🏃🏃♀️Have you seen this man?
"T42 Results, Dead Cow Gully Update & More”
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re the nappies of the NZ trail running scene, keeping all the sh💩t together in one place.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️T42 Results
🐮Dead Cow Gully Update
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🎁April Paid Subscriber Giveaway
🥾SK News Desk
🏁Upcoming events: South Island Ultra & Vert Day
⛰️💊Mountain Skag of The Week & Vote for April
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T42 Results
T42 Trail Marathon📏42KM | ⛰️ 900M
Men’s podium:
🥇David Haunschmidt - 2:57:12 🔥New CR
🥈Josh Garret - 3:13:50
🥉Michael Richardson - 3:28:25
The Flying Doctor is back at it like a crack addict. He’s committing crimes all over the country. Another race, another innocent course record, murdered in cold blood.
If you see him, don’t approach him. He’s armed with Tailwind and Curranz and is not afraid to use them.
Rumour has it he’s back at the hospital working a triple shift, saving lives, pulling kittens out of trees, and teaching deaf kids sign language🤣.
Josh Garret and Michael Richardson put in a great showing but weren’t quite fast enough to witness the atrocity. They would have been duking it out for the win any other year.
Here is what the Flying Doctor had to say:
“T42 was fantastic. Stunner of a day for it. I've been meaning to do this one for years and had actually signed up for it before during a COVID year, which never happened.”
“Beautiful forest, awesome views, mostly super-runnable, enjoyable 4WD track. This was the “adventure edition” with a 1.6km bypass 220m up a steep mudslide in the bush. Slip and slide past many mountain bikers struggling to haul their bikes over this ridiculous pass.”
“The tough-mudder event in the middle just made it more of an interesting challenge. Definitely an event I’d recommend. Good banter with the bikers as you ran.”
“Great confidence boost to know my foot and the legs can cope with the distance after injury. It’s been a slow build back. Today felt great all day for the first time.”
David Haunschmidt
Women’s podium:
🥇Icey Metcalfe - 4:01:28
🥈Olivia Hammond - 4:04:55
🥉Roisin McQuillan - 4:14:03
It was a much tighter affair in the women’s race, with only 13 minutes between 🥇1st & 3rd🥉
Icey Metcalfe kept her cool, working her way through the field to take the victory over Olivia Hammond, who hammered it home over the final few km’s.
It’s great to see Metcalfe win. She’s had a solid last 12 months in which she placed 2nd🥈 in The Taniwha 44km and Taupo 70km.
Roisin McQuillan took the bronze a further 10 minutes back in a very respectable 4:14:03 (I’m all out of puns).
Here is Icey’s take on the day:
“Being the first female was a completely unexpected result!”
“It was supposed to be a chill training run for the 100km ultra which is in October… but as we got towards the end and I started to overtake some people I got a bit more competitive. Can’t help it!”
“The track was a lot muddier than I usually like, but I’m incredibly grateful that it wasn’t raining, and the stream crossings gave good chances to get clean!”
“Overall, an awesome experience and I loved every minute of it.”
Icey Metcalfe
Click Here for the full results, including the 6,11 & 24 km trail runs.
This Week’s Newsletter Is Brought To You By…
“How the f🤬ck can a running top feel so damn good?”
That was my first impression of the Ranger 01 Trail Tee.
I was happy with my clearance New Balance tops, but after testing the Ranger 01 Trail Tee for the last 3 weeks, it might be time to throw them in the fire.
What I love about their Ranger 01 Trail Tee:
📏Looong: It’s perfect for a long torso-challenged runner like me.
No more builders crack, no more back chafe.
🧸Soft: It’s like they’ve fused a teddy bear with body armour. It’s built to last but also super comfy.
🩸Nipple friendly: I didn’t tape or lube my nips on a 5-hour night run when it was a little chilly (if you know what I mean), and I didn’t have the slightest irritation.
If you’re in the market for a new running tee,
CLICK HERE to check out the Ranger 01 Trail Tee.
Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra Update
Dead Cow Gully … home to the infamous 101 loop / 677km assist of Sam Harvey in 2023. Sam went from being the best at Backyard Ultras in NZ to being the second best in the world.
Sam is back and more focused than ever.
As I write this (9.02 PM) they’ve been running for 36 hours.
160 loonies started, but only 7 currently remain.
A few Strayans🦘, a man from Japan🍣 and a couple of hardcore Kiwis🥝.
Sam is just warming up. He must get bored AF through the first two days of a backyard now.
But he’s got some Kiwi company.
Jane McAlpine is looping up a storm. Her previous PB was 30 loops (201km).
So far at Dead Cow Gully, she has broken the female course record (36) and is closing in on Fiona Hayvice (37) and Brooke Thomas (38) on the all time female list behind Katie Wright (50 loops at Bigs Backyard)
Monday Morning Update:
Jane posted 39 loops / 261km before pulling out on loop 40. She was struggling with blurry vision and getting any calories in.
Amazing effort. You’ve done us all proud Jane👏.
It’s down to the final 4:
🥝Sam Harvey
🦘Ryan Crawford
🦘James Blanton
🍣Takenori Kawamitsu
Dead Cow Gully on Instagram & Aerobic Edge are the easiest places to keep tabs on the event.
Things You May Have Missed
Inia Raumati has completed the 4 Desserts Namib Race, which is race 2/8 of his 8 races, 8 continents mission. Check out his Instagram for amazing desert landscapes.
Ultra #126 on the trott, is in the books. A bad fall has put a spanner in the works, but I’m starting to believe Shannon will get to #200.
