🏃🏃♀️Jumbo Holdsworth Results, Mission Corner & More
“The plan wasn’t to start at 1:30 am after a full day of work on Friday, a 4.5-hour drive from Wellington...”
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re here for you like Will Cass. We fire off the cannon every Monday morning to get your week off to a great start.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️Jumbo Holdsworth Results
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🌕Mission Corner
🏁Upcoming events: Tussock Traverse
⛰️💊Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
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Jumbo Holdsworth Results
Saturday, January 27
Cries could be heard across the lower North Island on Thursday as The Jumbo Holdsworth Trail Race announced that competitors would likely run the dreaded B course due to forecast 100 km/ph winds for Saturday😭.
The pressure was on. Last year’s race was canned mid-race due to the weather. Could the event survive another weather-impacted race?
You bet it f🤬cking could!
Race director Andrew Thompson pulled one out of the bag.
He went out Friday morning and marked a brand new, never-been-raced B course, hoping to put on a great experience true to the spirit of the original route.
It’s not often that a B course excites competitors and quietens the critics (a certain C course, running up the mountain access road at The Goat, comes to mind.)
Pinnacle Ridge ‘B’ Course
📏21km | ⛰️1500m
🏃♀️ Women's Podium
🥇Ali Wilson - 2:58:01
🥈Piret Klade - 3:09:28
🥉Rachel Shackleton - 3:19:39
Say it with me,
“Ali Wilson races. Ali Wilson wins.”
The formula still holds true💪.
However, I did have some doubts after the B course announcement. Piret Klade is an exceptional orienteer. Dancing over roots and weaving through trees while figuring out where the hell you’re going would be a significant advantage over Pinnacle Ridge.
As always, Wilson dropped the clutch and put it straight into 6th gear. If Klade would beat Wilson, she would need to burn some matches early and hold on for dear life.
Wilson’s strategy worked as she pulled away from Klade and the rest of the field. She had built a sizeable lead by Atiwhakatu Hut despite checking out a couple of side tracks along the way.
Klade continued to push hard, with Rachel Shackleton keeping within striking distance. But once Wilson made it up the final climb up to Pig Flat, the race was all but done.
All she needed to do was bomb it down the final steep descent to the finish without catching a toe and eating sh💩t.
She did just that, to finish under the magical sub-3-hour mark in 2:58:01🔥.
Klade finished in a great time of 3:09:28 to take 2nd, 10 minutes ahead of Shackleton, who took the bragging rights of fastest local.
Here is what Ali Wilson had to say about the B course.
"B course... better than the A course (controversial... some may say).
"A true insight into what the Tararua have to offer."
"A course that soon squeezes out those weaknesses over technical terrain..."
Ali “Always Winning” Wilson
🏃 Men's Podium
🥇Thomas Barnes - 2:27:26
🥈Thomas Callan - 2:34:49
🥉Arran Whiteford - 2:37:16
I predicted this would be the battle of the 2 Toms last week. Well, it was for the first couple of KM. But heading up the first big grunt of the day, Backwards Cap Barnesy made a monstrous effort and gapped the field, never to be seen again.
Barnes never let his foot off the gas, finishing in an astonishing 2:27 and change. The best thing about a new course? You get the record. New loop, who dis?
With Barnes out of sight, it became a ding, dong, dong🍆 battle between Thomas Callan, Arran Whiteford and Dan Clendon for the final podium positions.
Callan (the other fast Scottish dude who’s not Dr Haunschidt)managed to slip Whiteford and Clendon and stormed home, descending from Mountain House Shelter to the finish in just over 22 minutes (matched only by Barnes.)
Whiteford did enough to hold off Clendon for 3rd, who would be the first Vet home and add to his bounty of Jumbo Holdsworth podium finishes over the years.
Backwards Cap Barnesy was kind enough to answer a couple of questions.
How did your race go? What were your thoughts on the B course?
“Yeah race went OK. Plan was to smash it up the first hill to make a gap with the rest of the bunch. I didn't really want to do all the navigating on Pinaccle ridge and that ridge is quite hard to run so would of been hard distancing the field up there.”
