🌋🏃‍♀️Ring of Fire & Worst Run Ever

"I cried a lot on that 18km😭, mostly from the sharp stabs of pain"

Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news

We're like the plastic container at the Chinese takeaway - crammed full, and about to burst.

Here's what we've got in the drop bag this week:

• Ruapehu Trail Festival Results

• My Worst Run Ever

• Upcoming Events: Northburn

• Mountain Skag pic of the week

Ruapehu Trail Festival Results

The Victory Events team has faced its own endurance challenge over recent years trying to keep this event alive. ❌2020 was canceled a week before due to the big C❌We all know how the next 2 years went. ✔️Ring of Fire was combined with the Tussock Traverse to create the Ruapehu Trail Festival.✔️Add in the Sky Waka Vertical challenge and you've got quite the lineup. ❌Ruapehu Alpine Lifts going into liquidation. No Sky Waka, No Vertical Challenge❌The historic Chateau Tongariro Hotel, the base of operations for the Ruapehu Trail Festival, closed its doors.

Someone on the event staff clearly owns a black cat who smashed a mirror under a ladder.

Meanwhile at Ruapehu Trail Festival HQ

Ring of Fire: 📏73KM | ⛰️ 3300M

The Ring of Fire got away at 4 AM without a hitch. The weather played ball; all be it cold, misty, and slippery. With the events team's luck, I was half expecting Mt Ruapehu to blow its top🌋 or a freak snowstorm 🌨️ to roll through.

Nervous runners discussing whether they got away a #2 or not before the 4am start Photo: RoF Facebook

Women's podium:

🥇Courtney Pratt - 11:45:15

🥈Sarah Bauer - 12:15:53

🥉Clare Cooke - 13:06:03

Courtney Pratt led out from the gun🔫. At the end of the first leg, she had a 15-minute lead over Clare Cooke & Sarah Bauer. Through the missing link and up to the Tukino access road, Pratt had ground⚙️ out another 5 minutes over Bauer. Cooke was now a further 16 minutes back. However, on a course like Ring of Fire, it's not over until it's over. With all the loose rocks, dodgy boardwalks, and mud - a DNF could happen at any stage. Pratt held strong finishing 30 minutes ahead of Bauer, who had kicked well clear of Cooke, who was a further 50 minutes back.

"All the way over there?!" - Photo: Dan Pringle

Here is Courtney Pratt's take on the race.

I had the best day out on the mountain. It felt like that first-timer joy where you run happy and free from expectation. After deep fatigue from the 104km at Tarawera, I was out there to finish and for an adventure that I have had on my bucket list for years, and it certainly delivered.

Very tough to pick a highlight, but I think it was the epic valleys and ridges of the missing link, so deceiving each time you got to the top. There was a brief relief of wind-blown runnable sand and the illusion that the next valley could be quicker and more runnable.

Then only moments later, you were back into rock-picking ankle breaking goat country! It was a relief to hit the Tukino aid station and then be able to open up and run the last section home. With 8km to go, I thought I might get the win, so I put the hammer down until I hit the line. Great to share this win with my family and reignite my love of the trails!

Courtney Pratt

Men's podium:

🥇Glen Chesterman - 9:31:26

🥈Sam Hansby - 9:43:33

🥉Sam Mowat - 10:04:18

Glen Chesterman finished 6th at this year's Goat🐐 Tongariro, and it showed. Running through the darkness on familiar terrain with ease, he stretched out an 18-minute lead over a chasing pack of Simon Mclean, Daniel Palfreyman, and Sam Hansby. Hansby and Chesterman are mates and no strangers to doing battle⚔️, so Chesterman knew he couldn't go into cruise control.

John Melluish on 'The Missing Link' 2nd in the 60+ age group

Hansby put the jandel down through the Missing Link and entered Tukino aid station just as Chesterman left. The gap upon leaving was now only 4 minutes⌛. Game on.Mclean & Palfreyman had slipped off the pace, and Peter knight and Sam Mowat had moved up into a battle for 3rd place. At Waihohonu Hut Chestermans lead had dropped to just under 1 minute. Did Hansby have any gas left, or had he spent it all reeling him in? Somewhere after the Hut, Chesterman did his best Gandalf🧙‍♂️ impression.

This shook Hansby to the core. Chesterman streaked away, putting 12 minutes on him over the final 15K. Mowat won the shootout for 3rd, pulling ahead of Knight by 6 minutes.

Sam Hansby (2), Glen Chesteran (1) Photo: Dan Pringle

Here is what Glen Chesterman had to say:

Really happy with how the day went overall! Was great to battle it out with Sam again. I knew he'd be hot on my heels. ROF is an NZ mountain running must-do. The course is spectacular and very technical! Awesome to get my first big win after knocking on the door a few times. Was great to have Sam pushing me the whole race!

