🏃🏃♀️A French Yorkshire Dude See's an Old Ghost & Runs ...
“Probably my best win to date. It means a lot to get your name on the winners trophy of an event like Old Ghost!!”
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re here for you like that mix tape your best friend made in High School. All bangers, no skipping required.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️Old Ghost Ultra Results
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🤯Mission Corner
📰SK News Desk
😭Worst Run Ever
🏁Upcoming events: Motatapu
⛰️💊Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
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Old Ghost Ultra Results
Saturday, February 24
The B Course pandemic continues. First, it was The Wild. Then Jumbo Holdsworth. Now, for the first time, The Old Ghost Ultra was forced onto the B course.
A classic West Coast weather system was forecast to smash the high point of the course while the majority of the field would be passing over.
The new course was announced as out-and-back to Stern Hut. A feeling of impending doom ripped through the under-trained. This sounded like actual running rather than fast hiking with snacks.
Women's podium:
🥇Kate Loye - 7:32:00
🥈Alison Wilson - 7:35:51
🥉Nancy Jiang - 7:44:13
Nancy Jiang fired herself out of a cannon, with Ali Wilson & Kate Loye struggling to keep in touch. She came in 2.5 minutes ahead of Ruth Croft’s CR split in 1:25:37 at the first aid station (Specimen Point, 17km). Wilson was 5 minutes back, and Loye a further 3.
Jiang kept on the attack⚔️, getting to the B course turnaround point (Stern Hut, 42km) 17 minutes faster than her 2 previous Old Ghost’s.
However, she couldn’t shake free of Wilson and Loye, with Loye now moving past Wilson only 3.5 minutes back at the turnaround.
In the run back to Specimen Hut, Kate Loye seized control of the race. She pulled 9 minutes ahead of Jiang, who was now looking over her shoulder to find a charging Wilson.
Wilson passed Jiang and put a big dent in Loye’s 11-minute lead, but she would ultimately run out of runway. Loye took the victory over Wilson by 3m50s. Jiang would hold on to third.
Congratulations to Kate Loye, but you’ve rocked my very foundation by beating out Ali Wilson.
My mind doesn’t compute. It’s like 1 + 1 now = 3🤯.
Can anyone recommend me a good laser tattoo removalist🤣?
Here is what Kate Loye had to say about her experience at Old Ghost Ultra.
“The race was definitely one to remember. I really enjoyed meeting people along the way especially in the first half of the race where you can actually talk and run.”
“Once we got into a good flow my energy just picked up a bit and I was feeling quite good at the turn around point at the Stern valley hut. The crew at each aid station were amazing, bringing good vibes and banter.”
“It was a pretty hard, long slog for the last 30km, the pain cave was real. I was in awe of all of the people who were out on that track, everyone tackling their own battle, pretty inspiring stuff.”
“I was just lucky that my feet took me all the way to the finish in one piece, and it happened to be just a touch quicker than some of amazing other runners out there. Everyone who toed the start line were all winners in my eyes.”
“A really big shout out to the event organisers and volunteers, something that will forever make the old ghost ultra a very special race.”
Kate Loye
Men's podium:
🥇Thomas Barnes - 7:04:15
🥈Nat Anglem - 7:18:25
🥉Chris Dunell - 7:24:14
The race got off to an exciting start with 2 of the favourites, Ben Williams & Thomas Barnes, somehow missing the entry to Old Ghost Road🤣.
Fortunately, the hysterical laughter from supporters tipped them off, and they both got back on track and into the lead.
I was shaken to the core when I saw Thomas Barnes burst out of the bush to arrive at Specimen Hut (17 km). Not because he was running in 1st equal with Ben Williams, but because he wasn’t wearing his trademark backward cap😮.
It was like seeing Captain Planet with a bowl cut instead of a mullet.
In fact, Williams was sporting a backwards cap instead. Was Williams mocking Barnes? Was he trying to get inside Barne’s head?
The pace was relatively relaxed to this point, 8 minutes back from Sam McCutcheon’s stupidly quick CR split of 1:16 last year.
Barnes did the old ‘leave the aid station while the other guy is washing goat sh💩t off his leg’ trick and turned the screws on Williams.
Stern Hut usually marks the end of the "easy" running and transitions into sustained climbing, working towards the course's high point "Heavens Door". Today it was the turnaround point, and runners would stagger back the way they came.
