BREAKING POINT | A DEAD COW GULLY DOCUMENTARY

[Music] [Music] I think I think fonia s quiet you probably goton there you can start down you can start down here if you're not good we'll put things in place if you need them [Music] [Music] killing [Music] there [Music] go [Music] guys [Music] [Music] [Music] running to me is a lot of things but running is like music it brings us together it can be like a Ro concert where I'm just giving every ounce of effort I humanly have and running can be like Zen yoga with a calm sea behind [Music] [Music] you [Music] a backyard old ultra marathon is a running format where competitors must repeatedly complete a 6.7 km Loop every hour on the hour Runners must assemble at the starting line and begin the loop when the bell rings then they have 60 minutes to run the loop and get back to the starting Hub once they cross the finish line any time that remains in the hour can be used for rest and recovery at the next hour Runners must assemble again and begin the loop when the bell rings failure to complete the loop within the hour results in disqualification failure to assemble at the starting Correll before the Bell Rings results in disqualification the event continues indefinitely until there is only one Runner remaining the last one [Music] standing good morning thank you for being here good morning oh my gosh that start was stunning absolutely Majestic like Sunrise just beautiful I want to capture that moment see hold on to it and remember it my name is Harvey Lewis and I'm from Cincinnati Ohio this is my seventh backyard Ultra in 100th lifetime ultra marathon I'm drawn to the backyard Ultra because it really is a game of strategy it requires your mental fortitude and it requires you to push into domains that you never would experience in ordinary life in in another Ultra you might have a 100 mile race where people are spread out by many kilometers in this race everyone is finishing the loop every Loop every hour We're reunited so there's no person that's out in the lead there's no such thing as that so everyone's tied for [Music] first the dead cow Gully Loop is located on a 1600 acre working cattle property which takes Runners through dirt and grass roads Trail Gully and single file cow tracks so the backyard format is so different to your point-to-point race for a number of reasons but one is the social aspect because the gun doesn't go off and you're not rushing to get round so there's a lot of time out there to chat to your other Runners and get to know each other and really at the end of the day it's a game against yourself you're up against yourself and your own mind so that's really different to um your point too standard race my name is FAA havice I'm from Wellington New Zealand and this will be my sixth backyard Ultra finish 4 it's pretty hot out there now compared to first thing this morning so get a bit of cool ice water to wash down in between laps should help yeah it's so [Music] good day we go brother I'll wear the Aussie one and then the next one oh I see I'll do [Music] that [Music] [Music] so we're in beautiful country Queensland in nango we're about 2 and 1/2 hours Northwest of Brisbane and we're on my family's cattle property which has been in the family since 1877 it's the third year we've run dead calul so I came up with an idea to hold a championship event called the Australia backyard Masters and this is some of the best [Music] backyarders running gives me a good perspective on life and I think if I can instill that in all but let him discover that himself through his own running I think that that's super important I think that a lot of people don't don't run as much as what they probably could and I I reckon if they did they'd find a little bit in themselves that they that they don't expect to have my name is Tim kaac I'm from jalong in Victoria and this is backyard Ultra number five I'm Oliver kaac and this is backyard Ultra number two for [Music] me I'm trying to go a little bit uh slower just so I can conserve my energy a little bit more just getting into the groove like I talked to a couple people like Harvey Lewis that's pretty cool do good considering uh last time I did this I was doing [Music] so it's really important that you're back in the starting Corral before the final Bell so you have some warning whistles 3 minutes you have have one whistle 2 minutes two whistles and the last minute three whistles and then when that Bell Rings if you're not in the starting Corral you're [Music] disqualified it's funny with the backyard Ultra it's not like a normal Ultra I find I'll do an ultra marathon and I'll be like when is my next one I'll do a backyard Ultra and I'm like I never want to do this again [Music] I think the concept of coming back to the same spot and restarting with the same group of people is really beautiful because you can have a social connection with someone every single lap no one is trying to run fast we're all just trying to last the longest so you can talk to someone that might be here for five laps you can talk to someone that might be here for 105 laps and you get the same time with them which is something that you don't get to experience in a road race because the pros are usually hours out in front um and your weekend Warriors out the back my name's a and I'm from the Gold Coast and this is my first backyard Ultra in January