Table of contents for April - May 2018 in Trail Run

Pain speaks to us as humans. It’s something that we can all understand. At a molecular level, pain is a universal language. American social critic and novelist James Baldwin stated: “The things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me to all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” In a way, this spectacle of pain is what makes trail running, and racing in particular, so popular. We like seeing people suffer and endure; it adds another level of relish if we ourselves have suffered as our compatriots have. Standing in the rain at the Tarawera Outlet in February, watching 1200 runners come through, I felt a brief personal connection with each and every one of them. From the fine young knives that made…

I don’t know if it is the economy of scale, or cultural interest, or an overwhelming focus for economic purposes on our national game, but New Zealanders don’t seem to celebrate our athletes from other codes who do well on the international stage. Take Fiona Hayvice for instance. This 42-year-old Wellingtonian runs for Salomon, placed fifth at last year’s Western States Endurance Run 100-miler and won the 2016 100km Tarawera Ultramarathon. Check on Ultrasignup and you will see that every finish – be that domestic or international – she has had since starting to run competitively in 2011 has been in the single digits. Fiona trains and races in addition to a busy family life and owning YoYo Design By Kiwis, a popular design store. It’s time that we…

I’ll admit it, sometimes I get all cranky-old-hippy about all the rules attached to some contemporary trail racing events. Then just as I start to climb up on my soapbox, a shiny piece of racing bling catches my eye and I remember that all those new life experiences and wonderful stories of challenges conquered have been made possible because of one fundamental shift on the trail running scene – the creation of the mandatory gear list. Back in the day Around eight years ago when I first started trail running, wet weather gear consisted of barely more than garbage bags or a $5 poncho and nutrition was the ever faithful Vegemite sandwich. Back then the trail running community was much smaller; a close-knit network of experienced trail runners, bushwalkers and…

It has long been recognised that both running and yoga have significant effects on our physical, mental and emotional health. Enhanced emotional wellbeing increases our productivity, self-esteem and resilience, and improves our running performance. Conversely, poor emotional wellbeing can contribute to stress, depression, anxiety, insomnia and lack of energy. Here are some simple techniques that we can incorporate into our running and our yoga practice to help support our emotional wellbeing. Being in the present moment (mindfulness) Past events have already gone and the future is yet to happen (Mipham, 2013). When we are in the present, we are in control of our lives and our running, choosing the direction we want to take and then steering ourselves towards that course. Both running and yoga provide ample opportunities to bring…

SKYLINE TRACK, WANAKA, NEW ZEALAND Distance: 19km Photographer: Brook van Reenen Runner: Jack Beaumont The good dirt: This challenging trail can be tackled in either direction, however it usually takes in Roys Peak over to Mt Alpha before descending through tussock, a 4WD track to Spotts Creek and the Cardrona Valley Road. Amazing scenery, lung-busting climbs, but take care as the weather is changeable and the terrain steep and technical. CHAMONIX, FRANCE Photographer: Skye Meredith The good dirt: Chamonix, in the shadow of the north side of Mont Blanc, is the holy grail of trail running in Europe. It is the start and finish of the iconic Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, the 166km ultramarathon that circumnavigates the mountain, crossing into France, Switzerland and Italy as it goes. This photo was taken…

The Joe Rogan Experience http://podcasts.joerogan.net/ Joe Rogan will talk to anyone about anything… for hours. Comedian, actor, commentator and TV host Rogan has over 1000 episodes of his podcast, speaking to everyone from Neil Degrasse Tyson to MMA fighters. Ideal for a long run, these podcasts frequently smash the three-hour mark. Highlights for me have been Shane Smith, the founder of VICE media, and Maynard James Keenan from Tool. An engaging listen. Talk Ultra www.iancorless.org Another long form podcast that is 100 per cent about running. Ian Corless takes his Eurocentric sensibilities and balances this against co-host Karl Meltzer’s experiences as a top US ultra runner. This show goes deep on all things running, racing and kit. Engaging interviews which are driven by Corless’s palpable enthusiasm. Turned Out a Punk…

“THEY’RE VERY TENACIOUS. THEY’RE DEDICATED. ONCE A WOMAN DECIDES SHE’S GOING TO DO SOMETHING, SHE’LL PROBABLY STICK TO IT.”Arthur Lydiard, on female runners I DISLIKE THE TERM ‘GETTING CHICKED’. IT’S USUALLY USED WITH GOOD-NATURED MOCKERY COUPLED WITH ADMIRATION, BUT STILL ESSENTIALLY IMPLIES THE CHICK-EE IS LESSER FOR BEING PASSED BY A MERE WOMAN. Unlike many women who came before me, I get to enjoy trail running as one of the most unprejudiced areas of my life. It’s an activity we all get to do together, on the same course, at the same time. Unlike more subjective contests, the outcome is straightforward – you ran it in X time and finished in X position. This simplicity is a great thing, bypassing bias, posturing or debate. Let’s say Alex is one of…

Rob de Castella became a household name in Australia during the 1980s when his amazing marathon feats saw him claim two Commonwealth Games marathon titles (Brisbane in 1982 and Edinburgh in 1986), along with a world title at Helsinki in 1983, while inspiring many on to hit the road or trails. Today, he still motivates people to run through the Indigenous Marathon Foundation (IMF), which uses running to celebrate Indigenous resilience and achievement and to create inspirational leaders. It started out as a mission to try to find an Indigenous long-distance runner to rival the great African athletes. After all, the Indigenous people of Australia have a similar background of hunting and gathering, with similar physiology, so why wouldn’t they be brilliant runners? From NT to NYC Matt Long, founder…

