🏃🏃♀️Naseby Results & UTMB Predictions
“Now trail running is all about enjoyment, plus running 100 miles is pretty borderline nuts, so you have to make sure you're enjoying it; otherwise, it makes a long way even longer.” - Ruth Croft
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re the McDonalds of the trail running world. Sometimes a bit cold and salty, but for some reason, you keep coming back for more.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️The Great Naseby Water Race Results
🔮UTMB Predictions
❓Q&A with Ruth Croft & Louis Schindler
🤢Worst Run Ever
💫Preview: Scenic Circles Backyard Ultra
⛰️💊Mountain Skag Pic of the Week
Note: Due to the length, some email browsers will hide some of the content - make sure you click ‘view entire email’ or click through to substack.
The Great Naseby Water Race
This week saw the Great Naseby Water Race take place Wednesday - Sunday. It’s got more race options than words in its name - so let’s kick into the results.
The Great Naseby Water Race - 200 MILES!
Wednesday morning, 8 AM. Clear skies and freezing temperatures welcomed 11 brave, crazy MFs on their 200-mile journey. That’s 2 x 100 miles if you’re struggling with the math.
Firstly, regardless of the result, anyone who signs up and toes the start line of a 200-mile race is a legend.
🥇Brandon Purdue - 46:47:02
🥈 Shannon Rhodes - 47:19:31
🥉Shannon-Leigh Litt - 57:01:48 - 🔥NEW FEMALE CR🔥
💪Darryl Ross - 63:35:19
💪Andy Smith - 64:44:17
💪Karen Aulelio - 65:52:37
💪Josh Kingsbruy - 73:57:06
💪Steve Beatson - 75:50:27
🍔Adam Keen - 77:47:08
💪Stefan Rapley - 79:23:32
💪Charlie McNally - DNF
Unsurprisingly, it became a battle between 2 of the in-form backyard specialists, Brandon Purdue and Shannon Rhodes. With ‘running in circles for a long time’ on the CV, these guys were well-equipped for the job.
Brandon stretched out to over 3 hours ahead by the 100-mile mark, but Shannon Rhodes crushed the 2nd 100 miles and almost caught a faltering Purdue.
Shannon-Leigh Litt is a beast! Running with Shannon Rhodes through the first night, only 3 hours back from Brandon after 100 miles, she was in the hunt for the overall victory. Rhodes and Purdue started to pull away each lap from the 180km mark, but she finished well clear of 4th to take 3rd overall and sliced 1.5 hours off Jean Beaumont’s course record💪.
Brandon Purdue was kind enough to share his experience of the race.
“I knocked off the first 100 miles in a respectable 19 hours while still running conservatively for the back end of the race.”
“It’s kind of hard to contemplate running 100 miles after you’ve just done that, so you just take things one loop at a time, focusing on maintaining your pace and staying on top of your nutrition.”
“As we got into the business end of the race, niggles had turned into debilitating injuries (cellulitis in my right leg, torn hip flexor in my left leg) that ground me to a halt.”
“I then had to change my focus from maintaining a solid pace to just ‘holding on for dear life’!”
“Earlier in the race, I had built up a comfortable 3:35 lead on Shannon Rhodes, but as we approached the final few laps, Shannon was getting faster, and I was contemplating withdrawing as I needed to go to the hospital!”
“Shannon had me ‘running scared’ for the last couple of laps which felt like a sprint finish.”
“In the end, I scrapped out the win by 32 minutes, which was a lucky escape. One more lap, and Shannon would have caught me!”
The Great Naseby Water Race - 200km
The 200km is the purgatory of the ultra world. 100 miles doesn’t sound cool enough, but 200 miles is just crazy!
🥇Mark Beattie - 29:01:45
🥈Ruth Jeffery - 30:10:28
🥉Wendy Fallon - 33:04:26
💪Callum Wicks - DNF
💪Ina Chalmers - DNF
With Ina Chalmers dropping at 100km and Callum Wicks pulling the pin at 100 miles - a podium was all but assured as long as you kept moving - Easier said than done!
The Great Naseby Water Race- 100Miles
Men’s Podium
🥇John Bayne - 16:35:55
🥈Trent Garnham - 20:14:44
🥉Adam Carlson - 20:43:44
It's no surprise to see John Bayne blow the doors off the 100-miler.
