Marton to Wanganui (66.37km) - 10 September 2011

Running in the lovely country side, passing paddocks and farm buildings on the way. 
Gerry, the small red speckle on the right.

At the start with Bill on the left giving the race briefing.

After the Manawatu Half Marathon, Gerry and I worked out a serious training plan to get us (or should I rather say me!) over the Auckland marathon finish line at the end of October. I don't suppose you can really call it a serious training plan, but for a typical knit-one-slip-one-type runner like myself, rarely covering more than 30km per week, the program looked like serious commitment. We basically planned to run at least 5 days a week and never to dip under 40km for our total weekly mileage. Ideally we'd like to do roughly 50km or more per week. It's only been three weeks, but so far so good. 

Within 5 second I was well placed in about
15th position! ;-)

Part of this plan is also to fit in at least one 28km to 32km long-run before the marathon. For the rest, our weekend long-runs all consists of 21kms and the occasional 15km, on cut-back weeks. So far we haven't come across any 32km road races within striking distance. In general NZ doesn't seem to have as many 32km races as we used to have in SA - a distance that is a very nice stepping stone to a marathon. We've already checked all the running calendar websites and couldn't fine anything suitable. And then I read about this one, by accident, in the Runner's World. 

It is a 66.37km relay event comprising of 10 legs/laps, between two towns on the backroads out in the country. Each of us would be running 30+km and we are basically free to swop and change-over as we please. We could support each other, so while the one is running, the other would be driving the car with all our sustenance: water, coke, jelly babies, bananas, pears and boiled salty potatoes, to be handed out every three kilometres or so. Given the layout of the course, each of us would end up having 2x easy, 2x moderate and 1x hard sessions.

Runners stretched out along Tutaenui Road.

Having done a 12 hour circuit relay event in the past where we swopped every 3kms, we decided to switch over on every leg (with the shortest being 2.8km and the longest 8.9km). I would start and therefore be doing all the odd number legs, while Gerry would be running all the even numbered legs. As one supporter pointed out after a number of change-overs "we'll be leap-frogging the whole route to the end". We seemed to be the only two person team following this strategy as most of the others ran half and half - one person running the first half while the other ran the second.

Race day

At 5:30 the alarm went off, but I was so far lost in dreamland that I didn't hear a thing. Fortunately Gerry was aware of his surroundings and only when he started talking to me, did I realise what was going on.

First change-over. Negotiating a bit of road
works before Gerry started his first leg.

We got up, had tea and breakfast and were off to Marton. Collected our race packs, got briefed and then we were off. The starting times were negotiable meaning that the walkers started at 7:00, most of us runners at 8:00 and other faster teams started later. The result was a very sociable run with lots of other people and supporters en route. In my mind eye I just imagined us all alone right at the back with no other runners in sight! But thanks to this clever move by the organisers, this wasn't the case at all.

Leg 1 - 7.8km (by Wouna)

Course description by the organisers: Easy. Start at Marton Park, Follet St, Marton. Across Park to Maunder St. Right into Signal St. Left into Tutaenui Road to continue on until change at corner of Galpin Road.

Gerry, still a happy chappy screaming up
the hill in the first kilometre.

It was a chilly overcast morning and as we lined up for briefing, I found myself right at the back (of about 15 runners). Bill, the organiser, gave some pointers and things to look out for and at 8:00 we were off. I was trotting along at the back, as the field started to thin out way up ahead of me. It was a lovely morning, only a slight breeze and no rain. The biggest part of this section is flat with slight undulations. Running in the country amongst farms looking at cattle, sheep and horses grazing on the rolling green hills, is so relaxing and calming. You get caught up easily in your own thoughts, forgetting all about what you've set yourself up for for the day. Not long before I could spot the line of cars and supporters at the change-over. All was going well so far, the weather was perfect, and although the breeze was a bit chilly, I could feel that some hot and humid temperatures might still catch us later on with the sun starting to peak through the diminishing clouds. 

[Lap time - 00:48]

A long and most enjoyable downhill stretch
on Gerry's first leg.

Leg 2 - 8.9km (by Gerry)

Course description by the organisers: Moderate. Follow Makohau Road uphill for 1km then gradually down to change at junction of Makohau Rd and Turakina Valley Rd.

Change-over 2. 

