Well, we survived. It was incredibly hard and the terrain was insanely tough. But we made it. Here's my (Sunil) story: It was a great adventure (mission), starting with the drive down late Friday arvo with the Aucks long weekend traffic, Subway in Otorohanga - home of NZ's Kiwiana town (""make the Kiwi connection""), a stop for a photo of the setting sun in the valley and witnessing an accident (guess when it says 30km/hr on gravel you should go 30km/hr). The whole trip down was accompanied by various remixes of ""Pants on the Ground"", thanks Stu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkeAzqhlkNk We arrived in National Park in the evening, checked into our sweet room at The Park Travellers Lodge and picked up our race packs. After a beer, snack and trying on all our gear for the next day (it was mandatory to take thermals, jacket, beanie, emergency blanket and water), we hit the hay slightly nervous about the task ahead. Race day and we were highly disorganised after a breakfast nightmare, we had to rush to the bus and in doing so forgot snacks (there were no aid stations), sunscreen and sweat bands. Because we were last on the bus there were no seats and we had to sit on the stairs, which was hard and hot because it was above the engine block. An hour on the bus and we were at the start in Tukino. Everyone jumped off the bus to join the long queue for the 1 portaloo. We decided just to take a leak behind a tree, problem was we were on the plateau...no trees, just tussock and shrubs, a pretty funny sight. Quick race briefing, handshakes and we were underway. The start was about 2km straight up the mountain! Stu took off and owned the hill, Mannix and I plodded along and took our rightful place smack bang in the middle of the pack. The downhill was interesting, no track, plenty of boulders, medium sized ankle breaker rocks and sand to fill your shoes. Stu was insight for about another couple of kms before he disappeared. I was only a hundred or so metres ahead of Mannix, so I had a target on my back for him. The route was wickedly up and down and weaved it's way through the valleys and across streams. Some of the uphills were more like rock climbing than running and reduced even the top athletes to a walk/climb. I managed to maintain a half jog up one hill and as a passed a ""more experienced"" runner at the 6km mark, he said in a snarky tone ""there's still a lot of K's to go buddy and this is the easy part"" - cheers mate. Mannix joined me about an hour into it and we chewed through the next 10 or so kms together. We encouraged each other along as we got 2nd, 3rd and 4th winds at different times. The terrain and scenery was spectacular, like another planet. Up and down we battled on, weaving in and out, kicking the odd rock, off balancing on others, through mud, over tussock, along bridges, all in about 20-25 degree heat. I got my 5th wind about the 20km mark and pushed harder, saying to Mannix at the time ""I think I have got my 5th wind, I'm just not really sure how many I have left"". There was another tough uphill, then a long but technical downhill. This is when the mind starts to go and the head starts to wobble. Apart from the obvious difference to running on the road, it the constant concentration that makes it mentally draining. After passing a beautiful waterfall, it was a fast few kms through the only forest part of the course. The 24 and 26km markers were gratefully received. But the last km felt like 3! With the Chateau and finish line in sight the track cruelly delivered one more hill to conquer. Thinking of the fundraising goal we set ourselves and all you sponsors, I was keen for a solid finish. Unfortunately with 200m to go my calf muscles had other ideas and cramped badly. So, I hobbled over the line in comedic fashion like Charlie Chaplin to the encouragement and laughter of Stu. Stu, showed how outstanding an athlete he has become with a 2:35 time and a top 15 finish (to be confirmed). He is an absolute legend and this was another amazing effort and achievement from him. Respect. I finished where I started, somewhere in the middle of the pack, in a time of 3:14. Survived. Mannix was not far behind me in 3:19. Damn impressive for a guy who hasn't run anywhere near that distance before on the roads, let along over a mountain! Solid. Sharing driving duties on the way home to avoid dangerous cramping episodes, we reflected on our achievement and started planning the next adventure.
