42.2km

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#2 T42

Date: 7 May 2016
Distance: 42.2km
Time: 5:27.32
Previous: 2011

Pink portaloos!
Waiting for the race to start, with our usual mix of excitement and panic.
Some nasty little hills on the 2km loop through the paddocks at the start helped to quickly spread out competitors.
Meet Chris, in red behind me. We managed to stay within shouting distance from each other for the entire race.
Enjoying the early morning sun as we ran along the logging track.
Happiness is running through the trails on a crisp autumn day.
Slippery conditions early on when we could still spot some other participants.
Beautiful views over the Tongariro National Park.
Nothing like crossing a mountain stream to keep your feet fresh and frosty!
The downhills were great for making up time, but hammered our quads.
Some downhills definitely felt safer on foot than we would have felt on MTB’s.
Taking a cautious approach on one of the wider crossings.
What goes down usually goes up again, so after some major downhills it was back to slogging up some never-ending hills.
The rain of the preceding few days made for some very slippery downhills.
…and muddy uphills!
Despite all the mud, the stream crossings helped keep our shoes uncharacteristically clean.
It required concentration and fancy footwork to keep upright on some of the more slippery downs.
The aid stations were quite far apart, so after miles of non-stop climbing this was a very welcome sight.
Speeding through the stream to limit the time spent in the chilly water.
Whenever we saw these signs we knew there was some exciting obstacle ahead…
…in this case, another icy stream.
Some puddles could be avoided, even though I’m sure the speedy front-runners charged straight through.
Many parts of the route looked completely unfamiliar, including this bridge.
One of the official vehicles, transporting the bicycles of some unfortunate MTB participants.
Signage (including the familiar blue TotalSports ribbons) was excellent, and we never felt we might be on the wrong route.
Taking a photo-break about 3km from the finish. Thanks for offering to take the photo, Chris!

 

Our second event in the challenge turned out much better than I expected – great weather, good physical condition, and manageable terrain. After a not-so-nice experience at Rotorua, I feared that things can only get worse. I was still tired from the Rotorua marathon, and on top of everything I’ve picked up a couple of niggles. Continue reading →

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20 miles of hope and 6 miles of truth (Queenstown marathon)

Queenstown marathon

Date: 21 November
Distance 42.2km
Time: 5:51:44

At the start at Millbrook Resort.
Self-seeded wave starts helped spread out the trail of runners to ease congestion on the walking tracks. We had no problem whatsoever, not sure what was going on in the front.
Not long now – grrrr …
And we’re off. Long road ahead.
The downhill into Arrowtown which was the start of my ITB problems.
Arrowtown – a quaint historic gold mining town north of Queenstown.
Gerry making his way through the suburbs.
Running next to Arrow River.
Enough runners not to be alone, and not so many to congest the walkways.
Lovely scenery and a perfect day for it!
Flying round the corner on a downhill. Yeah right.
One of many bridges across streams and rivers.
Queenstown Trails Trust was getting $10 from each entry towards the maintenance of the river/lake walkways.
A mainly flat course with just a few undulations and a hill or two thrown in for good measure.
Water point with lots of little helpers. All stocked with water and Powerade. Most of them also offered Sport Beans.
Point taken.
One of the short sections on a sealed road, running along the Arrowtown Lake Hayes Road towards the lake.
Reaching and rounding Lake Hayes.
Have to fool myself to look strong, although I was far from it.
The sound of a band drifting across the water, made for a very enjoyable run.
Beautiful paths to keep your mind off the pain.
So very far to go still …
Nice pathways through boggy areas.
Not too far from the end of the 7km circle around Lake Hayes.
Gerry still going strong and having a ball.
Colourful dots all along the walkway.
After what felt like an eternity, we finally reached the halfway mark. Took us 2:37.
A steep downhill which I had to walk on account of my terribly sore ITB’s.
Lush new growth on the trees.
At 26.5km we reach the waterpoint before crossing the Shotover River.
Gerry on the Shotover River bridge.
High fives all round!
Around this area we passed some waterworks which wasn’t all that pretty. But the lupins cheered me up.
Just a few little hills to keep things interesting. This one dubbed “Marathon Hill” which is quite tough at around the 32km mark.
Lots of inspirational posters en route with this one near the top of the hill. 🙂 Next to the Kawarau River.
Some more musicians. I love events that have local bands to entertain runners and crowds.
The Frankton Arm of Lake Wakatipu in the back.
The organisers made the most of the main sponsor, Air New Zealand.
Gerry still doing well next to the Frankton Arm.
Turns out it wasn’t only my legs that didn’t work so well anymore – it was also my trigger finger! Luckily the photographer got his Charlie Chaplan jump at the right time.
With only about 1km to go, these guys were really going all out cheering runners on.
Through the streets of Queenstown with lots of support along the closed roads. This must have been fantastic for the guys who were still part of the event. Being so far behind, we definitely missed out of some highlights the event had to offer.
With his landing gear out, Gerry is on the runway taxiing his way to the finish.
Very happy to have made it to the finish with near nothing training in the two months leading up to the event.
Chilling in the finish zone with bananas, water, Powerade and a happy grin.
Prize-giving. Our luck has definitely run out this year. 🙂

