The Nugget 2012 - A Bit of Everything!

We are getting towards the end of the Total Sport Summer Series and to be honest they have been a mixed bag for me...

• The Tussock Traverse was great even with the couple of km's of road like trails. 
• The Trailfest at Riverhead was too hot and too dusty with too many roads for my liking. 
• I could see why the Coastal Challenge has become one of the major Auckland runs... but not for me, the slippery green rocks tied in with having to swim several times lead me to my first DNF ever. 
• I had to miss the Colville as I had Tarawera the next week... shame as I would really have like to run up there. 
• Then came the Dual... not helped I guess by me having run 60km for the first time ever at Tarawera the week before, I struggled bigtime and the scoria got the better of me... I finished, but very slow and very sore!

  The latest episode in the Summer Series was the Nugget Multisport Half Marathon event starting at Waihi Beach and finishing in Waihi town. With my bad run since the Tussock I was a bit worried... I need not have been. What a great event. As usual Total Sport had booked some sublime weather... I don't think they have had a bad day this series, even though it's been a wet summer.

Dropped the car off in Waihi Town to register and catch the bus and bumped straight into running buddies Steve Neary and Paulo Osario. Off on the bus down to the beach, just a 10 minute trip and then about 45 minutes of pre-race 'milling'. Met Kerry Suter for the first time (although I saw him in the distance several times at Tarawera where he was the running cameraman). 

Kerry bolted off like a gazelle at the start, took a couple of wrong turns and still won the race comfortably, hopped in his car and drove to Cambridge where he won another race in the afternoon, read about it here. 

Total Sports top Man Aaron Carter then had to put up with me telling him all the great things he 'could' be doing... he humours me, you have to respect your elders!

After Aaron's 'stirring' pre-race briefing we were off. I had run the first 3km at Christmas before veering off to the William Wright Falls and back. So I knew to pace myself for the ups and downs.  Second wind took a while but arrived eventually. As usual I was blitzing past a few on the downhills and getting passed by them again going up.

The scenery on the coastal section was awesome, the trails were by and large very runnable with just a few knarly bits. My Salomon Fellcross love everything except any sort of rocks, dry, wet, green it doesn't like any of them... so in a couple of places I was extra careful. 

The little dots next to the fence in the field

are runners.

The bump to the right of the tree is the Mount.

About 6.5km in and we turned left... and started climbing. My Garmin tells me that we climbed 250 vertical metres in just over 2km. All I know was it was hard work. Although it was a good excuse near the top to stop and take some pictures of the stunning views. It looks pretty good in the photos and yet they do not do justice to how beautiful it was up there.


After the first drink station - which doubled as a transition for the Multi-sporters - we followed a gravel road up a little further and then veered off into farmland for the next few km's. A rapid downhill allowed me to grab back a couple of places and then we were on to another first for me (and many others I bet) a dairy farm link track. Nice firm running - as long as you watched where you put your feet!

A short section of road (eeeek) and then onto farmland again and down and around some of the mines. A short piece of single trail on the edge of town was a nice surprise and allowed me to catch the two runners I had been following as far back as about 400 metres at times since they passed me going up the big hill. I was pretty sure one of them was a fellow Vet which was all the motivation I needed to dig a bit deeper (turns out he was). He was struggling a bit with some uphills, so I dug deep and pushed on hard to lose him before he used me for a tow!

Next thing we were up on the track around the top of Martha's Mine and the finish was in sight... it was a relief to see we had the short route while all the other events went right around the mine.

In the end I finished in 2 hours 25 and a bit, which was good enough for 3rd in category on the day and with a body still not 100% from the Ultra, I was pretty happy with this... especially the way I finished strongly again.

Steve and Paulo had done well in their classes as well and had been waiting for about 40 minutes for the 'old buggar', we then had time to head into the lovely village of Waihi for a caffeine infusion at one of the many wee cafes around town before heading back for the prizegiving.

As usual Total Sport did it great... whether I have enjoyed the individual events or not, they know how to make an event that runs smoothly on all the different levels.

This is an event I will happily be back for (dates allowing) next year and of course wll be back in Waihi before that at the end of the year for the Xterra Trail Running Champs. 


Here is the Garmin of the run...

