blog

Vautier Pharmacy Feilding to Palmerston Nth run & walk

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:55:56 +1200

A good turn out of 442 in total took part in this years Feilding/Bunnythorpe to Palmerston North Fun Run/Walk.

Conditions on the day were ideal and everyone who participated seemed to enjoy themselves.

I would like to thank all the people who helped out to ensure that the event went smoothly.

A special thank you to our Sponsors Vautier Pharmacy, City Fitness,Stirling Sports,Subway, Coco Cola, and Dole for the bananas.

Thank you to the Hokowhitu Village Centre for allowing us to use your location and a big thank you to St Johns.

A big thanks also to Lynne Vautier and her team for the Mothers Day flowers handed out to all the Mums at the finish.

Alister Martin

Event Co-ordinator

Manawatu Striders Inc

NZ Half Marathon Championships

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:32:21 +1300

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/sport/5805302/City-to-host-half-marathon-championships

Clubrooms update

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:33:59 +1200

Still working on new clubrooms/location.

Hope to have something for this to club soon.

West Coast marathon

Thu, 05 May 2011 16:41:21 +1200

Deb Arnold celebrates her 100 th marathon in style

How did I celebrate running my 100^th marathon? I went looking for a new experience and to challenge myself so I fronted up for the West Coast Marathon. Expecting a tough scenic run and I got that and more, this race has over 2100 metres of vertical climb and covers a variety of terrains.

Talking to others who had previously run this race and given that I had done no off-road training since December 2009 I set myself the goal of finishing under 7.30hrs.

This race comprises 3 separate legs each with its own challenges. In 2009 the 1^st 14km leg was changed significantly from that of previous events, going from an on–road leg to one that was totally off-road and taking runners along the beach, down streams, across farmland and up steep single tracks. Because of the rough terrain all runners were required to carry food supplies and water along with a 1^st aid kit and thermal clothing.

The race started at 7.30am, heading down Bethells Beach then steeply across farmland where at one point the climb took us through a paddock of horses – some of which became spooked and ran among and through the runners giving us quite a scare. At the end of this 14km Leg loop was the 1^st water stop which, as with all the water stops, was stocked with electrolyte, water and bananas.

Leg 2 saw us heading north along the Te Henga walkway, this was extremely steep and narrow with stunning cliff top views. There were many stiles to climb over and we had to be careful with foot placement as some areas were heavy with flax bushes that you had to scramble your way though. There were amazing sea views and although areas of the track were overgrown and technical the views made for quite a distraction. About 6kms of this track is cut into headland with drops into the ocean 100_s of metres below. About 2/3 of the way along this 9km Leg 2 the path dropped down almost to sea level, before climbing steeply again to finish out on the edge of a gravel road and the 2^nd water stop (23km mark).

Leg 3 started with a gravel road section that led to the Goldie’s Bush/Mokoroa loop. We passed though a gate and were hit with a sudden change of scenery with a dense canopy of native bush and an even firm trail. There was a steep downhill section of steps and heading right the track changed again – becoming progressively rougher until we arrived at Mokoroa Stream. This started the hardest and most technical part of the entire course. It involved countless stream crossings and sections of running down the rough boulder strewn stream bed hunting for the next marker to indicate where to exit out of the water. When you weren’t wading through cold fast flowing water you were on uneven narrow, root ridden and sometimes nearly nonexistent trails. It was very slow going – as my legs were tired and cramping whenever I was called on to reach up for foot holds in the banks or rock faces bordering the ever deepening stream.

We then we headed away from the stream back uphill on what was once again a nice track to Horseman Rd and the 3^rd water stop (28km) which had plates of chocolate brownies that were well earned after the toughest running I’ve done in a long time. We next dropped back down the track we had just run up and continued around the 2^nd half of leg 3 which contained gnarly single track and it was completed with a steep climb out of the walkway on a leg sapping zigzag of wooden steps taking us back up to the entrance of the track to the same point we had entered and water stop #2 again, then it was back up the gravel road to return along the 9km Te Henga cliff top trail on very tired legs to the finish across a deepening estuary to Bethells Beach Reserve.

