“I’m not sure where to start really. I’m in my 60s and can’t run like I used to. As a youngster I actually used to hate sport but in my teens I was a keen tramper and covered most of Fiordland. I got sponsored to go to Outward Bound twice which gave me an incentive to look for further adventures. I also went on to get a Diploma in Sport & Recreation. Not that I ever used it.
I started my running at a low key level but over time got to running marathons. My PB was 2hr 56 and for a half 1hr 19. Running was on a high in the 80’s and we had good turnouts for the 10km Thursday runs in Invercargill. At the time I used to run for St Paul’s Harriers, of which my grandfather was a club founder. There is a cross country event, the McIndoe Casket, named after him. I took an interest in triathlons too and did a half Ironman. At one stage I went and ran down the 70km Marlborough Sounds. There was also a local run over the Wilmont Pass, being around 13km. I always got 2nd unfortunately.
In the 80’s mountain biking was a new sport too, although there were only 2 types of bikes available at the time. A mountain bike club was formed in Invercargill with an annual event in Borland down at Mt Burns. I competed in the Gutbuster twice over the Nevis. We once biked from Deep Cove to Borland too. At the time I was a hut warden on the Humpridge and out at Milford. Rosco, a local chap, used to have a mountain bike race from the Homer Tunnel down to Milford, about 16km with 16min being the best. I could only manage 30min. Tramping was still my main interest and over time I climbed Mt Egmont 6 times, did Nelson Lake, Marlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman, Arthur’s Pass, Cobb Dam at Takaka, Dusky Sounds, and the southern end of Stewart Island – the mud there can be up to your knees!
In between tramping seasons I used to do DOC volunteer projects at Skippers, as well as Stewart Island, Pig and Pigeon Island at Glenorchy, Ranfurly and at the Catlins. There was the Fox Glacier clean up, and I used to help Forest and Bird out, often planting trees and taking pinus radiata out at mid dome. I used to compete in the odd winter duathlon too. I hadn’t been overseas, so then I went to Queensland to work on a cattle ranch, as well as Fiji, Niue and Samoa. All of this kept me pretty fit.
Then in 1988 the Kepler came on. They thought it was 67km, and it only cost $65 to enter. Entries had to be posted in and it was first in, first to get accepted. At the time running 67km was unheard of so you felt like an early pioneer. The first race had 150 entries. The alpine section was cold with 20 knot winds. There was a time limit of 13 hrs for the race, but at the back of Luxmore there was no track. Beyond there you just had to run on tussock. They gave us Moro bars and jelly beans and Russell Prince won it that year. During the race I heard a runner got picked up by boat near the Iris Burn river and got taken down to rejoin just before Moturau Hut.
At one stage, on the 10th Kepler (1998) several runners didn’t gain entry and felt left out, so they ran it unofficially. There were some very fit people back then, and one Murray Thomas did the 5 day Southern Traverse and then ran the Kepler 24hrs later.
For the 20th Anniversary event some 30 to 40 of us first timers ran from the bridge to the dam. At the time I was employed at NZAS (New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter) at Tiwai Point in Bluff, and the race organisers asked me who to approach to sponsor the Kepler Challenge. From there, NZAS got involved and for several years all those from Tiwai, we got articles in the Tiwai Pointer (newsletter).
I remember too, in 2002 the weather was particularly bad with blizzard conditions. We went down to the Kepler start at 6am but were told to come back later. For the first time the race was changed and you had to run up to Luxmore, then to the Iris Burn, and back to the dam.
The spirit of the Kepler still prevails, but those first timers, they’re like our war veterans, and some are no longer around. My two mates who ran with me have both passed away. Murray Thomas who has run 21 times is still here. I saw his 84 year old mum on the 5km parkrun. I used to run home from work with him.
We’re all getting older and I tell you, the body doesn’t work like it used to. I still do swimming, go to the gym and pilates and do the 5km walks. There are so many memories to look back on though, and good people I knew. It was all an adventure at the time, one I’ll treasure.”
Neil Coaley
(Invercargill/Fiordland)
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