Trail running

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Tora Coastal Challenge mudder madness – 32km

When you’re ankle-deep in the shit, you might as well enjoy it.
In the bus on our way to the Tora Coastal Challenge.
At the race headquarters outside Stony Bay Lodge.
Race briefing. Gerry clearly not paying attention. 🙂 (Notice the clean shoes!)
The start of the 32km run and 18km walk. The 18km run and 6km run and walk started later.
Hugging the coastline, the first few kilometres are on a dirt road.
The drizzle kept us cool initially, but turned rather cold on the ridges.
Runners disappearing into the mist.
Should have known at this point already what lay ahead.
Slippery terrain made going downhill as slow as going up.
Trying to find some stable terrain next to the path.
Streams crossing the road became a blessing, cleaning out the worst mud from your shoes.
Watery mud, sticky mud, or grassy mud – you choose. Shoes staying behind in the mud was a common occurrence.
Slip sliding away…
At times it seemed best to stick to the deeper water where the mud was less slippery.
The first bit of single track – just a muddy mess.
Very slippery on the steep downhills.
Our mud-coloured Wildhorses. These poor shoes will never be the same again.
When you’re not slipping downhill you’re slipping uphill.
Careful route negotiation leading to slow progress.
Any hikers doing the Tora Coastal Walk over the next few weeks are in for a surprise.
Gerry on his bum again. One of many falls on the slippery snot.
How do you run this?
The 18km cut-off point and finish for the 18km event.
Not much left of the walking path.
Very misty and cold on the ridges.
This may have been a single track before runners created new routes to get down the hill.
Muddy silliness.
Bum tracks coming downhill.
The main river crossing of the run.
A waterblaster was necessary to hose off participants before getting into cars and buses etc.

There’s no doubt that this event was a unique challenge, and something I will certainly never forget. The jury is still out, however, on whether it was a positive experience.

To be the proverbial stick in the mud (literally!), allow me to give my very subjective opinion on the event that’s now a week in the past. Just to keep the yin-yang intact, I’ll try to tell it as it was. 😉 At least my experience of the day as a very average (heck, maybe even below average), back-of-the-pack runner. Continue reading →

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Karioi Classic Run – 44km off road

 

The beautiful Mt Karioi – the playing ground for many a runner and cyclist.
Registration at the Fire Station.
Lisa explaining the route.
Beautiful morning with the sun just waiting to poke an eye over Raglan.
Mt Karioi visible in a distance as we made our way out of town. Most other competitors already disappearing into the distance, never to be seen again.
Gerry going strong.
Passing the golf course and me already huffing and puffing.
Gerry flying down the gravel road.
Passing farmlands in the early morning rays of the sun.
A friendly volunteer handing me a cup of water.
Follow the shadows.
Passing typical farm scenes along the way.
Aside from one or two trucks and cars rumbling past, the road was all ours.
Downhill! Finally :-).
Because of the possum infestation, and particularly their night time escapades, possums are often turned into what is locally known as “kiwi speed bumps”.
The loneliness of the long-distance runner. That’s of course if you don’t run with your partner.
Arriving at the first transition point.
Transition point and drinks table at about 15km into the race.
Mt Karioi as seen from another angle. Slowly working our way around the mountain.
Entering the farmland, the terrain changed to grass and paddocks.
The red dirt girl on the red dirt road.
Sharing the green hills with the local farm stock.
Mt Taranaki should be visible on a clear day somewhere in the distance.
Stunning scenery to make you want to sit down, pour a glass and appreciate the moment.
Pigtail pegs marking the route across the paddocks.
The loneliness of the long-distance runner, Part 2.
Lots of muddy sections on the farm roads.
Mud, sweat and tears.
The organisers making sure participants head in the right direction.
The community rallied behind the event – young’uns manning the water station at the 20km mark.
Very appropriate signage after the kids water point. 🙂
Stunning views in abundance on the Karioi Classic.
Huge Manuka (or is it Kanuka?) trees to provide shelter and shadow on hot windy days.
Running back towards Raglan on the ocean side of the mountain.
Volunteers at a very exposed spot on the mountain. Luckily the weather was good, although a bit chilly.
Sixth cyclist from the front and still enough time to take some pics.
Rolling green hills with happy woolly sheep.
Time for a walk break as a bunch of cyclists came past.
Lots of steps on the scenic pathway that leads to the beach.
Run, in the Forest, Run!
Making our way down to the beach.
Being so far towards the back of the field, we reached the beach as the tide was going out, resulting in hard sand and “easy” running.
Only about 4kms to go. Yeah!
Gerry still feeling strong and running well within himself.
Gerry all smiles on the final 2kms.
The grassy bit to the finish felt like it was nine miles long.
Lisa encouraging and congratulating participants at the finish.
Dirk handling the prize-giving.
And moi as the second female finisher in my age category – a first time ever for me! Age has it’s advantages. 😉
Celebrating with a well-earned bubbly.
Watching the sun set after a wonderful day out.

