22nd May 2022
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/8868134675
https://www.strava.com/activities/7181401559/overview
Race Day
I drove Will out to Waitawa, leaving AK at 7:10, which was ok timing.
Nev ran the Mid course with Jack (and Jack's friend Harry), and Barnaby and Brett opted to give the run a miss due to lingering unwellness.
Michal ran with Daniel and Sophia, and Ed, Helen and Hamish Duff all did the Mid course.
The weather had been a bit rainy, but race morning was pretty dry and the ground was soft but never really muddy at all.
Race
Will and I started out fairly fast on the 23km course, which followed some different paths this year. Will stayed a few paces ahead of me for the first 9km, and I was content to follow along.
As we hit the hill back up from the beach, Will waved me ahead, and started dropping a bit behind me. I was feeling good, and running unexpectedly strongly.
I looked back a few times, and could see that I'd quickly put a pretty large lead on Will (which removed some of the competitive pressure from the rest of my run and made it more enjoyable 😀)
As we started the second lap, the Mid course runners had just started their race. This meant hundreds (literally) of risky overtaking maneuvers along predominantly narrow single-track. If nothing else, it took the mind off the running discomfort! (Unlike last year, I don't think I knocked anyone over...)
The rest of the 'Run Like Crazy' team were having fun out there too.
The second lap sped past pretty quickly - I didn't feel too shattered compared to normal and a couple of gels kept the energy levels up through to the end.
Wrap
It was a good day for everyone - no injuries, strong running, and reasonable weather for most of the morning.
I finished in 4th place overall, which was inexplicably fast. I can only credit a weak field plus my new secret weapon:
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