🏃♀️🏃Hydro Half & Summit Forests Results
👑Shannon-Leigh Litt, Unofficial WR Holder
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re here for you like the river Seine, full of sh💩t, but we’ll keep you afloat.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃♀️🏃Hydro Half Results
🏃🏃♀️Summit Forests Results
📰International Results Desk
👑Shannon-Leigh Litt, Unofficial WR Holder
🤔Trail Running At The Olympics?
🤣NZ Trail Running Meme Account
🥳July Paid Subscriber Giveaway
🏁Upcoming events: Run The Forest
⛰️💊Mountain Skag of July & The Week
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The Meridian Hydro Half Results
575 runners descended on Te Anau early Saturday morning for the Fiordland Trails Trust Hydro Half & 10K🥶.
That's up 125 on last year, which is no small feat in the current cost of running crisis.
All this extra dosh gets pumped back into the Fiordland Trails Trust coffers, which helps maintain and extend the trail network.
Now, the trails are a 1 on the South Island technical scale (about an 8 on the Auckland index😜), so unsurprisingly, there were some nostril scorching times thrown down.
Women’s podium:
🥇Kristy Eyles - 1:29:22
🥈Alice Cuthbert - 1:33:04
🥉Hayley Holmes - 1:35:10
Kristy Eyles scored one for the masters, taking out the overall victory, well clear of last year’s 10K champ, Alice Cuthbert.
Hayley Holmes couldn’t catch Cuthbert, but her podium spot was never under duress, finishing 4 minutes clear of Becky Nixon.
Men’s podium:
🥇Lee Cook - 1:15:58
🥈Thijs Hubber - 1:23:10
🥉Aaron Eyles - 1:23:49
Lee Cook traded in bronze for gold, running 3 minutes faster than last year. He finished well clear of Thijs Hubber ‘Bubba’, who narrowly held off Aaron Eyles for second.
I caught what I thought was the beginnings of a ‘Worst Run Ever’ on Lee Cook’s Instagram Stories, only to be disappointed that he didn’t sh💩t himself at any stage of the race.
Here is Lee’s recap of the day:
“Not the ideal pre-race with my 2 year old boy vomiting 3 times in bed through the night with a stomach bug. At around 2am my own stomach started to turn into a knot which ensured i got exactly no sleep through till 5am😩.”
“I decided to still drive the 2 hours down to Te Anau in the morning but my stomach was cramping in the car and I was burping something close to my stomach contents🤢.”
“After rego and getting ready it felt like it was easing off a little to the point I could mentally entertain running the course but my mindset was pretty negative and fully shifted away from racing.”
“On the athlete bus to the start my resting heart rate was sitting around 100bpm which was compounding the negativity. Some foul mouthed words and some Fat Boy Slim got me in the right here, right now headspace.”
“I went off for the first 10k very tenatively to see what i could get away with which was around marathon pace to progressing a bit above. I had what I’d describe as a tolerable stitch the whole time and thankfully my heart rate seemed reasonable.”
“The course is a lovely well maintained bike trail which has plenty of little hills to keep your legs guessing. In the final 5km the course levels off somewhat and I tried to ramp up the pace but the stomach pain got to a level where the risk/reward wasn’t worth it.”
“I was pretty shocked to cross the line in 1.15.58 which was 3 minutes faster than last year. A feeling of extreme gratitude to my body for allowing me to do what I did and a bit of excitement on my potential fitness is at on a healthy day😎.”
Full results available here, including the 10KM.
Follow along on Insta for more coverage.
Summit Forests Kataia Trail Run Results
Men’s podium:
🥇Sam Rout - 1:16:36
🥈Nathen Ryken - 1:20:33
🥉Trey Subritzky - 1:26:39
Sam ‘The Riot’ Rout, kept his hot streak going, putting a few minutes on current Taupo 100km champ & CR holder, Nathan Ryken.
Trey Subritzky not only won the best name of the day😎, but he was also first local home, grabbing his first podium at his hometown dance and a PB to boot.
