⛰️Brandon & McLean Dominate Faultline
+ Skedaddle & Ultra Wanaka Results
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
Here’s what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️Faultline Ultra Results
🏃🏃♀️Skedaddle Results
🏃🏃♀️Ultra Wanaka Results
👆Things You May Have Missed
🗳️Mountain Skag March Winner
🎁Fifty-Two Paid Crew Giveaway
🏁Upcoming Events: Sweet FA
⛰️💊Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
Note: Due to the length, some email browsers will hide some of the content - make sure you click ‘view entire email’ or click through to substack.
This time last week the heavens had opened on Wellington and I had serious concerns about the trail network holding up well enough for the Faultline Ultra to take place.
Well, old nervous Nigel over here needen’t have worried. The rain farked off Wednesday night, the blue skies and light zephyrs whipped the course into shape, no Tarawera Mudtastrophe 2.0 detected.
We also have Skedaddle results, now into year 4 and continuing to impress anyone who makes the trip to Island Hills Station.
Last but not least, well it was the least because I was well out of steam by then🥵, is the inaugural Ultra Wanaka results.
This week’s going to be results-heavy, as I’m feeling a bit sh💩t with a wee bit of man flu and fomoitus after the weekend, I’ve got even less “bants” than normal😣.
Lets get this thing popping
Faultline Ultra Results
The Insanity:📏161KM | ⛰️4808M
My pre-race pick: Mel Brandon:✔️ My pre-race pick: Simon McLean:✔️
Women’s podium:
🥇Mel Brandon - 22:14:18 🔥NEW CR🔥
🥈Anna O’Byrne - 23:40:30
🥉Lara Zoeller - 27:11:10
Mel Brandon came in as the defending 100K champ, but stepped up into the unknown, crazy world of 100 miles, something she’d always said she’d leave for the psychos.
Any early nerves were left in Piecockareeky as she went about her work, settling into a steady pace through the Aka’s and into the Faultline Safehouse deep inside the Upper Hutt border (34km) in 3h42m.
Dunedinite Anna O’Byrne was next in, just 8 minutes back, with last year’s 2nd place getterer Lara Zoeller another 8 minutes behind. Still all to play for, especially with O’Byrne and Zoeller packing plenty of 100-mile and 20+ hour efforts under the belt and Brandon tackling the distance for the first time.
At the Porirua Hub (83.1km), Brandon had stamped her authority on the race, ballooning the lead to 33 minutes over Zoeller, who had pulled 3 minutes clear of O’Byrne.
Brandon pushed hard up and over the Knob and across the infamous Wellington skyline before entering the Makara wormhole. She left the Makara carpark (130km) close to an hour ahead of O’Byrne, who had now cemented 2nd, with Zoeller’s wheels starting to wobble and finding every pothole across from The Knob.
With master pacer and coach Andrew Wharton in tow, Brandon blocked out last year’s agony, smashing her way through the never-ending urban trails, all the sh💩thouse twists and turns, needless steps, misdirections, road crossings and park benches begging you to take a nap.
Then the born-again trail runner relapsed, feeling that sweet, sweet tarmac under her feet 3km from the finish at Oriental Parade, kicking off like it was the waterfront 5k and speeding into the finish. Much like last year, she not only completed her first crack at the distance but also took the win and lopped 22 minutes off Erin Vaughn’s inaugural course record.
O’Byrne kept on the grind all the way to the end, finishing in 23:40 and keeping her sub-24 record intact, having previously knocked out 3 x sub-24s at Tarawera.
Lara Zoeller hung in the fight when many would’ve pulled the pin, got the engine going again and held on for 3rd in a gutsy effort that wouldn’t go amiss on the Worst Run Ever desk.
Here’s Mel on her course record-setting first attempt at the 100-mile distance:
Another big step up in distance this year at Faultline- what was your plan heading in and how did your day play out? Was it everything you imagined your first miler would be?
“It felt like a daunting distance to take on. Upon finishing the 100km last year I was left feeling pretty broken and in awe how anyone could keep going for another 60km! But then I won a free entry...”
