Author: Wouna le Roux

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#1 Rotorua marathon

Date: 30 April 2016

Distance: 42.6km

Time: 5:05:07 (or as one friend suggested, our time was 4 hours and 65 minutes :-D)

Previous: 2014

At the start with lots and lots of participants all around.
Eagerly awaiting the cannon to fire.
The first incline as you run down along Rotorua’s main streets.
Making our way through the industrial area.
Early days, but still going strong, with Graeme.
Moving out of town, but still good support around.
Nearly a quarter done.
Lovely bagpipe music greeted us.
High-5’s all around.
Gerry enjoying the early morning sun.
Nearing the far side of the lake.
Halfway! I knew long before then already that I wasn’t going to make it in 5 hours.
Lots and lots of traffic on the stretch back to town.
Gerry speeding along to catch up after a pee-stop.
Worms-eye view – one of my gutter moments.
Event T’s and medals.
Celebratory drinks were immediately shared when we saw this. The perfect gift.

 

The Rotorua Marathon in conjunction with Athletics New Zealand ran a leap year competition where, if you entered for the marathon on 29 February, with a mate, you stood a chance of winning back both entries, and also receive a goodie bag from Asics (containing a technical T-shirt, socks, a cap and a backpack). We were going to enter anyway, so Gerry grabbed the opportunity to enter us into the competition, and we won! It was fantastic news, as our stint of 5 marathons in 5 weeks (starting with the Rotorua marathon) was turning out to be quite a costly affair for two people from the same household. Very chuffed with our entries and a gift pack from Asics to boot, we were eagerly looking forward to the marathon. Continue reading →

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Great Forest Events

Date: 10 April

Distance: 21.1km

Time: 2:22

Previous: 2014

Race briefing.
The marathon runners and walkers have started already. Next up are the half marathon guys and girls.
Walking to the start a few hundred metres from the race HQ. A colourful stream of participants ahead of us.
Gerry, Wouna and Cheryl at the start.
And a fairly long stream of runners behind us as well.
And away we go!
The first water point.
Cheryl, and me still in longs as the overcast morning chill started making way for a warm sunny day.
Fun signage for our entertainment.
Even some music at this water point.
Always great to run with no traffic worries.
Gerry going strong.
Lots if these bright mushrooms all around the forest.
A typical scene at this event.
Some muddy patches here and there.
About halfway at the Manawatu River.
A welcome water point in a clearing in the forest.
Lovely and warm in the open patches.
Signs of industrial activity.
The 10km participants linking up with the 21km course in the last few kilometres.
Some more entertainment at the start of the only “hill” on the course.
Happy at the finish, with Powerade, an apple and medals. It was the nicest, most welcome apple I’ve had in years.
A cute sign to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this great event.
Catching up with some mates at prize-giving.
The Neva Bean clan from Whanganui.

Each year thousands of participants make the trek to the Matariki forest at Waitarere Beach near Levin. And why won’t you if you live only a stone throw away? The Great Forest Events chose their name wisely. It remains a great event; with lots of participants, great atmosphere, good organisation and medals to boot. Continue reading →

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(Wine-to)-Brine-to-Wine

Date: 3 April

Distance: 31.5km

Time: 3:36

Gerry at about 6.5km. The morning was just cool enough to justify starting with a second layer.
A drizzle to keep us cool.
Passing the middle bridge of the 3 Bridges event.
Nice walkway next to the river for miles and miles.
Not too far from the river mouth.
Gerry sharing high-fives with Graeme.
On the way back. We were too pre-occupied to think about taking pics between the last few kilometres and the start of the event.
By this time the sun was very hot!
Gerry going strong after about 21km.
A prominent feature in Whanganui.
City centre. Only about 7km to go.

I am finding it increasingly more difficult to write objectively about events. Simply because I love doing events! The vibe, the people, the support, the fact that you get your training done with others – what’s not to like? Continue reading →

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Round the Vines half marathon

Date: 20 March
Distance: 21.1 (20.4km with our GPS)
Time: 2:25.45
Previous: 2014, 2015

We were still casually hanging around the town square when the announcer said “30 seconds to the start!”, so we ended up starting right at the back – a position we defended successfully for the full first lap.
Fun and games amongst the grape vines.
Aid stations also competed in the fancy dress department, with this group dressed in an assortment of onesies and sleepwear.
Not far into the first lap we stopped to start sampling some of the produce from the local wine farms.
Each aid station featured live music, adding to the great vibe of the event.
The winning Zombie/Walking Dead aid station.
More entertainment from one of the friendly local musos.
In addition to the wine, fresh fruit was the order of the day.
Some garage rock, literally.
Checking time (not that it matters in this event!)
Enjoying the en route entertainment.
The course passes through the local school, which is the main beneficiary of the event.
Some costumes were more, uhm, unique than others!
Where’s Wally?
Some amusing signs to keep us smiling.
Runners inspiration.
The obligatory selfie – and what a great setting for it!
Incredible to even see a bride and bridesmaids among the fancy dress teams.
Reaching the finish, a.k.a. party central.
The bridal party finishing in high spirits.
What an amazing turnout! This race keeps getting bigger each year, and rightfully so.
Team All Sorts – perhaps not the most inspiring costumes of the day, but we had a huge amount of fun.

The Round the Vines saw its 21st running in 2016. And what a fantastic turnout (1500) for this amazing event. It is hard to believe that Martinborough, as such a small town, is able to put on such a mammoth size event. The organisers are doing something right! But who can fault this jolly-great-most-enjoyable event? Continue reading →

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Taihape half marathon

Date: 19 March
Distance: 21.1 (21.5km with our GPS)
Time: 2:19.07
Previous: 2015

At the start on a beautiful sunny morning in the country.
Jogging up the first hill that you encounter shortly after the start.
Running along the rolling hills is pure bliss.
Crossing a gorge before heading down a dirt road.
Some shelter from the trees keeping us from overheating.
High-5! Pete on his way back from the out-and-back stretch.
A jolly waterpoint at the turn of the out-and-back bit.
The volunteer water girl even offered to take our photo.
Interesting tree formations on the horizon as we jogged along the country roads.
Drinking in the beauty of the surroundings does wonders to keep your energy levels up.
Reaching the section of road comprising the out-and-back 10km event, things got increasingly social.
From about the 16 to 20km points you face a slow and steady uphill.
Firefighters doing the 10km as training for the Sky Tower challenge.
Over the last few kilometres we passed many 10km walkers.
Gerry trying his luck passing close to the whomping willow!
The finish in sight on the last long downhill.

As we drove up from Palmy for this event, I was counting my lucky stars that the weather was really good. Warm. Yet again. At last year’s event, the temperature was a bit cooler but still great. This year was just perfect for me, but I suspect at 20 degrees Celsius it was a bit on the hot side for most other participants. Continue reading →