The Barnes Train was the first to pull into Stern Station in 3h27m. His lead was now 8 minutes over Williams, who was fighting hard but was starting to struggle to keep his food inside his body (quite an important aspect of running.) Nat Anglem was breathing down Williams's neck in 3rd just 38 seconds back.
Barnes had extended his lead to 12 minutes over Anglem when he sped through Specimen Hut for the 2nd time. With 17km to go, it looked signed, sealed, and delivered. However, Barnes had never run this distance before, so who knew how he would hold up over the final stretch?
Fortunately for Barnes, he held it together to pull away from Anglem and Dunnell (Williams had a tough 2nd half and finished in 5th) to win the 2024 Old Ghost Ultra by 14 minutes.
I managed to squeeze a couple of questions between the congratulatory messages in Barne’s inbox.
How does that rank against your other victories in the last 18 months? Did you enjoy racing a longer distance?
**READ THE BELOW IN A YORKSHIRE ACCENT*
“Probably my best win to date. It means a lot to get your name on the winners trophy of an event like Old Ghost!!”“I'm definitely lack a lot of experience in the longer distance races, there's a lot more than just running that happens in these races (race management, nutrition, mental games) it's very different to the 50k races which I definitely prefer.”
“I think I paced myself really well even though the last 10k were brutal. But they were difficult for everyone. Quite sad that we only got to do the B course but runners safety is priority.”“It was such a well organised event, everything about it was perfect!! Need a couple of days to decide if I want to come back and run that distance again.”
Backwards capBarnesy
Check out Old Ghost Ultra Instagram & Facebook for more photos and coverage.
Things You May Have Missed
Rob Soper has knocked the bastard off (Te Araroa Trail). Dunedin Pub runners know how to celebrate. Rob’s original goal was to raise $3000 for mental health. His fundraiser is now up to $12,851!
Gareth Morris, AKA The Westie Runner was out filming at Tarawera.
The Xterra Wellington Festival was on over the weekend. Results here.
The Southern Lakes Ultra has concluded for 2024.
No PLB parties this year, but it still sounds like everyone had a great time.
Facebook is the best place to see the results at this stage.
Registrations are open for 2025 (has sold out the previous 2 years)Mountain beards are now backed by science. What is the research team looking at next? Backward caps and ‘Don’t F🤬ck With Me’ braids.
Mission Corner
The sausage meter is completely maxed out this week.
Let’s look at some of the stupidly big sh💩t that’s gone down in the last week or so.
Alastair McDowell doing Alastair McDowell things.
He set the Bike Run Bike FKT for Mt. Aspiring at 9:13:59 over the weekend … just bonkers. That’s an 18km bike and a 39km mountain scramble.
My brain starts leaking out my ears when I do the math …
That is definitely a whole sausage mission.
He’s put up a sweet 1-minute video on his Instagram.
Check out Strava to see how ridiculous this is.
Eva Dethlefsen, Alex Corbett, Pete Robinson, and Hamish Noton have officially created the 5passes route in Mt. Aspiring on the FKT website.
Great effort team. I think I can hear the sharks beginning to circle this FKT already.
Check out this vid of their 22:28:2 effort.
Tanya Bottomley kicked off her Lake Wanaka Circumnavigation (200km / 10K, majority off track) at 6 AM this morning. You can follow her DOT here and check her Instagram for updates.
I have no idea what her expected time is, but I know what tab I’ll be hiding when the boss walks past this week.
Send in your mission reports and intel to trailrunningnz@gmail.com or DM on Instagram.
SK News Desk
The gods have smiled upon the 2024 Tararua SK season … rumours have spread to the north of the Bombays that the mud has dried out, the climbs have been eroded, and the Marchant Ridge has shortened.
If there were ever a time for a JAFA to scalp an SK, it would be now😉.
I’ve had it confirmed that two great warriors from the land of zero vert ⛰️are boarding the great iron eagle 5 days from the morrow.
They will put their bodies to the ultimate test, and we will find out if they can handle the SK jandle.
Watch this space. Keep the T-shirts on standby.
Worst Run Ever
Sam Ashworth with this tale of woe.
Learn from Sam. If in doubt, put on your jacket and harden up💪😎.
The Epic Fail of the WUU2K 2021 Race: My No-Show Disaster
“This is a tale of my worst non-run ever. So, let me tell you about this wild adventure—or rather, misadventure—at the WUU2K trail race in Wellington back in 2021.”
“Picture this: the wind's howling and torrential rain coming down, drowning the whole city, and me, signed up for a massive 62 kilometers on the Wellington trails.”
“But here's the kicker: the 62k and even the 43km are canceled due to the weather the day before, leaving only the 21k option. I was gutted. Well, I wasn't about to let a little rain ruin my plans.”
“Nope, I had this brilliant idea to run from home in Mt Cook, through the trails, all the way to the start line with my pals, Dutchies, Jeroen and Elise. I would still get my pound of ultra regardless!!”
“But guess what? Just when I thought we were in this together, they bail on me! They decide to have a lie-in and taxi to the start at 10 am. So there I am, contemplating my life choices, thinking I'll just grab a taxi to the start line too, when suddenly, it hits me: the frustration of last year's canceled race due to Covid and now this downgrade. I looked at the rain smashing my windows and decide to give it a miss, and I go back to sleep.”
“Fast forward a few hours, and I'm jolted awake by Stu Munro calling full of energy and adrenaline, wondering why I haven't crossed the finish line like the rest of the WoRM crew? They've been waiting for me, confused as to where I am. He's surprised to hear I'm still lying in bed.”
“He tells me that everyone is heading to Waitoa for the afterparty. So I give it a couple more hours and head down. That was a mitake because when I get there, most are already pretty drunk, celebrating their heroic 21km conquests.”
“And the word has already spread that I didn't run. Maybe the only WoRMer that didn't! Cue the cheers that turned into boos as I enter through the front door - orchestrated by Neil Wilson of course.”
“The jokes, the relentless mocking begins and continues well into the evening. As well as explaining to what felt like each individual in the pub why I didn't run.”
“I have a pretty thick skin but an hour and half in, I've had enough! I leave, nursing a bruised ego and a ton of regret. And I've never lived it down. Every time the WUU2K 2021 comes up in conversation (which it still often does because of the insane and memorable conditions), I get reminded how I never took part.”
“But hey, at least it's funny now, right? My one and only DNS or DNF so far—a badge of dishonor I wear with a mix of shame and amusement.”
Sam “But I might melt!” Ashworth
Keep the stories coming in! Send them to trailrunningnz@gmail.com
They can be short or long. Funny😂 or sad😭. You can own it, or it can be made anonymous. They can even have a happy ending.
Upcoming Events
Motatapu
Saturday, March 2
Motatapu was back on the scene in 2023 after skipping a couple of years (I have no idea why😝?!?!). And how good was it to have it back?
Over 1100 runners lined up to take on the 3 distances, let alone all the injured runners taking part in the MTB races.
Hayley Teale from Straya 🦘, bounced over the ditch to pinch the Motatapu Ultra trophy while Weston Hill decapitated the course record ahead of Lewis Latham and Benje Patterson.
No doubt, Motatapu will attract a strong field again this year. I’m expecting some fireworks (from the front runners, not the rich buggers by the lake🔥).
Let’s take a quick look at the 3 races on offer.
Miners Trail: 📏15.7KM | ⛰️724M
CR:🏃♂️Max Wainwright 1:10:21(2020) | 🏃♀️Louisa Andrew 1:28:46 (2014)
Off-road Marathon: 📏42.2KM | ⛰️847M
CR:🏃♂️John Winsbury 2:38:13 (2009) | 🏃♀️Victoria Beck 3:18:14 (2012)
Motatapu Ultra: 📏52.5KM | ⛰️ 2496M
CR:🏃♂️Weston Hill 6:04:05 (2023) | 🏃♀️Ruth Croft 6:38:04 (2018)
Good luck to everyone competing next weekend. To steal a line from another Arrowtown-based running event — IT LOOKS EPIC.
Click here for more details. Follow along on Instagram or Facebook.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This week’s #mountainskag is from the CEO of Macpac, Jub Bryant.
It’s amazing he found time to get away with such a high-pressure job.
Tag @trailrunning.nz (NOTE THE “.”) and use #mountainskag, DM on Instagram, or email trailrunningnz@gmail.com to enter.
Every entry has a chance to win the monthly giveaway of a Mountain Skag T-shirt or hat.
Next week, we will have results from Motatapu and a look at the ‘back from the dead’ Tararua Mountain Race and brand new Blazing Hills.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
P.S. All this B-course action got me thinking.