🏁Forest Run Fest & The Great Naseby Water Race
"...cellulitis in his right leg and a torn hip flexor in his left"
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re here for you like foam rolling. Painful at first, and still painful at the end😂.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏁Upcoming events: Forest Run Fest, The Great Naseby Water Race
🚿Run Poneke On Hold
🐴Only Fools & Horses
🦅Fly Like A Hawk
🤬Worst Run Ever
🥳August Paid Subscriber Giveaway
⛰️💊Mountain Skag Winner 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.
There’s been 2/5’s of sweet FA happening this week, so it’s going to be shorter than my patience when someone doesn’t say hello back on the trails😠.
Let’s jump into a couple of previews of the next 2 NZ races on the schedule before the UTMB Cloud blocks out the sun.
Upcoming Events: Forest Run Fest(ival)
Sunday, 25th of August
Forest Run Fest(ival) concludes the August NZ Forest Run event season. We started in Northland, in the metropolis of Kaitaia, worked our way down to Vegas, and next weekend, the Forest Run tour concludes in Christchurch.
There must almost be more Forest Run events than 3 Peaks🤔.
Just like Run The Forest, the Forest Run Festival continues to grow.
In 2021, there were a little over 200 runners. Last year it sold out at 1000 runners.
This year, the cap was upped to 1200, and if I’m reading the starters list right, there looks to be only 70-odd spots left.
Distances on offer:
📏21KM | 💰65
📏10KM | 💰55
📏5.5KM | 💰25
Last year, Hannah Oldroyd, well … how do I put this politely? She f💪cked sh💩t up ran faster than everyone, including the boys.
She took the overall win in a time of 1:23:40, just seconds ahead of Craig McConnochie.
She’s been an unstoppable force of late, also taking victory at:
🥇Abel Tasman Classic
🥇Bay of Islands Trail Festival
🥇Loop the Lake in Nelson Lakes
Looking at the entrants’ list, she’s back for more Forest Fest glory.
Will anyone have the wheels to run her down?
Find out on the next episode of TRAIL RUNNING ENNNN ZEEEED!
Entries are still open (12PM Friday, 23/8)
Follow along on Facebook
The Great Naseby Water Race
Wednesday-Sunday, 28th-1st of August/October
The following Wednesday, The Great Naseby Water Race kicks off.
It’s been a staple of the South Island running scene since its humble beginning in 2007.
It’s a bit like NZ’s original Backyard Ultra.
There’s a tent city at the centre of a 10-km, figure 8 loop, so you’re only ever 5km away from support (as well as that comfy AF chair, hot food and the chance to join the DNF club😫)
This is perfect for rookies looking to complete their first ultra and speed demons pushing themselves to the extreme. You don’t even have to carry any mandatory kit😎!
The trail is also super duper runnable (come at me, Nelson😉), which unfortunately/fortunately means there’s lots of running!
This can be a blessing and a curse. If the wheels fall off, you can lose a quantum sh💩t tonne of time walking while everyone else is running.
Then there’s the weather. Racing in Central Otago in NZ’s highest town (650M) in August isn’t for the faint-hearted🥶.
There’s always a chance of snow, the night is always going to be cold AF, and if it pisses down, your f🌧️🌧️ked. At least you can change your ‘seems to be sealed’ jacket every 5km!
There are also more distances than you can point a seized Leki pole at.
I’m always suspicious of events that have so many distances. Usually, half the courses don’t make sense and are very forced. But because everyone runs the same loop, this one works.
Distances on offer:
📏320KM | 💰480
📏200KM | 💰300
📏160KM | 💰180
📏100KM | 💰120
📏80KM | 💰120
📏60KM* | 💰160
📏50KM | 💰120
*teams event (2x30)
You read that right.
320 MF KILOMETERS, AKA the NZ’s only 200 miler💪.
With such a long distance, it makes an excellent dot watch at work. It reminds me of watching the Round The World sailing race as a kid.
Last year, Shannon Rhodes pushed Brandon Purdue to the absolute limit. He pushed so hard that he ended up with cellulitis in his right leg and a torn hip flexor in his left.
At one point, Purdue was well over 3 hours ahead, but with the wheels falling off and Rhodes charging home, he held on to win by only 32 minutes😮.
Pre Ultra a day World Record holder, Shannon-Leigh Litt also took the win and broke Jean Beaumont’s CR by over 1.5 hours (She’s returning this year to run the 200km as part of her world record.)
Alright, It's time to dust off the crystal balls.
Based on the starters list, my picks to win are below.
📏200miles:
🏃♀️Karen Aulelio: 65h25m
🏃Josh Lloyd: 55h58m
📏200km:
🏃♀️Shannon-Leigh Litt: 28h25m
🏃Kieran Philip: 24h58m
📏100miles:
🏃♀️Ketina Chivasa: 23h25m
🏃Chris Newson: 20h58m
📏100km:
🏃♀️Marie Ford: 15h08m
🏃Johan Bergman: 10h01m
📏80km:
🏃♀️Kirsty Gilmour: 8h50m
🏃Steve Pemberton: 7h55m
📏50km:
🏃♀️Melissa Bulger: 6h25m
🏃Simon Cromarty: 3h48m
Entries are still open, so if you’re looking for a grassroots community-focused event founded before trail running was cool, this one is for you.
Click here for more details.
