All About The Heysen 105 Trail Running Event

The Heysen 105 is an event that fills athletes with mixed emotions: trepidation, fear, excitement, and the perennial question of whether they’ve done enough to finish. But on the start line, a common theme unites us: we’re all determined to finish.

My journey with the Heysen 105 began in 2012 while I was training for a Melbourne to Victor Harbor bike ride. My brother Simon, coerced by coach and event director Ben Hockings, was running it. I vividly remember thinking, “Why?”.

Watching Simon stop for pizza and drinks at the 80km mark, I had zero interest. My longest run was maybe 3km, and the event’s extreme elevation, technical trails and endless hill climbs didn’t appeal to me at all.

Fast forward to 2016, when Simon convinced me to enter the 57km race due to a scheduling conflict with a triathlon. Back then it started at Waitpinga Hill and the 57km ended at Mt Compass. During a recon run, Jane Luke questioned why I was doing “just the 57km.” 

I flippantly responded that if she wanted to step up to triathlon, I’d do the 105km. A handshake sealed the deal, and Ben Hockings promptly changed my entry.

I showed up bright and early on race morning, with more attention paid to my trail runners’ beard than my nutrition hydration plan. I had zero idea of what to expect other than a very long day. Luckily, I had partnered up with Adelaide Runners’ Anna and experienced ultra runner Glen. 

I wouldn’t bore you with a step by step of my sub 20 hour day but I did get to experience nearly every emotion in a single day. Some of my highlights were skipping into Mt Compass, often referred to as the halfway point, or things are flat from here, after taking a handful of unknown pills to combat some knee pain sustained in Yulti Conservation Park. I was excited to see my kids and wife Emily who were crewing for me. A crew’s job is definitely underrated as each checkpoint can fill you with joy and just the right words to keep you moving until the next checkpoint. 

I was later joined by little brother Ben as it got dark, and he had one job over the last 21km. NOT TO GET ME LOST. We quickly took a wrong turn and the last 7kms took us 14km. He claims to call it brotherly bonding. I was too delirious to object.  

After finishing, I was jubilant but content to never do it again. I had proved to myself that I could do hard things and returned to triathlons. Yet, the event lingered within me. Each year, when volunteers were needed, I was amongst the first to help, often marking the first 22km to Inman Valley.

Now, in 2024, I’m training for this year’s Heysen 105, planning to run ‘just the 50km’. I’ve completed the event five times: twice the full distance, once each way, twice the 60km, and last year the 50km running nearly the whole way with first time runner Emma. When asked about the event and my why, I need to pause to consider it. 

I don’t think there is any one answer for that question. I enjoy the freedom that training on trails offers compared to road running. 

Getting to watch training partners cross over a river or climb through fallen trees before pointing out the bridge or walking around, Heysen offers all of that to me.  

Heysen 105 has shaped me as a runner. Mostly self-coached, I joined The Ultra Journey led by Nick Muxlow in 2022. His coaching was pivotal to my success, and his mantra, ‘Finish with a Smile’ resonates with me.

The change in course for the 10 year anniversary by event director Shaun Kaesler was met with mixed emotions. How can a trail event finish with 7km of pavement? On the upside, switching the course and finishing in the heart of my hometown has brought Heysen105 and ultra running to a wider audience. 

What other race will have you plodding along at 1am on the foreshore of Victor Harbor while partygoers heading home ask what the heck you are doing and then stare in disbelief when you say you’ve just run from Meadows.   

Each year, runners from Fleurieu Run Tribe and the wider Victor Harbor community express interest in Heysen 105. I tell them it will be hard, they will suffer, and there will be moments when they want to give up, but it will be worth it. 

They will create unforgettable memories, test themselves in remarkable South Australian landscapes, and move forward with athletes of all abilities, united by a singular goal: to finish. 

That is Heysen 105 and that is why I love it.