Road running

by

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 →

by

Pelorus Trust Half Marathon

Shortly before the start.
Some participants in singlets and others in three layers. Okey, maybe just myself in three layers.
Briefing by the Race Director.
Gloomy weather.
The buildings provided some welcome protection against the worst winds as we ran through the industrial areas of Lower Hutt.
A nice surprise for us out-of-towners not knowing what the course looks like. A small section on a walkway in the sea.
Still going strong in the suburbs.
Crossing the Melling link railway tracks.
Gerry on the bridge.
From about the 5km mark we ran on the pathway next to the Hutt River.
A little downhill passing under the bridge for the 21.1km runners. From here the half marathon runners did an out-and-back stretch next to the river to make up the extra distance.
Nice to see an HHH in the club, doing the signage. 🙂
Lovely scenery next to the river.
The route is a combination of on-road and off-road sections. This is shortly after the 8km mark, as the front runner came screaming back past us towards the finish.
Not far to go to the turn-around point at 11km.
A friendly wave for the photographer.
Finally on our way back.
The wind got progressively worse on the return-leg next to the river. Maybe I could fly back?
We spotted another Manawatu Strider on the course.
Only one kilometre to go. I was knackered and gutted when I realised I was yet again going to miss the elusive 2hr target.
Festive looking prize-giving.

This has got to be our race of almosts. Firstly I yet again missed the two hours mark with less than a minute (39 seconds, to be exact – too many photo breaks, perhaps?). Secondly Gerry’s name was drawn as “first back-up” to the winners of the major spot-prize (7 days’ accommodation at Rarotonga), meaning that, unless one of the actual winners decided not to take up their prize, we only just missed out on a great island holiday. So close. On the plus side, if any of the actual winners decides not to use their prize for whatever reason, we’re up for a cool holiday – fingers crossed! Continue reading →

by

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 →

by

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 →

by

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 →