“The last ~20km, filled with plenty of ups and downs and steps navigated sideways on tender quads, actually felt more brutal last year. This was validated by my coach Andrew Wharton confirming I did in fact complain more in last year’s 100km, and hiked more of this section. I was determined to spare him the complaints - after all he was also forgoing two proper nights’ sleep to drive me to the start line at 3:30 ish am, crew me all day along the course, only to then start pacing me for 30km after 10pm.”
“The plan was to simply run to how I felt while keeping an eye on heart rate, fuel continuously, expect to hurt, and stay focused (don’t trip on a rock!). Although my hips and glutes started to feel tight after only 20km, as expected, by the time I reached halfway my 48-year old knees and right achilles started to get pretty sore too. But as AW reminded me, “You’re running a miler - it’s meant to hurt.”
“All the incredible support from volunteers, friends, and familiar faces along the course, and the pure joy of being in Welly’s awesome trail network in stunning weather filled my heart. It was great to see my Mum for a quick hug at Bishop Viard hub and meet my partner Andrew Durno at Woolshed to fuel me and change my shoes. This support, along with constant fueling with Pure and Tailwind, plenty of real food including things like boiled eggs for protein, plus 20 odd jet planes (don’t tell the kids) helped me stay focused and positive.”
“With around ~20km to go, AW casually mentioned if we crossed the line before 3:36am I’d break the course record... Although generally motivated by setting personal challenges, that may have caused me to run (or shuffle) a little faster. Hitting flat Oriental Parade was euphoric, so although the body was screaming by this stage, I thought “what the hell, let’s empty the jet-plane fuelled tank and give it everything to the end” and crossed the line at 3:14am. A real team effort.”
Thanks for your time Mel! Top-tier result from one of Wellington’s best.
Men’s podium:
🥇Simon McLean - 18:00:09
🥈Matt Barton - 20:18:32
🥉Josh Morris - 20:20:59
The Mean Machine Simon McLean took a leave of absence from the craziness of the Backyard Ultra circuit to see if he could still bring the thunder in a 100-mile point-to-point race. Spoiler alert, he’s still got it.
Josh Morris, Blair Wadams and the 7 Steel brothers kept things interesting through the first 30-odd k before the Mean Machine got to work, taking a 2-minute gap over Wadams into the Upper Hutt safehouse (34km).
From there, it turned into a time trial and a race for superior Simon bragging rights against last year’s winner and CR holder, Simon Cochrane.
I managed to get out on course and caught up with Simon about 90km deep. He was still moving well and in full froth mode, giving me a 10/10 on the fun factor. Not sure if it was just bravado for the camera, but I was buying it as he looked in control.
No doubt some dark moments started appearing on the horizon, but Simon kept the hammer down, despite not having his usual 10 minute break every 6.7km. Leaving the Makara MTB carpark (130km), the Mean Machine had pulled within 3 minutes of Cochrane’s ghost and it was game on.
That was as close as he would get, with the record slipping away through the city streets of Te Aro. He went on to finish in 18:00:09, 10 minutes behind, but a race he should feel immense pride in, proving once again that he’s not just a backyard psycho.
Behind him, the race was immense. 100km deep, there was only 10 minutes separating Cam “Buns Of” Steel in 2nd from Josh “Brett” Morris in 6th. The win might have been a given, but there was still plenty of pints to play for.
Morris leapfrogged his way from 6th to 2nd through the Skyline and Makara section, taking a 15-minute lead into the final push home with 14km to run.
But this story wasn’t done, with Matt Barton reeling Morris in somewhere along the mean streets of Welly, turning around a 15-minute deficit to finish 2 minutes ahead. Morris just held on to 3rd, 2 minutes ahead of Wadams.
It might have been a dominant win for Simon McLean, but that was some awesome 100-mile racing in the back half to settle the final 2 podium spots.
Here’s what Simon had to say about his experience of The Faultline Miler.
It’s been a few haircuts since your last point-to-point 100 Mile race- what was the plan coming in, and how did that play out on the day?
