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, July 27, 2014

    Mt Te Aroha at night

    Mt Te Aroha TV transmitter at night, on
    the site of old survey mark 1319 (567
    Te Aroha)
    A night time ascent of the tramping track up Mt Te Aroha, to support Kim Allan on the last leg of a long (120km+) training run for Spartathlon.

    A small group of us departed Te Aroha domain on dusk, and it was soon dark as we headed up through the bush. Spectacular views over the plains at the few view points, and even more spectacular views as the TV tower came into view, lit-up and looking for all the world like the Eiffel tower. The track gets very steep in places near the top, and gave the impression that it would feel very exposed in daylight. A strong, cold wind was blowing on the top, so while I photographed the trig, Kim and the others started back down the road. I caught up with the others and we jogged back down Tui Rd to meet Simon at the furthest point that the car could reach.

    A note of historical interest, the original survey mark 1319 (567 Te Aroha) is listed as:
    "STATION DESTROYED 1965 FOR THE ERECTION OF A T.V. TRANSMISSION TOWER."

    Whether the TV tower now counts is a debatable point. It is not officially a survey mark, but it stands where 1319 once stood.

    View from Whakapipi over Te Aroha and the plains
    after sunset
    Trig with TV transmitter behind

    Brass plaque and survey mark A38P
    Map

    Trig A38P (Te Aroha No. 2)
    Posted by Andrew Shelley
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