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BRISBANE TRAIL ULTRA 2022: FROM TRAILRUNNINGSPAIN TO AUSTRALIA. BTU60 PREPARATION BY MARCOS PASCUAL.
BRISBANE TRAIL ULTRA 2022: FROM TRAILRUNNINGSPAIN TO AUSTRALIA. BTU60 PREPARATION BY MARCOS PASCUAL. Our RACE CALENDAR 2022 section travels today to Brisbane (Australia) where, from 8th to 10th of July, will be celebrated the next race of the Spartan Trail World Series: the Brisbane Trail Ultra.
It’s one of the biggest events in Australia and it is divided into six different races: one for every type of runner. From the BTU10 to the queen BTU100Mi, we are sure it will be a huge trail running festival and we are not going to miss it, having our #patroncarrerasdemontana Marcos Pascual there running the 60 km disctance: BTU60. Let’s start with the Spartan Ultra Trail video to give us an idea of the circuit.
BRISBANE TRAIL ULTRA 2022:
BTU60 PREPARATION BY MARCOS PASCUAL.
Brisbane is the largest city of the Australian state of Queensland. Located in the southeast of the state, it’s crossed by the Brisbane River and has both the beaches of the Pacific and the mountains and rainforests of D’Aguilar National Park. This two combined make the city a perfect place to, not only run, but enjoy the nature and have a great time visiting the third biggest city in Australia.
No wonder the Brisbane Trail Ultra it’s one of the main events in every Aussie runners calendar. It offers a wide selection of races from the BTU10 for the least experienced runner, going through the BTU60 (the one I’m going to race), to the main event, the BTU100Mi which will be a challenge to the bravest and most intrepid runners.
Would you like to know more about each race? Here is a detailed article about it.
BRISBANE TRAIL ULTRA 2022: NEXT EVENT OF THE STWC CIRCUIT
With TRANSGRANCANARIA and PATAGONIA RUN behind, Brisbane Trail Ultra it’s the next race in the calendar of the international circuit. The BTU30 and BTU100Mi will be the distances chosen to qualify for the big prices the circuit is giving.
As in any of the other Spartan Trail races, BTU will offer U$25.000 in prices for the top5 male and female of both distances. That will make the elite runners of all over the world travel to Brisbane to conquer the prize, by so, elevating even more the level of the event.
What more do you need to go and race with the best runners of the world in the BTU?
Let’s review the past edition winners and see if you are up to the challenge.
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BRISBANE TRAIL ULTRA HISTORY
In 2021, inmersed in COVID-19 pandemic, only Australian (or people living in Australia at that moment) runners where able to compete, but this circumstance did not stop Matthew Crehan to break the male course record for the BTU100Mi (with a time of 19:53:14) and Maree Connor to do the same, but with the female record leaving it in 23:29:50.
In the other main event, the BTU30, records where broken too by both female (Cecilia Mattas (2:39:35)) and male (Aidan Hobbs (2:00:51)).
This 2022 the borders are open again for every runner and it is expected to receive the top class elite trail runners from all over the glove. Brace yourselves, we are in for a big fight!
Okay, know we have all the numbers and we know more about the race but the question remains: why I chose the BTU60? Let’s answer that question.
BRISBANE TRAIL ULTRA: BTU 60 | 61.2KM | 1850M+
With 61.2K and 1850+ it will give 3 ITRA points and will be the ideal race for runners who want to venture beyond the marathon distance for the first time.
The race is designed to be the ultimate trail running experience. The course is massive with 1850 meters of vertical gain and loss for the 60km. The Brisbane Trail Ultra® marathon BTU60 course follows single trails into virgin sub-tropical rainforests with jaw-dropping views over the Samford Valley, Mt Finders, and the Upper Brookfield area. The course is challenging, beautiful, and brutal, only the toughest survive the final climb up the iconic kangaroo cliffs.
You can check the course maps HERE
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BRISBANE TRAIL ULTRA 2022: BTU60 BY MARCOS PASCUAL
If the main events are the BTU30 or the BTU100Mi, even the BTU110 that has monetary prices from the sponsors, why did I choose to run the BTU60 instead?
It’s a very easy question. I am a relatively new runner, I have only been running since June 2020. In this two years, even though I have won two races and make it to the top10 and top5 several times, I have never ventured past the 50k mark, which inevitably leaves me out of the BTU100Mi and the BTU110.
Then… why not the 30k? Well, I live in Spain, more specifically in Madrid, here the mountains go as high as 2400m above sea level, but In Spain we have several 3000s and even 3700m (Teide).
The terrain is abrupt with many rocks, single trails and slopes with up to a 50% gradient. We have several vertical kilometres all over the country and me, personally, I like to do as much vertical gain on my runs as posible. And if is technical and steeper, the better.
With all that in mind, for me the BTU30 its a very fast race, which im not used to, with not a lot of vertical gain so wont be the best for me. Nevertheless, BTU60 not having a lot of vertical gain (if you compare it with races here in Spain) it poses a challenge for me by forcing me beyond the 50k mark.
It will be my first time running over 50k and not only that, It’s going to be a hell of a test for another 60k race I will be running in Spain in October. So everything seems to fall right in to place.
Moreover, when I was only 17 years old I spent my entire summer in Australia learning English. This is just the perfect excuse for a come back to a place that I loved.
Running in Asturias ( 32k 3100m vert. gain) Picture by: Ivan López
HOW DO I PREPARE FOR THE BTU60?
As I have said above I am used to very vertical and technical races so I will have to adapt my last weeks of training to something more similar to the race. By looking at the altimetry and the pictures of other years event I can see it’s going to be an up and down all the time kind of race. Not a lot of vertical gain every km but a continuous climb and descent, a sawtooth race.
About the terrain I can see it’s almost easy trails with not a lot of technical parts so I am going to be able to run every km (if my legs can). There is going to be a lot of kms running on the road, I am thinking I won’t be needing a very aggressive sole for my shoes.
So not my ideal type of race, I like that, I am always up for a good challenge. I like to get out of my comfort zone and BTU60 it’s going to be that.
I am planning to do long runs at an aerobic pace trying to imitate the altimetry by going up and down all the time but “runnable”. In addition to this longer runs, I’ll be doing shorter but faster runs in the same conditions and, of course, interval training and slope repeats. All this combined with what I’ve been doing for other races I believe It will bring me to the finish line succesfully.
I do not really have any pace expectations for the race, I know I can run fast but I don’t really know how long I can mantain a good pace without being to fatigated, we will see, It’s going to be quite and adventure.
I’m really looking forward to travelling to Brisbane and running the BTU60, I know it’s going to be a once in a life experience and I am planning to enjoy every second of it!
One of my usual runs here in Spain
Once we arrive there, we will share it with you here at trailrunningspain.com
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