Running events

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Round the Vines – half marathon

At the start: Gerry, Nettie, Johann and me.
A more colourful than usual race briefing.
The start of the half marathon.
On our way shortly after the start.
First water station.
Me flying past the vines.
The road leading through Alana Estate.
Second water station. More goodies to tempt the runners.
Meandering through the wine farms.
Lovely views while running through the vineyards.
Close encounters with a vine.
More fancy dress fun at the third water station.
One man show.
Full band providing great entertainment.
The split for the half and 10 on the first round.
Gerry on the extra loop for the half marathon.
“Garage” band.
Water station #4 – Gerry happy with his Sav.
“As I was trying to say …”
Water station #5.The range of goodies at these water stations was quite amazing.
The detour taking you through the school grounds.
Water station #6 on the school grounds.
Round number 2.
One man show.
One woman show.
A “thank you” from the school as you pass through their grounds.
Full band providing entertainment at the school.
The finish. Me still wondering how on earth I’m meant to cover 42.2km in 6 weeks time!

When first we stumbled upon this event, to be staged in the lovely town of Martinborough, we just knew it is a must do. We need to include long runs on weekends as training for the Rotorua marathon anyway, and what better way to do it than in events with lots if other runners. It’s much easier when you know you are not alone out there covering 20+km by yourself.

Continue reading →

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Super Seven Series – races 6 and 7

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All good things must come to an end. Gerry on his way to the finish of the final event in the series.

Isn’t it amazing how time flies when you’re having fun? In a blink of an eye, two weeks have come and gone. And I don’t even have much to show for it.

Race 6 of the Super 7s was again a time trial session for us and we both managed to improve our times over the 7km course. Gerry’s time was a fair bit better, but mine not so much – only five seconds. I managed a 40:45 while Gerry ran a worthy time of 32:30 – more than a minute and a half faster than his previous attempt. Well done my Dear!

Race 7 was more of a recovery run after the 21.1km event two days before, so we had a nice easy jog to finish in about 45 minutes.

The Manawatu Striders had a welcoming event for new members, and also to say thank-you to all the hard working bees that helped to stage the events every Tuesday for the past seven weeks. Lovely eats and drinks were provided and a few lucky draws of free entries to the Striders’ half marathon were handed out, and I’m stoked to be one of the lucky recipients! Thank you Striders.

With the series at an end, we’ve decided to find ourselves a flattish course of around 5 to 7km to use as a time trial every now and again (weekly maybe?) to gauge our progress.

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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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Running for Research at the AMI Round the Bays

In less than 2 weeks time, Wouna and I hope to be lining up for the 2014 AMI Round the Bays Half Marathon in Wellington. The race has been on our radar for a couple of years, mainly because a major theme of the event is Running for Research, with all participants having the opportunity to set up a sponsorship page to help collect funds for the event’s main beneficiary, the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research. Continue reading →