Tamworth's Gerald MacPherson wins 2022 100km Lonely Mountain Ultra

Some might call him insane. Others might say he's inspirational.

While it's hard to define the man, there's a certainty in one area; his nutrition.

And that long distance running diet isn't what you'd expect.

"Tiny teddies and baby food really kept me going the whole way," he said.

Let that sink in.

Running through the trails of Orange's Mt Canobolas, the 100km winner, Gerald MacPherson, was fueled by tiny teddies and baby food in a time of 10 hours, 46 minutes and 29 seconds.

The inspiration?

Well like many people ticking off extraordinary achievements, the credit goes to their other half.

When MacPherson's partner Hannah was preparing for her own 100 mile event in The Glasshouse 100 last month, the winning runner found the perfect formula to stop any chances of bloating or stitches.

"I got really hungry during the middle of the night, and of course nothing was open," he said.

"All we had was 20 packs of tiny teddies, I ate them all night and they settled OK so I decided they would be part of the line up."

Liquids, tailwinds and electrolytes were also part of MacPherson's diet but without the unorthodox food choices there would've been no finish, in what was his first 100km event.

In fact, the Tamworth-based athlete had never gone past 60 kilometres in his running career and didn't have the a whole lot of confidence when preparing.

"I'd done 55, 60 kilometre events before, nothing over that, and not managed them well," he said.

"When I'd hit that 45k mark I'd really feel it, so it was really nice to finish yesterday.

"Everything came together, I thought I'll set anywhere between 5.40 and 6 minute pace ... and did that pretty easily through the first 50.

"I ran with one of the other fellas for a while and I was just happy to cruise with whoever for the first 50. My rule was I'll get to first 50 and if I'm still alright then that means I'm doing OK - my stomach was fine and legs were alright so I was really happy with that.

"Last 30 (the attitude) was just I'll get it done, that second lap was mentally the hardest, the last 22 was a matter of picking it off."

While most race-goers might use music or podcasts as motivation, MacPherson was a man with a clear head.

Living in Orange last year also offered assistance with the runner regularly venturing out to the Mt Canobolas tracks along with other areas throughout New South Wales.

"I've trained myself (without music), not intentionally, and did a lot of long runs in the Blue Mountains and last year (in Orange) ran a lot around state forest and trained myself to do five or six hour runs with nothing," he said.

"I'm just accustom to going out and plugging away and getting it done. I'm quite lucky in that I don't get bored when I run, I don't have that problem, it's predominantly a time where I can switch off.

"I didn't have many dark patches, going out on the third lap that last climb was tough, particularly because the last 22k was all up hill ... but I got in that habit of one foot after the other and not worrying about pace."

And while finishing first wasn't the goal, the winner was ecstatic to have simply achieved what was previously unachievable.

"It was quite special to do my first 100 and do it there, we all ran the track as a group last year. To tick that off as my first 100 and feel as good as I did was pretty special and very satisfying," he said.

Having been a part of running groups while living in Orange, MacPherson also had special praise for the town and Lonely Mountain Ultra committee.

"Orange is a nice micro climate for running, you couldn't ask for any better," he said.

"I knew it would be a plan for this year and they pulled it off and got 700 entrants - for them to get that in the first year speaks volumes to the committee and people that put work into organising it, they did such a good job."

Finishing behind MacPherson in second place was Tim Altamore from Canberra with Swan Hill's Matt Smith in third.

Organisers for the event said the event attracted significant tourism to the town with 30 per cent of competitors from Orange and 40 per cent from the Central West.