🏃🏃♀️Race Tekapo Results
🔥It was a bad day to be a course record🔥
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
This week’s newsletter is in memory of Joe Benbow.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️Race Tekapo Results
😔Mental Health Awareness Week
💫River Run Backyard Is Up Next
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🤢Worst Run Ever
🏁Upcoming event: Blue Lake Challenge
⛰️💊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.
Race Tekapo Results
Race Tekapo was back for its second showing on Saturday and did not disappoint.
The small iconic town saw over 1,000 runners and their crews descend onto the famous shores of Lake Tekapo.
La Sportiva - 50KM
The 50km field almost doubled this year, and there was a serious need for speed.
🏃♀️Women’s Podium
🥇 MACEE LATIMER - 4:06:05 🔥🔥🔥New CR🔥🔥🔥
🥈 NAOMI BRAND - 4:16:17
🥉 MEL AITKEN - 4:29:47
Macee Latimer took this one coast to coast. Through the first 20km, she ground out just over a minute on Naomi Brand. That’s as close as it would get as Latimer continued to edge away from Brand to take the tape by 10 minutes.
A strong back half of the race saw Latimer run from 6th overall to 3rd. Mel Aitken had a strong race to grab a step on the podium in her second race back on the trail circuit after WUU2K.
This field was stacked! The top 7 all ran faster than last year’s winner.
🏃Men’s Podium
🥇GREG BASSAM - 3:49:11 🔥🔥🔥New CR🔥🔥🔥
🥈SAM MOWAT - 3:57:15
🥉SANJEEV DEO - 4:07:10
Greg Bassam dominated the men’s race from start to finish. At the 20km mark, he had built a just under 5-minute lead over Sanjeev Deo.
Behind the front 2, things were tight. Sam “Mowemdown” Mowat, Lee Cook, and defending champ Ben Taylor were chasing hard. Mowat passed Deo but couldn’t cut into Bassam’s lead.
Deo would hold on to 3rd to add to last year’s 1st in the 32km. Just like the ladies, these boys were flying. The top 6 went faster than last year’s winning time, including defending champ Ben Taylor, who took 3 minutes off his time from last year to finish 5th.
Raidlight - 32KM
🏃Men’s Podium
🥇 JON BOLAM - 2:34:20
🥈 NATHAN COHEN - 2:50:09
🥉 MATT GREEN - 2:55:49
Jon Bolam is so quick, he got rid of the ‘h because it was weighing him down. He turned this into a time trial, putting 5 minutes on Nathan Cohen in the first 11km. It's not every day you get to hang one on a former Olympic gold medalist.
Bolam would go on to win the men’s by 16 minutes, but Hannah Oldroyd kept the pressure on, hunting her 2nd overall win in as many races (Forest Run Fest).
🏃♀️Women’s Podium
🥇 HANNAH OLDROYD - 2:37:02 🔥🔥🔥New CR🔥🔥🔥
🥈 RUBY MORGAN - 2:54:01
🥉 ANNABELLE BRAMWELL - 2:56:30
Hannah Oldroyd defended her title and went one better than last year, taking 2nd overall. She has some serious wheels. It will be interesting to see what other races she targets now we are heading closer to the summer season.
Ruby Morgan and Annabelle Bramwell had a tight race to settle the podium. They were side by side at the 25km mark, only for Morgan to stretch away by a couple of minutes in the final few kilometers.
Frontrunner “Today, Tomorrow Timaru” - 21KM
🏃Men’s Podium
🥇 BLAKE WESTON - 1:38:49 - 🔥🔥🔥New CR🔥🔥🔥
🥈 REUBEN GRAHAM - 1:40:05
🥉 RYAN WHITE - 1:42:37
Blake Weston made it 2/2 defending his title, and he shaved a couple of minutes off last year’s time to lower his course record.
However, he didn’t have it all his way. Reuben Graham bolted off the line and led most of the race. At the halfway point, he had close to 2 minutes on Weston.
But by the 18km point, Weston had chopped that back to 9 seconds and ultimately went on to win by over 2 minutes.
🏃♀️Women’s Podium
🥇 EMMA SOMERVELL - 1:57:44
🥈 NICOLE WEYANDT - 2:01:19
🥉 OLIVIA KIKSTRA - 2:10:08
Emma Somervell blazed her way to a 3-minute lead through the first 4km. The damage was done at that point, and she cruised to victory.
Nicole Weyandt managed to keep on Somervell’s pace for the remainder of the race but couldn’t make any inroads. Olivia Kikstra rounded out the podium, taken 3rd, a great result in a large field of 178🏃♀️ and 131🏃.
