Date: 13 June
Distance: 36km
Time: 5:40

Friday started as usual; breakfast, then Gerry went to work. He was taking a half day, so that we could leave a bit earlier for the trip to Taupo. I made food and snacks and got everything packed in the morning, and by 2pm we were on our way.

We arrived at our accommodation at about 17:30, checked in and got the little fan heater going. It was quite nippy outside, but overall I think we were lucky with the weather. We could easily stroll the 600m to registration with nary a breeze as we watched darkness fall over Lake Taupo. Red at night, shepherds delight.

It is the second time this event took place and looking at the results, the first time wasn’t nearly as big. Less than 200 runners from my understanding. This time 1200 runners and walkers made it a ‘sold out’ event of which 180 were solo runners (which we entered as to allow for some running if we chose to), 18 solo walkers and the rest were teams. The plan was to walk the whole way, to see how we managed continuous long-distance walking at a reasonable clip. 

The event only started at 10:00 allowing for a relaxing beginning to a freezing (one or two degrees Celsius depending on which source you look at) misty morning. Our accommodation was about 100 metres from the river walkway (event course). Shortly after 7am Gerry moved our car to a parking spot right next to the walkway. This meant we could leave our food and extra gear within super easy reach. They have a drop bag area for participants without a support crew, but I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my phone or other valuables there. And I did not want to carry my phone on all laps – just the first and last laps to take some photos.

The plan was to do 36km, 5 laps. Each lap is 7.3km which, as anyone who knows me will know, is too long. If laps are involved I prefer shorter and preferably not longer than 3km maximum. Five laps in six hours meant 1:12 for each lap. I can’t walk that fast, so we had to jog a kilometre or so on each lap.

The nice thing about out-and-back laps (as apposed to loop laps) is that you see all the other participants all the time; coming from the front, or passing you from behind, only to be seen again coming from the front. It makes it very social, and we identified a young runner with a bucket hat whom we ended up looking out for. I liked his tenacity and eventually we rooted for him to win! Funny how you can get ‘involved’ in something or someone you don’t know from a bar of soap.

At the start and with the excitement of everyone dashing off, we decided to jog the first bit, at least until we reached the car after about 500 metres. We could then drop our multiple extra layers for the start which was very handy. After that we walked some before jogging a bit again after the turnaround point at the far end. This is also where the other waterpoint is (the first one being at the start and finish). Coincidentally we never ventured into the start-finish aid station the whole day. We had our own aid station in the back of the car with a variety of goodies: gherkins, prosciutto, date bread, date balls, jelly snakes, liquorice toffees, even hot home made soup in a thermos.

Once we were on our way on the first lap, fresh and rested, it almost seemed very possible to do six laps, 44km. I know I am definitely not in a place to do that kind of distance, but it is easy to get caught up in the excitement. We recalculated our run and walk times for each lap, figuring out how we can achieve a lap an hour with the least amount of running, but after a while I decided we have to be sensible. Haha. So we stayed with the five-laps plan. 

And just as well, as after the third lap I could feel my legs and especially my feet getting tired. We tried to finish each lap in exactly 1:08, meaning a wee jog of about one kilometre somewhere along each lap.  With a very small incline towards the halfway mark of the lap, we ended up walking the first half so as not to have to run the ‘uphill’. 

The Pou is located in Te Ātea, a gathering space devoid of vehicles The previous time we were in Taupo this area was still a road. The pou is a beautiful carving by master carver Delani Brown made from a 2,000-year-old Totara tree. The thirteen metal pillars surrounding the main pou represent the 13 rivers that flow into Lake Taupo. Outside the thirteen pou are four timber that illustrate the four compass points, the four seasons, the four elements, amongst others.

Free beers (Asahi), bananas, and apples were at the finish. We strolled back to the car, drove across the road and up the driveway back to our accommodation, fired up the little fan heater again, had a shower and some bubbly before sauntering another couple of kilometres to a restaurant for some delicious food.

I had aches and pains in places I don’t have when running that distance. Which is good, I guess. Just goes to show how different the two disciplines are. Lots of work still to do before March next year.