52 in 52 Race #5 - Xterra Riverhead

RIVERHEAD!

Another trip down Memory lane on Sunday at my first event at this years Xterra Auckland Trail Running Series (it was Race #2, but I missed the first)... Riverhead Forest hosted my first ever event in the Xterra Auckland Series back in 2010 and so it is always nice to head back.

Despite my title, it wasn't as muddy this year as 2010, but definitely the muddiest I have encountered in many a day.

Total Sports Aaron & Nicola Carter

Driving up from Rotorua on the morning after leaving at 4.45am, I was driving through teaming rain nearly the whole way. Even when I got to Race HQ it was still raining pretty steadily on and off.... but of course Total Sport know how to organize a race as it stopped raining completely about 20 minutes before race start!

Great to catch up with 'the team', Keith Crook, Steve Neary, Leah Anstis, Anna Murphy, Mal Law, Paolo Osorio... the list gets ever longer!

Also there were the fabulous team from Inov-8, Richard was the runner today with the girls guarding the shop! Cam from RockTape was taping up a storm and great to catch up with.

Alan Reeves (Reevsy - left) was on the microphone for the 3rd week running and gave me fantastic coverage, chatting to me twice before race start and again at the finish as well as a few more plugs thrown in during the day... thanks mate!

With a very tough weekend to come and a slight groin strain, I had decided to take it a bit easier for this race... and for once I was true to my word. I cruised gently up the first long climb, having a chat to Chris Hope from New Zealand Running Calendar before he pulled away into the distance!

First little excursion away from the forestry road gave us a taste of the race to come with slippery step up and lovely mud (right).

Then it was a lovely series of ups and downs across the various ridges, sometimes through the forest and sometimes through recently felled areas (left) and some large open spaces. The variation of this race was great. 

About 3km in the lovely Anna Murphy (right) and I got together and kept each other company for about the next 8km. This was pretty good for both of us as we were both trying not to go too hard and the pace stayed comfortable right through to the course split... where Anna took the Long Course arrow and yours truly the Super-Long!

After we split I once again had to be careful not to push too hard, but this was solved quickly with a nice 100m (vertical) climb in the next kilometre. Then some more fabulous ups and downs including a couple of freaky mudslides downhills.

It was on these that I found out about the 'almost unfair' advantage I had... my Inov-8 X-Talons... they were amazing. I have been racing in trail shoes for quite a few years now, but nothing that comes close to the grip of the X-Talons Three times on muddy downhills the people in front or beside me were reduced to going down on their posteriors (left) while I ran down almost like it was dry... stunning, you have to try them to know just how good they are!

Just after meeting back up with the Long course you start to get close enough to the finish to hear the speakers and everyone else finishing... but you still have quite a long loop to go and the last 2km is mud, puddles, followed by more mud and even more puddles. Feeling pretty good after taking it easy I let myself have a little burst here and passed quite a few.

I had a ball in this race, not busting a gut running allowed me to really love the mud and the trails and the company at the finish just made for a perfect day.

For the record I finished the 24hrs in 2:39 for 7th place in my agegroup.

So that's number 5, great day, great fun... as usual with Total Sports!