running

by

Footprints in the Sand – Foxton beach 20km fun run

 

The start and finish of the event.
Gerry at the start with 20 other participants.
A few announcements before we were off.
The Surf Club disappearing in the back with two runners behind me.
Blue bottles in abundance.
Loved the informal water points operated off the back of people’s ute’s.
Overcast and a bit of wind, but quite pleasant.
Gerry donned his Manawatu Striders shirt, but we spotted no other club members around.
The perfectly straight, perfectly flat beach between Foxton and Himatangi.
Seven done, 13 to go.
The second water point.
Front runners on their way back.
A baby seal came to greet us.
The turn around point at 10km.
Gerry providing some entertainment along the way.
Footprints in the Sand. Apt name for the event.
The wide flat beach makes for some lovely reflections.
Third water point.
The end is near.
Prize-giving at the Foxton Beach Surf Club.

I guess if you battle with motivation to do long runs on your own, it’s always a good idea to join some other runners for an event somewhere. Even it there’s only 21 other participants.

The Foxton Beach run is organised by the local Lions Club in Foxton, a small town on the west coast of the North Island not far from where we stay. We stumbled upon the event earlier this year and decided to participate when the time comes. Then we overheard other runners saying that they weren’t sure whether it was still on and thought the race might be cancelled. But luckily I saw it listed in the Runner’s World so we reckoned it must be on. Continue reading →

by

Wairarapa Country Marathon

 

Gerry about 8 seconds before the start.
A beautiful morning as the sun rises over paddocks and lakes.
Henley Lake in the background.
Quaint letterbox. 🙂
Gerry on his way to the first water point.
With the sun still only just out, it’s hard not to also get the photographer in the pic.
Early morning wonderland.
Running in rural Wairarapa.
Between farms and cattle filled paddocks.
Signage to indicate where runners should go, as there aren’t many marshals en route.
Almost a quarter of the way done. I knew then already that the 32km trail run of the previous weekend was still in my legs.
First run in a while that I’ve ended up in a t-shirt!
For some reason a farmer dumped his lamb tails next to the road?
Hehe – couldn’t help but have a laugh at this sight!
First lap done, onto number two.
Over the Waipoua River.
Clear instructions along the way.
Crossing the Ruamahanga River.
Amusing rural distance markers.
Heeha!
Lovely scenery en route.
Only about two kilometres to go. Yey!
Prize-giving.

This is another of those events that we’ve been looking to do for the last couple of years. Being “reasonably fit” this year in our attempt to run 100km in February 2015, Gerry entered us for the Wairarapa Country Marathon as buildup towards our main goal. Being well aware that I haven’t remotely recovered from the 32km trail run of the previous week, we were entered and was going to push through. Neither of us are ill or injured and we need the mileage, so with no excuses we drove through on the Saturday afternoon.

Continue reading →

by

Hatuma Lime Half Marathon

All smiles at the start of the race: Johann and Nettie who joined us again for this event, moi and Gerry.
A large-ish field for a small town event.
Some super heroes also took part. I was trying to catch the “well endowed” banana, but he stayed a few hundred metres in front of us.
And away we go! The blue t-shirt worn by the lady in front of us is the official race t-shirt, kindly sponsored by Hatuma Lime.
Nettie and Johann in the first kilometre which is an out-and-back stretch to make up the distance for a 21.1km event.
Me at the second turn, finally about to head out on the open road.
A typical scene of me in three layers while the locals wear T’s and shorts.
The snow-capped mountains made for beautiful scenery (and a bit of a nip in the air).
Country ro-o-ads, take me h-o-o-ome!
A nice chap next to the road had beers on offer. Would have loved to just park there and share a couple of beers with him. Next time!
The transition and water points were usually a jollyfication with lots of supporters and team members cheering runners on.
Fly, fly away.
The last few kilometres are run in the streets of Waipukurau.

I recently read in Runner’s World magazine that a PB has an expire date … of about 3 years or so. And here I thought I could still claim my PB’s from when I was in my early thirties.

