Visit to Vege-land

Next stop.. and Number 44 of the Challenge took me to the heart of New Zealand's top vegetable growing area - Pukekohe.

Another road half and expecting it to probably be a bit up and down... I wasn't disappointed.

The first nice surprise though was being met at the start area by local resident Steve Neary. Steve wasn't running and offered to be Lainy and Kate's guide for the day.

Also living locally and down for the days run was the lovely Laurie Wilson, Laurie and Chris lived just up the road, although Chris's knee wouldn't allow him to run. Rebecca Edgecombe was there yet again... she must have nearly run 52 events herself and Mike Duckett to make up the numbers!

The run starts with a quick out and back in the opposite direction to the main part of the course to make up the correct distance... so Lainy and Kate got to get the good pics, then go for morning tea with Steve... before following me around the course with cameras.

After a winding procession through Pukekohe town we were out into the country and steadily climbing... the course just gradually climbed all of the way to about 14km.

The weather was hot and fine and I had a pretty good day. By the time we got to the highest point of the course we had a few nice views.

Then the descent, not steep enough to damage the knees, but enough to up the pace a bit. I got quite lucky in the last couple of km's as I was running just behind, then just in front of and then just behind a bloke from Australia who had entered on a whim while here on holiday.

I was keeping a reasonably steady pace and he was a surger... in the end we pushed each other to the end a bit quicker than either of us would probably have gone otherwise. He had too much for me in the end, but a time of 1:45:31 was good enough.

We picked up our bag of veges that every finisher got and headed up to Steve's house for a shower and a tour of his fabulous Beer Museum... I was blown away by the fabulous collection he has... especially att the Tennent's Beer Memorabilia! A massive thanks to Steve for being a fantastic host for my girls for the day.

Then back for a very pleasant prizegiving and a chat with friends, and off home with another in the books!

Just up the Road...

Race #43 was a late change of schedule. I had planned on heading to New Plymouth to run a trail half over there. However with Lainy's uncertain situation and upon hearing that Beyond Adventure Racing were running a trail half at TECT Park, a mere 25km up the road... it was a no-brainer.

Sophie from Beyond was only too happy to sponsor my entry and Matt from Podium was the principal sponsor... so it was great to catch up with him as well.

TECT Park is a place I have run many times, in fact I have run pretty much the exact course we used on the day.... and I love it.

There was a small field gathered for the race start. 34 had gone off earlier in the full marathon including Ross Steele, Jonathon Haggar, Stephen Healey, Rebecca Edgecombe and Mike Duckett. Another 34 lined up for the Half. I really hope they can get their fields to grow, as they run a really good fun event and there is nothing else close to Tauranga.

I was pretty comfortable at first and set a steady pace. The first section is a nice little canter around a MTB Loop near to the start and once finished takes you past the start again, then another loop to the North and around to the start yet again to give Lainy lots of photo ops.... and then we were out to the back of the park for the course real.

After cruising along a roller coaster grass covered trail for a couple of km we were out on a forestry road for a few hundred metres before heading into one of the best bits of trail in the Park. Buffalo Girl is fast earning a very positive reputation. It winds up and down along a lovely natural path with 3 stream crossings and is just plain nice running.

But as with all lovely trails, it comes to an end only too soon. But then we were onto some new trail for me... I think I have run it once before when part of Buffalo was closed for logging a few years back... but it was a lot more overgrown this year and made for some neat running.

Then back to what I knew and the climb to the transmitter tower is always a gutt-buster. Then we zig-zagged down and then across to Mustang trail... I was probably one of the only runners on the day that had run this trail... they were lucky, ignorance is bliss! It is a tough trail with 4 or 5 really steep climbs, not massively long climbs... but enough to get your blood pumping.