He is a Naseby addict. Check out his Naseby CV:
50mile -🥈 | 100km -🥇🥈 | 100mile - 🥇🥈 |200mile - 🥇and the CR in 43:28:18.
1000km - 1 of 4 to race over 1000km on the Naseby course.
Women’s Podium
🥇Sally Nicoll - 26:47:25
🥈Sarah Green - 27:44:05
🥉Marie Ford - 28:41:59
Sally Nicol paced this like a pro. She was running outside the top 3 through the race's first half. At 90km, she was 42 minutes off the lead, only to find herself leading from the 100km mark and finishing an hour clear of Sarah Green.
The Great Naseby Water Race - 100km
Women’s Podium
🥇Vivian Cheng - 13:14:40
🥈Kim Hendrie - 14:18:43
🥉Annelise La Rochie - 15:22:11
Kristen Kelly was the early leader over Vivian Cheng, ahead by 2 minutes after 40km. Vivian pulled ahead on the 5th lap and never looked back. Kim Hendrie slipped past a fading Kristen to move into 2nd with 20km to go.
Unfortunately, Kristen dropped with 1 lap to go, which shot Annelise La Rochie onto the podium.
Men’s Podium
🥇Jake Trinder - 10:55:36
🥈Petra Schruder -11:18:25
🥉Pete Weir - 11:40:23
By 60km, Jake Trinder jumped from 2nd, trailing by just over 1 minute, to 1st, leading by over 20 minutes. I don’t know if Petra Schruder went through a down patch or went for a burger🍔 with Adam Keen at the Royal. Either way, that was the only break Jake needed to take the victory.
The Great Naseby Water Race - 80km
Men’s Podium
🥇Kieran Philip - 7:41:56
🥈Steve Anderson - 8:34:16
🥉Marijn Wouters - 8:51:44
The top 3 cruised through the first 20 km, yarning away, holding hands, swapping recipes, and giving each other foam roller tips.
I don’t know if Steve or Marijn offended Kieran, but he shot off like a robber’s dog and posted a 52-minute lap. He continued to power away from Steve and Marijn to win comfortably.
Women’s Podium
🥇Amanda Glasgow - 10:46:31
Amanda Glasgow received the rare honour of being 1st and last female.
I’m unsure if starting as the only participant in your category adds pressure or makes it a cruisey day?
If she DNF’d would she still be 1st 🤔?
The Great Naseby Water Race - 50km
Men’s Podium
🥇Chris Bisley - 4:11:43
🥈Alex Charlick - 4:27:13
🥉Dave Pearson - 4:30:26
Women’s Podium
🥇Julie Chamberlain - 4:12:46
🥈Amanda Haynes - 5:40:34
🥉Amy Penfold - 5:51:35
Chris Bisley (the only person to beat Sam Harvey in a backyard in NZ) had a comfortable win in the Men’s division, but the fast-charging Julie Chamberlain had him looking over his shoulder. An impressive race. Just look at the consistency of Julie’s lap times
49:49, 49:54, 50:21, 51:06, 51:37
One more lap might have been all she needed to claim the outright win.
Well done to everyone who made the pilgrimage to Naseby.
Also, a big congratulations to Jill Wolff and her army of volunteers for putting on a great event. You guys had your own endurance event with this thing starting Wednesday!
There was also a 60km teams race, which you can check the results out here.
😂💪⚔️🏃🏃♀️🎯⛰️🤢🔨😎💯💩🤣😍😉😆😁😛🙄😬😵🥴
😂💪⚔️🏃🏃♀️🎯⛰️🤢🔨😎💯💩🤣😍😉😆😁😛🙄😬😵🥴
UTMB Predictions:
iRunFar has put out their previews if you want to read a full write-up 🏃🏃♀️
I thought instead of copying + pasting their preview and changing a couple of words; I would make a few bold predictions and take a stab at how our Kiwi elites go.
UTMB:
Ruth Croft passes a faltering Courtney Dauwalter on the final descent into Chamonix to claim a dramatic victory, stopping the Dauwalter train in its tracks.
Katie Wright turns around her misfortunate DNF at TDS last year to have a great day out, finishing inside the top 30.
Jim Walmsley comes up with a new way to lose in the back half of UTMB, and Scotty Hawker outlasts Tom Evans to take 1st🥇.