“For me this was about stepping away from Backyard ultras. I really love running fast races, and the challenge of pushing consistantly over 100miles excites me. My Plan for the day was to really draw on my mindset coaching I have been working on.
Planning a smart race and achieving micro goals and pace targets throughout the day. 2 outcomes of my race plan were (hopefully) a win and a course record. We as a team achieved 1. I was feeling really strong for the majority of the day.
Getting to the 100k mark in resonable time but I did get my first low between 83k-100k. Picking up the first of my 3 amazing pacers made a big difference. Allowed me to really just lean in to their lead and energy. Moving fast where I might have chosen to back off on my own. They knew the markers and kept me within 5 to 15minutes of each section pace.
By 10pm I had about 8kms to go. I knew in my head that it was achievable, but everytime I got to the shorter sharper climbs in the later stages my legs wernt willing. As a team we have highlighted areas for improvement, but as a race overall, I am really content with how it went.
What does it mean to you to take the win and put up a performance like that?
“To take the win is a huge deal to be honest. As an amateur athlete, like all of us its a constant battle to juggle the pressures of everyday life, family, finances, work. There is so much sacrifice just to go for a run. I am constantly humbled by the joy people get from being involved, and how many people I have in my corner.”
“To put a winning performance together with a resonable margin makes me feel really proud and ignites a spark of "what else can I achieve?"
Thanks for that, Simon! Time to kick back and make up for all that missed time!
The Worlds End:📏103KM | ⛰️2966M
My pre-race picks: Chester Holt-Quick✔️ | Cyril Who Was Actually A Man (Not sure why I was thinking that was a female): X
Men’s podium:
🥇Chester Holt-Quick - 10:25:44 🔥NEW CR🔥
🥈Macauley Jones - 11:05:32
🥉Johan Bergman - 11:34:36
Chester Holy-Quick Batman! dropped the clutch from the start, burning his way through Belmont, not even taking a minute to send the Batmobile through the Macca’s drive-through en route to the first hub. At 25k he was about a minute back on last year’s time, but this time he was 5 minutes clear of Macauley “Caulken” Jones.
With only himself to battle, he cruised up the “when is this going to f🤬cking end” Utiwai before topping out on the Knob, shifting into full descend mode and making the most of some free-flowing running across to the Skyline Trail, where his lead had extended to 18 minutes.
Holy-Quick made no mistake through the back half of the race, with the GI issues from The Spectacle well and truly flushed away onto the South Coast💩. He burnt down Oriental Parade into the finish, lowering his own course record by 38 minutes. Not quite the sub-10 he was hoping for pre-race, but I think he’ll take that.
Jones, a V8 Supercar driver from Straya, kept revving all day, finishing in an impressive 11:05:32, just under 30 minutes clear of Johan “Ice” Bergman. Bergman added a matching Bronze to go with his Faultline 2023 100-mile Bronze he had buried deep in the sock drawer, along with the memory of how painful the course is.
Here’s Chester Holy-Quick Batman! with his take on his race:
You defended your title, ran 38 minutes faster than last year- was that your most complete performance to date?
“I think probably yes. It was up there with one of my best runs in terms of how I felt physically for that distance, but what stood out was the execution, I got pretty close to getting my run “operations” on point.”
Everyone’s looking for the magic hack - without saying “consistency” what got 2026 Chester around the course faster then 2025 Chester?
“Robbing the bank cause that’s where the money is. After my first two 100km attempts I realised that race “operations” have a very big effect on 100km performance compared to the 50km (my more familiar distance). Current status of other aspects: hill climbing, technical descending, endurance/leg durability and even flat speed - though still a WIP - have been pretty good but race-operations have been shit.”
“Specifically, correct fuelling, hydration and effort management make or break the second half of the race. I knew I needed more experience and practice to get this right before I could throw down at the Spectacle 100km long course trail champs (probably my A goal race for 2026) later this year with what’s shaping up to be a fun and fast race with a bunch of great runners.”
