🏃🏃♀️South Island Ultra Results
"So I knew they were on course record pace..."
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
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Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
🏃🏃♀️THE WILD WEST COAST ULTRA South Island Ultra Results
🌎International Results Desk
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🎁April Paid Subscriber Giveaway
🏁Upcoming events: Ultra Trail Straya
⛰️💊Mountain Skag of The Week & April Winner
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South Island Ultra Results
The South Island Ultra had a perfect bluebird day for the second year in a row. It was a 5 AM start in Greymouth for the 100km hardcore. Coal in the air, frost on the ground. Just what you would expect when you’re on the mighty West Coast.
This year it stayed out of the headlines, there was no $10K sub 8 hour prize on offer. Suprisingly, there were 51 more entrants overall this year without the $10K carrot (236, up from 185 accross all distances).
Lets take a look who went home with all the lollies.
📏100KM | Greymouth to Hokitika
Men’s podium:
🥇Louis Schindler - 8:22:02
🥈Matthew Gummer - 8:51:13
🥉Nathan Vile - 9:08:43
After this victory, Louis “The Mountain Grinder” Schindler will need a rebrand. Maybe “The Cycleway Slayer”?
Either way, it was an impressive victory for Schindler, who’s had an active summer racing Tarawra, Dunedin 3 Peaks, Old Ghost, Routeburn, and the South Island Ultra.
Matthew Gummer, no stranger to the podium (recently blitzing the Northburn 100KM in 🥇12h59m), had another strong performance, finishing well clear of Nathan Vile in third.
Schindler is heading to Europe in July to race in Austria before making his way to the pearly gates of Chamonix for round 2 of The Mountain Grinder vs UTMB.
Here is what he had to say about his time at The South Island Ultra:
“Entering this race was a last-minute decision. Ever since catching a toe and eating shit at OGU I had a really bad hamstring which has given me grief and hence was unable to do any specific training.”
“Even a 10k dawdle seems to set it off. The past few weeks were all about rehab while still maintaining some fitness with specific key workouts.”
“Even last week I was still in limp mode and hence I adjusted the goal post for South Island ultra. Running 5m/km is not really an aerobic challenge hence I was able to mitigate the potential hamstring and adductor disaster by focusing on a good cadence and form.”
“It took the hamstring much longer than expected to warmup and start firing due to the frosty morning temps. I started off really easy and settled into a nice rhythm and trotted into the red morning sky illuminated by the aurora…”
“Over the past 18 months, I worked on becoming a less (slow AF) runner, and finally, I am able to cover runnable terrain at a more efficient pace.”
“The SIU course is actually quite nice and diverse and really easy to pace if you know your numbers.”
“Ps. Torq feul rocks…. Shout out to my sponsors fuelme 430cal/h”
Louis “The Cycleway Slayer” Schindler
Women’s podium:
🥇Billie Haresnape - 9:19:05
🥈Maggi Johnson - 9:24:04
🥉Ketina Chivasa - 10:27:03
It might be called the South Island Ultra, but the title has made it’s way back to Auckland.
Billie Haresnape (NZ Ironman World Champs Rep) edged out Maggi Johnson (Aerobic Edge shout-out)who was running in her first 100km race.
Ketina Chivasa came in 3rd, adding to her 1st at the Aotearoa Ultra Marathon in January, to continue her impressive year so far.
📏54KM | Old Christchurch Road to Hokitika
Women’s podium:
🥇Ange Wreford - 4:24:15 🔥NEW CR🔥
🥈Maddie Dillon - 4:28:52
🥉Emily Chirnside - 4:46:00
There was some great back-and-forth in the women’s race, with Ange Wreford and Maddie Dillion going under the old course record and finishing 2nd and 3rd overall.
Ange Wreford was generous enough to send in this great race recap:
“The race plan was to run to my long run effort, once the gun went off by 500m Emily had taken the lead with Maddie Dillon hot on her heels.”
“I ran the first km just over 5min/km pace, so I knew they were on course record pace (4:59min/km).”
“Cowboys Paradise came quicker than I thought and just as I was entering I saw Maddie leaving, perhaps 400m ahead. Going down 'the snake' and then alongside the river I briefly saw both Maddie and Emily crossing the bridge.”
“After Cowboys Paradise, you run alongside the river before heading up a massive climb up Milltown Road. It wasn't until the bottom of the climb I could see the gap to Maddie and Emily closing with Maddie catching Emily and overtaking.”
“Just before Sunny Bight "The Landing" Lake Kaniere, I passed Emily and was perhaps 100m behind Maddie. A 4 second exchange of fluids and gels with my husband I exited the aid station, much to my surprise, in first place.”
