100k Wednesday - Kat and Ella’s enduro adventure

Kat Paul and Ella Jackson don’t do things by halves.

The cross country skiers are currently in training for the Ski Classics long-distance series events including the famed Vasaloppet in Sweden which will be held for the 100th time in March 2024.

Last week the pair decided to see how they’d go doing 100km in the classic technique at Falls Creek, simulating the mass endurance events they will be undertaking.

“We started skiing at 6am, headed up to Mt McKay where we watched the sunrise, but the wind and ice up there made it extremely challenging in the first two hours,” said Jackson. 

“We were going to have to speed up a bit for the next 80kms if we were to make the distance in under 10 hours which was our goal in these slower conditions.

“It was the perfect day to do it conditions wise - the wind had died down to nothing by 11am and there were sunny blue skies the entire time.” 

Once the sun was up, the pair did a few laps on the Paralyser/Heathy Spur loop, leaving the flatter loops like Watchbed, Sun Valley and Ropers for later in the day when fatigue would make it harder to double pole up the harder hills.

“Unfortunately due to that morning wind, all of the trails were mostly sheet ice with a layer of sticky fresh windblown snow over the classic tracks, so we double-poled on the icy bits to get a bit more speed and didn't use the tracks at all the whole day as they were really slow in comparison,” said Jackson.

The skiers placed backpacks full of food and extra water and clothes in the Nordic Bowl so they could loop back to restock pockets and drink belts, knowing how important it would be to stay hydrated and fuelled throughout.

“We had our lunch on the go, but left it a little late and had some very interesting delirious chats and falls on the skis before that fuel kicked in,” Jackson said.

“Over the course of the ski, everyone out there skiing had found out what we were doing and were all so supportive and encouraging which was really lovely. The sense of community was wonderful to be a part of.

“Many people also joined us for a few kilometres here and there to keep us company during their own skis which was also really nice of them.”

The session ended up taking the pair over ten hours with 8.5 hours moving time and never stopping for more than five minutes at a time for bathroom breaks, filling drink bottles and changing clothes.

“Each hour we managed to get faster than the last, negative splitting the 100km, which means we ate and drank well,” said Jackson. “I think that might have been more to do with the snow conditions getting better throughout the day, as well as the trails we were choosing getting flatter as the day went on.”

Jackson and Paul recovered so well they even went out the next day for two more sessions, satisfied with a goal which had now been achieved.

“We have both always just wanted to do it for fun and for a challenge and an adventure,” said Jackson. “It's always more fun to do things like this with a good friend - we both had croaky voices after talking and laughing non-stop for the whole 10 hours!”