Author: Wouna le Roux

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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 →

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Skyline Track – Khandallah, Wellington

Date: 5 March
Distance: 7.4km
Time: 1:17

We were making our way up the hill towards the left.
Wellington already seems far below, while the wind was howling on the ridges.
At the top of Mt Kaukau with stunning 360 degree views.
And just as steep as the uphills were, so are the downhills.
A whole network of trails are scattered around the suburbs of Wellington.
Sheltered from the wind in the bush.
Beautiful scenery and lovely terrain for a run.
Back to a walk up another hill in Khandallah.
As seen from our accommodation: the tower on the horizon is where we passed the highest point.

On a work trip to Wellington on the weekend, we were hoping to fit in a semi-long-run of about 15km between work commitments. Our overnight accommodation was in Khandallah and we thought it a good idea to explore the area. Little did I know that a run in this suburb would involve a rather decent hill training session! Continue reading →

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RuapehuEXPRESS Half Marathon

Date: 27 February 2016
Distance: 19.1km
Time: 2:09.36

The birthday boy having a peaceful night.
Overcast and a bit fresh at the start.
Rob and me – ready for action.
Less than a minute to the start.
Briefing by Tim Day.
Shortly after the start, a dash across a paddock.
More paddock (cross country) running in the first few kilometres.
Time to shed a layer as it quickly warmed up.
Gerry comfortably jogging along as I was huffing and puffing to keep up.
A short stretch of farm road.
Jumping fences is normal for these kinds of events.
Having a blast out on the trails.
“If you go into the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise”.
Rob about half a kilometre ahead of us.
An awkwardly placed water station. First you veer off to the left, missing the table (my thoughts were that the water point was maybe meant for the 15km guys?) and when you pass it again from the other side, you turn away towards the right before reaching the table, missing it again.
Crossing one of many similar little bridges.
The trail winds through beautiful forests.
No doubt we’re on the right track.
A short little uphill after crossing the railway line.
Remnants of the Taonui viaduct.
Halfway – yay!
The cobblestone of the historic path is still visible in parts.
Pete still going strong.
Information boards along the Old Coach Road.
The second water point about 2km from the finish.
On the home straight back to the Powderhorn Chateau.
Final bridge across the railway line before the finish.
All done. Happy with what I’ve managed to achieve.
Prize-giving.

As it was Gerry’s birthday on the 26th, we decided to make a little outing of the trip. Not sure where we would stay – the only requirement was to camp somewhere nice and quiet – we went to the nearest DOC campsite only a few kilometres outside of Ohakune on the mountain side. It looked quite nice but decided nonetheless to check out the campsite at Raetihi which was only $4 per person more. However, the latter being more busy and civilised, we opted for the more scenic out of town rustic option at the foot of Mt Ruapehu. Continue reading →

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How not to do a 60km trail run – the mud, blood, guts and glory of the Tarawera Ultra

Date: 6 February 2016
Distance: 62km
Time: 12:30.48
Previous: 2015

Nervously waiting for the start in anticipation of the day ahead.
Uhum, is that a slightly nervous face?
Although it was wet, the temperature was fairly warm in the early hours of the morning.
A misty rain covered the whole landscape.
The wide forestry roads helped to spread out the runners.
We looked somewhat despondent.
Deep in thought.
Finally reaching Blue Lake.
I should really try to go faster so that Gerry can get rid of his excess energy!
Trying my luck with crisps. It left no ill effects.
Encouraging signs scattered throughout the course.
Imagine having such a huge group of friends all participating. Must be a blast!
A short stretch on sealed roads.
A jingle-jolly water point before heading back into the forest for more muddy trails.
A big chunk of the trail looked like this.
The single track sections were trampled by all the runners.
Another mud slide.
Beautiful scenery despite challenging terrain.
Some seriously eroded downhills.
A marshall who made herself a little shelter to take cover from the rain.
Peace man! Another lovely water point.
Cool attire and more friendly helpers at the Peace water point.
At the Tarawera falls.
Soaked to the bone, cold and really sore at this point.
We made it!
Finally at the finish line.
Medals to boot.

All photos by us, except the ones containing the TUM logo which are courtesy of Photos4sale and TUM. 

Standing at the start line of the Tarawera ultra, it still hadn’t dawned on me what I was about to do. For some strange reason, the whole event hadn’t registered with me at all. Maybe it was a way for my mind to cope with the fact that we were going to run 60km, not having done the hard yards in training? Whatever the case might be, my mind chose not to make it a reality. And were it not for the excruciatingly sore muscles the day after, I still wouldn’t have registered what happened the day before. Continue reading →