“A few minutes later some footsteps and huffing and puffing announced Maddies arrival. I stuck to the left of the trail incase she wanted to pass but she stuck behind, shadowing every step. A further 3km running together, we introduced ourselves and Maddie mentioned it was her first ultra.”
“I said 'you're doing well' to which she thanked me and shot past regaining perhaps a 2 minute lead for 5km or so. Shortly before Hurunui Jacks, I passed Maddie again.”
“Again quick exchange of fluids/food with my husband and I was on the 4km road section heading to the next aid station. After 2km Maddie came flying up behind me to once again, stuck like glue.”
“We crossed the road and ducked back into the Western Wilderness bush track. There's a wee over bridge followed by some downhill switch backs that are brutal on tired legs. At that point Maddie dropped behind and I pushed the pace just a bit reaching Hau Hau Road with a 90 second lead.”
“By the time I got to Kaniere Road with 6km to go, that lead had extended to 3 minutes.My quads had started burning about 42km in and by the time I passed the last aid station they were on fire. Mentally the last 4km felt like it took forever, the underpass under bridge was further ahead than I had thought.”
“Mentally it was just one step after the other and keeping moving. Once I reached the underpass it was 1.5km to go. I checked my watch multiple times to see how much further head I was, counting down the kms. I felt like I was shuffling but looking at my splits, my pace was consistent.”
“I finished in 4 hr 24 min 15 seconds taking 8:43 minutes off the course record and running 34:56 minutes faster than I had 3 years ago. This is my third ultra and 2nd win.”
“CJM events are always well run and flow seamlessly. John has a unique and refreshing way of providing a great, seamless race experience with some good kiwi humour.”
Ange Wreford
Men’s podium:
🥇Randy Van Der Gracht - 4:21:17
🥈Alex Hilditch - 4:46:00
🥉Cameron Day - 4:48:59
Randy Van Der Gracht took a comfortable 25-minute victory over Alex Hilditch, who did enough in the closing stages to hold off Cameron Day, who finished with the bronze.
However, using the Andy Dubois Formula (🏃M x 10% − 🏃♀️F = 🥇Overall Time) Van Der Gracht technically finished 4th overall behind Ange Wreford, Maddie Dillon and Emily Chirnside.
Click Here for the full results, including the 24KM race.
Check out the South Island Ultra Facebook & Instagram over the coming days for more event coverage.
This Week’s Newsletter Is Brought To You By…
“That Green Is Gangsta”
That was my first impression of the Foster Trail Shorts.
I’ve been squeezing the last bit of juice out of my T8 shorts, but the time has come for them to retire. There’s a new big dog in the house.
What I love about their Foster 01 Trail Shorts:
📏Streeeetchy: They stretch in all the right places. My trail-plodding stride has never felt so free.
😄Pockets: That actually f🤬cking work. The phone pocket is mint. Zero bounce. 2 x zipped, and 2 x elasticated pockets also means I can fit all the snacks I need for my 10km weekend warrior suffer-fest.
😎Light and breezy: They’re super light but built like a tank. Just like the Trail Tee, they’re built to last.
I rate these higher than my T8s.
If you’re in the market for new running shorts,
CLICK HERE to check out the Foster 01 Trail Shorts.
International Results Desk
Ruth Croft broke the course record in a stacked field at the Transvulcania Ultramarathon (72KM). She built an early lead over the current record holder, Ida Nilsson, before being caught at the course high point, 50km into the race.
However, Croft clearly was just admiring the view as she got on her bike and smashed it down the final 18km descent, putting 14 minutes on Nilsson and breaking the record by 1m27s🔥.
Isla Smith won the 100km Cami de Cavalls on the island of Menorca, Spain. I don’t have any more than that, my 3rd form Spanish is a bit rusty😅.
Glen “The Flying Mo” Chesterman took 2nd in a tight battle at the 32KM Survival of The Fittest in Squamish, Canada.
He’s only been in Canada since May 3rd, and he’s already taking souls. All the best on your Carnardian journey, Glen. Careful when you’re out in the woods— Bears prefer a man with a moustache.
It must have been a tough race. The little guy in 2nd had to be carried to the podium. Last weekend, Michael Sutton won the Ascent of the Col de Vence in France (11.8km, 620m⛰️). Winning a mountain race in France? Niiiice.
This weekend? I just got a message from Michael to say he has taken out Borosa, Croatia (11.8km, 900⛰️) by 26 seconds to take the Croatian Mountain Running title.
Michael is running an entire season of the Mountain Running World Cup, which kicks off in Austria in July with Grossglockner, a casual 13.3km, 1300m⛰️ race.
