52 in 52 Race #3 - The Huntly Half

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When I first started running in 2006 I weighed 112kg and had decided that if I wasn't to go the way of my Father and Uncle and die in my early 50's, then I needed to lose some of that weight.

I started off running in the Redwoods, struggling to run just over a kilometre on my first run, but stubbornness took me out again the next day, sore and stiff and determined to run further.

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I eventually built up to a few more km's than that and got talked into running the 10km at the Rotorua Marathon that year. I surprised myself by finishing 8th in age in a reasonable time and caught the running bug. 

So I set myself to do the Taupo Half that year and, all going well, the Auckland Marathon. Along the way, however the opportunity came up to run the Huntly Half... I thought "why not?" ... a good chance to see where I was in my preparation for Taupo.

In that race I, as so many first timers do, started too fast, hit the wall and struggled home just under 2 hours.

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So this year I was so rapt when Dion offered me a sponsored place in the field in the chase for 52 in 52. Originally I was to have run the Big O on Saturday and Huntly Sunday... but unfortunately the Big O has been postponed for a month or 3.

The Bonus of that was that I could give Huntly my all.

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After a week of dreadful weather, I left Rotorua in the pouring rain and arrived in Huntly with the Sun trying to shine through. A good crowd there on the day, caught up with a few familiar faces which was great... got a wee stint on the P.A. microphone again.... then it was wander over to the road for the start.

The course was different to that in 2007....

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that race went out into the country with lots of out and backs, and then came back into town and finished around the Lake. 

This year we started in the same direction - but not far, than we looped around next to the lake and through and out of the park, winding our way south, over the railway overbridge.

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A bit more winding through the streets and then over the Waikato River bridge, which was cool. A quick loop on the other side, through a park and back over the bridge.

I had tried to set off at the same 4:42 per km that I used at Cambridge in my PB, but it was fast becoming obvious that this race was way tougher than that... but I pushed the best I

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could. 

We looped into the main street and then back up the hill and around the far side of the Lake. While I was feeling it by this stage, I was still comfortable enough to enjoy the lake track - definitely more than I enjoyed it 7 years ago!

Out of the Lake Domain and into the streets and a nice wee killer climb... steep enough to hurt, but very runnable. 

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Out into the country and the part of the run that was pretty much the same as last time - only in reverse! 

We came to the Drink Station Intersection which we would return to twice more, then went out to the Coal Works in an out and back, which I didn't mind as much this time compared to '07, as I knew others running and was able to say hi to the likes of Kerry Suter, Ian Hansen, Leah Anstis, Darryl Conn and Roger Morris.

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Back to the drinks corner and a right turn into the road to the Speedway for a very long (and painful) out and back. At the turnaround we headed back up the hill into the wind with a few drops of rain, which felt great and was the only rain we saw all day.

The Straight (Click to enlarge)

Back to the Crossroads for the last time then took another right turn into the last thing you want to see nearly 17km into a race - 1.6km of dead straight road into the wind! So we ground it out, I was in my last 5km mode here of just trying to catch and pick off the person in front of me... caught 2 on the straight. Finally made it to the turn, a few hundred metres of curving road and then another 1.2km of stright - GRRR... worked my way down, catching a mixture of Half and 10km runners and then we were nearly there, could hear the crowd and turned the corner, a wee straight and then onto the grass for the last 200m to the finish.

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As a dedicated trail runner I have always thought of road halfs as a bit soft, the only thing hard is the surface and that fact that you have to run so much faster... but this was a tough event, as was shown in many of the pics of finishers in that last 200m.

In the end though, I managed 1:42:48 for my second fastest half ever... so I guess I did ok.

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After the event I stayed and watched a few friends finish and caught up with a few others.

All in all an extremely well organized day, from the parking right through to the marshalls and 'race village'. I left a little sore, but nowhere near as bad as the cripple who hobbled to his car 7 years ago. A good challenging Road Half.

Thanks Dion... a great day!

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52 in 52 Race #2 - Te Mata Terrific Tui

An event cancellation gave me a week to recover after T42 and then it was off to the fabulous Hawkes Bay for the first race of this years Hammer Nutrition Hawkes Bay Trail Run Series (HBTR) as the second race of 52 in 52... and what a great choice it was!!! As the rest of the country was getting dumped with copious amounts of rain,  
the Hawkes Bay was, as usual, warm and sunny.

Lunchtime Saturday in Rotovegas and filled up at Gull with diesel using some of my sponsored vouchers. Gull have made getting around the country so much easier with this great donation. Lainy and I then headed over the hill. The lovely Lesley Wilson (and hubby Des) were our great hosts for the evening... which pleased Lorraine as she didn't need to get up so early for the race. It also meant I ate way too much dinner as it was fabulous!

