We caught up with Ruby and James ahead of this weekend races. Ruby will be doing the 80km Sky Ultra on Friday, while James tackles the Mount Blance Marathon on Sunday.

• You have both had a bit of time out from major trail running races here in NZ over the summer- what have you guys been up too?

Ruby checking out the French Alps. Photo: Blake Hose

RM- Mainly rolling around on a foam roller, and an evil little ball. Going to work and feeling sorry for myself. Was recovering from a stress fracture and after that found my back was dysfunctional and it was a long journey back from there.

JK- I devoted 2013 to my chiropractic studies, and CADENCE coaching, and put any ideas of competition on hold for twelve months. I graduated as a chiropractor at the end of 2013 and have spent the early part of 2014 building my fitness.

• With this time out, this is a “come back” race of sorts- how are you feeling about our first big race back?

RM- I am really happy to be running again, especially in such a mind blowing place. To be honest I haven’t been able to do anywhere near the preparation I’d like, but I am thinking of it in a positive way; I am very fresh.

JK- It is great to be back training, and I am excited about getting to Chamonix and mixing it with the best that Europe has to offer.

• How has the build up been? How have you prepared for such an under taking?

RM- I have been having to train a bit smarter then usual as I haven’t been able to put in anywhere near the milage I am used to. I have been doing a more conventional road runners training, keeping my easy days real easy. Racing some short fast Harrier races in the weekends and doing a fartleck and a hill rep or track session each week. I managed to get two longish runs in the mountains which were a good confidence booster. I think I am really only hitting around 100km a week tops as I am still quiet near the beginning of my journey back.

JK- My progression over the last three months has been exactly as I had hoped. I have, and continue to work hard on my technique, flexibility and mobility in order to keep my body functioning the way that I need it to. When I sat first discussed the plan with the CADENCE Coaching team, we identified that it was important to put myself into tactical situations due to my lack of racing in recent times. So, I have raced a lot (by my standards) generally on tired legs. I put the finishing touches on my preparation last week with a week staying and training out of Snowline Ski Club on Mt. Ruapehu.

• You have both compete in championship events before (James Commonwealth Ultra, Ruby World Mt Running), but have either of you raced in France or a Sky Running Event before?

James racing the Commonwealth Ultra Champs in Wales.

RM- When I went to the Mountain Running Champs I also ran Drie Zinnen in the Dolomites in Italy. This is my first time in France and my first Sky Running race.

JK- This will be my first time racing in France, and my first Sky Running event

• Ruby I know you are now in Chamonix- first impressions? James?

RM- Chamonix is awesome, a beautiful tourist town with lots if tempting french treats and expensive things to spend money on. everyone here looks fit. The mountains and trails are so close to town and good fun running. I am already certain the Kristian and I will be heading back here, hopefully in the not too distant future.

JK- I think I one of the last of the Australia/New Zealand team to arrive in Chamonix. I will be arriving in Chamonix on Thursday.

• What are your expectations for the Sky Running World Champs?

RM- I don’t really know what to expect, sometimes I believe I will do quite well, others I am preparing myself for a schooling. I guess I will back myself to say I believe I have the potential to do well at these events, and even win them but I don’t know that this is the time. There are the top runners here with much more experience than me.

JK- It is hard to know what to expect from Sunday’s race. If nothing else it will give me a great benchmark to work from as my fitness and speed continue to develop over the coming months and years.

• Post Sky Running World Champs- will you be doing any other races in Europe?

RM- I am heading home the monday after my race. I would love to but have work and more importantly a beloved at home. The original reason I signed up to this was I was given an extension until the end of June to get a 3 point race in for UTMB, and this was the last race in June. I am not sure about UTMB though, I don’t really have the money to come back again. More so I am pretty sure I can’t bring myself to leave KDay back home again, UTMB is on his birthday and it seems pretty cruel.

JK- After Chamonix, my partner and I are planning to follow the Tour de France. I don’t have any other races planned, though if an opportunity presents itself we shall see.

