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.


    Sunday, June 13, 2010

    Scottish Harriers Three Peaks "Out West"

    trig
    Wrights Hill, Makara Peak, and Johnson's Hill. I'd done them all in previous Three Peaks events, and this time had a better route planned. Using maps from the City Safari I was well prepared and this time I remembered to take them.


    P6130203
    Runners leaving the top of Wright's Hill.
    Although they quickly passed me, they took a slower
    route down and I was ahead of them by the time we
    were down at Karori Rd.
    From the Scottish clubrooms I elected to take the direct line to the bottom of Aro Valley, through the bush tracks and over the hill, rather than the longer flatter street route. Up through Aro Valley and then take the enormous flight of steps up to Messines Rd in Karori. On to Campbell Rd and along to Croydon Park. I very briefly toyed with the idea of heading up the very steep track along the Wildlife Sanctuary fenceline, but in a moment of sense opted for the track that zig zags up through the bush. Reached the top of Wrights Hill in 59m:09s.

    P6130214
    Runners arriving at Makara Peak via the Ridgeline track.
    Last time I went from Makara to Wrights Hill I picked the wrong track and took a lot longer than necessary. This time I had the shortest route off Wrights Hill and then picked up Allington Rd and the 4WD road to the summit. By my watch the total time was 1h:46m:55s, so 47m:45s from Wrights Hill. As I was leaving the summit I noticed several runners arriving via the "Ridgeline" MTB track - they had previously been ahead of me, so another route choice vindicated.

    From Makara Peak it was follow the tracks down to the Makara road and along the Skyline track to Johnson's Hill. At one point there was an option to follow the track or take the road. The road was more direct and allowed me to nearly catch a couple of runners who had been a reasonable way ahead of me. Clocked in at Johnson's Hill in 2h:29m:16s, 42m:21s from Makara Peak.

    From Johnson's it was back down to the road and out to Karori Rd. Rather than following Karori Rd all the way out I took some side roads and made my way down Birdwood Street - a good downhill that made for fast progress. From there is was back down Aro Valley and back to the Scottish clubrooms, but this time via the flatter streets rather than the bush tracks I had used on the way out. A total time of 3h:19m:34s.

    Three Peaks Map 13-06-2010
    Actual route taken superimposed on the maps from the City Safari.
    Posted by Andrew Shelley
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