🏃🏃♀️Russian Hacker Robs Haunschmidt of WAI2K 25K title
“...my foot landed wrong, and my foot just collapsed"
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
We’re here for you like Trumps hair. We stick with you through thick & thin.
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️WAI2K Results
🏃🏃♀️Rage Against Riverhead Results
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🤢Worst Run Ever
🏕️Mission Corner: Safety edition
🏁Upcoming events: Kepler 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.
WAI2K RESULTS
Saturday, November 25
Galeforce winds and heavy rain⛈️ threatened to halt the WAI2K 50K race. However, the weather turned into fairly standard glorious Wellington weather, and everything went better than expected🥳.
Cate Shave, the legendary WAI2K Chief Volunteer, was up at 3.30 AM, living her best life setting up the start line in the rain. Here is what she had to say about the day:
“The initially moist conditions did nothing to dampen the runners’ enthusiasm, and a fantastic day on the trails was had by all!”
“Conditions got steadily better throughout, although underfoot was still plenty muddy and meant people had to keep their wits about them.”
“And our volunteer crew did their usual fantastic job of bringing the fun and energy so each and every athlete felt well cared for, crossing the finish line with big smiles, having smashed their personal goals.”
The WAI2K ULTRA
📏50KM | ⛰️2000M
🏃 Men's Podium
🥇Brian Garmonsway - 6:08:51
🥈Charles Navarro - 6:20:33
🥉Ben Close - 6:35:49
On a cold and wet morning, Brian Garmonsway brought the heat🔥, gapping the field along the Featherston flats and was first onto the slippery Frith track with a 6-minute lead over Charles Navarro and Ben “Really” Close over the first 8km.
At Rivendell, Navarro had cut the lead to 3 minutes and in 3rd, it was now Ben “Kind Of” Close who was a further 4 minutes back.
That was as close as it would get. Now, back on the runnable trails, it was all Garmonsway as he powered home along the trails of Upper Hutt HARDCORE to take a 12-minute win over Navarro💪.
Ben “Not As” Close did enough to hold on to a comfortable 3rd.
Brain Garmonsway had this to say:
“My race went pretty well, the weather turned out better than expected, which was a bit of concern.”
" Always enjoy the challenge of this race, terrain and elevation make it pretty difficult.”
”I got some intel that I was only 2 mins ahead at one stage, which had me looking over my shoulder a bit but managed to pull it off. Love the vibe of this event.”
Brain Garmonsway
🏃♀️ Women's Podium
🥇Chrissi Faber - 6:47:26
🥈Gwenan Riley - 7:11:54
🥉Caitlin Knox - 8:33:12
Chrissi Faber dragged it off the line down the Featherston flats. She had a 1 minute 30 lead over Gwenan Riley heading through Bucks Campsite (8km) and was hot on the heels of the 2nd and 3rd men heading up onto the Frith track with Caitlin Knox a few minutes back.
Sliding down off the Puffer saddle and into Kaitokie, Faber had extended her lead to 10 minutes over Riley. By this stage, it was a 2-horse race🐴 with Knox 45 minutes back.
Riley held firm on the Rivendell trails, but Faber turned the screws over the Kaitokie Ridge, running into the Te Marua aid station with an 18-minute gap back to Riley.
Faber powered home to take the victory 24 minutes ahead of Riley, with Knox taking home the bronze🥉.
Here is what Caitlyn Knox had to say about the WAI2K Ultra:
“WAI2K was my first time running in the Wairarapa area, and it was an awesome experience- I’d definitely call this the mysterious older sibling to the WUU2K- 15km less in distance, but it made up for it with spicy-ness🌶️!”
" Started off with a soggy start, straight into a quick warm-up along the rail trail. Then into some character-building climbs, an awesome ridge line and a few pretty technical descents, but it was an absolute blast.”
“Such an awesome crew who organised this event which really made for a special day out!”
" My favourite part of the course would have to be going through the Black Beech forest, running over massive roots and under towering branches was pretty fun!”
Caitlyn Knox
The Quad Extender
📏25KM | ⛰️1200M
🏃♀️ Women's Podium
🥇Linda Duncan - 2:23:38
🥈Allira Hanczakowski - 2:24:51
🥉Christie Hagen - 2:47:48
Linda Duncan went toe toe-to-toe with Allira Hanczakowski in a fast-paced quad extension. Duncan powered past Hanczakowski on the climb up Mt. Climie and held on tight to finish just over a minute ahead of Hanczakowski.
Christie Hagen was 5th to the summit of Mt Climie behind Bridie Macky and Tania Don. She put her skates on and bombed the descent. Turning a 16-second deficit into a 33-second lead at the finish.