Glen Chesterman

2/3rds Ring Stinger: 📏50KM | ⛰️1022M

Men's podium:

🥇David Haunschmidt - 5:21:50 - 🔥🔥🔥NEW CR

🥈Thomas Banks - 5:32:40

🥉Jon Bright - 7:02:19

This was a 2 horse🐎 race from the start. After an initial false start taking a wrong turn, Haunschmidt and Banks powered away from the field. Haunschmidt was first into Tukino and had a 10-minute lead over Banks. Sam Smith was 3rd in, but the gap had blown out to 40 minutes. Banks took 3 minutes off Haunschmidt at the Waihohonu checkpoint, but that was as close as he would get. The final margin - 11 minutes. Some fantastic racing, with both 1st and 2nd, comfortably breaking the old CR of 05:38:45.David Haunscmidt had this to say

Went into this one with no real expectations. I just wanted to experience the track. I thought it was a nice symmetry to finish the round-the-mountain track after doing ‘the goat’ in January.

Made two wrong turns near the start due to dodgy course markings, in total looks like I wasted 9-10 mins and ended up as 51.6km total. Took a few guys with me on the first wrong turn (really sorry!).

The middle segment is just stunning. So fun to move fast through that technical mountain terrain. Fantastic huge valleys to descend and ascend. My ankle is still not 100%, so I took the more gnarly descents pretty easily. Loved the streams to cool off in.

The last 20k involved ALOT of passing people! Made for some fun interactions. No one seemed to have any idea there were 32k and 50k runners coming through. So cool to finish at the Chateau with a great event vibe and friendly faces.

David Haunschmidt

Women's podium:

🥇Eden Craig - 6:33:34 - 🔥🔥🔥NEW CR & 3rd Overall

🥈Natasha Richards - 7:45:51

🥉Robyn O'Brien - 7:54:00

Eden Craig had a fantastic day out. She torched🔥 the field in the 50K. After the first leg from Ohakune to Tukino, she had built a 34-minute lead over Anna Dickinson, with Robyn O'Brien a further 7 minutes back. At this point, the only person who could potentially beat her was herself. Craig kept in control, avoided all potential race-ending rocks, and powered home to take the CR by 11 minutes. Natasha Richards had a scorching second half. She went from 4th to 2nd, making little work of the 6 & 13-minute deficit.

Photo: Dan Pringle

Tussock Traverse: 📏32KM | ⛰️927M

Women's podium:

🥇Gretchen Galloway - 3:27:59

🥈Vivianne Bongard - 3:40:00

🥉Vanessa Alderman - 3:51:44

Gretchen Galloway led from start to finish but didn't have everything her way. Through the first 8K up the Tukino access road, only seconds separated her and Vivianne Bongard. Galloway used the technical terrain and had a 5-minute lead leaving Waihohonu. She never let up, taking victory by 12 minutes over Bongard.

Vanessa Alderman ran a patient race. At the turn off the Tukino road, she was in 16th. Running through Waihohonu she had passed her way to 5th! Alderman took another 2 souls on her way to the Chateau, ultimately finishing 3rd.

Men's podium:

🥇Kendan Gibson - 2:54:03

🥈Alex Gilbert - 3:08:38

🥉Gwyn Ashcroft - 3:15:54

It was one-way traffic in the men's 32K Race. Over the first 8K, Kenden Gibson had already put 5 minutes over Alex Gilbert & Gwyn Ashcroft 🔥. He continued powering around the mountain and claimed a 12-minute victory. Gilbert pulled away from Ashcroft; he did most of the damage between the Tukino and Waihohonu.

Kevin Fink on the 32K Traverse - What's better, The tache or the glasses?

Tussock Traverse: 📏21KM | ⛰️927M

Women's podium:

🥇Sam Warriner - 2:16:44

🥈Amanda Loveridge - 2:17:54

🥉Imogen Evans - 2:22:01

Sam Warriner & Amanda Loveridge had a great drag race from State Highway 1. It looks like the gap was never more than a couple of minutes!

Men's podium:

🥇Paul Campbell - 1:43:00

🥈Brad Dixon - 1:50:26

🥉David Kettles - 1:51:19

Paul Campbell led from start to finish. Although, it wasn't all one-way traffic. He saw off an early challenge from Brad Dixon and David Kettles.

My Worst Run Ever

This week's edition is longer than my list of excuses at 5 AM when the alarm goes off for my morning run. You can read the whole story here.

