In November 2024 I took on the epic endurance event of the 50km WAI2K Ultra, from Woodside Train Station in Greytown, through the hills of the Wairarapa and Kaitoke Regional Park, to Tunnel Gully Upper Picnic Area in Upper Hutt. This mixed terrain course involves around 2,500m of elevation gain through dense scrub, beautiful native […]
Race registration on Friday night, by the shore of Lake Tekapo, was a ‘hold on tight to your bib’ or you won’t be going anywhere tomorrow affair. The bitingly cold air was a shock to the system, after my husband, daughter and I had driven from a sunny, spring like day in Christchurch. Our flight […]
This was one of the most beautiful trail marathons I’ve ran and was a great way to celebrate a summer of running and see in the beginning of autumn (though the weather was still very much throwing the heat of summer on event day – which fell on the first Saturday in March). The 42km […]
I’ve been on a good running streak for over a year now (meaning no injuries, illness or troublesome hormones to slow me down – thanks to a mix of strength work, good luck and hormone replacement therapy!). When I saw that a new event was going to be held in the city where I live […]
Round the Bays Wellington, held in February every year, is always an iconic event, generally bestowed with sunshine and an amazing turn out of people of all ages. The atmosphere for this event is like a festival, with entertainment lining the route of the first 6km, between Waitangi Park and Kilbirnie Park (where all the […]
With continued niggles in my left hip area and peri-menopause symptoms (oh the joys!) I am taking a much more balanced approach to running these days, spending more time on strength, stability and stretching. I enjoy yin yoga classes to balance out the ‘yang’ of running. I listen more to my body and rest when […]
It felt great to be at the last Xterra Wellington event of the series, meeting up with fellow runners in the Wellington community and hitting the trails at Makara wind farm, with sweeping views over the coastline to the south island on the horizon. Having ran both the medium and long course in previous years […]
February 2020 was the last time I lined up at the start line (well not quite on the start line – as that’s for the real athletes – but mid-way back!) of a running event. The Tarawera Ultra Marathon was the longest I’d ever ran and it was an incredible event. Around six months after […]
Autumn is fully upon us here in New Zealand. The temperatures are still warm and the days mostly sunny, just noticeably shorter. Like most of the world our country is currently ‘in lockdown’ as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our surf boards and other wet play gear is all laying redundant in the garage, […]
Queenstown Marathon had been on my ‘wish list’ for a while. I’m a sucker for a scenically beautiful running event and when it’s also located in a beautiful tourist town, that has heaps of other wonderful activities, I’m sold! I signed up for the Queenstown Marathon early in 2019, giving myself plenty of time to […]
One night in early 2019, in a haze of (a few too many wines) optimism, I decided to sign up for the Tarawera Ultramarathon – held in February each year. I also signed up for the Queenstown Marathon, which was held in November 2019), but that’s another blog post and was a great ‘warm up’ […]
We are half-way through 2019 already and so much has happened, but I’ve been too busy, living and loving it, (and side-tracked by Instagram and Netflix, ahem!) to write about it – so, before this year runs away on me all together I’m going to have to write this catch-up post. I continue to be […]
I signed up for the Xterra West Wind 18km trail run on a post period high whim (hormones making me feel invincible and able to do anything!). I’d not ran much more than 10km in a while and my hill training consisted of walks on the trails around my home, along with my four legged […]
This is the first year we’ve entered the ‘XRACE‘ and really enjoyed the experience. My hubby teamed up with our youngest, 8 year old Alice, whilst I teamed up with our 12 year old, Sophie. All we knew about the race was that we’d be covering nearly 4km of ground with 10 challenges to complete […]