🐎🤴Kings Backyard Recap
New NZ Record, Who Dis?
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re the Spring Energy of the NZ trail running scene. We make big promises and turn out… to be pretty average.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🐎🤴Kings Backyard Roundup
🎯Things You May Have Missed
📰SK News Desk
🎁May Paid Subscriber Giveaway
🏁Upcoming events: Mt. Difficulty Ascent
⛰️💊Mountain Skag May Vote
⛰️💊Mountain Skag of The Week
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Kings Backyard Ultra Recap
If you’re new to this Backyard baloney, check out the Backyard NZ site.
Here is how the format works.
Run a 6.71 KM loop on the hour every hour.
The race goes on until only 1 person is left.
9 AM Saturday, 78 runners ponied up to the start box at the Barge Showgrounds, Whangarei, to prance around a 6.71km loop, over and over again.
The vibes were high at tent city, with a good mix of locals and out-of-towners.
The His & Her Events team brought in everyone’s favourite Ranga Race Director, Shaun Collins, to run the DJ desk, and Running With Beards had their Onlyfans channel pumping all weekend long.
Of the 78 starters, 47 had never run a backyard before. With a field full of newbies and on the smaller side, you could have been forgiven for thinking this was gonna be all wrapped up within 24 hours.
The big question heading into Kings Backyard (apart from would Andy Dubois lay a complaint about the name😂) was, would someone knock Jane McAlpine out of the NZ Backyard team after FINALLY breaking up the sausage fest with her 39 laps at Dead Cow Gully?
The field may have only been double figures, but as we all know, it’s not about how long your starting list is; it’s about how you use it🤔 …
Brandon Purdue was the obvious favourite for the overall victory, with a previous PB of 42 laps. But Anthony Kerr-Taylor also showed up big at Riverhead with 37, and Carl Read is just an out-and-out sicko when it comes to endurance events.
Brooke Thomas turned up, ready to rumble, making the trip up from Queenstown. She’s been on the bubble of the NZ team after being the last female standing at Arrowtown, Pigs and Riverhead Relaps.
Ketina Chivasa has been on a roll this year, but with a PB of 16 laps, it was going to take a massive effort to take home the top female trophy and a spot on the NZ team.
Overall Winner:
🏆Anthony Kerr-Taylor - 52 laps (348.92KM)
Top DNFs - Men 🏃♂️🏃♂️🏃♂️
☠️ Simon McLean - 51 laps (342.21KM)
☠️ Brandon Purdue - 44 laps (295.24KM)
☠️Graham Herrera - 37 laps (248.27KM)
Top Female:
👑Ketina Chivasa - 26 laps (174.46KM)
Top DNFs - Women 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
☠️Cara Pinny - 24 laps (161.04KM)
☠️Jalana Smith - 24 laps (161.04KM)
☠️Emma Henricksen - 22 laps (147.63KM)
Top Local: Sam Rout - 34 laps (228.14KM)
Anthony Kerr-Taylor is your Kings Backyard Champion for 2024.
Wow, what a show! AKT not only won Kings, but he broke the NZ venue record (previously Jeremy Pelvin, 50 laps Arrowtown).
What does it take to get your name on that big chunk of Kauri?
348.92KM, averaging 47:38 per loop for just over 2 days!
AKT has threatened to do something like this for a while, with a previous PB of 37 at Riverhead Relaps, and a great race at the Tarawera Miler this year, finishing 8th in 18h44m.
But he didn’t get there on his own. To post a total like this, you’ve got to work together to keep each other going.
Simon McLean pushed him to his limit, taking the assist with 51 yards (342.21KM), also surpassing the previous NZ venue record. The 2 ran together for 7 laps, after Brandon Purdue called it a day (44 laps).
Graham Herrera from the Bronx, Murica🌭, gave the field an international flavour. He nearly posted a 250 burger, finishing up 37 laps (248.27KM), but more importantly, he received his honorary citizenship by doing a shoey to celebrate his DNF in style👟🍺.
There wasn’t quite the same pussy riot moment we had at Riverhead Relaps, where Brooke Thomas was in contention for the overall win deep into the race, ultimately finishing 4th.
However, there were strong female performances across the board, with Ketina Chivasa taking out the overall female trophy.
