🏃🏃♀️Kate Loye Defends Her Title At Old Ghost
“It was such a stunning course, just a magical place with special people helping out and cheering everyone on. ”
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re here for you like Fast & Furious 15. You know it’s a bit sh💩t, but you know what you’re going to get and there’s nothing better on.
Here’s what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️Old Ghost Ultra Results
🟣Worst Run Ever by CurraNZ
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🏁Upcoming events: Motatapu
⛰️💊Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
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Old Ghost Ultra Results
Saturday, February 22
It was great to see the Old Ghost Ultra back on the A course this year after last year’s out-and-back B course😎. Roaming reporter Sean Martin said this to say about the conditions.
“Primo. Nice runnable temps, with cloud cover early, cooling westerly on the tops, and only got warm later on. Very warm at the finish line.”
Thanks for the Sean. It looks like you made the most of the good conditions to lock in bragging rights out of the traveling Wellington Big Sunday Run possie💪.
Alright - let’s kick into the action.
Women’s podium:
🥇Kate Loye - 8:11:20
🥈Katie Smith - 8:47:24
🥉Nikki Everton -8:54:06
Kate Loye, not content with her ‘B’ course victory last year, returned to claim back-to-back titles at Old Ghost Ultra🥳.
She took control from the gun, running through Specimen Point (17 km) 3 minutes clear of Allira Hanczakowski. Taupo 100 CR holder Nikki Everton was next through in 3rd, closely tailed by Crater Rim Ultra champ Katie Smith.
This was as close as it would get, with Loye running inside the overall top 10 for most of the day. It turned into a question of how many sausages would be sizzled🔥.
Loye had doubled her lead through to Stern Hut. The warm-up marathon was now complete, and she was 16 minutes clear of Everton, who had also made a move, pulling 7 minutes ahead of Smith.
Loye annihilated the long climb to the course high point, Heavens Door, before running into the Ghost Lake aid station(55 km) a comfy 27 minutes ahead of Everton, who was holding on to a slim lead over Smith.
With 30km of mainly descent to go, this race was all but over. However, the battle for 2nd & 3rd looked like it would come down to the championship rounds. Both scored points throughout the fight, but did one have the killer blow?
It turns out Everton’s sock/shoe combo packs a mean left hook. Her foot had what I can only describe as a full heel skin de-lamination. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I don’t hope to see it again.
Smith may have gone on to finish 2nd regardless, but this didn’t help Everton’s cause. Kudos for toughing it out; this little bitch(me) would have been straight on the PLB for a chopper pickup 😝.
Back at the front, Loye made no mistake on the long descent. She stuck the landing, taking her 2nd OGU title in 8:11:20, 36 minutes ahead of Smith, who kicked clear of Everton by 6.5 minutes.
Kate was kind enough to humour me for the 2nd time in 2 years:
Last year, you won OGU on the B course - was this about defending your title or experiencing the full race?
“Haha no, I just wanted to come back to experience the full course and I'm so stoked that the weather pulled through this year.”
It looked like you controlled the race from start to finish - did everything go to plan, and do you think you’ll be back next year for the three-peat?
“To be honest, I had no plan, it was just to run and enjoy the atmosphere, the people and the trail.”
“I struggled from early on with nutrition so it didn't help alot with energy levels especially in the latter half but it didn't matter, I still found a lot of joy out of the trail😊.”
“I'm not too sure what next year looks like, maybe OGR again or not. I feel like if things went a bit better with nutrition on the day I mayb could have pushed a bit more to run a bit faster but who knows, would be cool to try again some day😊.”
Thanks for your time, Kate. Rest up, and hopefully, we'll see you back next year for the 10th anniversary and the three-peat!
Men's podium:
🥇David Haunschmidt - 7:16:14
🥈Cameron Holden - 7:31:23
🥉Hywel Dinnick - 7:33:19
Surprise! David ‘The Flying Doctor’ Haunschmidt has added another impressive win to his CV.
Now, most people think he’s called the Flying Doctor because of his speed. It’s actually because every weekend The Doc flies all around the country to satiate his chronic trophy addiction🏆.
It was a one-man show early on. By the 17km Specimen Hut aid station(1:20), he already had a five-minute lead over the chase pack, which included Silas Carey, Chris Dunnell, Cameron Holden, and Hywel Dinnick.
It was a hot start to the race, but it was still 4 minutes back from 2023 when Sam McCutcheon and The Doc went at it like newly born-again Christians and Atheists in the YouTube comments😂.
Haunschmidt kept the hammer down, rolling through Stern Hut at the marathon mark in 3:25🔥. He had doubled his lead to 10 minutes over Holden, who had slipped ahead of Carey and Dinnick.
Halfway through, the podium contenders looked set. Peter Menis was chasing hard in fifth place but was 13 minutes back.
With the “easy running” now done, it was time to see if Haunschmidt’s recent races would hold him back or whether he would continue to pull away🤔.
