The Wild Turkey Off Road Half Marathon is an annual running event in Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges, starting and finishing at Whatipu, with half marathon-ish and 15km races. The courses were revised in 2009; previously the shorter distance was 16km. The first race was in 2003 and the last was to be in 2012, to be […]
“I really didn’t want to see that” I muttered to myself, referring to the colour of my urine splashing into the bushes on the side of the Western Okataina Walkway; it looked like washed out Coca-Cola. Here I was at the 2013 Tarawera Ultramarathon, just a couple of kilometres past the previous aid station and […]
The Auckland Marathon on 28 October 2012 was my 12th road marathon and the 6th time I have run the Auckland Marathon. Disaster at Rotorua and aims for Auckland I ran a fairly disastrous road marathon at Rotorua five months earlier; it was run in a personal best time for the marathon but I wasn’t […]
The Abel Tasman Coastal Classic took place last weekend; it may appear a little pricey at first glance at $195 but it’s a whole day experience including lunch and a buffet prize giving dinner at the end. Boat ride The day starts with registration at the Marahau Outdoor Education Centre, followed by a boat ride […]
I ran the full Hillary Trail in Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges at “Midnight Midwinter Madness 3” starting at midnight on Saturday June 30th 2012. 11 of us started and 9 finished the roughly 75km trail. Previously I ran my first ultra marathon earlier this year when I ran the 85K at Tarawera and then second only […]
Some background I ran my first marathon at Auckland in 2007 and made the classic beginner’s mistake of setting off too fast and paying for it at the end. It then took me until my 7th marathon in 2010 to beat my first marathon time in what I consider to be my only “perfect” marathon […]
On Saturday March 17th 2012, I ran the Tarawera Ultramarathon 85K from Rotorua to Kawerau in a time of 11 hours and 41 minutes. This was my first ultra marathon and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I look forward to 2013 when I plan to run in the full 100K event. Before Tarawera, I had […]
As part of my training for the Tarawera Ultra next month I decided to run the Hillary Trail, starting from the Arataki Visitors Centre and seeing how far I could go. My aim was to get to Bethells Beach but knowing I could stop at Piha if need be, or go as far as Muriwai […]
I ran the Speight’s West Coaster Marathon on Saturday November 26th 2011. This was my 11th marathon but the first time I’d run an off-road marathon, and it’s billed as one of the hardest off road marathons in New Zealand. The winning time is typically around the 5 hour mark so I knew it was […]