Training

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Pillar to Pou

Date: 13 June
Distance: 36km
Time: 5:40

Friday started as usual; breakfast, then Gerry went to work. He was taking a half day, so that we could leave a bit earlier for the trip to Taupo. I made food and snacks and got everything packed in the morning, and by 2pm we were on our way.

We arrived at our accommodation at about 17:30, checked in and got the little fan heater going. It was quite nippy outside, but overall I think we were lucky with the weather. We could easily stroll the 600m to registration with nary a breeze as we watched darkness fall over Lake Taupo. Red at night, shepherds delight.

It is the second time this event took place and looking at the results, the first time wasn’t nearly as big. Less than 200 runners from my understanding. This time 1200 runners and walkers made it a ‘sold out’ event of which 180 were solo runners (which we entered as to allow for some running if we chose to), 18 solo walkers and the rest were teams. The plan was to walk the whole way, to see how we managed continuous long-distance walking at a reasonable clip. 

The event only started at 10:00 allowing for a relaxing beginning to a freezing (one or two degrees Celsius depending on which source you look at) misty morning. Our accommodation was about 100 metres from the river walkway (event course). Shortly after 7am Gerry moved our car to a parking spot right next to the walkway. This meant we could leave our food and extra gear within super easy reach. They have a drop bag area for participants without a support crew, but I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my phone or other valuables there. And I did not want to carry my phone on all laps – just the first and last laps to take some photos.

The plan was to do 36km, 5 laps. Each lap is 7.3km which, as anyone who knows me will know, is too long. If laps are involved I prefer shorter and preferably not longer than 3km maximum. Five laps in six hours meant 1:12 for each lap. I can’t walk that fast, so we had to jog a kilometre or so on each lap.

The nice thing about out-and-back laps (as apposed to loop laps) is that you see all the other participants all the time; coming from the front, or passing you from behind, only to be seen again coming from the front. It makes it very social, and we identified a young runner with a bucket hat whom we ended up looking out for. I liked his tenacity and eventually we rooted for him to win! Funny how you can get ‘involved’ in something or someone you don’t know from a bar of soap.

At the start and with the excitement of everyone dashing off, we decided to jog the first bit, at least until we reached the car after about 500 metres. We could then drop our multiple extra layers for the start which was very handy. After that we walked some before jogging a bit again after the turnaround point at the far end. This is also where the other waterpoint is (the first one being at the start and finish). Coincidentally we never ventured into the start-finish aid station the whole day. We had our own aid station in the back of the car with a variety of goodies: gherkins, prosciutto, date bread, date balls, jelly snakes, liquorice toffees, even hot home made soup in a thermos.

Once we were on our way on the first lap, fresh and rested, it almost seemed very possible to do six laps, 44km. I know I am definitely not in a place to do that kind of distance, but it is easy to get caught up in the excitement. We recalculated our run and walk times for each lap, figuring out how we can achieve a lap an hour with the least amount of running, but after a while I decided we have to be sensible. Haha. So we stayed with the five-laps plan. 

And just as well, as after the third lap I could feel my legs and especially my feet getting tired. We tried to finish each lap in exactly 1:08, meaning a wee jog of about one kilometre somewhere along each lap.  With a very small incline towards the halfway mark of the lap, we ended up walking the first half so as not to have to run the ‘uphill’. 

The Pou is located in Te Ātea, a gathering space devoid of vehicles The previous time we were in Taupo this area was still a road. The pou is a beautiful carving by master carver Delani Brown made from a 2,000-year-old Totara tree. The thirteen metal pillars surrounding the main pou represent the 13 rivers that flow into Lake Taupo. Outside the thirteen pou are four timber that illustrate the four compass points, the four seasons, the four elements, amongst others.

Free beers (Asahi), bananas, and apples were at the finish. We strolled back to the car, drove across the road and up the driveway back to our accommodation, fired up the little fan heater again, had a shower and some bubbly before sauntering another couple of kilometres to a restaurant for some delicious food.

I had aches and pains in places I don’t have when running that distance. Which is good, I guess. Just goes to show how different the two disciplines are. Lots of work still to do before March next year.

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A trip to Nelson

Date: 8 June
Distance: 20km

I tried my luck with Changing Threads again this year, and was lucky to be a finalist again. Twice a finalist, and twice rejected over the past five years (the competition didn’t run in 2025). That’s the way it goes – you win some, you lose some. While I wasn’t sure that it was worth making a trip to the awards function and opening of the exhibition, Gerry was keen to make it a long weekend away, so booked our flights and accommodation.

