Road running

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Manawatu Striders Half Marathon

A few minutes before the start of the half marathon.
All smiles in anticipation of the run ahead on a glorious day with near perfect weather. [Photo by Johann vd Merwe]
The start of the 21.1km. Chris Sanson in the middle, also the overall winner. [Photo courtesy of Rob Weir, Manawatu Striders]
Gerry speeding towards the finish line. [Photo by Johann vd Merwe]
The finish line at the Massey Rec site with Gerry approaching the finish banner. [Photo by Johann vd Merwe]
Me with only a few more metres to go. And June at the finish to welcome me back with a hug. Thanks June! [Photo by Johann vd Merwe]
At the prize-giving with Club President Kevin Palmer. I was very surprised to have won the club female Handicap Cup. [Photo courtesy of Rob Weir, Manawatu Striders]
Gerry also winning the male Handicap Cup. [Photo courtesy of Rob Weir, Manawatu Striders]

I think it’s fair to say that I’m not a very competitive animal. Or am I?

I run for fun. I would never be able to win an event, or be amongst the first 10, or 100 finishers (unless there’s only ten participants), so I don’t do fartleks, or hill repeats or speed work. I just run, for myself and the sense of achievement when completing the odd serious challenge. And for my health. When your doctor and your cardiologist plus your dietician all agree that you should run, you run boy. No questions asked. Every now and again, for whatever reason (wintery weather? laziness?), we take ‘breaks’, where we would completely stop running for a couple of months. But usually we get into again, not without lots of swearing and complaining for allowing ourselves to lose all our fitness and having to start right at the bottom again – what a pain! One great way to break out of an “off” streak, is to enter for an event that would border on the “crazy” side for most non-runners. I firmly believe one should do things that scares you a little. Life begins the moment you step out of your comfort zone, right? And that’s more or less the gist of our running regime for the past 14 years. Continue reading →

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Fun on the fifteen – Manawatu Striders winter series (15km)

The club house where the events start and finish.
Inside at registration.
Runners huddled around the course maps.
More runners studying the different routes.
Course maps for the 3km, 5km, 10km and 15km events.
A chilly start, but glad the rain held off.
Not long before the start.
And off we went, rather unexpectedly.
The well known first couple of kms, same as the Super 7s route.
Passing under the Manawatu Bridge.
Me at full speed coming down Fitzherbert Street.
Crossing the Manawatu Bridge on our way to Massey Uni.
Sticking to the walkway, the course passes through a couple of tunnels under the roads.
Gerry making his way up the second hill on Massey campus. A few people had to backtrack after going straight ahead instead of turning right.
Striders on the out-and-back section next to the sports ground on Massey campus.
Lovely to see so many Striders. Time for me to start remembering fellow club members’ names, me thinks!
More Striders.
Gerry at the turn of the first out-and-back section.
June having fun en route!
Al and Cath.
The out-and-back section at the Massey agricultural research farm, opposite Massey Campus.
Still going strong.
Gerry approaching the Manawatu Bridge. Less than 2kms to go.
Speeding across the bridge towards the finish.
About 1km to go.
Margaret doing great in the walkers event.
Bananana! I hope the banana handouts at the end of events never stop.
Warm coffee, tea, hot chocolate and biscuits in the clubhouse. What a way to end a wonderful event.
Al and Cath approaching the finish.

It’s that time of the year again; freezing nights, frosty mornings and the garlic shoots just starting to poke their heads out of the ground in your vege patch.

It is also time for the Manawatu Striders Winter Series. I will never forget our previous running of these events in 2011 when the windscreen of the car was so frozen, that it took several buckets of water to clear a patch. As soon as the water hit the windscreen, it would just freeze again. That was on the 10km event earlier in July. The 15km was a fair bit warmer at about the same time of the month than this time around, if my memory serves me well. Winter arrived late this year and to top it off, it has been unseasonably warm. Grass was growing in full force, my asparagus still hasn’t died down to recuperate for next years season and our olive grove is full of new growth.

Continue reading →

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Norsewood to Takapau – 21.1km

What to do when you’re a crowd of three? If not the three musketeers, the three wise men, three blind mice, three little pigs, three Stooges or the Bee Gees, it has to be the three wise monkeys!
Registration in the Gallipoli Room, Community Centre Norsewood.
Nettie, myself and Gerry at the start on a lovely sunny, albeit chilly, morning. [Photo © Johann van der Merwe]
Brand spanking new shoes for Nettie and Johann. Don’t think it is necessary to “run in” trainers these days anymore. [Photo © Johann van der Merwe]
Coronation Street, Norsewood. Bustling with activity outside the registration venue.
Race briefing. The cyclists in front of the runners. [Photo © Johann van der Merwe]
Participants were invited to dress up for the event, but only a few fancy dress outfits were around at the start.
Looks like a huge field shortly after the start. Keeping clear of other runners, cyclists and support vehicles proved quite a challenge on the very narrow country roads.
Going strong on a sunny, cold morning.
Lots of rain the previous night made the roads shine in the sun.
Beautiful scenery in rural NZ with snow on the Ruahines. [Photo © Johann van der Merwe]
A short out-and-back section with the turnaround point at the 5km mark.
Not sure what the scarecrow in the front was trying to do … :-). [Photo © Johann van der Merwe]
Johann with a bounce in his step thanks to his new shoes, while Nettie is jogging along comfortably.
A nice downhill in a valley.
Blue skies and a winter sun helping to warm us up.
Yeah! The 10km point also had a “woohoo” in the road. These types of signs give me a smile everytime.
I just love these country runs.
Waterpoint with friendly volunteers. Three en route at approximately 5km intervals.
Very happy to have a sunny run after the night’s rain.
Rolling green hills in the countryside. [Photo © Johann van der Merwe]
The last kilometres is run through the small town of Takapau.
Johann and Nettie still looking strong at finished.
Just a couple more steps.

