We protect what we love

FRIDAY . 21 . 05 . 21 .

Hey there 🙋🏼‍♀️ - yes, you!

First and foremost, we want to pay a huge shout out to everyone who was involved in the Ultra-Trail Australia events last week and over the weekend - from athletes, to spectators, support crew, random locals lining the streets of Katoomba who were clapping runners on and delivering good news such as "it's all downhill to the next checkpoint" and, most importantly, the incredible volunteers! The energy, enthusiasm and positive vibes from everyone was absolutely outstanding.

An extra-special mention to the volunteers, who were not only there offering help to runners under incredibly difficult conditions (it was absolutely freezing

out there 🥶 ), but made everyone feel incredibly special.

We also want to congratulate the athletes. Any run in the Blue Mountains is tough - you're not only battling distance, but elevation, technical single trail, stairs, slippery surfaces and stairs (did I mention these already?), to name a few challenges. Training to get fit and strong enough to take on any distance is an enormous feat in and of itself. So, regardless of the distance you ran, the time you ran it in or even for those who had to tap out mid-way through, we want to say a huge congrats to making it to the start line to begin with, and contributing to the wonderful energy out there. We encourage everyone to give your bodies some TLC (slang for "tender loving care") over the next couple of weeks whilst it recovers.

Paige Penrose, dominating the UTA22

Finally, a special shout out to a couple of our very own team members - Paige, who absolutely dominated the 22kms, taking out first female place in an incredible time of 02:01:48, Majell for volunteering his time to mark the course, and Liz who was out there crewing the 100kms for a close friend.

Apparently it's very common to sign up to other ultra's whilst still in a state of post-race euphoria - I wonder what's currently running (pun intended) through everyone's mind's who have signed up to even longer future events 🤔 . Alternatively, if you're on the hunt , we can recommend the Pilliga Ultra (more info below).

WHAT WE'RE UP TO

A note from Hilary McAllister

I’ve recently returned from a month volunteering with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service as a Campground Host on Lady Musgrave Island - a 35 acre coral cay in the Great Barrier Reef. Home to thousands of migratory birds, with Green turtles hatching along the shoreline and blissful overnight temperatures of 23 degrees, it was an incredible month of living amongst nature - cockroaches, bird poo, sharks, turtles and all!

During our month there, co-host Simone and I decided to tackle our first 24 hour challenge, inspired by the short film ‘A Mile An Hour’ by Beau Miles. Wanting to make the most of our time on this remote island, we aimed to run a lap of the island on the hour, every hour and fit in 24 activities during the 45 minute windows between runs. Neither of us had tackled an overnight mission before and wanted to see how our body and minds would handle the Backyard Ultra style conditions.

Starting at midday, we set off around the island, which has a variable 1.8km circumference, depending on the tide.  We negotiated soft sand, fallen trees, rock-pools, migratory birds launching themselves at us in the dark and teeny tiny turtles making their way down to the big blue for the first time.  After about lap 23 we hit the marathon distance, spurred on by the rays, turtles and sharks relaxing in the shallows beside our soft sand track.  

After 24 hours, we set off at 12pm for our final lap, crossing the finish line to rapturous applause from our fellow campers (who were still amazed that we not only did this challenge voluntarily, but completed it!).  After 47.6km we’d completed 25 laps of the island and were relieved to hang up the runners, don the bathers again and fall asleep on the beach! 

We both genuinely loved the experience - we managed the lack of sleep well, mainly thanks to our inspiring surroundings, encouragement from other campers and having one another to keep morale high.  It really opened my eyes to what constitutes an adventure  - with a bit of imagination, any setting can be transformed into a mission that will test your abilities and leave you with an amazing sense of accomplishment.  

See more from the Capricornia Cays here, and to learn more about how you can be a campground host, check out the QPWS here.

WHAT WE'RE EYEING

“The Backyard Adventurer”, by Beau Miles

Friend of FWP and the OG DIY adventurer, Beau Miles has recently released his first book, The Backyard Adventurer. From his home in Gippsland, Beau has concocted many missions right from his backyard, including walking to work, sleeping atop a giant Gum and building an array of useful and beautiful things from repurposed roadside finds. Beau’s inquisitiveness and interest in the human condition will no doubt make for a very interesting read. If you’re feeling a bit limited by border closures and are desperate for a challenge, this book is sure to inspire an adventure, or five.

You can hear from the man himself at the book launch next Thursday, 27th May in Morwell, Gippsland. Tickets are free, but limited, so register now to head along and hear a yarn or two from the master of ‘Meaningful and pointless expeditions’

Grab your copy of ‘The Backyard Adventurer’ here and stay up to date with Beau’s most recent expeditions via Instagram.

TRAILS WE'RE LOVING

The Pilliga Forest

Simon and Hilary have just returned from several days in the Pilliga Forest, scouting trails for the upcoming Pilliga Ultra. With over 60km of trails winding up and down escarpments, along creeks and through an array of diverse bushland, they have been piecing together the best bits for your running pleasure. There are still places available for this inaugural event, which will include 5k, 20k and 50k courses. We are super excited to be partnering with a range of locals to create an immersive weekend of movement, appreciation and action, through a range of activities and workshops at Race HQ, Pilliga Pottery.

For more information on the event and to register, check out the event website. More details to follow soon on course maps, elevation profiles, event schedule etc!

And as always, thank you for taking the time for wild places 🙏🏼

Elanor, Hilary & the For Wild Places crew.

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We acknowledge the the First Nations people who have been custodians of land, waters and culture for tens of thousands of years. We pay respects to First Nations Elders past, present and emerging. This email was created on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.

Always was, always will be.

By For Wild Places

We're a group of adventurers who love to

protect wild places we run on