Run BNT.......5330km on Australia's National Trail

Day 104............Hard Start, Strong Finish.

I was nervous this morning. I was worried about my knee playing up on today’s run. Yesterday’s last 8km was hard work due to the consent pain. It started off only when I was running downhill, then up hill, and of course just when I ran.

Vickie had spent the evening putting me through more pain in the hope to get things back to normal, if there is such a thing when running as far as I am each day?

I spent the morning back on the roller, and yet more pain. Sometimes I feel like the only time I escape some sort of pain on this trip is when I’m sleeping, but then there’s the odd nightmare.

I was saved by the pain when Vickie received an early call from SeaFM part of the AusStereo Network, for a brief interview for their show on Monday, funny how these radio stations work… “We now cross live over to long distance runner Richard Bowles, as he takes time out from the trail to chat with us”…. No you’re not, you just playing a recording from three days ago, that we did over the phone, I love how they jazz things up, like what I’m doing already isn’t a little different anyway!

The first 24km of the day would take me over rolling countryside through the cattle stations. Vickie could go ahead a little for this part as it was made up of sealed and dirt roads, leading down to Macumber Station, where I would be bush bashing the next 15 plus K’s to meet with her the far side of the valley.

It was a quit day with plenty of sunshine and a breeze that made you shiver a little, but, perfect for running.

The knee was alright; I could run, just not as well as I would normally. I shuffled between meeting Vickie for a drink and a pick me up.

We finally got to Macumber Station, and I made my way through the farm gate and up through the first field. I was hoping to be meeting Vickie between 1.5 and 2 hours later, you just never know when there is no trail to follow.

When on the top of spurlines or deep within tree field gulley’s, you realise just how insignificant you really are, just a speck on the planet. I climbed up to the top of the first spur after scrambling under numerous barbed wire fences to get there. I was hoping for some sort of perspective on things, but this is when I realised how massive some of these stations are and how quickly you are removed from civilisation.

It’s the first time I have felt like that since being in QLD. I think I have got way to comfortable with the easy access and navigation that QLD has had to offer so far. However, this was only 15km of navigation, compared to 75km which I have done before.

 8km in and I pick up an old track and there was the first BNT marker for the day. The track behind me lead its way in to a disused mine that they used for mining gold many moons ago. It was eerie, there were no warning signs or signs of any life for that matter, I could have just walked right in to the mine site, just out here in the middle of nowhere. But, this also meant that I could be confident that this track would be cut right the way up to the road where I would be finishing for the day.

 Some sections of the trail where overgrown and I kept picking up spikes from the weeds that covered the track, the tops of my socks look like a porcupine.

I kept coming across these black birds with a red saggy neck that looked like turkeys, perhaps they were wild ones I had heard about them. There were also more wild pigs out today, but one of them took some convincing to clear off, and I made all manner of noises to shoo him away if anyone was around they would think I had been smoking something!

 The trail climbed steeply toward the turn off point, but when I got there the trail was completely grown over and for the 6km I had to go I knew I could be out there for hours as it dropped down in to a gulley.

 I decided that my best chance would be to stay on the trail I was on and take the turn for the forestry road that ran almost parallel with the trail I was meant to take and would only add 2km extra, but 2km in better than getting caught up and lost in a over grown gulley.

Once at the road I tried my luck with the mobile to find I had a full signal, I called Vickie to let her know my new plans and 30mins later I as finished and eating sandwiches that Vickie had made.

On reflection of my day I realised I had ran the last 15km pain free. I’m not sure if getting of the tarmac had anything to do with it, but I’m guessing my bodies telling me to stick to pure trail, its what I do its who I am.