Here is what Allira Hanczakowski had to say about her race:
“It was a day of muddy puddles, hi-fives and enthusiastic volunteers and supporters - some of the best things about trail running🥳.”
“It was a much shorter and less technical race than I'm used to, so my plan was to go hard from the start, power up Climbie, and then fly down.”
“Linda caught me going up Climbie and was looking so strong - I couldn't quite catch her on the downhill, but it was fun to fly down while trying to stay upright.”
“Thanks to Gareth and the crew for putting on such a great event despite the less-than-ideal conditions!”
🏃Men’s Podium
🥇Daniel Clendon - 1:56:43
🥈David Haunschmidt - 1:56:43
🥉Struan Webb - 2:04:55
The official timing results have this as a tie, but the word on the street is “The Flying Doctor” was prescribed a one-off dose of defeat💊.
Daniel Clendon would like to thank the following parties:
🐱💻The Russian hacker who deleted the updated course notes email on the Dr’s email before he could read it.
🍻The Scottish translator, who was too hungover to make it to the race briefing.
🐱👤The aid station volunteers who quickly disassembled the 12km aid station and hid on the side of the trail as Haunschmidt went past.
Jokes aside, Haunschmidt had this all but won, but came unstuck at the top of Mt. Climie.
He was a last-minute rego and unfortunately missed the memo that the turnaround point had changed from the back of the Mt Climie track to the summit.
This resulted in two bonus Ks and a sprint finish between Clendon and Haunschmidt.
I’m sure Clendon would have preferred beating Haunschmidt in a more traditional way, but you can only run your race at the end of the day.
Check out the full results here, including the 12km Scenic Flight.
This week’s newsletter is brought to you by…
THE MOMENTUM CALENDAR 2024
BIG GOALS need a BIG CALENDAR.
With the Momentum Calendar, you can:
✅See your whole race Calendar for 2024 at a glance.
✅Quickly see how many more days you can procrastinate before you start training.
✅Feel your BIG GOALS stare down at you while you sleep
✅Avoid your family ever double-booking you again
$65 | $50 Paid Subscribers (email me for the code)
Size: A0 (84.1 x 118.9 cm or roughly 2 fully stretched-out cats.)
Material: Duraprint. It will survive in your bathroom, so you can stare at your BIG GOALS while sitting on the can.
RAGE AGAINST RIVERHEAD RESULTS
Saturday, November 25
Whoopsies, I missed this one in the preview section last week. I got my punk bands confused and thought Rise Against🎸 were playing in Auckland.
Shaun Collins and the Lactic Turkey🦃 crew put on an 8, 12 and 24-hour solo and relay event over the weekend in the Riverhead forest.
The relay used to run with the Riverhead Relaps Backyard Ultra, so it’s great to see this event back on the calendar.
Instead of the 6.7km backyard loop, the Rage Against course is a shorter 4.7km loop with 70m of elevation gain.
It seems most runners opted for the 8- or 24-hour 4-person relay option.
Let’s take a look at the results below:
📏Teams Relay
🏃🏃♀️24-Hour Podium
🥇Boat Crew 2 - 53 Loops | 244 KM
🥈Not fast, just furious - 52 Loops | 240 KM
🥉Chafing the dream - 52 Loops | 240 KM
🏃🏃♀️8-Hour Podium
🥇Sesame Street #1 -19 Loops | 87.4 KM
🥈Fluffy - 19 Loops | 87.4 KM
🥉Sesame Street #3 - 18 Loops | 82.8 KM
There was some awesome running by the teams, but I think I’m more impressed with the team names. Chafing the dream? That’s GENIUS.
Check out the full results here, including the 12-hour and solo results.
Things You May Have Missed
🥈Naomi Brand also finished 2nd at Ultra Trail Capetown 100 miler in 29:47:09
🍾Best Fun Run award goes to Timbernut and their crew.
”It was a 50k ultra we do every year around Christmas and the goal is simply fun fun fun. Vibes were extraordinary, good bunch of people with too much booze loaded (1 drink per summit, 10 in total). We had one with us with a recent heart surgery who used to run with us and now joined on an e-bike- great way to include him and keep the group together 😊”
🎥Fiona Hayvice is fundraising for the 24HR World Champs next month. There’s a movie screening in Wellington, or you can donate to her givealittle.
Worst Run Ever
This weeks Worst Run Ever is what it says on the Tin. A Worst Run Ever. Thanks for the story Jan.
I've always loved trail running. It was my escape, my way to clear my head and get away from it all. But that all changed in one misplaced step😫.
I was heading up to Field Hut on a fresh October morning. I’d done this “run” heaps. I was feeling good😎, feeling strong💪 and enjoying just being out in the fresh air.