Since the Wellington marathon three weeks ago, we ran an average of four times per week. Not too bad, I guess, but not as much as I hoped. There were too many days of foul weather and laziness. We also did a trail run, the first of many more to come leading up to the Tarawera 100. Yep, we took the plunge and entered for the beast – something I’ve been wanting to do for the past few years. (Am I repeating myself?)

As is always the case (at least for me) with your weekly long-run training, it is so much nicer to cover the distance with other people. Knowing you’ve got company out there, even if you don’t utter a single word to anyone else, is enough to make the run easier. The joys of running for most people might be that they get alone time. Time to switch off and have only their own thoughts to keep them company. I get that. I do that too! But I still prefer to have other people around, just to see them even if I am caught up in my own thoughts and pretty much ignoring everybody else. Continue reading →

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Armstrong Wellington Marathon

Still fairly dark (and cold!) outside at the start of the marathon.
Westpac Stadium, start and finish venue for the race. Great to start a race at a venue with almost more toilets than participants! 🙂
From Westpac, down the ramp and onto the street. The low light made for some rather arty photos.
At about the 8km mark, still going strong.
The “W” of the Wellington sign was changed to a “V”, to coincide with the launch of a local vampire movie, “What we did in the Shadows”.
The whole run hugs the coastline.
The turn around point at Scorching Bay.
And the second time around, each time collecting a rubber band..
Beautiful rays of sunlight shining on the ferry for a brief moment.
Might not look like it, but a chilly wind was cutting around these exposed corners.
Gerry and Johann still going strong.
Only 12.2km to go! Fatigue and silliness starting to set in.
The busy walkway behind Te Papa in the last 3 kms.
A bit of sun for the final stretch. Gerry still smiling.
Up the ramp and only the final few hundred metres to the finish.
The three colours rubber bands you collect at every turn around point.

For the past four years since moving to Palmy, we’ve been keen on running the Wellington marathon as a birthday present to myself. I know, that might sound a bit odd to most people, but to treat yourself to something that’s healthy and good for your soul seems to me like a wonderful gift. Especially if you could make sure that you’re fit enough to enjoy the distance rather than it being torture. Continue reading →

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The Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon – 3 May 2014

Government Gardens, buzzing with people on the Friday afternoon.
Funky signage leading to the Expo and registration.
Busy crowds at the Expo.
Gerry in the queue to pick up his race pack.
All sorted. Race numbers with timing chips, Ts and goodie bags.
Nervous excitement.
Woohoo – yours truly, who seldom wins anything, got a Asics hip pouch as one of the minor spot prizes.
Even more nervous excitement shortly before the start on Saturday morning.
50 golden balloons were released by veterans of the race, to commemorate the 50th running of the Rotorua marathon.
At the start – the official starting banner somewhere way up ahead.
A haka to send us off. Goosebump moments.
Lots of runners making their way through town.
Lovely autumn colours all along the route.
Two down. Only a touch over 40 to go!
Misty morning, and a bit on the chilly side for me.
Porta-loo’s at all 12 Aid stations. How amazing is that!
Maori carvings next to the road.
I love the sounds of bagpipes on a run – it always reminds me of runs of yesteryear.
Champagne breakfast party – a long term tradition.
Gerry still going strong with Lake Rotorua in the back.
Wonderful aid stations with water and every second one with Powerade.
Musicians adding to the festive feel of the event.
A pretty big lake to circumnavigate.
A beautiful section of the road that was closed to traffic.
Finally we reached 21km, nearly halfway.
More entertainment.
Goodness me – how far can it be!
Luckily more entertainment to keep us going.
Still smiling, or grinding teeth?
Like a horse that smelled home, I just kept going.
Only the finish shoot left.
Very happy (although pretty sore) to have reached the end.
How’s this for luck – I also won a major spotprize! A Timex Health Tracker watch!!
Luckily Gerry noticed my name – I was too buggered to notice much.
The best part – a celebratory bubbly next to the lake.

For 42km I could not find my rhythm or my mojo and therefore also never got into any kind of zone or that happy feeling of “I’m so comfortable I can do this all day long”. Due to various reasons, some quite private (let’s say I had a migraine and an upset stomach), I counted myself lucky to be able to toe the line at the start of the 50th Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon. I had no injuries or great illness to keep me away and marathons like these don’t come along everyday so there we were.