Driving down to Wellington early the Friday morning, about a two hour trip, it was raining – at times, cats and dogs. On the way we received an email from Air NZ offering a credit due to flights hanging in the balance; delays, cancellations. Gerry called the accommodation to see if they might offer a refund or credit, but we had no luck from them. So we figured we may as well get ourselves to Wellington and see what happens with the flights. And as it turned out, everything was fine. Our flight went ahead on time as planned. Luckily we didn’t take the voluntary credit option, as it is a nuisance at best. If you don’t have anything to use the credit on at a later stage, you lose out eventually. 

While down in Nelson for the awards function and browsing the galleries, meeting other textile artists which I only knew through Instagram, we decided to take one day and jog-walk some tracks and trails. 

On the Sunday morning we made our way down towards the sea where we could link up with the Matai River and walkway. On the way we bought a small bottle of water to take with, while we also took a banana on the run. We have done this route previously (https://jogaroundtheblog.co.nz/2021/08/10/nelson-runs/). Creatures of habit? I could see how much the, at the time newly planted trees and shrubs along the track have grown over the past five years. 

After we passed Black Hole, a swimming and BBQ spot, I started searching for a pee stop. In a distance was a car park and the hope was that there might be a loo. Reaching the car park (without a loo) we asked a gentleman who was getting his dog back in the car after his walk where we could find public toilets. He directed us back the way we came but just across a huge park. We had the banana there as we could get rid of the peel also. 

We decided to walk up Botanical Hill again which is the surveying centre point of New Zealand. We approached it from a different side than the previous time, which was a nice change of scenery. Coming back down we called in at the Suter Gallery for a coffee, before heading home for lunch.

We are currently on a bit of a walking spree, trying to gain walking fitness for longer trail events, and so opted to jog about 5km and walk all the rest. We covered about 14km. Content, we went back to our accommodation for some sustenance.

After some olives, cured meats and pickles, and fruit, we headed out again on another track not too far from the Admirals Motor Inn where we stayed. This time is was the hills behind Nelson, and we went for the Grampians Tracks were we did about 6km of up and down.

At the start of the track we encountered a cute cat. And then I noticed all the white feathers on the ground. Not sure if it was the cat’s work, but there was nothing other than the white feathers. No body parts. Did they come from a cushion? Not that many birds in NZ have a lily white plume, apart from the heron. And of course the rare white tui or fantail. And of course there are sea birds in the area, but it just seemed somewhat unusual.

We walker up the Collingwood Track to a grassy patch near the top where some sheep were grazing. It looked very peaceful with beautiful views across the town. A pair was having a picnic there and we also saw some other walkers on the network of tracks. Although it was chilly, it was nice outside and a good walk. If hill training was your thing, this track would be a good daily outing. 

Coming down the hill we followed the Tawa Track and before we knew it we were back at the bottom, but on a different road from where we started. We started on Van Diemen Street and finished on Endeavour Street.  

Back at our accommodation we showered and went out for dinner. With 20+km in our legs it was a good finish to our weekend. 

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I need a goal

Date: 23 May
Distance: 26km
Time: 4:06

Ever since the new highway (Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway) openend in June 2025 linking Ashhurst with Woodville on the other side of the Tararua Range, we’ve been wanting to cross over by foot on the shared path next to the highway. We have done a number of outings, walking up the hill for 5km, turn around, and jog back down. I have been curious about what the rest of the path looks like.

But let me backtrack a little. I may have mentioned this before, but since COVID we have ‘cooled off’ somewhat regarding our running and participation in events. We did, however, manage to always keep on trucking in one form or another, mostly just a 4km trot down the road a few times a week. This meant we could ramp up the mileage somewhat to complete the odd marathon or half marathon over the last six years. It didn’t feel like we had any real goals or going anywhere with our running. I did toy with the idea of doing a 100 miler a couple of times, but it didn’t stick. Winter and Spring would be difficult to train due to lots of unpleasant weather, and come Summer it would be too late. Unless I set myself a lofty goal and really mean it, I have no chance of even getting somewhat fitter. So, I’m back to toying with that 100 miles idea. About a month ago we even drew up a broad sort of training plan with interim goals to get us there.

