Innehållsförteckning för August - September 2019 från Trail Run

These wee articles that I’m lucky enough to get to write every few months, well I was thinking about them recently, specifically about what purpose they serve. It’s a funny thing actually, because what has occurred to me is that they are a bit of a cathartic platform and outlet for me, and the things that are occupying my mind at the time of writing. Quite possibly a little bit self-indulgent I know, but hey we all need a bit of that right? I always look forward to getting the latest issue of the Trail Runner mag when it hits the shelves. I genuinely think that it’s a great read and is for the most part a really inclusive, honest-to-goodness representation of what this community is. It also allows me…

“When I’d turned up to the info centre the day before, they told me there were only two people registered for the full marathon at that point and I start to fantasise about winning. I did the same last year, fantasise, not win, and it turned out I was racing an Ironman and he left me in his dust. literally.” So I roll Into Coober Pedy on Friday to run a marathon the following day. I see the two big Wind Farm propeller things, and wonder, does two even qualify as a ‘farm’? And there’s literally not a breath of wind so they’re not doing much. Which is exactly what I’ll be doing while I’m in town. But only cause I’ve been many times before so have seen all the…

Does running as a sport punch above its weight in terms of fundraising? Search ‘running’ on the NZ Givealittle site, and 5,595 results pop up. Gofundme.com has 518,491. While the specific numbers are hard to crunch, there’s no denying that run-based fundraising remains one of the more popular and relatable ways to gather support for a cause. One of these compassionate adventurers is Brook van Reenen, who’s running the length of New Zealand’s Te Araroa trail to raise money for the Mental Health Foundation, setting off in August, “The Te Araroa is a dream that has been around for a while,” says van Reenen. He remembers founder Geoff Chapple staying at their house one Easter while designing the Wanaka component of the trail, and being entranced by Chapple’s yarns. “Geoff…

Western Australia October 6 Perth Running Festival, Burswood, 42k, 21k, 10k, 4k, road 11-13 Pemby Trail Fest, Pemberton, 50k, 14k, 21k, 10k, 7k, off-road 13 Busselton Marathon, 42k, 21k, 10k, 5k, road 26 RunningWorks Ultra Marathon, The Spectacles, 50k, 21k, 8k, kids 3k, off-road November 9-10 Feral Pig Ultra, Pickering Brook, 100m, 50m, 50k, 23k, 5k, off-road 9-10 Trail Run Albany, relay/solo 42k, 21k, 14k, 7k, 5.5k, kids 2.4k, 1.2k, off-road 24 Fremantle Running Festival, Port Beach, 21k, 10k, 5k, road 24 TERRA Trail Run: Dwellingup, Mandurah, 21k, 10k, 5k, off-road New South Wales / ACT August 3-4 Run Dungog, 50k, 25km, 20k, 10k, 5k, kids 2k, off-road 4 Tamworth Running Festival, 21k, 10k, 5k, walk 4km, road 11 The Sun Herald City2Surf, Hyde Park to Bondi Beach, 14k, wheelchair…

The long run is a staple of any ultra marathon training plan, but there is also the ‘longest run’. The longest run is ‘the big one; that is meant to test your physical and mental stamina leading into your target event. However, there remains a debate over the duration of either run what is long? I have attempted to throw some science at the concept to see if I could figure out some appropriate recommendations for runners of all abilities. We have two reasons to complete a ‘long run’ during ultra marathon training. 1: Physical 2: Mental Physical is the obvious reason for completing a long run, but it is also important to be mentally prepared for the duration you are going to spend on your feet. It is also…

What got you into running and how long have you been doing it? SS: I had travelled to cover the Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang and when I got back in March 2018 I realised I just didn’t feel great about how I was physically. I had never been a fan of running but I knew that it would be a good challenge to change my perception. I decided that I would just start, accept that it would be a process to get comfortable with it, and took it from there. I know from past experience that the toughest part is often just getting out the door, so I willed myself to get out pretty much every day without focusing much on how far or how fast. What would a…

Alps 2 Ocean South Island, NZ Starting at the base of New Zealand’s Highest mountain, Mount Cook, to the small, historic town of Oamaru, perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, this rugged 323km race passes by eight lakes, takes in valleys, rivers and diverse terrain. It is set to challenge the hardiest athlete, yet allow virgin ultra-athletes to test their mettle. Run Larapinta Northern Territory, Australia Run Larapinta is a four-day stage race on the Larapinta Trail in the MacDonnell Ranges around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The longer Malbunka course has stages 20km to 45km each day, with a total distance of around 130km over four days. The shorter Manatjira course has stages of 10km to 30km each day, with a total distance of around 80km…

New Zealand’s largest trail running festival has made some changes for 2020 and is set to benefit from a $40 million injection. The Tarawera Ultra Marathon, which will take place on February 8 next year, has shifted its event hub to the lake-front reserve in Rotorua. The reserve has been targeted for a three-year $40-million redevelopment that is set to transform that part of the city and further establish itself as the home of outdoor activity events in New Zealand. Tarawera race director Tim Day, who has been a part of the event in some way shape or form for all but two of its 12-year history, says: “We are very lucky in Rotorua that the provincial growth fund from the government, along with Rotorua Lakes Council is putting money…

Where: The stunningly picturesque Peak Hill Track is located near Castle Hill Village, in Canterbury. Distance: 16.6km out and back trail. Degree of difficulty: Difficult – an above level of fitness and outdoors experience is needed for this run. Access: From Christchurch, head towards Darfield or Hororata until you meet up with Coleridge Road. Continue through Lake Coleridge Village before turning west onto Algidus Road. The signed entrance to Peak Hill is 9km down the shingle road to the Department of Conservation – Peak Hill Conservation Area. Why: If you like to get away from the crowds, Peak Hill Track is still only moderately trafficked. Look for the car park on the right, near the eastern end of Peak Hill. From here, a poled route leads across private farmland onto…

