Male and female records in Delirious West 200 miler smashed despite a very wet Bibbulum Track

Passionate ultra-endurance competitor Shane Johnstone smashed the record for the Delirious West 200 miler, as he ran virtually non-stop from Northcliffe to Albany along the Bibbulmun Track earlier this month. The event, in its third year, is a 350km journey taking in ocean cliffs, relentless dunes, skyscraper high forests, treetop walks, boat rides and squeaky clean beaches almost entirely along the Bibbulmun Track and began at 7am on October 6 in Northcliffe. Johnstone sprinted to the finish line in a soggy paddock off Frenchman Bay Road less than three days later to crush the previous record set in 2019. The 34-year-old stopped the clock in 54hr.50min.34secs to easily eclipse the previous mark of 61:24.00 from Dion Leonard. Interstate and overseas border restrictions reduced the field to 33 starters from the 92 initial registrations but both the male and female records were broken. The race is normally run in February but was pushed back due to COVID-19 lockdowns. WA’s Meghann Coffey crossed the line in 67:09.51 to better the previous mark of 71:18.10 set last year. The course was soaked from winter rains and the Pingerup Plains had water waist high in many places. Johnstone, who holds the record for the fastest time on the entire Bibbulmun Track, said this year’s race was tough given the conditions. “My legs are just cooked, from the inside out, every single fibre is completely exhausted to its maximum,” Johnstone said after crossing the line. “The Bibbulmun Track is an amazing asset of WA, to have a big long adventure on it is pretty epic with some mates pulling me along and keeping me honest, it was something pretty special. “For me it was an all-out run, I did try and sleep once and maybe got a couple of minutes. “After one of the wettest winters in 20 years it was just a wet mess, mud and puddles...one particular section I did about 5km of wading through ankle to knee deep water.” From Caversham, Johnstone said ultra-running was his passion and he had previously completed in overseas events. “I was aiming for sub 60 (hours) and it was tough going,” he said. “There were stages where I was on for a lot quicker, the legs would say no and then they would come good...it was like a see-saw of being broken. “I said to one of my pacers (on the last morning) I’ve lost my capacity to focus like I normally would in a race, I was looking to walk where I could, but I made my pacers crack the whip a bit and I managed to run out a lot of the last 40km which was a big turnaround.” Sergio Gustinetti (58:50.06) and Nick O’Neill (71:51.26) rounded out the top three in the male division. Kate Jenour (75:46.12) and Jen Millum (76:57.58) finished behind Coffey in the female division. Of the 33 starters in the gruelling race, 26 made it to the finish line in Albany.