The Air New Zealand Queenstown International Marathon saw its second running in 2015. It boasted a huge field of 9000 participants across all three events (42.2, 21.1 & 10km, plus a kids 2km). At $149 entry fee it is not the cheapest marathon in the country ($10 goes towards the Queenstown’s Trails Trust). Add to that the $15 bus fare, and, if you want, the official event cotton T-shirt at $40, and you’re already looking at $200+. Other event branded merchandise like technical tops, peaks, caps etc were also on offer. The expo consisted mainly of sports-related brands advertising and selling their goods. Continue reading →

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Hoka One One Taupo Marathon

Date: 1 August 2015

Distance: 42.2

Time: 5:00.52

Founding Member! 🙂 Nice touch for everyone doing the inaugural.
About 300 marathon participants, starting at Huka Falls.
A chilly, cloudy, misty, drizzly start.
Off we go, next to the Waikato River at Huka Falls.
Passing underneath the SH1 bridge. We’ve driven over the bridge many times, never expecting to be running under it!
A few short hills, reducing some participants to a walk.
Some open patches in the otherwise misty landscape.
Just follow the colourful stream of runners.
Cabbage trees lining the single track.
I love how they propped up distance markers!
Crossing the mighty Waikato as we turn back towards town.
En route back to Huka Falls. Just after the 8km mark.
Despite the cool conditions, the hydration provided at the aid stations was most welcome.
A close encounter with a hydroelectric power station.
Great off-road conditions, with mostly hard-packed tracks.
The warmth of the Wairakei Thermal streams looked very inviting on a cold morning.
A footpath next to the road.
Totalsport branded bunting marking the way.
Gerry speeding down the hills.
Through a redwood forest as the sun made a quick showing, before disappearing again.
Reaching the halfway mark just outside Taupo.
Marshalls making sure we crossed the roads safely.
Some minor chaos when we, together with hundreds of 10km walkers, hit the returning marathon, half marathon and 10km runners and walkers.
Two thirds down! This is the point where you really start wondering why you keep doing this to yourself.
Some entertainment provided by the can-can onesies near the 30k mark.
The long and winding road. A sealed walkway leading us all the way back to the finish.
The bagpipe player is a feature we remembered from our previous running of the Taupo Half Marathon.
The finish, yay!
Friendly volunteers braving all the smelly feet to help remove timing chips.
Delicious buns and chicken soup at the finish – a lovely touch.

If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn Totalsport created this new event as a sneaky way to lure people into trail running. 🙂

The Hoka One One Taupo Marathon is new on the calendar for 2015. Totalsport took over the reigns in 2014 for all events – a 5, 10 and 21km, adding the new 42km to their offering this year for both runners and walkers. And what a great addition, I must add!