I was starting to get a real good sweat on heading up the climb🥵. About half the way up though, disaster struck. On a rare small downhill section my foot landed wrong, and my foot just collapsed. 🤬🤬🤬🤬I knew immediately I wasn’t going to be able to run this off.
Panic surged through my body. Out with the first aid kit and see what we can do. I strap up my ankle as best as I can and try to stand.
HOLY MOLY😭
Pain shot through my foot and ankle as I tried to take a step. I didn't know what to do. I had left my phone in the car, and I’m not even sure there was coverage there.
I stood up and tried again. This time the pain wasn’t as sharp, more of a hot throb. I gritted my teeth and started to hobble back down the trail.
I had been zombie shuffling🧟♀️ for an hour. I might have covered 1km. Who knows. The pain was getting worse and I was starting to get a bit cold. That’s when I heard some whistling coming up the trail.
THANK YOU GOD.
A lovely hiker named Patty from Norway was on his way up to Field Hut. He put his jacket over me. Strapped my ankle properly and gave me his poles. We slowly walked out together and he drove me straight to Paraparaumu hospital.
After a short wait I got an X-ray, fortunately I was cleared of any brake.
I was lucky. Lots of rest, physio trips and countless strength exercises and I made a full recovery. But I'll never forget that day. I haven’t ventured off into the hills by my self again. It could have ended so differently.
That was my Worst Run Ever
Jan Burrows
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.
Mission Corner
The ‘Worst Run Ever’ segment is a great laugh, but now and then, a serious one pops over the desk. It’s a great reminder that it only takes one misplaced step to change a ‘Greatest Run Ever’ to a ‘Worst Run Ever’
We should chat about safety since we are heading into summer, and the mission season is open.
I’m no expert on the topic. I would describe my experience and skills as intermediate.
That’s code for “I’ve got lost a couple of times and have had a couple of close-ish shaves while out in the hills.”
So, I’ve scoured through the Mountain Safety website and distilled what I think the key takeaways are for you below.
Prepare for your mission.
If you’re not well prepared for your mission, you’ll be making decisions based on incomplete info.
Start small - Leave your ego at the car park, especially if you’re new to the area. Start small, get familiar with the terrain and build your way up.
Gather intel - Talk to others who have done the same mission or are familiar with the terrain you’re exploring. Knowing your expected speed of travel is critical to planning your mission.
Have a partner in crime - Find your Trail BFF. Solo missions have their place, but sharing the trail with a buddy dramatically reduces your risk.
Check the weather - Learn how the local weather systems work. Check the forecasts through the week and then see what the ACTUAL weather is, even if you don’t head in, so you get a feel for how changeable the area is.
Plan B & C - Ensure you know your bail-out and bad weather options. You don’t want to be staring at a map in bad weather, trying to figure out if that little dotted line is a current track or a figment of LINZ's imagination.
On your run
One eye on the trail, one eye on the sky - Keep an eye on the weather. Has the temperature just dropped? Has your panoramic view just closed in? Are there clouds building on the ridge in the distance
Pace yourself - Don’t blow your load in the first 5 minutes. Remember how long you’re going to be out for. Even the best view looks sh🤬t when you’re bonking and still have 3 hours to get back to the car.
Watch your step - Most injuries in the hills are soft tissue. Remember, setting an FKT is hard if you snap your ankle.
One for all, all for one - If you are in a group, stick together. Put your least experienced person at the front so they can gain experience picking the trail and navigating, and have your old digger at the back sweeping the trail and telling stories about the good old days. ALWAYS WAIT AT HUTS AND JUNCTIONS IN THE TRAIL
One eye on the watch - Time can disappear in the hills; keep an eye on the time and the daylight and communicate with those you’ve told of your plans.
River crossings - if you’ve never crossed a river before, learn in a group setting. Solo River Crossing 101 is a high-stakes class you don’t want to fail.
Act before you NEED to - If you’re hot, take something off. If you’re feeling a little chilly, put something on. Don’t wait until the next stop. It could be too late.
Trail Running Essentials:
Waterproof Jacket: Seam-sealed, not “it seems to be sealed.”
Warm Clothing: Top and bottom thermals, a good mid-layer and over pants.
Headtorch: Spare batteries & second smaller unit so you can replace the batteries in your main unit in the dark.
Cellphone AND Emergency Communications device: Garmin Inreach or equivalent.
Personal Locator Beacon: You can rent these for $10.
Hat and Gloves: Keeping your head warm goes a long way to keeping your body warm. Losing the feeling in your fingers makes everything that much harder.
Water and Food: Have more than you need, and keep an emergency stash in a dry bag separate from your primary food, just in case.
Map and compass or GPS: Take both if you can. Make sure you know how to use them. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials around. Technology is good, but you can’t rely on it.
