Introduction

Welcome to my blog. The title originates when my primary athletic activity was competitive walking, but now that I am back to running it also includes that.

Not all content is accessible from the main page: for example, the rogaines, racewalking, and ultramarathon pages all include content that is only accessible from those pages.

Ultramarathons

Ultramarathons are any event longer than the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles / 42.195km. Standard distances for ultras are 50km, 50 miles, 100km, and 100 miles. There are also 12 hour and 24 hour track runs, and multi-day "stage races".

I have currently (September 2012) completed 30 ultramarathons, plus 1 DNF at about 66km at the Molesworth Run. Reports for most events are provided below.

See also

Rogaines

Rogaining is the sport of long distance cross-country navigation. Events can be as short as 2-3 hours or the standard 24 hours. Teamwork, endurance, competition and an appreciation for the natural environment are features of the sport. Rogaining involves both route planning and navigation between checkpoints using a variety of map types.

GN Phillips and RJ Phillips, Rogaining, 3rd ed, 2000


The two main umbrella organisations for rogaining in New Zealand are: My reports for selected events are provided below.


Hiking and Mountains

The Hiking, Trail Running, and Mountains pages are all inter-related, but with some subtle differences:
  • Hiking is not an organised race, and may include Coastal Adventures, activities in the Mountains, and hiking in other locations;
  • Trail Running covers organised events, some in the mountains, but others on local hills and trails; and
  • The Mountains category covers both events and hiking in various places that can be classed as mountains.


    • Racewalking

    Racewalking only has to meet two technical requirements:
    • no loss of contact, as judged by the human eye; and
    • the leg has to be straight from the moment of first contact until it is upright.
    More detailed rules are here.

    I'm not particularly good at racewalking, often falling foul of the straight leg rule. But I still give it a go and here are the results of my endeavours.


    Running

    This blog is primarily about my walking activities, but sometimes I do run. Here are reports for events where I have run.

    Shorter Races

    I classify events as ultramarathons, marathons, rogaines, and "shorter events". So a "shorter event" is just something that is shorter than a marathon and is not a rogaine. Consequently there's a mixed bag in here: running, racewalking, half marathons, 10k and 5k races, , etc.


    Tuesday, November 17, 2009

    Mount Vic "Sprint Rogaine"

    Mt Vic Rogaine 091117
    Not really a rogaine because no fixed time limit, but not really pure orienteering either. Positions were based on number of controls gathered, then by time.

    Followed the masses down to 80, then through to 23. Rather than dropping from the road to 103 I elected to climb the steep bank from the velodrome, and was in exactly the right spot. Follow the tracks to 21 and 60. Drop down to the streets and climb the rough track from the bus tunnel up to 100. Up the road a short stretch and down through the maze of tracks to 41. Easy tracks to 62, 43, 22. 81 proved impossible for anyone to find, so everyone who tried for it was credited. Then 40 and 20, and a hunt for 101. The track up to 61 appeared to be slightly further south, but I found it.

    Then it was decision time. I had five controls left to get, but time was ticking on. I opted to head back to base via 82, with most of the long stretch from 101 through to base at a jog (but walking the steps for #61). The alternative to collect all controls would have been 83, 102, 42, 63, 82.

    A larger version of the map is available here.
    Posted by Andrew Shelley
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