Four days a week, Gerringong’s Liz Woodgate runs up and back along the Kiama Coastal Walk to One Fitness in Kiama. She also regularly runs up Saddleback, as well as on the tracks at Fitzroy Falls, the Blue Mountains and Royal National Park.

And last weekend this training, and more, paid off.

Liz has achieved the extraordinary feat of winning the gruelling 231 km race in Australia’s toughest ultra trail running event, the West Macs Monster, and has the trophy to prove it.

She ran all 12 stages of the iconic Larapinta Trail in the West MacDonnell (Tjoritja) National Park in central Australia in 56 hours, 52 minutes and two seconds, getting only ten minutes sleep over that time.

Of the 14 contestants that set out to complete that distance, only three of them finished. At 57, Liz was at least twenty years older than the other two.

Liz enjoying a break after the race

She thinks her age and experience served her well, by giving her ability to modify her plans for the conditions.

“It was so hot during the day [into the high twenties], but people didn’t back it off, and I think they might have cooked themselves,” she says.

“I passed most people in the night time when they were not able to keep running.”

The abundant growth on the trail meant the markers were a little bit hard to find, so a number of people got lost despite having a phone app to position themselves. Five people in her race ended it that way.

“The trail is very technical, with a lot of scrambling over rocks and navigating waterfalls and creekbeds,” she says.

“It’s not like you are on a trail where you can switch your mind off. That also surprised people a lot.”

The organisers, the Alice Springs bushwalking and running club, had checkpoints and aid stations every 15 kilometres, with entrants having to carry enough food and water to get to each point.

In addition to her support team, including a running buddy who was with her for 60km, Liz says she got a lot of encouragement from runners in the shorter events passing her on fresh legs.

With only 25km to go she was mentally and physically exhausted, so she had a decent break and then had her husband Rhett Doyle join her for remainder of the race.

“Within a kilometre of setting out, I fell flat on my face so we walked it out for a bit and then slowly but surely picked up the pace, going from a walk to a shuffle, to a run,” she says.

“At the last big climb before we dropped into Alice we looked behind and saw a couple of headlights not too far in the distance, so I thought I was being chased down by another two competitors.

“This gave us the mindset to put the foot down and make sure I didn’t get caught in the last 10 km of a 231km race.”

It wasn’t until 4-5km from the end they got word those lights were from competitors in one of the shorter races (5, 25, 65 and 128km).

“That meant I ended enjoying a bit of a jog in with my support crew and the people who were there to help me out,” she says.

Part of the challenging route

Liz, who operates the book keeping business Ongoing Concern, has run more than 50 ultra marathons but this is the longest single stage running race that she has done.

“I usually run 100km events and multiday races where you change disciplines with mountain biking, kayaking and hiking,” she says.

Liz is pleased her efforts have encouraged her son, who is living in London, to give the 25km event a go next year. Her daughter might also join them.

This is only the second time that the West Macs Monster has been run, and Liz says its reputation is only going to grow.

“It is an incredibly well organised event and the safety of everyone was paramount.

“I think people should consider doing this sooner rather than later, because it is now going to billed as Australia’s toughest race. Once borders are open it will be a bucket list for all international runners.”