Auckland Trail Series Riverhead 2026
10 August 2026
20.1km, 578m vert, 2:11:24
Build up
I'd sprained my right ankle 4 weeks prior, which greatly limited my running leading up to this race. However I'd done more cycling than ever before, and actually lost several kg, and was muchly (bigly?) looking forward to doing a 'proper' run. I was worried about re-spraining my ankle, but apart from some achiness it felt pretty strong, so hey, letzzz go!
Run
I drove Will, Juliette and Michal out. In heavy rain. (the first rain for ages). The rain mostly stopped by the time we started the run, but the trails were wet! Wet and slippery and mostly the mountain bike/motorcycle trails were rutted grooves filled with 6 inches of water and clay banks. But there was also a lovely dosing of pine needles everywhere to slightly improve the grip levels, and I barely slipped the entire day. This in spite of crashing smashing through the forest mud with reckless abandon.
Will and Juliette renewed their (one-sided) rivalry, and the TAB odds of 12:1 against Will turned out correct as Juliette (in spite of using shoes utterly lacking anything resembling studs) beat him home by 5 minutes. (1st female and 8th overall). Will was first in the 50+.
I started along the first gravel road with Michal in my sights, and we ended up running close together the entire way. I would overtake him on the technical muddy parts, and then on the flat/gravel roads Michal would absolutely crush me. (Michal was also returning after an injury break). After swapping the lead several times, I moved ahead of him a bit more (100m?) at about the 15km mark and this kept me honest as I knew he was close behind. I tired somewhat, but never hit the wall, and kept up a strong pace. Fortunately there seemed to be more technical trails (80%+?) and fewer gravel roads than I remembered. Endless bogs and mud!
With 500m to go to the finish, I could still sometimes spot Michal behind me, but I was now confident that I could stay ahead of him. However, on literally the last corner before the finish line, I slipped on an innocuous piece of mud and splattered down. No injury, but both calves immediately cramped, and it took quite a while before I could even actually stand up again! I hobbled the final 50m to the finish line and beat Michal by 1 second!
Sophia and Daniel were 3rd and 4th (overall!) in the short course, with Maria also doing well. (Note that Daniel is 10 !)
Wrap
I was super happy that my ankle survived intact, although today (monday) it is pretty sore.
Riverhead proved to be one of my most fun runs. Just so much fast running stepping decision making and soft footing. (except for the gravel bits). I was 4th in my age group, so I need to work on my fitness.
Our Run Like Crazy team is way ahead in the overall team standings :)
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