Tarawera Ultra Marathon

Right from last year sometime my mates have been talking about running an Ultra Marathon... 60, 85 or even 100km... a few of them decided to do the one in my neck of the woods - the Tarawera Ultra Marathon (hereafter referred to as TUM).

Photo: Paul Charteris

Personally I thought they were nuts... the 2 marathons I have done, while being personally fulfilling, have both nearly killed me! So when it was suggested that "you should run the 60km Mike".... I laughed and said "You'd have to pay me!".

From that comment, later the same evening an idea hatched itself in my head... what if people did pay me to run? No, not as a professional, but as a fundraiser. Hospice are the Charity that BNI - who I contract to - support and having experienced their fantastic services when my Mother passed 17 months ago
I decided that the first question I asked was going to decide whether it happened or not... that question was to Sue Rednap at BNI Support in Auckland asking if they would sponsor my entry to TUM (as it wasn't in my 'running' budget). Sue said yes and I was committed - my partner and daughter thought I should have been committed!

I then spoke to my various businesses that make up BNI around the area I look after and after having set a target of $3000, I eventually finished with just over $5000 in pledges.... BNI's motto is "Giver's Gain" which they practice as well as preach, so now I had to run!

To be fair, I didn't do a lot different to my normal training except to learn to run slower. I knew that half-marathon pace was not going to do it.

Photo: Paul Charteris

I also immersed myself to some extent in the event. I offered my services to Paul Charteris, the Race Director and he happily took me up on that offer. First off we cleared a new section of trail between Blue Lake (Tikitapu) and Okareka Township (left).

Then on Race Week we 'did the shopping' together. We cleaned Pak'n'Save out of Jelly Beans (right), bought more sweets that would be needed for a birthday party for a hundred 5 year olds. 240 or so bottles of coke and so much more.

Then we had a trip to Kawerau to drop Aid Station stuff off and I spent a couple of half days stuffing racepaks and generally just helping where I could.

Steve Neary, Keith Crook & MT Photo: Christine Crook

But finally raceday came up, I actually slept well - until the alarm woke me at 4.30am. Scoffed down some breakfast and had some quiet time on facebook until we headed down to the event at just before 6. We were one of the first there, so we got a great park!

Met up with my mate Keith Crook and his pacer Steve Neary and soaked up the atmosphere... and even at this stage there was plenty.


I had my handheld $5 torch, but was soon able to put it away as with all the headlamps around me there was plenty of light on things.


I started very cautiously and took it very easy on the accent to the top of Tokorangi Pa Road (in the Rotorua Redwoods). In fact I took it pretty easy pretty much the whole run to my first stop... at Lake Okareka.

Photo: Paul Charteris

It would have been even cruisier had not the Lakes in the Rotorua region all be very high... the Blue Lake especially, leading to about an 80 metre wade at one point (right) and about another 6 immersions before we left the Blue Lake trail. Wet feet would not normally bother me, but a whole pile of sand and rubbish found their way into my shoes as well, so it was a good job my team had a change ready at Okareka.

 Another disadvantage of a much earlier race start than I have had before was that the body was not prepared fully and despite getting up early for brekky, it was not until Okareka that the body decided it was time... me and everone else... hence the pic (left) of me racing Keith Crook to the Loo!


I made it to Okareka in 2 hours 29 minutes, which was pretty much what I had planned. The pitstop and the change of shoes and socks cost me quite a few minutes, but both were worth the time. With hindsight I probably could have run a bit faster over this section, but at that stage I had absolutely no idea.


So we plodded up Millar Road from the Boyes Beach (Okareka) Aid Station and onto Western Okataina Walkway... which I love. Again I was running very much within myself, taking it very easy on the ups and cruising the downs. I was very much expecting to start hurting a lot on this section, but maybe because I was prepared, or maybe because I had taken the first sections so easily, I just felt great. In fact I was chatting away to a fellow runner when we passed a lady walking the other way who told us "only 5 minutes to the to the top" which caught me on the hop as the trail had slid past.


I really let loose on the big downhill at the end of this stage as that is what I do best and I figured I could make up some time now for when my legs would be too tired later.

Okataina Aid Station

At Okataina Aid Station (right) I pigged out on watermelon and a few jelly beans, but pretty much left everything else alone. Right from the start I had been on a planned diet of a Leppin gel every 45 minutes and I kept this up until near the end, which took away most of the need to take on any other food. Watermelon was great though, so refreshing, food and a drink in one mouthful.I had been told "don't try anything new on raceday" and this seemed like a good strategy.




