Author: Wouna le Roux

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Super Seven Series – Race 3

A relaxed crowd shortly before the start in front of the YMCA.
1795 registered for this event. Not far to go to reach the 2000 participant mark!
Beautiful blue skies for the third event.
Passing underneath the Manawatu River Bridge just before the turn-off for the 3km course.
The clearly marked and manned route. No getting lost.
One of two similar “hills” on the course – about 1.5m climb to get over the river bank.
Some welcome refreshment at the halfway mark.

Things were going well for the back-of-the-packers. We did our daily jog. Fitted in the long-runs on weekends. Entered for the Rotorua marathon which is happening on 2 May. And then life got in the way. Funny how this always happens the moment you commit to something big. Continue reading →

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Round the Mountain Track (25-29 December 2013)

Even seasoned hikers of 24 years make “mistakes”. Any tramper, even a complete novice, will tell you it’s a big no-no to wear new – yes, you read right, brand new! – boots on a tramp. Especially a five day one at that. Continue reading →

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Queen Charlotte Track (2 – 5 December 2013)

A couple of years ago, in search of some interesting off-road running events, I read about the Queen Charlotte Track – a 26km run from Ship Cove to Punga Cove/Camp Bay. It sounded magnificent and I’ve since been keen to take part in this event. But as we know, traveling between NZ’s two islands is almost as expensive as going to Australia! This truly is a country of two halves (as Paul Bennett pointed out in his book). Continue reading →

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Runner’s Pasta recipe

A few years ago (well, actually about 10!), Runner’s World SA featured this recipe by Graeme Shapiro (owner and chef at Wild Poppy Cafe Fremantle in Perth, Australia). We’ve since made it more times than I care to remember and it never fails to please all your taste buds. And if you don’t have all the ingredients, fear not, as I’ve tried various combinations of more or less the same ingredients, leave out some, add other – you’re bound to still have a winner.

runnerspasta_s

The Runner’s Paste

  • 1 box (500g) fusilli or fresh taglierini pasta
  • 1 packet (250g) basil pesto or olive tapenade
  • 1 jar (200g) artichoke hearts
  • 150g calamata olives (stones removed)
  • 150g roasted pepers
  • 2 handfuls (30g) fresh basil – torn into pieces
  • 100g pine nuts (or slithered almonds) – toasted (pop under the oven grill for a few minutes)
  • 100g sun-dried tomatoes (preferably marinated) – finely sliced
  • 250g cooked bacon – dice into pieces (smoked salmon/smoked chicken breast/tuna are other great options)
  • 200g goats cheese or feta – crumbled into pieces

Method

Place the cooked pasta into a large bowl, add the pesto and toss through to coat the pasta. Add the rest of the ingredients. If you are serving the pasta warm, add the cheese last just before serving. Garnish with fresh basil or parmesan/pecorino shavings.

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Run Mahana 21.1km – 1 December 2013

Uhum, this was actually a wee bit of a stretch before the start.
Briefing at the Woollaston Estate parking area – the orange caps are the pace setters.
Gerry a few second before the start on a sunny day in Nelson.
On the 1.1km out and back section on the first lap, one could see the front runners. A rare sight for the back of the packers.
Gerry at one of three water tables. Some also had jelly sweets to keep the blood sugar levels intact.
A little helper picking up the used cups.
Always happy to see/be around olive trees!
Prices were up for grabs in the “Mohana” category for Movember.
A clown en route for a bit of entertainment.
More monkey business with just one km to go.
Gerry flying past the vineyard on his way to the finish.
Photo by Shuttersport. The two of us still up for a laugh and a bit of fun.
The famous sculpture at the entrance to the estate.
Lovely venue for the start and finish of the race.
Gerry and I with our Woollaston Sav’s courtesy of the farm.

When Gerry signed up for this event about two month ago, I could barely cover the 5km loop we’ve been using as training for about three weeks. Worst is, it’s mainly downhill! I certainly didn’t expect to run 21km two months later. But we kept at it, did our little training run almost every day and even started to add “long runs” on weekends to get us used to a bit more distance than 5km. Continue reading →