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 […]
The Paekakariki Escarpment Track, north of Wellington on the Kapiti coast, otherwise known as ‘The Stairway to Heaven’, is a 9.6km walk, comprising of lots of steps (more than 400) climbing to 220m above sea level, a couple of 40m swing bridges and a narrow pathway with some steep drop offs (not for the faint […]
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’ […]
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 […]
I first stumbled across the enticing play areas of the Matairangi Nature Trail, along the ridge line of Mt Victoria, on one of my long runs. I couldn’t wait to grab an opportunity to bring my two youngest children to explore, climb and play. I’ve always loved walking and running the town belt trails of […]
In the planning of our visit to the UK we’d set aside ‘Thursday 15th September’ for taking a walk on Snowdon – without setting any expectations about how far we’d walk (since our group of four included my 6 year old daughter, Alice, and we had no idea what the weather Gods would have in […]
I’m a great believer in gentle exercise helping to heal the body and a few weeks back, when my ten year old daughter was fighting off a long lingering chesty cough, with a dose of antibiotics, I took her out to explore a Wellington trail we’d not explored before. The walk, located in the hills […]
I’m reading a marvellous book at the moment called, ‘The World at My Feet‘, by Tom Denniss “In 2013, Australian Tom Denniss became the fastest person to circumnavigate the world on foot. His epic journey lasted nearly two years, and for each of the 622 days it took him to run around the planet, Tom […]
Last week, after dropping the girls off at school, I drove back to the south coast, with my dog on my lap, and decided, on the spur of the moment, to do a walk I’d often thought about doing, but hadn’t yet got around to doing. I wasn’t best equipped. I really should have taken […]
I’m always looking for the next challenge to keep me motivated to get outdoors and exercise (especially given the Wellington wind can often make that less appealing!). Over the past winter I have felt the most upbeat I’ve been in years (given that my three daughters now sleep through the night, and my eleven years […]
It’s been a fortnight since school started back for my three daughters and that’s freed up some running time for me! I’ve had some beautiful runs on Wellington’s south coast, even a half marathon out to see the winter colony of New Zealand fur seals at Red Rocks, beyond Owhiro Bay, along the Pariwhero Track. […]
Running and walking the gorgeous trails of the Wellington town belt (with a touch of housework, school drop-offs, pick-ups, and other organising in between) has quickly become my term time ‘go to’ whilst all the girls are at school. The autumnal weather has been beautiful and mild. Having a gorgeous puppy to share my time with […]
Whilst holiday in North Wales I was delighted to escape out for a couple of runs along the gorgeous coastline that borders the Hafan Y Mor Havan Caravan Holiday Park. If the pull of spending time with my family hadn’t been so strong I would have strapped on a backpack and disappeared for a whole […]
Running a new trail, no preconceptions Following the track, as long as it runs. Uphill legs are taken without knowing Desire to explore overriding exertion. Unexpected surprises of nature – Cross the path ahead, & sour in the sky. A labyrinth of trails, for mind and soul – Prick the senses, revive the body. © […]