An Epic Failure and a Valuable Lesson

My Ultra Trail Running Debut in Aotearoa, NZ

Author

Felix Oates
January 02, 2025

Less than 1km into the legendary 60km Kepler Challenge Mountain Run, I sustained an injury that meant a 6 week running block, thousands of dollars and big trip to a remote part of the South Island of NZ was in all vain... or so I thought for a moment.

The Kepler Challenge is an esteemed running event in the global trail running calendar, often selling out completely on the day of tickets going live. Thankfully, through my partner Pure Sports Nutrition, I was able to secure a ticket to what was billed to be a dream come true in the context of my sporting career so far.

My preparation for this run happened simultaneously with the prep for my Sydney to Melbourne ride on the premise that I wanted to become the strongest runner and rider I have ever been. The prior certainly happened but the latter didn’t eventuate! Whilst I got a bunch of long trails in there thanks to my newly secured driving license, I rolled my left ankle twice in the same month which would come back to haunt me at the Kepler Challenge.

It was a big logistical effort to get to Te Anau, home of The Kepler Challenge, in which I prepared all of the compulsory gear, organised return flights to Queenstown with 2 hour buses to take me to and from Te Anau. Pretty much as soon as I got there, it was evident that everyone I spoke to had some kind of connection to the race, and the passion at the Expo (and in every corner of town) for the spectacle was pretty epic!

So I rose the morning of, absolutely buzzing. I was wearing my favourite gear (looking sick), nutrition locked and loaded, body clock functioning, ready to run straight up a huge mountain and see the best view of my life at the top (in incredible conditions)... until I wasn’t. Spraining the same ankle for a third time on non technical trail was an absolute calamity, and I was forced to end my race soon after it had started.

Although, I soon realised that in my completion of the big ride I developed the ability to laugh at the most difficult prospects. Challenges that were difficult to process because they threatened my biggest goals. I did have a laugh at this situation because ultimately, it’s not the end of the world! Here’s a quote from my YouTube video on the whole experience:

 I'm so proud of where I'm at with my headspace right now because I have accepted [that I failed].

I have accepted that I really wanted to do this thing and that I couldn't. And, life doesn't change, life goes on. It's not the end of the world. I'm so much more than an athlete, which is what I've learned about myself over the last 24 months. I’ve gone for gold with my career and my projects outside of work, finding my sense of purpose and what I do and in my work.

This is all so much bigger than doing a trail run. And I think prior to this experience, I was quite obsessive with my sports because it filled a void. It filled a void that was previously there because of not having that direction and not having that purpose. But I think the best thing about this trip is that it's shown me that there is no longer a void.