Let’s see how long this one lasts.

As part of the plan, we decided to fit in a long walk to see how our bodies would handle it. Of course walking is a different ‘sport’ to running, which is why lots of runners really slow down in the second half of very long events (and I count myself amongst them) simply because they haven’t trained enough to walk. Especially for extended periods. Who has the time! I know for a fact that if I was to attempt a 100km or 100 mile event again, there will be heaps of walking. So we made provisions for walking in our ‘programme’.

Starting on the Ashhurst side, we parked at the Gorge Quarter carpark late Saturday morning for our long walk. The weather could not have been more perfect. We collected our things, something warm for the crossing at the top, some sustenance and water, and then we were off. Perhaps because we started reasonably late (10:30), there weren’t heaps of people on the path as usual. Lots of cars in the carpark though, so they must have been somewhere (the gorge, the 3km loop on the other side, who knows).

The first few hundred metres are flattish. This is followed by a steep incline that just gets steeper as the kilometres pass. After about 3km you reach the tops which is an undulating stretch of about 3km across the mountain range. This is usually where a very cold wind blows as you are quite exposed in the ‘funnel’ that was created when parts of the mountain were carved out for the road. Though it was on the cool side, this was the first time I didn’t feel the temperature dropping significantly while there. 

After 5.5km going into the traffic you cross underneath the highway to walk on the other side of the road going with the traffic for 5km, before crossing back for the final stretch. At the bottom of the mountain is a traffic circle, but we opted to walk all the way to the toilets next to the i-Site which added another 1.7km one way, to our trip. Since there are no toilets on the path, this is almost compulsory, and also a place to top up our water bottle. Unfortunately for us (great for users of the toilets), the water in the toilets was warm. We searched the area and luckily spotted a tap outside the i-Site (which was closed over lunchtime) to fill up our water bottle. 

It took just under two hours to reach the toilets, and I secretly hoped we could do the same going back and finish in under four hours. My feet and legs were already quite sore, so this was going to be unlikely, but one can hope. On top of that, we wasted time searching for water so the prospect became even less likely. Nonetheless, I was still going to try and go as fast as I can, hopeful. Going uphill from the Woodville side is more gradual, but relentless with no breathers for 4km. I was very sore by then, had blisters on my feet, and it started to became a reality that I might not be able to move the next few days. But we kept going at a reasonable clip, crossed over the mountain, and before long we were on the steep downhill stretch looking at the carpark in a distance. I was very happy that we made it to the coffee shop just before it closed, for coffee and an ice cream to share (fig and honey flavour). Unfortunately we didn’t make the four hour target, but went over by six minutes.

Regarding the blisters … I’ve been struggling to find road shoes from Altra that doesn’t feel like they changed the fit slightly. Yes, the toebox is still wide, but it feels flatter and therefore less roomy than before. Is it my imagination? This applies to a reasonably new pair of Altra Torin. Since I wasn’t 100% comfortable with them, I also bought the Altra FWD Via online which has more cushioning which I thought would be handy for long on-road walk-jogs. Unfortunately yet again, these felt flatter in the toe-box area that made the fit more snug despite it being wide (which I may add feels in any case slightly less wide and roomy than any of the Altras I had before). Maybe my foot shape changed from not running much! The FWD Via also has seams on the heel near the arch of the foot on the inside. The day before this walk, I decided to take them for a spin on a 6km outing. Just as well I did, as after a km I could feel a hotspot coming, and by 4km I had to take them off as the hotspots turned into full blown blisters on both feet. I walked more than a kilometre on my socks before putting them back on for the final bit back to the car. I was very annoyed as these seemed like the perfect solution for what I needed.

Later that evening I drained the blisters and hoped for the best for our long walk the next day. Trying on old pairs of shoes in the morning, I opted to use a pair of Torin of which the bulk of the outer sole was missing already. It must be six years old. But it felt soft and I didn’t think it would aggravate my blisters. However, after a while I could feet the drained blisters filling up again. It wasn’t from chafing so much as it was from fluid retention and swollen feet. We made it back to the car just in time before it became super sore. I walked to the loo half cripple, but looked worse for wear walking to the coffee shop. After we sat for a bit and had our coffee, walking again was not fun. 

After a nice warm shower I drained the blisters again which, it turned out, was actually blisters upon blisters. 

