Taupo

by

Tauhara Half Marathon

3 July 2016
Distance: 21.1km
Time: 2:48.56

Beautiful Mt Ruapehu.
Icy roads causing accidents and a holdup on the way.
Mr Ngaurahue.
And away we go, just in time to catch the last participants crossing the narrow start chute.
The wide open area of the paddock helped to quickly spread out the field.
Up and up we went.
Until we came across this little congested bottleneck.
A beautiful sunny morning and crisp air.
This is one of the worst bits.
A nice and easy stretch on the edge of the forest.
The first water point with freezingly cold water.
Cold, cold, cold in the forest.
Finally a bit of sun again.
The start of the out-and-back stretch up a shingle/gravel road.
Gerry at the turning point and second water station.
Frosty conditions and very cold temperatures kept us going to try and keep warm.
What does this even mean?
It almost felt like we were running in a freezer.
The final, very chirpy waterpoint.
Frozen soil.
The long walk up a 1.5km hill, 3km before the finish.
Finally the finish area came into sight.
Back on the cattle tracks.
A long queue of participants waiting for a sausage sizzle and a beer.
Glad we did!

After four days on the road travelling to Auckland, back down to Wellington and back to Palmy the night before the Tauhara, I was a little reluctant to get up at 4am to travel to Taupo for this event. It was just all becoming a little too much. But, we were entered, and events usually cheer me up, so despite no running (and a lot of sitting!) for four days, we took to the road once again to see what this event was all about. Continue reading →

by

Hoka One One Taupo Marathon

Date: 1 August 2015

Distance: 42.2

Time: 5:00.52

Founding Member! 🙂 Nice touch for everyone doing the inaugural.
About 300 marathon participants, starting at Huka Falls.
A chilly, cloudy, misty, drizzly start.
Off we go, next to the Waikato River at Huka Falls.
Passing underneath the SH1 bridge. We’ve driven over the bridge many times, never expecting to be running under it!
A few short hills, reducing some participants to a walk.
Some open patches in the otherwise misty landscape.
Just follow the colourful stream of runners.
Cabbage trees lining the single track.
I love how they propped up distance markers!
Crossing the mighty Waikato as we turn back towards town.
En route back to Huka Falls. Just after the 8km mark.
Despite the cool conditions, the hydration provided at the aid stations was most welcome.
A close encounter with a hydroelectric power station.
Great off-road conditions, with mostly hard-packed tracks.
The warmth of the Wairakei Thermal streams looked very inviting on a cold morning.
A footpath next to the road.
Totalsport branded bunting marking the way.
Gerry speeding down the hills.
Through a redwood forest as the sun made a quick showing, before disappearing again.
Reaching the halfway mark just outside Taupo.
Marshalls making sure we crossed the roads safely.
Some minor chaos when we, together with hundreds of 10km walkers, hit the returning marathon, half marathon and 10km runners and walkers.
Two thirds down! This is the point where you really start wondering why you keep doing this to yourself.
Some entertainment provided by the can-can onesies near the 30k mark.
The long and winding road. A sealed walkway leading us all the way back to the finish.
The bagpipe player is a feature we remembered from our previous running of the Taupo Half Marathon.
The finish, yay!
Friendly volunteers braving all the smelly feet to help remove timing chips.
Delicious buns and chicken soup at the finish – a lovely touch.

If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn Totalsport created this new event as a sneaky way to lure people into trail running. 🙂

The Hoka One One Taupo Marathon is new on the calendar for 2015. Totalsport took over the reigns in 2014 for all events – a 5, 10 and 21km, adding the new 42km to their offering this year for both runners and walkers. And what a great addition, I must add!

The first half is a non-technical trail run while the second half is on-road. The second half is the same route as the original half marathon, with a couple of minor changes (like the short stretch shortly after the second turn-around point, that is now also paved. Previously it was an off-road dash back to the lake walkway). Continue reading →