What made you want to do the Bondi to Manly Event?

I have run the various parts of the trail many times and thought it would be fun to link them all together and make a day of it. I also wanted to give back to the B2M track as all proceeds from the race are going towards the preservation and enhancement of trails around Sydney Harbour 

What was your longest event before signing up for B2M?

I have run comrades (90km) twice and a few bush ultra’s. 2024 was my second B2M, first being 2023 and I enjoyed it so much I thought I would do it again.

What type of training did you do for B2M? any stairs? lots of hills? any Speedwork?

I followed The Streek B2M training plan and may have skipped a few strength sessions but never missed a kilometre of the running plan. Hill sessions are what really made the difference. I ran all parts of the course a number of times to get used to the changing terrain and to understanding my pacing.

Did anything on the course surprise you in terms of how hard it was? 

Clontarf to North Harbour reserve is tough with 60km in your legs, the uneven stair heights mean you can’t get into a rhythm. The track around Fairlight Lookout is very exposed and you face into the afternoon sun at full strength. 

Do you think you could or should do anything different in your training? 

For my second year, I did some very big hill workouts in the bush. It was actually harder training  than I needed but this gave me a great mind set for the day. The hills around Canberra are a great place to train.

How do you think it is best to pace the event? Is the effort pretty evenly spread or do you need to save lots of cookies for the trails in the second half?

In the first half it is very easy to cruise and get a false sense of how you are going; you need to save a lot for the second 40km which gets much harder. The last 10km are brutal if you haven’t conserved enough of your legs. The last 10km looks straightforward but it’s not, there’s lots of grate running with a shitty descent down to Shelly Beach, make sure you run it at least once before the day. 

Did they have many checkpoints and were they well stocked with food?

The directions and checkpoints were good, with four main check points and one small one at 10 km to go, the last of which is a life saver and great motivator. All the checkpoints were well-stocked and volunteers were really supportive. So much food and Coke! 

Did you have a support crew, and was it easy for them to see you at multiple points on the course?

I had family and friends cheer at all the major points and many of them turned up at the end, which had a carnival atmosphere with both ultra and relay teams finishing. The last checkpoint (10km to go) is great for spectators and in my opinion is where you really need the motivation. It’s easy to get to the finish line from here for the spectators, not so easy for runners!

Do you think it would be hard to try and run it without a support crew?

The aid stations are very well stocked, so yes you could do without a support crew. There are also lots of points along the course to hydrate. Additionally, the Friday bag drop gives you the option to leave your own refuel at various checkpoints. The aid stations at 20km intervals are a great motivator due to the food choices. The relay change-overs at the checkpoints add to the atmosphere. 

How did your race go and were you happy with the result?

The race in 2023 & 2024 were great. I did not intend to set any records and approached it as a great day out. In my opinion it’s the best track on Sydney Harbour.  

Do you have any pearls of wisdom we haven’t covered in these questions that might help someone in their first B2M ultra?

Follow Mark’s training programme (it works! ) Do the strength, and throw in some extra big hill sessions; the harder, the better. Run the course as often as possible, the views are great and you get a good idea where all the extra hydration points are.  Where else can you train on such a course? On the day have fun, lots of foot traffic on the course so relax and enjoy the day, the finish line is totally worth it.