🏃♀️The slightly less Wild⛰️
"Sudden terror strikes, Bowels loosen, a fateful sound, Pants now warm and foul"
Your weekly fix of NZ trail running news
Think of this newsletter as the stripped down, Kiwi version of irunfar.com.
Just call us we-run-a-bit.co.nz
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
The Wild Is Back From The Dead
My Worst Run Ever
Stuff You May Have Missed
Upcoming Events: Routeburn Classic, Skedaddle & Old Hanmer Forest
Mountain Skag Pic Of The Week
The Wild Is Back From The Dead
Sunday 7PM The Wild opened entries for its new look multi-day trail running celebration event. It runs from Wednesday, December 6th to Sunday the 10th, and is based out of Arrowtown.
If it wasn’t for the South Island Ultra, The Wild would undoubtedly be NZ’s most controversial race. There is a bit to unpack here, so strap yourself in, and come along for the ride.
The Wilds’ Short History Recap
The Wild was the dream of Malcolm Law after fastpacking the ⛰️Hardrock 100 course in Colorado, considered the benchmark in mountainous 100-mile races.
In October 2020, the first teasers and social media postings started coming through—murmurings of ‘The NZ Hardrock’ started getting louder.
July 2021, early bird entries open for a December 2022 event run by Fusion Events. Mal reveals he has ‘passed’ on the idea of The Wild to Fusion Events. They’re doing the heavy lifting🏋️♂️, taking the financial risk (and potential reward) while Mal is fulfilling the ambassador-type promotional role.
On September 28th, 2022, Fusion Events plane✈️ crashed into the side of Mt. Liquidation. Unfortunately, the Wild, The Valley Ultra, and $400,000💰 of Kiwi’s hard-earned race entry money were on board.
The Valley Ultra was sold off to another company, and The Wild - although badly injured🤕, returned to Mal. Unfortunately, the suitcase with all the race deposits was left burning on the side of the mountain.
Mal fronted the lynch mob - he was as surprised as everyone else. He had no idea that Fusion Events was in trouble.
Mal announces that he hasn’t given up on The Wild and does his best Arnie impression.
The Wild For Nature Charitable Trust is formed, and the new not-for-profit vision is launched for The Wild. Trusted and experienced figures in the trail community (Terry Davis, Shaun Collins and others) are brought in to help ready the ship.
Now that you’re up to speed - lets take a look at the new ‘The Wild’
The Festivities start midweek on the Wednesday with a welcome reception, guest speakers, and a film viewing. Friday, the race expo and briefings take place and the first race of the weekend kicks off. I imagine the idea is to recreate Chamonix in Arrowtown. Every bar & cafe packed to the rafters with trail runners and their families all mixing and mingling, retelling their ‘Worst Run Ever’ and creating one big party atmosphere.
The 5 Races on offer:
Beast of Betham - 9KM📏| 550m⛰️
Beast of Brow - 11KM📏 | 1050m⛰️⛰️
V1600 - 30KM📏 | 1600M⛰️
V3000 - 64KM📏 | 3000M⛰️⛰️
V5000 - 85KM📏 | 5000M⛰️⛰️⛰️
The new expanded line up has a little for everyone. Newbies can hit the ‘Beast of’ races and get a taste of what it’s all about. It also provides an opportunity for family and friends to race, aswell as crew their athletes entered in the longer distances. The V3000 & V5000 (weren’t they Slazenger cricket bats?) will keep the majority of hardcore mountain athletes happy aswell.
However, there is a notable 100-mile hole in the lineup. The vision to create NZ’s Hardrock which inspired the whole thing has been shelved. What we do see is a significant shift in focus. It is now about the celebration of trail & mountain running, instead of the sole focus of putting on a hardcore mountain running event.
Will runners who got burnt the first time, want to part with their money again? That’s the big elephant in the room. It can probably be simplified to whether or not runners blame Malcolm Law or Fusion Events for their loss.
What has Mal changed to make people feel confident that the event is going to take place?
Putting the ownership into a not-for-profit charitable trust with a focus on conservation is a good start. But remember, Fusion events was clearly not-for-profit either😂!
Bringing on experienced trail running event race directors also helps shift the needle. The reality is that all events carry risk, whether it is not-for-profit or a full commercial operation.