To check out the 12km, 5km & 3km - check out the full results here.
This Wednesday, the 20th of September, is your chance to join in on the ‘Big Morning Run.’ It’s part of Mental Health Awareness Week. This year’s theme is ‘Five Days, Five Ways’.
The focus is on proven tools to boost our mental health. The Big Morning Run aims to highlight local clubs across New Zealand and show how running can boost your mental health.
If you’re not part of a local group already taking part, you can find a local club/group here.
The following segment discusses a sensitive topic - if suicide is a trigger, please skip this section.
Last week, the news that Joe Benbow died by suicide rocked the Wellington running and Wild Things community. Joe was a loving husband, father, and one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.
I only just started to get to know Joe in the last year. I knew his name and face from WoRM and the Wild Things Facebook group.
I had the pleasure of bumping into him at some of the early aid stations during the Tarawera Miler this year. Our days headed in different directions, and I was stoked to see he got the race he so badly wanted and deserved.
He was also an early subscriber of the newsletter. He sent me this email earlier this year:
I’ve got to say mate, I get a lot of trail running newsletters and emails etc and most of them I bin without reading. Yours is the first one I enjoy reading from start to finish. It’s fantastic! Must take a lot of your time to put together, but keep it up. You’ve got a talent for this and it’s filling a gap.
Really appreciate it.
Cheers.
Joe
PS super fired up for RoF now!
By all accounts, this was who Joe was. Facebook and Instagram have been flooded with stories about the immense support and generosity that came so naturally to him.
Raising the awareness that running and exercise are proven tools to improve mental health is fantastic. Going to a group run and posting on social media is great.
But if all we ever do is raise awareness, we will continue to see these tragedies occur. I’m not suggesting that anyone could have said or done something to stop this situation. That’s impossible to know. What I do know is that depression has no stereotype. Joe had a loving, supportive family. He regularly exercised and got away into nature. From the outside looking in, he was a happy, passionate man.
If we can take one thing away from this, your words and actions can have a massive effect on others. Joe’s supportive words and actions spread throughout our community. His words and kindness have helped change the trajectory of many lives.
We live in a more connected world than ever, but becoming isolated and alone is increasingly easier. It’s easy to say we’re too busy, tired, whatever. But what more is there to life than the people you love?
So ask your friends how they’re doing… and LISTEN. Depression is a complex thing. It’s almost impossible to understand exactly what someone is feeling in their situation. But everyone needs to feel heard and valued. And while you don’t need to have all the answers, just being a listening ear is a great first step. And then connecting someone to the help they need might just make the difference.
If you’re worried about how you’re feeling, or you’re concerned about someone else,
Free call or text 1737; Lifeline 0800 543 354 or free text 4357; Depression hotline 0800 111 757 or free text 4202.
To Joe, I’m sorry that you were hurting. I’m sorry you felt this was your only option. I’m grateful that I had the chance to meet you.
The last time I saw you was at the Mega Munter. You shuffled up towards me, rested on your poles, and said
“You sadistic MF”
You got your second wind but decided to take your first-ever DNF. You told me it wasn’t because you couldn’t finish; it was taking too long.
You needed to get back to your wife and kids. I do not doubt that you loved them so dearly.
You impacted so many people, and your legacy will live on.
Joe’s funeral details:
Date: 22nd September 2023
Time: 11 am
Where: Old St Paul's, 34 Mulgrave Street, Pipitea, Wellington
Refreshments (from approximately 1 pm - 5 pm): The Thistle Inn, 3 Mulgrave Street, Thorndon, Wellington
Backyard Ultra New Zealand
Shaun Collins and co have created a Backyard Ultra New Zealand Facebook group and website. The purpose is to bring all of the information and coverage of New Zealand Backyards to one spot.
This should make it easier to follow the events, find like-minded crazies, and discuss your different hallucination stories post-event.
They are keeping a live table of who is currently qualified for the NZ backyard ultra team. If you missed out on the NZ hedge trimming team, this could be your chance to fulfill your dream of representing NZ.
The next place to try and qualify? River Run Backyard Ultra
River Run Backyard Ultra
You know Backyard Ultra Marathons have hit the mainstream when they’re popping up in Waipukurau. For those of you who just said, “Waipukeawhere?”
It’s a small farming town in Central Hawkes Bay (For the Aucklanders, it’s one of the places where the nice wine🍷 comes from).
I’m the first to admit I’m ignorant about Waipukurau, so I contacted the Waipukurau Tourist Board. There must be more to it than being the 4th biggest place to take a sh💩t at on the way to Napier from Wellington.
