Author: Wouna le Roux

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AMI Round the Bays 21.7km

Setting up early morning.
The little cannon that was used for the start. Don’t be fooled by its size!
Have your picture framed, courtesy of Malaghan, for the Run for Research members.
At the start – warming up shenanigans.
I decided to go red, orange and white for Malaghan.
Gerry, fresh and ready to go.
More entertainment to make up for the few minutes late start.
The Start banner – far, far away!
On Oriental Parade – the crowd starting to thin out a bit.
Cobham Drive where we encountered the first 10km returnies.
Gerry, clearly having a good day on the road.
Past the halfway point – me at full speed.
The out and back section is very sociable.
Gerry really having a blast at the turnaround point.
Fly, fly away – only about 7km to the finish.
Our walk through Mt Victoria Tunnel on the way back to the start, some 4km from the finish.
Comfort/reward food in the form of beer and pizza.

Let me say upfront that I am no good at asking people for money. As much as I would run around any Bay, around New Zealand or around the World for that matter to support a good cause, I just can’t get myself to ask people for money. I assign this to the fact that for the first 40 years of my life I lived in a country where the vast majority of the population are in need, and begging is just part of the make-up of daily life. You end up being overcome with guilt, because you simply cannot help everybody everyday who are constantly begging you on every corner and every turn you take for money, or food, or clothes, or anything else that might help them survive to see another day. And you become a bit allergic to asking for money yourself. I am sure fundraising for sponsorships come with much less baggage in a first world country where most everyone lives above the poverty line, so maybe in years to come we will get more comfortable at it. Continue reading →

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Super Seven Series – race 5

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The Manawatu Striders in action

Some of the members of the hard working team behind the Super Seven Series each week, busy inflating and anchoring the start and finish banner. Getting everything set up and ready to play host to 1700+ participants takes a lot of hard work that starts early in the afternoon already. Like a well oiled machine each team member knows his/her role in the process to have the event run smoothly come 6:15pm. I don’t think many people realise just how much organising and effort go into staging events of this magnitude. And with the added bonus of receiving water, bananas and a sausage sizzle, it adds a whole new dimension to the planning and preperation.

A hearty thank you to the Manawatu Striders for putting together these highly successful and wonderful events for all to enjoy. Cheers!

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Just an easy recovery run… Yeah right.

Upon entering Pahiatua, you’re greeted by a large sign advertising the 5km series.
And away they go! The walkers’ start.
The runners – a more serious affair.
Everybody received an apple at the finish and me with a spotprize!

If someone were to tell me I have to do two speed sessions two days in a row, I would have laughed him off, mumbling something like “crazy bugger”. Speed session is not in my vocabulary. Neither is fartleks or hill training for that matter. But if we’re on our daily trot and feeling okey, I’m always up for the challenge to race to the next street lamp, even if “race” implies just picking up the pace a notch or two for the next 50 metres or so.

As someone who’s always on the lookout for affordable events close-by we were happy to stumble upon a series, similar to the Super Sevens, in our neighbouring town of Pahiatua. It is a 5km run and walk hosted every Wednesday by the local club, the Bush Harriers, for the five weeks leading up to their half marathon on 22 March. So Gerry and I opted to go for the first one and see what it’s like. I doubt we’ll go through the trouble of driving 30km out and 30km back just to run 5km every week for the next 5 weeks, but we thought it to be a good outing and you have to try everything once, right? Continue reading →

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Windrush Windfarm Adventure – a fun walk, run or ride event

The start of all the events. Cyclists getting ready.
The runners/walkers in the 2.7km event taking off. Great to see so many youngsters taking part.
The almost complete field of runners and one walker.
Shortly after the start, already the first bit of a climb.
Probably the steepest down and uphill on the course. It’s steeper than the photo suggests, trust me!
The finish area of the cycling tour some 100 metres from the Windrush start/finish.
Trying to get to grips to the size of one of the blades.
Gerry passing 3 massive turbine blades in storage.
Lovely blue skies and a cool breeze made for perfect running conditions.
Cattle and sheep roam the farm.
When not on farm roads, you follow the mowed grass.
Another fairly significant climb.
Gerry speeding by in a blur with the Manawatu Gorge and River below.
A unique view on the Manawatu Gorge.
Happiness is …
Back at the finish.

After our “long-run” the previous day (about 10km) we decided to partake in the inaugural Windrush event of approximately 6km the next day as a “shakedown” (a term used by friends for the recovery run the day-after a hard session). Not that we are even close to double-sessions, cool-down/recovery runs or any other such technical things. But it sounded fancy, so there you have it :-).

Continue reading →