“I’m the person that says running is bad for you, always in awe of my friends that would enter races and marathons “for fun”. How do you even do that?! How do you mentally keep going for two or three hours?!? It’s great, but also you’re crazy. These are the exact words I uttered to my new housemate Henry Marchant when he said he was doing the Taupō Ultra marathon.
When I arrived in New Zealand my aim was to do what I normally wouldn’t at home – travel and take on new challenges. I’ve always had an active lifestyle, dominated by team sports, hillwalking and the gym, but never running. Whilst settling into New Plymouth, tramping in and around Mt Taranaki became my regular go-to hobby, and it wasn’t unusual to see locals zooming past on the trails, leaving me in their dust.
The intrigue of trail running started to set in. Could I eventually run the trails I was so eager to walk? This event would be the perfect excuse to see Taupō, a part of the country I’d only briefly seen so far.
It didn’t take long for me to declare to my housemates “I’m gonna do the half ultra distance at Taupō!”. I had 10 weeks to train for 24km. Challenge accepted.
I agonised over trail shoes in my local run shop Fro before joining their trail run group for motivation, still insisting to my experienced trail running work colleagues “I’m not a runner”. On race day I planned to run as much as I could, walk when I needed, and promised to take pictures along the way. I can honestly say, I loved (most of) it, and smashed the 3 hour finish goal I’d set! The best part of this experience? I found friends for life here in Taranaki, people that inspire and motivate me, all bundled up with a shared interest. Trail running is definitely a team sport if you want it to be.
Now I run for the outrageous challenge, the adventures, and the community it’s given me. Recently, I saw someone look at me running as I passed them, the same way I used to look at my runner friends. I’m now that crazy person, and you know what, I kinda love it!! Well, still hate it a wee bit though…
Looks like the trails are stuck with me, and I can’t wait to see where they take me next.”
Heather @heather_rawcliffe
(New Plymouth)
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