My mate Eddy and I agreed to run a marathon before I turned 50 in 2017. We had set our eyes on the XTERRA Trail Challenge in the Karangahake Gorge near Waihi. With 12 months ahead of us, it was a doable mission. But I had never been a runner, let alone a trail runner. In fact, I had become a couch potato – unfit with a few unhealthy habits. To get me started, I read a dozen books, downloaded training plans, subscribed to Trail Runner, bought a pair of shoes and took my first steps into the unknown. The first run I entered was the 16k event at The Hillary on Auckland’s west coast in February. After weeks of training, it looked like a great distance to start…

Mud can sap strength efficiency and, without sound technique, confidence. Running through mud need not be something to fear and, with practice, conquering a particularly muddy piece of trail is both confidence building and extremely fun. Get down and dirty When we run in muddy conditions, our feet will flow like water – that is, they will slide to the lowest point in the trail. Therefore, usually, the most efficient way to navigate mud is to get to the lowest point on the trail. You may slide around, but if you are at the lowest point, you won’t slide far, or when it does slide, it will slide in place. If you tiptoe around, you will only end up sliding down further. Propulsion Generally, when we run in mud, we…

THE BATHERS WAY Newcastle, New South Wales Where: The Bathers Way links Newcastle’s beaches from Merewether Ocean Baths – the largest baths in the southern hemisphere which opened in 1935 – to Nobbys Beach. It forms part of the Great North Walk which stretches from the baths to Sydney. Distance: 6km one way Degree of difficulty: Easy to moderate. The City of Newcastle has recently upgraded the Bathers Way, and are building a four-to six-metre-wide shared path. While there are flat, easy sections, there are a few steep climbs along the way. The Bathers Way is great for walkers, runners, scooters and everyone in between, and it provides access to all the beaches along this stretch of coast. Along the path there are viewing platforms, seating and shade. Access: It’s…

Fear Of Missing Out is the social angst whereby one suffers “a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent”. Humans, being physiologically and psychologically engineered to engage in social activity, will always feel a tug when they perceive that others in their social group are having a good time when they are unable to. I would suggest that we have all suffered from FOMO at one time or another in our lives. Sitting with feelings of distress, isolation and anxiety can be difficult, however ultimately, I believe that resisting FOMO, or at least sitting with FOMO, leads to us becoming more adaptive, integrated and healthier athletes. The risks of not missing out FOMO is the enemy of meaningful progression. FOMO, which is ably…

August of 2017 was a significant month on the Australian running calendar for two very different reasons. On the sixth, we lost one of our senior Golden Girls, four-time Olympic gold medallist, Betty Cuthbert, following her protracted struggle with Multiple Sclerosis. Then, two days later, our most recently crowned Golden Girl, Sally Pearson, reclaimed her title as the pre-eminent 100 metres hurdler in the world. I use the term crowned because these two women, over the years and in their turn, have taken the elevator up to an almost regal status. This begs the question: why do we revere our successful sprinting women? One reason is that we each have a personal relationship with the act of running itself. Theoretically, we are all born to do it. THE SECRET OF…

I was tired – as only those who have been in a Department of Conservation (DoC) hut in peak season can be. Tired because it is pretty difficult to sleep in a bunkroom with 30 other people snoring, farting and crashing about. Tired of being admonished for running – “You should slow down and enjoy the trail!” – as though by running (a staggering six kilometres per hour) I simultaneously experience less while posing a grave danger to my fellow trail-walkers. More than anything, I was tired of having strange faces shoved into mine each night, demanding to know whether I had ‘done’ [insert Great Walk here]. The number of visitors desperate to tick off New Zealand’s mainstream tracks and trails continues to grow, increasing pressure on already over-burdened…

Getting to know yourself and then acting accordingly is one of the most important aspects of a successful life. If you don’t have some understanding of your talents, unique potential and the mind-body connection then you can forget about reaching your true purpose. Socrates expanded the ancient Greek aphorism “know thyself”, and taught that “the unexamined life is not worth living”. Aristotle said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” According to Plato, “For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of all victories.” Some 2000 years later, Sir Edmund Hillary extolled this ancient line of thinking after becoming the first human on the summit of Everest with the famous quote: “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” From basic psychology teachings, it’s well…

The maxim ‘If it didn’t happen on Strava, it didn’t happen’ is gaining increasing amounts of credence as the ubiquity of the GPS has made us a culture of tuned-in runners. Many of us would not even consider running without a watch. We need to know our cadence, pace, speed, heart rate and any number of other variables. If you own a GPS watch, you have probably done it – delayed the start of your run while you impatiently wait for it to get a location fix. You consider heading off before it has found its clearly errant satellite, but unless you are in a huge hurry, you usually ditch the idea for fear of missing out on recording your precious, hard-earned metres. Likewise, you’ve probably found yourself running short…

Name: Eugene Bingham Occupation: Investigative journalist, current affairs producer When did you start running? I’ve run as long as I can remember, starting out doing laps around the block with Dad. At school, I was one of the weird kids who looked forward to athletics day and cross country, and on the weekends when I was older my mate Greg Mac and I would jump in his mum’s car and blast out to Hunua to find bush trails or do insane interval sessions at the Papakura track. I ran my first half marathon at age 16, and my first marathon at 21. After that, it just stuck and it’s always just been a thing I’ve done. What is your favourite type of terrain to run on and your ideal running…