jogging

by

We’ve Gone Nuts – Tasmania’s 101km adventure run

Date: 3 March 2018
Distance: 101km
Time: 20:56.25

When a 100km event allows 28 hours (the norm being 20 hours), heed the warning sign. For some reason, I thought this event was flattish and not too technical. Not sure how I got that idea in my head, but that was what my head was willing to cope with. With a massively long cut-off time, you could potentially walk the whole way and still make it. It would be a great way to lure newbie ultra-runners (and allow walkers) into this sort of distance. The event terrain in a nutshell, as described by the organisers – “Tasmania’s Gone Nuts 101 Adventure Run will commence on one of Tasmania’s most recognised and visited icons, The Nut, at Stanley, in Tasmania’s North West corner. The race will hug coastline, climb through Rocky Cape National Park and traverse rugged coastal bush and calming temperate rainforest. You will be challenged by diverse landscapes, encounter native wildlife and birds, and witness some of the most spectacular coastlines imaginable. In this part of the world, rolling green farmland drops over cliffs into the pristine waters of Bass Strait. The beaches are also as diverse as they are unique, with sections of long white sandy beaches, small crescent shaped bays and rugged rocky bays formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago.” Sounds nice, eh? Unfortunately, I apparently chose to ignore words like “cliffs”, “rugged rocky”, “climb”, and “rugged coastal bush”. Continue reading →

by

Paekakariki Escarpment Track

Date: 4 February 2018
Distance: 17km
Time: 3:04

A wonderful early morning outing.
A short section next to the highway at the start.
The early sections were in the shade, and quite cool to start off with.
Wonderful views all the way.
Dropping down to the railway line.
The distance markers indicate distances from station to station.
No shortage of stairs.
Kapiti island.
Fun times.
Not all track users were equally fast.
Benches at the highest point.
Good times.
A slip covering part of the track. Luckily there was a rope to hold on to.
Stairs, stairs and more stairs.
Kate striking a pose.
The swing bridges are quite runnable, as long as you get your rhythm right.
A muddy patch in the shade.
Heading down to another swing bridge.
This is what happens when you take too long taking a group selfie. 🙂
Easy running on the lower sections.
Passing right by the railway line.
A quick breather before Kate and Kel went on to catch the train, while Gary, Gerry and I ran back the same way we came.
It’s not just the views that take your breath away.

We finally got our butts down to Paekak (thanks Gary!) to see what all the fuss is about. With Gerry often working in Wellington for the past seven years, we were driving down a couple of times a month, and often more. And each time would be a reminder that we still want to go do it this walk which has been advertised far and wide. Everybody knows someone who has done it, if they haven’t done it themselves. But, getting over there would mean another trip, and quite frankly, I was getting sick of that road. At the end of last year, Gerry decided to let go of the ad hoc weekend job in Wellington, giving us a breather from a lot of the trips, and making it more bearable.

We decided to make an early start, so left Palmy shortly after 6am. Kate and Kel managed to come along at short notice so we all met bright and early at Summerhill Shopping Centre.

The track is just about in Gary’s backyard, so he often uses it for training. He invited us along previously, but something came up and we couldn’t make. This time we were not going to miss out again.

We started off at the Paekak end at about 7:30am. Crossing underneath SH1, we went straight onto the track and slowly started making our way up the hill. The first bit was mostly runable and not too steep, but once we reached the millions of stairs, I was reduced to a slow walk. The path is fairly narrow, and to be quite honest, I would not like to be up there on a windy or gusty day. You are quite exposed against the side of a very steep hill.

Luckily, it was the most glorious day, weather wise, and we were treated to beautiful views over Kapiti Island and the South Island. Since we were on the western side of the mountain, the sun was still low enough for us to be in the shade for the most part. Just as well, as things got quite hot later on without much of a wind.

We reached the highest point after about 3.9km, where a couple of wooded benches have been installed. The five of us were by ourselves when we got there, but on the way back it was packed with people making a day of it. The track also got much busier on the way back and we had to squeeze past lots of people on the narrow track.