• What do you have planned for the upcoming summer in NZ- where can we expect to see you race next and what are your major goals for 2015?

RM- If things go well my next plan is Kepler, going to give that record a shot. Beyond that I haven’t laid any plans. Running is a fickle mistress and I am not confident enough to plan that far ahead.

JK- I haven’t set any major goals beyond the Mont Blanc Marathon, though Total Sport’s new Coastal Challenge Series looks like it has my name written all over it.  Also, A big thank you to CADENCE Coaching, Barefoot Inc, Total Sport & Out Wear NZ for their continued support.

Shaun Collins (Lactic Turkey Events), like a lot of others is passionate about sharing his playground.

In January 2010 the Hillary Trail in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park was opened. It’s approximately 75km agglomeration of existing trails that were re-cut and developed between 2005 and 2009 as a suitable memorial to Sir Ed whose family had extensive links to the area from the early 1900’s. The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) “…..sees the creation of the Hillary Trail as an important legacy for the people of Auckland and NEW ZEALAND”. Highlight and emphasis added. I fully agree with that statement it has certainly opened my myopic eyes to the possibility of fun on the trails in Auckland. As soon as the trail was opened it has been seen as a challenge to run in a day. As soon as it was opened it was run, Shaun himself leading the charge from the Arataki end with Gus Grey and Nick Harris from the Muriwai end. Sam Manson holds the current Fastest Known Time (FKT) at 9hrs 9mins.

As long as it has been run there have been discussions about a race on the trail. Who better to persue that opportunity than Shaun? Lactic Turkeys Events already held a concession for the Wild Turkey Half Marathon. It allowed 300 runners to explore a loop based at Whatipu that uses part of the Trail. Shaun was prepared to give up that concession in exchange for lesser numbers to run the trail. So he began the consents process, complicated by valid concerns of a disease that is killing large tracts of Kauri Forest. In short Kauri dieback or PTA (Phytophthora agathis) is a fungus like disease that affects only Kauri in this country, although similar problem occur in other countries. The trails and bush around Adelaide where the Yurrebilla Trail race is conducted are also affected by the disease.

As with other Biological pests (eg Rock Snot) minimizing the affect that humans have on transmitting the disease is uppermost in conservators minds. So DOC and other agencies were pleased with the plans that Shaun had in place and gave the event the go ahead. There were some members of the public who were anti the whole event regardless of any disease. In public consultation they were adamant that the park shouldn’t be promoted for trail running or for people outside of Auckland. Make that one reason for me to want to go.

So with all the “I’s” crossed and the “t’s” dotted relevant approvals, the council said No. With no reason given. Mark up reason number two for me wanting to come. The logic of a run with 130 participants in place of one that allowed 300 is beyond me. So Shaun reinstated his permitted event, added a marathon and sent out invites and I was instantly hooked. I actually had no great desire to run the Hillary, I felt it was best left as a FKT style trail. But nothing annoys me more than the ignorance of NIMBY’s and Politicians acting with closed minds and personal agendas.

So here I come, to stick it to the Council and stick to the NIMBY who doesn’t want me to visit “their” park. I am almost certainly going to find new and interesting things and shock horror, promote the place to anyone who asks where they should run.

Grant is actually expecting some sort of race preview. Shaun has been a bit busy and all I got from him was that Chris “heads in a bag” Morrissey and I are running the marathon. James Kuegler and Tom Reynolds are running the Half. So predictions will be easy.

Marathon
Chris Morrissey followed by some people that Shaun didn’t tell me about and then me. I actually asked if Chris would get lost. Probably not as he has run the event 9 of the 10 times previously held, and the one he missed was car trouble (I live in hope).

Half Marathon
Tom Reynolds vs James Kuegler, Tom will take that out, he’s good, mostly because he runs with maps. James may line up in the marathon anyway. He has kindly offered accommodation and airport transfers for me and was a bit shocked we have to be at the marathon start before 7:30am.

