ABOVE: Tessa was met at the finish line by proud parents, Kylie and Scott Parry.
Tessa Parry, along with around 40 other runners, successfully braved the rugged terrain of the Pilliga Ultra 50-kilometre run on 14 September with a total time of eight hours and three minutes.
“It didn’t really feel like it took as long as it did, to be honest. It feels like an out-of-body experience,” she said.
In reality, the track is closer to 53 kilometres which the runners did not find out until the last checkpoint at the 45 kilometre mark.
“The extra three kilometres made such a difference,” Tess said.
The day started for her at 2:50am when she woke up to make her way to Pilliga Pottery for the 6am start of the race.
Her parents Kylie and Scott Parry and boyfriend Ben Grant accompanied her.
Luckily the mild temperatures made the run a more enjoyable experience.
“It was the perfect weather which was great,” Tessa said.
“If anything it was a bit chilly to start but it was just beautiful once we got going.”
The track stayed mostly flat for the first eight kilometres.
“We started running through the paddocks and then it would twist up into rocky hills where it got much more technical. You constantly had to look down at your feet,” she said.
Nonetheless, Tessa said she was able to run most of the track.
Staying on track proved to be difficult at times.
“I nearly got lost so many times,” Tessa said.
Roughly every ten kilometres there was an aid checkpoint to give the runners some water and snacks to fuel them up.
Tessa’s mum volunteered at nearly every post to be able to catch a glimpse of her daughter darting past.
At around the 30-kilometre mark, Tessa said she started to lose sight of the other runners.
“You rarely came across anyone in front or behind which was a bit wild.”
Tessa finished the race almost exactly at 2pm.
The Ultra Marathon finisher said she felt fine after the race and even went to her boyfriend’s rugby presentation in Carinda.
The comedown did not come until the next day.
“Sunday afternoon, I hit a massive wall. I started getting really sore in my legs and ankles and I felt like I was coming down with the flu,” she said.
Although Tessa says she loved the experience, she does not see herself participating in a similar race more than once a year because of the long preparation time.
I’ve been running pretty much most of the year, so I’ll kind of rest on that now and take a break,” she said.