I wasn’t going to run Tarawera this year, but about 6 weeks
out from the event, after reading that Anton Krupicka was coming down to NZ to
run the race, I decided to enter. I
thought I’d do the 60k event this year as a social run with some good trail
running friends.
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| Lake Tarawera, with Mt Tarawera in the background |
With only 6 weeks to train I knew that I’d have to do things
a little differently – I had no time to gradually build up a base of long slow
runs, so decided to see what would happen if I kept up high intensity shorter
training runs, mixed with strength and cardio training on the bike. Looking back over my training diary, I
averaged only 43km/week running in the 6 weeks leading up to the race, and only
did 3 runs over 30km, my longest being 45km two weeks before the event.
Going in to the race, I felt relaxed and confident, based on
the fact that I knew the course well (having run it the last 2 years), and I
wasn’t feeling tired or overtrained. At
race registration on the Friday night I got to meet Anton and chatted with him
for a few minutes. That was one of the highlights. I also “upgraded” my entry from the 60k to
the 85k, perhaps letting my confidence get the better of me...
Race start was at 7.00am at the Redwood Forest in
Rotorua. It has always been a surreal
experience just before the start, milling around in the forest pre-dawn with a
couple of hundred nervous ultra runners, and feeling full of emotion about the
challenge that lies ahead. Before I knew
it we were off.
My strategy from the start was to pace myself, and conserve
energy through to the 60k mark (Tarawera Falls), and then push on from
there. So, the first section from the
start through to the top of the Blue Lake, was nice and relaxed. Just warming into the run. At about 4k in, just past the water tank, I
passed Martin Lukes (one of NZ’s top ultra runners), who had stopped and was
stretching on a bridge. I thought it was odd that he was that far back at that
stage.
Just beyond the Blue Lake aid station there was an added
challenge this year as the lake was very high, and there were a couple of
sections completely under water. So
shoes and socks got completely soaked through, and full of sand and mud. That was the only point where I regretted my
choice of shoes, as I’d gone for the lightweight Saucony Kinvaras, rather than
specialist trail shoes, and the drainage in the road shoes wasn’t the best (why
didn’t they think of that when they were designing them?).
From the Blue Lake the course followed a very sweet bit of
single track towards Lake Okareka, and at the start of that trail Martin Lukes
went flying past – clearly on a mission to catch the leaders.
Lake Okareka was the first major aid station and change over
point for relay runners (at about the 20k mark), and I was able to put on a
pair of dry socks for the long stretch from there to Okataina. At that stage I was just over 2 hours 4
minutes in, and felt pretty good.
The leg from Okareka to Okataina, along the Western Okataina
walkway, is a killer. It is about 18km
of relentlessly tough climbing and descending, and can leave you feeling very
beaten up if you’re not careful. I paced
myself by hiking most of the uphills, and even some of the downhills, to
preserve my quads (having beaten them up on the downhills last year). I just focused on conserving energy as much
as possible, with the goal of reaching Okataina (which is about 38k in) feeling
reasonable. The pacing worked, but I had
a very sore stomach during this leg, and couldn’t eat anything, and started to
worry that I would run out of energy if I didn’t get something in. I had no choice though but to push on and
re-asses at Okataina.
Running into Okataina is a highlight as you come bursting
out of the bush into the carpark, and the crowds there always cheer loudly, and
it was no different this year. I grabbed
a handful of food, and some salt tablets, and sat down to change my socks
again, and get some food and hydration into me.
I managed to get a bit in, including some Mountain Dew, and that seemed
to settle my stomach.
Then on to the Okataina – Tarawera Falls track – undoubtedly
my favourite section of the race. The
track winds its way along Lake Okataina, then over the hill to Lake Tarawera,
and on to the falls. Along the way you
run through amazing sections of pre-historic bush, and have wonderful views of
the lakes, and falls at the end. Running
on to this section I thought to myself that this is my part of the race.