At the end of Mustang and all that was left was the road to the finish ... down, down, down the hill and then that last 'finish you off' climb to the finish. In the end I got home less than a minute under 2 hours for 10th place overall. Quite happy with that. Got to catch up with Dennis DeMonchy at the finish who had cruised home for second and have a chat with sponsor Matt and meet the very lovely Lyn Taylor, who had kept Lainy company while her daughter Steph was out on her first half marathon.

Really enjoyed the day and I think having Lainy with me after such a tough couple of weeks allowed me to relax and enjoy the day a bit more.

Even the Best race...

Race Number 42 was a race that has long been one of my favourites since I first ran in 2011 and was one of the first races I wrote on my 52 in 52 plan.

But after a really tough week in Palmerston North Hospital with Lainy I headed down to national park from home with my heart not really in it... and that was the pattern for the rest of the day.

Total Sports had turned on an absolutely stunning day, there was a great crowd and everything was set for a ripper.. except my headspace.

While waiting at the start Oscar Emery, Dawn Tuffery and some other nutters arrived who had started at the Chateau to do the 'Tussock Reverse'.. ie run from the finish to the start and then run the race. The amazing thing was that Dawn did this and still finished 3rd in the women's event.

Up the killer first hill that I know so well... even after 3 races it still catches you out with just how long it keeps climbing, before you plunge off into the rocky terrain below.

I wont labour this description too much other than to say, I grafted pretty much the whole way. I tried taking lots of pics to liven me up... but it wasn't going to work. I talked with other runners where I could and battled.

My time in the end was still about 30 minutes faster than my very first Tussock, but about 13 minutes slower than 2012... so it could have been worse.

The Tussock really is one of the gems of NZ trail running. You start about 5km up the Tukino Skifield road and wind your way in a reverse L around to the Chateau. You will encounter pretty much everything, sand, rocks, mud, river crossings, big ups and big downs. Waterfalls, fantastic views, and even some hard and fast running near the end where the new 'sterile' trails have been built.

I will definitely go back to this race, mainly because I know it is a race I love and I need to erase the terrible run I had this time when my body was running, but my head and heart were back in Rotorua with Lorraine!

Not the Start of 2014 I was after.

2013 was pretty tough on us as a family financially, however right at the end of the year we sold our house here in Rotorua to clear some debt. The family home in Bulls did not sell and we were not going to give it away... but it looked like it would be ok and we were looking forward to a bright new year.

Unfortunately I was rocked very early in the year with the unexpected passing of a very close friend down in Lower Hutt. Phil and I had been friends for nearly 30 years and his leaving us at age 52 was a tragedy for me and his family and many others. So the week before my first race of the year I was down in the Hutt Valley for Phil's funeral and then, a week later, Lainy and I were back for the start of the 'run home' for 52 in 52, The Hutt River Trails Half.

We were very lucky that The Settler's Motor Inn gave us a
room for two nights and they were wonderful hosts.

The Hutt River Trails run comprises of several events, the longest being an Ultra that starts on the Wairarapa side of the Rimutakas and finishes at the Petone foreshore... my good friend Clive Start was a starter in this for his first Ultra. Michael Rodliffe was also down from Auckland for the Ultra - the first of an amazingly full-on start to the year for him.

There was also a marathon and the inimitable Ross Steele was down from Tauranga to add another marathon to his growing list... the marathon started from the Wellington Kart Club at Kaitoke - the venue for Phil's funeral the week before ironically. Nat Thompson from Tauranga was also down for the Marathon.

The Half Marathon, my choice to start the year, started at Moonshine Park by the Moonshine Bridge in Upper Hutt. There were a good scattering of runners there for the start and we watched quite a few of the marathon runners heading through before our start time.

This was an interesting race... officially a trail race, the trails was pretty much like a gravel footpath and the most we climbed in the whole race was the climb to cross the river bridge at Avalon. I caught up to and ran with Ross for a while opposite Stokes Valley.. always great to chat to, although he was very low key in standard running gear for this race.