But I think most runners have an urge, or a longing to reach those goals that have always been eluding you. Whether it’s a 5km, 10km, half or full marathon (or whatever distance), there will always be a little voice in the back of your head wondering if you can still go faster. Even if you’re 15 years older and much weaker. And even though it hasn’t been a conscious decision for me to try and improve on my fastest 21.1km time, I have been hoping to still one day complete a marathon in under four hours. I have never really trained for it, and with 4 hours being a very reasonable target, I’m sure it’s still do-able. Continue reading →

by

Pelorus Trust Half Marathon

Shortly before the start.
Some participants in singlets and others in three layers. Okey, maybe just myself in three layers.
Briefing by the Race Director.
Gloomy weather.
The buildings provided some welcome protection against the worst winds as we ran through the industrial areas of Lower Hutt.
A nice surprise for us out-of-towners not knowing what the course looks like. A small section on a walkway in the sea.
Still going strong in the suburbs.
Crossing the Melling link railway tracks.
Gerry on the bridge.
From about the 5km mark we ran on the pathway next to the Hutt River.
A little downhill passing under the bridge for the 21.1km runners. From here the half marathon runners did an out-and-back stretch next to the river to make up the extra distance.
Nice to see an HHH in the club, doing the signage. 🙂
Lovely scenery next to the river.
The route is a combination of on-road and off-road sections. This is shortly after the 8km mark, as the front runner came screaming back past us towards the finish.
Not far to go to the turn-around point at 11km.
A friendly wave for the photographer.
Finally on our way back.
The wind got progressively worse on the return-leg next to the river. Maybe I could fly back?
We spotted another Manawatu Strider on the course.
Only one kilometre to go. I was knackered and gutted when I realised I was yet again going to miss the elusive 2hr target.
Festive looking prize-giving.

This has got to be our race of almosts. Firstly I yet again missed the two hours mark with less than a minute (39 seconds, to be exact – too many photo breaks, perhaps?). Secondly Gerry’s name was drawn as “first back-up” to the winners of the major spot-prize (7 days’ accommodation at Rarotonga), meaning that, unless one of the actual winners decided not to take up their prize, we only just missed out on a great island holiday. So close. On the plus side, if any of the actual winners decides not to use their prize for whatever reason, we’re up for a cool holiday – fingers crossed! Continue reading →

by

Tora Coastal Challenge mudder madness – 32km

When you’re ankle-deep in the shit, you might as well enjoy it.
In the bus on our way to the Tora Coastal Challenge.
At the race headquarters outside Stony Bay Lodge.
Race briefing. Gerry clearly not paying attention. 🙂 (Notice the clean shoes!)
The start of the 32km run and 18km walk. The 18km run and 6km run and walk started later.
Hugging the coastline, the first few kilometres are on a dirt road.
The drizzle kept us cool initially, but turned rather cold on the ridges.
Runners disappearing into the mist.
Should have known at this point already what lay ahead.
Slippery terrain made going downhill as slow as going up.
Trying to find some stable terrain next to the path.
Streams crossing the road became a blessing, cleaning out the worst mud from your shoes.
Watery mud, sticky mud, or grassy mud – you choose. Shoes staying behind in the mud was a common occurrence.
Slip sliding away…
At times it seemed best to stick to the deeper water where the mud was less slippery.
The first bit of single track – just a muddy mess.
Very slippery on the steep downhills.
Our mud-coloured Wildhorses. These poor shoes will never be the same again.
When you’re not slipping downhill you’re slipping uphill.
Careful route negotiation leading to slow progress.
Any hikers doing the Tora Coastal Walk over the next few weeks are in for a surprise.
Gerry on his bum again. One of many falls on the slippery snot.
How do you run this?
The 18km cut-off point and finish for the 18km event.
Not much left of the walking path.
Very misty and cold on the ridges.
This may have been a single track before runners created new routes to get down the hill.
Muddy silliness.
Bum tracks coming downhill.
The main river crossing of the run.
A waterblaster was necessary to hose off participants before getting into cars and buses etc.

There’s no doubt that this event was a unique challenge, and something I will certainly never forget. The jury is still out, however, on whether it was a positive experience.

To be the proverbial stick in the mud (literally!), allow me to give my very subjective opinion on the event that’s now a week in the past. Just to keep the yin-yang intact, I’ll try to tell it as it was. 😉 At least my experience of the day as a very average (heck, maybe even below average), back-of-the-pack runner. Continue reading →