Queenstown ultrarunner Adam Keen’s starting to perfect ‘‘sleepwalk running’’.
Last weekend, Keen, 39, was awake for about 58 hours, and for 43 of those he was running in the northern Southland backcountry, attempting to become one of the rare few who finish The Revenant, one of the toughest races in the world.
Held at Welcome Rock, near Garston, just 40 people can enter the annual event, held for the fifth time last week.
They’re tasked with completing four unsupported laps of the course, unmarked in places — using only a compass and a map, with no watch or cellphone — within 60 hours.
Each lap’s about 50 kilometres, with about 4000 metres of climbing — the equivalent of climbing Ben Lomond four times.
The first two laps have to be completed in 30 hours, and the third has to be finished within 45.
Keen got about half-way through the third lap before he timed out.
The only person who went longer than him, 19-year-old Dean Stewart, of Wyndham, timed out 45-and-a-half hours in, at the end of the third lap, an effort Keen describes as ‘‘incredible’’.
Keen, who only stopped for about 15 minutes every 14 hours or so at the transition area, says it’s his third attempt to knock The Revenant off, and despite not quite managing to do it, it’s still his best effort to date.
‘‘I went about 10 hours longer than last year.
‘‘I probably had the most fun I’ve had there.’’
He says one of the biggest battles is keeping it together as the race wears on, particularly given the lack of sleep.
‘‘You start seeing things, especially if you’re on your own … it gets a wee bit weird.’’
The AerobicEdge running coach is also stoked four of his athletes, Laura Pattie, Michael Mitchell, Brion Matthews and Brad ley Aldridge, were in The Revenant’s top 10 this year.
He’s now preparing with his Kiwi teammates — who may include Dean — for a Backyard Ultra, in Australia, in June.
There, they’ll be aiming to qualify for the world champs in Tennessee, in the United States, in October.
