Date: 23 November 2014

Time: 2:03.10

Start of the 20.8km walkers.

Shortly before the start of the 20.8km run.

The field of runners rounding the Ashhurst Domain oval.

Was this section meant for the guys and girls wanting to do a full half marathon?

The fairly new path next to the Manawatu River from Ashhurst.

Could only catch up with fellow Strider, Sheryl, around the 3km mark.

The Higgins Depot.

Easy going on the gravel roads around Higgins.

Some beautiful, tranquil sections.

Rounding the corner shortly before reaching the main buildings of the Higgins Depot.

Exiting Higgins land, we reached the second water station just before turning left onto Te Matai Road.

Just past halfway, counting down to the finish.

A nice bit of downhill on the otherwise very flat course on our way to the Bridle Track.

Grateful to have helpers who are willing to sacrifice their Sunday morning to support runners and walkers.

Back in known territory, running along the Palmy Bridle Track.

The section of the Bridle Track next to the river with Elderflowers in full bloom.

The Gas Works Drain bridge. Not the most romantic name, but a scenic little feature on the route nonetheless.

Some sections next to the river can be quite exposed in bad weather, but luckily we had no such problems on a near-perfect morning.

Evidence of the blustery winds of the past few weeks.

Just the short bit through the Esplanade gardens …

… before we reached the finish.

Club President, Kevin, welcoming participants back at the club house, with some of the organising team in the back.

The weather in the weeks leading up to the A2E was, in a word, atrocious. Terrible winds, hail storms and even a mini tornado lashed the country and my hopes for a peaceful fun run in the sun was in the balance. But miracles do happen and on the morning of the event, the most perfect day greeted us. I could hardly believe my luck. The last thing I wanted was another long run fighting gusty winds and/or rain, but thankfully Huey was good to us.

The Manawatu Striders are known for staging great events and this one was no different. Being an inaugural could potentially spell a couple of glitches, but true to their organisation skills everything ran smoothly. At least in our experience as participants in the 20.8km run event.

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