Good morning and welcome to Trail Running NZ: Think of this as the pizza of the NZ trail running world.
Stacked with all your favourite toppings, a little cheesy, and yep… I threw pineapple on there too. Not everyone’s into it, but well … I’m making the pizza😂!
Here's what’s in the drop bag this week:
⛰️🌨️Winter is HERE
🎯Things You May Have Missed
🥾Mission Corner
☢️Northland 100 Competition
⛰️💊Mountain Skag for May
📰SK News Desk
🏁Upcoming events: Mt Difficulty
⛰️💊Mountain Skag of The Week
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Winter is coming HERE!
We’ve just had the first full week of winter, and it feels like we are in the depths of August. F🥶ck me it’s been cold.
I’m sitting here in my dining room with the heat pump running at max threshold. It’s been a weekend of just trying to make it through with the boy battling one of those sh💩t house viruses toddlers get.
I’m looking at videos and pics of almost everyone I know running around in the snow, living their best life. Ah well, I’m sure it’s not as good as it looks … and everyone shows the good bits on socials, right? RIGHT?!
No one talks about how hard it is to pop off the side of the trail to check the plumbing💩 when you’re in full snow kit, or how painful it can be kicking a rock on a downhill with frozen toes.
I digress. There was no main event this week. It’s no secret that events are spaced a bit further apart through the winter months. It takes a race director with balls and/or flaps of steel to host an endurance event outdoors in the middle of winter, given the current state of health and safety law in NZ.
But some are brave enough to throw their hands in the air, ask “What’s the worst that could happen?” and flip the bird to Mother Nature.
Let’s take a look at what we’ve got to look forward to over the coming weeks in NZ & a bit further afield:
Mt Difficulty - June 14th
A Terry Davis Special, and now with no Mt. Oxford Odyssey, probably the hardest marathon in the country. There’s a lot of up, a lot of down, some whips and chains and a lot of swearing.
Somehow, he seems to dial up a good wintery blast to keep the landscape interesting most years. We will take a closer look further down in the preview section.
Dead Cow Gully Back Yard Ultra - June 21
From Centralish Otago to Centralish Straya🦘. Dead Cow Gully BYU, made famous in New Zealand by Sam Harvey’s legendary 101-yard effort with a chest infection, which helped Phil Gore set the World Record💪.
The lineup this year is insane in every sense of the word, headlined by “The Big Four”.
Merijn Geerts - 110 yds - 🧇Belgium
Harvey Lewis - 108 yds - 🌭Murica
Phil Gore - 102 yds - 🦘Straya
Sam Harvey - 101yds - 🥝Kiwi Hardcore
There are also 22 x 50+ Yard runners in the field. Remember Sam Harvey wen’t from 40 yards to 101, so the possibilities of this backyard are mind-boggling.
To add to that, Sam has publicly stated he’s not just gunning for the World Record, but given the chance, he’s heading for One Fiddy. 150 yds. Let that sink in🤯.
However, Sam’s not the only Kiwi heading over. I’ve probably missed someone, but here’s who I’ve got so far:
Sam Harvey, John Bayne, Jane McAlpine, Ketina Chivasa, Paul Maxwell, Josh Hastie, Hadani Woodruff, Simon McLean, Chris Todd and Adam Keen.
Danny Jones is set for round 3 at Western States. Will this be his year? Originally cast as the Unbreakable’s 2.0, with an insane Men’s start list featuring Jim Walmsley, Killian Jornet, Adam Peterman, Hayden Hawks, Rod Farvard, David Roche, Jia-Sheng Shen and of course DJ.
Unfortunately, both Hawks and Walmsley are out. That's still such a stacked field. DJ is going to have to have the race of his life to stand atop the podium.
But just as exciting will be seeing Caitlin Fielder throw down in her first 100-miler! She had a great return to the 100km distance at Tarawera, narrowly finishing behind Ruth Croft in 2nd, and looked sharp, taking out UTA 50 just last month.
I’ll also be watching how Nancy Jiang goes with her chase for retribution after a tough shift at Western States 2023. Fingers crossed that it all comes together for Nancy, and she delivers another amazing performance on the international stage.