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| Okataina-Tarawera Falls Track |
I ran strongly through to Humphries Bay (about ½ way to the
falls), and stopped at a couple of places to take some photos, and then a weird
thing happened. After I had stopped at a
place I just love in the middle of the track to take some photos and have a
gel, I changed the music on my iPod to some good hard rock (Airbourne’s Running
Wild), and just took off. It felt like I
had an abundance of energy, and for about 15-20 minutes I flew along the track
to the beat of the music, and felt as if I could run faster and faster. I passed about half a dozen people on that
section of the track (most of which had passed me while I was taking photos),
and I could only imagine what they were thinking as I ran on ahead.
It was a great feeling, but after a while (and a few more Airbourne tracks) I
had to reign myself in, and force my mind to control my heart, which just
wanted to keep on racing.
Before I knew it I was at Tarawera Falls, which is the 60k
mark and end of the 60k race. I felt
strong running in to the aid station, and it never crossed mind to stop at that
point. I was committed to pushing on to
finish the 85, even if that meant a long hike all the way to the next aid
station at Titoki (at the 70k mark). I
knew that as long as I could guts it out up to Titoki (which is mostly uphill),
then it was basically flat along the river bank from there to the finish.
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| Tarawera Falls |
The slog up to Titoki was just as I remembered it from last
year – long and hard, but at least I was prepared for it. It was in the middle of this section last
year that I ended up sitting down on the side of the trail “having a moment”
and wondering whether I could carry on.
No such problem this year, just a long hike up the hills and on to the
Titoki aid station at the 70k mark.
Just beyond Titoki you reach a T intersection on the
forestry road where there is a sign saying left for the 85k and right for the
100k. Although I had toyed with the idea
briefly, when I reached the intersection, there was no way I was turning right
(towards what is affectionately known as “the Hill of Despair”). So, left it
was, and on my way to the river road.
At this stage I was feeling very tired, and my two big
toenails were giving me grief, as well as a very shore right shin and both
quads, so I concentrated on making the next aid station at Fisherman’s Bridge,
which I knew would only be 10k from the end.
I basically broke it down to 1 kilometre at a time, and just focused on
the next aid station.
Fisherman’s Bridge (at 77km by my watch, or 75km according
to the route map) is where the 100k and 85k courses join back together, and it
was inspiring to see the 100k runners coming through – with so much
determination after completing the “Hill of Despair” loop). Amy Campbell, who was in second place in the
women’s 100k field, came through looking remarkably strong. I sat down for a couple of minutes, and
refuelled, and then was off again.
As before, during the next section, along the riverside, I
just concentrated on running each kilometre and making the next aid station,
which was only 3.5km away (they make that one mercifully close at that stage of
the race). I had to take a couple of
walking breaks along this section, and went through a very low patch – those
3.5km felt like 10. But I kept on
plugging away, trading places a couple of times with another runner and his
pacer, who was also struggling to keep running at that point. It was nice actually to have some company at
that stage while I was feeling very low.
The next (and last) aid station was at Tarawera River. The sign just before the aid station said
“Welcome to Party Central” I think, and there was music blasting from a stereo,
and the volunteers were all having a great time. It was a real pick me up. Vicky Plaistowe, who came 3rd in
the women’s 100k race, came into the aid station just after me, then took off
down the trail – amazing to see how gutsy the 100k runners were.
From Tarawera River to the finish, about 6km, is a bit of a
blur. I just picked off the kms one at a
time, and felt like I was getting stronger the closer I got to the end. About 2-3km from the end I was running
strongly again (like I had just started, but with very sore legs!), and really
enjoyed the last couple of kms across the grass and on to Firmin Feild in Kawerau
for the finish. I thought for a minute
that I might go under 11.30, so put a burst on for the line, but crossed in
11.31. Very happy with my time, and very
very tired.
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| Anton Krupicka at the finish |
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my race. I felt that I did the best I could based on
the training that I did, and remarkably, despite (or perhaps because of) the
training I was on average pace, faster than last year. It was immensely satisfying to pull it off,
and great great fun along the way. And
very painful too. Just as it should be.
Stats:
Total distance: 85km
(86.95km by my watch)
Time: 11:31:51
Place: 11th/40 (Solo)
Average pace: 7:56/km
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