Back in March, she ran 16 laps (107 km), so it was a massive performance to put 174 km on the board. Chivasa has had quite the year, placing 2nd at the First Light Marathon, 1st at the Aotearoa 100km, and 3rd at the South Island Ultra 100km.
The smaller field clearly wasn’t an issue. The flat course allowed a strong platform of runners from which the top of the field could launch.
19 runners rode through the night to see the sunrise and break through the 24-hour mark. Of those 19, 11 went on to join the 200km club.
Unfortunately for Jane McAlpine, she’s been bumped out of the NZ Backyard team … for now. All eyes move to Krayzie Midwinter Backyard Ultra. Home to the final Silver ticket (automatic selection) and one last chance to make the team.
It’s been a massive couple of weeks for the Northland endurance scene. Last weekend they held the Bay of Island Trails Festival, and now they’ve successfully hosted the 1st Backyard Ultra in central Whangarei. The future of suffering looks bright in the far North!
A big shout out to Helen Waterworth and Chris Newson, who battled hard for many months to find a location and put together this event. Your hard work has been rewarded. Bring on 2025.
If you plan to run an upcoming Backyard, Blue Lake Challenge, or Naseby Water race, check out their event kits here.
Full Results here, and follow His & Hers Events on Instagram for more photos and videos from the event.
This Week’s Newsletter Is Brought To You By…
Sprung— The Brand New Gel Company
Things You May Have Missed
Last week, I missed the Bay of Islands Trail Festival. My bad. Paihia played host to the new 50km ultra, which saw Hannah Oldroyd collect another trophy, and Sam Rout get one over the Flying Doctor.
Full Results Here.
The WAI2K (Nov 23rd): Entries are open. In 2023, the 100KM was cancelled due to a lack of entries. Everyone meowed😿 out and entered the 50 instead.
Gareth (RD) pulled off a Hail Mary this year, securing the WAI2K as the 100km championship from Athletics NZ. Things are looking good, with 18 confirmed entries on the first weekend, 6 months out from race day.
Old Ghost Ultra entries also opened on Saturday … and have already sold out. Doh😩. If you forgot to set yourself a reminder to set a reminder, they are taking waitlist entries. Click Here to register.
In case you were wondering … Shannon Leigh-Litt is still running an ultra a day! She just finished Ultra #154 in Austria, complete with an emergency blanket and near hypothermia (don’t worry, shes fine).
Spring Energy is in a sticky situation. It started with armchair detective work and ended with Jason Koop (Ultra Coach) paying to test the Spring Energy lineup of gels.
The result? Jason Koop called out Spring Energy online (and took a few shots at some others) for producing gels that had less than half the claimed calories and carbohydrate content.
Spring Energy has responded with its own video. They’re really sorry, and it won't happen again—pinky promise*🤣.
SK News Desk
Leading the news desk this week is the SK awards.
Runners from around the Wellington region jostled into the Southern Cross Bar for the annual SK Awards on Tuesday night.
It’s been a big season for the SK, with a record number of attempts, long-standing FKTs broken, and plenty of reminders that the Tararua Range should never be taken lightly.
Now, I’ve only been banging on about the SK all year BUT, in case you still have no f🤬cking idea what I’m talking about, here’s the gist:
Think of it as the “Bob Graham Round” of the Tararua range. Finish under 24 hours for glory.
There are 4 main routes: the Main Range, The Tarn, the Valley, and this year, Carkeek SK was born.
All 4 routes start in S’Putara (silent S) and finish in Kaitokie.
The distance varies between 70-80K and 3-8K of vert, depending on the flavour of your run and how generous your watch is.
It’s a long way, even on a map.
Check out the Tararua FKT website for more intel, or watch Andy Carruthers's award-winning SK Film.
Last year, there were no new members to the sub 24 Main Range club.
It was a long, grim, muddy AF season.
This year? The floodgates opened.
There are 5 new members:
👑Ali Wilson (New FKT🔥)
💪Stu Meiklejohn
💪Jim Murphy
💪Jonothan Armstrong
💪Brendan Varty
There was also a record number of people tasting glory on the Valleys & Tarn routes. Some of the standouts were:
Olivia Lawrence and Kelly Davenport both breaking long standing FKTs.
Charlie Ruck becoming the youngest ever to complete an SK at 17.
Chris Martin AKA The Custodian, finally got the monkey off his back, finishing the Valleys route under 24 hours.
