Opiki School Country Half Marathon - 17 April 2011

Gerry, approximately 5km from the finish with some threatening clouds on the way.

Is that a nervous smile? Almost the whole field of
participants are standing around waiting to get going.

After a week of wonderful, wind-free evenings and perfect weather, it started to rain the day before this event, coupled with some wind. As we got up on the Sunday morning, it was pouring, with a nasty wind, and it took all the motivation I had left in me to get up, get dressed and drive to Opiki, all along thinking that I will just check out the scene and bail before we even start.

As we drove the 30 odd kilometers to the start, it was raining most of the way. I could for the life of me not see myself going through yet another wet run, especially since I'm still battling to salvage what is left of my constantly wet shoes with a pong you can smell miles away. Worst is, they're fairly new shoes! They didn't have more than 30km on them before the pong appeared. I figure it must be the material that was used to manufacture them, or something? I am not known to have smelly feet …

Bede Gilmore, the school principal,
explaining the course
before setting us off.

However, as we drove past the school counting cars (on one hand!) and wondering what to do (it was still raining), Gerry decided to park while we thought about it some more. Having entered for the T42, which is in three weeks time, we knew that we needed the exercise. And to do it on your own, is even harder. Eventually Gerry got out and went to enter for us. By then, the rain had stopped and the dark clouds were just hanging there - waiting for us sods to be out in the countryside before it's next attack.

With a number 53 on my hand, we made our way to the start in the road in front of the entrance to the school grounds. A couple of other participants were also standing around and we couldn't help but wondering how many of them had entered for the 21km run and who would do the 10km, 5km or 2km run or walking events. 

A short patch of dirt road.

The school principal, Bede Gilmore, took the honors of briefing us, before setting us off with a "ready, steady, go!". In the first couple of hundred metres it was actually possible to count everybody, and it seemed that we were about 25 runners in the 21.1km event. A few walkers also entered the half marathon, but the remaining few participants did the 10, 5 or 2km events respectively. 

As we were trotting along, it dawned on me that we haven't done much training over the last 5 to 6 weeks. Marathons really do take their toll. You taper the week before, rest the week after and before you know it, up comes another nice looking marathon three weeks later. The result being, taper, run 42.2km, rest, think about training, give it up for a bad job, taper, run 42.2km, rest, and so it goes. Needless to say, I battled though the run.

And then mud ...

Fortunately the rain stayed away (the sun even came out for a wee bit) and we could enjoy the lovely surroundings between farmlands and cattle grazing in the green green pastures. After a kilometre or so we turned off onto a dirt road for a bit whereafter we crossed a beautiful green patch of soggy wet grass and mud. And that was it for off-road running. The remainder or the run was on sealed farm roads. 

... and more mud. Planning the best path through.

Neither Gerry nor I have a watch and as is often the case with NZ races, there were also no distance markers. Waterspots can be anything from 2km to 7km apart, so it is also not an option to pace yourself according to evenly spaced water tables at 3km intervals, as is the case with most SA races. I couldn't help but thinking about Ken who accurately measures every run with his GPS, knowing exactly where he is and in what time, and wonder what he would think about all this :). I'm actually starting to really enjoy this seemingly haphazard approach to races. And believe me - the NZ races are well organized. There's nothing haphazard about them. You just need to toughen up a bit and look after yourself. SA runners really are very spoiled (or maybe not?) with distance markers and water&Coke tables every 3kms. 

Gerry getting water at about 5km into the race.

The course is very flat with some long stretches of road in front of you. One kid (I'd guess he's around 12 years old)* remarked to his mother (?) early on in the race that "this is one long road". But that wasn't the only long straight road. After every turn you could spot a runner miles off in the distance making another 90 degree turn left of right. 

At the end of one such a stretch, a very friendly, chirpy marshal exclaimed "I'm half way" holding up a sign reading halfway in his one hand, while handing out water with the other. And that was our distance marker for the event. For the rest, you follow the green signs (arrows drawn on green paper indicating when to turn left or right) not knowing how far you've come or for how long you've been going (in our case). 

Route marker on a typical kiwi farmer
temporary fence pole.

While we were still spared from the rain, the wind suddenly started to pick up and was getting worse as we progressed. I tried to run in Gerry's slipstream at times, but that was just as hard with the wind pulling and plucking at my clothes and nearly blowing me off my feet. And so we were faced with a headwind of about 70km/h for the second half of the run, making running very difficult. At times I was completely out of breath from the wind blowing in my nose and mouth at the same time, having to stop in my tracks trying to catch my breath.

We completed the run in 2:20, despite a couple of forced walk breaks because of the wind (and unfitness on my side). We caught up with some of the 10km walkers in the last three to four kilometers. Spot prizes, linked to your entry number, were given out at the end and I got an aluminum water/fuel bottle.

The finish "banner" aka the school entrance gate :).

A wonderful run in wonderful surroundings - not to be missed. Thanks to the organisers and sponsors for putting together such a awesome race. Barnyard flavors all around which made me think about the Irene Lantern night run ;-), but a well organised stunning event. Definitely something to put on the calendar for next year, especially at only $20 per person.

_____________

*[I seem to recall that under the ASA rules you are not allowed to enter a 10km run unless you are 15 years old? And a 42.2km unless your are 21? I don't think NZ has any such rules? At the DUAL 42.2km trail run, a junior girl came second overall in a time of 3:15. Very, very impressive.] 

Manawatu Gorge Track & Tunnel Walk (10 April 2011)

Once a year the Woodville Lions Club organise an approximately 8km walk on the train track through the Manawatu gorge, starting at the Ballance Bridge end (Woodville side) in the east and walking back to the Ashhurst Domain on the west side of the gorge.

Ju-huu-st the two of us...

I've often wondered what the gorge would look like from the other side. If you are on the one side of a river, you always long to see the other side, and vice versa. That's life, I guess … :). We've driven though the gorge on several occasions by road, which is on the one side of the river, while I always look across to the train track, also carved into the cliffs of the gorge, and wonder how the graffiti got onto the concrete slabs underneath the track. With the river way below and near vertical cliffs to get to the track, the willpower of graffiti artists always amazes me.

Gerry, with Ballance bridge in the back.

When the opportunity then presents itself to see the river and gorge from the viewpoint of the trains, we grabbed it with both hands! No more wondering. And what a wonderful idea. Approximately 1500 people are allowed to walk on the track though the gorge, while the cars whizz by on the other side of the river. 

With three different time slots, an hour or so apart, and 10 plus buses to cart participants to the start in a staggered approach, the walk is an absolute joy. The rules are quite strict: no running, no walking on the river side of the track, no hanging over the railings of train bridges, no kids under 10 years, etc.

Monkey business on the train track.

Marshals are ample to guide and help where people might be scared to cross the train bridges. Some of the damp moss covered railroad sleepers are quite slippery. And other bridges have sleepers that moved, making it possible to climb through the bridge if you are skinny. You cross 13 train bridges in total.

Crushed rock are, apart from the wooden sleepers of the train track, the only walking terrain, which is hard on your feet and sturdy shoes are recommended. However, it is only 8km and you can go almost as slow as you want. 

There are five tunnels in total through the gorge of which you walk through the longest two - the one being 597 metres long. A torch is recommended and luckily we had one between the two of us that worked. In my minds eye, I thought one would be able to see a bit of light at the other end of the tunnel, helping to at least make out silhouettes in the dark, and to find your way, so we nearly didn't take a torch at all! In the end we had two, of which the one's battery was close to flat. And boy is it dark in those tunnels!

Gerry concentrating hard on another
train bridge without railings.

Tunnel coming up! Torches out.

The Manawatu gorge has a long history, with slips and fallen boulders causing trains to derail and plummet into the river. With the introduction of containers transported by rail in the 1970s, the bridges had to be lowered to allow for container wagons to go through. Later on the larger sea containers also had to be transported and every now and again a train would get stuck in a tunnel. So the tunnels had to be lowered yet again to provide clearance for all.

Light at the end of
the tunnel.

Many other accidents have occurred on the road over the years and while a vast majority of the vehicles don't end up in the river, some do; a Newmans bus, for instance, plunging off the road and into the river, a truck and trailer unit having a mishap also ended up in the river. Divers managed to free the container and let it float down the river for extraction, while the trailer had to be towed ashore by helicopter, where it was cut in two and then air lifted to the road. 

In 2004 massive floods and torrential rainfall caused huge slips, both above and underneath the road, causing a total road closure. The result being that 200 000 cubic metres of debris had to be removed from the road over a seven week period.

The last stretch which flattens
out towards Ashhurst.

At the finish of our walk, every participant was handed a little finisher's certificate, while food and other beverages were on sale at the Ashhurst Domain grounds.

Walkers on the train bridge, as see from the road.

Abseilers as seen from the train track side.

A nice touch - little certificate to show that
you've completed the walk.

A lovely event. $25 per person. Well worth the effort, and all for a good cause, with all funds raised going to Cancer Care and Local Charities.

DUAL - Motutapu-Rangitoto Traverse (42.2km) - 26 March 2011

Wow! wow! wow! Phew ... wow ... I don't have the words to describe the experience that is the DUAL. It is 2011. For me the year that will always mark our first running of the DUAL, a character-building experience that will probably be engraved in my mind for a long time. The weather god, Huey, played an evil trick on us to help make sure we will never ever forget this event. 

Gerry at registration.

No turning back now!

Nervous smiles on the ferry
heading to Motutapu.

At the start, me sporting full wet weather gear ;-).

Willie offered us accommodation for the weekend (thanks Willie and Alida!) and so we left on Friday for the long drive to Auckland. 

The organisers must have had a snigger when they
planned this start! Up, up, up. 

Hoping to find some memorabilia at the registration exhibits, we were a wee bit disappointed with the prices of the event T's. If it were technical T's, I might have reconsidered, but at $59 we just couldn't make the additional expense for cotton T-shirts. 

It was raining when we arrived in Auckland and it carried on through the night and the whole day during the run. Unimaginable, but it happened. All participants including all the poor marshals were soaked to the bone.

MTBs and runners sharing a short section of the road.

We caught the ferry at 8:00 and encountered some significant swells on the way to the islands. Rain was coming "down" horizontally because of the wind. We landed at Motutapu and waited a couple of minutes before the race started. Auckland's mayor, Len Brown, was also present to wish us well. The race saw it's third running and Totalsport made a jolly good job of the organisation which can only be a mission, since the events (trail runs of 10km, 21.1km and 42.2km and MTB events of 30km and 50km) are held on a nature reserve, and bicycles are only ever allowed on the islands for this event. Tyres and shoes need to be clean, backpacks etc must be checked and closed properly, and care must be taken not to introduce mice, rats or possums, since the Department of Conservation is taking every step to keep the islands rodent, rabbit and stoat free for the sake of protecting the variety of bird species (including kiwi) found on the island.

Willie and me negotiating mud puddles early on.

By 9:30 we were off, starting with a very steep climb on a grassy slope. Up and up we went while the minutes ticked by and the kilometres passed ever so slowly. On the ridge at about the 7km mark we encountered a number of the MTBs who started earlier coming from the front.They seemed to also battle with the muddy bumpy grassy course and were already completely covered in mud.

Photo by Supersportimages. Is it legal to publish
them here? Willie, Gerry, Stuart (whom we met on the ferry) and me.

Gerry and Willie with the start
way below, right behind Gerry.

Fly, fly away.

At around 8kms we crossed over to the second little island, Rangitoto (meaning "bloody sky" in Maori), for a completely different running terrain. Rangitoto was formed by volcanic activity, and the whole island (which is about 5.5km wide) is basically made up of volcanic rock and scoria. The cone rises some 260 metres above sea level. Some vegetation shielded us from the worst wind while we made our way up the crater.

Gerry and I on Rangitoto's scoria.

With the rain and mist, we could not see the top of the mountain, which was maybe just as well, and when were reached the viewpoint at the top, we also didn't have any of the promised beautiful views of Auckland and surrounds. Just gray mist and rain.

Between the 17 and 21km markers the footpath is virtually only rocks, making the going very tough. And it will certainly be very sore if you fall - chances are you will break something.

Most of the surface of Rangitoto consists
of volcanic rock and scoria.

As time went on, with the difficult terrain, legs didn't want to work anymore. It became increasingly difficult to lift your feet and the risk of falling also increased. Not long before Gerry graciously proved this theory to be true. He fortunately only collected some minor scratches and bruises.

Crossing back to Motutapu, the terrain turned back to more grasslands, pastures, wet meadows and mud. And the hills were not getting any less (or flatter!) either!

We could still manage bits of running on the flats and downhills, but the hills were mostly to steep for my level of fitness. 

Rocks under foot.

Taking a walk break up a small hill.

Gerry - full speed.

At 32kms we passed through the finish area and the temptation almost got the better of me. This is pure torture from the organizers!

Only 10 more kilometres to go. Fortunately we are allowed 7.5 hours to complete the course. We could walk and would still make it in time. More hills to negotiate, which amounted to ample walking. The downhills were also to steep and muddy to run on sore, weak legs. So we ended up walking the biggest part of the last 10kms after all. It felt like ages. Gusts were blowing us off the ridges and all I could think about was the end. I could almost not imagine myself finising the agonising test in endurance and perseverance this particular DUAL posed with it's most challenging weather. Maybe it could be worse? I'm sure it would have been a completely different experience if the weather played along. But we made it! And the whole time I had the calming tune of Norah Jones's song "You humble me" in my head. (Kind of applicable, given the hand Mother Nature was dealing us!)

Photo by Supersportimages.
Shortly after Gerry's tumble.
That's blood running from
his knee!

At the finish line (I thought we were last) everybody that was still around (who hadn't taken an earlier ferry back) was clapping and cheering us on and the Speight's sponsor was so kind as to put down a beer for each of us just after the timing mats! What a great incentive to keep us going! We completed the course in 6:32. Not without a couple of blisters and very sore legs for me.

Before.

After. They smelled much worse
than they looked!

Three more people finished behind us, the last one in 7:50. The last two participants received, apart from a beer, a standing ovation in the form of a human tunnel to walk/run through. What a wonderful moment! But you had to be there. These are the things what makes these events so special and memorable.

We briefly spoke to the Buff rep, originally from Jhb, South Africa. Also met Linda from Soweto, SA and I believe there were a couple more South Africans. The field of 42.2km runners numbered only 65, of which 5 did not finish. We saw the one chap bail at about 22km and the guy that was last is presumably also listed as DNF, since the race has a cut-off time limit of 7.5 hours.

What a awesome moment! The last
finisher getting a hero's welcome.

Totalsport made every effort to stage a wonderful event and a great day out on the islands. Ample food stalls, a beer tent, coffee etc, especially also for family and friends making a day out of it.

Happy with our complimentary Speight's Traverse
beers at the finish.

This event (maybe because of the challenging weather that we're not used to?) can only be described as one gigantic test in perseverance. A great event thought. Nothing ordinary about it. A bit more expensive than the average other marathon, understandably, but a unique experience and certainly worthwhile. And to be fair, it does include your ferry tickets back and forth. We might just be back to try and improve our time :-).