RUNNING

World Champion Ultra Runner Signs Up To Motatapu

By Gracie Productions

It is not unusual for a 20-year-old to be described as a ‘fulltime athlete’, in fact it might be considered reasonably commonplace, especially in this part of the world where so many opportunities exist for athletes across a myriad of sporting codes.
 
But if you were to add ‘ultra-runner’ to that sentence, you have something a little less common but that is exactly the case for Lucy Bartholomew, with the young Australian already firmly established amongst the very best in the world – at running a long, long way!
 
Bartholomew is already twice a world champion – taking out the 2014 Junior World Skyrunning Championship (Mont Blanc, France) and the 2015 World Junior Ultra-trail Championships (France).
She is something of a ‘rock-star’ in the sport and will be amongst the favourites to take out the Ultra-Run at the Macpac Motatapu on March 4 when she takes on the 51km course, just one of the many events on offer at the iconic multisport event.
 
Bartholomew says it was while racing in Queenstown last year that she knew she had to return for the iconic Motatapu.
 
“I was over in New Zealand last year for six weeks and I was racing in Queenstown for the Shotover Moonlight Marathon. The following weekend I was in Wanaka and I heard about the Motatapu and went to the finish line and saw people finishing looking so happy, so destroyed and so inspired.
 
“I love the concept of so many options to enter and that it starts and finishes in different places. It really makes it feel like a journey. The week after I went out and ran some of the course, I thought it was stunning and I’ve been kicking to get to the race ever since!”
 
It was Bartholomew’s father that accidentally led his daughter to the longer distance running events when he made the move from marathon running.
 
“I was playing lots of other sports when my Dad decided to stop road marathon running as he wasn’t getting any faster and took on the challenge of a 100km race in the Blue Mountains. I never saw him much between school, work and other activities so I decided to start training with him and enjoyed the slow pace and beautiful areas we went to.”
 
In supporting her Dad, Bartholomew found herself having to run ahead with supplies, as she simply wasn’t old enough to get there any other way!

“I flew up with him to Sydney and ‘crewed’ for him on his first 100km event. I was 15 at the time and because I couldn’t drive I pretty much ran the course in front of him with all his stuff, I would get to the checkpoints and wait for him. I just kept running and talking to people in the race and taking in the amazing views. At the end of the day people were talking about me, I didn’t have a watch but I think I ran about 70km and loved it.
 
“This is where I found my passion. I loved the challenge, the people, the scenery and the food!! I didn’t think I was any good at it but I realised I had a mind that was different from most 15-year-old’s and I knew I wanted to keep doing this!”
 
From then Lucy was hooked and quickly showed she could not only cope with the distances, but prove her detractors wrong.
 

“The following year I ran a 100km race on the Surf Coast of Victoria. I was 16 and the race director said I could only run if I ran side by side with my dad. We finished in 12:30 and everyone was shocked I was still smiling, still running and my Dad looked destroyed.
 
“There was a lot of media attention then because people believed it was bad for my body and it wasn’t safe or good parenting. I just went out there for myself but also with the motivation to prove them wrong!”
 
Bartholomew entered the same event the following year, was allowed to run solo and finished second female in an amazing time of nine hours and thirty minutes and realised that she might be ‘pretty good’ at this long-distance running.
 
She is under no illusions however as to the task in front of her in taking on one of New Zealand’s longest running multisport events.
 
“From what I have seen its tough, with some nice technical running and fast sections too. I love this mixture. I hope it will be a nice day and a good race. I love racing because it brings together like-minded people and gets the best out of me.
 
“Before I arrive in New Zealand I will be coming from a week in Hong Kong racing a two day 80k/50k event and then a week in Sydney recovering with some surfing. I hope to be in good shape for the race, I have looked at times and I am always competitive. I will aim to be as ready as I can and give my best with everyone else!”
 
The sport has already taken Bartholomew around the world, to some amazing venues and amazing races, with the Motatapu about to be added to an already long list.

“The past two years I have followed the summer over to Europe and competed in the mountain running races there. From France where I ran the Mont Blanc Marathon, Spain where I raced the World Skyrunning Championships, Italy where I raced the Giir Di Mont 32km and Norway where I raced the Tromso extreme 45km. I have seen so much but still have so much I want to see. I am so grateful for my sponsors and the way that life has lead me to this!”
 
It doesn’t always work out as planned though, as Bartholomew found out in France.
 
“When I first arrived in France for the Mont Blanc Marathon, it was a part of the World Skyrunning Championships. I got there early and trained hard on the course, every day. On race day I was so confused why we were running in the opposite direction and then I found out I had been training on the course in reverse. Throughout the whole race it was actually really fun because all the hard ups became fun descents.... but of course, the descents became the slogs! Lesson learnt! I was lucky to still have a great run and win the junior category to become the junior female Skyrunning World Champion.”
 
Let’s hope Lucy has checked that course map and heads from Wanaka towards Queenstown on March 4, and not the other way!


Website: www.motatapu.com