After my first year of running back in 2006, I was finding roads were just too hard on the body and I heard about a local trail run series run by NDuro Events, right on my back doorstep.
So I started the NDuro's running 10 to 14km events and doing ok in my age group (small fields - I mean really small), but then in 2010 the series was cancelled (I told you the fields were small) and all of a sudden I was looking for trail events - to which I had become addicted - to enter.
And there it was... Xterra Auckland.... so I though why not and entered Xterra Riverhead which was the second event of the year. I entered the Long - 16km - 20km category as I thought a step up might be good. Off early morning for the trek from Rotorua to the North-West of Auckland... one of the first to arrive and, after wading around the water and mud of Riverhead at it's wettest, I had won my age-group! Hooked!
I went on to win the series for Vets that year, after negotiating a series pass with Aaron Carter, running all of the last 5 races ... where is this leading? Well the first race that year and the only one I missed, was Hunua! So in 2011 when I - of course - re-entered the series, I was quite keen to see what this Hunua run was like... and it was, in a word, Fan-bloody-tastic!!!
So no matter what I have done in the years since then, Hunua has always been on my 'must do' list. So happy me when it rolled around again... although it is tough enough that you do not really want to be doing it the day after another half.And I felt it early on, still - as I am becoming used to - running wounded, I was off at a very sedate pace thinking to just survive.... probably too sedate.
The lovely Lainy was there taking pics at the start and again at the end, which made for a great weekend!By the time I got to the halfway point I was over 30 minutes slower than last year (I worked this out from Garmin later) and the touchpoint was when I passed someone again who had passed me. I thought - as you do - "buggar it, she is not passing me again" and pushed a bit harder. And instead of screaming at me, the body went!
From that point to the end of the race, not a single runner passed me and I was faster than my previous best over that part of the course - the famous National Downhill (going up) and the in-famous neverending PukaPuka!!!.
The Pukapuka is the only piece of trail I rank close to Rotorua's own Tuhoto Ariki. It is definitely a lot tougher and longer. But knarly tree roots and climbs and just when you think you are on the way down it takes you back up again. There is mud and treacherous footing and everything a great native bush trail needs!After the PukaPuka comes a part that in some ways is even harder for a big bloke like me to run, a couple of km's (feels like 10!) down the road to the Dam. An already sore body of over 90kg's does not like being subjected to this much pounding at this stage of the race. Still it is a great view on the way down and I had to keep the speed up to stop anyone passing me, as it had become a matter of pride by this stage that no-one was going to pass me in the last half of the race!
Finally battled down the straight, late enough that Allan Ure from Photos4Sale was in his car about to head home when he saw me and hopped out to take some pics running down the road with me.
My good friend Keith Crook was at the finish, supporting all the runners, though he could not run himself at the moment.
All in all another great Total Sport Event and definitely still a must-do run on my calendar. Great to catch up with quite a few friends as well both on and off the course. So a tough weekend had come to an end, but another 2 runs in the books and we are loving the challenge!
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