Mike Le Roux Seeking to Complete the Grand Slam of Ultras

CAIRNS endurance athlete Mike Le Roux has turned his attention and voluminous lung capacity towards becoming the first Australian to complete the four most prestigious 160km races in the US in the one season

Known as the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (June 23), the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run (July 21), the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Run (August 18) and the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run (September 7) are considered some of the toughest foot races in the world

Le Roux's acceptance into the series means he will delay plans to compete in the 217km Badwater Ultramarathon, also in the US, until 2013 and will instead crew for one of the runners in this year's event

After spending the Christmas-New Year period in his native South Africa visiting family and training in the Drakensberg Mountains, Le Roux is ready to become a force on the international running scene

As well as winning individual races, competitors can take out the grand slam by recording the lowest cumulative time for the four events. Ever the competitor, Le Roux isn't going along to make up the numbers

"I'd like to think I'm a chance (for overall honours)," Le Roux said. "Looking at the times the guys are running, they're doing sub 20 hours, which is amazing because the courses are so brutal

"These guys have a lot of experience, but this year I'll be able to prepare slightly differently because I'm able to train fulltime." Le Roux completed three 160km races last year, winning the last at the Glass House Mountains on the Sunshine Coast in record time, but the grand slam represents a different level of challenge

With the races staged so close together and some at altitudes topping 3000m, Le Roux will base himself in Colorado for the duration of the series to help his preparation and recovery

"It's going to be tough. I did my races last year in the space of four months and I was pretty shattered at the end," the 2010 Ultraman world champion said

"The only good thing is that the races are so close together that you don't really have time to do anything else in between

"My strength has always been being able to back up big races and big volumes." His schedule, however, means he will miss this year's Challenge Cairns ironman on June 3.