Kieron Douglass: The Long Way Back

Some comebacks are measured in finish times. This one was measured in something far harder to quantify.

After 15 months away from running following a fractured ankle and cartilage damage, Tarkine Elite Athlete Kieron Douglass didn't sit still and wait to heal. He hiked. He trained. He completed a 24-hour non-stop effort with over 6,200 metres of elevation gain, because when the trails are taken from you, you find another way to stay connected to them.

Nine weeks of relearning how to run. A last-minute entry into Noosa 100km. And a finish line crossed not as a statement of being back, but as a reminder of why he never really left.

This is not a story about a perfect race. It's something better than that.

 

1. How did your training block leading into the race go?

I’d spent 15 months away from running due to fracturing my ankle and damaging the cartilage around my ankle joint, so I wasn’t expected to be back on the trails until later this year (early 2027), but I never stopped putting in the work in hope that by some miracle, I’d be back sooner.

Although I wasn’t able to run during 2025, I could hike… so I spent a fair bit of time on the stair machine, hiking full incline on the treadmill, on the bike, and I ended up doing a 24hr non-stop hike with 6,234m of elevation. I thought that I may not be able to run, but I could work on my power hiking, which would help me in a race for those long climbs.

At Christmas, I felt like my ankle was up for some running load, so I gave myself a good 9 weeks of learning how to run again, which was challenging as my mechanics were off. But being that I’d put a lot of work in whilst injured, it didn’t take long to get my fitness back, so I signed up last minute to Noosa 100km. I was fortunate enough to learn what it meant to run again, to hurt and push boundaries again.

I have a long way to go before I’m back to where I was prior to injury, but I’m enjoying the process and I’m loving learning again. My ability to power hike on the hills was something I was really happy with. What I didn’t put a lot of time into before Noosa was making sure I worked on nutrition. Over the 12 years of running ultras, I used to put a lot of time into learning what worked and what didn’t. I used to eat burgers and different foods and I’d go for a run. If it stayed down, GREAT!! If it didn’t, it was fun ha! And I’d try something else.

2. How do you feel about your performance on race day?

I stuck to my plan of slow and steady. I wasn’t 100% sure how my ankle would hold up after 20–30km. I ran the flats, hiked the hills, zig-zagged the downhills.

I actually felt like I was going to run a PB on this course, but I didn’t, ha! I ran 5 hours longer than I did back in 2023. But I felt good. It was a good training run.

Ultra running has a great way of humbling you. I’ve always said that sometimes you run the trails and sometimes they run you… I’d come off a great podium finish in 2022 at the Glasshouse 100km and felt I was ready for Noosa 100km (2023) … but it was a tough day out. But that’s ultra running.

3. What were the biggest challenges you faced out there?

I was constantly checking in with myself in regards to my ankle. I was paying careful attention to foot placement and how it reacted to the hard fire trails as opposed to the single track, which was a bit softer underfoot.

After 60km, I forgot about my ankle and realised I was struggling to keep food down, which hasn’t been an issue in the past. Being that I was crewing myself, I had to force myself to eat. It was a super hot day, but I was making sure I was filling my scarf with ice and taking the time to drink and refill where I could.

I had a tough time mentally in the last 20km. It had been a big year, and I was going through the motions. There’s that competitive part of your soul that questions whether you’re capable of pushing further, harder… I’m getting a bit older now, body is changing, mindset shifts slightly… wife and kids… but my kids are one of the biggest reasons I still push myself.

You’re never too old to push boundaries. They just look different over time… doesn’t mean you stop trying. But at 80kms into a race, you can’t help but glaze over those inner demons.

4. What did the course teach you?

I don’t care what anyone says, you are never 100% prepared for any race. Sometimes you can run well and everything comes together on the day… or it doesn’t. You must always respect the ground you run on.

I’ve been through a lot in my life. Growing up in a broken home, poor, a lot of physical and mental abuse, a lot of violence around me… when I’m deep in a run, I always think about the struggles I’ve faced growing up, and I think about the strength I took away from those struggles. And I use that to finish.

I was fortunate enough to run with one of my best mates and the guy that got me into ultras 12 years ago, Sam Weir. Sam has done some incredible things in ultra running and won a lot of big races. He then went on to row across the Atlantic, came back and decided to have a good break away from being competitive.

So it was nice that we got to hang out during Noosa, laugh about some of the stuff we’ve done… 200 milers, 500km races (he podiumed, I DNF’d at 350km with a dislocated knee). But both of us still pushed each other during Noosa… if I was lagging a little, he’d tell me to hurry up. If he was sick, I’d laugh, and vice versa… so pacing-wise it was perfect.

Connection on the trails is just as important as connection to the trails.

5. What’s next for you?

Had you asked me this before I busted my ankle, I would have rattled off 10 races, ha! But for now, I’m still rebuilding, learning, and growing again…

For now I’m locked in for Blackall 100km in October… but I don’t sit still long.

Each year since 2015 I do a run raising money for a program called Juiced TV based at the QLD Children’s Hospital. It’s an in-house TV show for the kids of the hospital, hosted by the kids of the hospital. It creates a safe space from what they mentally and physically deal with on a day to day basis, and the impact it has on the children is enormous.

It heavily relies on community fundraising, and what better way to support the challenges those kids face every day than to do a challenge.