Krayzie Midwinter Backyard Ultra - July 5th
Krayzies is sold out again this year. It has established itself as one of the premier events for both the course, organisation and general good vibes.
It’s been the testing ground for a lot of our top Backyard talent. If you can run around for hours on end in the winter chill of Christchurch, you can run anywhere.
We’ve started to see an increase in the winning totals in our backyard events again as the year progresses. I’ll be interested to see if that continues, as a lot of our top talent is over at Dead Cow Gully.
However, as we saw at The Best Dam Ultra with Macee Latimer, anyone can turn up and drop a 43-burger out of nowhere. And that’s the beauty of the backyard circus🤪.
WUU2K - July 12th
Awwwww yea - It’s the 10th Anniversary of the WUU2K. That’s a scary thought. Like most things, it started as an idea over a beer, before the maps were out, lines drawn, and reccie runs.
Here we are 10 years later, and it’s as popular as ever. We’ve seen a few changes to the courses (I think they’ve gained about 300m each year) and all 3 races now finish at the Valodrome track, which gives it an awesome Western States-esque vibe.
To me, it captures everything I love about Wellington trail running. Hundreds of runners grinding it out in the hills, volunteers just as stoked to be part of it. The races are always fiercely competitive up front, often dominated by local legends. Oh, and the Tip Track. Don’t forget the Tip Track.
I won’t be running this year, but with a bit of luck, I’ll have a table set up at rego - and floating around parts of the course, so come say hello!
Northland 100 - July 19th
It’s the latest offering from His & Her Events. Think of it as the Naseby of the Winterless North. There are 4 races on offer, all based on a 40km loop through the Glenbervie Forest, just outside Whangarei.
In recent years, Northland has punched well above its weight on the event scene, dominating many podiums around the country, and also has a passionate local running community.
There seems to be something in the water up there, so I’m heading north to see if I can bottle it. If you'd like to join me, I’ve three entries to give away, for any distance you please. Check out the competition details further down today’s newsletter.
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It was round 2 of the Auckland Trail series, with just over 1000 runners and walkers getting all up in it at Shakespear Regional Park. It sounds like it was a super duper fun course, racing across slippery coastal boulders and skating along oyster beds!
The Wellington Barefoot Xtrail series kicked off round 3 with the first-ever daytime Towai Traverse round. The sideways rain from Orongorongo was traded in for a frooosty AF morning, but there was still a solid turnout of just under 350 runners.
Ruth Croft is back on top, taking out the Shokz 60km in Annecy, France which was on over our King’s Birthday weekend. It turns out that CTRL+ALT+DELETE at Transvulcania was just a quick reboot. No signs of lag in form or confidence.
Mission Desk
This week at the Mission Desk, we’ve got Steve Anderson telling us about his King’s Birthday mission with Giles Fairbrother.
The lads ran from Lake Ohau to Lake Hawea in some trying conditions, with the help of Brendon Vanstone on drop-off & pick-up duties.
Tell us about the route, where it starts and ends, and the challenges and features along the way
“This route “lake to lake” starts at Lake Ohau through to Lake Hawea in one push (along the TA trail).”
“Family, work, Giles in the midst of selling & moving property and a after a busy summer season of running events, hunting & hikeventures every other weekend. No time was to be the “right” time.”
“Long term forcast was a little sketch fortunately the front hit early thurs/fri our aproach then to deal with the tail end of the front as conditions were than forcast to improve, adapting to the aftermath will be better than facing conditions detearating.”
“Travelling along in strong winds, darkness & windfall made the sections amongst the beech forests interesting, keeping to the trail. Lucky here we still had fresh legs, crossing the saddles we were lucky to only have to contend with ankle deep snow yet the wind chill had a bite. Keep moving...”
“We felt a little pressure coming down the top end of Timaru creek more so as the sun disappeared in behind the hills & the temp dropped. The stream becoming deeper as we made our way furthur down stream, multiple creek crossings, cold feet, chill pains (fresh snow melt).”
“Lotsa scrambling along, up in over the river bank & now fading light, darkness settling in. Was a welcome relief to climb up & out of this cold, wet, dark “ditch”.”