Follow along on Facebook.
Run Pōneke Project On Hold
Will Cass announced this week that the plans for Run Pōneke, AKA Wellington’s waterfront run hub, are on hold.
Below is an excerpt from the update. You can read the full post here.
“The problem is showers. There are currently no showers in the space. If we want a fabulous hub for sauna, massage and wellness, as well as stinky runners, then showers are a must have.”
“And what initially seemed doable at a reasonable cost and timeframe, now appears to be potentially blowing out to a level of cost and complexity that our landlord simply can’t justify, no matter how much he loves our intended use of the space.”
“If we can’t have showers, I’ll need to abandon the project. At least at this site. That is the reality.”
“So the opening date is now slippery, and I will be removing the countdown clock from the website . This also means:
“As of today I have paused Patreon billing indefinitely. Any of you that have made donations or any membership payments to Run Pōneke will get 100% funds returned if I actually abandon the project.”
“I have paused any new memberships.”
I'm keeping my fingers crossed🤞 that this will all become part of the great founding story of RunPōneke that Will will look back on and laugh at.
Email Will at run@runponeke.nz if you think you may be able to help.
Fools & Horses, WTF
Ok, I thought this was a piss-take. But apparently, it’s a thing🤔.
A collaboration between 6 Inch Events and Otago Hunt allows you to run or ride a horse over private land in Maniotototototo, in the Deeeep South.
You will not catch me anywhere near this. For some reason, I’ve developed a fear of large mammals that can trample me and haemorrhage all of my internal organs😨.
BUT, if you have no problem running the same route as crazy horse people dressed up like posh twats, this may be just the event for you.
The course is 40km with minimal vert, and who doesn’t love a chance to run on private land? The scenery isn’t half bad either.
I was having a scroll through the entry page, and this rule jumped out at me:
“Riders to call out “Tally Ho” when passing runners and must pass on right hand side (road rules).”
Can I just throw it out there that “Tally Ho” should become the new passing phrase in trail running🤣?
It’s not until the 1st of March, so if you’re an injured runner you’ve got time to learn to ride a horse!
Click here for more detail
Fly Like A Hawk
Labour weekend (Oct 25th-28th), Scotty Hawker and partner Hannah Alexander will be hosting a Dunedin Trail Running camp.
It’s not every weekend you get the chance to hang out and train with one of NZ’s best.
There are still a couple of spots left, and I’m sure there will be a waitlist going.
“I’m really excited to share that we are holding another trail running weekend but this time in Dunedin!!
“Since moving down to Dunedin at the start of the year I’ve been blown away with how awesome the trails are!! Hannah and I are looking forward to hosting you in Dunedin for an awesome weekend on the trails!”
“The last camp in Hanmer sold out so drop me an email or message on here to reserve your spot!”
Scotty Hawker
For more info email coachscottyhawker@gmail.com or get up in his DM’s on Insta.
Worst Run Ever
This week's story is a reminder that sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you try; sometimes dumb sh💩t just happens.
I can imagine Scott telling his Fiance the story and her calling BS.
"DON'T LIE TO ME. YOU WERE GOING AFTER ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE F🤬🤬KING STRAVA CROWNS AGAIN, WEREN'T YOU?"
“A few days before my wedding, I decided to go for a run to clear some nervous energy.”
“I thought I would be a good boy, and keep to the road instead of the trail, last thing I needed was a rolled ankle or a busted up face.”
“I thought I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and take my pup Ollie with me.”
“Rookie move.”
“Ollie usually just runs with me on some easy trails; this was the first time I’d taken him on the mean streets.”
“I must not have been more than 500m from home when he shot straight across in front of me as he saw a cat in a window.”
“I went straight over the top of him and just got my hands up in time to break my fall.”
“And my wrist.”
“Not popular.”
“Worst Run Ever”
Scott K
August Paid Subscriber Giveaway
This month, 5x Lucky Paid Subscribers will win a 1KG Pouch of Morwots Drink Mix
Christchurch pedal basher Bede Torrance, the man behind Morwots Drink Mix, reached out to see whether there would be demand among trail runners for his drink mix.
There is only one way to find out.
How can you get Morwots up in your grill?
Sign up as a Paid Subscriber (if you’re not one already.)
It’s $5 a month. WTF can you buy for $5 these days?Comment below or Email trailrunningnz@gmail.com.
What would you name your sports nutrition brand if you started one?
Lines of Mountain Skag, anyone?Get your name drawn out on the 1st of September.
Update: I used it on my long run this week and survived.
I can confirm that this is not a cyclist trying to knock off a few pesky trail runners.
Don’t want to wait?
Click Here & use the code ‘trailrunningnz’ for a 15% discount
A big THANK YOU to ALL the Paid Supporters who help keep this snowball rolling.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This weeks winner is from Caro Orum from her recent European/Canadian trip with Elspeth Knewstubb.
A hike up the Hermit Trail, 1000m over 3km. A big whack of Maple flavoured #mountainskag.
Every entry has a chance to win the monthly giveaway of a Mountain Skag T-shirt or hat.
We will be back next week with more trail-running news, yarns, and glory.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS. If you ever wondered what running a 200 mile race on a whim is like, check out Adam Keen from Aerobic Edges blog post from last year.
Tally Ho Delights
Nutrition brand: Musical Fruit.