First Aid Kit: The majority of injuries are soft tissue related. Ensure you have stuff to deal with cuts, scratches, sprains and chaffing. Poles also work well for a brace if required.
Sun Protection: Protect your eyes and face. If it’s not windy AF, a wide-brim hat does wonders. Lightweight long sleeves are also great. Overheating generally leads to poor food intake, which ends up in Bonktown.
Emergency bivi bag: Like a PLB, you hope you never need to use one, but they’re worth their weight in gold if you do.
For more info, check out the Mountain Safety website.
We are blessed with some of the best terrain in the world.
Get out their and enjoy it. Be prepared, respect what you’re doing and get your #mountainskag entries not your ‘Worst Run Ever’.
Upcoming Events
The Kepler Challenge
Saturday, December 2
December is on the way. That means 2 things. Those creepy Elf on a shelf dolls start appearing all around the house, and NZ's luckiest trail runners (sold out in under 4 minutes this year) make their way to Te Anau for the premier mountain race of the NZ race calendar.
Some quick hitters on the Kepler Challenge:
To celebrate the completion of the track in 1988, three Fiordland College teachers decided to organise a one-off event. On 10 December 1988, 149 carefully selected competitors completed the first Kepler Challenge.
Zelah Morrall holds the female course record in 5:23:34 (2003).
The closest person to breaking this record is 7-time winner Ruby Muir, in 5:24:54Daniel Jones has won 5 consecutive titles but is not the course record holder. Martin Dent set the record of 4:33:37 in 2013
It has a great prize pool for an NZ race.
🥇1st man & qoman receive $1,800, a free entry with travel and accommodation assistance.
🥈2nd picks up $1300 also with a free entry.
🥉Bronze will head to the pub with $800 and a free entry.
Kepler weekend is always exciting, but there is a real buzz about it this year.
Katie Morgan and Danny Jones are returning to defend their titles. Both are in red-hot form and will be hard to beat.
Failing injury, It’s hard to see anyone tipping over Danny Jones. The guy knows how to win this race. It’s like the Allblacks at Eden Park.
However, word on the street is last year’s Luxmore Grunt winner, Daniel Balchin is stepping up to the Kepler Challenge and is in dangerous form. Watch this space.
Katie Morgan is downplaying her chances of a successful title defence. She’s picking Robyn Lesh for the win, but I think Katie has what it takes to go back-to-back.
I chatted with Katie earlier this week, and she was kind enough to answer some of my questions.
Do you feel pressure heading back to Kepler as the defending champion?
“I honestly don't feel any pressure heading back as defending champion, it doesn't matter to me what others think of my result.”
“I just want to be happy with my own race and try better my time from last year.”
“There is going to be some hot competition this year and I am not expecting at all to win (which possibly is also a reason I don't feel the pressure 😅). I'm just super excited to race Kepler again.”
What’s something you think people overvalue when racing Kepler?
“Not really sure what other people overvalue but I personally think that it is important to mix the Kepler training up to include hills but also more marathon type training so that your legs are used to sustaining a fairly good pace for the 30km flats on tired legs.”
You finished 3rd (6.06) in 2021 and took the win in 5.59 last year- did you change anything in your build-up or race strategy?
“Well last year I probably (definitely) raced too many races in the lead up to Kepler and way overdid it racing Queenstown Marathon 2 weeks before”
“So to be honest I'm not really sure how I beat my time from the year before and probably shouldn't be giving any advice on race strategy!”
“I have changed my build up this year though - it has been too short but I am hoping a lot more effective!”
Please give us an insight into what gear you’ll be racing in at Kepler
“I guess the one and only perk of not having any sponsors is that I can wear what I like and genuinely favour.”
“I will be using my Solomon adv skin 12 pack as always, montane kit, and still undecided about the shoes - Salomon Ultra glide 2s perhaps, some La Sportiva shoes which I am also loving at the moment or some Asics Fuji lites (because that's what Dan Jones has worn before so therefore makes you fast 😉).”
I can’t believe that Katie isn’t sponsored!
We've got to sort this out. She’s been on an absolute tear for the last 2 years. Kepler, OGU, 2 x NZ Short course champ at 3 Peaks Dunedin and a great result at the World Champs.
I’m sure someone can throw some shoes her way! Show her some love and follow her on Instagram, maybe throw in a cheeky tag of a few potential sponsors too.
For more details on the Kepler Challenge, check out the website and follow on Instagram and Facebook.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
This week’s #mountainskag pic is from Bogdan State from last weekend’s Jumbo Holdsworth circuit with Fabiano Petroni (Race Day, January 27th).
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 recap all the Kepler results and whatever else gets blown my way.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
P.S: