Strength Meets Endurance: Mario’s Journey to UTA100
- Increased strength
- 2.5% increase in Bone Mineral Density
In 2024, I was diagnosed with a stress fracture in my sacrum. Where, you ask? Yep—the sacrum. And not for the first time. I had the same injury on the opposite side back in 2020.
Apparently, this kind of stress fracture is “common” among endurance athletes (think triathletes and ultrarunners). I know a few people who’ve had it once—but as far as I know, I’m the only one lucky enough to get it twice .
The first time, I followed a straightforward recovery plan with a specialist sports doctor and a physio, and eventually got back to running. But the second time? It scared the hell out of me.
I knew something deeper was going on.
The endocrinologist recommended starting medication. But as someone who’s passionate about health and a bit stubborn when it comes to long-term meds, that was never going to be Plan A.
Instead, I turned to my nutritionist; an essential member of my support team, especially as a vegan ultrarunner. She helped me take a food-first approach: adding calcium-rich whole foods like walnuts, dried apricots, figs, and oranges into my daily routine. We also introduced a calcium supplement to support the healing process during this critical phase. A follow up visit to the endocrinologist showed that with the above changes the bones started to adapt and heal themselves…NO need for medication!
Later that year, I ran my first race post-injury—with zero issues (aside from being a bit undertrained ). It was the Taupo 100, and I crossed the finish line in 14 hours and 10 minutes—grateful, humbled, and pain-free.
Not long after, one of my athletes introduced me to a team of personal trainers who had just purchased a DEXA scanner. As a personal trainer myself and a big advocate for strength training in endurance athletes, I was immediately curious.
I already prescribe and program strength work for my runners, but this was a chance to level up my own approach. So I decided to dive a little deeper, and get a sniff of the powerlifting game.
Fast forward to 2025
Meeting Daniel, Jasmine, and Brad from XGYM gave me the confidence that I was truly on the right path. Sure, I’m not slinging the kind of heavy iron the seasoned powerlifters are throwing around, but squatting just 4kg shy of my bodyweight? That’s a win I’m proud of.
Since then, we’ve done multiple DEXA scans; our first in January and a follow-up in May, and the results speak for themselves: my bone mineral density (BMD) has increased by 2.5%. It’s a small number with big meaning, and proof that intentional training, nutrition, and patience really do move the needle.
My 2025 UTA100 experience
Going into my 6th UTA100(1st one being back in 2017, with a DNF in 2021 due to the first stressie) with the knowledge that my running was perhaps at 80% where it should be BUT knowing my bone structure could handle the load, put me in a good head space. The week leading up to the event the focus was on SLEEP, meditation, tapering and good nutrition. We stayed in Blackheath from Thursday night which enabled me to go and see my runners on Thursday and Friday in the UTA11/22/Miler events prior to me starting the 100 on Saturday morning.
Having practised my gut in training to handle ~70-80g of carbs and hour with plenty of fluids ensured my confidence going into the race was high. The course changed slightly for this year’s event, making it the hardest I have seen it. Extra stairs and a few more inclines ended up racking up 4406m of elevation gain over the 102 official kilometers. My crew(headed by my wife Sue) was there as always to support me at every allowable aid station. This is crucial as I like my own foods & sports nutrition. From the aid stations I take water/coke/chips/bananas/watermelon. The race started well, running with people from my club TRT for a while and running most uphills. It was muddy out there, some delays(perhaps 20-30mins) at Duncan’s pass. No excuse for a mediocre finish time but still annoying having to hang around and get cold again after 16km of running.
Food was going down well, legs felt ok and the effort up Nellie’s Glen climb at 50K was acceptable. Getting to the Aquatic centre in decent shape at 57Km was key. The goal was to get there in 6:45hrs, my time was 7:35hrs. Ah well, there went the sub14 goal(silver buckle territory) and I was told that many of my friends have had to pull out for various reasons along the course. My crew and club mates were there to give me encouragement and I left in a good mental state. Staying positive, being in the moment and accepting where I am in an Ultra are my specialty Mental toughness in these long events is key. The legs get you to the start line but the mind gets you to the finish.
The grind began from here, not having that spring in my step that I was hoping to have and the energy was fading by the hour despite eating enough along the way. At 78km(QVH) I knew I needed some more hydration as I felt thirsty all day(although it was cool enough day). I had more water, coke and my beloved Miso soup.
The next 22 or so km were a bit of a suffer fest, with the last 12km being very muddy. My energy levels sank to a very low level and my strengths of staying positive and not letting the mind give up had to kick in. In every ultra have different mantras, some are created prior and some I create while I am out there on my own fighting the inner demons. During this year’s UTA100 I just told myself that this is what I came here to do and I had no other responsibilities on that day other than FINISHING this beast!
End result: In the top 3rd with a time of 16hrs 28mins.
Author: Mario Buchs
Instagram:@healthetica_coaching/
Website: https://healtheticacoaching.com/