Danny Jones runs in the top 5 through to Trient, but Western States catches up with him, but he still manages to duke it out and pip Zach Miller for 9th.
Scott Bougen and Louis Schindler grind their way up through the field to be knocking on the door of the top 20.
CCC
Nancy Jiang bounces back from a tough Western States to finish 10th as the field crumbles ahead of her after a fast start to the race.
Unfortunately, Brooke Thomas broke her humerus last week😥. However, she is still bravely choosing to run. So, I’m going with getting around the course with no further injury and having to retell her story of how she broke her arm approximately 33 times while out on the course.
OCC
Caitlyn Fielder reaps the reward for taking some extra rest from the Golden Trail Series and finishes in 2nd🥈.
Unfortunately, David Haunschidt👨⚕️ was unable to secure any night shift work in Chamonix leading up to the race, so will no longer be competing.
Here is what David had to say:
“Obviously, it’s disappointing. I’ve been training all year for the event. With no night shifts the week before, I’ll be hitting the race far too fresh.”*
*(He’s popped a hammy.)
Q&A with Ruth Croft
You've had fantastic success at the shorter distances for many years, then Tarawera 100K, and your success at Western States.
Has UTMB been a long-term goal you've been working towards this whole time, or was it more of a good idea over a few drinks post-Western States?
“I went out to Europe to compete for the first time in 2015 and did CCC. From that moment, I knew I always wanted to do UTMB, but it has been a road of 8 years to get to this starting line.”
“Earlier on in my career, it was important to focus on getting experience in the sub-ultra distances, and it's only been in recent years that I have been really motivated and intrigued by the longer distances.”
Does your previous success at CCC and OCC bring added expectation or confidence, knowing you've been here before and delivered?
“It brings me confidence that I know the back half of the course really well haha.”
“Apart from that, UTMB is still a massive unknown for me, but adventuring into the unknown is where you learn a lot no matter what.”
What excites you most - the challenge of the UTMB course or competing in such a deep field?
“This year has been a bit different for me, and I have not actually been in any really competitive races, so I am looking forward to that, but I also understand with such a distance and course, it's essentially me vs UTMB, and if I execute everything as best as possible I hope that will put me in the mix with the top of the field.”
You've trained in some of the most amazing trail meccas in the world - how do the West Coast and other areas in NZ stack up?
“They are all unique in their own way, but I still believe we are pretty lucky in NZ.”
“There is something about going into nature that still does not have the infrastructure of cable cars and people everywhere. I did a 4-day tramp in NZ over the summer and did not see a soul for over 2 days.”
“Although, in saying that, it's pretty nice showing up to a refuge mid-run and being able to get a warm apple tart.”
Have you graduated from poles school? How often do you think they will go in and out of your pack?
“When you go on a UTMB recce with Petter Engdahl, you know that you certainly have not graduated from pole school!”
Do you still get nervous before big races? And if so - how do you manage that?
“To be honest, not really. When I was younger and did track and field and cross country, I used to get really nervous and not be able to handle it very well.”
“Now trail running is all about enjoyment, plus running 100 miles is pretty borderline nuts, so you have to make sure you're enjoying it; otherwise, it makes a long way even longer.”
Q&A with Louis Schindler
How long has UTMB been on your radar?
“Because of my predisposition to crowds, UTMB was not on my radar until a friend and inspirational trail running buddy mentioned numerous times how much he loved his experiences there.”
“I was all in last year with my attempt at Snowdonia 100 mile, where the top 3 would be granted entry, but the race was called off after 70ish km due to dangerous weather conditions.”
“It was a very heartbreaking moment as I was in second and absolutely primed for those grueling weather conditions. UTMB became my sole focus.”
“Tarawera was my next opportunity, and I had to morph into an actual runner. I am pretty slow and more of a mountain grinder. After seeing the quality in the field, I thought a top 15 would be possible, but sometimes I just slow down less than others.”
“At Tarawera, I came one spot short with my 4th place, but they call it LUCKY LOOSER ( feeling special 😂), and UTMB offered me an entry as someone already had an entry who was in the top 3.”
After your character-building race at Canyons (DNF) - have you made any big changes to your training and or race strategy?
“I like to think I had plenty of humility and character prior to my experience at Canyons. But the race did inform me about my vulnerability to the heat.”
How has your training been?