Frank Spencer

Race Morning dawned fine and slightly misty, GPS got me to race start nice and early - as I tend to do. Caught up with Louise and Philip Shambrook, the Race Directors of the Series who have sponsored me for all 4 races. Also there were a few people I had only met previously on facebook, as well as Earl Wykes from BNI and Frank Spencer (right) who had been assigned to run with me on the day. I wasn't a very good guest though and lost Frank on one of the early hills... kept thinking he would catch me up but he didn't quite.

Emergency Number 1... no Porta-Loos!!! Fortunately they arrived before race time and a relieved Mike lined up for the start. Philip delivered a stirring Race Briefing and then, totally without warning invited yours truly to say a few words, which I did poorly!. Then the start... a quick burst of bitumen inserted to make up the distance right got us warmed up... then back into the farm and the climbing started.... 
 





You were left in no doubt from the very start as to how tough this was going to be, 
it was more like the English Fell Running than the trail-running we do here, with lots of grass, rutted farm and stock trails, mud and of course cow-pats! My Inov-8 X-Talons were fabulous on the muddy and slippery grass and 'other materials' and my only fall was when I tripped!



The climbing at first was steady but runnable... but that changed.
There was some great switchback climbs with trails barely as wide as your foot. Most of this stage was walking for me... with the occasional bout of enthusiasm leading to a hundred metres or so or running. The views were getting ever better and it became obvious why running in this area is so popular. One wee trip nearly sent me down a high steep bank, but I got away with a muddy knee and a faster than usual heartbeat for a couple of minutes.

To give you some idea, I normally take 20 or 30 photos during a race... for this race I took 102!!! 
I can't get them all in here, but will upload the best to Flickr.

The Fenceline

Finally got to the top and the Lookout and was feeling tired but happy to finish climbing - I thought - then we were directed off up even further through grassland - as in "just run along the fenceline", so we climbed along the fenceline, then dropped steeply down the other side - which very quickly lost its joy as we saw the leading runners slogging back up this hill towards us!! This was the out and back section we had been told about... afterwards on Garmin it didn't look too tough 80m vertical in 1.4km... but it was. Passed Frank my 'co-runner' in this area and told him I was fading... I think we both were. 


Once back at the top we cruised over into some of what appeared to be MTB Trails and more like my normal type of trail... only I was too tired to enjoy it.

Frank finishing...

We wound our way through several valleys and woody stretches, before heading out of Te Mata Reserve, across the stream and into a final 4km of farmland. The first couple of these kilometres were gently uphill and I dredged enough out of the old body to run these... albeit rather slowly, however now we were mixed in with the medium distance runners and I employed the old trick of 'just catch the next one' to pick off quite a few on this stage. 

Then the big downhill to the finish and I just let the old tired legs go... so glad to hit the finish though for a sticky bun and a drink! Snuck back up guiltily to meet Frank finishing his run. My time of 2:27 shows how tough a half it was as it felt like I ran as well as I did in Xterra Rotorua 4 weeks back where I ran 1:45.


Then had a post race catch-up with the lovely Jen from Cranford Hospice before Philip shoved the microphone under my nose for a few words.


This was a fabulous day, well run with a nice family feel. Most of the runners seemed to know each other and Philip and Louise are working hard to make sure their events don't get too big. I had wonderful support on the course and donations both before and after the race.

The next HBTR race is in 3 weeks and I will be there... why not join me!

52 in 52 - Race #1 ..... T42

Well it finally arrived… the first race of the 52 in 52 Challenge. 

I deliberately chose a tough marathon to start and will finish on a marathon with a host of Half Marathons or longer in between.

Pre Start - fresh and clean!

It was a no-brainer to start with the T42… firstly it was on my birthday, secondly it is one of Total Sports flagship events and they have been fantastic with my support of this venture and finally it’s bloody tough – a reminder (if I needed one), that this is no walk in the park.

I filled up Friday night at my local Gull using some of the vouchers they have sponsored me with. 

The budget for my side of these events is very tight, so I passed on getting accommodation the night before and was up at 5am eating breakfast and taping my knees with fabulous RockTape – who have just today come on as a product sponsor, donned one of my splendid race-shirts from All Sew Embroidery and then off around the corner to pick up Tarawera Ultra Race Director Paul Charteris who was entered in the 24km event.

The further we went the better the weather got and by the time Paul dropped me off at ‘the Farm’ it was clear with the sun peeking through regularly – although a touch chilly.

