DU135 2025 Race Report | Lessons from 40 Hours of Absolute Brutality at Down Under 135 2025
There are ultra-marathons, and then there is the Down Under 135 (DU135).
In May 2025, I lined up for what would be the historic, final edition of this legendary event. Having had it on my bucket list for years, knowing this was the last time the ultra-running community would witness this beast of a race added an incredible layer of weight to the start line.
I went into it hunting for a strong finish, tracking well inside the top 10 for a massive portion of the race. Ultimately, my journey ended with a DNF (Did Not Finish) at the Square Bottle Return checkpoint after 40 hours of moving. It was the toughest, most relentless, and gnarly technical steepness I have ever experienced in my life.
But out there on the trails, a DNF isn't a failure—it’s an education. Here is the raw, comprehensive race report from my 40 hours inside the pain cave, the highs, the lows, and the ultimate takeaways every trail runner can implement into their own endurance training.
The Ultimate Test of Ultra-Running Grit
The Down Under 135 is notorious in the global extreme endurance community for a reason. It doesn't just test your aerobic capacity; it systematically attacks your quad strength, your mental resilience, and your ability to navigate genuinely technical, steep terrain under extreme sleep deprivation.
Phase 1: High Spirits and Tracking Top 10
The early sections of the race were everything I had anticipated. The atmosphere at the final installment was electric, fueled by a community that knew it was witnessing the end of an era. My legs felt strong, my nutrition strategy was locking in, and my pacing strategy kept me right where I wanted to be—comfortably tracking in the top 10.
Navigating the initial massive climbs required absolute discipline. In an ultra-marathon of this distance, the goal of the first half is simply to arrive at the second half with your body intact. I focused on efficient power hiking on the steep inclines and smooth, controlled descents to save my quads from early destruction.
Phase 2: Into the Darkness and the Gnarly Technical Lows
When night fell, the true nature of DU135 revealed itself. The sheer vertical gain and loss on this course are relentless. There are no flat sections to catch your breath; you are either grinding up an impossibly steep wall or braking hard down technical singletrack.
The lows hit hard during the second night. Forty hours on your feet takes a toll that no amount of training mileage can fully prepare you for. Hallucinations start creeping into the periphery, your digestive system threatens to rebel, and every single step requires conscious cognitive effort. The technical steepness became a battle of inches.
Phase 3: The Hard Stop at Square Bottle Return
By the time I reached the Square Bottle Return checkpoint, the course had extracted its toll. Balancing the fine line between pushing through the pain cave and respecting the absolute limits of safety on high-consequence trails is the hardest decision an ultra-runner has to make.
While my race ended there, I stepped off the course with a profound sense of pride. To navigate 40 hours of the final, most brutal iteration of this iconic race—while running among the top 10 athletes for a massive portion of it—showed me exactly what I am capable of when the chips are down.
Trail Running Takeaways: Lessons for Your Next Ultra
If you are looking to tackle an extreme endurance event, a 100-miler, or a multi-day trail race, these are the core lessons forged over 40 hours at the Down Under 135.
1. Ultra-Running is a Team Sport
You can do all the training logs and track all the metrics you want, but when you are deep in a multi-day race, your support crew is your lifeline. My crew—Ally and Cheech—were absolute rockstars. They didn't just manage my gear transitions and nutrition; they managed my mindset. They got me through hills that felt insurmountable.
Runner Takeaway: Choose a crew that knows you deeply. They need to know when to comfort you, when to push you, and exactly how to troubleshoot your gear and nutrition when you are too exhausted to think.
2. Tap into the Community Energy
The digital message board support during this race was an unbelievable energy source. Knowing there is an active community tracking your dots, sending messages, and riding the highs and lows with you adds a genuine psychological boost when you are deep in the pain cave.
Runner Takeaway: Don't isolate yourself. Lean on the trail running community, let your friends and family follow your tracker, and carry that collective energy with you into the night sections.
3. Training for Technical Steepness
You cannot fake the strength required for courses like DU135. Traditional road running or flat trail volume won't cut it. Your training block must place a premium on time-on-feet, vertical gain, and eccentric quad conditioning to survive the relentless descents.
Runner Takeaway: Incorporate heavily weighted vests on power-hiking sessions and seek out the steepest, most technical singletrack in your area. Train your mind to accept slow, grinding paces when the vertical grade spikes.
Final Thoughts on a Historic Milestone
The Down Under 135 may have closed its final chapter, but the lessons it taught the ultra-running community will stick around forever. It pushed me to the absolute edge of my limits, gave me 40 hours of unforgettable trail memories, and solidifies why we choose to do these hard things.
The recovery is done, the data has been analyzed, and the hunger for the next massive trail running block is already there. See you out on the dirt.