The outcome of this race is insignificant to me, it’s about supporting Lactic Turkey, Shaun and the trail runners of Auckland and the Kauri. Left is what an 85year old Kauri looks like. My Grandmother took this as a seedling from Kaeo in the 1930’s and planted it at Twyford School in the Hawkes Bay.

Xterra Trail Challenge Waihi-

As we said above there were a lot of events on and to report on all these would take a pretty long winded report and a lot of research to do it well, so we will focus on the ultra and the 19km races.

The 60km Ultra, Total Sports first dabble at an ultra event, kicked off at 5am, adding a good 90mins of night running to the already tricky conditions, that included a river crossing and even a large Bull to sidestep. Local lad Dennis de Monchy made the most of local knowledge  good technical running skills and a sun like head lamp in the early hours to take out the inaugural ”Kaimai Killer”. Dennis running strong and consistent all day virtually lead from start to finish, finishing in 7hr03, ahead of Grant Guise in in 7hr09 and another local boy (and BCR guest poster for the Waihi preview) Darren Blackwell in 3rd place.

For the women, as Darren predicted, Vicky Plaistowe took out the women’s race despite running her knee into a tree at full speed. The results currently have not included Vicky or her time(??), but in 2nd place was Stacy Smith and 3rd was Vicki Woolley.

The 19km at Xterra Waihi is also the National Trail Running Champs with spots at the World Xterra Champs up for grabs and drew deep fields.

In the womens race recent WMRC competitors Helen Rountree and Marjolein Ros duked it out in the mud and rain, with Rountree (1hr50) coming in 2mins ahead of Ros, and Katy Dawson rounded out the top 3. (see below for Helen’s comments on the race)

The men’s National Trail Running Champs was stacked, and that was before the late entry of Chris “I have won pretty much every trail race at one time or another” Morrissey turned up. World age group Xterra winner Nick Hirschfeld lined up despite having the flu, but pulled the plug at the  Dubbo 96 track. Meanwhile Glenn Hughes was smashing the uphill around Karangahaki and ran away with the win in 1hr33, 3mins ahead of Chris Morrissey and 4mins ahead of Vajin Armstrong.

Interesting to note the winners of the Xterra National Trail Running Champs Helen and Glenn both recently represented NZ at the World Mountain Running Champs in Italy and last weekend both were members of winning teams at the ANZ National Road Relays. Both showed how versatile they are and in the conditions on Saturday “the course suits a road runner” argument could hardly be used. 

We have a few longer race reports and a few shorter ones, so we will include the shorter ones here in this post and add the longer race reports today or tomorrow in separate posts.

RESULTS HERE

Glenn Hughes race report HERE

Dennis de Monchy race report HERE

Mal Law’s GPS from the “Kaimai Killer” HERE

James Kuegler’s 19km race report HERE

Photography from the day by Paul Petch HERE

Vicky Plaistowe- Photo Paul Petch, OutdoorPhotography.co.nz

Helen Rountree- Xterra National Trail Running Champ- “Was an awesome day. That was my first ever trail run besides the mountain running events. Really enjoyed it and came away with some wickedly sore body parts from smashing into trees and having some massive wipeouts coming down. Also shouldn’t have worn racing flats, hehe they just made me slip everywhere.  Really scary as I had no control at all, so downhills were pretty average. I think if the weather wasn’t so awful I would have enjoyed it a bit more but overall was an awesome introduction to trail running.  I hadn’t even thought about the Xterra Worlds in Hawaii as only entered this race to see how I liked it. Next up I’m doing mount Edgecumbe race in a few weeks.”