In our buildup towards the Tarawera (I still get sleepless nights every now and again just at the thought that we’ve actually entered for this mammoth event), we opted to do the inaugural Karioi Classic trail run (a 44km run around Mt Karioi) which is luckily mostly just off-road and not very technical. The cycling event has been going for a few years, but this would mark the first running of the Karioi. Initially I was a little reluctant to enter, due to me maybe not being fit enough, Raglan being too far from Palmy and the event probably being to soon after our previous marathon. However, the race sounded so nice that we decided to do it anyway notwithstanding my trepidation – we desperately need time on the trails, and what better way to spent it than with like minded folk (although we were for the most part by ourselves on the trail). And there’s just something about an inaugural, isn’t there? Continue reading →

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Te Mata Terrific Tui 21km trail run (Hawke’s Bay) – 18 May

 

Queueing at registration.
Johann, Nettie, me and Gerry shortly before the start.
Race briefing on a lovely sunny day in Hawke’s Bay.
And away we go – first lap around the cement reservoir and back.
Second lap – the organisers’ plan to spread out the field was definitely effective.
Up and up and up.
Jumping over gates and fences – many times. Red arrows were for the 21km run, blue for the 13 and green for the 7.5.
Beautiful views at the top of the rolling green hills.
On private land with lots of fence crossings.
Nice downhill section through a paddock.
Up and up again.
A wee dam on the farm.
Poor startled sheep not sure which way to go.
Gerry coming out the redwood forest.
A hilly section on the Te Mata track.
Single track paths once you reach the Te Mata track.
Some very steep and technical sections needs to be negotiated.
What goes down, must go up. The trig point is visible at the top where the only marshal en route takes down race numbers.
Finally at the highest point with wonderful views over Hawke’s Bay.
Serious downhill swithbacks to quickly get down the hill.
Down, down, down. Finally.
Deja vu! Our second outing on the Te Mata track after following the earlier markers.
Sausage sizzle in the lovely countryside.

When last did you find yourself knee-deep in poo? Not that it is a prerequisite for this event, but if the opportunity presents itself, why not grab it with all four paws? Continue reading →

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Great Forest Events – Waitarere half marathon (12 April 2014)

Me shortly before the start.
A rare sight – Gerry doing a “warm up stretch”.
The huge field of runners being walked to the start.
And many more still behind us.
Quickly squeezing out a few more drops before the start. 🙂
These red numbers turned out to be the marathon runners’ signage. Our 2km mark was still a couple of hundred metres further.
If the race becomes any bigger, congestion might become a problem.
A beautiful run in the forest.
Gerry too fast for the little camera and the lack of light in the forest on a cloudy day.
Manawatu River is reached at around the 13km mark.
In a small clearing, Gerry is rehydrating at one of the many water tables.
A lovely run in a pine forest.
Me trying to go as fast as I can.
Gerry still going strong.
Yeah! Couldn’t have come sooner. I was buggered by then.
Flying to the finishing line.
So close, so close.
Every finisher received a medal. A rare commodity in NZ.
Gerry just as he got his medal.
Happy to have finished the first of our back-to-back 21s for the weekend.

The Great Forest Events saw its 18th running this year and boasted a whopping 3243 finishers over all 8 disciplines: 42.2km run and walk, 21.1km run and walk, 10km run and walk, and a 5km run and walk. With the Rotorua marathon only 3 weeks away, we decided to do back-to-back half marathons as our weekend long run.

Continue reading →

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Windrush Windfarm Adventure – a fun walk, run or ride event

The start of all the events. Cyclists getting ready.
The runners/walkers in the 2.7km event taking off. Great to see so many youngsters taking part.
The almost complete field of runners and one walker.
Shortly after the start, already the first bit of a climb.
Probably the steepest down and uphill on the course. It’s steeper than the photo suggests, trust me!
The finish area of the cycling tour some 100 metres from the Windrush start/finish.
Trying to get to grips to the size of one of the blades.
Gerry passing 3 massive turbine blades in storage.
Lovely blue skies and a cool breeze made for perfect running conditions.
Cattle and sheep roam the farm.
When not on farm roads, you follow the mowed grass.
Another fairly significant climb.
Gerry speeding by in a blur with the Manawatu Gorge and River below.
A unique view on the Manawatu Gorge.
Happiness is …
Back at the finish.

After our “long-run” the previous day (about 10km) we decided to partake in the inaugural Windrush event of approximately 6km the next day as a “shakedown” (a term used by friends for the recovery run the day-after a hard session). Not that we are even close to double-sessions, cool-down/recovery runs or any other such technical things. But it sounded fancy, so there you have it :-).

Continue reading →