At this point I will mention my other strategy for this run. In my mind I had split the run into 3 sections. Firstly to Okareka, secondly to Okataina and finally to the Finish at Tarawera Falls. Like 3 half-marathons... and I do them all the time!

Even though the first section took two and a half hours it seemed to happen sneaky quick... especially with all the chatting to fellow runners and meeting people I had spoken to on facebook.

The second section was a piece of trail I knew reasonably well and as previously stated, I really love it. So it seemed to go quickly as well and it didn't feel like nearly 5 hours when I reached Okataina.

But the final section had to hurt, I have run the Eastern Okataina Walkway from the lodge to Humphries Bay, so I knew what to expect - tough ups and downs and plenty of them!

Humphries Bay

What was new was the 2 patches of water where there used to be beach sections leading to wet feet again... but this close to the finish I was not worried. I still felt great.. although getting a bit tired and sore.



When I reached Humphries Bay and was greated by the fantastic crew there in their Hawaian outfits,(left) I made what was really the only major mistake I made on the day. As I was getting sore, I had decided to rub some of the cooling gel into my muscles at that stop and also onto my sore back.


I did this no problem and chatted to one of the aid station team while doing it, about the sting I got on my shoulder about 5 minutes prior (my only 'injury' of the day). Then I attacked the watermelon again and headed off up the hill - forgetting to fill my drink up!!!

Finished!!! Photo: Christine Crook

About 1km into this section I ran out of fluids, which at the time didn't seem insurmountable, but no doubt had a lot to do with the cramping that hampered me in the last 10km. About 4km from Humphries Bay I reached the spot I had run to 10 days earlier from the other end and knew there was 8km to go. There was still some life in the legs and I started to push the flats and the downhills and go for the best time I could. 


At the Outlet I quickly downed several cokes and some electrolyte drink, but the previous 10km with no drinks had done their bit and even though I still kept pushing, the cramps were starting to set in. 


I crossed in 8 hours and 9 minutes... and discovered that the thing that hits you at the end of an Ultra is not - as you would think - elation, but rather emotion. It was all I could do to hold back ther tears as I savoured the fact that I had done it! 

Right from the start of this journey, I have told all of those who would listen that this was a 'one-off', that I was not an Ultra runner and had no intention of being one.


I managed to coerce my BNI business associates, some fellow runners and one or two others to sponsor me... I even had a couple of race shirts donated (left) by All Sew in Cambridge.


The results show I finished 19th overall out of 94 starters in my event, but in the end, the day won over everything... I had a great race - for me - my family were there, my friends were running all around me. I felt the pain for those who's day didn't go so well and the elation of other finishers I cheered over the line. The people on the course and in the Aid Stations were wonderful and uplifting.

Next day was prizegiving at Abracadabra in Rotorua. Lots of stories that will grow in the telling for years to come... some of them even true. Everyone joined in the spirit of having been there for a magical day for an amazing event that superceded most everyone's expectations. Although in it's 4th year, the consensus was that TUM has 'come of age' as NZ's premier Ultra Distance race... well done Paul!




Now I am torn... part of me feels like this was great, but I could do better. The other part says "you had a near perfect day, now walk away" I guess only time will tell which way I go... in the meantime, I'm off to the Dual this weekend for a 'wind-down run".


Finally and most importantly, a massive thanks to my support crew... my partner Lorraine, my daughter Kate (who both still think I'm nuts) as well as Steve Neary and Christine Crook who were oficially Keith's support team but seemed to be supporting everyone! Your presence on the day made it all work. Your smiling faces and encouragement at my key stops lifted me for the next section. Knowing you were there waiting at the finish spurred me on... thank-you thank-you thank-you

Here is the official video...

My Garmin report...


The Race Map...

The Tussock Traverse

Saturday 28th January dawned crisp and clear. Into the car at 5.15am for the drive from Rotorua to the Chateau Tongariro for my second year of the Fix Tussock Traverse. Last year this was definitely one of my top 3 events - despite the fact that it was right up there as one of the very hardest.

Why was it so hard... 

