Day 1 - Albany to Boat Harbour - 124.89kms
I left the Southern Terminus in Albany at 6am. It was a beautiful morning and the run started off well. As the day went on it began to heat up and with the humidity it was pretty tough to stay hydrated. The hotter it got the more frequently we saw snakes laying on the track. The Wilson Inlet breached in mid-August and water is flowing so we elected to take the alternative route via South Coast Highway
I was looking forward to the night as we reached Denmark, the sun was going down and it was nice to finish the evening running through the cool night over mount Hallowell, then along the coast to where I finished the day. The bugs were so bad along Parry beach that we had to run with headlamps off.
Day 2 - Boat Harbour to Mount Claire - 96.03kms
We had warm conditions for the start of the day. The first section to Peaceful Bay doesn’t have much shade so I really felt the sun. I got to the canoe crossing but was on my own so I had to run a canoe back to the other side as I crossed which took a bit longer than I was hoping because of the strong currents.
After Conspicuous Cliffs the weather started to cool and I made good time between there and Walpole. Light rain through the afternoon was a welcome change to the hot sun in the morning. The final section up Mount Claire was a grind but it was good to have company as we made our way up the mountain.
Day 3 - Mount Claire to Andrews Road (10kms south of Northcliffe) - 111.73kms
The day started off well as we made our way down the mountain and through the sand dunes toward Mandalay Beach. We saw the most epic fight between two kangaroos who didn’t seem to care that we were watching. After Mandalay beach the feet started to get really wet as we moved into the Pingerup Plains. There was a stretch of 20kms where large chunks of the track were covered in water, which slowed progress. Everytime, I thought I was past it and there would be another water crossing.
As we got closer to the night I had a group of friends arrive who would run with me as pacers over the following few days. We encountered the first of the track diversions in the evening, this one due to extensive flooding making the track impassable. I had a bit of a stack because I was laughing so hard at some of the stories they were telling.
Day 4 - Andrews Road to Seven day Road - 103.84kms
For the most part, it was pretty good running as we got stuck into day 4. We made good time over the first 40kms, however, the 20km section before reaching Pemberton has some steeper hills which tested my feet after being wet for most of the previous day.
We encountered an unexpected track diversion after Beedalup falls that took me along Carey Road before rejoining the track approx 3.8km later.
After a longer stop at the Gloucester tree we pushed through to Seven Day road before calling it a day. I had some great people with me, so we had an amazing day.
Day 5 - Seven Day Road to South Hampton Bridge - 102.91kms
The morning started with a hilly section that felt like it would never end. Once we got past the first few hours, the terrain became more runnable, so I was able to make good ground for the rest of the day. Washed out bridges prior to the intersection with Palings Road, added a small diversion.
During the last section of the day we had some pretty heavy rain which slowed progress for the last part of the day.
Day 6 - South Hampton Bridge to Mungalup Road - 103.28kms
The first part of the day was beautiful as we climbed towards the Blackwood hut. The weather was mild and there was a mist that fell over the valley below. The magpies seemed to be out in full force and appeared to be set on swooping me at every opportunity.
Phil joined me for two legs that day and it was great to have him there. As the day wore on, my body was getting really sore. Prescribed burns also meant another diversion near Noggerup.
When I got to the Mumby Pub in the early evening my legs felt the worst they had for the whole trip but I decided to push on for the rest of the day and try to get a few extra kilometres done before calling it a day.
Day 7 - Mungalup Road to Yarrigal Form - 109.73kms
We made good ground during the early part of the day. The trails didn’t have too many hills and I was moving well after a really tough finish to the day before.
The last section was a long one and the wet trees started to hang across the trail making it hard to run well. However the final few kilometres were on a fire trail and we were able to make good progress for the last part of the night.
Day 8 - Yarrigal Form to Albany Highway - 85.36kms
The first part of the day, running into Dwellingup went well. There were a few hills to start with but it got easier as the day went on. The final section before Albany Highway had some great climbs but it was a pity we didn’t get to enjoy the views. I stopped at Albany Highway for a quick 90 minute nap before I started the final push towards the end of the track with approximately 150kms to go.
Day 9 - Albany Highway to the Northern Terminus - 150.69kms
This was the last hustle to the end of the course. The views from Mount Cook were pretty incredible. After that we had some good sections for running with a pretty flat 18km diversion around active prescribed burns. I continued through to Mount Dale before we started the final big section from Mount Dale to Perth Discovery Centre. Being as tired as I was, that was possibly the hardest 8 hours of running that I have ever had to deal with. We reached Perth Discovery centre as the sun came up. Then it was just the last little push to the Northern Terminus.
Recording the FKT
In line with what Berndette, Shane and Erika had done on their FKT runs I filled out all of the books in the huts.
I also had a tracker for the duration of the run - https://corsa.run/live/aaronyoung. The gpx file used for the tracker does not have the diversions on it. However, I have uploaded a gpx file with all of the track diversions on it.
Please find attached links to my strava uploads from the run.
Day 1 - https://www.strava.com/activities/15924897746
Day 2 - https://www.strava.com/activities/15962726331
Day 3 - https://www.strava.com/activities/15962727649
Day 4 - https://www.strava.com/activities/15977904068
Day 5 - https://www.strava.com/activities/15978085574
Day 6 - https://www.strava.com/activities/15978085574
Day 7 - https://www.strava.com/activities/16000307155