16/11/2025
I’m still truckin over here! And boy do I have an adventure to share 😃 last week I headed down to the Grampians for the GPT 100mi Stage Race.
162km, 8000m ⬆️⬇️, 4 adventurous days, a billion rocks, and a handful of beautiful new friends!
I was worried massively about my angry foot but thankfully Physio Megz worked her magic and it was perfect the whole adventure. Maybe a little by luck but also by a diligent daily routine. I knew this would be hard and I didn’t know if it was even possible, but all I had to do was show up each day and put one foot in front of the other.
Day 1 was 0/10 stars, it felt frustrating and took forever and was the most challenging for my foot / ankle due to the coral shaped and super slanty rock. I readjusted my expectations this day and it made a huge difference.
Day 2 was -1/10 stars but it was special because so many bonds formed and everyone helped each other make it to the end. The last 15km took like 6h and 1km took me 54 minutes which was basically scrambling across the top of a ridge, described in the map as ‘Technical Ridgeline along Seven Dials’. I got to see the first two milers come through the CP not long after I’d finished.
Day 3 was feels like minus temps with 50km winds blowing people over! As I was crawling along the rocks on top of Mt William thinking “Is this legit the way 😵💫” I caught up to Amy, Kate, Sharon and Terry (thank god) and I stuck to them like glue from there. The terrain was so challenging and we were basically little mountain goats, then towards the end there were beautiful grassy fields. Also special thanks to Jono and Darren (Kate & Sharon’s partners) who became our group cheer squad / crew / all round supporters and life savers.
Day 4 was the finale and I think we were all in disbelief and also a bit sad. We gave ourself the name ‘Team Perserverance’ and we climbed up over Signal Peak, Mt Abrupt and Mt Sturgeon and shuffle ran our way into Dunkeld. We saw a few hikers on day 4 and when they realised we were ‘in that race’ they gave us so much encouragement. Terry who had already tried twice to complete this, was the final finisher for the day 👏 and boy did he give it every-single-thing he had. After a moment we declared “let’s do another of these together”. I’m really in awe of those around me who gave it their all, what we all achieved, and everyone’s generosity and kindness shared among strangers.
Grampians region is absolutely beautiful. Over the summer massive bushfires ripped through the whole region and the end of the race would signal the re-opening of the entire Grampians Peak Trail. Looking out at the views as we stood on top of many mountains was so cool. Trying to figure out where we came from and “are we going up there” before suddenly being already up there. The rock formations were crazy, sure they made running impossible, but it’s just so unbelievable to see and traverse.
Despite my ratings, I would 20/10 recommend the GPT Stage Race to anyone and everyone! I would go back, but I wouldn’t redo the Stage Race because I don’t think this uniquely incredible experience could be replicated 💚
some video content over on Insta!
