half marathon

by

Taihape half marathon

Date: 19 March
Distance: 21.1 (21.5km with our GPS)
Time: 2:19.07
Previous: 2015

At the start on a beautiful sunny morning in the country.
Jogging up the first hill that you encounter shortly after the start.
Running along the rolling hills is pure bliss.
Crossing a gorge before heading down a dirt road.
Some shelter from the trees keeping us from overheating.
High-5! Pete on his way back from the out-and-back stretch.
A jolly waterpoint at the turn of the out-and-back bit.
The volunteer water girl even offered to take our photo.
Interesting tree formations on the horizon as we jogged along the country roads.
Drinking in the beauty of the surroundings does wonders to keep your energy levels up.
Reaching the section of road comprising the out-and-back 10km event, things got increasingly social.
From about the 16 to 20km points you face a slow and steady uphill.
Firefighters doing the 10km as training for the Sky Tower challenge.
Over the last few kilometres we passed many 10km walkers.
Gerry trying his luck passing close to the whomping willow!
The finish in sight on the last long downhill.

As we drove up from Palmy for this event, I was counting my lucky stars that the weather was really good. Warm. Yet again. At last year’s event, the temperature was a bit cooler but still great. This year was just perfect for me, but I suspect at 20 degrees Celsius it was a bit on the hot side for most other participants. Continue reading →

by

RuapehuEXPRESS Half Marathon

Date: 27 February 2016
Distance: 19.1km
Time: 2:09.36

The birthday boy having a peaceful night.
Overcast and a bit fresh at the start.
Rob and me – ready for action.
Less than a minute to the start.
Briefing by Tim Day.
Shortly after the start, a dash across a paddock.
More paddock (cross country) running in the first few kilometres.
Time to shed a layer as it quickly warmed up.
Gerry comfortably jogging along as I was huffing and puffing to keep up.
A short stretch of farm road.
Jumping fences is normal for these kinds of events.
Having a blast out on the trails.
“If you go into the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise”.
Rob about half a kilometre ahead of us.
An awkwardly placed water station. First you veer off to the left, missing the table (my thoughts were that the water point was maybe meant for the 15km guys?) and when you pass it again from the other side, you turn away towards the right before reaching the table, missing it again.
Crossing one of many similar little bridges.
The trail winds through beautiful forests.
No doubt we’re on the right track.
A short little uphill after crossing the railway line.
Remnants of the Taonui viaduct.
Halfway – yay!
The cobblestone of the historic path is still visible in parts.
Pete still going strong.
Information boards along the Old Coach Road.
The second water point about 2km from the finish.
On the home straight back to the Powderhorn Chateau.
Final bridge across the railway line before the finish.
All done. Happy with what I’ve managed to achieve.
Prize-giving.

As it was Gerry’s birthday on the 26th, we decided to make a little outing of the trip. Not sure where we would stay – the only requirement was to camp somewhere nice and quiet – we went to the nearest DOC campsite only a few kilometres outside of Ohakune on the mountain side. It looked quite nice but decided nonetheless to check out the campsite at Raetihi which was only $4 per person more. However, the latter being more busy and civilised, we opted for the more scenic out of town rustic option at the foot of Mt Ruapehu. Continue reading →

by

Manawatu Striders Half Marathon, Palmerston North

Date: 9 August 2015

Distance: 21.1km

Time: 1:40:46 (Gerry); 2:21:42 (Wouna)

Friendly Striders volunteers ready for late registrations on race morning.
The race features a nice long, straight sprint to the finish.
Wouna and Cheryl near the finish. Less than 2km to go and still fresh and happy.
Cheryl’s kids joined their mum in crossing the finish line.
More Striders volunteers helping out after the race.
Many hands make light work.

If you do any significant amount of distance training, you invariably end up running out of new routes in your region. And most likely, to simplify your daily routine, you end up regularly re-running the same routes day after day. In our case, our daily runs usually include Massey University and/or the Bridle Track along the Manawatu River.