We drove through on the Friday after a hectic week at the office, happy to get away from it all for a while. Gerry booked us into a lovely campsite – Waiteti Trout Stream Holiday Park & Backpackers. After registration and a stroll through the expo (where I was the winner of a lucky spot prize – an Asics waist poach) at the Rotorua Energy Event Centre, we arrived after dark at the cabin. With its own kitchenette we wasted no time to get tea sorted: fried rice with onion, green pepper, tuna and corn, washed down with a cuppa.

As I was physically not at my best, we got to bed early. But all that amounted to was a very long sleepless night. Grumpy and feeling like a train wreck I briefly considered bailing. Needless to say, I didn’t have my best run. But my troubles aside.

As this was the 50th birthday of the Rotorua marathon, the organisers went to great lengths to make this a very special event. About 9000 runners and walkers entered, making this one of the biggest events in the country. Not only does it boast a huge field, but the scenery for the most part is also quite spectacular.

The start and finish is at the Rotorua Energy Event Centre and because of the huge field of participants we ended up way towards the back. It took us about 6 minutes to reach the start. Before the gun went off, 50 golden balloons were released into the sky. Dave Heine, who was the winner of the very first Rotorua marathon 50 years ago, had the honours of firing the cannon indicating the start of the marathon. As reported in the Rotorua Daily Post:

“When he won the inaugural race in 1965 the field included 16 runners and was called the Fletcher Rotorua Marathon, organised by the Rotorua Athletic and Harrier Club. It has come a long way, with more than 9000 participants expected to take part this Saturday for the 50th anniversary event. Heine was living in Rotorua when he won the first event and said he had entered simply to do a training run. “I fancied myself as a middle-distance runner,” Heine said. “I entered the marathon as part of a training run for my middle-distance stuff.” About two-thirds of the way through he realised he had a chance of winning. “I thought I could pick up a few of the guys in front. I don’t know if it was me coming through or them dropping off, but I won.” Heine won the first marathon in 2hr 35min 3sec.”

The 21 km event were set of at 8:00, and 20 minutes later the marathon runners, followed shortly after by the marathon walkers. The 10.5km and 5.5km events were underway at 8:50.

As the cannon fired, a Maori troupe performed a haka to send us off. A rather memorable start to a great event. In true big race fashion the start and finish shoot were also lined with supporters. Although misty and fairly cold to start off with, the weather could not have been more perfect. A minimum of 4 degrees went up to 17 maximum, with just a slight breeze and a few clouds.

The first few kilometres is run though town until you reach SH5. The course loops the lake in a clockwise direction and after the fork that takes you to Hamilton, you take the right turn and follow the Ngongotaha Road. Although the course can be rated as flat to undulating, there are a couple of hills to negotiate. At about the halfway mark the biggest hill and probably the highest point is enough to reduce quite a few runners to a walk.

Being a relatively “small town” event probably helps to make this the most social run on the calendar. Community involvement makes being out on the road really special. Just about the whole course was lined with supporters and spectators urging runners on. We also found that a lot of the locals jumped in with snacks of all kinds that were offered to runners. From Vegemite sandwiches, a variety of jelly sweets, and pineapple juice to free hugs. 🙂

As everything was a battle for me the halfway mark could not come quick enough. A timing vehicle was parked next to the road and it didn’t help my mood to see that the first half took me about 2:20. The only thing I remember about that special occasion is that I had no idea how I would make it to the end.

Small settlements are dotted all around the lake and the spectacular views made a huge difference to the otherwise very difficult task at hand. Lots of motivational posters specific to runners made by their family and friends were all along the route. And Massey University as one of the sponsors also put up encouraging posters every few kilometres. Bands were playing, bells were ringing and with no shortage of entertainment next to the road, one can’t help but persevere and just keep on keeping on.

Aid stations were all loaded with water and every second one with Powerade, and were about every 4 kilometres – 12 in total. Porta-loo’s were also at all the aid stations, so if you miss one, no worries, there will be another one in 4km.

For me the kilometres came slower and slower, especially after the 30km mark, and every kilometre or so I was reduced to a walk. I desperately wanted to get to the end, especially on very sore legs and feet (on top of other health issues), but could barely get myself to move forward, let alone at a faster pace. After what felt like an eternity we finally reached the town again with only a few more kilometres to go. And at the 40km mark it dawned on me that I could walk to the end and might still make it in at least 5hours.

By then the streets were lined with spectators and supporters cheering, cars hooting and high-fives from kids until you reach the finish shoot for more cheering and clapping for the final couple of hundred metres. What a spectacular finish to a wonderful event.

I am ashamed to admit that I was really happy and relieved to be done with it – which is really not why we do these things. We finished in 4:48 and I could barely believe my luck to be the winner of one of the major spot prizes – a Timex Health Tracker watch!

Back at the cabin, we had a nice warm shower before strolling the 300 metre to the lake for the left over rice meal and some celebratory bubbly, while the setting sun created beautiful colours over the calm lake and surrounding hills.

This event should definitely be on every runner/walker’s bucket list. We might just be back next year.