Vicky Plaistowe winner of the inaugural Kaimai Killer Ultra- “Was a truly stunning run but not a great run for me….the universe came back and bit me on the butt for indulging in my silliest idea so far. Game plan was to run the marathon as training having just built back up to 4 runs a week post an injury. However the beautiful terrain and my trail mates excitement at running the ultra along with their encouragement had me upgrading in a flash.What played out on the day was my toughest run mentally and physically. I smashed my quad straight into a fallen punga 2km into the race and spent the rest of it slowly deteriorating as my gait became increasingly impacted and my ability to deal with the pain eroded. The descents normally so much fun became things to dread and it all went to pieces on Mt Karangahake. With 10km to go it was just a matter of trying to get myself to the finish line where I actually thought I would just sit down and have a wee cry.

As a weekend, awesome! Great tough course, cool event, amazing people and incredible camaraderie. I hobbled away with special memories, new friendships and some hard earned lessons.”

Keep an eye out for race reports from Glenn and Dennis in the next day or 2. Also a big thank you to Rob Bathgate who fired out some great BCR updates on Saturday in the rain. Hopefully Rob will be back racing again soon, if not will will try and twist his arm again for some updates!

As we have already said James Kugler wrote the guts of the excellent race report that was passed around- you can read it here on SportzHub and winner Kerry Suter has a great race report on his blog. No point repeating what has already been said by these guys, so we have been writing annoying e-mails to other folks trying to get a feel for the T42 and how things shaped up at the front of the race. Below we have compilation, enjoy-

Note- updated with comments from Lesley Turner Hall 10/5

Lesley Turner Hall took out the woman’s race in a solid 3hr28. She was nice enough to flick us a few words of her race and the T42 experience.

“Firstly I think Totalsport organize & create the best events in the country surrounded by the best scenery. All of the organization that goes into it all is incredible. The website is always informative & written with a real personal touch like they are speaking directly to each entrant. The bus to to start line is efficient & a brilliant way to get to the start line. Has a real team spirit when all participants arrive together & all hop off the bus with the same purpose in mind! A true adventure feeling! The camaraderie at the start line with off-road endurance runners is so nice & one of my favourite parts of the entire race. We’re all kitted up with our backpacks & essential gear & all ready to head out & conquer the trail, together! The T42 course is absolute mint for a trail run! I loved the fast downhill sections & loved the cold but short river crossings. If my feet aren’t getting wet on a trail run, I’m not happy! The course is a fast trail run & I love the concept of running from point A to B! Somehow that makes it feel faster too! The post event prize giving & party at the Park Travellers Lodge is the most fun I’ve ever had! Put a few hundred fit mountain bikers with endurance runners & you have a room full of adrenalin & a whole lot of non-stop dancing. What made the dance party even more fun was we all had achieved something great that day…we completed the T42! Awesome!

As far as my race,  I managed to pass four men over the course  to get me 8th runner overall! I was ahead of Jean Beaumont by 26 minutes in the end but like Sam, I never look back. I did love the downhill sections, but they did make me feel dizzy by the time the descent finished & the quads were very tight once you had to climb again. Having only just run the Rotorua marathon 6 days prior I kept wondering when my legs were going to give out on the T42. But they never did & I ran up that final hill as fast as I could. It was tough but I was stoked I was still running & not walking up the hill. I absolutely loved the final bit where we run in the forest on the curvy trails! I felt like Little Red Riding Hood running & having fun!”

Sam Mason is a young fella on the rise, we didn’t chat with him pre race as we were not 100% sure if he was racing or not, but James had mentioned him racing the T42 in passing, so it was not a total surprise to see him finish in 2nd place. Here is what he had to say-

