Total Sport

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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 →

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Red Rocks Wellington Coastal Challenge – 32km (reduced to 28km due to bad weather)

Date: 15 November 2014

Time:  3:36.32

The friendly helpers at one of the water points (at about 19 to go?) offered to take our pic.
Mist and blustery wind at the Miridian Energy wind farm.
Runners huddled up behind the bus.
Dave Franks explaining the route change.
A goat (?) skeleton in the deserted part of the country.
The new start in the road leading to Oteranga Bay.
Within the first kilometre we were in our usual position as the tail-end Charlies.
The start of the Mid Monty at Oteranga Bay.
Intense concentration to fight the gale force winds.
Tough going on the rocky terrain.
Gerry finding his way back to the “road” after being blown towards the sea.
With the strong tail wind we only needed to lift our feet and automatically be propelled forward.
Luckily the rain stayed away and the day turned out not as cold as anticipated.
Lots of time spent running in loose sand.
Rather technical terrain, especially with the wind shoving you along.
A few stream crossings. We could mostly get across dry-footed.
Friendly helpers at the most exposed water station offering bananas, Gu Brew, water and Coke.
A lighthouse out at sea.
More challenging terrain.
I was very grateful for the more solid surface of the 4×4 track underfoot.
There’s no use trying to run all the sandy parts.
Sand.
And more sand.
Our scenery included distant views of snow capped mountains on the South Island.
Very tough terrain to try and run, especially for a slow-poke like myself.
Beautiful flowers lining the path to the next water point.
This water point had the privilege of a sheltered shed.
On-on.
Making our way round the southern most tip of the North Island.
The sun came through turning the otherwise chilly and windy run into a warm affair.
Approaching civilisation.
Run bits, walk bits, you’ll get there.
How do you run this terrain?
Back in a residential area, but being a coastal challenge, we stuck to the beach rather than running along the easier sidewalk.
Some rock hopping.
With the various distance options, we encountered quite a few other participants along the way.
Nice scenery along the coast.
A detour on the sidewalk.
Looking back at the coast line we came along.
The finish at Queens Drive, about 500 metres short of Lyall Bay.

The Auckland North Shore Coastal Challenge has been a popular event on the Total Sport calendar for the past 13 years. Given its continued success, they decided to extend the event to a series (the Coastal Challenge Series), comprising the existing North Shore event as well as 2 new ones in Wellington and Tawharanui, respectively. Numerous distance options were available – the Full Monty (32km), Mid Monty (25km), Mini Monty (19km), Bay Scrambler (13km) and Beach Hopper (7km).

So this was yet another inaugural event for us, which is always exciting, but does mean that not a lot of info was available beforehand about the event. Total Sport described the series as a “run, walk, wade, scramble and rock-hop”, so we knew we were in for something special.

Continue reading →

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Going the ultra distance: Taniwha – 60km trail run

Date: 8 November 2014

Time: 8:27

 

Race briefing in a friendly farmer’s paddock.
And a few more seconds, aaaaand …
… we’re off!
Shortly after we turned onto the trails, we were treated to this stunning view over the Waikato.
The sun only just out, but already quite warm. For the most part plantations and indigenous forests sheltered us from the worst sting of the sun.
Gerry speeding around the switchbacks on an early steep downhill.
Happy for the downhill stretch.
Gerry, myself and Paul (pictured left) where the tail-end Charles’ at this point, with the sun at our backs.
Dodging MTBs on narrow trails.
“Only” 55km to go.
Gerry having crossed the first and largest swing bridge.
An open section where large sections of plantation have been cleared.
Slowly but surely we chipped away at the kms.
A wonderful, wide, easy, forest road where MTBs could pass with ease.
Gerry going strong.
Down a steep gorge with some spectacular scenery.
Crossing the Waipapa Dam wall.
Approaching our first water station – a welcome sight after about 18km.
This was also the start of the 42.2km event.
Having a runny nose due to the cold air, and continuously having to blow my nose, feels like a waste of breath.
One third down, I was wondering how I would ever make it to 60km.
Large native ferns to shelter us from the sun.
Another steep downhill. As a fellow runner noted, steep descents really are a waste of a good downhill – you lose all your elevation without the privilege of a long, easy descent.
Another milestone. By this point I was pretty stuffed, and remained that way to the end.
Enjoying the perfect weather and the good conditions underfoot.
Hey, hey, halfway, yay!
Strangely enough we had more interaction with other participants, than what we had on most other road races.
More friendly support at the waterpoint at about 32km.
Slow down, Gerry! We’re in an urban area. Entering the historic riverside town of Mangakino.
Big was my surprise to find the 21.1km to go marker, as the 20km to go sign was about 3kms down the track! Speaking of mind games, this one really got to me.
Crossing a wetland area.
Running with constant views of Lake Maraetai to our left.
Another crossing on a swing bridge.
The flatter terrain of the last 20km helped to keep us going at a reasonable pace.
Crossing the river at the Maiterea Power Station.
I just had to have a sit down at this water point, while drinking my GU Brew.
Running next to Lake Whakamaru.
Come on dear, we don’t have all day.
This bunch was such a happy sight at about 4kms to go. Free hugs and jelly sweets were handed out.
The last section had lots of tree roots to trip over – a real challenge when you can no longer lift your feet.
Crossing the narrow road leading to the island in the lake and Whakamaru Christian Camp, finishing site of the race.
Gerry and I all smiles, happy to have survived The Taniwha.
With a beer in hand the pain is almost already forgotten.

Here’s a funny story. On our way to the start of the run, our 65 seater bus suddenly pulled over and a girl and guy jumped up and urgently stepped out of the bus. Everybody was like, huh?, but as they made a beeline to the nearest bush, laughter set in at the familiar sight. A girl has to go when a girl has to go. It turned out her husband had a chat with the bus driver a few minutes earlier asking him to make a pitstop and the driver kindly obliged.

The Taniwha (meaning protector or guardian of the river) is organised by Auckland based sporting events management company Total Sport and a host of distances are available to walkers, runners and cyclists alike. For the cyclists there’s 83, 60, 42.2 and 22km events with the 83km also available as a team relay. The runners have 60, 42.2, 21.1, 14 and 7km options with the 60km also as a team relay option. Walkers had the choice between 21.1, 14 and 7km routes. Route markings were excellent – there’s no getting lost, and the water stations were well stocked with water and GU Brew. The drink station at about 37km also offered Coke, bananas, pretzels and sweet biscuits. Continue reading →