The story of the Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathons (1983 to 1991) The story of the Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathons (1983 to 1991) First Edition - 1999 Self-published Second Edition – September 2002 Freely available as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. © Copyright - Phil Essam This book is copyright. The author has allowed free downloads from www.ultraoz.com webpage, and includes permission to print copies to paper, as long as no changes are made to the original text in any manner and the text is not sold, rented or any money exchanges hands whatsoever. Enquiries should be addressed to the Author via email to [email protected] All rights reserved. 2 "I’ve finally found my hero…" is taken from Kevin Mansell’s quote in 1987 when he crossed the Finishing Line for the first time. Kevin definitely typified the fighting spirit of every Westfield Runner that attempted the race between 1983 to 1991. Thanks Kev. Phil Essam is a 39 year old author and writer living in Melbourne. Phil has had a love for the sport since the Westfield Days of the 80's and finally released the only story of the Westfield Run in early 1999. Phil has completed five 24hour events during his ultra career and is actively involved in the Australian Ultra Running scene - trying to promote the sport and helping younger runners starting out in the ultra world ! 3 Contents Contents.............................................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................................5 Introduction By Tony Rafferty...........................................................................................................6 Australian Ultra Running - Prior to 1983...........................................................................................9 1983 - Cliff Young Shuffles Into History........................................................................................13 1984 - The Lawnmower Man...........................................................................................................25 1985 - Birth of a Legend..................................................................................................................39 1986 - The Yugoslav’s Pub Crawl...................................................................................................54 1987 - Kouros wins his second........................................................................................................74 1988 - The Bicentennial...................................................................................................................94 1989 - Down to the Wire................................................................................................................116 1990 - The Legend Wins Again.....................................................................................................133 1991 - Bryan Smith triumphant......................................................................................................156 The Top Thirty Westfield Runners................................................................................................177 Humour, Tragedy and Courage – Runners’ Stories.......................................................................181 Running Ronnie.........................................................................................................................181 My 2 experiences. 1986 and 1989 by Kevin Cassidy................................................................184 The last 237km, no 255km, sorry mate by Patrick Macke.........................................................187 On the Run with "Mountain Man" by Graham Kerruish...........................................................191 Mark's Gems..............................................................................................................................195 A Record of an Epic by Alf Field..............................................................................................196 A True Story...............................................................................................................................214 A Day In The Life Of Fred Public During The Westfield Run By Charlie Lynn......................215 Musical Tales.............................................................................................................................217 The End Of An Era........................................................................................................................218 4 Acknowledgments I had always been fascinated by the exploits of the ultrarunners traipsing the road between Sydney and Melbourne in the now defunct Westfield Run. It wasn't until 1988 when I actually saw the ghostly apparitions run, jog and walk through Sale, Gippsland at 1, 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning that I fully appreciated and marveled at their efforts. It was in the 1990 race when I crewed for Victorian runner and now lifelong friend, John Briet. There is a photo of John that paints a thousand words about the anguish and satisfaction that the race brought the runners. I ran in a couple of smaller Ultras in 1990, but my desire and heart was not quite there so it went in the too hard basket for a few years. 1991 was to see the last running of the Westfield and after that I became dismayed, angry and disappointed that no one had compiled a book on the greatest sporting event ever held in this country. When I was posted from Darwin to Wagga Wagga in late 1995 I made two vows. The first was to get back into Ultrarunning and the second promise was to complete the book on "The Westfield Run" I have completed the first vow and am hooked for life. I have also completed "I’ve finally found my Hero …" and here it is for you to read. There are many people that I must thank. My wife and daughter for their patience as I have tapped at the computer for many hours over the last three years. I love you both. I must also thank Tony Rafferty, John Briet, Kevin Mansell( now my coach), David Standeven, Bryan Smith, Cliff Young, Dot Browne, Yiannis Kouros and Ron Hill. Thanks for the information, guidance and time that you have all given me during the past three years. Thanks to all the other Ultrarunners, crew members and officials that have given information, photos tidbits and help. The list would be a page in itself. I am indebted to all of you as this story is your story. Unfortunately, Westfield and people close to Westfield Management chose to ignore, deny or give little of my requests for help and information. In this story I have only wanted to tell the full version of events and I thought that Westfield would have been proud to have their race recorded in written history. Tis their loss! Some nights of recounting the race stories on the computer left me exhausted. I would feel that I was actually running in the race with some of the competitors. I hope every reader enjoys the story and I hope it gives them something to help them with the race of life. Thank you for selecting my book. Phil Essam 5 Introduction By Tony Rafferty During the 1970's a number of runners ran solo along the Hume and Princes Highways between Sydney and Melbourne. Gaining generous publicity breaking one another's best times attracted interest from marketing managers and advertising agencies. At that time ultra-distance runners were regarded by some sections of the media and general public as eccentrics. Track and field athletes in general viewed the ultra- distance person and their endurance feats with a degree of curiosity and sometimes disbelief. The advent of the Sydney to Melbourne race soon dispelled any doubts about the physical strength, mental focus and credibility of the competitors. The event demonstrated that the athletes were highly trained people of extraordinary endurance with powers of concentration unseen in most sports. Sponsored in 1983 by the shopping centre group, Westfield, the first official Sydney to Melbourne race known as the Westfield Run stamped its place in ultramarathon history. An estimated 20, 000 people in the early hours of the morning cheered potato farmer, vegetarian and bachelor, Cliff Young, when he shuffled into Doncaster Shopping Town car park from Sydney in 5 days 15 hours 4 minutes. Searchlights lit up the night sky, weary children waved flags, people danced, car horns blared, television crews jostled for positions, journalists shouldered one another seeking exclusive interviews as the thin, bewildered, weather -beaten man from Colac finished the historic race. "It was a beautiful enchanting run. Sometimes I ran with stray cattle. But I had an awful time from Wodonga to Wangaratta. A totally hellish run," said Joe Record who drove across the Nullarbor Plain from Perth and stayed at Young's home at Beech Forest a few weeks before the race. "I'd a big duel with (the late) George Perdon which lasted 40k. I couldn't let him go. Then I couldn't even walk the hills and said 'Stuff it'. I stopped. I had Granny's ankles." "Siggy Bauer was the man to beat. He had all the records," said Perdon. "It didn't dawn on me that Cliffy would do what he did." When George Perdon gained second place Siggy Bauer said: "I've never seen anyone go past me so fast.". The race conducted in the opposite direction the following year again received national news coverage. People lined three-deep about a kilometre leading to Westfield's centre in Parramatta.