Wollongong's Matthew Pellow conquered the longest ultra-marathon trail of his career, a 'brutal' 100 kilometres, to triumph in the Blue Mountains on Saturday.
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Previously a professional Ironman triathlete, Pellow ignited his passion endurance racing by winning the Ultra-Trail Australia crown for the first time in nine hours, 51 minutes and 32 seconds.
He was almost 13 minutes clear of Vajin Armstrong, with Michael Dimuantes a further five minutes behind in third.
"That last 10 kilometres coming up and over all those rolling hills and then up Furber Stairs was brutal," he said.
"I wouldn't wish it upon anyone but somehow I feel like I'm going to end up back there again.
"It was quite technical out on the start, but you had Warragamba Dam on one side and a great view on the other and it was pretty distracting.
"I really liked the style of trail that they dished up, but the person that designed this course is a mean, mean, person, I found myself wondering that multiple times throughout the race. If you want a challenge that's a real challenge."
Pellow said he'd only decided to enter the event a fortnight ago, after spending time on the spectacular Katoomba trails earlier this year.
In victory he admitted the experienced has him hooked on the gruelling long-distance racing
"I was racing professional for about six years and am still doing triathlons, I went up to Crackenback and did the off-road triathlon in February and I'm actually Australian Champion for that which was a bit of a breakthrough performance for me," Pellow said.
"At the same time as I was doing all the mountain biking I've kind of fallen in love with trail running as well and I've got a feeling there's going to be a little bit more ultra-runs in my future.
"Today was my first time higher than 66km, so after 66km it was all uncharted territory and I'm afraid you're probably going to see me back here in the future."
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