Xterra Woodhill

Dressed to the Nines in my new Salomon gear - perfect for Xterra!

All runners have their good days and bad days...

Sunday's Xterra Auckland Trail Series race at Woodhill, Muriwai was one of those good days.

As is invariably the case at Xterra races, there was a bunch of teens who raced off at the start. I let them go, choosing instead to start conservatively and build from there. The first 800m of the short course at Woodhill is 100% uphill, so starting easy is good strategy. 

After the first km I gradually built up to race pace, and started picking runners off. Each time I passed someone who looked like they may be in my division my heart leapt, only to feel the disappointment as I looked ahead and saw another! 

Over the next 4-5km I estimate that I would've passed 20-30+ runners, and eventually worked my way up into the top 10.

My official finishing place was 9th overall and 1st in the Masters division. Very happy to return to racing.

Here's a smattering of photographs from the day (courtesy of official race photographer Photos4Sale).

A big thanks to sponsors Salomon and Shoe Science for kitting me out in the latest Salomon running gear. It was super comfortable, and the Salomon Speedcross 3 shoes were perfect on the soft Woodhill trails!