He must have been feeling alight. He was first over ‘Heaven’s Door’ and into the Ghost Lake aid station(55 km), stretching his lead to 15 minutes. Dinnick had packed his climbing legs as he moved into 2nd, but only 2.5 minutes separated 2nd-4th.
At Lyell Saddle, Holden had moved back into 2nd, clawing back 2 minutes on Haunschmidt, but more importantly, he had put 2.5 minutes into Dinnick and Carey. Haunschmidt was a lock for victory failing disaster, but the race for the final 2 spots on the podium was GAME ON.
Haunschmidt didn’t blow a tire or get lost, claiming victory and getting his hands on one of the trophies I’m sure he’s had his eyes on for a while.
Holden kept … Holden on to cross the finish 15 minutes behind The Doc, and 2 minutes ahead of Hywell Dinnick, who got the better of Silas Carey in the descent from Lyell for 3rd.
I managed to nab some time from The Doc in between booking flights to his next race.
In 2023, you got a flat tire chasing Sam McCutcheon and ended up limping in for 2nd; last year, you were out with a foot injury - how does it feel to finally get a great day at the OGU?
“Yeah, I had a great time. It is further than I usually choose to run, and I definitely still had the massive descents of Shotover marathon in my legs from last week. So my plan was to stick to a comfortable ‘all-day’ pace and not to go chasing any course records.”
“Really pleased the body felt great throughout and could take the win. Everyone who has experienced OGU knows how special it is, not just because of amazing country, but due to the incredible team involved in putting it on. The things they do from the entertaining briefing, race morning, on course, and afterwards is astounding.”
In late 2024, you were in recovery mode, but you’ve been on an absolute tear the last month. Do you feel like you’re back at your Flying Doctor Best? What’s up next?
“I had 7 months of no running in 2024, which took a toll. Building back has been fun. Recently trying to race myself back to fitness😂, with 5 races in 6 weeks. It’s been an epic Jan-Feb, with many great memories.”
“A bit of rest. Lots of work (to make up for the weekends I’ve had off!). Xterra wellington in March will be an incredible event, as will Faultline in April. The NZ running scene is in a good place😀.”
David “The Flying Doctor” Haunschmidt
Thanks for that Dave - all the best with the “rest” AKA double night shifts.
NOTE: All photos snipped from the OGU Live Feed (The best in the biz)
CLICK HERE for the full results
Check out Old Ghost Ultra’s Instagram & Facebook for more photos and coverage.
This Week’s Newsletter Is Brought To You By…
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You don’t have a race nutrition plan (or a clue).
Sodium intake? What’s that?
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Worst Run Ever by UTMB 🟣CurraNZ
We had a flurry of ‘Worst Run Ever’s leading into Christmas. But all has gone quiet😭. I will persevere because this is easily my favourite section!
I’ve scrolled through the Tarawera results. There are a tonne of people I know who subscribe to the newsletter on the DNF list🤢.
I know the pain is raw! (I DNF’d Tarawera 2023.) But it’s always better out than in. Don’t sulk around home, annoying your family. Share it with people who understand your pain and misery.
To help inspire you to write in, I’ve included a story originally posted in 2023.
The Tip Track has a lot to answer for!
“My worst run ever ( lots of times) is the Tip Track.”
“My dog🐶 and I were at the top of the track when she began coughing blood🩸. It took me an hour to carry her back to the car. She is 20kg. Luckily it was just an abscess, and on reflection, I think the reason I carried her was those big brown eyes👁️👁️ …”
”I was racing down the track during the WU2K. I fell over and ripped the tendons in my shoulder. I made it to finish but couldn’t drive to the prize giving or anywhere else……”
”Running down again. My dog🐕🦺 got too close behind me and tangled in my legs. This resulted in a swan dive into the rocky track, which in turn resulted in an enormous bruise on my quad, a bloody🩸 knee, and no running for two weeks. (Doggo was fine though)”
”I was smashing down the Tippy and unexpectedly became airborne✈️. I fleetingly decided to save my palms🤲. Unfortunately, this came at a cost. My head. Which connected with a rock, and blood poured out🤕.”“I had to walk 4km to the car with no top because I was using it to soak up the blood🩸. On a brighter note, I had an excuse to miss a stupid meeting that I didn’t want to go to…..”
”There was the time I bonked💀, had the sh💩ts, and heat stroke🥵 (the holy grail trifecta), but that’s another story….”Jelly Bean
Whoever came up with “If at first you don’t succeed, try again” obviously hasn’t tried running the Tip Track with ‘Jelly Bean’.
With the feature being a bit on again off again, I’ll be trying something a bit different with CurraNZ, so stay tuned next week to see how you can find out what the buzz is all about with the little purple pills🟣.
But please keep the stories coming in!
Send them to trailrunningnz@gmail.com
They can be short or long. Funny😂 or sad😭. You can own it, or it can be made anonymous. They can even have a happy ending.