The toughest part was the wind, while not a true Wellington howler, it was still very steady and for a few km's around the Avalon area where we were right out in the open, it got tough. About here I caught up with Norman Chan, but didn't get much chance to catch up as he disappeared into the trees to answer natures call!

Then we were back into areas with a bit more protection and the speed came back up a bit. I was quite happy with my pace and enjoying being in a race again after a 'massive' 4 week layoff.

The trail was windy enough to stay reasonably interesting, following the meandering Hutt River. There was a nice stretch nearing the through Petone and it was here that I caught up with Nat Thompson, I was amazed how far ahead of Ross and Norman he was until I realised than he had started earlier. He was still going pretty well though for someone in his first marathon.

Finally we were on the last stretch, to the very end of the Hutt River and along a short stretch of the waterfront in MacEwan Park and over the finish. 1:44:49 for 4th place in the half. Not a bad start to the year... running wise anyway. A nice shower and back for the prizegiving where I caught up with Clive, Patricia Stichbury I finally met in person. Rebecca Edgecombe was there as well... very pleasant afternoon. I also got to meet a lady to become the talk of the Ultra community two months later. Jo Johansen won the womens Ultra by a massive margin and finished 3rd overall in her first marathon.

We had a lovely dinner that night with Phil's wife Vicki and shared a lot of stories and a lot of laughs. But the start of the year was not done with us yet. As we drove home the next day, Lainy mentioned that she had not been able to feel the side of her face since waking up. She had not mentioned it as she thought it might come right. The next 3 days were spent in Palmerston North Hospital getting a series of wrong diagnoses, before being allowed to head back to Rotorua and eventually to Waikato Hospital for more test.

Now as I write this quite a while later, we still don't know for certain what the problem is, but it appears to be MS. No driving for Lainy and limited work... back to where we started before the house sold... life is meant to be a challenge I guess... we will get there!

What was I thinking!

So, event number 40 had snuck up... well not really snuck up... I had worked my butt off to get there by Christmas to give me the 4 week break over the holiday to refresh a bit.

However after 4 double-headers followed by a 3:40 run in the Goat the week before... I was anything but fresh. As usual the plan was to take it easy and see what happened.

Three of my new running 'family' were there, Chris and Laurie Wilson were sharing the run with half each and Jane Thompson was like me in for the full Monty!

I had climber Karioi once before several years earlier and remembered it as a good climb that worked up a nice sweat. It turned out the the race started from the very place that I started my climb those years ago... so at least I had some knowledge of part of the course.

So away I went, run a little, walk a lot. 550 metres vertical in the first 3km, what a start. You know it is going to be a tough day when you reach the 5km mark and your Garmin says 1:29:30!

Even the few flat bits were just about un-runnable with tree roots and very tricky footing. Throw in some ladders and an abseil down a tricky bit using large link chains as ropes and you have a challenging start to the race. Once the ridge along the top has been sorted the descent starts, all the way from 700+ metres elevation down to 200 metres and the first aid station. Then a quick cruise along the road which being a gravel road was not unpleasant.

Then, out of the blue there is a Marshall by the road pointing through the gate... "Up there" he says...

As we run up into the farm I see a trail over to the left.... surely we just do a small loop and come back there I thought... nope... another 200 Metre vertical climb through the farm - a quick stop at the top marshall to get my photo taken and then rapidly back down to the road had me wishing I had taken the shortcut at the bottom!

Back on the road and I was having some back and right hip problems after two such large downhills, so I cruised along as best I could into Whale Bay where we were to turn back up for the second traverse of the hill.

I stopped for several minutes at the Aid Station while I seriously considered pulling the plug... however the desire to be at 40 events by Christmas and the knowledge that I had 4 weeks spurred me into carrying on... ten minutes later I actually sat down on a log by the trail and contemplated going back, the hip was really hurting.

But that magic number 40 spurred me on and I grafted my way up the hill, frequent stops and lots of drinks. Some fantastic views at the ridge, but I wasn't really in the mood.