Well firstly, it is at the end of January, first event of the year for me and we all know what happens at the end of December and January (too much food and drink is what). 

Secondly the course is pretty tough with a 2km climb at the very start of the race. 

Thirdly: it was made more so with a wind of between 60kmph and 70kmph right into our faces for about 12km of the last 18km.

So I battled around last year in 3 hours and 29 minutes and could barely stagger to the car at the end... my aim this year, to take about 15 minutes off last years time.

 So anyway, arrived at the Chateau just after 7am, there had been a frost (right in the middle of summer) and it was a bit cool. Picked up my registration pack with my Tussock Traverse cap and a cool number - 777.

We then all (nearly all) piled onto buses for the trip around the mountain to the start line. No drama this year on the Tukino Skifield link road to the start line (last year we had at least one bus get stuck) and everyone quickly lined up for the Portaloos. 364 runners this year, up from 197 last year.

We all tried to listen to the safety briefing from Dave (right), while at the same time eyeing the hill behind him that we had to climb.

Total Sport run these events very very well and had everything planned and plenty of marshalls on course (every 2 km of the race). Caught up with my mates Keith Crook and Steve Neary before the race started. That was the last time I saw Steve until the finish line as he beat me by about 25 minutes.

Keith blitzed me on the hill (left), but had a few problems after that which were definitely not the kind of problems you want in the middle of a race in the desert... 'nuff said.


The hill is a killer way to start the race, but it does spread out the field quite a bit which becomes more and more necessary as the years go by and the field gets larger and larger.


After plodding up the hill there was a nice downhill over rocks which was my kind of terrain as I am pretty comfortable running down rocky hills and made up lots of places of the next few km's of gentle downhill.

The first 10km were just east of north and over a variety of terrain... although a lot of it is sand and there were a couple of 'nice' sand climbs. There are stream and river crossings and quite a few up and downs through valleys.

Just after the 10km mark you join the trail from Waihohonu Hut and head left starting the trail back to the Chateau Tongariro. This is where things change on 2 fronts.

Firstly the wind, nowhere near as strong as last years gale force, but still the prevailing wind is right into your face for the next 10km and, as 8 of that 10km are a steady climb, it was not surprising that both I and my legs were feeling very flat through this section.

Secondly, there had been lots and lots of 'upgrades' to the trail. Lots of boardwalks, steps and gravel paths packed so firm they were like a road. While this sped things up quite a bit, it was disappointing for me as I consider myself a 'wild trail' runner and this was in places like a highway. However the scenery and the environment are still fantastic and you still had to work up the hills!

Once I got up top, parallel to Tama Lakes, my body decided that it still had something left and I got a 'third wind' and started to push a bit harder... about this time I realised that if I went for it, I had a chance of breaking 3 hours which would be a real buzz after 3 and a half the year before.


Down past Taranaki Falls... didn't have time to stop and enjoy the view, pushing hard and actually passing a few people.




Pushing hard can hurt though, while passing one competitor I took my eyes off the ground and next thing I was visiting the ground... CRASH!!! Adrenalin got me up real quick, bloody hand, hole in knee of my skins and rather sore, but there was no way I was going to let that stop me getting in under 3 hrs... so on I pushed.


2 hours 57minutes I crossed the line elated (that's me, the big orange one in the pic at right - thanks Christine Crook for pic). 

On checking the results most of last years runners in my category improved between 12 and 15 minutes on last years time... a combination of the new trails and lack of strong wind. As I improved 32 minutes I was very proud of myself and have made a tough time for next year.

The Tussock Traverse is a must-do event if you are a trail runner. It is well run with some of the best scenery in the world - you can tell your overseas friends you ran around Mt Doom! Total Sport make everything run like clockwork, right down to a beer and a sausage at the end. 


Oh and a big thanks to St John for cleaning up all the blood at the finish line.


Here's the Garmin link... Tussock Traverse 2012 by mike3950 at Garmin Connect - Details

Hidden Trail - Woods Mill Track (Updated)

As part of my job I regularly travel around the Bay of Plenty and Waikato in New Zealand's Central North Island. So, of course, I am always looking for a run on the way home from my meetings. As they are mainly morning meetings I generally have lots of time.

I have struggled to find much to run on the way back from Hamilton to Rotorua... there is a nice trail on the link road from SH5 to Putaruru, but other than that I usually have to detour over to the Kaimais to find something.