“So yeah, I kind of got this close to right this time, and hence a better performance. Only three brief late stage (> 85km) walkies and a more contained fade. Great success!”
Thanks for that, Chester - All the best for your movie arc, moving towards The Spectacle redemption later on in the year.
Women’s podium:
🥇Annabel de Jong - 11:43:22 🔥NEW CR🔥
🥈Rachael Hearne - 14:07:53
🥉Daniela Klinge - 15:17:05
Annabel “Frodo” De Jong from Straya was stopped at customs returning to Tasmania after it was discovered she hadn’t declared the brand spanking new course record she’d acquired at the Faultline 100k over the weekend.
De Jong spent her 33rd birthday celebrating by making light work of the Wellington trail network. How cool is that?
I managed to catch up with Annabel grinding up the final pinch on the Knob, looking as fresh as an Ice Cold VB. It turns out she was just warming up. She was already 20 minutes ahead of Rachael Hearne, who was looking to add to her 2nd at the Xterra Trail Marathon just last month.
De Jong continued her best day ever out on the trails, smashing Mel Brandon’s CR by a mind-boggling 52 minutes.
Hearne held on to make it 2 x Silvers in 2 months, with Daniela Klingeing on to the Bronze.
I managed to get hold of the birthday girl to find out what brought her to Wellington to race the Faultline Ultra:
What brought you over from Tasmania to run the 100k faultline on your birthday and what were your impressions of the course and event as a whole?
“Aside from wanting to explore somewhere new, my motivation for coming across from Tassie to run Faultline has pretty nerdy origins. The race fell on my 33rd birthday, which is coming of age as a Hobbit. I couldn't resist the synchronicity of spending the day celebrating by doing my favourite thing in 'middle earth'. My best friend Sam crewed me, and even gifted me a ring to carry throughout the course - so in low spots I reminded myself that I was Frodo carrying the ring to Mordor!”
“I thought Faultline was an incredible event. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful and the camaraderie was unmatched. I struggled physically on the day more than I was anticipating, but was mentally on a high the whole way, boosted by everyone else's joy and support. It's a massive undertaking to organise an event with this many moving pieces, and I look forward to seeing how Faultline develops in coming years.”
Well, I can’t say I had a Hobbit coming of age on my bingo card for this week!
Amazing race, Annabel. You might want to check out the Ring of Fire next year… there are a few runners from this year who might lend you their finisher’s ring when they turn up to throw it into Mt Doom😂.
Shake & Bake:📏53KM | ⛰️1607M
My pre-race picks: Sorri Knoidea❌| David Haunschmidt:❌
Women’s podium:
🥇Ali Campbell - 5:23:53
🥈Libby Sexton - 5:32:18
🥉Caris Teo - 5:48:37
Ali Campbell was back racing and looking to add another win for Wellington Scottish for the weekend. She shot to the lead early and never looked back.
22km in, her lead was out to 5 minutes over local Libby Sexton, with Caris Teo from the winterless North a further 6 minutes back.
Everything was going smoothly for Campbell with just 10km to go. Her lead was still 5 minutes, not unassailable, and with plenty of twists and turns through the city trails still to come, anything could happen.
Campbell held on, crossing the line 9 minutes ahead of Sexton, who had too much gas for Teo, who took Bronze 16 minutes later.
Here’s what Ali had to say about her race:
From the outside, it looked like a near-perfect race. Did everything actually go to plan, and what was it like charging down the waterfront to take the win with your family right there at the finish?
“There wasn't much of a plan other than wanting to feel at the finish like I'd worked hard for it, and I definitely got that feeling! The first 40k was perfect, an absolute blast on beautiful Welly trails.”
“Nutrition went to plan, ahead of expected pace and just enjoying it all. The next 10k was more of a slog than I expected on my local trails, and I didn't love the steep concrete paths and steps coming out of Maitarangi but very inspiring seeing other runners along the way and seeing the sea get ever closer. Eventually.”