All the best for your buildup, Michael. Be careful that you don’t OD on #mountainskag.
Things You May Have Missed
The Kapiti Coast District Council has voted to reopen the slip-affected Otaki Forks Access road. It’s been out of action since 2020. Watch this space.
Are you free between July 12-14? Looking to load up on trail running karma? The Wuu2k are looking for volunteers.
Are you Cinderella? Coffee Outdoors in Wellington have the last sizes of the Nnormal Tomir’s on clearance. If you've got Nnormal sized feet, ignore this😅
Look at the reception for Robby Chaney and Jusup Sandoval, the final two finishers at the Cocodona 250 (that’s miles; not small boy kms) in 124h17m. Also, where do I get a pair of purple running pants? Where you at Further Faster.
April Paid Subscriber Giveaway
This month 2x Lucky Paid Subscribers will win a Huntaway Run Co Ranger 01 Trail Tee (Unisex)
How can you get your sweaty torso into one of these?
Sign up as a Paid Subscriber (if you’re not one already.)
It’s $5 a month. That’s 1/3 the price of a pint these days.
Email trailrunningnz@gmail.com a picture of your pathetic stretched, holey moley, stinks-like-sh💩t, stained, ratty AF running top you know you should have thrown out 3 years ago.
Get your name drawn out on June 1st.
A big THANK YOU to all the Paid Supporters who help keep this thing rolling.
Upcoming Events:
🦘ULTRA TRAIL STRAYA🦘
Saturday, May 17th
Stone the crows, Ultra Trail Straya🦘 2023 was an absolute rip snorter.
It’s great to see it bounce back from a couple of rough years.
If you’ve never heard of it, think of it as the Tarawera of Straya🦘, but bigger again. I think it’s the biggest Ultra Trail event outside of the UTMB festival.
Last year, the Kiwis dominated the field with multiple top-10 finishes on both sides of the draw.
📏100km:
🏃1st - George Murray
🏃♀️4th - Brooke Thomas
🏃5th - Benje Patterson
🏃9th - Sam Harvey
🏃10th - John Schreuder
📏50km:
🏃♀️7th - Juliette Soule
George Murray announced himself to the trail running world, seemingly coming from no way to dominate the 100km race, start to finish.
Brooke Thomas was also in the hunt for victory, leading Lucy Bartholomew through the middle of the race before falling back into an impressive 4th.
2024 looks no different, with plenty of Kiwis heading over the ditch to the ‘Blueys’ (The Blue Mountains) to show the Strayans how to run.
I’m sure I’ve missed a few, but here is a list of some of the usual suspects who have a good chance of featuring in next week’s newsletter.
📏100km:
George Murray
Naomi Brand
Katie Wright
📏50km:
Scotty Hawker
Benje Patterson
Please reply to this email with who else we should be watching at UTA next weekend.
Click here to learn more about Ultra Trail Straya.
Keep an eye on their Instagram next weekend, as the coverage is always top-notch.
Sky Tower Challenge
Saturday, May 17th
Now, I wouldn't normally talk about a race like the Sky Tower Challenge, but I figure you Aucklanders don’t really have many of your own races to read about, so …
Just joking. Trail Running NZ Subscriber Neil Smith is taking on the challenge, along with 1000 other crazy fire personnel. He will be running from the bottom to the top of the Skytower in full firefighting kit, including the breathing apparatus and cylinders.
Neil is part of the Twizel Volunteer Fire Brigade and, funnily enough, hasn’t been able to find any big buildings to train in. He’s had to make do by running in Mt Cook, going up Sealy Tarns and Red Tarns, and going up to Mueller Hut.
The event aims to raise money for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ.
Neil is looking to raise $1500 for the cause. He’s currently at $1155.
If you have a few spare pingers and want to help Neil reach his goal,
Click Here and donate.
#Mountain Skag Winner Of April
Congratulations to Jessica Campbell, you’ve won Mountain Skag for April.
Jessica has been a regular contributor to #mountainskag since the beginning.
Her perseverance has paid off.
I’m sure this is the pinnacle of her trail running career, with other highlights like winning Shotover Moonlight, Crater Rim and wearing the black singlet in Austria last year🤣.
#Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
Andy Carruthers takes out #mountainskag for this week with this snap from Unnamed valley between the Potts and Ashburton South branch.
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.
We will return next week with the Ultra Trail Straya Results and more.
It takes hours to write this newsletter but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
PS. This quarters ‘The Long Run’ quarterly ezine SHOULD be out next week. I’ve removed the paywall from the last editions article ‘Dr.Tripp The Man, The Myth, The Legend’ to give you a taster of the wanna be journalism that’s inside.