SK Awards Night
"Honestly, I have a bit of imposter syndrome when I see the other names engraved on the plaque"
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
You may notice a few changes in this week’s newsletter. This is because I’ve changed to substack. Don’t panic; the newsletter will still go to your inbox every Monday (or Tuesday on long weekends like today).
To make sure it avoids your promo tab/junk mail, do me a favor and reply to this email with ‘Got it’ 🙃
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
SK Awards night
The WarriorsNiam Macdonald Ripped Off By The OfficialsMy Worst Run Ever
Things You May Have Missed
Upcoming Events: Mt Difficulty Ascent
Mountain Skag Pics Of The Week
SK Awards Night
Runners from around the Wellington region crammed into the Southern Cross Bar for the annual SK Awards on Tuesday night.
The event is hosted by the local drinking running enthusiasts group, Wellington Big Sunday Run, and celebrates achievements in the Tararua range and other big missions.
Now I know what you’re thinking, not another group banging on about how tough their local hills are, “BuT CaN U Crush Da CArgIll LOL!” etc, but stay with me. I’m sure everyone can take something away from it.
What is an SK?
Think of it as the “Bob Graham Round” of the Tararua range. Finish under 24 hours for glory.
There are 3 main routes, the Main Range, The Tarn, and the Valleys.
All 3 routes start in S’Putara (silent S) and finish in Kaitokie.
The distance varies between 70-80K and 3-8K of vert depending on what flavor you’re doing and how generous your watch is.
You get to wear a sweet T-shirt if you complete the mission. (you gotta buy your own though!)
If you want to read more about the routes and the history of the SK, travel back in time to the good ol’ days of the world wide web and look through the Tararua FKT website.
So what are the awards all about?
The awards formally acknowledge the achievement of all who complete an SK in under 24 hours.
If you achieve Main Range glory, you receive a certificate.
If you knock off one of the other routes, if you’re lucky, you will get a name drop, someone might yell your name from the crowd, or Chris Martin might even call you a man or woman of the mountains.
This year was the first time there were no successful sub-24-hour attempts on the Main Range, which would typically make for a pretty short awards night. However, there were 3 inspiring presentations.
David Allen on a 2-day off-track loop in Nelson Lakes
Patupaiarehe Award
The Patupaiarehe Award is for extraordinary endeavors in the Tararua. Think of it as the overall award. It was carved by local legend Tim Sutton😎, no stranger to success in the Tararua.
Previous winners have been Maree Goldfinch, who completed a double Valleys route back to back. Michael Stuart won after clocking the Tararua with his infamous Triple SK (completing all three routes back to back)🤯.
This year, Kyle Malone won the award for his 1500s SK. This starts in S’Putara, summiting all 15, 1500M+ peaks in the range, and finishing in Kaitokie just over 34 hours later. Kyle is only the 4th (I think?) person to knock off this achievement.
Here is what Kyle had to say:
Pretty honoured to have been granted custodianship of this for the year.
Honestly, I have a bit of imposter syndrome when I see the other names engraved on the plaque - it took an unhealthy obsession, a lot of luck, some questionable decisions in regards to safety, and I still needed to train my ass off.
The other recipient this year was Derrick Field of the Greater Wellington Backcountry Network. He's spent the majority of his life tending to the huts and tracks that allow us to enjoy the hills so much and I'm extremely grateful. And even in his retirement, he would outwork most of us with an axe or chainsaw.
I look forward to this inspiring my next big adventures, and fueling the stoke for anyone else wanting to push the boundaries of what they can achieve in the hills.
Kyle Malone
What makes this night so unique is the community it brings together. The knowledge and experience that is shared. The stories that are told. Inspiration is at an all-time high.
It’s not the Tararua Range that makes the SK what it is; it’s the broader community built around it that makes it truly magical.
Now this isn’t just for locals. Plenty of keen runners from around the country have taken on the SK (and been successful). Some big names too, Ryan Carr and Grant Guise, for instance.
If you’re keen to learn more about what’s involved or need a hand with logistics, get in touch or visit Wellington Big Sunday Run on Facebook. There is always someone keen to help🙂.
If you’re part of a running group in another part of the country, think about what you could create in a similar vein. Yes, the Tararua is one-of-a-kind, but there are plenty of unique places in NZ that could have something similar built around them.
Big Sunday Run Canterbury has started the Craigieburn round; there is also the Harcombe round down south.
Drop a comment or reply and let me know what FKTs and big missions are happening in your area of the country.
Niam Macdonald Gets Ripped Off
Niam Mcdonald was leading the K15 race (part of the Innsbruck Trail Festival) before an Austrian (Note- not AustRALIAN🦘)athlete cut out all of the switchbacks and ignored the course markings on one of the large downhill sections. The dickhead athlete went on to win by 2 minutes.