Through the comprehensive gear check and then shoes checked for external dirt (my inov-8 X-Talons were spotless) and pick up my number and transponder. Caught up with and thanked Total Sport owners Nicola and Aaron Carter, this challenge would have been nearly impossible without their support. Then shelter out of the wind and wait for the bus to arrive to take me to the start.

With Marcus Daws, awesome Ostepath, great runner

Met a few new friends on the bus – Sarah Lei from my town of Rotorua and the lovely Barb Carson from Wanganui, both of whom I would encounter in the race. Once at the start it was great to catch up with some of my favourite people, Steve Neary, Marcus Daws (my Osteopath Sponsor from Waikato Osteopathic and a bloody good bloke), Jeremy Weight, Kerry Suter and Tom Frenz (who towed me up the last 3 km of last years Goat) to name a few… one of the best reasons to run events is the fantastic community of runners.

The MTB’s, that had to pass before we started, were a bit slow, so a few minutes later than expected we got away to a good steady start. The 2km loop around farmland at the start always gets the blood pumping and once on to the main 42^nd Traverse trail the merino top disappeared rather quickly. I planned to take it easy, being the first of the challenge, and it felt like I was… but when I looked at the Garmin my pace was faster than planned so I made myself gear back. 

Inov-8 Race Elite 2 Pack

One thing I was loving was the new Inov-8 waist hydration pack, I have never enjoyed running with a backpack and the waist solution worked for me on many levels. It felt comfortable, the bladder holds up to 2 litres (I only had 1.5 for the race), I also had my rain jacket, gloves, beanie, first-aid kit and emergency blanket all around my waist. The difference – usually about 20 - 25km my back starts hurting, being 6’2” I tend to have back problems. However with the new pack it was great until about 38km... at which stage all of me was dying anyway!

Barb Carson on the left

Anyway, a few km’s in and struggling to settle on a pace I was joined by Barb Carson, another 50+ and an Iron-man competitor extraordinaire! I latched on to her pace and we had a great chat for about the next 12km or so which really made the race slide by. Barb’s previous T42 was in a similar time to my previous efforts, so the pace was great. We also had a tail! A lovely Italian lady (from Auckland) Alice Domenichini was quietly sitting behind us… we got a few words out of her but Barb and I did most of the chatting. The first half of the course is rolling with an overall drop in altitude and 3 or 4 stream crossings, not exactly easy, but gentler than the second half of the race.

Around about 18km where the climbing started was the first surprise, in previous years I have walked as much as I have run in these sections, however this year for some reason was different (maybe I was fresher). I ran about 90% of the uphills and passed an awful lot of runners. My time was scaring me but I was feeling good so just kept plodding. I didn’t notice Barb slip back, she just suddenly wasn’t there any more.

A little later Italian Alice passed me, then I passed her and then a wee bit later she steamed past me and into the distance.

Tom Frenz... always smiling!

All was great until about the big bridge where I started to seriously run out of steam. Sarah Lei passed me at the start of the last bit of farmland with some lovely words of encouragement and I managed to stagger/run/walk up the last kilometre or so of trail to the finish… could have done with Tom Frenz (pic at left) to tow me at about this stage… but he let me down and I had to struggle up alone.

In the end 4:23:04, nearly 16 minutes faster than last year and over 20 minutes faster than 2011 and 2^nd in my age group! Happy, but sore and tired.

A Winning Steve Neary and the LTH!

At the finish a beer and a burger and lots of catch-up with the others, Kerry Suter had blitzed the field by over 14 minutes in a race record 2:52:20 – over 90 minutes faster than my time and I thought I did ok! Steve Neary had a great run to win the 40-49 age group (interestingly I would have been second in this group as well). Also caught up with Susan Prater at the Inov-8 tent, she had won her class in the MTB race and the LTH, last years ladies winner was there nursing her broken toe that stopped her defending her title.

Keith Crook shares tactic with Jeremy Weight

Barb Carson won the Vets ladies and Sarah Lei was 3^rd in the Ladies Open with Italian Alice 2^nd.

My good mate Keith Crook on the comeback after a broken ankle was 4^th in the 24km event.

As usual another fantastic day, well run, with a great bunch of people… Total Sport you are tops!!!

Another medal to my small collection

A big thanks to all my sponsors who have got me to the start line... Kaz Dezign from Cambridge for their great work with my logo, website banner and facebook banner. W3 Web Design from Hamilton for getting the website up and running. All Sew have been fabulous with my shirts and are currently helping me get some shirts to sell ready... all without question and making no profit at all! Waikato Osteopaths and Marcus (who ran an excellent time for 11th overall) and who I will be visiting later in the week.