Women’s podium:
🥇Simone Ackermann - 1:35:00
🥈Tamsin Horne - 1:38:58
🥉Mariona Wesselo-Comas
Simone Ackermann, the former Browns Bay South African Olympic triathlete, was the first across the line in 1:35 sharp.
Ironwoman Tamsin Horne from Kerikeri showed she has no problem lacing up and throwing down in the short stuff.
She claimed the silver in 1:38:58 and, more importantly, took the Kerikeri bragging rights by a comfortable 5 minutes ahead of 3rd place Mariona Wesselo-Comas.
Roving reporter Hayden Bell from Sport Northland & The Run Adjacent Podcast was on the ground and was kind enough to fill us in on how the event went.
Take it away, Hayden:
“This week was huge for us at Sport Northland Events. The Summit Forests Kaitaia trail run is our only offering to the Far Far North Community, so our small events team of three always strives to deliver the best event possible.”
“However, like the rest of the country, Northland was hammered by wind and rain over the past week. The dreaded "C" (cancel) word was starting to get mentioned.”
“As a trail runner myself, I was determined not to let this happen, as running trails in all elements adds to the magic of trail running.”
“After consulting with Summit Forests and considering participant health and safety, we removed a fallen tree and made a slight course change to the half marathon and 11km events to avoid a flooded lake.”
“This also removed a hill, leading to some faster times. Despite everything thrown at us, we managed to pull together a successful event.”
“The weather on Saturday cooperated, and with other Saturday sports cancelled, we ended up with 634 registrations across the 4km, 11km, and 21km events—more than double last year's event.”
“There was also a large whānau contingent that came to support Corey-Leigh Tobin, who tragically died in December last year and was a regular participant in this event. A minute of silence was held before the event, and it was emotional to see her father run the half marathon with her past bib number 123.”
“Thanks yous go out to Sponsor Summit Forests, they go above an beyond as a sponsor not only letting us use their forest, but they supplied accomodation to the events team.”
“Also thanks to the 10 Sport Northland Staff and family members and the 15 volunteers from the Kaitaia 4x4 club who helped on the day, without them the event would not have been possible.”
Full 21km results available here.
11km results available here.
International Results Desk
George Murray annihilated the 100km course at ‘The Guzzler’(Brizzy, Straya🦘), setting a new CR and stomping the field by over 1h25m.
The Guzzler 100km Men
🥇George Murray - 10:37:01 (new CR)
🥈Brett Batchelor - 12:02:04
🥉Benn Coubrough - 12:16:30
Yes, it was over 2 weeks ago, and I missed it. Outside of UTA, I find it hard to keep up with what’s happening in Straya🦘.
If only there was an entertaining newsletter I could read that kept me in the loop😉. (If you’re interested in a Trail Running Newsletter franchise, please email …)
Anyway, Is George Murray the smoothest cat on the trails? Check out that shirt & moustache combo—next level.
The last time a Kiwi doctor was surrounded by this many Germans… Whoops, Don’t mention ze war😮!
After last week's German to-English aid station c🍆ck up, The Flying Doctor was straight back in the saddle, stepping back onto the 🥈podium at the Pitz Alpine Glacier Trail Race in Austria.
Judging by the photo below, it looks like he learnt his lesson from last week (no gels at the aid station.) You can never pack to many gels.
Shannon-Leigh Litt, Unofficial WR Holder
I got so used to Shannon-Leigh Litt running an ultra a day that I forgot about her attempt at the World Record.
So, where’s things at?
She’s on #217 (I think), so that's unofficially the new World Record🥳! (waiting on the red tape from Guiness)
Let’s just all take a minute to appreciate what she’s achieved, official or not👏.
She's run 50 km a day MINIMUM for #217 days.
She’s even thrown races into the mix. I’m not talking about running a cheeky half marathon and then running home. She’s run the Tarawera Miler, Northburn and UTMB Thailand.
Then theres the international flights. Not Dunedin to Auckland. I mean, she's been to Thailand and is currently in Austria. Oh, and did I mention she’s still practising as a defence lawyer? Super women, is that you?
What a weapon💪.