“Next challenge was to deal with fatigue, darkness, navigating up, over & around windfall. Another sigh of relief to break out above the bush line a clear starey night, once again exposed to the wind we wrapped up & pushed along the tops towards the breasthill summit covered in a picturesque dusting of frozen snow.”
“It wasn’t till we dropped below the snowline that we felt more relaxed and able to move along with more confidence in our current state of fatigue and desire to get this runventure over & done with after what had been a long day out on our feet.”
“A steep decent, loosing all that vert we had gained. The mental concentration, balance and foot placement was key, we did not want nor need to be making any errors in judgements on our final decent down to the lakes edge. Job done, mission complete.”
Was this the first time any of you had done the route?
“I was familiar with the final decent (daylight hours though) having climbed Breast hill during the summer just been, during a family holiday down to Wanaka. Giles had spent some time working in and around the East branch of the Aurrihi river back in his youth pestcontrolling.”
“The section in between was unknown to us, some big country! Hence the aim was to tackle the section of unknown during daylight hours.”
What were the conditions like? Did anything change from the expected forecast?
“Kicking off early, we managed to bank a few kms in the darkness on fresh feet. Departing lake Ohau in Strong norwest winds and breaking waves on the lake was exciting.”
“Was a peace of mind knowing the forcast was for improving conditions as the day went on. Didn’t take too long to warm up as some sections we found ourselves sheltered from the wind. When breaking out onto the tops. Taking the time to stop adjust the layers to the condtions & to keep moving.”
What was the highlight?
“It’s that sense if adventure, sharing the challenge with others overcoming, adapting to the unknowns, reaching all those little milestones along the way appreciating those “little wins” as Giles said “It’s so hard to work out logistics sometimes with unknown-educated guesses and feeding off others experiences is the best you can work with it”.
“An adventure we wanted, an adventure we had.”
Any low moments? At any moment, did you guys think you had bitten off too much?
“Apart from the usual, highs n lows experienced on a big day out we were able to stay focused, positive, keep moving and adresss all the curveballs thrown at us early along the way before they become issues.”
“Possibly the biggest challenge was moving forward with confidence, minimizing double guessing that we were heading in the right direction on the best path/route possible to get around obstacles eg bluffs, river crossings etc & to get through all the windfall without having to resort to the topo50 or the Map on watch all the time, making sure that we weren’t drifting off the route.”
“Keeing a sharp eye out for markers & signs of beatan trail. Moving around windfall than finding, getting back onto the track during the hours of darkness.”
What advice would you give to anyone considering running this route?
“It’s not a race, make good decisions & back them. Ya can’t compare distance & time when there’s so many potential environmental conditions to deal with, (you never know whats around the next corner) that can throw your pedictions out the window it takes as long as it takes.”
“Move when ya can, keep moving. Even though traveling “light n fast” the extra few layers, emergency items, food gives you more tools in the toolbox incase you need them.”
“Prepwork- huts? Alternative routes? bailout options, contengcy plan? break the route up into sections.”
“Keep it simple, enjoy!”
For the gear nerds reading this: what did your set-up look like for this mission?
“Standard setup with options of extra layers, to combat windchill. Plus emergency layers incase unable to keep moving forward eg, survival bag thermal pants, heavier duty rain jacket, light synthetic down puffer, spare socks. Warm beanie, gloves , buffs. Enreach, cell. A decent headlight +backup.”
Thanks for that, Steve. Stellar effort and great adventure lads.
If you’ve gone for a bit of a jog, or one of your mates has done something pretty cool, DM me on Insta or reply to this email so we can all take a look at it on Mission Corner
This information is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial mission advice. Please consult a licensed financial backcountry professional for personalized guidance tailored to your specific situation.
☢️FREE STUFF ALERT- Northland 100☢️
I’m heading up to the first-ever Northland 100 to see what all the hype is about and I’ve got 3 free entries to give away to the distance of your choosing.
Want one?
Here’s how to enter :
✅ Step 1
Be a paid subscriber — just $5/month. That’s less than 3 things from the $2 shop!
