Running blog

  • 11 cool things about Tarawera Ultramarathon 2018

    11 cool things about Tarawera Ultramarathon 2018

    In some ways, Tarawera 102k was a rough race for me this year. In others, it rocked a lot of luck and wonder. Here’s a list based on the latter while describing some of the former. Background – I’ve done Tarawera a bunch of times over different distances, from the cones-in-a-paddock-finish-line days to the hugeContinue… Read more

  • My first 24 hour track race: 2017 Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence Run

    What will it feel like? Many people can’t understand why runners would choose to run in circles on a 400m track for 24 hours. It’s a valid question – the extension of choosing to run in 2k circles over 100k. For me it was as simple as the above: I wanted to experience the highsContinue… Read more

  • ANZ 100k championship 2016 race report

    Mention the idea of running 100k in flat concrete 2k laps to an acquaintance, and they’ll look at you somewhat bemused. Even otherwise-hardcore runners don’t tend to get excited by the idea. No mountains, no soft trail, no point-to-point = no point? The intrinsic pointlessness is part of the charm. It’s hard to explain, but the simplicity ofContinue… Read more

  • 5 tips for running Tarawera Ultramarathon

    Tarawera Ultramarathon is nearly here! I’m down to share tips at a Hawks get-together, and when I wrote them down as notes they turned into pictures. They didn’t turn into colour pictures though, because my child has apparently eaten all my good waterproof pens. Enjoy. 1. Appreciate the moment – frequently. The start of an ultraContinue… Read more

  • Blast from the past: Paris Marathon 2010

    I wrote this four years back to pitch it as a travel article to a newspaper but never got around to it. Enjoy! Pre-child Europe jaunt. People travel to foreign big city marathons for the buzz, the energy, the new experiences. The awe-inspiring amount of public urination before the 2010 Paris Marathon presumably falls intoContinue… Read more

  • From the couch

    I’m at home, by myself, on a beautiful day, with gifted garlic soup heating up in the kitchen. Life is grand. The only blight is the cold sitting like a small elephant on my nose. For the last few months my colleagues and friends have fallen like flies with loathsome lurgies but I’d become complacent. SeemsContinue… Read more

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