The start time for The Tarawera Ultra was a little later than I had experienced in Taupo, a quite refreshing 7.00am
start, so I managed a couple of extra hours sleep this time around. However I was just a tad bit nervous about the distance and the type of terrain I would be running over. I was really hoping just to make it to the finish line with my mind still intact knowing how hard this race was going to be.
Got to the start just after 6.30am and I was feeling ready, ready for anything the course was going to throw at me especially the new parts which I hadn’t set foot on at last years edition. Got my pre race banana from Geoff, he stayed next door to myself and Bec at the holiday park with his partner Cory, which I had forgotten to bring with me so cheers for that Geoff and soon enough we were on our way to begin the race. We got a countdown from Race Director Paul Charteris and everybody shuffled off on what was to be a very long day for most of us. When we got to the first climb of the day I made a sort of pact with myself, as I stood in what was some sort of uphill forest traffic (people) jam, that I would walk as many uphill sections as I could to save some energy for those last few kilometers.
The early miles of the race were spent with tons of interesting people like Tony from Auckland who just recently completed The Atacama Crossing which is a gruelling 6 day race across the driest desert on earth. I also saw some people who I recognised from my last run at Lake Taupo and it was nice to see Richard get his Wellington Phoenix scarf out of his car just for me along the trail. The first 2 hours just breezed by when I met Bec who gave me some tinned fruit and then it finally hit home that I wouldn’t see her for another 6 hours. Wow I thought to myself that sounds like a long long time. But off I went to steadily take on the trek to the highest point of the course.
It was a tough old climb up the hill along the way to the Okataina Lodge checkpoint but I kept some jelly beans in my pocket in case I needed that extra kick to keep me going. At this stage of the morning I got a picture sent to my phone, I know I couldn’t believe I had cell phone coverage out there, of a very old Inchicore Athletic beanie with the club crest attached. Whats going on here I thought so I gave ‘me auld segosha’ DD a call and who answers the call, Pilly MacDermott. Heading towards lunchtime, I’m having a conversation with DD and trying to understand what the Mac fella is saying as they were obviously having a few pints in Slatts, while all the time I’m trying to make my way up a rather large hill and all I can think to myself is this is surreal. It was good though because it made me forget just how much farther I had to go and brought a smile to my face.
Finally got to the Okataina Lodge checkpoint for some well earned lunch, I could hear my stomach starting to grumble and after 5 hours on the road a rest and some food was very welcome. I filled up my water bottle and camel-bak and set off again after filling myself with a couple of jam sandwiches from the aid station. I was glad of the food because I remembered from last year that the next 10k were going to be quite difficult. There is some single track along the way and if you miss your footing you could end up sliding down hill into the lake, please don’t fall here is all I kept saying to myself. Got to the next checkpoint at a time of day when the temperature was qalmost at its’ warmest to the sight of a fellow runner coming in from Lake Tarawera after having dipped into it for a swim. What a great way to cool down, if only I could swim. Grabbed some jelly beans to stuff in my pocket and setv off again. Not far from here I fell, I seem to fall quite often while running, picked myself up and checked my pockets. To my surprise I hadn’t dropped any jellies, whew!!
After passing by Mount Tarawera, where I posed for a few photos, and almost 8 and a half hours running I reached the Tarawera Falls checkpoint (The Tarawera Falls by the way are just amazing to see by the way). Had some fruit here and tried to change socks but I needed a bit of help from Bec to do everything, I must have spent nearly 20 minutes there getting myself sorted out. Up I got though and soldiered on, a woman at this checkpoint said I should have this last 40km done in a little under 4 hours “it’s less than a marathon to go it should be no problem to you” she said. I chuckled away and wished it would take me that long 
A little further up the road I met up with Tony who I had run a for a while with earlier on and we marched on together until we got to the 70km mark where I was starting to feel a little unwell.
I struggled on until I reached the 50 mile mark and really needed to spew but I couldn’t, I grabbed a ginger nut
biscuit to try and help me out but I think the brutal hill climb, brutal in this case being the good kind of brutal, after 50 miles took my mind off my upset stomach. Got to the next aid station and all I felt like having an orange which felt so refreshing as I ate it but how was I going to manage the last 10 miles with the light fading fast as I wobbled out of the checkpoint. It’s quite lonely running in the dark with an upset stomach not very nice at all but what kept me going was following the glowsticks hanging from the trees. As long as I kept passing a glowstick I knew I was on the right track. There were two aid stations in the final 10km of the race and when I finally reached the 95km station I plonked myself into a chair and asked, very politely mind, for some ginger to help settle my stomach again. I seemed to be getting worse the closer to the finish I got, I tried eating a watermelon at the previous checkpoint but I ended up wearing it on my shirt and all I could do was laugh. The ladies manning the final checkpoint very kindly searched for and miraculously found some crystallized ginger which was a real help as I set off on the last part of my ‘adventure’.
The final part of the run is run alongside the Tarawera River and I could hear it flowing on by past me. Every step on these last 5km were the hardest steps I think I have ever had to take, it felt like my body had switched off and I was in some sort of cruise control to the finish. I passed a runner and his pacer somewhere along the final stretch of the river “is there any end to this madness” I remarked to which they replied “are we nearly there yet”. Just as I was about to answer we came across a bridge that took us over the river and I knew we were almost there. Another 20 minutes at this current ‘pace’ should do us and I let the runner behind me and his pacer know. Across two rugby fields I ran following the lights to the finish, following these lights caused me to bang my knee real hard into a wodden stump as I went through a gate it bloddy hurt but again I was in cruise control so kept on moving forward.
At last after almost 15 hours out in fresh New Zealand air, well not that fresh when you’re in Rotorua, I could see the finish line. I saw Bec just before the end and I stopped and just gave her a hug, I then took off for the last 20 meters and as I crossed the line gave a click of the heels a-la Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. YEEE HAAAAA 100km done and dusted, what a day and it got even better when I was handed a beer.
Me and Bec then waited with Cory for Geoff to make it back, I was glad for Corys help when she gave me her bottle of
Coke to help get my head back together and stop it from spinning. Geoff came in a bit later followed by the Tail End Charlie on his mountain bike, yes he biked the entire course, who pulled a cracking wheelie as he crossed the line. A day really no to be forgotten in the end, when is next years event?????