Three days exploring Beijing, wandering around bustling hutongs, the Temple of Heaven, seeing the ancient drum and bell towers (the drums being the traditional method of telling time for the city), Beihai Park, eating in the number one Peking duck restaurant in the city, seeing the famous acrobats in Chaoyang theatre, people-watching and kite flying. I told myself before leaving that I would have a restful week, rent bicycles or taxi from place to place, do some strength exercises and save my running legs. This did not happen. The allure of exploring whilst on holiday was too great and we managed to clock up about 30,000 steps per day (about 21km) of walking while sightseeing. Bikes proved difficult to rent and taxis where impossible to find. However, if I had…

“Success in the really long distances is definitely a mental strength and stamina battle,” says next-level ultra-marathoner Courtney Dauwalter. “The only way I have found to work to develop this is by entering more really long races and putting it to the test.” Dauwalter was in New Zealand earlier this year to run Tarawera, although 100 kilometres may be just a blip on her radar nowadays. “For me, each time I do a long race, new variables and problems present themselves and I am hoping that being exposed to and having to work through these situations will help grow my mental strength.” Watching recent race documentary ‘The Source’, there’s a moment to see this process happening up close and personal. Dauwalter has been leading the Tahoe 200 mile race overall,…

Gilles Poulin is a Pied Piper of philanthropic running – a leader, and a man who makes you want to dance to his tune. A tune he starts with the words ‘Impossible is not a fact, it’s an opinion’. The Founder of the Bromont Ultra Marathon in Quebec, Canada, is not content with just running 100 mile races - every step he takes is towards making the world a better place. Since 2013, his Ultra Giving foundation has raised $630,000 for charity. This year he aims to reach $1 million. What motivates Gilles? “I believe in pushing myself to encourage others in their philanthropy,” he says. This year he has included ReliefAid, a NZ charity delivering emergency aid to families living in war zones, in his starting line-up. “I see…

1 Before all of you the start joints running, get moving and the muscles activated from the tips of your toes to your hips. Walk around on the different aspects of the feet. Squat with your heels on the ground so ‘arse to grass’. Kneel onto your heels, and sit cross-legged. A simple and fast way to get your body to recognise that the ground will be uneven and to react to it. 2 Start with upright a proud starting , yet relaxed position. Move from your lower body whilst keeping everything from hips to head stacked vertically. 3 An efficient stride should happen underneath your centre of gravity. Your stride will become longer as a result of your speed. Not the other way around. Focus on landing under yourself…

Where: The Kuitpo Forest Reserve is just 45 minutes drive from Adelaide, near the rural township of Meadows. Distance: The Onkeeta Trail is a 10.8km circuit. Degree of difficulty: Gently undulating terrain makes for easy running. Access: Take the Freeway out of Adelaide to Hahndorf where you take the turn-off from the main street to Meadows. Following the road as it meanders through the Adelaide Hills, take a dogleg at Meadows before arriving at Black Nursery Road, Kuitpo Forest. The Onkeeta Trail starts opposite Black Nursery Road. Why: Kuitpo Forest Reserve was established in 1898 near the rural township of Meadows. It forms part of Forestry South Australia’s 12,000 hectare Mount Lofty Ranges forest estate, providing sustainable softwood production within a picturesque community playground. Kuitpo Forest is a mixture of…

My journey into becoming a trail runner started eight years ago. I was living in the stunning Hibiscus Coast with my husband (Steff ) and three gorgeous kids, but never would I have imagined that one day I would be running an ultra marathon, let alone a trail ultra marathon. My motivation to start running came from facing absolute heart break and encountering one of the biggest challenges in my life. When I was aged 30, my life came crashing down when over a period of three-to-four years, I experienced the loss of my three babies. Firstly, Holly who was followed by Liam; were both stillborn. Following this, we experienced the neonatal death of our little darling Katie. Katie lived for six weeks and sadly passed away from Necrotizing Enterocolitis…

‘Thunderstruck’, by ACDC, bellowed from the sound systems stacked along the starting corrals. It made me laugh as it vibrated through the crowd. Shoulder-deep in a flood of Latino runners, I hadn’t expected to hear an Australian pub anthem. I almost forgot to start running. Peru knows how to throw a party and the biggest running party of the year is the Lima Marathon. A local buddy stood next to me. He shook out his hands and stepped high like a thoroughbred ready to launch from the starting gate. He threw me a beaming grin. Two years ago, we had met on the street corner near the start corral for this same race. Like so many epic friendships around the world, ours was born from running. This time I opted…

We’ve all experienced that magic feeling as a kid - picking up a flat, round, smooth stone. Then throwing it with just the right trajectory and force for it to skim along the lake with multiple skips - seemingly going forever until it slowly loses energy and the space between the water and the skips decreases and it finally sinks into the watery oblivion. Other times we put more force into the throw but the angle isn’t quite right and it either reflects at too much of an angle and flops down into the water on only the second or third thud; or it enters the water with a loud ‘plop’ without even one skip. The amount of force or effort isn’t the determining factor when it comes to stone…

Many of us are drawn to running for the physical challenges it provides. We want to get stronger, move faster or lose weight, to give just a few examples. With time and effort we start to see results and it is easy to stay motivated to keep heading out on the trails. After a while the improvements start to level off, perhaps we have achieved our initial goal, the weather turns nasty or we find ourselves with a niggling injury or illness. As our enthusiasm drains away it is our underlying attitudes which will determine our future success in trail running. Yoga philosophy (Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras) provides us with an eight-fold path (think branching running trails), which encourages us to move beyond the physical aspects of running and yoga to…