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.
Comments
17 Responses to “Tarawera Ultra-marathon 2011 Race Report”
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For a first timer you make it sound like a breeze. Congrats on a great race.
Congrats!!!
Ron´s last [type] ..Health Master
Twitter: ronmichel1115yahoo.com
Nice work Andrew! I’m super impressed with your consistency. Can’t believe you didn’t run ANY trails beforehand…thats gutsy!
What a great accomplishment. Since it involved trail running, I think it must have been even more tough.
Like you said, the food table in an ultra compared to marathons is so much different. I can remember marathons in which they almost didn’t have anything at all, just water and sportdrinks.
Paul Koks´s last [type] ..Mar 26- Long Beach Marathon – A Great- Scenic And Flat Course
Twitter: marathon_tips
Andrew you are truly a source of inspiration! Thanks for the motivation to keep going in my own fitness quest!
Twitter: brucegud
Congrats, Andrew! You’ve come a long way in the past few years and have much to be proud of!
Cammy@TippyToeDiet´s last [type] ..Danger Girls Do Lunch
Twitter: tippytoediet
Congratulations! Yes, you make it sound like it was your first 5K. Good job, and those hot cross buns were well-deserved.
suzee´s last [type] ..Oakland Running Festival Twilight 5K
Congrats!!! I continue to think about doing an ultra next year, and stories like yours always help.
David H.´s last [type] ..A collision of seasons
Twitter: RunningBecause
Hi David, don’t just think about – DO IT.I picked up the info for Tarawera Ultra ayear ago & decided to do the 100k. At that time hadn’t even done a marathon. Ran a 60k ultra in Jan as part of my training for Tarawera, met some incredible people & loved the run.Did the 100k last week, fantastic day, well organised, stunning setting & yes those volunteers are tops! Paul Charteries really nows how to put on a great race.Get yourself some mates to join you at different stages of your longer training runs, make them slow, do good nutrition and your half way there! Most of all, having the real desire and passion to do one is important, as it is your head not just the body that helps to get you to the finish and if you enter the 100k, never think ah well I could just do the 60k, it should never be an option. Most of all, enjoy and enlist support. I had an unforgetable day & loved it all. Go for it – good luck:)
Way to go Andrew, and great video as well. You can tell how much you enjoy this. Inspiring.
Bill
Twitter: billjw05gmail.com
That’s awesome. I have a 50K coming up later this year.
We really need some kind of conversion widget so I don’t have to use my calculator to see you speeds.
Joe´s last [type] ..Running For Beginners
Twitter: seejoerun
This is incredible, keeping up that kind of pace for over 9 hours! And on trails? Yowza. Dead last would have been awesome – middle of the pack? Superb!
John’s Weight Loss Blog´s last [type] ..We Should Never Retire From Fitness
Twitter: johnisfit
Nice effort. Way to smile the entire way and you earned that post race meal. Great recap and even better race.
Gotta Run,
Mike
http://www.facebook.com/WhyMarathon
Congrats! I’ve tackled 7 marathons so far, but have yet to sign up for an ultra. Your time is crazily impressive!
That aid station looked incredible (it would be so hard to volunteer and not chow down on the runners’ food). Right now I’m also dealing with some toe issues. I ran the National Marathon on Saturday and two of my toe nails are not happy at all (one is about to fall off). That’s for the great race report!
Funnily enough one of my toenails dropped off yesterday!
Twitter: AndrewENZ
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