Enduring feet
Volume 11, No. 53, October 05, 2006
By Barry Rollings

Hard slog: Lt Tamyka Bell during the 160km event. Photo by Ann Raftery.

TERMS like “dig deep” and “get a grip” usually refer to the mental side of sport.

For Lt Tamyka Bell, second woman home in the testing 160km Glasshouse Trail in Queensland on September 2-3, the terms lived right up to their literal interpretation.

“It was more testing than I expected,” Lt Bell, the A/OPSO at 7CSR in Brisbane, said.

“The Glasshouse Mountains area is normally very dry and dusty, but we had a lot of rain over the past couple of weeks and there was just mud everywhere.

“It stuck to shoes and was slippery. There were some sections where competitors were sliding downhill. I had to throw myself forward to get a grip and when I looked down to do so, I could see the fingerprints of fellow competitors who had tried to get a handhold in the mud.”

Lt Bell, who organises activities and oversees resource management with her unit, finished second in 28hrs 26min and 31sec behind Tamsin Barnes (26hr 46min 11sec).

Lt Bell may have been the only Defence representative in the event, which started in the wee smalls of the Saturday (5.30am) but received a psychological boost from LCpl Nanda Holyoak, a distance runner with marathon and half-marathon experience.

“He paced me overnight on the Saturday night and Sunday morning and did 40km with me, which certainly helped.

“By the middle of the night I was falling asleep on my feet because I had been running for 18 hours. He helped me stay awake so that was awesome.

“The secret is to keep moving and drink a lot of tea and soft drink.”

The race begins and ends at Beerburrum State School just south of Landsborough, traversing the main part of the mountains mostly to the west of the highway. Competitors pass close by Mount Tibrogargan, go around the base of Mount Beerwah and climb Beerburrum and Wild Horse Mountains.

First run 11 years ago, about six entered the inaugural event. None finished. This year a record 21 finished with 10 of the men under 24 hours. Lt Bell also wants to contest the Cradle Mountain Trail Run in Tasmania in February and join the Australian team for the 160km trail event, the Western States Endurance Run in California in June (limited to 25 overseas entrants).

The Glasshouse Series in May, July and September, ranging from 10km to 160km is also on her agenda.

Knowing that she can face the 160km and finish it was probably the biggest lesson Lt Bell took away from this year’s Glasshouse Trail run.

“It was incredibly hard,” she said. “I thought it would be hardest on the muscles but it was hardest on my feet.

“I thought that I didn’t do too badly with blisters but my feet felt bruised from pounding on the trail for so long.”

Lt Bell was “definitely a late starter when it comes to running”. She began running in 2002, but between then and doing her first ultra-marathon over 50km in the Glasshouse Mountains last September, she was running on and off in events that were mainly fun runs and not too competitive.

“I was boxing at the time and I took up running to improve fitness; I just fell in love with it,” she said.

“I’ve given boxing away and running has taken over.”