Well, here we are – hard to believe it’s 2014 already! It’s the first day of the new year, and with Christmas, New Year’s Eve and all the festivities behind us, we can start to look forward to the year ahead. As corny and silly as new year’s resolutions can be, I guess it’s pretty hard to avoid – even if your main resolution is to not have a new year’s resolutions list, we all secretly have a few things in mind that we want to take on, achieve, improve on, perhaps even avoid or quit. Continue reading
Trail running
Kahuterawa Classic (15.4km leg) – 16 November 2013
Participants arriving at the start of the race.
Mike Tennant, working towards completing 52 races in 52 weeks.
Some back of the pack shenanigans.
In high spirits, despite the challenging hills.
Running in such wonderful hill country makes the miles go by in a flash.
A great little single-track section in the middle of the run.
Running along the hills provide wonderful views of the valleys around Palmerston North.
The last main turn, towards a farm track leading back to the start.
What would a New Zealand country run be without a flock of sheep in the distance?
Hitting the farm track approaching the finish.
Almost there – running along the farm track just before the last long downhill towards the finish.
After a lay-off of ages (and I really mean AGES – it’s been 2 years since we last participated in a road race, and since then our training has been more off than on) we recently decided to make a concerted effort to get back on the road. And knowing ourselves, we realised this was not going to happen if we didn’t have something to train for. So we entered the Classic Hits Run Mahana Half Marathon, scheduled for 1 December.
To make it to a level of fitness that would more or less get us through a 21.1km race by the start of December, we set some intermediate ‘long run’ targets – a 10km run a few weeks ago, 12km the week after that, and then, as our first race in a long, long time, the 15.4km second leg of the Kahuterawa Classic, a marathon split over 3 legs and two days, hosted by our local running club, the Manawatu Striders. Continue reading
Pukeiti Puffer fun run (6-7km) – 1 April 2012
Gerry, me and Henriette – nervously ready for big things.
Numbered and ready for take-off!
Dark clouds looming just before the start.
And we were off!
Me and Henriette, still going strong early in the race.
Queu at the hanging bridge.
The marshal at the hanging bridge making sure no more than four people are simultaneously crossing.
Gerry, on the bridge.
A short sealed section at the turn-around point.
Too much energy!
Henriette on the way back across the bridge.
Roll-call at the finish, making sure that everybody made it safely back.
It’s been four months since we’ve done any running. I honestly don’t think the four 5km run-walk attempts to try and get us back on the road in February, counts for any level of fitness. I huff and puff pretty much like my mom’s bulldog just walking up the 50 metre little incline behind our house!
Kahuterawa Two Day Classic – 19 & 20 November 2011 (43.99km)
Taking shelter from the rain before the start of the 15.42km event.
A handful of participants getting ready for the start of the walking event, with some threatening rain clouds on the horizon.
The field of about 20 participants in the 15km walking event.
Compared to running, passing other participants in a walking event seems to take forever!
Not far now. Gerry on the final stretch towards the finish, with the sun also making a surprise appearance.
The start of the half marathon run. Still rainy and windy.
Alister explaining the course before setting us on our way.
Gerry making the most of the lovely rolling countryside.
One of our busier moments on the run – the Kahuterawa Road out-and-back gravel section on the way to Black Bridge.
The drink station at the Black Bridge turnaround – me in last position.
Gerry and Alister (who manned the water table) having a chat while we take a rest at the start of the Greens Road out-and-back section.
When going so slow as we did, there’s time for playing around with photo opportunities.
Wonderful lunch in the Dransfield’s Woolshed. This race must be the best value for money in all of New Zealand.
Alister handling the prize-giving in the woolshed.
It’s official – I have well and truly run myself unfit. I guess that is what happens if you just pile on the kilometers, plodding away at the same pace without doing any quality sessions. And as we all know – when you go longer, you get slower.
When we ran the 7km section of this event last year, we promised ourselves to do the full event this year. But things don’t always work out as we plan, does it?
T42 trail marathon – 7 May 2011
Gerry and I on Friday afternoon at the race headquarters – The Park Travellers’ Lodge – just after registration and gear check. Nervously brave.
The Park, where registration and gear checks were taking place.
Doing some carbo-loading at the Speights Ale House.
At the start, with a long queue at the porta-loos on the left.
Gerry, making his way through the DOC footbath, just to ease into running wet.
Foam coming from my shoes after the footbath. Remnants of my attempt to eliminate the pong in my shoes.
Hopping over a fence for a loop through a farm.
Gerry going strong on a grassy patch.
In the early stages of the race, when we could still see some other participants.
A wee bit of a view when the clouds subsided.
Running through the water makes it no less wet.
One of many river crossings. Forget about dry feet!
The widest and deepest river crossing en route.
Mud, mud and more mud. Imagine what the MTB’ers looked like.
Gerry enjoying the hospitality of some very friendly volunteers at the water point/aid station.
Some lovely stretches on gravel road.
More mud, with a very apt caution sign for the MTB’ers.
Not far to go.
Relieved smiles at an almost deserted finish.
Tackling another mountain – this time a Mountain Burger at the Speights Ale House. Much appreciated after a day of jelly babies and water.
On Wednesday, 4 May, we received the fourth and final email update from Total Sport concerning the T42 Central Plateau marathon. Things that were covered in the email, included:
- Weather update
- Event contingency date
- Compulsory gear update
- Event course update
- Department of Conservation / Didymo
- Safety on the course
- Event start times & locations
- Course cut-off times
- Aid stations
- Gear drop off at start
- Transport
- Registration at The Park
- Post event at Owhango
- Prize Money
- Event Photos
- Dinner & post event at The Park
Jog around the Blog 