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.


    Friday, July 25, 2014

    Mt Eden Survey Marks

    Trig beacon 1328 and obelisk on Mt Eden

    One side of the obelisk with plaques

    The survey mark 1328

    The bronze plaque for 1328 (16 Mount Eden SO
    52129), on a wet dull day with strong camera flash
    reflections.
    Mt Eden marks the centre of the Auckland region, at least as far as surveying is concerned. Next to a somewhat non-standard trig beacon stands an obelisk marking the initial station for the triangulation of Auckland in 1872. One of the plaques on the obelisk commemorates this:
    This obelisk was first erected by
    Stephenson Percy Smith,
    Chief Geodetic Surveyor,
    on the 17th day of August 1872
    as initial station for the triangulation
    of the Auckland province, instituted by
    Captain Theophilus Heale
    Inspector of Surveys.
    "Prudens Futuri"

    Below that plaque is another commemorating the centenary of the foundation of the Auckland Provincial Surveyors Association, founded approximately seven years prior to the commencement of the triangulation of the region:

    To commemorate the founding,
    on 22nd June 1865, of the
    Auckland Provincial
    Surveyors Association.

    This plaque was placed
    by the Auckland branch
    of the New Zealand
    Institute of Surveyors
    22nd June 1965.

    Another face of the obelisk had two plaques, but one has been removed. The remaining plaque states:

    This plaque is to celebrate the third century of
    surveying in the Auckland area. In this coming
    century, the Auckland branch of the NZ Institute of Surveyors will strive to contribute to the growth and prosperity of our region.

    This historic monument was restored in March 2001 by the Auckland branch of the NZ Institute of Surveyors, in partnership with the 1998-2001 Eden Albert Community Board.

    There is also another survey mark on Mt Eden: C5LG (Mt Eden No. 2), hidden under a cast iron cover 43m east of 1328. The cover was easy enough to find, but it was a wet day so I didn't bother lifting the lid.

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