Brendan Davies Returns to the GMW

News Release (Inov8) / 10.11.2013

The GNW is a race so tough that in some previous years less than half the starting field have reached the finish line.

inov-8 athlete Brendan Davies is no such quitter. In fact it was he who, 12 months ago, blazed a trail around Australia’s biggest and hardest 100-miler to set a new course record.

With a stack of awesome international ultra performances under his 2013 belt, Brendan will return to the GNW this Saturday determined to run even faster.

Brendan looks ahead to the race, and writes about the innovative new products he has been testing, including the inov-8 Race Ultra Vest, in his latest blog.

The GNW is a tough Australian 100-mile race, taking runners through subtropical rainforest, eucalypt forests, creek crossings and eventually coastal bush-tracks, all along the renowned Great North Walk hiking trail just north of Sydney.

It is late Spring in Sydney and things are hotting up here. The recent bushfires that have affected many regions around Sydney (including my local area, the Blue Mountains) have been contained but the high temperatures and lack of rain makes them a constant threat.

The conditions usually play a massive part in this race. In some of the hotter and humid years, the DNF rate has been over 50%.

It is a challenge to manage yourself in these types of conditions over rough terrain that includes over 7,000m of elevation gain.

Last year’s conditions were an anomaly - cool and perfect for running. It’s no wonder all the race records were smashed, including the one by me in the 100-mile.

My time of 19 hours 27 minutes will be tough to beat, but given it is again forecasting cool temperatures, it could be bettered.

I know I am a much stronger and fitter runner this year and have already raced over 100 miles this year when placing fifth in the Ultra Trail Mt Fuji in Japan.

This is the toughest and biggest 100 miler in Australia and New Zealand. It will also be my last big race for the year before I have a bit of a rest over Christmas. I am super-keen to finish the year off with a bang!

I've had a great 2013 so far, winning five ultra races and seven other races up to marathon distance. My highlight was smashing the course record at the TNF100 in Australia.

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