If you somehow missed this, it’s well worth watching. My big takeaway: Jim Walmsley is a massive, introverted, loveable geek who has no fear of failure.
Need a new pair of sunnies?😎Ruth Croft is giving away a pair of Sun Gods on her Instagram.
April Paid Subscriber Giveaway
This month 2x Lucky Paid Subscribers will win a Huntaway Run Co Ranger 01 Trail Tee (Unisex)
How can you get your sweaty torso into one of these?
Sign up as a Paid Subscriber (if you’re not one already.)
It’s $5 a month. That’s 1/3 the price of a pint these days.
Email trailrunningnz@gmail.com a picture of your pathetic stretched, holey moley, stinks-like-sh💩t, stained, ratty AF running top you know you should have thrown out 3 years ago.
Get your name drawn out on the 1st of June.
A big THANK YOU to all the Paid Supporters who help keep this thing rolling.
SK News Desk
SK TARN RIDGE:
💪OLIVIA - 21h42m 🔥NEW FKT
Another week, another FKT shattered.
Olivia's impromptu 21h42m effort propelled her to become the female FKT record holder for the Tarn Ridge SK.
This effort is even more impressive, considering Olivia is on the rebound from a hip injury. Fingers crossed, her physio doesn’t follow her on Strava …
Here is what Olivia had to say:
“Did not expect that. After very little running since my injury, I figured I'd need to bail early or bag Bannister as a loop.”
“Conditions were amazing, spirits were high, and the tops travel was my favourite solo time in the theTararuas to date. Except when there was no water at Tarn Hut (broken tank) so I had to filter water from a muddy tarn 😅”
Olivia Lawrence
Congratulations, Olivia. That sh💩t is bananas, B A N A N A S🍌.
SK Valleys:
💪Brendon Varty - 14h37m
💪Charlie Ruck - 17h46m
A young Charlie Ruck caught the attention of the Big Sunday Run Wellington Facebook page early last week.
“Who is the youngest person ever to run an SK?”
Well, the answer is now Charlie Ruck, aged 17.
Brendon Varty (Tarn Ridge SK record holder) answered the bell to help with logistics.
Instead of dropping him to the road end, Brendon proposed a key swap and ticked off his first reverse SK in a speedy 14h37m.
With the temperatures beginning to plummet, we might have to wait a while to see what Charlie can do on the tops.
Click here to learn more about the Tararua SK.
Upcoming Events:
South Island Ultra Marathon
Saturday, May 11th
Last year, the South Island Ultra Marathon broke the internet.
They offered a $10K prize for the first person to break 8 hours in the 100KM.
The initial excitement of such a large prize in NZ was quickly outweighed by the outrage that there weren’t two different time goals for males and females.
This sparked what can only be described as a sh💩t-throwing contest in the Wild Things Facebook group, which spilled out into the streets, covering everyone in a lot of sh💩t.
The race directors took the feedback on and said:
"Fine. $10K for the lads, $10k for the ladies … but you still gotta run 8 hours 🖕"
Long story short, Dan Jones cashed that cheque (7h44m), and Konoka Azumi put in a brave performance to lower her own course record to 8h13m but missed out on the payday.
The South Island Ultra is back this year, minus the $10K prize.
I gotta say, they could probably look to rename the race.
The South Island is quite a large place.
I’ve brainstormed a few new names.
Vote for your favourite and reply with your own.
Distances on offer:
📏100KM | Greymouth to Hokitika
📏54KM | Old Christchurch Road to Hokitika
📏24KM | Lake Kaniere to Hokitika
What should you expect to see on your stroll along the cycle trail?
“Runners will see Lakes, Reservoirs, Rivers, Streams, Water Races, Swing Bridges, Bridges from Historic Tram Lines, A Western Town, Forestry, Wetlands, Board Walks, Mountains and the Sea, just to name a few things”
South Island Ultra
The trails are very well graded, being a cycle trail. Expect to see your finish times closer to your road running times than other trail races.
Check out the highlights from 2023 below:
If this has got your HR spiking, entries are still open.
Sign up here and follow along on Facebook
VERT Day (Free Virtual Event)
Saturday/Sunday, May 25th & 26th
Vert day is almost upon us. It’s time to pump up the numbers.
Think of Vert Day as a free virtual event. It will only cost you your time and your quads.
The idea is simple. How much vertical gain can you stack inside 24 hours?
This will look different for everyone. The main thing is to get out there and challenge yourself.
Traditionally, this has been a battle between Big Sunday Run Wellington and Big Sunday Run Canterbury.
But the war is beginning to spread.
The intel machine has intercepted rumours of a Nelson offensive.
Surely, Dunedin's flat-land lovers can scrape together a bit of vert on their beloved Mt. Cargill.
The week before, I will put together a list of venues where people plan to stack their vert because group vert is the only thing better than vert.
Entrants are encouraged to donate to the Himalayan Trust. They fund projects that provide better health & education for remote communities in Nepal.
You can read more about the trust here.
Sign Up Here | Vert Day Strava Club | Previous Results | Common Misconceptions
#Mountain Skag Pic Of April
Vote for your favourite #mountainskag winner from April below.
I’ve taken the names off the photos to avoid it being a popularity contest.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
Chris Martin with this week’s #mountainskag of the week. Ridges and Tussock, North of Rupae.
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.
We will be back next week with the South Island Ultra Results, the Mountain Skag April winner and more.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS. Stephen Bates, you won the ‘Worst Run Ever’ draw. A Mountain Skag recovery jumper is coming your way.