of 2023 I completed what I called tip to toe it was a Guinness World Record run from Cape York to Melbourne it was 150 marathons in a row to raise much needed funds for at risk Australian Wildlife you know as an adult you learned that Australia is a world leader in biodiversity loss so I wanted to do something big about that I've just um pass my longest distance ever 56.2 3ks so distance PB which feels amazing um and yeah I mean feel like I'm well and truly experiencing what it's all about now I'm yeah what are we Loop eight or nine L count but everyone's been so supportive everyone just wants to pull each other through and it's a amazing Community part of getting a little tired but nothing you don't expect hey we're pretty old school at dead calal we don't have race biibs or timing we have an ear tag system so you simply sign in on registration and you get an ear tag and you just write your name on the ear tag and place it on the fence when you time out or you failed to leave your chair you're disqualified so you have to take your ear tag off the fence when only one competitor remains in the event they are required to complete one final Loop before they are declared the sole Victor of the race all other Runners are awarded a dnf a common term is the assist this describes the second last Runner who remains in the race the backyard Ultra ends as soon as the last Runner has completed a single solo lap achieving a high total is only possible when at least two Runners Remain the assist is the person who keeps the race alive even though coming second means they are also awarded a [Music] dnf I was first introduced to Backyard Ultras at Bird's backyard in 2020 um I finished as the assist in that one with 39 yards absolutely destroyed myself but really just developed a passion for the format so I've done seven more since then um and each one taken taken the win I enjoy it a lot because I found that thing that I'm really good at and I just want to keep getting better at it so the the more I run and the more I train the better I will get my name is Phil Gore I'm from perthwa and this will be my ninth backyard Ultra I've been running ultramarathon since 2018 and all of the backyard Ultras that I've done have been upwards of 200 kilometers I've won most of the races in New Zealand so I haven't really been pushed to my outer limit yet what do I want to get out of the Cities I want to break the world record that's uh that's what I'm here to do uh haven't been hiding it at all I've been on a mission to do this from day dot and I've got a flight booked for Wednesday night but if we are still running then I would love to say that I miss my flight because I'm still running my name is Sam I currently live in ockland New Zealand and this will be my seventh backyard Ultra so the current world record is 101 Loops that was set in Belgium so that's roughly 680 [Music] km Sun's starting to set I think night time's going to be pretty difficult I've only got um in my supremely underprepared state a pair of tracksuit pants so they're going to they're going to come on and I've heard that you don't want to sweat too much cuz then you get cold in the downtime so I don't know Phil Phil goes fast really fast so he can sleep more but other people go slow so they can not sweat as much I think I'll go with the slow strategy is that 10 just one to go on the day L but we have to take our head torches out for this one cuz it's it's the sun's setting so and then on to the night Loop get to change my shoes I'm looking forward to that pull on some Road shoes with a lots of [Music] cushioning [Music] so when the Sun goes down we change to a night Loop so we switch the flags around so the back of the starting Corral becomes the start line the runners will go out on the road and it's a totally new [Music] course the big question why do people put themselves through this struggle a lot of Runners treat this as resilience training you're building up strength of character and it hardens you mentally so you're equipped to handle other challenges in [Music] life [Music] not the night Loop takes Runners through the front gate of the property the course becomes an out and back style loop with long stretches of flat straight road so the hardest thing about this event at the Masters being in June is you have a massive temperature swing so during the day it could be 23° but then it can swing to-2 at night so your body has a lot of issues to that so long compared to the normal track uh but it's it's nice and flat a little bit of a rest from you know having to focus a lot [Music] more it's not feeling it as as what it was before yeah all I wanted to do is just sit back and just [Music] cut [Music] this is the first kind of proper meal I've had today so I'll try and get as much of it down as poss but no it's a different Loop the out it's an out and back and you can't see anything and everybody is just a reflecting vest and a headlamp oh no everyone's lost their personalities they're just they're just moving moving [Music] [Applause] [Music] vs [Music] definitely starting to hurt everywhere knees hips feeling it it's um getting really hard to go past the road out and then back I'm all right I'm in I'm in I'm comfortably I'm in a comfortable pain so much fun I'm having so much fun can't imagine having more fun than this never in my wildest [Music] streams you can't do [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] any the whole idea of the backyard Ultra is it's easy until it's not not eventually you're exhausted your legs get sore and the night time it's a total different ball game you don't have the lights you don't have the crowds of people we turn down the music and it just becomes a mind game of surviving loop after [Music] Loop yeah yeah feel great I get in the cars place so close man grab a couple of snakes from the road and then hit 100 yeah smash it out awesome man wonder what everyone else did you're doing this at 14 Ollie what are you going to be doing at 18 He 2 minutes come on all up you get well done [Applause] [Music] [Applause] everyone [Music] complicates to go till I call it a very good first backyard ultra um yeah everyone's been trying to convince me to keep going past 100 um but yeah considering the prep I've had going into this I feel fine and I've got a really happy head space but my joints are very sore my hip my knees I've got a lot of soft tissue pain you I've never run this far so I can't expect my body to to know what to do and 100K is is awesome so I'm pretty proud of myself um but also you get this warped sense of distance cuz everyone here is going for 200 or 300 K and you forget that 100's actually a huge distance so I got to keep bringing myself back to you know appreciate how far I've actually gone good good all Le feeling not good not great hey you going to make this SLP yeah you're doing right [Music] man save set perceived effort very hard how did you feel weake done 100ks happy with that now I just got to hide from everyone that want me to go back out from the lap no but I'm stoked I'm really happy I mean I'll come back and do this again and smash it maybe try and even go twice as far but today you just got to [Music] enjoy [Music] guys I'm pretty proud of you ollie to be honest I don't think that there's too many 14-year-old kids that can get up in the morning go for a run in freezing cold and not have someone tell them to do that I don't think that you realize how amazing what you're doing actually is no matter what you do like I'm proud of you just for turning up at this St line so good on you man love you awesome job 100 K down dust awesome job mate let's go Dad what on hly you killed [Music] it all right let's [Music] [Music] go yes so we're back onto the dayour which is back around the farm which is which will be great the road was um slightly uh monotonous or something nobody enjoy no it was it was quite a rough um the surface was actually quite rough for a tar seal Road and so you did still have to have your wits about your bit [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh off right yeah I think I got St go [Music] hope the sun's up it's good that the Sun's Up and I'm just kind of just nothing's bad nothing's bad everything's the same it's just getting through each loop it's just going okay I got to do this sleep do this sleep 4742 just right that it's it's not warm but it is warming so I have everything planned out and depending on what I want to do during the break uh will dictate the pace that I I run that lap at the average lap for me will be about 45 minutes and you know that'll give me enough time to come in and have something to eat and you know talk to my crew and and things like that if I'm planning a sleep or planning a shower I'll I'll try and get in in under 40 minutes so on those sleep laps if I can get in in under 40 minutes I can get maybe about 15 to 20 minutes worth of sleep um and and yeah I'll do that on the night laps and that that helps me get through the night n you got it one more go one more one more more one [Applause] more I teach high school I'm a a high school government financial literacy teacher 10 years I've been running back and forth to work every day I also just love being out in nature all kinds of things outdoors hiking cycling everything at about midnight I just felt like uh really tired so I was like sort of falling asleep backyard ultra marathon started for me back in 2017 I posted on social media an opportunity to like select what race I did and one of the four options was Big's backyard alra which at that time in 2016 wasn't as well known [Applause] [Music] the original backyard Ultra is Big Dog's backyard Ultra which is held in B buuck Tennessee today Big's backyard is an Invitational race where only the top competitors participate it has become a world championship of the sport [Music] [Applause] [Music] come [Music] yeah I love it out there going well [Applause] mate I don't have a figure in mind because for me that would give me an out if I reached that point so my goal is to just stay in the event as long as possible somewhere in day two I don't keep track of the of the hour or the lot yeah I've been following my my plan pretty closely there only been one or two times I I haven't eaten what was on the plan um but otherwise my pace is what it's meant to be I'm sleeping when I need to be um and yeah everything's everything's going well but yeah it's still early days so but so far so good a bit tough at the moment so I'm still getting in with about four or five minutes to spare but it's um bit slow going I've got a bit of an issue with my A's left hand side and I did have a blister that I had to pop and then that was difficult to um get them shoes comfortable again anyway