Niam confronted them at the finish; here is what he had to say.
After complaining to the race officials, they decided they could be 1st equal.
It seems like a strange ruling - you either believe Niam that the guy cheated, so he should be DQ’d, or you say bad luck he won, you’re 2nd.
Imagine if they offered Lance Armstrong first equal for doping🤣.
Here is what Niam has to say about the incident
I was stunned😯 to see him clearly not following the trail or the directional tape & spray paint that was guiding the way of the course.
Instead, he shot straight down the hill, disappearing from my sight in a matter of seconds.
My psychology was totally shot, that sinking feeling you get when something is going very wrong. What do I do, now all of a sudden I'm in 2nd place.
I try to tell the marshals that I see during the rest of the race how he took a shortcut, not sure whether they understood english or not.
It was a bizarre feeling crossing the finish line in 2nd knowing what had occurred but oblivious to the many onlookers.
My Worst Run Ever
This week’s Worst Run Ever is a reminder not to be a plonker and watch where you’re going.
It’s Christmas🎄 morning, I’m down in Nelson staying with my brother and his family. The alarm goes off,I roll off the half deflated airbed with the grace of a moose.
I sneak down the hallway to put on my shoes, my niece and nephews are well drilled and are waiting until 7AM before bouncing out of their rooms for presents🎁.
Out the door and the sun☀️ has just started to crest the hill. What a ripper. I make short work of the pavement and hit the steep Barnicoat trail up towards the paragliding take off point.
My lungs are burning, so to are the legs🔥. It always feels great to get a solid run in before eating your body weight at lunch😋. I take a few smug selfies and send them to my sleeping wife. How awesome and productive am I? I’m sure Goggins would be proud.
I go back the way I came but manage to find a sweet mountain bike trail that links accross to the next hill. I take a breather at the top of the next trail, think about what an awesome morning I’m having and then head down the trail.
It’s a wicked downhill, plenty of switchbacks but a good gradient where you can push the pace nicely without having to lean on the breaks.
Everything was going so well until my right foot buckled beneath me. I trusted the wrong rock, and over I went. Searing pain ripped through the front of my ankle😧.
I lay there face down fearing the worst, hoping for the best. I gathered myself together. Ok - no break, it seems to still be working. I get back on my feet and instantly fall to my haunches. Ok so not the best then either.
I grab out my phone. Sh🤬t - still roughly 2KM of switchbacks to go and another couple of K’s on the road. I can’t remember how long it took me to shuffle my way down the trail and up the road.
By the time I gingerly walked through the door, and plonked my sorry butt down in the lounge, my foot had doubled in size.
Lesson learnt, when running on Christmas morning, dont take smug selfies and send them to your sleeping wife.
Karma will get you, and it wont be pretty. And that is number 3 on my Worst Runs Ever list.
Bradley Houghton
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
Things You May Have Missed
Ruth Croft finished 2nd at the Maxi Race last weekend; the UTMB build has begun.
Candice Burt has set the record (pending review) for most Ultramarathons run consecutively - 200
Jennifer Russo broke the female record for most yards at a backyard event - 74, aka 496.21KM
Upcoming Events
Mt Difficulty Ascent
Saturday, 10th of June
Terry Davis knows how to bring the pain to the people. I haven’t “run” Mt. Difficulty, but I know some people who have.
Their eyes glaze over whenever I ask them about it, and they change the subject to something unrelated. It’s like if you’ve ever asked a war vet what it was like.
Terry has a way with words; he’s like the Poet of Suffering. I’ve taken some of the snippets from his course descriptions with some pictures of the area to give you a clear idea of how challenging this course is.
“The 4 ‘cautionary’ sections must be approached with care that you don’t fall AND that you don’t loosen rocks on those below you. 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.”
If that isn’t enough to get your type 2 juices flowing - check out this coverage on 1news.
Looking good for a little bit of the white stuff on top for next weekend, too👍
#Mountain Skag Pics Of The Week
This week's #Mountain Skag pic is from Sam Hansby. He’s been in Austria for the last month, training hard for the Trail World Champs.
I couldn’t pick just one - I’m probably leaning toward the bottom right. That single track looks epic. Drop a comment, or send a reply to let me know which one you think is best.
Tag @trailrunning.nz and use #mountainskag on Instagram or email trailrunningnz@gmail.com 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 the results from World Trail & Mountain World Champs & more.
Tag us on Instagram @trailrunning.nz with all things trail running.
If you're picking up what I'm putting down, please subscribe 😀.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS - The World Mountain & Trail Champs are on this week. Go the Kiwis!
You can now also comment on the newsletter :)