At the first change-over, we were a bit confused about the logistics of the process, but we soon realised that everyone was more or less left to their own devices - no formal baton-passing, time-keeping or anything like that.  After Wouna finished her run, I was off, with one goal in mind - to catch up and pass as many runners as possible.  Since I run on my own very seldom, I don't have much of an idea what a realistic pace for me would be, so I decided to just ran and see what happens. After negotiating a nippy 1km uphill, I was left with almost 8km of mostly downhill - the ideal terrain for a fast catch-up.  It was a great, social run, and I had an opportunity to chat to a number of the other runners in passing, including some of the brave solo runners who were in it for the long haul.

Team Ferrari (colour, not speed!) as we were
dubbed on the Cape Odyssey.

Having Wouna by the side of the road every couple of kilometres made things even more enjoyable, and before I knew it, the leg was over, and it was time for me to take up the support role again.

[Lap time - 00:43]

Leg 3 - 7.08km (by Wouna)

Course description by the organisers: Moderate. Downhill for 500m then undulating for 4km to end of seal. Undulating on gravel road for a further 3km to finish at the bridge over the Mangara Stream.

Gravel section on leg 4.

I guess undulating would be the right term, but to my unfit legs it felt almost hilly! :) I though it would be difficult to start running again after a 45 min break, but hardly! It felt just like the first time. We were still fresh and I was talking it fairly easy, unlike Gerry who is trying to make up some time and testing his speedy legs. He already passed a couple of participants on his leg, and I could manage to pass about three walkers on this stretch of the road. The gravel road stretch turned out to be only about 300 metres and not 3km. The surroundings became even more remote than it was on my first leg, and the scenery is really beautiful. What a joy to be out and running.

[Lap time - 00:46]

Leg 4 - 6.93km (by Gerry)

Course description by the organisers: Hard. On gravel road, flat for 800m then climb gently for 1.5km then downhill for 1km to reach sealed road after 3km. Turn left into Mangatipona Rd and head towards Wanganui. A solid climb for 2km followed by 500m of flat to finish at the top of a hill.

After the enjoyable previous leg, I was keen to get going again. I still felt fine, so I was quite positive about our run/rest/run strategy.  However, I didn't realize how different my second leg would be.  

Fly, fly away. Gerry having a bit of fun to keep his
mind off the task at hand.

I started off on a very rocky gravel road that was difficult to negotiate on foot.  The situation was made worse by the severe camber of the road - I had to really concentrate to keep my footing and keep from having my feet slip out sideways from under me.  All the support vehicles on the dirt road also made for some dusty running - some supporters clearly weren't too bothered with the runners and charged past, kicking up huge billowing dust-clouds.

The change-over between legs 4 and 5.
Gerry looking very excited about the prospect of
sitting in the car for a while.

But never mind the gravel - what really made this section memorable, even after we were back on the tar, was the continuous uphill that felt like it was simply never going to stop.  Various other runners and supporters commented on "drawing the short straw" on this leg, and no-one looked too sprightly.  Still, it actually wasn't all bad. I still felt OK and managed to keep to a sub-5:45 pace, again passing a few of the runners I met on my first leg. By now things were getting quite social, as is often the case when you share some time on the road.

Wouna's "easy" section. Mostly downhill,
but mentally very tough. By now the sun was
also well and truly beating down on our necks.

Approaching the change-over point, I could see the long-drop mentioned by the organisers, some distance to our left in a paddock.  A couple of runners were making the trek to this facility, but remembering past experiences with long-drops toilets, I decided to rather follow the organisers' alternative recommendation of making use of "God's acre" along the route.

[Lap time - 00:39]

Leg 5 - 4.9km (by Wouna)

Course description by the organisers: Easy. Downhill for 2.5km to corner of Ohaumoku Road, then flat and gently down to finish at the junction with Okirae Rd.

This would mark the leg where my wheels came off (or should I rather say the lap where my legs came off?), despite carbo-loading on some boiled salty spuds. What a welcome change from jelly babies and coke. 

Phew. Three legs down, two to go for me.

For some strange reason, halfway through this "easy" run, I thought I was never going to make it to the end. With two difficult stretches still to come for me, one being more or less uphill all the way, I was starting to doubt myself a bit, hoping that my turn "off" would bring a miracle. And as my next leg approached and the reality of having to run up a mountain, my only thought was walking (or crawling - whichever way I can get over the mountain ahead). I figured the only way to deal with the monster would be to walk it, hoping to cover the distance in about 30min, not defeating all Gerry's efforts of making up time.

[Lap time - 00:30]

Leg 6 - 8.10km (by Gerry)

Course description by the organisers: Easy. Flat all the way through Kauangaroa and onto the finish by an old brick chimney.

Leg 6. Still company en route.

Passing the car-keys back to Wouna at the change-over (this was like a reverse baton, marking your switch from runner to support crew), I set off on my third running section.  By now we were starting to settle into a routine, both in terms of running and support.  Unfortunately by now my body also started to feel the effect of the harder than normal running I did on my previous two legs.  I tried to stretch my quads during the support stretch of the previous leg, but this didn't seem to have much effect.  So what was supposed to be an easy, flat section started to feel really far. The terrain remained lovely, though, and it was a real joy running out in the countryside, with regular support stops from Wouna, and chats to other runners.  By now we were also passing many walkers, so it was becoming quite social.

The beauty of the surroundings is enough to keep
one trotting along happily despite sore legs.

It was also becoming really hot - I could hardly believe the amazing sunny weather, having expected some morning drizzles and an overcast day.

I never saw the old chimney at the finish of the leg - must admit I didn't spend too much time looking for it either, because by this time I felt quite knackered and just wanted to finish my run.

[Lap time - 00:44]

Leg 7 - 2.8km (by Wouna)

Course description by the organisers: Hard. Flat for 500m then up "Reid's Hill", a solid climb of 2.5km to the finish opposite No 240 Kauangaroa Rd. NB Safety requirement. Run/walk on the left-hand side of the road.

The change-over at the start of leg 7. 

Gerry's arrival marking the start of
my short sharp climbing leg.

The change-over at this section could potentially become a problem if the race grows too much, I guess. With not a lot of room next to the road, the cars all had to que on the road itself and basically occupying the whole road, making it difficult for other traffic to go on their usual way. While I was waiting for Gerry to cover the last few kms of his leg, the fast and serious runners started coming past like the devil was behind them, with team mates warming up in the road. Gerry arrived and my monstrous challenge started.

The first bit is flat and I thought I could try a little shuffle until I reach the hill where I would be taking a nice long stroll. As it turns out, the little shuffle carried me past a walker, at which point I thought to myself "he might catch me if I start to walk now!". So, I shuffled a bit more until I had gained quite a bit of distance between us. By then, I must have covered about half of my leg. Realising that it is not half as bad as I thought, I started applying the "run bits, walk bits, you'll get there" strategy. I could see the support vehicles way down below behind me at the change-over, but for some reason the hill wasn't as bad as it looked and I could slowly shuffle up the mountain to reach Gerry at the top for the change-over.

[Lap time - 00:22]

Almost there, shuffling along. Our friend Niel always says, "no matter how slow you run,
it's still faster than walking". Well, I have proved this theory wrong on many occasions!

Leg 8 - 5.32km (by Gerry)

Course description by the organisers: Moderate. Gently downhill for 1km, then up again for 1km, and then undulating to reach Fordell. Turn right, at hotel, into Station Road for 200m to finish at Fordell Hall.

Leg 8. By now the downhill sections
were very welcome.

Is that expression caused by the sore legs or
the barnyard flavours?

The change-over at Fordell. Gerry 
experiencing a bit of the humour lapse.
Manawatu walkers in the back.

As I started my run, I could feel my legs were becoming really stiff, and especially my quads were hurting badly.  Luckily it was a shortish running stretch (I did most of my longer running legs earlier in the event), and the terrain was nicely undulating, so despite the wobbly legs things still went reasonably OK, and I could maintain a sub 5:45 pace.  The 5+ kilometres did feel incredibly far, though, and I was very happy to finally reach the road sign for the little town of Fordell.  We turned off at the hotel, right at the entrance to the town, where Wouna and all the other support crews were parked, waiting for runners and walkers to finish the leg.

[Lap time - 00:30]

Leg 9 - 8.74km (by Wouna)

Course description by the organisers: Moderate. Start in Station Road, on gravel. Flat for 600m then downhill for 1km to valley floor. Route turns left at railway and becomes Matarawa Valley Road. Follow alongside railway, undulating, on gravel, for 5km to reach junction with Matarawa Hill Road. Continue on, the now sealed, Matarawa Valley Road for 2.2km to reach T-junction with Okoia Hill Road. Turn right and it is 200m to finish in Okoia village, just before rail crossing.

Leg 9. Long off-road section with fast runners
all charging past.

Clever move by the cameraman. :)
Supporters eye-view?

At this point it was really hot and I just succumbed to the task at hand. I would still have to do my longest leg which would also not be the easiest, but I didn't gave it a second thought - I just got on with it. The biggest part was on a gravel road and while the big teams' support vehicles are not allowed on this section, the pairs and solo runners could have their support with them. It helped a lot to reduce the dust and it turned out to be one of the nicest sections. Maybe because I knew it was my last one for the day? More fast runners came screaming past, while we were still passing some walkers. 

[Lap time - 00:59]

Undulating, next to the railroad. Beautiful surroundings.

Gerry entertaining the kids in the school bus.

Leg 10 - 5.8km (by Gerry)

Course description by the organisers: Easy. Follow Okoia Rd, cross railway and turn left into No 3 Line. Flat for 5.5km to reach slight rise 400m from finish. At top of rise veer left, across rail bridge, then 100m to finish, at Wanganui East Club, in Wakefield Street.

And so, after Wouna's grueling last leg, it was time for me to set off for one last time in the race, with the finish less than 6km away.  By now, I have to admit, I lost my sense of humour a bit - my legs were hurting badly, and over the last few kilometres I felt the initial symptoms of cramp starting to set in.  Thankfully Wouna remained cheerful and supportive, driving alongside me for extra moral support much of the way.

The last 3 kilometres went on forever, and I had to fall into a run/walk routine on the uphill bits of the  final stretch towards Wanganui.

Not far to go now. Just keep moving.

The terrain eventually changed from countryside to town, and suddenly the finish was in site.  Crossing the last bridge I shuffled towards the finish line - no doubt a fairly sorry site, but relieved and happy that we made it.

[Lap time - 00:35]

At the finish things were going quite jolly, and we bought some sausage sizzles which tasted better than a restaurant meal at that moment. Our total time was 06:36. A very nice run. Well organised, most enjoyable. A must on anyone's calendar for next year! Gerry covered 35.05km and I did 31.30km. This is really not the same as running 30+km in one go, so we still need to do a 28km long-run in the next month.

At the prize-giving Gerry was lucky to win a small coffee plunger, and by five o'clock we were on our way back to Palmy.

Yeah! The finish in Wanganui.

All smiles after our sausage sizzle.

Manawatu Striders Half Marathon - 14 August 2011

Fortunately the Massey sport facilities were
available for the event. Prize-giving also took
place inside the hall.

"Ohhh, it's raaaaining again, too bad I'm looooooosing a friend". That is just the way it is. Don't ever think you will have a dry run in NZ. 

At the start, in a drizzle, freezing cold,
although a number of people are
dressed in shorts.

Gerry and I were thinking of doing this half, ever since we had to miss it last year. But after the wet and cold Mizuno/Taupo Half, as well as being out of town, we postponed entering (actually forgot to!) until pre-entries were closed and we had to pay the late entry penalty fee which is $10 more per person. So, to run 21.1km, we paid $50 per person … and then our South African friends complain when they have to pay R50 for a half marathon.

A very cold Antarctic blast was predicted to hit the country by Saturday night, bringing with it very cold conditions, snow, sleet and heavy rains, which were expected to reach Palmy by the Sunday - race day. We almost had second thoughts about entering, but the Manawatu events are all so very nice and well organised (there's just something "homely" about them) that we made the trip to Sterling Sports shop in town on the Saturday afternoon to enter. The Striders had a table in the back, also selling the event T's, which we would love to have, but just couldn't afford on top of the entry. Maybe next time.

As usual (it really feels as if this is happening every time!), it was raining during the night. Will we ever get used to the weather? Since the race only started at 10:00 (what a welcome change to the 6 o'clock starting time for all races in SA) we could wake up at a decent time and comfortably get ready, and head to the start. Arriving at the Massey University Recreation Centre, a drizzle left me no choice but to put on a rain coat on top of two warm layers. This time we also had gloves and I'm sure the Kiwi's might have thought us completely mad! Some were, as is normally the case, dressed in shorts and singlets. I just don't know how anybody in their right mind can do that. It was only 6 degrees, for heavens sake! But then again, if you're born in these conditions, I guess you get used to the weather. We saw one "supporter" in a pram - a baby, sitting happily in the rain swinging his legs. No worries, mate. :) That was such a nice sight - it made me think for days afterwards how protected we were from seemingly "bad" weather in SA. 

Nice long downhill on Massey campus in the first kilometre.

When lining up at the start we spoke to a lady who rather prefers trail runs, mentioning that the rain might spruce up an otherwise boring run. If you prefer trail runs, a road race can at times seem boring. For me, just the joy of running with other people makes up for whatever the run might throw at us, regardless of how boring it might seem. Especially if you run in places and on roads where you've never been before.

Our own bag pipe player.

The siren sounded and we were off. In the drizzle. It was fairly cold, but fortunately only a light wind. We ran through the Massey campus, before heading towards town, across the Manawatu River bridge, to cover a short loop in the Hokowhito suburb. At 5km, a time keeper shouted out your time as you pass - this also happened at the halfway point. What a nice addition to the race! We were on a 6min/km pace after 30min into the run, faster than I planned (this was supposed to be a slow long run), but with the rain and all, I just wanted to get it over as fast as I could. 

Approximately a mile is run on the walkway next
to the Manawatu River.

Between 6 and 7kms we experienced our own bag pipe player! Such a nice sound, it always brings back fond memories of past SA races. From there we followed the river on the Bridle walkway, through suburbs to go around the Awapuni Race course, and all the way back. When passing the halfway mark, we were on 65 minutes according to the timekeeper. 

Mud and rain. A short off-road section at around
the halfway mark. Is that a Teletubby en route?

I never realised how big a horse racing course is! 2.2kms? 2 miles? This meant it took some time for us to circumnavigate the track. When first reaching the area, the distinct smell of barnyard flavours immediately had me thinking about all the Irene Agricultural Research Centre races. But as we progressed, the smells changed as we seem to have reached the sewerage works. This was less nice, fortunately only for a brief period, and we also passed what I think could be Mount Cleese?

For those who don't know the story: apparently Palmerston North has the reputation as the most boring town in NZ. Why, I have no idea. I seem to be missing something, because Palmy has so much going for it, with all the science centres and being a student city and only 140km from Wellington. However, when John Cleese visited NZ and Palmy, he apparently mentioned at some point that if you consider suicide, but haven't gone over the edge yet, a trip to Palmy should do the trick! Hence, the locals dubbed the rubbish dump Mount Cleese. :)

Look Ma, it was raining. Yet again. Presumably Mt Cleese is in the background.

Strangely enough, we also passed the "unlucky" 13th kilometre at this point. The rain started clearing up a bit and from about 6km to go there was no more rain and we could dry out a little bit. It was very cold, but fortunately there was only a very light wind which makes the world of difference to the temperature!

Gerry at 1km to go.

Shortly before the 20km mark we had to run up a little hill on the Massey campus, to follow the road to the east back to the recreation centre, to finish in a time of 2:13:33 (only 34 seconds slower than the week before).

And here's another great thing about the Manawatu races - I know it may seem small, but believe me these little things makes the world of difference - they have chairs at the finish where you can sit to remove your timing chip! What a luxury. You cannot believe how difficult it is to bend down on sore legs to remove a timing chip, battling not to lose your balance, since you are too sore and stiff to properly kneel or bend down.

Frozen stiff, but happy with my spot prize.

At the prize giving, it turned out the one gentleman did his 99th half marathon. He also did 27 of the 29 Manawatu Striders Half marathons, with his slowest being only 4min slower than the first one 29 year ago! That's impressive.

I was lucky to win a spot prize! A 15 litre dry bag courtesy of Kathmandu. 

The Manawatu Striders really know how to host an event! Thanks to Al and the rest of the team for another wonderful race. We will be back next year.

The course map for the 5km, 10km and 21.1km.

Mizuno Half Marathon (Taupo) - 7 August 2011

Two of the Downhill Demons and us. L-to-r: Des, Gerry, myself and Henriette.

The snow covered Raupehu (about 50km away
from Taupo), hinting at the weather on race day. 

While paging through the Runner's World one day, I stumbled upon an advertisement for this event. Realising that it boast fields of 3000+ participants, including a huge walking contingent, this seemed like a perfect first 21.1km event for a novice. You could easily disappear in the crowds without running the risk of being dead last or drawing a lot of unwanted attention to yourself. I therefore proposed this to the Downhill Demons (we dubbed a group of lady friends who live in a hilly town, and who sometimes run from the upper parts of town mainly downhill towards the sea, the Downhill Demons) and am glad to say that they decided to join us.

In the backpackers kitchen, whipping up
lovely dinners.

I immediately drew up a training plan for the seven weeks prior to the event to try and keep Gerry and me on track to at least aim to be ready on race day. Not that a "training program" usually intimidates me to the point of commitment! So, as with most programs, we often derail, missing a day here, another there and before you know it, only about half of the training was done. Inevitably I often find myself at the start of events, not being really ready. But having done numerous 21s (32s, marathons, ultra's, etc) one tends to get a little blazé about the distance, so there we were - not a care in the world. Just happy to be there.

Nervous smile? Me, Des (looking seriously in doubt,
possibly about my mental state?) and Henriette.

As I've often mentioned in the past, a half marathon is a wonderful distance and by far my favorite. Long enough to make you feel that you've worked a bit and achieved something, while still short enough not to push you over the edge and off the road with injuries for extended periods, as is sometimes the case with longer distances.

Photograph by Super Sport Images.
The two clowns with their arms in the air -
Gerry and me. Gerry possibly demonstrating
his superior ape-index. :)

Gerry, Des and Henriette - in the first kilometre or so.
Still fresh.

So, on the Saturday morning prior to the race, we collected all our stuff and were off to Taupo, leaving at around 12:00. It was fairly cold and rainy, and as we passed the snow-capped Raupehu ranges it just got worse! We reached the Rainbow Backpackers in a wet Taupo at 15:30. After unloading we took a brief walk to the registration area to collect our registration packs. The goodie-bags contained your race number, timing chip, some discount vouchers, Effergize multi-vitamins, banana, and strange (but lovely) pomegranate and aloe juice, amongst others. Sweet as!

Blue skies! Not for very much longer ...

We met up with our friends (who were also booked for the night at the same backpackers) to whip up a pre-race dinner: chicken pasta with sun-dried tomato, feta, olives, basil pesto and pine nuts. Yum!! Post diner it was time for the Australia/All Black game in the TV room/lounge. Taking our running buddy, James' advice, Gerry and I carbo-loaded on a couple of beers. You can't watch a game like that without a couple of handles!

Mmm, dark clouds looming on the horizon.

We all retreated to our separate rooms, dodging the rain and hoping the weather would not be too bad during the race. I awoke a number of times to gusty winds and pouring rain, just hoping it will all be gone by morning.

As the morning arrived there was no rain and neither was it too cold (the calm before the storm?) and although some serious clouds were looming on the horizon, patches of blue skies were visible overhead and we all decided against rain jackets. The four of us (Gerry, myself, Henriette and Des) walked to the start at the Tongariro Domain, some 400 metres from the backpackers.

The start was in a narrow road and runners were backed up quite far. This resulted in a series of wave starts, letting through batches of runners every 30 or so seconds. Very clever from the organisers as this helped tremendously to avoid a complete stampede in the first kilometre and the field of runners - some 2500 at this years event - were spread out nicely from the beginning, leaving room for the faster runners to pass without elbowing their way through. Since you wear a timing chip, your individual time will still be recorded.

Bag pipe player on a long slow uphill section.

We started on a nice short downhill section, but soon thereafter reached the first little uphill. We had to negotiate a number of these including some slow poisons during the course of the event. The race, in general is rated as fast and flat, so nothing too serious in terms of hills. We stayed with Henriette and Des for the first kilometer or so, before heading off. The course is described as a out and back loop. I was a bit confused with the description until I realized it looks something like a lollipop with a stick on both ends.

Henriette nearing the halfway mark, doing very well.
Still up for a smile and a wave.

The first 3 kms (the first lollipop stick) is run next to the lake after which you turn off to run approximately 7 kilometres on State Highway 1/Lake Terrace Road - the first half of the loop. Nearing the end of this section the front runners can be spotted some 100 metres to your right, next to the lake. You then reach the other short out and back section (about 2km in total, the second of the lollipop sticks) which brings you to the turn-around point and halfway mark before heading back, doing the other half of the loop. Our halfway split was 1:04:42. And after the loop you're back on the first 3km out and back section.

On the way back, next to the lake.

Up until the turn-around point the weather was holding up nicely and at times I was actually cursing for being dressed too warmly. The sun partially came through making two layers of clothing too many. I was seriously overheating.

A hop, skip and jump at the 5km-to-go mark.

Watering stations were spaced about 5km apart, supplying only water. For a big event such as this, one would expect an energy drink of sorts, as is often the case at the bigger races. Fortunately we were armed with jelly babies to keep our sugar levels intact. The water table shortly before the turn-around point was such a welcome jollification with friendly helpers, cracking jokes and lifting spirits all round. Good on them - I'm sure a lot of runners appreciated their effort.

Thank you! thank you! thank you! Wonderful
soup and rolls at the finish.

The return half of the loop included a little off-road section (parallel to the SH1 section, but next to the lake) where the weather really turned nasty. It started to rain lightly while a cold wind was picking up. And suddenly all thoughts of too much clothes were gone. I was seriously cooling down, cursing again for not bringing gloves and a beanie with!

Never a dull moment with New Zealand weather. I tried to go as fast as I could but having a bit of an issue with wind (where does this come from?), I found myself quickly very stressed, hyper-ventilated and out of breath. I've realized that it is the wind blowing in my face that effects my the worst - it feels like it literally "takes my breath away".

Henriette at the finish.

Des at the finish.

Photograph by Super Sport Images.
Some wind! Blowing me
sideways and Gerry out of
the picture!

After what felt like miles and miles, we reached the walkway (Lions Walk?) with some bushes and overgrowth on both sides of the road providing some much appreciated shelter for bits. It was unfortunately short lived and we were exposed again to more wind and rain, and temperatures dropped considerably.

From around the 15km mark, we knew that we had to rely on "leg memory", not having done our homework. It was cold and wet and I could feel my ITB starting to act up again, which had me very worried at times. But the end was in sight and the promise of soup and a roll at the finish kept me going!

The wind was still quite strong, but more from the side, while the rain was also picking up. It was uncomfortably cold being wet to the bone. Lots of supporters were on the route with kids that held up banners reading "Go Mum!" etc. At some point we passed a water table with a sign saying "Linda's water table" and on the little camping table were two bottles of wine and two glasses. You can't help but smiling, forgetting all about your own pain.

At last we reached the "one kilometer to go" sign and with a nasty little uphill shortly before the finish, we still managed a 2:12:59 for the course. Giant choc-marshmallow fish (and this is no tall story!) were handed out at the finish, while we also received an energy drink.

Being soaking wet by now, the continued rain became less of an issue. The wind and cold was another story though. We headed to the Great Lake Centre for a choice of mushroom or pumpkin soup with a roll, and we both opted for the pumpkin. Absolute heaven!

A huge event, well organized, and we learned during the awards (which happened outside in the cold and rain! with hundreds of people attending), that the oldest finisher was 82, while the youngest was 8. Another impressive stat was that a 75 year old lady completed her very first half marathon event ever! Imagine that.

Congratulations to Henriette on her first half marathon! And thanks to both her and Des for making the outing. It was great having some friends joining us for a run.

The only question that remains: will I be able to manage another 21km in a week's time?

Manawatu Striders - winter series (15km) - 24 July 2011

A chilly start (not obvious judging from all the singlets at the front of the pack, but trust me...)

Gerry seeing to it that we get enough
jelly babies to keep us going.

Another cool morning with an on and off drizzle, saw the third event in the Winter Series of the Striders - again a 5km and 10km event, but this time also including a 15km, which we decided to do as built up for the Mizuno Half in two weeks time.

The route follows the same basic course for all the events, but for each distance some extra loops and out and back sections are introduced to make up the distance. The additional kilometres are all run on the quiet roads of the Massey campus as well as the Science Centres' site. Therefore another great event off the main roads, making it a quiet and comfortable outing spared from too much traffic.

We managed close to a 6min/km pace to finish in 1:33. Impressed with our attempt, especially taking into account our little less than desirable training routine, we returned home for a hearty bacon and egg breakfast.

On the back-roads of Massey, with the Rugby Institute
in the background.

A nice little loop on Massey campus.

A social out and back stretch between the Science Centres.

Done! Another one in the bag.