Date: 7 May 2016
Distance: 42.2km
Time: 5:27.32
Previous: 2011

Pink portaloos!

Waiting for the race to start, with our usual mix of excitement and panic.

Some nasty little hills on the 2km loop through the paddocks at the start helped to quickly spread out competitors.

Meet Chris, in red behind me. We managed to stay within shouting distance from each other for the entire race.

Enjoying the early morning sun as we ran along the logging track.

Happiness is running through the trails on a crisp autumn day.

Slippery conditions early on when we could still spot some other participants.

Beautiful views over the Tongariro National Park.

Nothing like crossing a mountain stream to keep your feet fresh and frosty!

The downhills were great for making up time, but hammered our quads.

Some downhills definitely felt safer on foot than we would have felt on MTB’s.

Taking a cautious approach on one of the wider crossings.

What goes down usually goes up again, so after some major downhills it was back to slogging up some never-ending hills.

The rain of the preceding few days made for some very slippery downhills.

…and muddy uphills!

Despite all the mud, the stream crossings helped keep our shoes uncharacteristically clean.

It required concentration and fancy footwork to keep upright on some of the more slippery downs.

The aid stations were quite far apart, so after miles of non-stop climbing this was a very welcome sight.

Speeding through the stream to limit the time spent in the chilly water.

Whenever we saw these signs we knew there was some exciting obstacle ahead…

…in this case, another icy stream.

Some puddles could be avoided, even though I’m sure the speedy front-runners charged straight through.

Many parts of the route looked completely unfamiliar, including this bridge.

One of the official vehicles, transporting the bicycles of some unfortunate MTB participants.

Signage (including the familiar blue TotalSports ribbons) was excellent, and we never felt we might be on the wrong route.

Taking a photo-break about 3km from the finish. Thanks for offering to take the photo, Chris!

Our second event in the challenge turned out much better than I expected – great weather, good physical condition, and manageable terrain. After a not-so-nice experience at Rotorua, I feared that things can only get worse. I was still tired from the Rotorua marathon, and on top of everything I’ve picked up a couple of niggles. Continue reading →