At 13 years old, Kimberleysa国际传媒檚 own Ben Taylor-Vallance is the youngest-ever finisher of the Black Spur Ultra 54-kilometre race, which was held at Kimberley Alpine Resort from Aug. 26 to 27.
sa国际传媒淚 didnsa国际传媒檛 know I would be the youngest of all time, but I knew I would be one of the younger people to finish,sa国际传媒� Taylor-Vallance told the Bulletin.
He has been into running for about two years now, first starting out alongside his dad, a long-time runner himself. This was his first ultra marathon, but he said hesa国际传媒檚 done some sa国际传媒渟hortersa国际传媒� 20-km runs, and is on a cross country team.
His dad, Jeff Vallance, said that at first he was hesitant to sign his son up for the gruelling 54-km trail run.
sa国际传媒淗e wanted to do it and I kind of made a deal with him where, sa国际传媒榟ey if you get up with me and get out and put in the time and practise on the different legs of the race then Isa国际传媒檒l put you in,sa国际传媒� and he did, so I registered him a little bit later. I probably only registered him about maybe three weeks ago. So I couldnsa国际传媒檛 really say no because he put in the time and I had no doubt that hesa国际传媒檇 be able to finish it.sa国际传媒�
Taylor-Vallance prepared for the race for about a year, running the individual legs at least once or twice a week, getting to the point where he was very familiar with the trails.
sa国际传媒淚 progressively tried to go faster and faster,sa国际传媒� he explained. sa国际传媒淪o when itsa国际传媒檚 the Black Spur day, you know how fast yousa国际传媒檙e going to be on the first two legs, but the third onesa国际传媒檚 always sa国际传媒� you never know.sa国际传媒�
He said the first two legs of the race went fairly well, conditions were good and he did the first leg in around two hours, 20 minutes and the second in just over three. The third leg, he said, is when fatigue really starts to set in.
sa国际传媒淥nce yousa国际传媒檙e at the aid station on the third leg you kind of feel like yousa国际传媒檙e almost back, but you arensa国际传媒檛,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 just one step after another, you keep going and thinking of the feeling of finishing.sa国际传媒�
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Jeff, who also ran the 54 km, added that there were times on the trail when one of them would be struggling and the other would set the pace, and then theysa国际传媒檇 switch it up.
sa国际传媒淭he ultra marathon group, everybody that does it is super, super supportive and everybody that would run along with us or run by us, they would ask him how old he was and they would just be blown away,sa国际传媒� Jeff said. sa国际传媒淚t was really neat to get all that support and encouragement on the trail, it was quite special.sa国际传媒�
Jeff said his sonsa国际传媒檚 grandparents came to town just in time to see him run down the last stretch of the race, and his mom, brother and sister were there to cheer him on as well.
sa国际传媒淚t was kind of funny, when we were coming up to the finish, when you approach the bridge of the ski hill, I told him sa国际传媒榟ey buddy you go first and that way everyone can see you coming down the mountain.sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚 had this that we would cross the finish line together, but he went in front of me and he totally took off and he finished about a minute ahead of me. So much for that vision of running across the line together,sa国际传媒� he added with a big laugh.
After taking a few days to rest his very sore legs, Taylor-Vallance said looking back on the experience feels pretty great.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a big accomplishment for anybody, so just coming down the ski hill there, you just donsa国际传媒檛 want to slow down, you want to finish,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淎t that point yousa国际传媒檝e been running for over nine hours and you want to just lay down.
sa国际传媒淚 just felt super accomplished. I had a small interview and they told me I was the youngest to ever do it, I was very happy with myself knowing that. Like, Isa国际传媒檝e done an ultra marathon sa国际传媒� yeah.sa国际传媒�
Taylor-Vallance, who was born and raised in Kimberley, added he has no further big races planned but plans to sign up for Black Spur again next year. In the meantime hesa国际传媒檒l spend time mountain biking, snowboarding and, of course, trail running.
paul.rodgers@kimberleybulletin
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