Well, Victoria, this is 155km of why:
18 of us from the practice (with various friends, family, and unlucky people we found to "help") ran around the Great Lake at the center of the North Island.
You see that altitude blip at about 130km? Yeh, that up hill section was mine. No, someone else got the down hill.
This is an annual event, with people running around the lake as a team. There are also teams competing as composite teams, walking some legs and running others, or teams can do the length of the lake. Oh, and for the very silly there's always the option to do it all by yourself. Just 1 of those this year. There are a vast array of teams, some participants older than 80, some from local schools, some running as families, some from a company. There were a number of vet and farm related teams running, and we were one of them.
Composite teams start earlier, and length of the lake later, but our event started at 2am, with fellow member of the Farm Vet Dept, Jordan, team organiser, running 14.4km in the pitch black. He was followed by:
Leg 2: Jess - 14.1km
Leg 3: Emma T (Admin) - 10.1km
Leg 4: Vicki - 8.3km
Leg 5: Monica (SA Nurse)- 10.1km
Leg 6: Bex (Farm Tech)- 8.4km
Leg 7: Isaac - 5.5km
Leg 8: Kristina (Farm Vet)- 7.0km
Leg 9: Harley - 6.8km - I wasn't there- who replaced Charlotte's Harley? He wasn't able to run, but still came to support.
Leg 10: Charlotte (Farm Vet)- 6.9km
Leg 11: Mel - 10.9km
Leg 12: Emma C (proper runner) - 10.2km
And then I arrived!
Yes, my mini-team of 3 had decided to have a restful night at home, sacrificing supporting our friends to ensure good health and adequate energy to get through our sections.
I met Michelle Bloomfield (Lab Tech & pro-supporter) in Halcombe, as well as my fellow runners:
Leg 13: Gary - 8.6km - Michelle's husband to be, farm manager & great guy
Leg 14: Harley T - 7.4km "Dangerous" - Emma T's 16yo son - built for speed, probably for the best on this section with narrow verges.
We all traveled up together, meeting up with everyone else at the check point between Mel and Emma C's legs.
Once there the day filled out into being a jumbled routine of getting in & out of the car to cheer on our team mates, and anyone else running nearby. There were over 200 teams competing, so the road was full of team cars working their way around the lake, supporting everyone through each arduous step.
This routine was eventually broken for me by:
Leg 15: Will (Farm Vet) - 6.1km
"Run/walk on the right hand side of the road. Flat for 2km to Hatepe then a steep hard
climb up the famous Hatepe hill for 2.7km. Flat to finish."
Flat 2km, easy, I even managed to pass a number of people, and managed to not get run over by a tanker on a narrow bridge. This bit was rather pleasant over all, surrounded by exotic forests, running along the road next to the lake.
It was Hatepe Hill (roughly:"HAH-teh-PEA") that was the killer. Elevation of 140m over 2.7km didn't sound like much when it was suggested, but when I drove up it on the way to Rotorua a fortnight previous I got the idea as my ute struggled to do 80km/h. I saw 1 guy pass me and try to run up it- he was nearly passing out by the top. Instead everyone else power walked it. This was fine by me, as a keen hiker and ex-Scout. All those years of climbing hills and being taught to march came to the fore, and I made steady progress walking up the rugged verge, the trees falling away to be replaced by scrub and brush. A single, superbly fit walker stormed past me- I had a steady, breathless word with him, tried to keep up, then lost him and left behind.
The best sight throughout was the three cars of the team suddenly appearing by the roadside, Charlotte's Harley offering a gulp of water to keep me going. At first I felt like I should be running with them all watching, but knew it would only hasten my demise- everyone keenly tells you to walk this section. Their support was phenomenal and much appreciated, reminding me of what needed to be done, and telling me I was doing well. It was enough to give me the energy to continue keeping up with two other power walkers- I didn't mind not catching them, but so long as I wasn't falling behind.
Eventually the lip was in sight. At this tipping point I met one of the heros of the race. There were a number of teams of walkers with members who were considerably over weight. Yet they were here steadily making their way around the lake. We never found out if this was part of some program they were all on, but they were doing very well, making an exceptional effort.
I offered words of encouragement as I passed him, then attempted to begin running my last 1.4km. I passed the super-fit walker who had over taken me on the hill, both of us offering congratulations on the other's progress. And then a stitch. The calves already burned from the first 2km, the thighs from the hill. Those who I'd being trying to keep up with on the hill were still ahead of me, also having made a short run. All 3 of us slowed, however, trying to not collapse. Then the marching kicked in. 200m march, the steady drum beat from Scouts pounding in my head, 100m running to make up distance. I vaguely remember team members parked up with more support, offering a gulp of water I could only half keep down. It was enough to get me to run 300m. Great redwoods began to encroach from the distance towards the roads. I over took those I had seen ahead of me on the hill, as they slowed to a steady walk. As the trees finally came up to the roadside, offering cool shade to us, I saw my finish line. I ran the final 300m into the marked area filled with cars and supporters. And finally met Sam with a high five, passing on the labour to him.
Leg 16: Sam - 8.0km - and the steep downhill I'd created. Was going to do it in his farm boots, but Gary convinced him to use his trainers, and got an excellent time.
Leg 17: Alex (Admin) - 4.7km - including hill, Alex had done no training but hammered it out.
Finally, Leg 18: Maggie (SA Nurse) - 7.5km - Our superb team manager took on the final stretch.
We dropped off Harley at the last 1km, so he could run with Maggie and offer support, whilst the rest of us took a short cut to the finish line.
The last 100m were across the local park, and we ran this together, the majority of the team present to support the final finish.
We're still waiting for the official time, but we recon it took 14 hours in total this year- 45 minutes off last year's time!
Some more links for those interested in finding out more:
Official site: http://www.eventpromotions.co.nz/events/taupo-great-lake-relay/course-information/
Course description: http://www.eventpromotions.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Course-Description-Great-Lake-Relay-2013-NEW.pdf
Course map: http://nz.mapometer.com/running/route_3975530.html%20
Afterwards there was prize giving (fastest time was 9 hours!), lots of fatty food, and beers. A member of the Equine Department allowed us use of their wee holiday home, and a short night of team shots and silly banter commenced. I was introduced to Purple Goanna by Gary- a purple vodka & mixer drink containing caffeine that was popular in the 90's. With sore legs, and prepared for sore heads, we slowly wandered off to bed, to rest up for the next day...
When we went WATER-SKIING!
Sam (who's Alex's BF) had brought his boat with him (a number of people here have boats, for fishing or fun), and so we went out onto the lake.
First there was Biscuiting- the name given to holding onto a rubber ring whilst its pulled by the speed boat, as one tries not to die. I was a bit taller than everyone else, so my legs dangled off the back of the Biscuit, enabling me to use my knees as stabilisers, but causing significant bruises on my knees.
Afterwards we tried water-skiing. Tried. I got as far as managing to get up, but still with knees bent. Others were much better than me, especially Emma C and Emma T.
After all this there was the final journey all the way home, which I slept through.
In addition to all this excitement, Kristina and Jordan, along with their partners Isaac and Vicki, had left us all, deciding that the Foo Fighters concert in Auckland would be preferable to the prize giving (no doubt about that, they were right, though it meant they had a very long weekend)
And Tim Scotland, who we'd left to hold the fort was looking after both the farm and small animals.
So that's why we were all a little jaded on Monday. I still had to go out PD-ing though, and got covered in cow sh*t
