Trail Runの December 2019 - February 2020 の目次

Organised by the Leith Harrier & Athletic Club, Three Peaks is one of New Zealand’s longest-running trail events, so there’s historical significance embedded in its grassroots DNA. So too are stunning views from not one but, you guessed it, three Dunedin peaks, the race named after Flagstaff (668m), Swampy (739m) and Mt Cargill (676m) peaks. Established in 1984, the original route takes in Dunedin’s most beautiful trails, though lush native bush with panoramic views. If the original 26km distance is too much, choose the 11km, finishing at Swampy Summit, noting that there’s still plenty of vert to keep your heart rate up. For its 37th edition, the Three Peaks becomes “Three Peaks Plus One” with an added 52km option pushing the event officially into ultra territory. The extra mountain features…

My feet are blistered and my knees are audibly creaking as I stumble out of the woods half an hour after sunrise. The first thing that my brain registers is Andrew, a broad grin on his face and words of encouragement on his lips. I don’t know him very well – in fact, I’d never met Andrew prior to that early dawn three days ago – but I do know that he shouldn't be there. “Andrew…” I mumble, my voice cracking. “The weekend is over. You’re supposed to be at work.” “Ah, details,” he smiles mischievously. “There was no way I was going to miss this. Guess what I told my boss when I called in sick this morning!?” I look at him quizzically. My brain isn’t working; I’m still…

"STARK, TERRIFYING, MORE THAN A DOZEN PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES ON CASCADE SADDLE." "THE VIOLENCE IS MESMERISING." Funny how some things strike a chord. I first saw a picture of Cascade Saddle many years ago, in an old copy of Wilderness Magazine lying under a bunk in a hut that my possum-trapper father and I were staying in. Stark, terrifying, more than a dozen people have lost their lives on Cascade Saddle and many tales of near-fatal encounters abound. In that shameful voyeuristic tendency unique to humans, the image rolled around in my mind like a boiled sweet over the years. There are a few routes to the Saddle and I chose a three-day fastpack over the 70-kilometre Rees-Dart. Located in Mount Aspiring National Park, Otago, this horseshoe route…

“They look, ummm, pretty,” I thought to myself when first unboxing the latest PureGrit from Brooks. I was - to be honesty - slightly disappointed. My general gut feel with trail running shoes is that I want a gnarly veneer. Rough. Ready for the ‘pure grit’ that the Brooks nameplate evoked. Nothing too, well, pretty! It turns out – as often is the way with me and first impressions – I was wrong. Perhaps I’m just too used to compromising style for the sake of substance but, in this case, it seems I don’t have to. Brooks has managed to create a minimalist trail running shoe that looks shmicko, with or without mud splashed on, and, at the same time, does the job in decently gritty of circumstances (why only…

Now in its 26th running, the Jumbo-Holdsworth Trail Race used to alternate direction every year, and many a bar fight started over which was the ‘best’ direction to run. Utilise the beautifully shaded Donnelly’s Flat for a decent warm-up before braving a technical and brutal 1500m climb to the exposed ridge? Or leverage months of diligent hill training to slay opponents early on the more runnable Gentle Annie, before busting out a fast finish? Either way, Jumbo-Holdsworth delivers remarkable variety over a relatively short distance, but with sufficient grunt-factor to keep a (wo)man honest. The trail climbs out of beautiful native forest onto a tussocked ridgeline traverse with spectacular Tararua views. Be warned: this mountain range is a fickle mistress prone to rapid inclement weather changes – reasonable mountain and…

Take a good (sunny) dose of Pacific island tropical exoticness, match that to ancient landscapes and traditional kanak culture, plus superb trails with run offerings of between 5km and 132km, then add slatherings of French hospitality (read that with a calorie-centric sensibility: as in wine, croissants, baguettes, cheese, and more wine – Bordeaux of course), and a short flight time from Australia or New Zealand (3hrs), and you have the perfect recipe for an awesome ultra trail festival. Welcome to Ultra Trail New Caledonia, your next UTMB points-gaining mission If that’s what you chase (5 points in this case) that doubles as the best running holiday ever. The main event is the 132km with 6000m of elevation gain undertaken while running long sections of the Grand Randonee 1 trail, located…