The first half is a non-technical trail run while the second half is on-road. The second half is the same route as the original half marathon, with a couple of minor changes (like the short stretch shortly after the second turn-around point, that is now also paved. Previously it was an off-road dash back to the lake walkway). Continue reading →

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Mountain to Surf – New Plymouth

Date: 7 March 2015

Distance: 42.2

Time: 4:19.50

A perfect early morning start in the foothills of Mt Taranaki.
Start-selfie. with our regular pre-marathon mix of excitement and apprehension.
The first few downhill kilometres combined with the great weather, makes it very tempting to go out too fast.
Country roads meandering through dairy farms.
Gerry enjoying an easy run.
Fly fly away.
Friendly volunteer helpers at the well stocked aid stations.
Reaching SH3 – the first stretch on busy roads.
Approaching the halfway mark at Inglewood.
A little out-and-back section in town to make up the distance.
Lots of supporters makes this a jolly changeover.
After a good shower, the rain stopped and our clothes had time to dry out.
Back onto SH3 with congested traffic.
With one kilometre to go, we got another soaking. Coupled with the wind, I was near-hypothermic at the finish.
Happy, but shivering, at the finish.

Mountain? There was a mountain? As is the case more often than not, Mt Taranaki was tucked in under a thick blanket of cloud all weekend. So much so, that it was hard to figure out where exactly the mountain is supposed to be on our drive to New Plymouth. If I hadn’t been there and seen Mt Taranaki at numerous previous occasions, I would never have thought there’s a beautiful 2518m high volcanic cone, dusted at the top with snow.

Since TUM we’ve cut back on our weekly kilometres quite a bit. Needless to say, the week after the 100km event saw only a couple of walks with one or so short attempt at a “run”. As we didn’t burn it both ends at the Tarawera, our recovery was quite fast. Not that I’m fully recovered one month after the Tarawera, but I’m not injured and okey to do a little bit of training/maintenance for our next ultra – the Two Oceans 56km in South Africa. Apart from sensitive feet on Gerry’s part and a general lack of energy and lethargy on my side, we are nearly back on track one month after the Tarawera. The Mountain to Surf was placed perfectly in the middle of our post-Tarawera build-up towards the Two Oceans. Continue reading →

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Three Bridges Marathon

Date: 13 December 2014
Venue: Wanganui
Time: 4:52

Johann, myself and Gerry shortly before the start of the marathon.
A smallish field gather for the briefing.
The early morning sun on the river within the first kilometre.
An out-and-back section next to the river in the park.
Johann and Gerry on lap one.
Crossing bridges – that’s what it’s all about.
A little off-road downhill to pass under a bridge.
Three runners, all three entered for the Tarawera (including the photographer).
Some nice artwork en route.
Self-portrait. A beautiful reflective sculpture of the river.
More artwork. Love these pencils!
Gerry going strong.
Johann all smiles a few hundred metres in front of us on the out-and-back stretch.
One of the water points.
Entertaining signage along the way.
Gerry at another drink station with some Striders in the back.
Had to get another shot of these. We didn’t pass them four times for nothing! 😉
Tired and sore only two weeks after our previous marathon.
Johann and me with a mouth full of jelly babies.
Trying to encourage each other, we caught up with another slower runner in the last few kilometres.
Johann and Gerry only about 4km before the finish.
Approaching the runway for landing. It came just in time.
All done and happy to reach another milestone.

I always find it amusing how people with the same goals in mind, tend to gravitate towards each other. Years ago, 2008, Gerry and I entered for the Cape Odyssey event as a team. It was a 5 day staged race over roughly 220km for teams of two people. (The event unfortunately had a short lifespan of only two years before it was cancelled.)

During our built up for this mammoth task, we entered a lot of other events of various distances all over the country. It’s always infinitely easier to cover long distances when you know there are other runners and everybody is going through the same effort and sometimes pain, plus you get support in the form of aid stations. The company on the road and getting to meet and chat to likeminded folk, sharing experiences and swopping tips and tricks, makes it all the more worthwhile. We’ve met so many wonderful people who became great friends afterwards. Continue reading →