Even though we have this beautiful path specifically for walking, running, cycling, it is very noisy from the constant stream of vehicles and too close to the traffic for my liking. I keep thinking what if someone looks at their phone and drives off the road? And flips over the wires that forms the barrier between vehicles and pedestrians? I noticed a good few spots along the road where vehicles have crashed and went into the wires. Plus there are a lot of trucks using that road. And of course some people seem to go as fast as their cars are capable of just for laughs. 

But I guess it is pointless to think about the worst case scenario, and as my mum always reminded me – a miss is as good as a mile. 

The path itself is really quite pretty and a lot of effort went onto making it. All along the way trees and grasses were planted and mulched, with lots of little ponds along the way. There’s a viewpoint and rest area for cars on both sides, and a few other viewpoints for pedestrians along the way. On a good day you can see Mt Taranaki, Mt Ruapehu, and across the Manawatū and Wairarapa. The cafe at the bottom and the fact that lots of people make use of recreational area makes it quite sociable, so we keep going back, despite the fact that is sits right next to a very busy highway.

Next time we will have to see if we can break 4 hours walking on this route. 

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Branch Road and more

Date: 9 November
Distance: 7km
Time: 1:07

It took me a long while to post this. Perhaps because it marked the ‘last straw’ in terms of my fitness levels, or lack thereof – I had to admit to myself that things were not progressing as I had hoped. This was very demoralising. The struggle, for whatever reason, is very real. However, by now it has also started to become a mental thing – if you think you can’t, you can’t. I still believe things will look up sooner or later. But I digress.

A number of years ago when Gerry and I were still organising running events (before COVID left us with no other option than going back to full time employment), we were always on the lookout for new places to host events that could include a wider community. One of the options was venturing into the Pohangina Valley. We scouted a few places in the area, and also walked up Branch Road, a paper road, which looked like it might be a good candidate. However, after walking up the track we didn’t deem it suitable. From memory I think there was a slip, or something looked a bit unsafe, or some or other issue I can’t recall right now. Being a narrow path and a long drive to get there might also have had something to do with it.

In 2022 I started working as a trapper in the Southern Ruahine, and my then boss once stopped at the top of this track, and told me that a local lady organises a walk down Branch Road every year. At the time I did not bring our walk from the bottom up and the start at the top together to realise it was the same track. From the bottom it looked like we were walking on private land, and it felt awkward, like we were intruding, so we never made it all the way up the hill. From the top it looked wild and unkempt, but somehow still inviting, like a good place to go on training runs. But we also never got around to walk/run up or down Branch Road by ourselves or as part of the organised event in 2022 or 2023.

In 2024, when the event was on again, friends couldn’t make it anymore, so they gave us their entries. We arrived bright and early, signed in, and got some sweets and water from the car to take with. Two buses took all of us up the windy road to the start of the track (driving past the home of my ex boss). Most people were walking the event, but we were rushed for time, so decided to run down. Looking at the time it took, including a pee stop, photo taking, looking at the scenery, and trying to be sure we stayed on the trail, we may as well have walked. Although we did arrive first, it wasn’t very long before the first walkers showed up.

The first 1.1 kilometres were run on a new forestry road. What was still an overgrown path a couple of years ago, was now a decent logging road. We encountered a marshal at this point who was still busy putting up signage. We passed him shortly before hitting the ‘single track’. This stretch was quite overgrown with tall grass. With all the rain of late coupled with some warmer days, the grass is out of control at our place. It was the same for this track.

Some permanent sign boards made it reasonably obvious where to go and one shouldn’t get lost, but occasionally we did question which was the right way. We passed some slips and some muddy sections, but overall it was an enjoyable outing. I can absolutely see the locals supporting this year after year.

But …

Shortly after, I got sick again. Almost to the day I had COVID last year. It made me wonder if someone on the bus might have been sick, but of course I could have picked it up anywhere. And again, I was sick for quite a long time. More than a month. And somewhere along the line Gerry also got sick. This meant our running stopped, yet again, for more than a month. It feels like I just cannot catch a break.

After some hemming and hawing, doing the maths, over and over, I had to admit to myself that I would not be able to make the Old Ghost distance in the cut-off times by the event date in February. I have no doubt that I could cover the distance at mostly a walking pace, but it might have taken me twenty-four hours. I noticed from previous results that most runners finish in less than 14-15 hours, something I was likely not capable of achieving. We had to forfeit our entries. It is always such a hard decision to make. But it was the right decision.