“The course was as wonderful as it was brutal. I was like 1h30 in and thought to myself "bloody hell I've hardly done any running yet" 😂 But that's the beauty of the Tararuas.”
“AT put on an amazing event and I reckon the B course is just as good and maybe better than the original... depends what you are looking for really.”
“But yeah huge shout out to all the volunteers, marshalls and AT for putting on am amazing event!!! What a fun day out.”
Backwards Cap Barnesy
The race just went, OK? 🤔🤣
Ali Wilson and Thomas Barnes will be racing Old Ghost Ultra & 3 Peaks Dunedin. Will they go 3/3?
Bonus footage of Will Cass and Bob Wilson preparing the cannon for the start, courtesy of AT Photo NZ.
Hooper Loop 📏12km | ⛰️500m
🏃 Men's Podium
🥇James Richardson - 1:01:24
🥈Ryan Bridges - 1:08:20
🥉Otis Galloway - 1:08:32
James Richardson made it 3 years on the trot, taking a commanding 7-minute victory overall and 18 minutes ahead of the 2nd place Vet.
Ryan Bridges finished tied 2nd overall in what was the most exciting finish of the day—an all-out sprint to the line with women’s champ Florence Reynolds.
Otis Galloway was only seconds behind, taking the overall bronze, but first placed junior.
🏃♀️ Women's Podium
🥇Florence Reynolds -1:08:20
🥈Madeleine Wilson - 1:10:38
🥉Christina Plant - 1:13:56
As mentioned, Florence Reynolds finished in an all-out sprint with Ryan Bridges to finish tied 2nd overall, but more importantly, your women’s Hooper Loop champ.
Madeleine Wilson wasn’t too far back, finishing in 2nd, with her partner Thomas Callan matching her efforts in the longer race. Talk about a running power couple!
Christina Plant finished 1st Vet and finished 3rd overall.
The official results aren’t out yet, but I’m sure they will be in the coming days.
Check out The Jumbo Holdsworth Trail Race website for more info, and follow on Instagram.
Things You May Have Missed
Next Saturday, the 3rd of February, Joe Benbow’s memorial run will take place. Funds raised will go directly to Joe’s Family. There is a virtual run option, so you don’t need to be in Wellington to take part.
Check out Anna Frost on the Freetrail podcast this week, interviewed by Dylan Bowman. It’s a great listen, especially if you’re struggling with your relationship with running.
Dr Inia Raumati, AKA the ultramaoridoctor was on ‘Between 2 Beers’. Feeling like you’ve been a bit soft lately? This will make it worse.
Consecutive Ultramarathon watch: Shannon is up to 28
She doesn’t plan to do it easily, either. She’s talking about doing the Northburn 100 Miler as part of her 200 consecutive Ultras. We might need to start an illegal gambling book if she makes it to the start line of Northburn.
Westie Runner has released episode 5 of his Tarawera series. Check it out if you’ve got questions heading into Tarawera.
Mission Corner
Full moon Tongariro Alpine Crossing | January 27
This week’s mission report is from Justin Sprecher.
A run of sleep deprivation, sandblasting winds and moonlit views!
“The plan wasn’t to start at 1:30 am after a full day of work on Friday, a 4.5-hour drive from Wellington, a frantic repacking of bags at the WTMC lodge, and a car shuttle. But it was the only clear weather window over the weekend. And we came here to run under the full moon! “
“After a bit of psyching ourselves up (and a cup of extra strong coffee) into the night, we went, sleep-deprived and giddy. Starting at the Ketetehai Car Park, we wound through the eerily still forest.”
“Above the bush line, the moon was out. We switched off our head torches for the better part of the next hour, and it lit our way. Lots of 'oohs' and 'aahs' as we stopped to look at the lake below and Orion above.”
“The serenity was shattered as we started climbing to Red Crater. The forecasted winds of 30 were easily double that. Our progress slowed to a crawl as Volcanic grit lashed our face.”
“The crater itself was a bottomless black pit. It could have been sleep deprivation, but I swear I heard noises coming from it. As we descended down to Soda Springs, the wind ebbed, and dawn started to break. 10/10 would recommend.