But last word for this race goes to Inov-8, Susan and Richard have been fantastic in their support for me

already and I can say without a word of doubt that the shoes are fabulous… 2 events = 2 PB’s. Many, many runners were wearing X-Talons and for a reason... the grip was out of this world. They were snug on my feet and even in mud and on slippery rocks the grip was solid. Add to this the wonderful waist pack and my trusty race-cap and I could not ask for more!

Roll on Race 2 in the Hawkes Bay on the 19^th… unless I find a race this weekend!

Please... it's not too late... every dollar counts... head to 52in52.org.nz and click in the menu where it says 'Sponsors'. There is an easy form on the right-hand side that will allow you to support me and of course help Hospice!

The Long Silence...

When I started this Blog, it was as much for me as it was for sharing. It is great to talk about the events you have run in and the fabulous trails you have experienced... however even the most loving non-runner tires after a while of hearing me wax lyrical about a new trail or a fantastic race.

So the blog was a place I could do this with impunity, get it off my chest. So it has been something I have done reasonably often up to a period over the last 6 months where I have not written at all... why, I wondered had I lost the need.

The answer was not hard to find... FACEBOOK!!! While I had been on FB before, my circle of running friends has grown immensely in the last year... a circle of people who never tire of hearing about each other's exploits and looking at a myriad of pictures from the tops of hills or the edge of lakes.

But reading through the various Blogs after the recent Tarawera Ultra I was reminded that it is also a great outlet to share more than just the experience... but to get down to the nitty gritty, even to bare the soul a wee bit... definitely more than you tend to do on Facebook. So I will continue this blog, as and when I feel the need, not just for events...

Speaking of events... not so many this year as I build to my 52 in 52 Challenge, but more on that later, since my last blog (Hidden Trails at Kawerau) I have participated in the following:

The Ocean Beach Oi Oi, part of the Hawkes Bay Trail Running Series. An off-road half on and off the beach at Ocean Beach.

Xterra Waiuku where I ran the Super Long course and as a real buzz my daughter Kate ran the 6km run, her first in competition (right).

The Cambridge Half Marathon, this was an impulse event after the Rotorua through town trail/road race was canned. The bonus in my first road race for several years was another personal best. After the 1:44 at Hidden Trails I was stoked to break the 100 minute mark at Cambridge with a time of 1:39:25 and negative splits!

Xterra Hunua, where I again did the Super Long course. Having done the long course the previous year and loved it, I found that the super long did not add much to the event other than some extra distance. Still a fantastic race and highly recommended, very tough and very rewarding!

The Great Forest Rogaine. This was a first rogaine for me and a truck-load of fun. I was supposed to do the 3 hour event with friends but that team was changed last minute to a walking team. Then I finished up with Darren Blackwell and the man is a machine, he was doing the 6 hour event and I just did the first 3 hours with him - that was enough. Definitely an event I will try again.

City to Surf Tauranga, this was another major highlight. Kate (my 15 year old daughter) and I ran the whole 12km together. Kate had never run this far before and so it was fantastic to run with her and do the whole "run to the next lamppost" thing. We finished in a very creditable 1:20 which we were both very happy with.


The Rotorua Ekiden, I was roped in at a late stage to run a section of the Rotorua Ekiden for my lovely partner Lorraine's work team. I ran from Marama resort around to the weighbridge by the airport and then carried on a bit as I wanted to get a 10km time... which I did of 46:19. Not as quick as I hoped, but ok. I then ran with the next runner to the end of then next section and eventually walked the last few km's with Lorraine.

Xterra National Trail-Running Champs Waihi, I love this event and was running it for the 4th time this year (3 at Waihi and once in Rotorua) and again I bettered my course time taking 4 min off the previous year. I love this race and I'm not looking forward to not running it this year as it is not half marathon distance.

Tikitapu Off-Road Half, This was a nice run... up onto one of my favourite trails Tuhoto Ariki. The distance was quite a bit short of the advertised half marathon, but a fun day from Ra and the Nduro team.

 
TECT Park Tauranga Trail Run, the second of my 2 runs with Kate. This was a 10km run at TECT Park between Rotorua and Tauranga. 2 laps of a very up and down course took their toll on Kate but she hung on valiantly - even when I gave her the option of pulling out after one lap and we finished in 1:15. 


 

The Goat, Finally after several years of thinking about it, I entered The Goat... only to have the event moved to the alternate course when Ruapehu threatened to erupt. The alternate course sucked... uphill on road is not my scene. On the trail sections hardly anyone passed me and I passed quite a few. On the road I was a slug... oh well, maybe next year on the real course!