After some photos of the scenery and selfies, we started going down on steps that were clinging to the side of the mountain, interspersed with the narrow track. I’m really not comfortable with heights, but this was somehow okay-ish. I’ve sidled around much hairier ridges in the past and this did not make my nerves stand on edge all the time.

At about 5.5km we reached a slip where a guide rope was put in place for safety. It did not fill me with confidence, and I’m quite surprised, given the terrain, that there aren’t lots more slips. Not long after we got to the first of two swing bridges. They are wide and sturdy, easy to run across if you don’t create a rhythm causing you to bounce out if sync.

The last couple of kilometres were easy, downhill and nice to run, and we reached the other end of the track at Pukerua Bay (after 7.5km) in about two hours. After a quick breather, and leaving Kate and Kel who took the train back, Gerry, Gary and I turned around to run back. There were already a fair amount more walkers and runners on the track, but soon it became really busy. Passing walkers going in the same direction, as well as passing heaps coming from the front, including quite a few other runners, made me glad that we started when we did.

This seems to be a hugely popular track, even if just to walk to the highest point for a picnic and lovely views, and back again. It is well worth doing, but I would recommend going early. The earlier the better.

Do it, if you haven’t yet.

 

by

Run one walk one – an easy ultra

Date: 13 January 2018
Distance: 60km

Time: 8.5 hours (and about .5 changing gear, eating and filling water bottles and food stuffs)

 

Shortly after we started, Gerry had to stop to suck out the air from his sloshing bladder.
This is where things got interested, trying to find the track from the end of Waitoetoe Park through to Pioneer Highway.
Passing through the suburbs.
Finally back in a park, testing a log chair which was not yet needed at that point.
On the trail again.
Just across Pioneer Highway.
The walkway carries on up to Milson Line.
Apart from a few road crossings, the track is mostly away from traffic.
Most of the track follows the Palmerston North waterways.
One of the underpasses.
Some nice graffiti under one of the bridges.
Gerry having time to play with his camera.
Passing under the railway line.
Yet another bridge to pass under.
Interesting graffiti behind a building in the industrial area.
And still the track goes on.
And on.
Until the track was no more … From here it was a ziczac throught the industrial area before heading down Napier Road, Te Marai Road and back to the river walkway.
Back on the Bridle Track just after we had a good shower. And then the camera battery died.

Planning for Gerry’s 50th birthday, we decided to do that “thing” where you run your age. Eyeballing the running calendars high and low for a 50km run the weekend before or after his birthday, delivered nothing. So what does Gerry do? He signs us up for a 100km event instead, only double his age. What’s a few kilometres between friends? (Goodness knows how we’ll manage a 100 miler when he turns 80!). Continue reading →

by

Lower Hutt parkrun

Date: 23 December 2017
Distance: 5km
Time: 29.14
Previous: Hamilton #1, Palmy #1, #2, #3, Kapiti Coast #1, Porirua #1

Another beautiful morning for a run.
The bride and best men, posing for a pic.
The merger.
Lots of participants for this event.
Running along the Hutt River walkway.
Some of the best men already on their way back.
High-fiving the groom.
The turn-around point.
The bride not dilly-dallying either!
A nice spot for a parkrun.
Heading back towards the end of what felt like a very long 5kms.
The line at the finish for the bar codes to be scanned.

Meeting up with friends who were visiting New Zealand for a few weeks, we happened to be in the Hutt Valley during the weekend and decided to fit in a quick run.

Too much eating out, way too much wine (and beer, and whiskey) and not a whole lot of running since the Twelve days of Christmas challenge, is a bad combination for attempting a “comeback”, so to speak. Full of pickled confidence she said, “let’s run to the event and back”. Including the parkrun, that would give us a solid 27km long-run. Great idea. Perfect idea! But… Continue reading →

by

Palmy Christmas parkrun

Date: 16 December 2017
Distance: 5km
Time: 38.08
Previous: Hamilton #1, Palmy #1, Kapiti Coast #1, Palmy #2, Porirua #1

Another change in our work schedule meant we could fit in another backyard parkrun. The organisers decided to make it a Christmas themed event, so we all (okay, some of us) dressed up for the occasion. Continue reading →