For me, it comes down to a simple question.
Do you trust Malcolm Law to deliver the goods?
This is his dream, this is his reputation - this is his life. Ultimately, he lost the most when Fusion Events went into liquidation. I’m sure he will be doing all that is humanly possible to get this Beast of an event to the start line.
Has The Wild regained your trust?
Pick an option below
Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.
My Worst Run Ever
This week’s Worst Run Ever is a beautiful piece of poetry. It may even bring a tear to your eye😢.
Keep the stories coming in! Send them to [email protected]
They can be short or long. Funny😂 or sad😭. They can even have a happy ending.
I title this … Scooby Doo Doo
❝
On a morning run, Panting hard, legs pumping fast, dog's bark fills with fear.
Sudden terror strikes, Bowels loosen, a fateful sound, Pants now warm and foul.
Dog still nipping close, Heart pounding, shame rising high, Escape seems so far
Anonymous
It takes hours to write this newsletter, but only 8 seconds to forward it to a friend.
Stuff you may have missed
Cheeky Weka Media released this great video of Mt. Oxford Odyssey📽️
Upcoming Events
Next weekend there are 3 great events down South.
Trail runners trying to pick which race to run this weekend
Routeburn Classic - Otago
Saturday, April 29th
350 lucky🍀 runners get the chance to race the Routeburn next weekend. With its future looking secure (recently bought by Ultimate Events), fingers crossed🤞 that the weather plays ball.
Several members from the NZ Mountain/Trail running teams are toeing the line, so there should be some fireworks✨🎆.
Predictions*:
⚡Maia Flint edges Hannah Lund and Kate Morrison in a tight race.
Toby Batchelor wins a ding-dong🍆 battle over David Haunschmidt
*based on the current starting list
Skedaddle - Canterbury
Saturday, April 29th
New race, who’s dis?
It’s great to see a new event on the running calendar, even better when it’s an opportunity to explore a hard-to-access part of the country. Skedadle is named after the high point on Island Hills Station - ⛰️Mt. Skedadle (1704M). There is a 42KM, 30KM, and 4KM kids skedaddle.
Not only does Skedaddle have an awesome name, but they’re also raising funds for conservation efforts in the Mandamus Preservation Reser. This 3,300-ha un-grazed area includes a 600-ha QEII open space covenant, the largest in Canterbury😲. All proceeds from the race will be used to work towards the long-term goal of reintroducing Kiwi🥝 to the area.
Old Hanmer Forest - Canterbury
Friday-Saturday 28th-29th of April
The Old Forest Hanmer 100 has been bringing the pain😓 since 2012 - It’s old school! It started before 10KM runs had a mandatory gear list, before races cost $5 per KM, back when you told your new workmates you were a trail runner, they thought you were a drug mule😱.
Old Forest is race #2 in the Southern Seasons Miler Challenge (running all 4 South Island 100-mile races within 12 months). This is a great option for runners wanting to get their feet wet at the longer distances. Each lap is a figure 8♾️, 10KM loop with 200m of elevation gain with the base came in the middle. This means there is no mandatory kit to carry, and you go through the aid station every 5KM. This can be a double edge sword🗡️ - it’s great to see your support crew often for encouragement; but you can also lose a lot of time chatting at the base camp.
It’s great to see the original grassroots events rise out of the C🤬🤬d-19 event wasteland. I’ll be watching with interest to see how Southern Seasons Miler Challenge is shaping up.
Mountain Skag pic of the week
Checking out the gentle undulations on Mt. Difficulty
This week's Mountain Skag pic is from Steve Trip. This is making my calves cramp just looking at it😵.
I’ve received a lot of messages from people wanting to buy the Mountain Skag merch. Now, entering the monthly draw is a no-brainer BUT - I’m stoked to announce that www.mountainskag.com is now live.
It’s print-on-demand so orders take 2-3 weeks to arrive.
It’s a great way to support this free newsletter.
Every entry goes into the monthly draw to win a Mountain Skag T-Shirt or hat.
Tag @trailrunning.nz and use #mountainskag on Instagram or email [email protected] to enter.
We will be back next week with results from Routeburn, Skedaddle, and Old Hanmer and more.
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