All smiles in the early morning.

After starting on a good gravel road, the route soon gives way to a jeep track.

Between about 4 and 10kms, the route is quite rough – definitely 4×4 terrain.

Along the route, there are many service roads turn-offs which could potentially be confusing, but these are all locked with huge “No entry” signs, so no risks of missing the correct route.

It’s not all windmills – there are some trees too.

For the most part, North Range Road is pleasantly undulating.

Some small puddles can be jumped…

…while bigger ones have to be negotiated more carefully.

The result of stepping into a muddy section on the side of one of the larger water puddles.

A great morning for a run.

The majestic wind turbines form a scenic backdrop for the run.

Still very happy with my new Salomon hydration pack – it fits like a dream.

The windfarm features a range of different turbine types.

We only met two other people en route – this mountain-biker coming past from behind, and later a hiker passing us in the opposite direction.

What a view!

For the most part, the route consists of very well-maintained gravel roads.

The route winds its way through the hills and valleys of the Tararuas.

Flying down one of the downhills of Hall Block Road.

When you get to the end of the track at Gorge Road, it’s just a small distance to the Bridge Cafe.

Very stoked with our new training route – what a great morning out!

One of the problems when training for ultra-long events, is that you need to spend a lot of time on the road. Which means, unless you are inordinately blessed with a limitless supply of training routes and trails close to where you live, you are bound to end up traversing the same routes over and over. Using events as training runs is a great way to break the monotony, mix things up and keep your running exciting, but given the cost of many races in NZ, it also is one of the best ways to blow your budget faster than you can say “marathon”, as we dearly discovered during these past few months. Continue reading →