Tarawera Ultra-marathon 2011 Race Report
I entered my first ultra marathon in a moment of madness. I wanted a new challenge and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
My training went reasonably well. The only thing I think I could have done better was eat better. Unfortunately I was about 6kg heavier going into the Ultra than I was for the Auckland Marathon last year.
The weather turned atrocious just as I went to pick up my racepack the day before the event. We had real monsoonlike torrential rain and it totally washed out the registration. Having said that, I managed to get my race number and chip and I was good to go. I couldn’t help but notice how superfit and athletic most of the folks who were there seemed. GULP!
I was up at 4am the next day to get ready in time for the start. Fortunately the weather had cleared up and it looked to be a beautiful day.
The event started in the dark in the middle of a Redwood Forest and I decided to start right at the back. I was literally 2nd last at the start. I figured I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way and I never regretted that decision.
The first 4k or so was done in the dark and it was actually very slow as it was on a narrow track, steep uphill and 300 or so people. My aim the whole day was to be conservative as I knew I’d feel great in the beginning but that by the 50k or so mark I’d probably be feeling rather different!
One of the big differences between a marathon and an ultra marathon is the type of aid station:
There was so much food! I had a hot cross bun at just about every station and they were great! The volunteers were awesome and so very helpful. I had someone grab my hydration pack and fill it, someone else make me a sandwich and someone else ask if there was anything else they could do for me at most points! Loved the volunteers. 
Here I am at about the 30km mark. I still have my trademark running smile on and that never really left me during the whole event.
I found the whole event quite joyous in a way. It was really nice to be out in the bush just running and doing something that almost no one else would ever consider doing. I think that aspect of the ultra marathon really attracts me.
It got really tough from about the 42km mark as the track turned very technical. I was totally unprepared for how technical the course was in parts. The off road aspect really threw me. Some of the uphills and (even more so) the downhills were quite intense. I had never run on trails beforehand and it is totally different to anything I had imagined. I really loved it but boy it was tough at times. As you can see the elevation chart shows that there were a lot of up and downs and very little flats.
The shoes I got from Saucony were a life saver. I’ve got two bruised toes but I haven’t lost any toenails unlike after my first half marathon! I guess the feet have toughened up after all the running I’ve done since then.
It was fantastic to see my wife, daughter and the rest of the family at the end. It really was a great way to finish the event. We went straight from the finish to the Kawerau Hot Pools and had a great soak in the pools. The pizza afterwards really hit the spot too!
The stats: I finished in 9:31:11 which was well below my target time of ten hours so that was a big plus for me. More importantly for me I finished in the top half of the field. 25th out of 51 men in the 60km event. I was convinced I was going to finish dead last when I started so that was an outstanding result. My splits:
Most importantly of all I had a blast. I’ve gone over everything I did during the race and I don’t think I could have done anything better to be honest. It was a great event and something I will probably look at doing again.
Tarawera Ultramarathon 2011 Race Video
Report to come!
First ultra this Saturday!
I’ve been really bad at keeping you folks updated this year due to most of my spare time being taken up with running and work being insanely busy this year. Hopefully things will settle down somewhat.
Having said that I’ve got my only first Ultra Marathon this Saturday! I’m doing the Tarawera Ultra and am feeling rather nervous! I feel under trained and overweight which is a bugger! Here’s hoping I survive!
Saucony Progrid Peregrine
Saucony sent me a pair of Progrid Peregrine’s to use in my first ultra which I thought was very kind of them.
I’ve had two normal (non trail) runs with them so far and they are very nice shoes. I am going to try and run off road this weekend to give them a bash. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Daily Mile
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RoadID