However between Tirau and Rotorua, about a kilometre on the Rotorua side of the big passing lane, I had noticed for a while the sign in the picture to the right. 

It kinda looked like there might be some kind of trail, but I guessed it was probably just a hunters track, however I decided to go for a run and see what was there.

After the first 200 metres or so, I wasn't holding much hope, overgrown with grass and just a trodden path that looked very 'un-trail' like.

Then it reached the bush and cleared to a 'real' trail and a sign (left) to confirm it. A Loop Track... yippee... love loop tracks.

So about another 200 metres down the trail comes to a 'T' junction. As I nearly always run clockwise I turned left and set out. Turns out the decision was correct, next visit I ran right and after about half a kmit reaches the road just up from where you parked... so left is the way to go!  The main trails was a nice wide trail with the odd boggy patch and of course the ubiquitous orange triangles.

A bit down the track you run through more grassy area with signs of the old mill railway that the track was built on in many places.


The grass trail is just that... a grass trail, so some care is needed as the grass covers some unevenness in the ground and you could easy roll an ankle in this stretch. However it is only for a couple of hundred metres at most before you head back into the bush.

All in all the first 4km or so is pretty cruisy with not much in the way of hills and just nice running - which suited me as I had the Tussock Traverse coming up a couple of days later. However at about 4km the trail starts to head down, being a loop trail (I thought), I could either head down or double back.... I hate doubling back, so down I went.. and down... and down. 


At the bottom was a lovely waterfall and river... and a dead end to the trail!!!

There were vague signs that the trail may have gone further in the past, but no way that I could see to get through, so back up the hill (slowly though, to conserve energy for the race) and I retraced my steps back to the car.


At just over 8km all up, this was a nice run and one I will repeat. I will also take the right turn at the T-junction next time and see where that takes me and possibly update this blog then.


So if you are looking for a nice wee run between Tirau and Rotorua... keep an eye out for the 'Light no Fires' sign on the left hand side (heading to Rotorua) about a kilometre up from the big passing lane.

Garmin link: Woods Mill Track by mike3950 at Garmin Connect - Details

Andrew's Odyssey

Heather Andrews and Andrew Shelly posted the following in the Trailhunters Facebook Group on the 29th December...

"Andrew Shelley and I are doing the following route on Wednesday 11th January. Starting at Mangatepopo carpark up to South Crater, drop down into Oturere (cross country), Northern Circuit trail across Rangipo Desert, cross country around the Southern side of Ngauruhoe to join un marked trail back to Mangatepopo Valley.

Social/Run/Walk/Crawl/or Grovel what we can!! Let me know your thoughts :)
Time TBA."

 As founder of the group, this was the first outing posted that I was available for and it sounded very interesting, especially as I was entered in the Tussock Traverse a couple of weeks later. So after a bit of to and fro everything was settled and even the weather came to the party with the first fine day in about 10 days.

So we met at the start of the Tongariro Crossing at 9am, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to take on the world - well this small part of it anyway. Planned time, about 7 to 8 hours... well that was the plan!

 Lot's of others doing the Crossing that day, with it being the first fine day in a while, but we started out at a steady jog passing many as we went. We stopped early on at the Mangatepopo Hut for Andrew to fill in the Log Book as we were going 'off-trail'.

I was very surprised at the quality of the Crossing track, it was more like a 4-lane highway with wide trails, boardwalks and the runners favourites... steps!

There are plenty of steps, as those who have done the Crossing will know. But we set a pretty good pace, working our way past trekkers from all over the world, stopping for our first food break just shy of the top of the steps.

 

We worked out way up to South Crater and a bit above - about a 600m climb - on this great walkway... then the fun started. We just went down the cliff on the right side of the trail - as you do!

The picture at left show Andrew and Heather descending from the trail into the valley, you can see how careful they are being, firstly because it was quite soft and loose and secondly (and probably more importantly) it was bloody steep!

 

At least at this stage we thought it was steep, we encountered worse later... but that can wait for now. We made it down to the bottom with no drama and were rewarded with the fabulous view back to where we had come from, with small figures still on the trail just visible (pic left).

 

 This bit of cross-country was fabulous, we avoided the natural plants as much as possible and the going was great with us able to jog steadily for most of the way surrounded by the scenery direct from Lord of the Rings.

