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.”
Category: 2019
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.
Back To Breca Baby
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s that time of the year again. Where a group of weirdos don the oddest mix of gear and head out on a trip across the Bay of Islands. It’s Breca baby! Continue reading “Back To Breca Baby”
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.
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).
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”
An Eye Opening At Waitawa
June 2018 will be one of those months I’ll remember for a wee while, but it won’t be for great race results. I go two great new event locations which were both awesome, and I’m going to say I did some growing as a runner.
Swim, Run, Repeat
I don’t think there are enough superlatives to accuracy capture the experience of the inaugural Breca Bay of Islands swimrun. The label stated 25km of running and 8.4km of swimming, island hopping the iconic Bay of Islands, with adjectives like pristine, challenging, technical, and beauty. Oh boy did it have all that. Continue reading “Swim, Run, Repeat”
New and Interesting Places
It’s funny how you can grow up in an area and never really see it all, and this was certainly the case of Total Sport’s Coastal Challenge. Many summer days were spent at the beaches along the North Shore of Auckland, however running between them was just not something we did. So it was high time I changed that. Continue reading “New and Interesting Places”
The Rare Kiwi Trail Snail 