Somewhere before the finish line, the body starts to break down. Joanne Walker knows this well.
The pain begins in the feet, moves to the knees, and eventually makes it feel impossible to move the legs any further.
>>> Liverpool Agrees to Sign Colombian Youth Star Samuel Martinez
After 30 hours without sleep, running alone through the cold darkness of the Megalong Valley, the mind can break too.
Walker recalls swerving uncontrollably, unsure of where she was going. Yet she kept going, promising herself she would have the best hair on the trail.
Walker is one of over 8,000 runners across five events at Ultra-Trail Australia, the largest trail running event in the country.
She is tackling the "miler" — 100 miles, covering more than 163 kilometers with over 7,000 meters of elevation gain and loss.
Every runner has a different reason for taking on such suffering. Common themes emerge: nothingness, absence, freedom.
Many cite Haruki Murakami, who wrote that he runs to "acquire a void." Walker finds beauty in that simplicity, where everything returns to basics.
In the lead-up, she feels nervous, experiencing impostor syndrome when looking at the course map and elevation profile.
Those thoughts can creep back when exhaustion makes every step a herculean task.
The race begins before dawn on Friday at Scenic World in Katoomba. By Saturday at 11 a.
m. , she has been running for 30 hours.
Her GPS watch buzzes at the 117-kilometer mark, and an aid station awaits.