The Patupaiarehe Award
The Patupaiarehe Award is for extraordinary endeavours in the Tararua.
It is reserved for only the most amazing efforts in the range. It doesn’t just go to the top achievement for the year; if no one does anything worthy of the award, it remains untouched.
Last year, Kyle Malone won the award for his 1500s SK. This started in S’Putara, summiting all 15, 1500M+ peaks in the range, and finished in Kaitokie just over 34 hours later.
This year?
There were 4 new koru’s carved into the award.
Brent Harrison
The pioneer and adventurer who dreamt up the beast that is the Tararua Mountain Race. Consider this a lifetime achievement award.
Joe Murphy
For his SK a month project from January to December 2023.
You can read more on this here.
Brendan Varty & Jonothan Armstrong
These 2 met at the start of the Aorangi Undulator 2023. It was love at first sight😍. Now, just 7 months later, this bromance has racked up 13 SKs (including 2 FKTs) between them.
Congratulations to all involved. Another year in the books.
Now, this isn’t just for Wellingtonians. Plenty of keen runners from around the country have taken on the SK. Just this year, we saw Shaun Collins and Scott Bougen take on the main range in a brave attempt that the weather gods thwarted.
If you’re interested in learning more about what’s involved or need help with logistics, get in touch or visit Wellington Big Sunday Run on Facebook. There is always someone keen to help🙂.
Remember—Don’t watch the dot. Be the dot.
May Paid Subscriber Giveaway Winners
Congratulations to …
🥳Alex Jones
🎉Jane Pairman
You’ve won a Hunterway Run Co Ranger 01 Trail Tee
(You can read my review here)
But wait, there’s more.
🥳Monty Swanepoel
You’ve won the Annual Wild Things subscription, anonymously donated by one of our awesome paid subscribers.
Wondering how you can get your name in the draw for more awesome prizes?
Join the cult for $5 a month.
That’s less than a Spring Energy Gel a month, but twice the calories!
A big THANK YOU to all the Paid Supporters who help keep this thing rolling.
Upcoming Events:
Mt Difficulty
Saturday, June 8
If you missed Northburn, but you’ve got a hankering for some Terry Davis punishment, you’re in luck. Next weekend is Mt. Difficulty Ascent.
Often, mountain names don’t quite live up to the hype, but with Mt. Difficulty, it’s on point.
Distances on offer:
📏44KM | ⛰️ 3000M
📏25KM | ⛰️ ????M
Now, I’ve never stepped foot on Mt. Difficulty, so I’m relying on 2nd-hand info. But after listening to the war stories of friends that have “run” it, I’ve put together this graph so you know what to expect if you’re “running” the race for the first time.
If that hasn’t got you fizzed up the bunghole, check out some of these course descriptions.
"The majority of loose rocks have been removed. We have set the course in such a way that should a rock start rolling, it will angle away from the line of competitors below it."
"Now the fun really begins. In the next one km, you will climb 500m – this is where the event gets its name from. AN AVERAGE OF 50% OVER 500M VERTICAL IS BLOODY STEEP!!"
"This ascent will see you climb 1020m in just 3km of travel. That’s a good honest climb, people. I don’t need to tell you to take it slowly because, at that gradient, there is no other way. Think 30-40min km – hard to imagine, isn’t it? So awesome."
Did I mention there’s often a good dusting of snow and ice at this time of year?
If this looks up your alley, online registration is open until Thursday night, and cash and/or Maurten gels are accepted on the morning of the event.
For more info, Click Here and follow along on Facebook.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of May
Vote for your favourite #mountainskag winner from May below.
I’ve taken the names off the photos to avoid it being a popularity contest.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
Jennifer Tregurtha is this week’s #mountainskag pic of the week with this snap from her Vert Day adventure in Arthurs Pass with the CMC crew.
Check out her Instagram post cataloging her massive 5000M adventure
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 Monday with the rundown on Mt Difficulty and whatever I cbf writing about.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS. Whoops. I did a thing. 6 months to sort my sh💩t out. Who else has recently signed up for a race that they’re completely out of their depth entering?
Yusssssss - Brad on the WAI2K hundy! Bring it on buddy, our vollies will get in some special cheers for you during and a special chair for you at the finish - you'll need it after the joy that never ends (AKA Climie)!
So good to see you back at the Wai - Climie awaits ....