all these all the f things that happen on a backyard Ultra it's a bit tough day at the office really aiming to put my mind somewhere else to this [Music] h [Music] good before I discovered ultra running I was heading towards my 30th birthday and I decided to run a marathon around that same time um my mother also became very ill and uh within a few months passed away I think Looking Back Now I definitely use the running to deal with the grief it was something better to do rather than perhaps swallowing or pouring myself another glass of wine looking back that's why I started setting myself these longer goals you know I enjoyed the ultra running and it was taking me places it it could take me places around the world and I thought life is so short why not sink my teeth into some big goals and achieve some great [Music] things [Music] [Music] [Music] ready [Music] why don't want [Applause] [Music] Daddy [Applause] [Music] [Applause] can you let [Applause] [Music] usop come come quickly come here with [Applause] me [Applause] go f to yourself okay yeah okay go well John yeah thank you go hard I'm done oh God I can't believe I sprinted that last b anyway I think that's that's a good way to finish yeah 30 yeah it was nice to finish on an even number it wasn't um what I hope for but um anyway this always another day and yeah it's a tough it's a really tough format I I think I think running 48 hours around a triack is easier cuz you can choose when you have your own breakes depending on how you're feeling and um so this is brutal so I'm looking forward to seeing what the outcome is cuz there's still a few you know a lot of solid people there so it's exciting you're a weapon right cool that was so cool wasn't quite what this I was hoping things pan out but it never is actually it there always pushing for more so yeah I think the ultra running started to give me a sense of purpose I mean my mother died at 55 it was very young and I think her early passing made me realize that I didn't want to get to that stage in my life and to have not to have not lived basically to have not done things that I wanted to [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] e [Music] what Happ I'm high l i don't [Music] even [Music] in my experience you can have expectations of where it will go with the end total but things can turn on a dime and change really quickly with the last three events I've put on things can dramatically collapse after that 24-hour period it would be great if we could beat the course record which is 44 but um you just never know what can [Music] happen when we do the regional races I usually get bored on the first day cuz I'm just like uh this is like very arbitrary you've got to do the first day in order to get to the race on the second day when everybody falls off and for for check event you got two of those days yeah yeah now now the first two days is arbitrary I'm actually kind of excited now cuz it's like you're racing you're actually the Mind Games have started yeah yeah usually the race doesn't start until the 24-hour Mark I can I can comfortably say the race is actually starting now I robbed my ankle about five Loops ago and it's just giv me a little bit of grief not enough to stop me running at the moment but I just kind of don't want it to get any worse than I want it is I mean I came in in 50 minutes and I'm should be okay it's just a constant pain kind of there when I every time I land but um I me taking the pain away from everywhere else which is which is a which is a positive so I don't feel it anywhere else but there so what the next let's go [Music] started for the second night we'll be opening up the house to all competitors so that means you've got access to the kitchen and anywhere in the house you want to enjoy the warmth of the fire and the air [Music] conditioning I like it in here I think indoors is warm and comfortable and and it's a lot harder to get out of a comfortable place too comfortable too comfortable too comfortable I've done one event where I stayed went inside where it was warm and I never made it back out so I'm promised myself that I'd never do that again so 2 minutes [Music] man we're all dying out there we're dying a slow death my ankle's not fantastic but I'm managing to still do loops in 51 and 52 I think if I just yeah just holding on Hope hoping that it just kind of D [Music] down [Music] [Applause] [Music] gra that beautiful sunrise there how was that shower Harvey good oh my goodness man let's start the next day off little Ki day three my [Music] God [Music] [Music] oh [Music] what's the talk time I got like five we got like 30 seconds just to gather my thoughts yeah give us some why do I do this to myself every time I get here I'm like why do I do this feels good Mom can I refill that bu just dunk it on this and then I'll put it on out there you might need it that's theat that's the heat of the day done you got PL times one uh why don't you ever look like this [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Phil [Music] you [Applause] I can't walk I can't I can't walk it don't know Happ but that that does not look like it should be there it's just musle that's all about 40 seconds man on D [Music] [Applause] [Music] the [Music] pleas [Music] battle boys good luck oh man that's going to take ever to [Music] heal ni little stretch [Music] fractor I said that to