“The waterfront finish was electric! It was very cool to have spent the day mostly solo on some incredibly beautiful trails but finish with that big event party feeling in the middle of the city. And seeing my little whānau at the finish topped it all up and they are now both fighting over who gets to wear 'mummys medal'. I'm stoked to be back in the running scene again and hope me and the fam can continue popping up at some events across the country.”
Men’s podium:
🥇Dan Jones - 4:16:37
🥈David Haunschmidt- 4:21:12
🥉Tyler Russell - 4:59:36
The Flying Doctor David Haunschmidt 1 week out from Faultline 50K be like:
The Flying Doctor, midweek after seeing Dan Jones announce he’s also racing the Faultline 50K:
If David Haunschmidt is Superman, then Dan Jones is one big fark-off, moon-sized chunk of Kryptonite.
There aren’t many trophies left in the country that don’t have the doctor’s name on them, but Jones has guarded the Kepler trophy like your gran defending the cookie jar before dinner, and this week he came to spoil the party on their local Wellington trails.
Haunschmidt put on a brave face, firing out the blocks to lead the front pack down the road from Ian Galloway Park and into the sweet, sweet singletrack.
Through the first checkpoint (22km), he was still in the lead, 2 minutes ahead of Jones. Was the boilover on? Jones was coming into the race off the back of a couple of casual 230km weeks, but even still, the house money was on him to pull away.
It was all going so well until the doc ran straight up the jacksey of a 24km racer who was bent over taking a closer look at the trail conditions. Whether this just delayed the inevitable will never be known, but it threw him off his stride and Jones shortly after strode on by.
Jones finished his morning workout with a suspect airplane celebration down the Air NZ finish line runway, finishing 5 minutes ahead of Haunschmidt, however not a CR. From memory, the race is now 2–3km longer than the first year when Sam Harvey ran. Nonetheless, this performance definitely puts more respect on Sam’s time from 2023.
Tyler “Legolas” Russell made the most of his time up from Wanaka, running a well paced race, running in 3rd for most of the day, kicking like your Mother’n’law into the finish to go sub 5 hours.
Click here for the full results, including the 24km, 11km, and 6 km races, and follow the Faultline Instagram for more coverage from the weekend.
This Week’s Newsletter Is Brought To You By…
There’s a Bay with Plenty.
There’s a Bay with Hawks.
There’s even a Golden Bay.
But none of them are THE Bay.
Come run The Bay Trail Run on May 23rd.
Big views over the Tasman Sea.
Exclusive access across privately owned Pepin Island.
Expect punchy climbs, sharp descents, and just enough technical stuff to keep your dentist smiling.
Distances on offer:
11km · 25km · 35km · 55km
Sign up before Sunday, May 3rd.
Then email your registration to trailrunningnz@gmail.com to go in the draw to win your entry fee back.
Winner announced in the newsletter after the race.
(Yes, you still have to run it first, you bloody scammers.)
Skedaddle Results
I can’t believe it’s already been 4 years of Skedaddle! I remember this event was announced shortly after I kicked off this newsletter. That means we’re into the 4th year of this!
Just like every year before, over 700 runners were rewarded with perfect Autumn running conditions at Island Hills Station.
The day began with a moving dawn ANZAC service led by Amberley RSA representative James Drewery, with more than 150 people gathering at first light to reflect and remember.
The service featured the Last Post performed by none other than Big Sunday Run legend Barrett Hocking and a dedication from Island Hills’ Ed Shand, acknowledging the station’s wartime connections.
Two Tunner: 📏42KM | ⛰️ 2097M
Men’s podium:
🥇Craig Fowler - 4:06:27
🥈Richard Eggleton - 4:15:01
🥉Ben McDowall - 4:18:40
Craig Fowler was back racing on Kiwi soil and took full advantage of defending champ Aditya Kesarcodi-Watson’s Wellington craft brewery tour, loosely disguised as a Faultline Ultra, running away to what ended up being a “comfortable” win ahead of Richard Eggleton and Ben McDowall.