The race has a cut-off time of 4.00pm which allows 8.5hrs to complete the marathon. I had been told I’d take 7 to 7.5hrs based on my road marathon times and came in at 7.02, finishing with a big sense of achievement and notable array of scrapes and bruises.

I’d definitely run this again but with serious off-road training as it is a tough and challenging marathon and I’ll admit to feeling very sore for days afterwards.

Kepler Challenge 2010

Thu, 05 May 2011 16:39:42 +1200

To be able to race the Kepler Challenge means being at your computer at 6.30am on the 1^st Saturday of July – I was there and logged in ready to go but ended up #100 on a waitlist of about 300. I pretty much gave up any hope of getting in as it meant that 100 entrants had to withdraw before race day on December 4^th. But I had kept a hopeful eye on the waitlist to find that come October I was rapidly advancing up the list and then 3 weeks out from the start I got an invitation offering me a place in the race. I quickly accepted then started worrying about the fact I’d only run off-road once in the previous few months. Those 3 weeks saw me running solely off-road concentrating heavily on downhill stuff with the thought that it was where I could best make a difference.

After travelling down to Te Anau in fine weather and attending the evening briefing where hot weather was forecast it was no surprise to wake to a very mild and still race day. The start line saw competitors discussing what gear was best to run in as the conditions looked to be very warm – even on the mountain ridges. The gun went odd at 6.30am and then we were off - through the lovely sheltered bush of the first 5 kms running at a good steady pace before we hit the serious climb. I ran & walked upwards passing many runners on the steep switchbacks of the track. Even on this my 7^th attempt it didn’t seem any easier. Coming up through the tree cover into the open it wasn’t long before Luxmore Hut came into site with the necessity of gear checks and a chance to get a good drink and some orange slices.

I met up with several guys that I’d run with on previous Keplers and we pretty much kept together all the way across the tops. I ran fairly cautiously along the narrow ridges as there was still a long way to go and I wanted to have fuel in the tank and be injury free when I got down to Iris Burn. I went steady on the knee jarring downward section and found that the minimal training on steep downhill was paying off, allowing me to hold a good pace and arrive at the bottom injury free. This descent can wreck your knees if you are not careful as it is so long and steep and the temptation is to take it too fast. I felt in good shape at the bottom and checked into Iris Burn – stopping to change down into a singlet as the rest of the run was in sheltered valley and the temperature was well into the 30s.

The water stop volunteers all took part in a competition for the best dressed and decorated checkpoints, and Iris Burn was decked out in balloons, bells and festive Christmas characters cheering and loudly greeting each runner. From Iris Burn my goal was to hit a steady pace and run all the 30kms to the finish line. I found myself leading several bunches on this half of the race – having conversations with runners behind me who I never actually saw but who latched on for periods of time. One Aussie bloke ran the last 20kms with me – always on my shoulder. I asked him several times if he wanted to pass but he replied that I was going the perfect pace for him. Would have been nice if he had led for a while. I saw his face for the first time when he shook my hand and thanked me at the finish line.

It took me just over 4 hrs to complete the mountain stage to Iris Burn and you usually assume that you will finish in double that time. I had the usual goal of beating 8hrs so knew I had the task of running the 2^nd part of the race at a solid pace. I’d started the race pre-armed with a list of the animal trap numbers and locations for particular points along the route so I used these to count off the distances when I got particularly tired. I had other runners behind me reading out the numbers off the trees every 200 metres along the track.

I had packed a small bottle of Red Bull which I took 5kms from the end. This seemed to give me the extra energy I needed to maintain pace. The noise from the finish line of announcements echoing through the forest can be heard several kms from the end and spurs you on to complete well. With the 1km to go sign I dug deep and upped the pace wanting to come in well under that elusive 8hr mark. I ran through finish line in 7.52 collecting my medal and turning to see who had been on my shoulder for so long. I kept walking through the crowd of runners and supporters until I had wound down and got my breathing back under control.

This race is very hard to get into but well worth doing at least once as it offers such stunning views, amazing atmosphere and a supportive community.