Tarawera Ultra Marathon Race Report So much magic happened on race day, as it always does

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Norman York
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Tarawera Ultra Marathon 2018 - Race Report So much magic happened on race day, as it always does Tarawera Ultra Marathon was an A race.

1 Tarawera Ultra Marathon Race Report So much magic happened on race day, as it always does Tarawera Ultra Marathon was an A race. This meant it had a focus in my training with a taper in the final 2 weeks. In terms of my next months though, it was one of possibly 6 A races for 2018, so just doing it was helping to prepare me for future events also. My plan for this year was to get a good result in an off-road and on road Ultra in the first 6 months and then see what opportunities opened up for the latter half of the year. Possibly a bit of a risky strategy though, as it kind of relied on good results, so we haven t really started that well have we? More on that later A race I walk away from with feeling just blah! I m disappointed in my own performance, yet pleased I pushed on through. Overall it kind of levelled out. I had a really tough day out there. Before we dive a little further into my day in the Mud, lets take a step back to some of the lead-up activity. I had excellent training in the leadup, with a quick recovery from my first 100km event in September 2017 meaning that I was training well in October and November and really able to ramp it up from the start of December. Last year s Ultra learning s were incorporated into all aspects of my training and, apart from skipping just a couple of sessions due to fatigue, I d managed all sessions with targets hit. The final 2 weeks included a taper and a 10km race one week out in the hunter Summer series where I ran a good 31:39, Although the course may have been a touch short. Wind and turn adjusted though, it would have evened out to be a realistic time and that was a good indication of current fitness. The final days included a few easy runs and one shorter interval session with a flight over to

Auckland on Thursday morning. Travel was relatively long for a relatively close largescale race; I left home at 4:45am and walked into my accommodation at about 7pm AEST time.

2 Auckland on Thursday morning. Travel was relatively long for a relatively close largescale race; I left home at 4:45am and walked into my accommodation at about 7pm AEST time. Friday was all about getting ready. I had the Elite Q and A at 2pm and before and after that it was about registration and preparing my 5-drop bags. One of the appeals of this race is that minimal mandatory gear is required due to the accessible course allowing 9 Aid stations, with 5 of them taking optional drop bags of anything extra you wanted at key points. However, it was raining and the forecast was for much more meaning, Thermal top, jacket, buff was all required. Add to this the no cup policy it meant that a hydration vest was now required to be worn. With the addition of the Miler into this year s event, the course was reversed. On a good day it would be harder in comparison to the previous years due to both the elevation gain and timing of difficult sections But in terrible weather it proved much harder. Race eve came and passed, our AirBNB house compiled of an awesome bunch of runners some of whom are also Runlab Coaches, we cooked and ate, pasta, chicken, salad and more and managed to get to bed early although sleep pre race is usually restless and with the rain hammering down at points it was one of those light sleeps. We were all up before 4 to get ready and eat before we headed off to the bus for the hour trip to the start! Course profile

3 Start to ~40km This is a good section, but still more challenging then I expected and made even more so challenging by the conditions! The first 6km or so is pure cross country through grass fields and golf courses then along a river through forest, quite soon though you head onto major forest fire trail and the next 20km is good running. I m getting to know Dylan and Cody pretty well we swap leads a few times but are always close. Few words are said at all, the occasional curse as we take our turn tripping or slipping but it s pretty civil and business like. One thing about big events is the names of the places that are used as checkpoints/major landmarks along the route, The event takes on its own language, and having completed the event it s something that you will forever live with when the doms wears off it s also kind of like a shared bond that you have with any fellow competitors, this one had a few! Just like The outlet I m sure it refers to something but for me it was that place before the hills! I actually head into the Outlet leading but come out second. Unlike the other Elite runners I didn t have a support crew and its definitely a disadvantage as I m forced to come to my bag and swap at the drop bag points whereas the others are flying in and out grabbing their nutrition from crew who are able to move in the 200m aid

4 station zone with them, had the race been closer later this could have been the difference between places. I felt good but not great until this point, there were many a small surge by Dylan and Cody but more than trying to break away I think we were all just feeling out how we were travelling. I d had a bit of an upset stomach from early on and it was still there if anything worse. The Weather, well between patches of light rain, it was mostly heavy and the short single track and more technical sections we did encounter were pretty muddy! 40-60km Quite a lot of single track very slippery, dark and a lot of runners from the shorter events meaning a lot of passing. Being so wet and narrow at times this did break momentum and made it really important to be aware of footing to avoid falls. About 10km into this section I fell over, I d been held up by a runner from one of the shorter distances and I fell very hard onto my right arm and side onto a large rock knocking the wind out of me and even causing me to think I d also broken my arm for a short time, I was completely immobilised by the pain initially, and a good two to three minutes before I was able to get moving. This is where I lost the other two runners and it really took me a good 5-10 minutes to be able to get into a full stride again so I lost a lot of time quickly. Coupled with my upset stomach I was really starting to struggle. On top of that my legs were also feeling a bit sluggish, so a combination of factors were really testing me. By the time I ran into the next aid station I was a good few minutes behind 1 st and 2 nd. Out of Okataina, I d really hit my low point, Maj (Salomon team) had my drop bag for me and even said to me post race id looked a bit out of it at this point. Truthfully I just wasn t feeling it and wasn t sure why, I went to go to the toilet but there was a line-up so I just got on my way and back on the trail. At this point Sam who went on to claim third passed me km I had kept fuelling as we headed into the steeper sections, my lower back was now hurting, I was suffering and feeling really cold, and whilst it was raining at this point it wasn t that heavy, but in an attempt to try and limit how I was quickly deteriorating, I stopped and got out my jacket keeping it on for the next few hours. I threw up a couple of times in the next 20 minutes. Considerable sections of the course were now simply reduced to a muddy mess. Feeling strong there would have been sections here that you could still run albeit very slowly and carefully but for me not quite feeling great it was a sliding struggle. I was still passing all the other runners ahead of me, just much slower than before and I don t think I saw anyone else running at all for a solid hour or so during this section. Slide marks in the mud indicated the fate other runners had endured, some of the slides were literally

