there' (an unlikely scenario-fuelled by my
mother who, every time I’d mention the
run, would advise me not to 'kill myself') or
being blown away, or hit by debris being
carried by the wild winds howling through
the mountains Wuthering Heights-style
22 | MULTISPORT MAGAZINE
BY DAN LEWIS
all through the week leading up to the
race," Jones said. “But the day arrived and
thankfully it was radiant, with expansive
blue skies and a summery kind of warmth
in the air,”said Jones, who enjoyed the
majesty of the landscape.
"Just before we reached the clearing
in the Kedumba Valley, I asked the man
running beside me if he had been into
the valley before. He said he had not and
I told him it was like paradise. He said he
thought it sounded like somewhere he
wouldn’t want to leave, and it certainly
delivered the eye-popping wow factor.
The looming ancient rock formations set
against the vast blue sky and the bright
light were surreal. My senses were on high
beam. I spoke briefly to another equally
enthralled running woman and she agreed
that this was her favourite part of the
run, too. I left the magical clearing and
squelched through the mud and onto
the skinny, light-dappled bush trails with
the whimsical little pixie dells on either
side, hopping over the rushing water
and eventually into the green light and
mossy boulder-filled Leura Forest. The
feeling that I was living on a perfect planet
dominated my thoughts and I was encased
in a cocoon of feeling that I was at one with
the land, sky and all the runners around
me. The endorphins were really kicking in
by then."
UTA race director, Tom Landon-Smith
says the Pace UTA22 is a great introduction
to UTA and trail running.
“It is a challenging course that takes in
the beauty of the Blue Mountains but is
still achievable for novice trail runners,"
said Landon-Smith. “The course has about
1200m of total climbs and descents and
the biggest climb of all is up the Furber
Steps.”