Toi's Challenge

the toi's challenge is the first race of the triple crown series. it's an 18k running race from Whakatane to Ohope and back, it's super scenic and has loads and loads of steps, 'ouch!!' yeah people have told me about them but i certainly didn't get it until yesterday when i saw/felt it first hand, but it might have been a good thing not to know, as it was very painful in deed. i must be getting soft! oh well! other then stairs there was a bit along Ohope beach and on the way back we ran through some beautiful bush, it was absolutely stunning and i can recommend anyone to go and walk or run the track, depending on your level of madness ;)
the race was really well organised and there was lot's of smiling people that cheered us on along the way. i blame the amount of sunshine these people are able to enjoy for always being so happy :)
i had a good battle with a local girl Karen, who took off like a rocket at the start and seemed to just want to keep going at that mad pace, luckily for me she was fading too, just like me. we changed lead a few times before i managed to pull it off and win the race, i was pretty shattered though i must admit.
Fiona got second in her class, awesome effort!! ;)


almost forgot, one of the best things about the race was that when you crossed the finish line you got a punnet of super delicious strawberries - they went down a treat!!! :)

looking forward to a restful week and then to the next challenge - the Kauri run! i hear it will be a stunning run as well, can't wait! ;)

to finish off another pic from the breathtaking Toi's track ...

getting a new bike yipee! :)

my new bike is being built up...., I am very excited about it trying out. unfortunately the weather is rather miserable so will have to wait at least until tomorrow. :(

Rob and Mike already tested their new carbon lts and love them! to be honest I thought my santacruz lt was 'mean as' but if I can trust the boys' verdict (and normally I can) the carbon frame is EVEN BETTER!?!? crazy! not sure how that can be but I shall find out soon ;)

my new bike is a new santacruz carbon lt with the new fox float 150 forks and the new sram xx gear (10 speed), mean!!!

will get a pic when it's all built up and 'hopefully' not too dirty yet.

happy trails.... :)

a few images from our trip to Switzerland

Rob in Livigno (Italy) having a play on the burms


on our way up...




same trail still but a bit further on
above St Moritz at Lake Suvretta, ... taking in the sights and having a breather before enjoying the super long and technical downhill single track ;)

update - finally

it's been, once again, ages since i updated this site, sorry! at least i have a good excuse this time ;) i have been in Switzerland visiting my family and having a fantastic time, good enough an excuse?

this is in the Swiss alps above St Moritz, riding there is just amazing! ;)

i'll be quick as i should be other things this time of the day and week (oops)
Rob and i got back from our holiday on thursday morning so we are still a bit jetlagged. glad the sun has been out every day since we have been back, it helps heaps!

i did the final of the three 1/2 halfmarathons in 3 month in Taupo on saturday. almost 1000 people lined up to do the run or walk of the W2K- and Headlands track loop. we couldn't have wished for a more stunning day, it was sunny and mild. we also got spoilt with worldclass views across the lake where we could admire the mountains covered in white, there was a clearing with a seat somewhere along the track; i was soooo tempted to stop there ;)

running i felt better then i first expected, not too fresh but pretty good considering the circumstances. so i managed to make it three wins in a row, very happy about that.

i went for a spin on the bike yesterday to stretch the legs and ride some of our world class trails (there are one of the best for sure ;) ) the body wasn't feeling to fantastic but thanks to the great trails i seemed to find a little bit of energy to get up to hot-x etc... good times ;)

Well done Fiona for doing so well on the weekend and looking forward to the next challenge.

sorry for not having any pics, i will add some 'shortly', at least one from a ride in the Swiss alps ...

Mizuno Half Marathon - Lake Taupo

I just got back from Taupo half marathon.

What a stunning day - it was super sunny and the views of the white mountains were fantastic, it was like they were inviting us for a ski - it was really quite tempting i must admit ;)

Apparently there were 2000 people doing the run and 1000 doing the walking option! pretty amazing really!

The race was good and pretty hard, we had quite a bit of side/head wind to fight, well that is my excuse anyway ;). it felt strange running on the road as i normally do my running in the forest, i prefer being in the nature surrounded by plants and birds and breath in the fresh air.

The first half of the course was pretty much all along the main road which is the highway and is pretty straight, but to keep us sane we got to see amazing views of the lake and the snowed in volcanoes, so i cannot really complain! From there it went across some grass fields and onto the cobbled walking tracks that follow the lake front. So you get to enjoy the nature despite it being a road race which is a big bonus!

I was being chased the whole race by a girl who looked like a runner and had a mean stride on her. Luckily i was a little taller then her, i guess that was my advantage but i don't know. Anyway i thought i had dropped her a little while after half way but i was quite wrong there. then i got a surprise when i could suddenly see her pony tale in the shadow that was following me as we were on the home straight 3 or so ks to go! (bugger!) From there she was pretty much stuck to my heals and i had to dig deep to keep her there rather then the other way round ;)

as i was running towards the finish line i was still expecting her to challenge me, and i was super glad to get over the line first ;) i think i got 20th overall, and 1st female (i know that one)

Fiona got in a little after me, she had a great run too!

we are now looking forward to the next half marathon (the last of the 3 in Taupo this winter) and it will be an off road one which is more our style, sweet! :)

ps: there was some hot soup waiting for us at the finish line, it might not sound like much but it was such a treat and warmed us up nicely :) thanks!