Fast forward a few months (!), we followed some of the live coverage of the event at the weekend. It looked amazing. I was jealous of everyone’s fitness and capabilities. It feels like I’m never going to get there again. But since we pulled out of the event at the end of last year, and getting over COVID, we started jog-walking again. We also signed up for the Wilderness Walk1200km, which is an initiative by the Wilderness magazine to get people moving. The aim is to cover about 3.3km every day. I guess the rationale is for people to be active for roughly 30 minutes every day. And so far so good. We are on track, perhaps even a bit ahead of where we are meant to be.

On top of the walking, we also try to jog 5km most days, with a slightly longer run on the weekends. That means we cover 9km most days, and initially I could feel that the extra load set me back a bit. But at some point I should get used to doing that distance, and I should start to improve. I’m convinced of it, although the past five months or so proved otherwise.

I’m still hopeful. I’m still hanging in there.

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River-Run Backyard Ultra

Date: 26 October
Distance: 40km (Wouna), 48km (Gerry)
Time: 6 hours/laps (W), 7 hours/laps (G)

Sometimes it feels like we are on a runaway freight train. Life is moving ahead at speed while we are desperately trying to get on board. This whole year has been like that. We took six weeks off at the beginning of the year to visit family, and it honestly feels like we haven’t got back on track the whole year. There is only two months left of this year, and I had grand aspirations and goals of where I wanted to be with my fitness by now, but sadly it has not happened. Add to that challenging weather for months on end, and training becomes a chore. It is no fun trying to run in the cold, strong wind, and or rain.

Nonetheless, we started doing some events again to try and keep us honest (despite being just about last in most of them). In April this year, we decided already that we want to try and do this backyard ultra. The concept has been around for a few years, created by Gary Cantrell (aka Lazarus Lake) who is known for his whacky ideas about running, endurance and challenging the human body and spirit, but we never got around to trying it. In April, the end of October seemed far away, and we made ambitious plans to run at least 80km, hopefully more. Little did we know that life will get super hectic with studies and all, the winter months would be the wettest we’ve had since moving to NZ, and training would be very haphazard. We knew we were in for a wet windy winter and spring, but still thought we might be able to manage some good mileage each week. We have managed before, but we forget to take into account that Gerry works full time since COVID came along, which has taken its toll on what one can fit in and what not. Not to mention how the weather is increasingly more challenging as the years go by. Our property also took a turn for the worse with trees in dire need of pruning, not to mention keeping on top of the grass. And then there is still the everlasting maintenance, as is normal when you have a property with no money to pay someone else to do it for you.

On Friday night we went shopping for some food and drinks for the event. I was keen to take ginger beer along, plus electrolyte drink. Other things we needed to buy were marshmallows, jelly sweets, biltong, baby potatoes, date balls, bananas, and liquorice toffees. We also took gherkins, sesami snaps, oranges from our tree, and coffee we made on the morning. Back home, we threw everything in a cardboard box, got the tent, incase we need to set up closer to the corral (an American word that Laz started using which then became common in NZ and other backyard events too), gathered our water bottles and whatever else we might need, and went to bed. It did not feel like were going to do an event the next morning. We were on autopilot just going through the motions.

It is a terrible situation when you don’t get excited about events anymore. No events excite me. I just do them as it is a bit ‘easier’ than running 20km by yourself, you get to see other places, there is the glimmer of hope that it might spark the running fire again, and it keeps you a bit more accountable. Otherwise I would easily just skip the 20km run.

Arriving early in Waipukurao at the A&P grounds, we signed in, and got our trackers that go around your ankle to record your laps and time. Luckily the organisers used a shed for the corral where we could leave our provisions, to be close-by, stay dry, and be easily accessible between laps. We went back to the car to have breakfast and a coffee, before heading back to the shed. Chatting away, it still hadn’t sunk in that we were about to start an event. Before you know it, time was up. I still needed to make a pee stop, so went to the nearest loo. Someone was inside, taking his time, and there were two ladies in front of me. With three minutes to go, a couple of us still had to use the facility. When it finally got to my turn, there was a minute left, and I was frantically trying too pee, wipe, flush, sanitise, open door, and get back to the corral in time for the start. As the door was shutting behind me, I was still pulling up my pants, while running to the start.

