It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Well, 2019 turned out to be an epic and crazy year for me. It was on the cards to be a year with a crazy start; Coastal challenge, Ring of Fire, Xterra Rotorua, and Breca Bay of Islands all within a two-month period. But that was ok, as I’d have an easy end to the year. Ah ha, sure, righto. Continue reading “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Taupo Time

Some events just seem to call out to you proclaiming “you need to run me”, and I don’t know why but the Taupo Ultramarathon never had such a siren’s call to me, at least not with any urgency. But thanks to winning an entry from Wild Things, it was now on my calendar, and I’d chosen the 74km as the next step up on the ultra-distance ladder.

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ROF Is Not To Be ROFL’ed At.

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. And that’s what happened to me in my build up to 72km The Ring of Fire Ultra, only mine was more of a gut shot. One month and two days before the big day I was literally lying flat on my back in the hospital with severe abdominal pain, that turned out to be a gangrenous appendix. So that made things interesting. Continue reading “ROF Is Not To Be ROFL’ed At.”

There’s Someone Behind You.

This is a post that, like my running, has taken a long time for me to finish. With the Ring of Fire Ultra coming up soon and with some persistent comments on social media, I got to thinking about my experiences of what it’s like at the back of the field and how it’s often misunderstood.

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Out In The Wilds Of Auckland

Shaun Collins is known by many names; Mr Hillary, Mr Lactic Turkey, The Running Beast, Arsehole, Demented Arsehole, Mr Demented Arsehole. And if you ever run at one of his events there is a good chance that you will call him all these names at some point during the day. With the inaugural Wild Auckland series, we were given ample chance for this.

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Some Events Demand Respect

I said I would show it the respect it deserved and train more for it, be better prepared for it, I’d be ready for it this time. In an act that only other trail runners would understand, I’d entered arguably one of New Zealand’s hardest events again; The Raglan Karioi Trail event, and it’s definitely a trail that demands some respect.

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One Under Baked Ultra, Please.

I’d never quite felt right in saying I run ultramarathonS since I’d only done one, it should have simply been ultramarathon. My aim was to get the ‘s’ this year, but I wasn’t planning on any of the big events. I simply couldn’t commit to the time needed for training, not to mention the cost, so what was I meant to do? Find the cheapest, easiest (it’s a relative term) event with a huge cut off. You can’t do much better than 5.5km (80m gain) loops of the Blue Lake in Rotorua, with a 24 hour cut off, oh and it’s free (though I did donate to their Give-a-little after and a bag of lollies).

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Well That Was a Big Weekend

If a man with a big orange beard and long hair suggests a run; it might be best to ignore him. If he is a man that thinks running the Hillary trail back to back to back; then you really shouldn’t go. If he’s planning to start at midnight, in the middle of winter, on a notoriously tough trail; hey that sounds like a great idea, I’m in.  Continue reading “Well That Was a Big Weekend”