✅ Step 2
Tag your trail nemesis, bestie or frenemy on socials (Instagram, Facebook, Strava, etc). Call them out and say you’d smoke them at Northland 100.
Example:
“Kevin Fink – It’s time you came out of retirement so I can smoke you at the Northland 100!”
✅ Step 3
Tag @trailrunning.nz or email a screenshot to trailrunningnz@gmail.com
That’s it! Winners will be announced in next week’s newsletter.
Want to learn more about the event?
I spoke to Helen Waterworth from His & Her Events — check out the Q&A below
“We want to create something unique, if Cocodona 250 and the great naseby water race had a baby, Northland 100 would be it.”
“A real community in a tent village kind of vibe, where there is a hub , and the athletes come through a few times, aimed at making it more enjoyable for supporters as well. Music, food and entertainment.”
I reckon it will be a tight vote this month, they’re all so skagalicous.
Vote for your favourite #mountainskag winner from May below.
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SK News Desk
It was only last week I reported on the SK awards, and already we’ve had someone scamper down the Main Range.
💪SK Main Range - Sam Hansby - 20:32
On King's Birthday, Sam Hansby completed the first-ever sub-24H winter SK Main Range. He narrowly missed out on breaking Arran Whiteford's long-standing unsupported FKT by just 2 minutes!
Sam is the current New Zealand Long Course Trail Champion, having won the WAI2K 100km last November. He’s heading to Spain at the end of September to pull on the black singlet, representing us at the World Mountain & Trail Running World Champs.
Mountain Beard Activated.
What were the conditions like up on the Main Range and did the wrap king live up to his reputation?
“I was very close to canning it at Putara carpark when I arrived there at 4am because it was wet and windy.”
“Decided I would reassess at Herepai. It was manageable but I didn’t give myself much chance in completing it.”
“Once I got to Pukemoremore, conditions were lovely. I didn’t live up to my wrap reputation - I had a couple pb and cheese wraps but they weren’t working for me yesterday. I mainly had gels which I was really sick of by the end.”
What’s the lead up to Spain World Champs look like for Mr Hansby?
“Lead up to Spain looks similar to this kind of run but maybe not as big or often. I’m planning on doing big easy days on my feet and not worrying about speed.”
“I wasn’t ready for the amount of climbing and descending for world champs in Austria so I really was to accustom my body to that kind of punishment.”
Pictures say a 1000 words, does that put video at 10,000? Here’s a clip Sam’s put together of his day (Insta)
If you’re interested in learning more about what’s involved or need help with logistics with the SK, get in touch or visit the Wellington Big Sunday Run crew on Facebook. There is always someone keen to help🙂.
Remember—Don’t watch the dot. Be the dot.
Upcoming Events:
Mt Difficulty
Saturday, June 14
And on queue, the South is covered in a thick blanket of the white stuff, just in time for the Mt. Difficulty Ascent.
Often, mountain names don’t quite live up to the hype, but with Mt. Difficulty, it’s on point. I wonder how much Terry Davis paid to rename it?🤔
Now, I’ve never stepped foot on Mt. Difficulty, that would require me leaving the 5km2 radius my life resides in! But I’ve got it on good authority that it’s top shelf Type 2 fun, with a dash of Type 3 and a smear of “Opps I sh💩t my pants”.
If this sounds like your kind of party, check out the course description below:
"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."
Remember to bring your sense of humour, because there’s a good chance you’ll have lost most of your other senses by the end of the race.
Terry and the team certainly have theirs in tact - check out this recent post on Facebook
Mt Difficulty Ascent - 44km long. 3000m of climbing.
Sounds brutal, right?
But think about it:
✅500m of vert? Smashed out in 1km.
✅Another 1000m? Dealt with over in just 3km.
✅That means less than 1500m of climbing spread across the other 40km.
PS. I received a message from someone who attempted to upgrade to a paid subscriber, but their bank blocked the card due to it being flagged as a suspicious transaction.
I promise I’m not Prince Nabutu. If you’ve also experienced this issue, could you please let me know so I can see if there’s anything I can do about it on my end.
PPS. Thanks for the pic DJ Rocky Allen. Now I feel like I did actually get out for a snowy mission over the weekend!
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