Women’s podium:
🥇Emma Timmis - 4:54:10
🥈Helen Roberts- 5:08:33
🥉Sarah Munro - 5:09:34
Emma Timmis has bounced back from a race-ending fat ankle at Old Ghost Ultra to claim her 2nd victory in 4 years at Skedaddle. In fact, that now makes it two wins and two 2nds in the four years Skedaddle has been running.
Helen Roberts was 12 minutes back to take the Silver, holding off Sarah Munro who had a solid day out to take the Bronze.
The ever-smiling, ever-patient Emma once again took time out of her day to let me know why she can’t stay away from Skedaddle.
You’ve been at Skedaddle from the start, now with 2 wins and 2 x 2nds, what is it about Skedaddle that keeps bringing you back?
“It just gets better each year!! This year with the snow capped mountains in the background it was like a fairytale.”
“Each time the trail turned a corner or the terrain changed I would think ‘this is my favourite section’ but then two minutes later I’d think the same again.”
“It’s constantly changing and challenging enough that you have to stay alert. And when you get to the end the race village is a great place to hang out with friends and eat all the carbs you can cram in!”
Thanks for that Emma! Good to see you back racing, looking forward to what comes next.
Click Here for the full results, including the 15km and the 10km.
Follow the Skedaddle Instagram for more coverage from the weekend.
Ultra Wanaka
Sunday, 26 April 2026
Tom Heath and his team put on the inaugural Ultra Wanaka on Sunday, which sounds like it was a raging success. 235 runners across 3 distances? I don’t think you could ask for anything more for a first-time event.
I know they promised a fast, flatish course and a place to PB… but looking at these times, did they just sprinkle a few rocks on the highway and call it a trail race? Yeeooooooooooow!
📏50K | ⛰️0
Women’s podium:
🥇Maia Lythe - 4:24:56
🥈Tamsin Browne - 4:24:59
🥉Ellie Olshanski - 4:54:28
Maia “Apple Maps” Lythe overcame 2 wrong turns to chase down Tamsin Browne in a frantic sprint finish, claiming the inaugural Ultra Wanaka 50km title by just 3 seconds. I can almost hear all the anti-hand holders rising to their feet and saluting Maia for her never-say-die attitude.
What a finish.
Here’s Maia on her race at Ultra Wanaka:
You finished 3 seconds ahead of Tamsin Browne - was that a sprint to the line or was it a joint celebration at the finish? What were your overall impressions of the course and event as a whole?
“My nav skills could do with a bit of work, the extra 3km made sure of that. I had to put in the work over the last 14km to try catch Tamsin, which ended in a sprint finish. Regardless, I learnt some good lessons enjoyed the epic views and trails.”
Well done, Maia. It takes a lot of mental fortitude to keep fighting after taking a wrong turn, let alone 2!
Now I’ve got less steam left than Thomas the Tank Engine on a Sunday morning after a rager with the Percy and the Fat Controller.
There are no splits for the race, and I left my run a bit late to get hold of the front trio. Here I am, naked. No tricks, no made-up stories, just a lonely GIF covering my shame.
Men’s podium:
🥇David Atkinson - 3:26:40
🥈Cameron Holden - 3:37:40
🥉Fionn Forsyth - 3:40:37
Someone who I did manage to get hold of was Ultra Wanaka, Race Director Tom Heath to check in on how things went at the first event:
You went from a rough idea to race day pretty quick, how did it feel seeing it all come together with runners out there pushing themselves to the edge on the Wānaka trails?
“Yeah, it was a short window to get it all together but I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Wanaka really turned it on, a cool but sunny day, beautiful autumn colours and snow capped mountains! Everything went to plan even when we had a few people so quick, we were rushing to get aid stations prepped and ready!”
“Knew it would be a quick course but 1.13 for the half and 3.23 for the 50km in the first year is nuts! Looking forward to the competition next year!”
It looks like you had good support with numbers - is this looking likely to become a regular fixture on the event calendar?
“1000% we’re on for next year! With this years success, we’ll be locking in Anzac weekend 2027”
Thank for that Tom. You heard it here first. Book your 50km PB in now at Ultra Wanaka 2027.