Finally, past the last marshall, a bit more traverse and then the downhill to the finish in a mere 6 hours 31 minutes. According to Garmin my moving time was only 4:45 which means 1:45 standing still! I wasn't stopped anywhere near that long, but it shows that sometimes my climbing speed was so slow it seemed I wasn't moving.

Fortunately Lorraine had spent the day in town with daughter Kelsie and wasn't treated to hours waiting for me at the finish!

Afterwards a lovely massage/osteo session and after that I only felt half dead.... the 4 weeks off. Yippee! 40 down 12 (or so) to go!

The Real Goat...

In 2012 I finally got around to entering the Goat for the first time... only to have them change the course to the alternate course due to the threat of Mt Ruapehu erupting.

The mountain didn't erupt and I didn't particularly enjoy the alternate Goat.... but as the real course was listed as a Half Marathon, I was determined to run the real course at least once.

Down the Bruce Road

So Lainy, Kate and I arrived at the Top of the Bruce nice and early and I immediately wondered whether I had made the right decision. It was foggy, cold, wet and generally miserable. Lots of regulars there both runners and supporters. Keith and Christine Crook were both there just to support the rest of James Kuegler's Cadence Team.

The Goat usually sells out in a matter of minutes and as such the field is always full... I was in the second 'wave' of runners that they let go and I was glad because it meant less time standing around in freezing conditions. I made a last minute decision to leave my backpack with my medium jacket on and start the race in my ski jacket... yes, it was that cold.

Just before I put the Ski Jacket back on

So away we went, just under 2km straight down the Bruce Road, then off the side and more downhill, followed by a small up and more downhill to just about the 5km mark... about three quarters of the way down I shed the ski jacket and tied it around my waist.

However then we started to climb... 150m vertical over the next 1.5km and things slowed down. It wasn't long until the next cold shower swept over us and the ski jacket was back on and stayed on the rest of the race.

The going was tough, muddy, rocky and treacherous with the temperature about 4 or 5 degrees tops... the only plus was that the rain and wind were behind us, not exactly at our backs, but definitely over our shoulder.

It was a real battle, river crossings, muddy trails, difficult uphill climbs followed by dangerously slippery downhills. I wasn't passing many people, 8 events in the previous 4 weeks had taken the edge off... but I was in my element. This is what adventure running was all about. No perfectly manicured trails, just about no steps (there were a few, but fortunately mainly downhill, jus following a rough trail through some of New Zealand's most amazing terrain.

Even exhausted I appreciated how beautiful this was

Then when I had battled for about 18km you reach the most amazing waterfall... and then learn that you have to climb it. And I mean climb! Hands and feet as you pick your way up the slope next to the most beautiful falls. About halfway up the marshalls shepherd you through and over the river and then you continue the climb up the other side.

Halfway up the Falls

Then you keep climbing... 302 vertical metres in 3km... all in the last 5km of a wickedly hard run. There was a small respite, then the climb again, firstly up to the Turoa Skifield road and then up what is not so lovingly called Mama's Mile.

This was the first time all day that we had turned into the wind and rain. And it was biting, like needles into my face, I pulled up the ski jacket collar and rummaged around in my pack for my beanie and pulled it down tight... and still it was cold. This last section was walk-run-walk-run... although the run was more of a shuffle.

Mama's Mile

Sound like a nightmare day... anything but... one of the highlights of my running career so far. I loved it, to challenge the elements and get to the end to have that medal placed around my neck... priceless.

Then about 30 seconds in the tent with the disgusting smell of the concoction they make was

enough... I found Lorraine and Kate who were nearly suffering from exposure and we piled in the car an headed down to normal temperatures at Ohakune. I got changed and we met up with a few others for a feed and headed home... highly contented!

This is a must do for any dedicated trail runner.... at least once, and I think I will be back!