La Sportiva is best known for bringing the European touch to its trail shoes, providing excellent traction, grip and ground feel for the gnarlier stuff, being born in the Italian mountainscapes. But looking back over La Sportiva’s range, they haven’t seemed to ever be heavily focused on a lightweight racing shoe. Enter stage left: the brand new Kaptivas! I actually received these to test the first week I was allowed back to running after several months of being injured. With tendon issues relating to flat feet, my podiatrist highlighted the importance of me to run in shoes that were rigid in the sole, highly supportive, and spacious enough to fit some chunky orthotics, attributes which I wasn’t convinced the Kaptivas would fulfill given their 6mm drop and lightweight “racer” design,…

Confession time: the first time I ran in The North Face Ampezzos, it was on – don’t judge me – bitumen. I’d broken my cardinal rule. To be fair, it wasn’t boring bitumen – it was a short loop or two that took in the sights of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House on a stunning Emerald City day. But in my head I may as well have been running on kryptonite. And maybe my body would have felt the same if these comfy Ampezzos hadn’t kept my vibe amped. Cause here’s the second admission: these things were damn comfy on that hard stuff! Now, I was mildly annoyed, to be honest, standing in front of the shoe wall at The North Face store in Pitt Street –…

Birdsville local, Jenna Brook, looked out of the window as her plane cruised high over the ochre expanse of the mighty Simpson Desert and thought to herself: “What a shame there are no single stage running events around here.” Two weeks later, she brought the Simpson Desert Ultra to life, offering a second chance for those who missed out on experiencing a proper desert run with the demise of the Big Red Run last year. In June 2020, the tightknit Birdsville community, renowned for their hospitality, will come together to support runners covering 160km, 80km, 42km or 20km on the looped course (four 20km loops with a central main aid station) exploring the famous outback locale.. Participants will take in only about 5% percent of defined trail, the rest wild…

I first came across this trail while setting a fastest known time on the 76-mile (122km) Pfiffner Traverse in the Colorado Rockies,” says Sunny Stroeer, who is quickly gaining a name for herself as a formidable FKT-hunter. The Pfiffner is an obscure yet gorgeous high mountain route with about 40% off-trail travel linking some of the most spectacular, buttery single track trail you can imagine… “like this stretch of high trail near Arapaho Pass in the Indian Peaks Wilderness,” says Sunny. The real kicker to the Pfiffner is that it only dips below 3000m ASL twice from start to finish. “Completing the Pfiffner Traverse in a single push took me two attempts in July of 2018, but I eventually set an unsupported FKT of 54 hours and 41 minutes,” says…

“IT ISN’T REALLY POSSIBLE TO TRAIN FOR 555KM.” It was 57 hours into the race and the mind games had started within Australian, Jason Reardon. During an ungodly hour of the night, he was descending Tanglang La – a high altitude pass at 5328m on the Manali-Leh highway in the far northern reaches of India. The fatigue of enduring hundreds of kilometres was taking its toll and hallucinations had set in. In the distance, Reardon now saw the flickering lights of a shopping centre. A few moments later, a lady conjured out of thin air, hurling crosses at him, while Oriental warriors jumped out of the barren side of the mountain. The white lines on the road had transformed into slithering snakes that blocked his path, while cats and dogs…

Mountain adventurer and most famous as the director of the iconic Northburn 100 ultra in Central Otago, New Zealand, Terry Davis is known as the guy who laughs in the face of other people’s suffering - and he doesn’t think that’s a bad thing. But there’s a lot more to the ‘sadistic’ race director than meets the eye. The first time we met up for this article, Terry suggested lunch. Lunch with Terry isn’t your average “meet up at a cafe for a pie and a chat” lunch. When I told him we needed to catch up so I could write this, he told me he’d pop around at midday with lunch. “Lunch” it turns out, was lamb’s fry fresh from his farm, which he cooked to absolute Michelin-star perfection…

"GRIEF HAD TAKEN A MAMMOTH TOLL ON MY BODY. IT WAS STILL IN SHOCK" It's dusk in the desert and I'm captivated by the first stars appearing as the soft evening light dims. With the bustle of the Bedouin-style camp behind me, mesa silhouettes on the horizon, and red sand under my feet, it strikes me how painfully far away I am from my comfort zone of homely paradise in New Zealand. The following morning I'm set to embark on a five-day, 250-kilometre meander through the stomping ground of Lawrence of Arabia, the Wadi Rum desert. The Wadi Rum is tucked away in the far south of Jordan, on the fringe of the Arabian desert. It will be my first ultra marathon – what a way to pop the ultra…