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.


    Saturday, March 5, 2005

    Marlborough 50 2005

    I had found it a little difficult to get as much training under my belt as I had hoped for, not least because it had been so hot in Upper Hutt leading up to the race. There were also some days where the training just did not go as planned. With a longest training run of only 42km, I thought I might be a little under done.

    High Field Estate, 2005
    Running past High Field Estate, a little before the
    7km mark.
    As it turned out, the heat in Upper Hutt had been a good thing, as we were in for even hotter temperatures in Blenheim. Temperatures soared from less than 10 degrees celsius at the 7am start to an official 30 degrees celsius in the early afternoon. The temperature was 36C in the sponsor's vineyard, which must have been about the same temperature that we were experiencing on the road.

    First Half
    Lap 1: Jamie took off at a fast but relaxed pace, and within 50m I had resigned myself to not being first, not that I ever realistically expected to be. Of more concern was that I was in second and no one else was challenging me, not even Annie who had been to the 100km World Cup last year. Maybe I was running too fast? At any rate, I settled into my routine of running to the 5km mark, walking for 5 minutes, and then running to the 10km mark for another 5 minute walk - a routine that would be unbroken for the first half of the race.

    Lap 2: Jamie had more than a 4 and a half minute lead on me by the end of this lap. Everyone exchanged pleasantries on the out-and-back of Hawkesbury Road, but otherwise it was fairly much a solo run. I had good walking form on my walk breaks and everything was going well. By the end of the lap Jamie had extended his lead slightly to 5 minutes.

    Lap 3 passed without incident, and soon it was on to Lap 4. At the start of Lap 4 (30km) I started fueled up on a hot cross bun as I walked the first 5 minutes of the lap. Initially a little dry, but a nice change from sports gel. Only a few km into the lap, we found out from one of the local vineyard owners that the temperature was already at 34C!! Hailing from the somewhat cooler climes of Dunedin, Jamie was starting to feel the effects of the heat and didn't seem to have gained any extra ground during the previous lap. Much to my surprise, from about the 5km mark I started to catch glimpses of him in the distance, and the gap between us seemed to be narrowing. Jamie, Norilie, and I came together in a bunch almost exactly at the 39km mark. I caught and passed Norilie, then within a few metres I had also passed Jamie. I was in the lead! Times at the 40km mark were incredibly close: I recorded 3:35:36, Jamie 3:35:51, and Norilie 3:35:59.

    Second Half
    Running 2005
    The final turn-around on Hawkesbury
    Rd, about 1 mile into the last lap.
    Lap 5: After a longer than intended stop at the start/finish aid station, it was off again to record my time for the marathon (3:47:49). I was starting to feel a little tired now, so the walking breaks were a little more frequent. However, I was conscious that Norilie and Jamie were right behind me, so I made sure that I kept up a good pace and passed quickly through the aid stations. At the start of Lap 6 I availed myself of the "Portaloo", providing Norilie with an opportunity to slip into the lead. The challenge was short lived, however, as I managed to regain the lead by 3km into the lap. From this lap onwards we started putting ice in my cap at each aid station. The half hour between aid stations was almost enough time for the ice to melt, and it certainly made a huge difference to just how hot I was feeling.

    At the start of lap 7 (60km) I refuelled with some "Backcountry Cuisine" mashed potato - very welcome, as I had been starting to get more than a little hungry. By now the heat and lack of training were starting to take their toll, and I was down to walk 1km, run 1km. Norilie would close the gap while I was walking, and I would extend it again while running. I was also still moving quickly through the aid stations, whereas the others were stopping for a short break. However, I was feeling increasingly tired in the heat, I was also starting to wonder whether I should withdraw, but I kept telling myself that I couldn't do that now that I was actually leading the race.

    Lap 8: The last lap! Continued with the walk 1km, run 1km schedule. From 9km walked 500m to the corner, then ran part of the way to the 10km mark. Walked a bit more to get to 10km, and then ran the rest of the way to the finish, 450m down the road.

    Prize Giving 2005
    Prize Giving
    Final Standings
    Only three people finished the 50 mile event. I was first in 8:07:39, Norilie Lopez was second in 8:12:20, and Jamie Sinclair was third in 8:38:16. Annie Faletanoai withdrew at the 50km mark, although apparently this was planned. Jim Kerse withdrew at the 60km mark.



    And what they went on to do...
  • Norilie Lopez took honours as 1st female at the Coburg Harriers 24 Hour Carnival, 16-17 April 2005, recording a distance of 162.800km;
  • Karen Neale was 26th female at the IAU 100km World Challenge, Lake Saroma, Japan, 26 June 2005, finishing in 11:05:40; and
  • Jamie Sinclair and Jim Kerse both completed the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, 25-26 June 2005. Jamie's time was 24:04:13, and Jim's time was 29:01:07.


  • Some Related Links:
  • Omaka Springs winery
  • Backcountry Cuisine
  • 0 comments:

    Post a Comment