Melissa sets new Great South West Walk record

Details

Last Updated: Tuesday, 15 February 2022 10:35

Congratulations to Central Coast member and endurance athlete Melissa Robertson who has smashed the record for the 250km Great South West Walk in Victoria.

Melissa's time of 51 hours 39 minutes obliterated the previous women's record of 94h 27m and took a whopping 7 hours off the men's best time of 58h 33m.

She travelled with her mum who was her support crew for all but a 38km beach stretch towards the end.

To add to the drama, their car was written off after hitting a kangaroo near Seymour en route to the event centre in Portland!

The first day of the run was tough, with temps hitting 37C, and she was understandably exhausted after the adrenalin-sapping sagas of the lead-up.

"As is often the case with ultra events, you have a brief mental breakdown, then pull yourself together and get to the next water source to cool down," said Melissa.

The 40-year-old grew up with a bushwalking mum, became an elite obstacle racer (Tough Mudder etc) in her 20s then picked up orienteering in her 30s. This taught her how to navigate and - crucially - become a lot less afraid of the bush.

Melissa has won the Central Coast Summer Series women's division for several years now.

Her next big challenge is the annual Six Foot Track marathon, where she has three times placed in the top 10 women.

But that's barely a warm-up for the 200-mile (360km) Unreasonable East in June.