The Santa Run, What a great initiative this is to raise money for Kids Can. A quick scamper around the Lakeside Domain in Rotorua with 30 or 40 other Santas made for a real hoot. For the record it took me 7:22 to run the 1.8km in the suit for 4th place (I am #85 in the pic).

The Blue Lake Multisport 5.5km Fun Run, One lap of Blue Lake (which the Garmin read as 5.21km) and a 5km pb of 21.52 gave me 4th place which was a buzz.

That was back in January, since then I have been just running. Quite a few runs with friends training for Tarawera and a run at the Tarawera Training camp where I tried to knock myself out.

All backing off a bit and getting ready for the next big Challenge...52 in 52!

For those that haven't seen my Facebook or webpage, starting in May with the T42 Off-Road Marathon I am planning to raise over $20000 for Hospice by running 52 Half Marathons - or longer - in 52 weeks culminating in the 50th Rotorua Marathon.

For this series of races I am starting a new blog which will focus solely on the Challenge but will, if possible, either copy or link the blogs back here... so watch this space... or the new one... or both... up to you!

 

'Not So' Hidden Trails Kawerau

I was feeling really on a roll and although disappointed with the course at Opotiki, I had been happy with the time.

I had been told that the 'Hidden Trails' Half Marathon in Kawerau was a mix of roads and trails and really, it was more of a mix of roads and parks. Still it was a lot better than the roller coaster footpath that was Opotiki.

As is my norm, I got to Kawerau nice and early and secured a nice park right next to the starting area... at my age it's not too good to leave a long trip to the car after the race.

After helping the St John's man set up his pergola, I registered and wandered around a bit before settling in the car to 'prep' myself. Shortly after I saw Ian Hansen, fresh from his run in Opotiki.

He was rather more surprised to see me as I had only entered a few days before and kept it quiet. After watching the walkers head off (right), I waited patiently for the usual and standard race briefing, before we were off.

It was a good sized field with some of the usual faces... I have noticed that the events such as these that are run by clubs get great support from the running clubs from other towns. Many of the top runners seem to steer clear of the 'commercial' events and just run a mix of club events. This probably saves them a fair bit of cash... but they miss some great races that the 'race-junkies' like me get to experience.

Anyway, back to the race, on the road for the first 750 metres up a steady incline, then off the road and on to some trail... "wow" I thought, this is going to be great... a nice piece of trail, climbing for nearly a kilometre to the top of a hill overlooking the start and much of Kawerau. Hidden Trails indeed, if this was what we were in for it was going to be a good run.... unfortunately this was the most fun part of the whole run for me... well almost!
 
Another 900 metres down the hill again brought us back to the road and a run along the street for just over a kilometre then on to a side trail off the road that lead to a trail more familiar. I ran the last 25km of the Tarawera Ultra in 2011 with my mate John Bell as his 'buddy runner' and we joined on to the river trail that in TUM leads to Firmin Park and the finish. 

We however cruised straight past the Park and followed the river trail for just over 3km until it hit Tamarangi Drive - the main road you use coming into Kawerau from either end. This 3km should have been fun and a lot of the road runners in the race said afterwards that they really enjoyed it... but compared to 'real trails', it was a tad boring... but my pace was ok, just on or under 5 minute km's, which for me is pretty good.

A kilometre along the road and into a nice, but very short bit of trail, then over the road and into the residential streets in a reverse of part of the old Kawerau Half Marathon course. That took us into the park used in the old Half as well and we then looped through, using park walkways for a couple of km's and into the second lap of the same course... only not quite... the best bit of the first lap... the hill, was mysteriously cut out of the second lap. While strictly speaking these were 'trails', it really did feel like park running (right), which is very different.

About 3km from the finish, Ian Hansen steamed up to me looking very fresh... confirming my thoughts that he could become a very quick half runner. This was only his second half and he was cruising. I let him speed up my pace for a while but in time he left me, eventually finishing a minute or so ahead.

I battled, as I have been recently, picking off a few runners over the last couple of km's and was both happy and surprised when crossing the line to look and see that I had beaten my half marathon PB by a minute and a half... I guess there is some advantage to running pretty flat Half's after all!




After the race, a bite to eat, free entry to the Hot Pools if you want to use them (I didn't this time) and then down to the Cossie Club for prizegiving and my mandatory no spot prize.




All in all a well run event, the club did a great job. Times were up quickly on the website and they had several of their own photographers on the course who did a much better job than many of the 'professional' companies at other events... to the point where for the first time in a long time I actually bought some prints.


If you want a fast time... enter this event, if you want a trail run... don't!