Author: Wouna le Roux

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Shoe Clinic Wellington Half Marathon

Date: 5 July 2015

Distance: 21.1km

Time: 2:18.45

It’s been three months since our previous event. We took a couple of weeks off, travelled some, worked some more, winter rolled in, and with few events on the calendar as motivation or targets to work towards, we were very slack at trying to build up our fitness levels again. It’s not easy to get going again after a long lay off. I battled through every training run – the few we did manage to fit in between work and really crappy weather conditions.

Hard to imagine the Super 15 Rugby finals between the Hurricanes and Highlanders took place only a few hours prior to the start of this event. Everything was cleaned-up already.
Gerry and I shortly before the start. A bit of a nip in the air, but overall very good conditions.
Long shadows in the early morning sunlight.
Jazzy entertainment around the bays.
Gerry really having a walk in the park.
Hup hup hup. Need to get rid of some of that energy.
Look mom! The tooth fairy got hold of my tooth!
An out-and-back event, making it very social.
Yeah!
Are we there yet?
Finally Westpac Stadium, after the only “uphill” stretch, but then still a lap of despair to get the the finish.

Luckily the Wellington Half Marathon was on our calendar (not being ready for the 42 this time), forcing us to step out the door on occasions when you would much rather snuggle up in front of a fire. Unfortunately these occasions only happened few and far between, and for the most part laziness got the better of me. So with the minimum training and lots of trepidation, we headed south the night before. Friends had a house-warming party and what better way to carbo-load than with bubbly and pizza! Continue reading →

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Glorious mountains

What is it about mountains, majestically towering in the sky and often dusted with a layer of snow, that is so seductively irresistible? Whatever their attraction, I simply cannot avoid the urge to wander into the mountains. It’s like I’m gravitationally drawn towards them. Whenever I see a mountain, I get this uncontrollable need to go there, to be amongst the peaks, on the top, to be part of, even if its just a small blip in, their greatness.

On a recent business trip to Auckland, we decided to make a quick stop on the way back just off the Desert Road to wander towards Mt Ruapehu and the nearest hut, Waihohonu, on the Northern Circuit Great Walk Track.

The weather was miserable, it was raining and misty, completely covering the mountain. My only consolation was that I knew it was there, with Mt Ngauruhoe by its side. I could feel their presence. Walking on the wet and muddy footpath, I was again in awe of the vast network of trails that we have available. Everywhere you go, you’ll find some or other walkway.

We knew we were nearing the hut when we could smell the wood burning from the fire place. Reaching the hut after 5.5km, the sky was already turning darker, so without fussing about, we turned around as droves of trampers were making their way to the shelter and warmth of the hut. It can host 28 people and being a very popular great walk it is no surprise to get what looked like a full house on an arbitrary time of the month in the middle of the week.

We had a flashlight just in case we didn’t make it back in time, but luckily it wasn’t needed. It was terribly cold, windy and rainy and we never saw the mountain, but just knowing it was right next to me, was enough of a treat on the eve of my birthday.

Some pics of our 11km round trip:

Well-protected against the elements. Waihohono Stream in the back.
Indigenous forest.
Beech trees, ferns etc.
Great walkway for the most part.
Being so overcast, made focussing with a phone camera rather challenging.
A five-star hut in the mountains.
Wet and cold, we had to get back to the car while trampers spent the night by the fire.
Icy mud.
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Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon

Date: 4 April 2015

Distance: 56km

Time: 6:43.42

At the start, still dark.
Thousands of runners all rearing to go with the start banner way up ahead.
And still thousands more behind us, all getting into the spirit of things.
Quite unbelievable to see so many runners on one course.
And the stream of runners continues as far as the eye can see.
Lots of supporters next to the road.
Approaching Fish Hoek, we had to make our way through the roadwords.
Fish Hoek.
The famous colourful bathing boxes at St James.
A band entertaining runners. We were treated to “Like a Rolling Stone” as we passed.
More entertainment.
The dreadful sachets that are an environmental nightmare. When will someone please ban these for good!?
Yay! Salty boiled potatoes at the bottom of Ou Kaapseweg.
Taking a walk break on the 7km uphill.
The long road of runners up ahead makes this a rather social outing.
Luckily we were safely within the cut-off time.
A colourful snake of runners.
Still smiling, or is that a grimace?
Presumably the houses of Noordhoek Manor visible up ahead.
Approaching the fire-ravaged, black and bleak Silvermine landscape.
Once over the top of Ou Kaapseweg we were faced with a knee jarring downhill.
Road signs damaged in the recent fire.
The Kaapse Klopse provided some colourful entertainment.
A silly little out-and-back section along Southern Cross Drive before the Constantia Neck hill.
More entertainment to keep everyone motivated over the last few kilometres.
Cold and windy at the finish.
Happy to have made it in time.