Things You May Have Missed
Welcome Rock Ultra Announced
That didn’t take long! There were murmurings of a new race at Welcome Rock after it was announced that The Revenant was coming to a close back in January. Less ‘run around and find books’ and more ‘see how fast you can run the course.’ Here is what has been posted on FB & Insta
“The New Beginning.
Over 7 years Welcome Rock has seen runners take on the ultra running race called The Revenant. 2025 was the final instalment of The Revenant as we know it.
2026 will see the beginning of a new race.
We will be holding onto some of the values and ideas that The Revenant stood for but with a new feel and look with some slight changes.
Our biggest goal - We hope to see people go further into the race.”
That sounds intriguing. I’m imagining a 50-ish km course with no watches or GPS allowed. I guess all will be revealed.
Triple Peaks Hawkes Bay Canned
From the Triple Peaks Facebook page
“Hi “Peakers”
Sadly, due to low entry numbers, the 2025 Autumn edition of this great event has had to be cancelled.
All entrants have received a full refund and a special entry discount will be offered to you for the next edition.”
Triple Peaks has existed since 1989, predating trail running, so I was surprised to see this announcement. But then I looked a bit deeper. This race has been bouncing around different organisers, like a methed-up Kangaroo on a trampoline🦘.
Now … I broke my rule. Don’t look at the comments. But there were 77! That’s a lot of people commenting on a race that no one was interested in. A big pinch of salt is required because I’m just basing this off Facebook comments in a group (AKA just like the leading news websites😉).
It seems that race entries only opened 11 days ago, and the race was scheduled for the 15th of March. Also, it seems that the only details released were the date and the fact that there were going to be 3 peaks.
Tom Everton, running influencer and proud supporter of TRNZ, was on the case.
Unsurprisingly, people aren’t queuing up for a race that hasn’t finalised the ‘finer details’ so close to the event date. There are always 2 sides to the story, but after trawling through the comments, I’m not surprised that entries were low.
Born 2 Run WoRM Trail Camp
It was the 4th annual Born 2 WoRM trail running camp in Wellington over the weekend. 75 runners from around the region descended on Camp Wainui for a weekend of shenanigans.
There was a little bit of running, plus a whole bunch of extracurriculars: darts competitions, an awards ceremony, a live band, and, of course, a beer mile. A guest speaker (Dr. Kate Sprecher) even came to discuss the importance of sleep and Beer Mile performance.
Brad Coleman and his minions put the whole thing together. If you would like to organize something like this for your running community, get in touch, and I’ll connect you to Brad so you can learn from the guru.
Hazel Harrison Sighting
Friday night date night in my household is very romantic. Rather than get hot and sweaty, we watch others get hot and sweaty😂. We watched Jeff Peletier’s latest ‘Swiss Alps 100’, which rolled into ‘Racing the High Lonesome 100’. 15 minutes in, who do I see? None other than the legend Hazel Harrison running miler #3 in her #6 for 60 quest. Watch it here
Upcoming Events
Motatapu
Saturday, March 1
Next up on the South Island Summer of Racing Tour is Motatapu.
With well over 1000 runners lining up over the 3 distances, it must be the largest on the calendar for the region? (That’s even without all the bike w😝nkers who will be racing as well.)
Last year, Crystal Brindle and Cameron Kerr had dominant victories in the Ultra. Neither is returning this year, so the door has been left open for a new champ.
Let’s take a quick look at the 3 races on offer.
Miners Trail: 📏15.7KM | ⛰️724M
CR:🏃♂️Max Wainwright 1:10:21(2020) | 🏃♀️Louisa Andrew 1:28:46 (2014)
Off-road Marathon: 📏42.2KM | ⛰️847M
CR:🏃♂️John Winsbury 2:38:13 (2009) | 🏃♀️Victoria Beck 3:18:14 (2012)
Motatapu Ultra: 📏52.5KM | ⛰️ 2496M
CR:🏃♂️Weston Hill 6:04:05 (2023) | 🏃♀️Ruth Croft 6:38:04 (2018)
Scrolling through the Ultra Starters List: Some names of note … Hannah Wall & Majell Backhausen. They’re both coming off course with record-breaking victories at Shotover Ultra. Will they go back to back?
Click here for more details. Follow along on Instagram or Facebook.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This week’s entry is from Rachel Bridgewater (taken by James Brewer) from their Harris mountain traverse.
55km, 5000m elevation, 9 peaks.
“Nothing can describe how amazing it is to climb from Treble Cone at 5am for hours and hours over mountain summits and see Coronet Peak and The Remarkables ahead of you so far away that it feels inconceivable that you’ll ever get there.
"But you do…. One step at a time."
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 results from Motatapu and whatever else I find frantically flicking through my screenshots at 11PM Sunday night.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
P.S. Want to see a picture of Nikki Everton’s foot? Click Here
Damn you with that foot pic, Brad!!!