Awesome mission team!
If you thought you hallucinated a couple of dudes mountain biking the other way, it was probably just those Swiss tourists back at it.
Send in your mission reports to trailrunningnz@gmail.com or DM on Instagram.
Upcoming Events
Tussock Traverse
Saturday, February 3
This year it's (Ring of Fire) part of the Ruapehu Trail Festival - which means it's been sandwiched 🥪 with the Tussock Traverse. Smart move; this should help consolidate some of the costs and ensure the event's longevity.
Trail Running NZ 2023
Well, that aged badly😮. The Ring of Fire is on hold again, so the Tussock Traverse branding has been dusted off for its 20th anniversary.
If you’re not familiar with the Tussock Traverse, it’s the slightly younger, friendlier version of The Goat.
The Goat would like nothing more than to see you on the ground in the fetal position, covered in mud, blood, tears and gel splatter.
The Tussock Traverse? It thinks you’re just splendid.
If you want to walk, don’t feel bad. You’re a good person. Take your time; what’s the rush? You don’t want to get your feet muddy? No problem. We’ve built you a lovely boardwalk and some stairs to make it nice and easy.
Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but the 2 races couldn’t feel more different.
Let’s take a look at the 2 traverses on offer.
(Note: I’m ignoring the 6.5 & 12km courses. Not because they’re short but because they’re loops. You can’t go putting loops in an event called the Traverse. I’m not having it😝)
Tussock Traverse: 📏32KM | ⛰️ 775M
The 32K course starts at the bottom of the Tukino Ski field access road off SH1. You grind your way up 8km with a bit over 300m of climbing to the course's high point.
Once you get to the top of the road, you’ll wonder why the f🤬ck the bus didn’t just take you to this point to start the race. Anyway, I digress.
You then drop off the road onto the Round The Mountain Trail. This descent is the most technical running and some of the most fun you’ll have all day.
Make sure you take the time to look at your surroundings. This 8km stretch from the access road to Waihohonu Hut is some of Central Plateau's best wilderness on offer.
Once you hit Waihohonu Hut, you’ve broken the back of the course. This next section of the trail is part of the Northern Circuit (Great Walk), so it’s very well formed. If you packed your running legs with you, it’s time to give it some jandal.
If the weather gods are pleased, as you climb up to the Tama Saddle, you’ll have Mt Ngauruhoe looking over you to the right, with Ruapehu sitting out to the left. If you’re not in race mode, this is the perfect spot to get your #mountainskag entry sorted.
Then just let gravity roll you down the last 5km past Taranaki Falls to the finish by the Shateau.
Tussock Traverse: 📏21KM | ⛰️ 544M
The 21K course starts just off the desert road. If you've ever run into the Waihohonu Hut to break up a long road trip, this is the first part of the course.
Once at the hut, you join the same course as the 32km race running through to Whakapapa Village on the Round The Mountain Trail.
☢️WARNING: PERSONAL OPINION INCOMING☢️
If you’re on the fence about running the 21km or the 32km, definitely do the 32km. The stretch from the top of Tukino Access road to the hut is the best part and is worth the 8km grind at the start.
Entries close tomorrow night. I can think of worse ways to spend an extra long Waitangi weekend.
Check out Tussock Traverse for more details, and follow on Instagram & Facebook.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This week’s #mountainskag is from Jenny Rankin of Christchurch on Mt. Isobel.
Thanks, Jenny, for sending in a classic example of mountain skag.
If you still don’t get it. Do the math below.
⛰️ > (📺x👔) = 😀💊
Get somewhere high up, take a deep breath, forget about your neighbor putting their glass recycling out at 4 am, and enjoy the high.
Look at that smile🥳. This looks like a bad case of mountain skag addiction.
I’m not sure if Jenny will make it through the week.
She might need to hit the pipeline track on Wednesday to take the edge off!
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 The Tussock Traverse results and a look at the first Backyard Ultramarathon for the year, Pigs Backyard Ultra.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
P.S. Apologies, there are no Mavora Explorer results this week. I’ll include them in Things You May Have Missed next week. By all accounts, it looked like a successful day out.