15 February 2020
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4551055187
https://www.strava.com/activities/3100468209
http://shotovermoonlight.co.nz/
https://www.strava.com/activities/3100468209
http://shotovermoonlight.co.nz/
The Video
https://www.relive.cc/view/vevW7jd9jyv
The Buildup
I had some steady training for this race over xmas, with a number of Hay Road runs etc. But no long runs! So I was fairly fresh and fairly unfit.
I flew down and stayed with Steve et al, which was great. (Thanks for the GoPro borrow too)
The Morning
I got up at 4:30am (eek!) and drove out to Moke Lake for the bus pickup. Pretty dark and mysterious out there so early!
The bus trip (back via Queenstown and out to Skipper's Canyon) was epic. That road through Skipper's is just plain scary.
The Run
From the bus drop off point, we walked across the bridge over the canyon, and descended down to the start line on the river.
The helicopters were running late, so they landed the last few VIP runners (Hi Jenny and Peter!) down on the river shingle. (cue enormous dust storms), and we started 15 minutes late.
The run starts up a hill. Surprise!
I wore my normal Saloman SpeedCross5 shoes, which were perfect for the track and conditions. They are especially strong in the forefoot fabric, which is good protection against my toes getting mashed when descending the hills.
The tracks were lovely. The section from about 3km to 8km followed a high trail above a big gorge down to the river. You would *not* want to fall off the trail here.
After a while, we dropped down into a lovely stream. I tried for a bit to keep my feet dry, but there were multiple crossings, so I eventually gave up and enjoyed the cool water.
By 11km, we were climbing another interminable hill, and the day was starting to heat up.
Stunning views made up for it, though.
I had decided to eat and drink heaps, so in total I ate 6 Replace Gels, 3 Muesli Bars and sucked on some caffeine filled lollies for a boost. My tummy was great all day. (I stopped for a quick toily break at the half-way lodge)
I drank most of my 1.5 litres that I was carrying, but I also made good use of the 6? aid stations, at which I had 3 cups of water at each. I also drank from 4 streams along the way. I estimate I drank in total over 4 litres. In spite of this, by the end, my weight had still dropped about 4.5kg!
We got up onto some narrow ridges, including 'Death Ridge' which was high and, er, ridge-like.
There was a great variety of terrain, including some nice shady forested portions.
Big views everywhere.
Sliding down the scree slope was fun :)
The day was fine, with some high cloud fortunately. But very little wind, so it got pretty hot by about midday onwards, and it was always a big relief to be down in a river.
But after every down, there was always another up...
By about 30k, I was cooked. But I was happy and not sore in any particular place.
I had enjoyed the first 2/3 of the race so much that I wasn't fussed about my pace slowing and the increasing heat. I already felt that my day had been a success :)
After this high knoll, we descended the dreaded fenceline track. Man, this was hard! Steep downhill on tussock, following narrow sheep trails. The trouble is that the sheep trails are only 5 inches wide, so running down them requires an awkward shuffle. The fenceline path descended (for approximately a million miles by my estimate) down to a river. Yay!
By this time, my inner thighs were cramping. (I think from the weird leg contortions required for running on such narrow trails??) They weren't cramping all the time, but enough that I had to resort to the utterly hideous CrampFix !!!
I thought (at the time) that this was the river that flows out of Moke Lake, and which I would follow home for just a few kilometers.
But no.
Sadly, first there was one last big climb up and over another hill.
But finally I was down in the river, with no more hills to climb :)
Once I was down on the flat, with 40km on my watch, I thought I was all good to finish soon. However, the last section involved lots (15?) of stream crossings, and of course I was barely stumbling along slowly anyway by then. Also, it turned out that the total distance was to be over 44km! But I got there finally.
It was nice to see Steve/Tracey/TheBoyz at the end.
Sasha and Rachel did the 30km option, and it was great to see them at the finish. Well done to them! (Sasha was 3rd overall!)
Wrap up
This is one of the most awesome events that I have ever done.Super scenic, super hard, super interesting.
Before the race start, I had estimated that I might come, say, 3rd in the 50+ age group. This would correspond to a time of about 6.5 hours. As it turned out, I took over 7.5 hours (and came 6th of 23 in the 50+). So, I was a lot slower and less fit than I thought I was.
I'm not sure how I could have run much faster... more long training runs I guess. (at the risk of being over tired). Overall I was very happy with my day out.
