Running head on into ultra challenge

THE mind as well as the body was needed for Bannockburn’s Tim Kacprzak to pull off a feat which left him running 3550km this year.

Kacprzak had to add a kilometre to his run every day as part of Hardcore Harry’s Last One Standing Challenge.

After 83 days, the ultra marathon runner on Tuesday 24 March was the last of more than 300 competitors standing.

He finished the event with an 83km run.

An electrician, Kacprzak used the challenge to prepare for upcoming runs.

He worked during the first 60 days.

“And by that point I’m like, right, we’ve broken the record,” he said. “This thing’s only going to go for another week, I’ll take annual leave for a week.

“Well, three-and-a-half weeks later, and a lot of annual leave and long service taken, the challenge ended.

“The average of the 83 days, if you added them all up and divided by 83, was a marathon a day for 83 days.”

Kacprzak maintained a rigorous schedule that included a diet of powdered carb mixes and liquid foods.

He said it was a tough yet fulfilling experience from a physical and logistical point of view.

“My skin got so irritated, because we were running through summer, it started to get irritated from sunscreen,” he said. “Because I don’t know too many people that put sunscreen on every single day, twice a day, but my skin wasn’t loving that.

“So I had to use sensitive sunscreen. You’re constantly problem solving.”

Kacprzak, who hosts the running podcast Better by Next Week, said he loved the sport because of how it pushed limits and focused the mind on achievement.

“You do tend to push the distances because you’re chasing that feeling of where can I take this?” he said.

“There’s a world champion in everyone and you’ve just got to discover what that thing is.”

Kacprzak was grateful for the support his wife and children had given him throughout the challenge.