And so I arrived just in time to start on the first lap. Once on the move, I realised I didn’t have my cap, neither did we bother to take some sweets or something to have during the lap as I thought might be a good idea. Luckily it was only the first lap, but it was sunny and already quite warm. In fact the first three laps were very hot, but by the fourth lap the wind picked up a bit and it looked like rain. It got more overcast and coupled with the breeze it wasn’t as hot anymore.

Our strategy was to walk the first kilometre, jog two kilometres, walk one, jog two, and walk the final 700 metres. This worked out fine and we finished the lap with nine minutes to spare. The following two laps we finished with about 5-6 minutes to spare. I was getting sorer and slower as the laps ticked over. I knew it would happen, as we didn’t train nearly enough to even do what we did. I still struggle to run 4km continuously at a 6.5min/km pace. Something feels off, and I am not sure if it is just part of midlife and getting older, delayed COVID symptoms, or what is going on. But I’m not ready to give up on running. Yet. Hopefully never.

The terrain was not too bad. After the start, you make your way through a parking area and up the stop bank. Turning right we followed the stop bank, which is easy underfoot, for a bit more than a kilometre, before a steep drop down the bank led us to a grassy area next to the Tukituki River, to take us back the way we came. This was uneven and just a wee bit like running in paddocks, although this wasn’t nearly as bad. This stretch is about 1.5km before passing near the start/finish which was just on the other side of the stop bank. Being so close to the base means that supporters can walk over the stop bank and cheer on the runners. A couple of hundred metres further we went under the main road bridge (at the 3km mark), up and down the stop bank where we reached curvy bike trails that run next to the river. It is sheltered from the sun and under the trees, following the river on the northern side of the main road bridge until the turn-around point (after about 1.8km) to head back to base. Again we made our way up the stop bank to run along the easy path on top back to finish the first loop.

The loop is thus very narrow and long; running next to the river on uneven ground for half of it, and on top of the stop bank covered with limestone for the other half. Down by the river the gnats were a real pain, especially in the first three laps. I had a few in my eyes and half-swallowed one. Those are the worst, as it feels like they are clawing their way back out of your throat while you are coughing your lungs out, gasping for air, and eyes watering. Once the wind picked up and it became overcast, they disappeared. Up on the stop bank we were showered by the kapok from the silk floss trees. Every now and again I could hear someone sneezing, and I myself had to take two antihistamines to cope. The grass next to the bike tracks were also head high, which didn’t help anyone with hay fever.

Passing or being passed on the single track bike trails was a bit difficult, and as this was also our walking kilometre, it must have been a frustration for others. Despite making way as much as possible, it remains a pain to pass or be passed on a single track.

Back at the base, we poured some ginger beer, diluted with water, filled a ziploc with some sweets, before lining up for lap two. And so it went. Eat, drink and run-walk. People were chatting and poking fun all around the course. At our pace, we saw the same people roughly at the same spots, and had the same group more or less within earshot. This changed, of course, once I started to really fatigue and get slower. The first three laps went fine, but the last three was a struggle. I made it each time with about three minutes to spare, which was okay given that we planned to only do about a marathon. After six laps (just over 40km) I called it quits, but Gerry decided to do another lap (which brought him to a bit over 48km). Although he could have gone on and perhaps do another few laps, it didn’t make much sense anyway. Neither of us are fit or conditioned enough, and there’s no point pushing yourself over the edge for no good reason.

While he was out doing a last lap, I got myself into dry clothes and watched other runners finish. After his last lap, we stayed behind for yet another lap, just soaking in the gorgeous day, and being outside. In an ideal world it would have been great to arrive the night before, set up one’s base, and be ready to go long. I think to be prepared and really part of the event can be very exciting. Sadly, we were just passers-by doing a few laps.

Back home we showered and went to bed early. The next day I wasn’t nearly as sore as after our previous two 40km+ events. Perhaps the more regular running (even though it is only 4km at a time) is making a difference.

It was a long weekend and rumour has it that in NZ the weather improves after Labour Weekend. The common wisdom is to not plant out your tomato plants before Labour Weekend, as cold snaps can still happen. This year, the weather took a turn for the worse, and the weeks following Labour Weekend was still quite cold with temperatures dropping to two degrees celsius at night, and very unsettled (wind and rain most days). The result? Again not much running for us. I can only hope the weather will improve soon, or we can say goodbye to our Old Ghost Ultra entries for February 2025.