Andrew had entered waypoints on his Garmin for the expected route and we worked our way towards the first waypoint and straight onto the Northern Circuit Trail - exactly where he expected it.

We followed this trail to the Oturere hut where we stopped for more food and drink and for Andrew to enter the info in the Log Book.

We bumped into 3 blokes doing the Northern Circuit here who happily took our picture... they were the last people we encountered for about the next 8 hours. We left on the Northern Circuit Trail and proceeded at a good pace with a few climbs and descents thrown in and having an absolute ball!

When the time was right, Andrew's waypoints told us it was time to leave the trail again for the traverse across the saddle next to Ngauruhoe and back to the start. Somewhere around here things went ever so slightly wrong.... 

 We went down the next valley and started traversing around the corner on some rather tricky side slope. We passed a post on the top of one of the crests and headed off down the other side of the crest... for quite a way. At this stage we did what all blokes should do and listened to the 'gut-feelings' of the only lady in the group. Heather didn't feel we were in the right place and that maybe we should back-track a bit.

And a good decision it was, we back-tracked to a saddle down further South, expecting to be able to slide through the saddle into the correct valley. We got to the saddle and straight away could see where we should have gone... but there was no way we could get down into the valley without a parachute or a helicopter!.

So now what? rather than head several km's back in to direction we had come from and then climb back into the correct valley... we decided to head on up and try to traverse around the range keeping as high as we could above the vegetation line. This worked really well for a while.... even when we first hit the vegetation it was mainly mosses and ankle-height scrub and was no problem... until we got around to the north-facing side.

That was a double-edged sword... we got to the northern slopes and the first thing we could see was the carpark, clear as a bell a few km's away as the crow flies. Unfortunately we were not crows and there was now some serious undergrowth between us and the carpark.

Time to 'Bush-Bash'... well, that was an experience I am not in a hurry to repeat. Undergrowth so thick that we often couldn't see the ground - I disappeared down a couple of holes - so thick that we had to stay in sight of each other. We climbed through, over, under and around heavily intertwined scrub for what was probably only 400-500 metres and took longer than a 10km training run. 

At the bottom of the hill when we finally made it the going was quite a bit easier - but not easy as such - and we worked our way along next to the stream and then up the hill on the other side, which, being south facing, was not as thick. 

At the top of this hill it looked like we had one more downhill through the thick stuff and I was just investigating potential routes when Andrew discovered a trail, old and not much used recently, but definitely a trail. This lifted spirits and away we went down to where it met up with the trail from the Tongariro Crossing trail to the Chateau. You can see me celebrating at right!

After that it was a simple walk back up the trail, stopping at the Mangatepopo Hut to sign back in and head to the carpark... 10 hours and 47 minutes after we started.

As with all such excursions... once finished it became an adventure! I can truly say that although we at times struggled through some very very difficult terrain, I never felt in danger. We had phones with coverage and with our Garmins we regularly contacted Paul Charteris who became our 'outside contact' with our position coordinates (thanks Paul). My only worry was the embarrassment if we had to be airlifted off... which fortunately did not happen.

We had adequate food and all the first-aid equipment, exposure blankets etc and clothing required and I would never venture into an unknown 'wild' experience without that equipment. The only thing that got tight was drink. I ran out with only 1.5L in my backpack and took a risk and took some water from a grassy stream. This is not the best solution, however I don't seem to have had any backlash and it is now 4 days later.

My companions were fantastic, Andrew has a cool calm head and Heather stayed pretty calm in a situation that none of us were comfortable with at times. We discussed options often during the trip and made decisions (not always the right ones) that seemed right at the time. You will notice that there are no pics on the second half of this story, as taking pictures stopped being a priority, however at the bottom are some more pictures from during the day, thanks to Andrew for some of these.

Now, looking back, I would not change a thing. I learned so much more from the mistakes we made than I ever would if we had cruised around with no problems. If it had all gone to plan we would probably have finished in a bout 7 hours and I would have decided that 'this cross-country stuff' is pretty easy. It's not, even the best of plans can go astray and I truly believe in the saying "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".

Thanks Heather and Andrew for a fantastic experience which will be one I carry with me and treasure for the rest of my lifetime.

Andrew's Blog