Shannon, if you’re reading this, once you’ve finished setting the record, you owe us all your ‘Worst Run Ever’ from the streak💪.
Trail Running at the Olympics?
There’s been a lot of chatter this week about trail running/ultra running being at the Olympics.
I don’t think it will happen, and would the community really want that?
We’ve already seen some of the negative effects of one large global organisation on the sport(sounds like Lionman😉.)
However, the Back Yard Ultra crew are tooting their horn, but I think that’s never going to happen. The average punter watching the 10,000m final will ask their mate why they’re all running so slow; I doubt a BYU would be able to grip the general public.
You would be more likely to see an event similar to what we already have with the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships. I would rather see more elite athletes get in behind the World Champs than having an Olympic event.
NZ Trail Running Meme Account Witch Hunt Continued
I’ve had several names thrown my way after last week’s newsletter🤔.
With posts like this, I can’t tell if they want to get found out or just getting cocky?
I’ve been told that it’s not Terry Davis, as there are not enough spelling mistakes.
Rad Piers has ruled himself out.
That’s when I noticed … every time I reshared one of their memes, I would instantly get a laughing emoji😂 from the same account everytime …
You know who you are.
You now know that I know, that you know, that I know who you are🤪.
Leave a suitcase full of tailwind, a box of something hazy (Ranfurly doesn’t count), and two of those expensive AF Salomon filter flasks at the Camp Elsdon carpark next Sunday, 6 PM and I won’t out you next Monday morning.
July Paid Subscriber Winners
Congratulations to …
🥳Kerri Dewe
🎉Brion Matthews
🥳John Melhuish
🎉Elspeth Knewstubb
🥳Jacqui Haggland
You’ve won yourself a Roam Vegan Protein Powder & Energy Nut Butter Bundle
A big THANK YOU to ALL the Paid Supporters who help keep this snowball rolling.
Upcoming Events:
Run The Forest
Saturday, 10th of August
Did you miss out on running around in a forest in Kaitaia over the weekend? Don’t stress. It’s time for a last-minute roadie to Rotovegas.
Similar to the Summit Forests, there’s a big focus on participation, holding hands, laughing your way around the course, etc, but it’s also a great opportunity to throw down a fast time without going pavement bashing.
🏃🏃♀️Distances on offer:
📏21KM |⛰️375M
📏10KM |⛰️96M
📏7KM |⛰️51M
It’s one of those events that popped up just before C🤬🤬🤬d and has seen a few variations over the years.
I actually ran this event with a mate for their first marathon back in 2020. Unfortunately, it looks like they’ve dropped down to 21km, being the longest race.
It’s a pretty slick operation, and a good excuse to head to Rotorua with the family or some mates for a weekend away.
Entries look like they’re still open (10KM is sold out.)
You can find out more about the event HERE, and you can follow them on Instagram.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of July
Vote for your favourite #mountainskag winner from July below.
I’ve taken the names off the photos to avoid it being a popularity contest.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
Well done everyone. You fried the #mountainskag intel machine this week.
Nick Latty got the week rolling from his mission near Lake Clearwater.
Nathan May kept it going with this sick jump on the summit of Mt. Sunday.
Then I started getting hit with non-stop Dolomite action from Elspeth Knewstubb & Caro Orum, #girlsontour.
And then, the perfect storm.
Southerlies all week peppered the Wellington region, and then they magically cleared for the weekend. Unheard of.
The Tararua road ends must have resembled a Briscoes carpark Christmas Eve😝.
However, we can’t all be “winners”.
This week’s #mountainskag pic of the week is from Chester Holt.
Protip: Getting #mountainskag merch in the shot increases your chances of winning by 100%.
Tag @trailrunning.nz (NOTE THE “.”) and use #mountainskag. DM on Instagram or email trailrunningnz@gmail.com to enter (email is the most reliable method).
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. It seems that everyone is loving the running consumables give aways, so keep your eyes peeled next week. You’ve heard of the Tailwind Trailblazers, maybe it’s time for the Mountainskag Mutants?
Whoop whoop. Another great write up and not just because I was a winner …