Click Here for the full results, including the 21km & 11.5km races.
Click Here for more info on the event.
Mountain Skag Winner 4 March
Bex Champman is your winner for March - she’s walking away with a $70 Mountain Skag Voucher just for sending in a picture. How easy is that?
Things You May Have Missed
Kea Mountain & Trail Series All Rapped Up
The Kea Series wrapped up over the weekend, and while the women’s title was already locked up by Maia Flint, that didn’t stop her turning up and ripping the Skedaddle 15km a new one to remind everyone who’s boss.
The men’s title came down to the final weekend doubleheader. Tim Jorgensen edged Cam Swales by 18 seconds at Skedaddle to keep things interesting, but all eyes were on Wellington.
Eric Speakman didn’t mess around, absolutely obliterating the 12km course in 44 minutes and change to seal the Kea Crown.
Series done. Dusted. Back next year, bigger, badder, and I’m sure even betterererer.
3 Peaks Trail Petition
Now I’m not going to pretend to know the ins and outs of Dunedin local politics BUT, if you’re concerned about the council’s plans to make large parts of the local trails inaccessible without a council permit, check out this petition put forward by Leith Harriers, 3 Peaks, Inch Events and the wider Dunedin running community.
Click Here to read and support the petition.
International Race Desk
Michael Sutton had a mixed day in China, finishing 23rd at the Beijing Chanping Yangshou event, questioning his life choices while getting his step count up on the Great Wall. 450m+/-170m in 3.5km, mainly stairs, sounds truly horrible.
Weston Hill finished 4th at the Penang Skyrace in Malaysia over the weekend, taking on an incredibly challenging, humid, AF jungle-filled course, weighing in at 30km +2,400m.
New Worst Nightmare Unlocked
Thanks to Jub Bryant for sending this one in.
TLDR: A lady got stuck in a collapsed long drop for hours in NT Straya. Not really running-related, but also kind of running-related. Something to think about next time you’re using a hut toilet deep into a mission!
Podcast Alert - Frances Redmond
Frog is on the Femmi podcast this week, I haven’t had a listen yet but it’s queued up for when I run longer then 20 minutes again, hopefully sometime soon.
FIFTY-TWO Paid Crew Giveaway
This month, 5 x Lucky Paid Crew will win Campbell Forlong’s new book “Fifty-Two” + I’ll have some codes to give away for the audiobook recorded by the man himself.
If you’ve never heard of Campbell, he became world famous in Waikato for running 52 marathons in 52 weeks in his 52nd year.
You might know him as the infectiously enthusiastic guy who can’t get enough of The Goat and The Ring of Fire.
Regardless, you don’t need to know Campbell do enjoy his book.
I’m 3/4 of the way through, and it’s got me thinking about what big challenges I’ve been dodging.
How do you get your sticky mitts on it?
I’ve done a Q&A with Campbell HERE.
Read it, then answer this:
What’s Campbell’s biggest lesson from writing the book?
To enter:
Become a Paid Subscriber below (if you’re not already)
It’s $5 a month. That’s less than a litre of petrol
Email your answer to trailrunningnz@gmail.com
Not sure what the differences between the tiers are?
A big CHUR👍 to all the Paid Subs who are keeping this silly dream of mine alive!
Upcoming Events:
Sweet FA on next weekend by the looks of it. Let me know what flavour of BS you would like from me in the comments or drop me an email trailrunningnz@gmail.com
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
Rocky Allan provides this weeks hit of the good stuff with this piece of tussocky goodness from the deep south.
He’s now in the running for the monthly $70 voucher - check out www.mountainskag.com to see what you could be walking away with.
Tag @trailrunning.nz (NOTE THE “.”) and use #mountainskag. DM on Instagram or email trailrunningnz@gmail.com to enter (email is the most reliable).
Picking up what I’m putting down? Send it to a mate who you know will be into it too!
Or leave a tip
PS: Give this man a medal! Not one Wanka joke detected.