metres in length flatter sections were under water and with no point of running around the water it was straight through, sometimes with a fall as you hit deeper potholes camouflaged in the

5 metres in length flatter sections were under water and with no point of running around the water it was straight through, sometimes with a fall as you hit deeper potholes camouflaged in the conditions. Finally this section ends with an aid station, which then sends you out onto a sealed road, which just felt so good. Momentum returned and Id warmed up Panadol had kicked in and I wasn t in any pain, stomach issues had eased and I was starting to run more freely and the pace steadily returned. (Finally!) 80km to finish Whilst I had a few stages here that I walked, it was only in the more difficult and challenging mud sections, I was getting faster again, Id warmed up and overall was feeling much better and was able to finish pretty strong with a solid last section overall I felt like I was competing again as I closed out the final sections, and was running quite comfortably whilst still very tired. My ankles/feet hurt the most due to the directional changes, slips and falls but overall I felt ok. The finish precinct and chute was of course welcome, today though it just marked a completion of a stepping stone for the upcoming 2018 runs on my schedule.. I finished happy, not satisfied though, Mark (Steel) came over and congratulated me Mark had had an awesome race finishing 25 th outright in the 65km event.

6 Runlabber Mark Steel. Nailed the 65 for 25 th Outright. After chatting to the race organisers and fellow runners I went over to the nearby Swimming Pools and soaked in the warm thermal baths and had a quick shower, I then waited for Ben (Relf) to finish and shortly after we then drove back to our accommodation, de-mudded, showered and had something to eat. I actually did a bit of Runlab work and cooked some dinner for the other guys, who in the end turned up at about 11pm I think. The overall How shit was that in reference to the conditions by Renae (Brock) when she got home later that night, pretty much summed up the race id had. Not only were the conditions really poor, but also Id failed to capitalise on my preparation for a multiple of factors. Some of these things happened out on the course and others in the lead-up. Id had a much less than ideal final few weeks with business and training clashing, causing a complete re-think of my worth as an Elite runner as things have turned out though, the most exciting opportunities have been created. What I can say is that I m feeling invigorated by my disappointment and have taken it on-board as motivation for the season ahead. Rather than dwell on the disappointments of the day, I am assessing any gaps I have in my preparation and improving myself for the journey ahead. There was so much good that happened out there and this will no doubt help me in the future. I will definitely come back, hopefully on firmer ground to experience the magic of Tarawera, a place that has frustrated me only until I return. So much magic happened on race day as it always does, and the longer the event more so! If you were one of those runners who kindly moved, slipped or jumped out of the way for me Thankyou so much, if I didn t manage to blurt out a thankyou at the time, believe me that would have only been because I was in the hurt locker. The momentary chats the Go Vlads and Go Newcastle when not even in Australia was epic, thankyou You are all inspirational for your own reasons, and we all have our own! Post race (couple of days later) I got sick, it wasn t bad, it could help me explain the lack of race day zing but it doesn t matter I needed a tougher race where things really challenged me and I got it out of the way early on the racing Calendar, fingers crossed and with a professional approach to recovery and training Ill be building on that 6 th place in many upcoming events. Thankyou for all the Congrats and thankyou s J post race and good lucks pre race It makes it real and rewarding! All the pre race expectations that this was my race to

7 win. I gratefully accept and if I deserve it- don t stop those coming either, as an athlete that s what you need to accept and maybe next time hey! And credit Risks must be taken to stay at the top. And this means if you re not on, it s going to be a tough day out! Well done Dylan, Cody and Sam, looking forward to the next time we meet! And lastly but by no means leastly, my sponsors are pretty cool people and products. With the people in the brands taking a genuine interest in me as a person and runner that s why I m with them - I m so excited to be with Salomon and Suunto again for the Track and Trail ahead. I will never stop trying to #achievemyimpossible. Thank-you all runners and competitors who I met over the weekend, my weekend house mates, awesome Lynette for everything on the weekend including use of the Air relax boots (So I could leave mine at home J - Hey and well done on your race), my pacing legends who often ride a bike alongside me on my longer runs sharing a unique bond Peter (Storey) and JB (Justin Brock) my Runlab runners and family, coaches and awesome running buddy and super Wifey Cheryl.

8 Checkpoint s/aid stations Thanks Paul! (Paul Charteris Race Director with Tim Day)

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