“I started with a marathon block to get those wheels turning. With the help of my sounding board and coach, Andy Good, I was able to see through this block without injuries.”
“The last 9 weeks have been all about intentional consistent volume with big vert. I even bought an incline trainer, which had a literal meltdown. This allowed me to get an extra 2-3k of vert per week without having to descend, and the limiting factor for me is really how much downhill my body can handle.”
“The gravitational forces causing the impact increase linearly. Being a bigger unit, I need to be very mindful of that fact ( I have learned my lessons).”
“Saying all that, I did go all in and out in one big week after another, really as much volume as my body, mind, and family would tolerate 😂. I just put the cap on my block with a solid week here In Austria, training at altitude and in very hot conditions.”
When you’re going to bed at night dreaming of race day when you cross the line, what time is on the clock?
“I will never be the fastest or best runner at the start line, but I would like to be the best-informed runner. For months now, I have been grazing through splits of previous performances at UTMB to learn about the course.”
“Your UTMB index will determine your bib number as well as suggest a certain finishing time for you. There is a big disconnect between those two data points suggesting a potential bad execution and or high attrition rate in the field. Both scenarios are very likely.”
“I am very data-informed, and I calculate my estimated time based on something looking like this [(total vert (÷) vertical velocity @ 75%maxHR )+ 50%]+“flat runnable “ km’s x pace =🕒…. This is the math I do when I am out on long training runs… I clearly spend too much time by myself 😂”
“I am aware of the spectrum my athletic window could potentially allow me to cross that finish line, but looking at the history of the race, it is too easy to get caught up in time goals, I focus on how I want to feel on that very last climb.”
“This awareness will hopefully prevent me from starting too quickly and be ready to send it up to La Flégère 😬 when I finally get there.”
Worst Run Ever
I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this week’s story.
Is there anything worse than putting your spare headlamp battery on charge and forgetting to flick the power switch on 🤪.
“In the ink-black night, Headlamp's last glimmer fades fast, Trail lost in the void.
Spare batteries mocked, Darkness, my reluctant guide, Laughter of despair.
Then, fate's comedy, Phone slipped from my desperate grasp, Plunging into the stream.
River's chuckling glee, Swallowed my lifeline to light, Misfortune embraced.
Tripped on unseen roots, Bruised ego, and wounded pride, Nature's jest unbound.
Yet dawn soon broke free, Revealing my odyssey, A tale of endurance.
Stripped of devices, I found a courage untamed, Heart's ember burning.
Guided by starlight, Trail of resilience I blazed, Misadventure's gift.
Worst run etched in lore, Headlamp, phone, batteries failed, But strength illuminated.”
Who am I kidding? That sucked.
TLDR - I went for a run, my headlamp stopped after 20 minutes, my spare battery I thought I charged was dead, and then I dropped my phone in the stream on the way back.
WORST RUN EVER
-Sarah Ambrose
Preview: Scenic Cirles Backyard - 2nd September
The Backyard Ultra Marathon craze has spread all the way to Timaru.
There are 44 confirmed entrants, with some last-minute spots still available.
With it being the first running of the event, it is anyone’s guess on how long it’s gonna go.
The course looks challenging, with slippery-looking trails, a wonky donkey staircase, and a water hazard for some late-night shenanigans.
🌞The day loop has 138m of vert, slightly more than Riverhead.
🌙The night loop has 86m of vert.
🍒29 of the 44 confirmed starters are running their first backyard event.
🥶11 of the field ran Krayzie Midwinter Backyard Ultra 8 weeks ago.
🏆Glen Sutton is in the field with a PB of 254.98km and ran 228.14km at KMBU.
Good luck to the Scenic Circles crew and everyone running.
Reception shouldn’t be an issue, so Facebook is probably the best place to follow along.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This week's #Mountain Skag is from Angus Ward from his Broken Axe Pinnacles loop with Kyle Malone.
Tag @trailrunning.nz and use #mountainskag 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 Scenic Circles results (or an update if it’s still going), a breakdown of how the Kiwis went at UTMB, and anything else I can find in the depth of the Wildthings Facebook group to copy + paste.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS: Did you have a great time (or a not-so-great time?) at Naseby?
If you’re writing up a race report and want to share your experience, send it to trailrunningnz@gmail.com, and I can add it to the database, which will hopefully be available soon.