Testing out my AI pastel skills this week

I realised that this might be a little bit more serious than just fatigue and pain in the legs🦵 – my right leg was killing me! I stopped to take some Panadol💊 and carry on. Very soon I was reduced to a walk, each step felt more painful than the last – downhills were a shuffle. People were passing by me in hoards – there were so many fantastic downhills and people were flying down them happily. I asked one person how far to the next checkpoint, the response was not good – at least 18km😓.

I cried a lot on that 18km😭, mostly from the sharp stabs of pain, but if I’m honest with myself – some of the tears must have been from disappointment and of course, from fatigue – it had been a huge week.

Eventually, I hobbled into checkpoint 2 where the fabulous crew members gave me a much-needed hug🤗, and supportive words and sat me down so that I could try and pull things together. In the state I was in, these two kind women made the world of difference and this was the turning point where my worst run, moved toward if not quite my best run, then at the very least, a much more meaningful and memorable run.

Jo Ryder

Upcoming Events

Northburn

Saturday 18th of March

"Where suffering is the prize and everyone's a winner!"

That's the first thing you see on the website. It tells you all you need to know about this event.If you're looking for a PB, a quick tune-up race, or a fun spin around the block - may I suggest park run? Northburn's reputation proceeds itself.

There are shorter distances, but the 50K,100k & 100Miles are the 3 main distances.Northburn has a common start/finish base camp🎪 with 3 different loops. Everyone runs the first loop, which is the 50K race. The 100K & Milers both run the 2nd loop (end of the 100K race); the milers get an extra 10K called the loop of despair before getting to drag themselves out for one last loop of doom. The stats for these 3 races are roughly below.

 📏50KM🥵 | ⛰️2600M

📏100KM🥵🥵| ⛰️⛰️6350M

📏161KM🥵🥵🥵 | ⛰️⛰️⛰️10,000M

Check out the elevation profile of each loop 🤢

Loop 1

Loop 2

Loop 3 (Couldn't find it on the website, I'm sure this is pretty accurate though)

If you haven't been put off yet, here is the official course description: Dry, hard, rocky course mostly running on high country 4WD tracks, including some short sections of fence lines and sheep tracks. The weather is changeable, and you're completely exposed. If it's hot, it's F🤬🤬king hot. If it's cold, it's F🤬🤬king cold.Cheeky Weka Productions put out this video in 2021, giving you a great idea of what to expect.

Terry Davis (race director) was kind enough to stop planting spaniards on the course for 2 minutes to give us his take on what makes Northburn such a hard race.

What makes NB so hard? Believe it or not. It's all the down hill!!

If you are doing the 100miles - that's 10,000m of downhill! By the end of it you are absolutely HATING the downhill.

But on the positive side you also get 10,000m worth of climbing as respite from the incessant downhills.

But the real reason you should come to NB is for the camping at the start/finish and the fun races for all the supporters. 5 and 10k night runs, 2k kids adventure course.

Get on it. Cheers people!

Terry Davis

I asked around a few people I know who have run the infamous race. Here are inspirational quotes for those entered in the race

"The thing I learned - Waterlooged feet look like a brain🧠 ... and hurt like hell"

"Don't accept a friend's offer of a hot shower🚿, drink, and food after 100km. It's all in the mind."

"TW is possibly one of the most exposed places in New Zealand, you may not have seen anyone for eight hours. You get there in the middle of the night and there's a couple of people shivering, drinking soup🥣, and ready to pull the pin"

"The story that Barret had of the guy with frostbite🥶 on his face was bad."

Former Northburners - RIP☠️

I ran a few questions past the 4-times Northburn winner, Jean Beaumont. Part of the deal was I had to point out that she is "old and slow." Unfortunately, I don't think anyone's buying that, Jean ...

What is bringing you back to NB for the 6th time?I’m coming back this year so I can be there when Glenn completes his 10th NB. What a legend!What year was your favourite and why?NB 2012 was my first miler and it was severe gale-force wind, rain, and snow. Just how I like it ….What is your advice for anyone “running” Northburn 100 miler for the first time?If you feel like shit or have negative thoughts. Breathe, and look outside yourself to the beautiful scenery.

Keep an eye on Highland Events Instagram & Facebook on race weekend to follow the action.

Mountain Skag pic of the week

Sean Martin, Loving life climbing up Mt. Taranaki

This week's Mountain Skag pic is from Sean Martin on his recent trip up Mt.Taranaki. You can see the skag has well and truly taken hold of his body.

Tag @trailrunning.nz and use #mountainskag on Instagram or email [email protected] to enter.Every entry goes into the monthly draw to win a Mountain Skag T-Shirt or hat.

We will be back next week with Northburn results and more. Tag us on Instagram @trailrunning.nz with all things trail running.If you're picking up what I'm putting down, please subscribe 😀.

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