Road running

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Becoming an Asics road tester

Hitting the pavement in my road tester Asics Gel-Kayano 21's. Officially a stability shoe, it also doubles as a very comfortable cushioned shoe for neutral runners.

Hitting the pavement in my road tester Asics Gel-Kayano 21’s. Officially a stability shoe, it also doubles as a very comfortable cushioned shoe for neutral runners.

A few months ago I accidentally (probably through a link on Facebook or something) came across an invite for people to register as testers for Asics running shoes. Having run in Asics most of my running career, I jumped at the opportunity – who wouldn’t want to receive a free pair of a favourite running shoe, with the only requirement being to actually run in the shoes, and then give some feedback on your experience? Sounds like a plum deal to me!

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The Flying Pink Marathon – a jolly great run!

Date: 30 November 2014
Time: 4:58

The two of us with Michael, who completed his 522nd marathon at this event.
The rather small field shortly before the start.
And away we fly!
In the streets of Upper Hutt.
HHH signage on the sidewalk.
The course took in some interesting urban features.
Water station #3.
It takes all sorts: a Kiwi doing his 178th, an ex-Saffer on 20 and a visiting Brit completing his second marathon.
A lovely little off road stretch next to the Hutt River.
Gerry making the most of the trail.
Enjoying the off-road stretch away from traffic.
Gerry still going strong at about the 19km mark.
For a city marathon, the race included quite a diverse range of scenery.
My favourite outfit!
High-fives all round.
Out of town into the farming area.
Halfway!
Having a laugh with other amazing runners – Mel being on 117 marathons.
We may be the rookies in this field, but we had loads of fun.
Another great outfit in the spirit of Michael’s trade-mark speedo.
Running into Michael on our way back for a quick hug.
Next to the river coming back.
Hungry anyone?
More HHH signage both ways.
Look for trains!
Water station #1 (also the last one on the way back).
Only a few more metres.
The finish between the two cones, right where we started.
Prize-giving.
Gerry and I were both lucky draw winners!
A great idea to use recycled medals from the Dunedin marathon. 🙂
List of participants in the early start.
List of participants in the medium paced group.
The list of fast runners.

The Flying Pink marathon is the brainchild of Michael Stewart – the man who’s done the most marathons in the Southern Hemisphere.

After running into Michael at the Rotorua marathon earlier this year, I was curious to hear his story. His characteristic pink speedo and the sheepskin padding on his backpack is hard to miss. I’m sure there’s not a runner in NZ who doesn’t know of his achievements, but to me, he was (and still is, to a certain extent) a stranger. All I overheard in a short conversation with a fellow runner coming past, was that the Rotorua was his 515th or some such number marathon. I thought my hearing must have failed me during this bit of accidental eavesdropping as I could not believe that anyone could have achieved such a feat!

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Ashhurst to Esplanade – not quite a half marathon (20.8km)

Date: 23 November 2014

Time: 2:03.10

Start of the 20.8km walkers.
Shortly before the start of the 20.8km run.
The field of runners rounding the Ashhurst Domain oval.
Was this section meant for the guys and girls wanting to do a full half marathon?
The fairly new path next to the Manawatu River from Ashhurst.
Could only catch up with fellow Strider, Sheryl, around the 3km mark.
The Higgins Depot.
Easy going on the gravel roads around Higgins.
Some beautiful, tranquil sections.
Rounding the corner shortly before reaching the main buildings of the Higgins Depot.
Exiting Higgins land, we reached the second water station just before turning left onto Te Matai Road.
Just past halfway, counting down to the finish.
A nice bit of downhill on the otherwise very flat course on our way to the Bridle Track.
Grateful to have helpers who are willing to sacrifice their Sunday morning to support runners and walkers.
Back in known territory, running along the Palmy Bridle Track.
The section of the Bridle Track next to the river with Elderflowers in full bloom.
The Gas Works Drain bridge. Not the most romantic name, but a scenic little feature on the route nonetheless.
Some sections next to the river can be quite exposed in bad weather, but luckily we had no such problems on a near-perfect morning.
Evidence of the blustery winds of the past few weeks.
Just the short bit through the Esplanade gardens …
… before we reached the finish.
Club President, Kevin, welcoming participants back at the club house, with some of the organising team in the back.