After the race I felt only somewhat queasy, and although I got DOMS in my thighs by Monday, it wasn't too bad. (perhaps the walks with Steve on Sunday and Monday helped?)
The Buildup
I had some steady training for this race over xmas, with a number of Hay Road runs etc. But no long runs! So I was fairly fresh and fairly unfit.
I flew down and stayed with Steve et al, which was great. (Thanks for the GoPro borrow too)
The Morning
I got up at 4:30am (eek!) and drove out to Moke Lake for the bus pickup. Pretty dark and mysterious out there so early!
The bus trip (back via Queenstown and out to Skipper's Canyon) was epic. That road through Skipper's is just plain scary.
The Run
From the bus drop off point, we walked across the bridge over the canyon, and descended down to the start line on the river.
The helicopters were running late, so they landed the last few VIP runners (Hi Jenny and Peter!) down on the river shingle. (cue enormous dust storms), and we started 15 minutes late.
The run starts up a hill. Surprise!
I wore my normal Saloman SpeedCross5 shoes, which were perfect for the track and conditions. They are especially strong in the forefoot fabric, which is good protection against my toes getting mashed when descending the hills.
The tracks were lovely. The section from about 3km to 8km followed a high trail above a big gorge down to the river. You would *not* want to fall off the trail here.
After a while, we dropped down into a lovely stream. I tried for a bit to keep my feet dry, but there were multiple crossings, so I eventually gave up and enjoyed the cool water.
By 11km, we were climbing another interminable hill, and the day was starting to heat up.
Stunning views made up for it, though.
I had decided to eat and drink heaps, so in total I ate 6 Replace Gels, 3 Muesli Bars and sucked on some caffeine filled lollies for a boost. My tummy was great all day. (I stopped for a quick toily break at the half-way lodge)
I drank most of my 1.5 litres that I was carrying, but I also made good use of the 6? aid stations, at which I had 3 cups of water at each. I also drank from 4 streams along the way. I estimate I drank in total over 4 litres. In spite of this, by the end, my weight had still dropped about 4.5kg!
We got up onto some narrow ridges, including 'Death Ridge' which was high and, er, ridge-like.
There was a great variety of terrain, including some nice shady forested portions.
Sliding down the scree slope was fun :)
The day was fine, with some high cloud fortunately. But very little wind, so it got pretty hot by about midday onwards, and it was always a big relief to be down in a river.
But after every down, there was always another up...
By about 30k, I was cooked. But I was happy and not sore in any particular place.
After this high knoll, we descended the dreaded fenceline track. Man, this was hard! Steep downhill on tussock, following narrow sheep trails. The trouble is that the sheep trails are only 5 inches wide, so running down them requires an awkward shuffle. The fenceline path descended (for approximately a million miles by my estimate) down to a river. Yay!
By this time, my inner thighs were cramping. (I think from the weird leg contortions required for running on such narrow trails??) They weren't cramping all the time, but enough that I had to resort to the utterly hideous CrampFix !!!
I thought (at the time) that this was the river that flows out of Moke Lake, and which I would follow home for just a few kilometers.
But no.
Sadly, first there was one last big climb up and over another hill.
But finally I was down in the river, with no more hills to climb :)
Once I was down on the flat, with 40km on my watch, I thought I was all good to finish soon. However, the last section involved lots (15?) of stream crossings, and of course I was barely stumbling along slowly anyway by then. Also, it turned out that the total distance was to be over 44km! But I got there finally.
It was nice to see Steve/Tracey/TheBoyz at the end.
Sasha and Rachel did the 30km option, and it was great to see them at the finish. Well done to them! (Sasha was 3rd overall!)
Wrap up
This is one of the most awesome events that I have ever done.Super scenic, super hard, super interesting.
Before the race start, I had estimated that I might come, say, 3rd in the 50+ age group. This would correspond to a time of about 6.5 hours. As it turned out, I took over 7.5 hours (and came 6th of 23 in the 50+). So, I was a lot slower and less fit than I thought I was.
I'm not sure how I could have run much faster... more long training runs I guess. (at the risk of being over tired). Overall I was very happy with my day out.
After the race I felt only somewhat queasy, and although I got DOMS in my thighs by Monday, it wasn't too bad. (perhaps the walks with Steve on Sunday and Monday helped?)
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