Brooks Half Marathon

It's been a while since I have done an event. It was good to have a break from it for a change, also I haven't got that much spare time for training and racing anymore now that I am working and not studying and with the short days - cannot wait for daylight savings! Yay we are slowly getting there! :)

Pam, Nick, Fiona and I all decided to participate in the Brooks Half Marathon in Taupo which was on today. It's a new event by the organisers of Whirinaki Quest. The event was really well organised and attracted close to 400 runners and walkers - man I wouldn't have wanted to walk in these conditions, it was freezing enough running! - just heard the wind speed was up to 70km/hr at times! no wonder it felt like you were trying to push through a concrete wall at times! ;)

We were super lucky with the weather as it was meant to be pouring down over night and maybe even during the event, but all we had to put up with the strong and frosty wind and some super dark clouds that kept eyeing us up but decided to hold off. Nice!

It was quite funny how just before the event EVERYONE seemed to be debating about what and how much to wear, it made for some random conversations amongst strangers ;)

The race itself was fun. The course took us around Mount Tauhara. There was plenty of uphill and downhill over farmland, through forest roads and a bit of single track and at one stage some cows had to share their paddock with us, they didn't seem to happy to see me, I must have been pretty smelly, they all ran off in a hurry.

Fighting against the wind was the hardest thing, at places it felt like you were not moving much, it didn't seem to help when I ducked down to try make myself smaller for better aerodynamic - I might have to practice that one ;)

It was a cool event, really well organised and no need to hang around for ages for prize giving as the spot prizes were in our registration pack and they handed me the trophy as soon as I crossed the finish line - forgot to say, I won :)

sorry no race pics ;(

Here a picture from the course, obviously not taken on race day, what a shame we didn't get to enjoy the magnificent views today. I did see the lake but Ruapehu was hiding under a duvet of clouds.

Scott Big 'O'Trail Run

My friend Fiona told me about the Big 'O' trail run a little while ago, it sounded great! The idea of running either 19 or 35km offroad through the bush, along lake Okataina and over farm land is very appealing. So Fiona and I decided to race the 19km starting at Miller Rd by lake Okareka as we both hadn’t done much more then 1 ½ hrs for a while. We went to explore the Western Okataina walk way on the Saturday prior to check out some of the race course (we thought! – but you only do this bit in the 35km course) and test the legs. The walk way was awesome – very beautiful with the native vegetation and the birds producing some good sounds ;) and no other people around! We ran to the look out and were stunned to see the ocean from there and it wasn’t even a clear day!
On Monday before the race I decided to change my entry from 19 to 35km – I wasn’t too sure if that had been a good decision I just made when I checked the weather forecast – it looked like a storm was going to come through on Saturday! Perfect weather to do a run of a length I had not done for 10 years! Ha, nothing like a bit of a challenge! ;)
But the weather wasn’t anything like they predicted! Lucky us the weather was a mix of overcast and sun but with a nippy wind. Some people were running in little running shorts – it made me shiver just looking at them! (ha something my mum used to say to me – I must be getting old ;) ) I felt a little out of place at the race brief – in bike shirt i looked like the mountain biker at the wrong event ;) the back pockets of the shirt were pretty handy for storing my food though.
The race started with a big climb, it took me about 20min to get to the top (also the junction to the look out) and from there it was undulating all the way to Miller Rd (that was the bit we had ran the week before). I thought that the first part (the Western Okataina walk way which is the first 16km) was going to be the hard one due to the big climb; little did I know that the next 19km was the hard bit. It was super stunning though as first you got a view of Mount Tarawera behind it’s Lake and then we ran through stunning and ever changing bush and parts we looked down onto Lake Okataina . And every so often I would hear a Tui showing it’s skills off.
There were many very steep climbs where you question how much slower it may be to walk instead of run (which was actually more a shuffle) and how much less pain your legs would be in if you’d give in and walk ;) it wouldn’t be a race without a little pain though. The run was getting harder with the legs getting more tired and really quite sore, but the terrain still didn’t get any easier – it still went up as soon as you think there is a bit of flat or downhill to recover on. Alos you had to lift your feet and watch where you are going as the Eastern Okataina walk way is a stunning walking trail with rots and a few rocks and a nice cliff to one side. I was eagerly anticipating the “3km to go – drink station” it did seem to take quite a while to get there and it was such a relieve to finally get there! But then the last 3km started with a super steep climb – and it kept on going and going – bugger! I was so ready for the finish line and managed to overtake (sounds like biking – guess there is a running term for this…) one more guy who was doing the 35km race who I remembered taking off on the first hill to put a massive gap on me (it was Graeme Pearson). I thought ‘He’s for sure going to get me back’, so I kept pushing on to the finish trying to ignore the pain in the legs. Seeing the finish line was awesome and quite a relieve :)
I got 4th over all and was 1st women. It was an awesome race and will for sure do it again!
Fiona made it over the finish line before me (she did the 19km); she was determined not to let me catch her ;) Awesome effort!

I totally forgot to mention that what really got me through the run was the fact that I was going to be rewarded with the worlds best massage on monday night ;) Pam Dickson rocks! Thanks heaps!!!!