The weather in the weeks leading up to the A2E was, in a word, atrocious. Terrible winds, hail storms and even a mini tornado lashed the country and my hopes for a peaceful fun run in the sun was in the balance. But miracles do happen and on the morning of the event, the most perfect day greeted us. I could hardly believe my luck. The last thing I wanted was another long run fighting gusty winds and/or rain, but thankfully Huey was good to us.

The Manawatu Striders are known for staging great events and this one was no different. Being an inaugural could potentially spell a couple of glitches, but true to their organisation skills everything ran smoothly. At least in our experience as participants in the 20.8km run event.

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Wairarapa Country Marathon

 

Gerry about 8 seconds before the start.
A beautiful morning as the sun rises over paddocks and lakes.
Henley Lake in the background.
Quaint letterbox. 🙂
Gerry on his way to the first water point.
With the sun still only just out, it’s hard not to also get the photographer in the pic.
Early morning wonderland.
Running in rural Wairarapa.
Between farms and cattle filled paddocks.
Signage to indicate where runners should go, as there aren’t many marshals en route.
Almost a quarter of the way done. I knew then already that the 32km trail run of the previous weekend was still in my legs.
First run in a while that I’ve ended up in a t-shirt!
For some reason a farmer dumped his lamb tails next to the road?
Hehe – couldn’t help but have a laugh at this sight!
First lap done, onto number two.
Over the Waipoua River.
Clear instructions along the way.
Crossing the Ruamahanga River.
Amusing rural distance markers.
Heeha!
Lovely scenery en route.
Only about two kilometres to go. Yey!
Prize-giving.

This is another of those events that we’ve been looking to do for the last couple of years. Being “reasonably fit” this year in our attempt to run 100km in February 2015, Gerry entered us for the Wairarapa Country Marathon as buildup towards our main goal. Being well aware that I haven’t remotely recovered from the 32km trail run of the previous week, we were entered and was going to push through. Neither of us are ill or injured and we need the mileage, so with no excuses we drove through on the Saturday afternoon.

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Hatuma Lime Half Marathon

All smiles at the start of the race: Johann and Nettie who joined us again for this event, moi and Gerry.
A large-ish field for a small town event.
Some super heroes also took part. I was trying to catch the “well endowed” banana, but he stayed a few hundred metres in front of us.
And away we go! The blue t-shirt worn by the lady in front of us is the official race t-shirt, kindly sponsored by Hatuma Lime.
Nettie and Johann in the first kilometre which is an out-and-back stretch to make up the distance for a 21.1km event.
Me at the second turn, finally about to head out on the open road.
A typical scene of me in three layers while the locals wear T’s and shorts.
The snow-capped mountains made for beautiful scenery (and a bit of a nip in the air).
Country ro-o-ads, take me h-o-o-ome!
A nice chap next to the road had beers on offer. Would have loved to just park there and share a couple of beers with him. Next time!
The transition and water points were usually a jollyfication with lots of supporters and team members cheering runners on.
Fly, fly away.
The last few kilometres are run in the streets of Waipukurau.

I recently read in Runner’s World magazine that a PB has an expire date … of about 3 years or so. And here I thought I could still claim my PB’s from when I was in my early thirties.

But I think most runners have an urge, or a longing to reach those goals that have always been eluding you. Whether it’s a 5km, 10km, half or full marathon (or whatever distance), there will always be a little voice in the back of your head wondering if you can still go faster. Even if you’re 15 years older and much weaker. And even though it hasn’t been a conscious decision for me to try and improve on my fastest 21.1km time, I have been hoping to still one day complete a marathon in under four hours. I have never really trained for it, and with 4 hours being a very reasonable target, I’m sure it’s still do-able. Continue reading →