As a result, lining up at the start line of the Manawatu Striders Half Marathon which covers, you guessed it, Massey University and the Bridle Track, I was not exactly breathless with anticipation about the course. Which is not to say that it is not a nice route – we just get so used to it that we forget that it’s actually quite special. Spoiled ay? On the bright side, I was aiming to improve on my time from last year, so that will keep things interesting. Continue reading →

by

Ignorence is bliss – Norsewood to Takapau

Date: 12 July 2015

Distance: 21.1km

Time: 2:15.03

Previous: 2014

Our lift taking us from Takapau to the start at Norsewood.
Friendly helpers at the registration desk.
A cold and drizzly race briefing.
The field of runners/walkers in the second batch. The first batch of slower walkers started earlier.
The small field quickly spread out.
Beautiful scenery, albeit misty and miserable.
No getting lost. This sign indicates the out-and-back section for the runners/walkers.
There’s a mad cow on the loose!
Kevin and Peter doing great.
Caren speeding past.
Marian having a good day out.
The water points were well-stocked with water, bananas and some lollies.
Dark and dreary.
Some steep downhills and a few uphills to keep us honest.
The end, in sight. Still cold, but a wee bit of sun peeped through for a short while.

If it wasn’t for the fact that in my mind it wasn’t going to rain, we would probably not have driven all the way to Hawke’s Bay to do the Norsewood to Takapau fun run again. The last time we checked the weather forecast (the night before), the prediction was for a fine day, overcast and cool, but no rain. So blissfully unaware was I of the updated forecast overnight that I didn’t even bother to pack any wet weather gear!

You can only imagine my surprise then when we found ourselves amidst a drizzle/mist spray during our drive from Palmy to Norsewood. Worst is, our training was also a bit off the rails again – another week of only two training runs, due to bad weather and other unforeseen circumstances. The usual weekend long-run was looming and because of a change in work schedule we ended up having the day free. And what better way to spent a Sunday morning than with other runners/walkers on an event. It was meant to be. Continue reading →

by

Back-to-back 21s #2: Pahiatua Bush Harrier Half Marathon

Date: 22 March 2015
Distance: 21.0
Time: 2:13.11

The field of runners at the race briefing.
Gerry seems ready for the second 21 for the weekend.
Wet roads from the rain we woke up to early in the morning.
At this point there weren’t many other runners behind us going straight.
Luckily only a short bit of the course is on a busy road (State Highway 2).
With Tui’s doors already open for business, it’s very hard not to hang a left for a pint or two!
Another lovely tranquil run in rural NZ.
You even get to share the road with tractors.
Striking a Charlie Chaplin pose. We are the Tail-end-Charlie’s after all. 😉
Minor confusion whether this cone meant ‘go straight’ or ‘turn right’.
Farmyard flavours, reminder of the great Merlot’s we’ve shared with good friends over the years.
While the skies weren’t as blue as the previous day at Taihape, we were still treated to near-perfect running conditions.
The hilly little twist in the tail.
Once over the crest, it’s not far to go on a downhill and flat stretch to the finish.
Uhum, still too much energy.
Prize-giving was a jolly affair with sausages, beers, tea, coffee and cake.

The weather for our second back-to-back 21 could again not have been better. No wind, fairly warm, but rather humid. The start and finish for this mainly fast and flat run, is at the Pahiatua stadium. Organised by the Bush Harriers, the highlight of the day is probably the amount of spot prizes. You know there’s no shortage when every single participant receives something. And then the club president would still request anybody who has not received something, to put their hand up. And even after that, there was still a box full of prizes left over for next time!

The course runs through the residential part of town before heading north on SH2 towards Hawkes Bay. Just before the 5km mark, you leave the main road to run past the famous Tui Brewery HQ heading east between farms. Nice and quiet roads with great weather made for a comfortable easy long run.

At about 9km, a short section of about 2km is run on a gravel farm road. We were happily trotting along, and started to pass a walker here and there before the route gradually started on an incline from about the 15km mark. And with 2km to go, a proper 700 metre long hill reduced most runners to a walk. But once over the crest, it is downhill and flat to the finish.

Sausage sizzles and beer were for sale. Tea and coffee were on the house. As it was the 30th anniversary of this event, lovely moist chocolate cake was also passed around to everybody.

A nice run in the country, well worth the outing. Water stations at about 6.5, 12, 16 and 18km. A good course also for walkers as it is mainly flat easy terrain. Since this event is in our neck of the woods, a lot of familiar faces were out and about. Great to see so many of our own club members and also starting to recognise a few from neighbouring town clubs. Unless anything critical comes up, we’ll most probably be back next year.