Medals! The first time ever out of all the events we’ve done in NZ so far.

The Te Kuiti campsite on the pavement opposite houses.

To the back of the field. We were somewhere in the middle.

The front of the field, with the start banner way up ahead.

A sea of green (the official race T’s) with olive trees lining the streets of Devonport.

Sun coming up in the background. Willie (in green and blue) and me.

Willie, Gerry and myself in front of a (clearly very committed) Tonga RWC supporter’s house.

Supporter flags.

Drummers at the start of the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Gerry and Willie on top of the Auckland bridge.

Me and Gerry, on our way down.

A loop at the bottom of the bridge, passing underneath towards the city.

Gerry running along the waterfront road on the second half of the race.

A Star Wars storm trooper.

Water cups everywhere with some runners still coming from the front on their way to the turnaround point.

unner dressed up in full leather biking gear – helmet and all. Must have been hot.

Auckland Sky Tower, close to the finish, visible in the distance. Still going strong.

Yeah! Only 2.2km to go, and we’re on 4:31. Still running without a watch, so we had now idea what our time was until this 40km mark.

The end. A wonderful run in lovely weather.

Gerry, me and Willie (on the other side of the Sky Tower).

In the bus on our way back to Willie’s car. Gerry chuffed with his medal!

Gerry, me, Willie, Alida’s dad Esra, and Alida at Piha beach, enjoying a bubbly.

Course map.

T’was a rainy day in Palmy when we left around two in the afternoon, heading for Auckland. Gerry and I decided to make a wee bit of a outing of it and packed the tent for a halfway sleep-over.

We took the road over Wanganui and onto the SH4 to drive a section that we haven’t driven before. New territory – hilly and curvy roads between farms, a beautiful area in the heart of King Country. About 20km from the Waitomo Caves, we stopped to overnight at Te Kuiti. Should the caves entry fee be affordable and time allows, we would make a trip in the morning, to see amongst others, the glow worm cave. However, neither turned out in our favour. So, off we were to Auckland, to Willie and Alida who kindly hosted us for the weekend. Continue reading →