Kingaroy athlete completes 100-mile ultramarathon

At 42 years old, a Kingaroy runner has completed an incredible 100-mile ultra-marathon in New Zealand.

Dean McLean and Shaun Cavanough crossing the finish line at the Tarawera Ultramarathon in New Zealand last weekend.

KINGAROY runner Deon McLean is back on home soil after competing at the Tarawera Ultramarathon in New Zealand last weekend, where he finished 59th in the 100 Mile Endurance Run.

It took McLean 27 hours, 9 minutes and 28 seconds to navigate the course that bypassed rainforests, lakes, waterfalls and featured an elevation gain of more than 4000 meters.

 

Deon McLean with best mate Shaun Cavanough competing in the Tarawera Ultramarathon in New Zealand last weekend.

McLean, who is no stranger to endurance running, trained and competed along side good mate Shaun Cavanough and said one of the toughest things about an event of this size is the training.

"I followed a similar training plan to what I have in the past, however I was going on longer back to back runs to get used to running with sore legs," McLean said.

"Preparation can be draining and you can get sick of getting up early all the time to go running."

"The toughest part of the event was when it went dark, we were in some really tough terrain with lots of tree roots and we kept tripping over."

McLean has competed in several endurance events in the past including the 100km Kokoda Challenge on the Gold Coast and another 100km event in the Blue Mountains.

It was a significant step up from the 100km races according to McLean who said it is a strange feeling seeing two sunrises in one race.

"The race started at 4am on Saturday morning and I ran all day, through the night and when we were finishing the sun was coming up again," McLean said.

"We made really good time for the first 100km and I really didn't know what to expect after that.

"Because I have done a few endurance races before I had really good shoes and clothes and didn't have many issues."

 

Deon McLean compelted the race in 27 hours 9 minutes and 28 seconds, placing 59th out of 251.

Over 3000 competitors from around the world competed at the Tarawera Ultramarathon with the 102km and 100-mile both qualifiers for the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run in America, a bucket list run for McLean.

"I thought by doing this race it would cure me of wanting to do more 100-mile races but that is definitely not the case," McLean said.

"The race was a qualifier for the Western Downs Ultramarathon and the qualifying time was under 30 hours.

"By qualifying, I now go into a lotto to go in the draw to be selected to compete in the race."

McLean is a regular at the Wondai ParkRun and will now begin training for the Wondai Country Running Festival in June.

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