you remember when I said that to you when I first did it can you do you knew them the breakes I was a little bit short on the goal that I wanted to get but at the end of the day I still got to watch my son do a 15 loops and 100ks that's pretty cool I have to walk back I can't go around hold on that oh man it is what it is the end of the day we just rest and recover never do a backyard ultra ever again a thanks smash your TV yeah smash your TV you know like I actually felt good right till the end I felt good it's just every time I took a step it was it was off kicking the toall thanks man thanks thanks for the event and being so accommodating to us as well we really appreciate it I'll never be back 30 loops on the [Applause] [Laughter] so yeah the first um before you fall asleep right right now since you're you busted up you usually got to take the tag off yourself but here you go I did it for you awesome straight to the trophy room 55 yeah and there's a gold coin don't think it's real gold but there's a a coin from the local Council for the top 10 oh awesome thank you very much awesome gentlemen out there mate everyone respect you highly thank you I I appreciate everything that you did just the event and everything it's pretty cool sorry I'm a little delirious I haven't had much sleep got the sharpest dressed award too man very nice love it BRAC that's [Music] [Music] cool ambulance what is the emergency I'm just holding an ultramarathon event out here and Runner has collapsed the [Music] same he's completely [Music] lookss no no history of heart problems um he's got low low blood pressure okay all right I'm organizing that help for you now thanks very much like you Mom Ollie Ollie is a good advert for ultra running in you push until you pass out afternoon good afternoon man hey buddy what's your name Tim Tim what are we doing uh I just passed out Med how far have you R 350 days I draw started satday morning 7:00 and they're on 67 yeah what whatever you're into I suppose better than meth I me so much everything hurts yeah all right to lay lay on a bit better than the ground one two three up right and that yeah I [Music] everything [Music] [Applause] [Music] like you are 1751 9 minutes we going to bring him back there oh do we Dam come back the scene of the K it's not not as bad is what we initially thought it could still be doc said they could still be a stress fracture but mainly they torn ligaments and stuff I think what happened was like I've done it in the past where like you know I've rolled a log to my finger and I'm like oh crap and then I know already and I know I'm like okay to find a safe place to pass out it just goes into shot but what I think has happened is that it was that sore and I've come up and I got low probably got low blood pressure I've g a stand on it and I'm like oh jeez I don't feel too great I think it's got a lot to do with the previous 55 hours too I think it's just we you go to the Limit you push your body that far to the Limit that's the one thing with this style of event is that you can only take so much [Music] [Applause] pain [Music] start this Loop finish this Loop right start this next Loop finish that Loop big hard scary things are just made up of a whole heap of little things and if you focus on the little things and just tick them off and get them out of the way one by one that's how you polish off that big nasty scary thing just focus on where you are do what you can right now thus two shall [Music] pass [Music] nice job Sam and Harvey Harvey and Sam um I was actually thinking I might be past solid food at this point I might just just be uh hydration fluids only so good boy [Music] good get do you want to take water with you the sun feed you man can we set up over there yep we're going to and move fire over there yep we're going toet thank you thank you for being awesome miles that's 72 y on this loot quick photo quick photo 10 seconds love your work okay three 2 one go [Music] yeah [Music] how you doing great good job [Music] this is ABC wide Bay you're hearing this morning from Timothy Walsh she's the race director at dead cow Gully so this is a tri country showdown at this [Music] point guys [Music] guys [Music] well we made it how about that we [Music] might all right okay luck guys you got it good luck make it all right enjoy the [Applause] ride [Applause] [Music] [Music] well man up my finger and look at my finger your eyes will B heavier and and trous and you can to to close down now as you sleep they much deeper now my voice will go with you each time I take my hand relaxation you can do that now deeper now deeper now takeing all the time that you need I want to P subconscious mind help make most important changes [Applause] [Applause] want you to allow yourself bu's mind to survey once more the vast array of learnings knowing that you can heal the cut on the outside so too can you heal the body from the inside ah it's with your [Music] hands yeah there you [Music] [Applause] go many things can come back to balance for you as you continue to run your race your way step by step stride by stride and now you can recall all those wise says that people have given to you or that you br to allow you to move forward flowing with your purpose my body is adjusting running so far the so here you long sleep that's got [Music] it step by step by step L by L until you know that