Here are some exciting things I found out:
🥧 There are 3 pie shops within 500m of the River Run Backyard Ultra
🗡️ Stabbings at the pub have gone down by 29.94% in the last 3 years
👖 If you want extra motivation to keep running, wear all blue
If that hasn’t got you texting your mates asking what they’re doing on October 28th, maybe this will.
The River Run Backyard is now officially part of the New Zealand circuit. That means you can qualify for the New Zealand team if you go large. If you’re in the central and lower North Island, previously, you would have had to travel to Auckland or down South. Did I mention that the entry is Koha only?
So, who’s the mastermind behind it all? Joshua Lloyd, AKA the Ginger David Goggins, and hard man Courtney Michaels. They put their hands up to organise the event after the Outfoxed backyard hosted by the local Harriers club looked set to be put on the scrap heap.
The event will be family-friendly, with people encouraged to run as little or as much as they want. Don’t be fooled, though. There are some devout disciples of Goggins in Hawkes Bay.
Here is what Josh has to say:
“The course is flat and beautiful, meandering alongside the Tukituki river on a mix of limestone and dirt single trails.”
“Running starts at 9am Saturday 28th October and will finish when the last person has had enough. The family event will be confined to the 24hrs between 9am Saturday 28th and 9am Sunday 29th.”
Visit the Facebook Group for more info and Register Here.
Things You May Have Missed
Worst Run Ever
The people have voted. Worst Run Ever is here to stay. I’ve had 2 new stories on the ‘Worst Run Ever’ hotline.
Keep sending them in! You bring the juice, and I can help you put the words together. We can even make it anonymous.
"A beautiful day dawned, a long run was planned, a friend signed up for a few hours of running and gossiping with a destination of sweet treats and healthy exhaustion, the goal of the day.”
“It didn't start well, I woke up with a urinary tract infection that still hadn't cleared, I told myself "it'll be fine, the antibiotics will kick in". Met my friend, told them it was not a great day for my body and that I might need to stop for a frequent pee, but wouldn't let this stop us.”
“Two hours into the run, I couldn't ignore the sensation any longer... I needed to pee. It was quite a popular track, being a lady dropping one's shorts requires a quick dash behind a bush and a quick drop…”
“Well, I did both of those things successfully.... what I didn't do and I wish I had done, scoped the ground to which I squatted.... there was a stick, that stick (quite a firm stick) became impaled where no stick should ever be impaled, no blood but a good scratch and pain that should never be experienced. UTI and a scratched urethra.... not going to lie...tears sprung to my eye. We were 6km from a road (up and over a hill)....It was a LONG RUN but for all the wrong reasons.”
Anonymous
Upcoming Events
Blue Lake Challenge
Saturday, September 23
Growing up in Rotorua, the Blue Lake Challenge meant something entirely different. It was more of a survival challenge. Get from the car to the lake without being mugged by a swarm of flying demons, AKA wasps🐝.
If you made it to the water, the next challenge was to try to get up to the top of the slide without someone trying to drown you or pull your togs down🍆 as you’re climbing the ladder (Nick, if you’re reading this, F🤬CK YOU. I still haven’t forgotten.)
These days, the Blue Lake Challenge has a more positive meaning. It is an event where anyone can come and challenge their limits in a safe, friendly space.
It’s the ultimate grassroots event. A bit of an idea thrown around between mates that eventually turns into an event because everyone is sick of hearing about it.
The focus is on fun and participation, challenging yourself - whatever that looks like to you.
So, what do you do at the Blue Lake Challenge?
You run around the Blue Lake, of course. It’s a 6km loop with roughly 100m of elevation gain.
There are only a few rules to follow:
Bring all the sh💩t you need to support your running goals for the weekend.
Run Clockwise around the lake
No poles. It’s a “flat” course
You can run a midnight marathon, a lap an hour - maybe you want to knock off your first 100-mile run? All of these things can be done at the Blue Lake Challenge.
The team does a fantastic job creating a fun, safe, and supportive environment that enables many people to stretch way out further than they ever thought they could. Their mission on the website probably states it best.
To provide a free, fun event where people can come and test themselves in a safe environment. To cater for all ages and promote the sport of trail running and ultra marathons.
For more info, check out the website here. If you’re sold on it, sign up here.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This week’s Mountain Skag is from Caitlyn Knox from the summit of Mt. Oxford. Winter bluebird - you ripper
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 the Blue Lake Challenge Results and more.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS: I’m currently on the great Iron Eagle heading for Carn-a-duh. I may not see much on social media while I’m away, so please send your #mountainskag pic submissions, worst run ever, and race results to trailrunningnz@gmail.com.