On a recent trip to South Africa to catch up with family and friends, we grabbed the opportunity to take part in the Two Oceans (ultra) marathon, aside from the world famous Comrades Marathon probably the premier ultra marathon in the country. Twelve years ago (2003) was our previous running of “the world’s most beautiful marathon”, when due to some or other natural mishap (and road works to prevent rock falls) the course could not follow the usual route over Chapman’s Peak. It had to be diverted over Ou Kaapseweg (loosely translated as Old Cape Road). We call it Ou Kakseweg (Old Shits Road), because it is terribly hilly, crossing over the Muizenberg Mountains from south-west to north-east. All these years we’ve always felt like we had unfinished business and thought this would be a good opportunity to finally experience the official course over Chapman’s Peak. Described on Wikipedia the course looks like this: “The Ultra Marathon follows a more or less circular route through Muizenberg, Fish Hoek, over Chapman’s Peak, through Hout Bay and Constantia Nek, and eventually finishes at the University of Cape Town campus. On occasions when Chapman’s Peak Drive has been closed due to construction or rock falls, the Ultra Marathon has followed an alternate route over Ou Kaapse Weg“. Continue reading →

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Back-to-back 21s #2: Pahiatua Bush Harrier Half Marathon

Date: 22 March 2015
Distance: 21.0
Time: 2:13.11

The field of runners at the race briefing.
Gerry seems ready for the second 21 for the weekend.
Wet roads from the rain we woke up to early in the morning.
At this point there weren’t many other runners behind us going straight.
Luckily only a short bit of the course is on a busy road (State Highway 2).
With Tui’s doors already open for business, it’s very hard not to hang a left for a pint or two!
Another lovely tranquil run in rural NZ.
You even get to share the road with tractors.
Striking a Charlie Chaplin pose. We are the Tail-end-Charlie’s after all. 😉
Minor confusion whether this cone meant ‘go straight’ or ‘turn right’.
Farmyard flavours, reminder of the great Merlot’s we’ve shared with good friends over the years.
While the skies weren’t as blue as the previous day at Taihape, we were still treated to near-perfect running conditions.
The hilly little twist in the tail.
Once over the crest, it’s not far to go on a downhill and flat stretch to the finish.
Uhum, still too much energy.
Prize-giving was a jolly affair with sausages, beers, tea, coffee and cake.

The weather for our second back-to-back 21 could again not have been better. No wind, fairly warm, but rather humid. The start and finish for this mainly fast and flat run, is at the Pahiatua stadium. Organised by the Bush Harriers, the highlight of the day is probably the amount of spot prizes. You know there’s no shortage when every single participant receives something. And then the club president would still request anybody who has not received something, to put their hand up. And even after that, there was still a box full of prizes left over for next time!

The course runs through the residential part of town before heading north on SH2 towards Hawkes Bay. Just before the 5km mark, you leave the main road to run past the famous Tui Brewery HQ heading east between farms. Nice and quiet roads with great weather made for a comfortable easy long run.

At about 9km, a short section of about 2km is run on a gravel farm road. We were happily trotting along, and started to pass a walker here and there before the route gradually started on an incline from about the 15km mark. And with 2km to go, a proper 700 metre long hill reduced most runners to a walk. But once over the crest, it is downhill and flat to the finish.

Sausage sizzles and beer were for sale. Tea and coffee were on the house. As it was the 30th anniversary of this event, lovely moist chocolate cake was also passed around to everybody.

A nice run in the country, well worth the outing. Water stations at about 6.5, 12, 16 and 18km. A good course also for walkers as it is mainly flat easy terrain. Since this event is in our neck of the woods, a lot of familiar faces were out and about. Great to see so many of our own club members and also starting to recognise a few from neighbouring town clubs. Unless anything critical comes up, we’ll most probably be back next year.

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Back-to-back 21s #1: Taihape Half Marathon

Date: 21 March 2015
Distance: 21.5
Time: 2:18.45

Registration just down the road, under a tree. 🙂
Course map.
Runners, walkers and spectators at the event HQ.
Is that a Tarawera T I’m spotting? 😉
And that’s the total field of half marathon runners – with me and Gerry (taking the photo) right at the back.
Beautiful winding road up ahead.
Running with the smell of freshly turned soil in the air.
A nice bit of downhill before the next uphill.
This is the life!
The gravel road stretch between farms was really special – tranquil and serene.
Running in an environment like this is good for your body and soul.
The little bits of shade was on the cold side for me.
At the end of the out-and-back stretch is a water station with friendly volunteers.
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect (at least for most people).
This is a lovely event – one we would definitely keep on the calendar in future.
Classic rural New Zealand.
A lovely bunch of volunteers at the final water station – sure to put a smile on anybody’s face!
With roads and scenery like this, one can carry on all day long.
On the last 1.5km stretch back on the sealed road, with the finish in sight.
Sausage sizzle and a small Lindauer bubbly on the house, we opted for a beer and sausage while waiting for prize-giving to start. Hot-cross buns with cheese and coffee shortened the trip back home.

Taihape is a bit of a drive for us, but we needed the training and truth be told, if we tried to run back-to-back 21’s on our own, it probably wouldn’t have happened. Besides it’s so much more fun doing events, even if you are last and run most of the way on your own. You have support along the route and get to run on new roads, giving your mind and body a bit of a break from your usual training paths. Plus you support a local community, so why not? Continue reading →