there's nothing more that needs to be run Sam talk to me [Music] okay let's go let's go come on [Music] now let go did you see Harvey out there uh I high fived them over that way okay cool nice work Harvey come on hary you got it great job buddy great job right here Harvey keep going keep going nearly there nearly there well at least we can stay outside again yeah that's right we got a chair right here are you cold or hot hot okay let's get some off here I got a better vest for you do you want this jacket again what what why are you taking off you or you hot okay yeah yeah take these okay well say it's 91 seconds maybe I'll just stay out here the whole time that's fine 91 now great job buddy oh yeah thank than you good job Legends so good1 5 Seconds this is [Applause] it [Music] um has Harve come back no um someone needs to jump in the car and go and grab him okay come [Music] on [Music] I am grateful for heat oh man I'm a little beat up don't worry I'm all right I need to go in the house though immediately get thanks guys oh man I am so tired I've never fall asleep that many times stand up we seen that many hallucinations the whole voice well done I am definitely I need to let see Mr like oh yeah oh oh yeah that's all right oh yeah there we go oh well I I didn't make it Beyond 90 but now it's still amazing yeah so I'm grateful for it you did great yeah I could have been just out there for another day or two um from three experiences before um the people that have cool uh cool am I making up stuff jeez that's so weird it's okay yeah so bizarre I'm like making up stuff that is what was happening in the forest honey I started talking to the trees and uh the animals I was like making up this long in depth conversation yeah oh I love you I love you too honey okay you guys you take care of yourself all right I love you bye-bye I love you too bye bye bye Kelly thanks in our world we're divided by all these artificial barriers and you know the great thing about running is that you you could be anywhere in the world and and you could just yeah enjoy a run with somebody [Music] the silent Waters hide the [Music] truth upon the altar I'm in [Music] [Music] blue [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] OHS D MO yeah when you get down to the final two things do change dramatically if your assist drops out you can't keep running Loops your record will only be one more than your assist you probably got look we just have some concerns with Sam he's having some breathing difficulties so um we're just keeping an eye on that we're going to tailgate him uh just to see what he's like this could be a medical withdrawal we're not sure so it's 50/50 at the moment yeah no I'm just excited to be here yeah quit quit my job uh quit my job to be here haven't really got anything so I guess I'm just like a bit of a professional running bumb at the moment and uh yeah I guess that frees me up to do this race until please don't it's okay [Music] take you can stay with I'm having to don't worry I guess I'm on a little bit of a quest to see how deep I can go on one single thing and running lit the biggest fire within me I just wanted to be really topnotch at one single thing and and just go really deep on that go into Loop 101 what's the [Music] feeling hey boys be the big [Music] boys [Music] 40 seconds guys this is the equaling of the world record Loop [Music] 101 [Music] [Music] w [Music] [Applause] [Music] all [Music] good work those get some water in there spent a few years in the making that one [Music] that [Music] a [Music] ride yeah don't that [Music] [Applause] what a good sport you are oh my god wow you something incredible maned my R brother I'm be a yell at in the fars [Music] with [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah I think running definitely made me a better person but it's just I don't really know how to put into words I just think back on my life before I was this obsessed with running and I was just yeah I was a very different person this has opened up a whole lot of new opportunities for me helps me come out of my shell a bit but yeah I don't I don't really know how to put it into work words it it's kind of a it's like a feeling it's not something that can be said you just you can really test yourself and find out what you're capable of you know any any other race you can sign up to and you can have a goal to finish it and you might do really well but you could get to the end of the race and think oh I wonder you know if I could keep going this is a race where you can do that you can really push what you think you originally were capable of if you think you're done there's always more left in the tank I think success uccess is defined differently by every single person and success ultimately is not winning the race or finishing the last person standing uh success is about being the best you can possibly be I've made no secret about it that it's my intention to dominate the sport I have massive plans for Tennessee and I'd say however you going to watch this thing make sure you got to organized because we're going to put on one hell of a Rumble in the Jungle [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Dead Cow Gully

Views: 95,169

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Id: sTPf4MmPw2E

Length: 77min 56sec (4676 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 17 2023