“She was a toughy alright. The start was predictable, all the guys were at the front that were expected. James was first to set the pace and it was one that was almost too comfortable. Plan was to just go with it and break away when it felt right. Kerry however felt the need to destroy us early on and increased to above my normal threshold, I tried to hang on anyway. I have a rule to never look back so I am not sure when James dropped off. Craig and Kerry slowly got further away, after fumbling with putting an empty gel wrapping in my pack they were out of sight. 
I asked every marshal and mountain biker along the way how far the next runner was and how strong they looked. I was after any tactical info I could get. The cool streams at the end of most painful descents were perfect to ease the burning calves. Along the way I found a bottle of Cramp-Stop that someone had dropped, apart from the superb views it was the best thing I’d seen all day. Cramp is normally what makes or breaks a race for me. With about 3kms to go I caught Craig who had unfortunately succumbed to it. About 20seconds after passing him I heard a loud yell, I broke my rule and turned to see Craig on the ground clutching his leg. I ran back, handed him the magic potion, wanting to help but was hoping like hell he wouldn’t recover too quickly. The last 1km was the only part I knew and that was that it was all uphill. A few more motivational cheers from the friendly mountain bikers kept me moving to the finish line. A brilliantly intense run. This will be my fastest marathon, the majority of the run was downwards yet but I underestimated how difficult and painful all the downhill would be. 
Such a social event too. The after function was wicked, post event drinking and killer dance moves went till early Sunday for the brave.  Not ideal for recovery but met some great people.”

Craig Kirkwood was one of the race favourites and we had a good little interview with him pre race. Here is what Craig had to say post race-

“The T42 is a fantastic event, and I thoroughly enjoyed the trail i.e. not too technical for an old road hack like me; and the weather was amazing. My race went pretty much as I expected. I was running strongly in 2nd behind Kerry Suter until about 28km then the lack of mileage caught up to me and I started to suffer. At 39km I caught a bad cramp in my thigh, and I was forced to stop for 3 to 4min. I got going again but young Sam Mason had already caught up. As he went whizzing by me I performed a well-timed cart wheel and landed in a heap on the ground, and caught another cramp in my left calf. To his credit he graciously stopped to see if I was ok and handed me his Cramp Stop spray…a true gentleman. I told myself then that even if I did muster the strength to keep up with him on the 2km climb to the finish I’d happily let him cross first. As it happened, he drilled me on the last climb and I was left to grovel up the hill alone. Despite the pain I suffered on following days I really enjoyed it and all things being equal I’ll line up again next year.”

Kugs claiming it in 2010

Barefoot Inc sponsored athlete James “Kugs” Kugler-  seemed to be struggling to find form earlier in the year, but Kugs seems to be hitting his stride again, just in time for the T42. Now under the guidance of Sam Warriner he has had some soild results of late, including placing 1^st= at the Tarawera 60km.

“I am finally starting to log some consistent running and my form and fitness are improving as a result so I am looking forward to T42.
There are two things I like about T42, the first is that it is net downhill, though there are plenty of ups in between, the second is that psychologically it is a great feeling to be catching and passing mountain bikers for just over three hours.
Kerry Suter and Craig Kirkwood are both going to be on the start line. Craig is a phenomenal road runner, though it is hard to know what sort of form he is in. I’d say Kerry will have the edge on Craig, the track is relatively benign, which is when Suter is at his best. There are bound to be others, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see young Sam Manson toeing the start line. Where do I fit into the mix, I’m not sure, and not that worried.

I was extremely fit when I set the course record in 2010, I’d love to see it broken, and Suter has been providing some great commentary about how easy it going to be. We’ll see come Saturday. One thing is for sure, anyone who does think they are going to break the record better keep some in reserve for the final hill. I recall being well on track to go under 3:00 with a couple of km to go, only to find out there is another 100m climb in the final 2km.”

Here is a link to Kug’s 2010 T42 race report

Kerry winning TuM in 2009

Fellow Barefoot Inc sponsored athlete Kerry Suter- Seems to be getting back into the swing of things after laying low for a while. He took out the half at the Nugget a few weeks ago and is raring to go come Saturday. It sounds like Kerry is looking forward to the classic challenge of a marathon distance, without the classic road and pavement. When quizzed on his expectations for Saturday’s T42 “I’ll be catching a bus to the start line and running the 42km back to where I parked my car in the least time possible. I’d like to think I’ve done enough training to get there in 3 hours something. I just hope that something isn’t 120 minutes.”

And then there is 2:13 marathoner Craig Kirkwood. We managed to get a quick interview in with Craig, here is what he had to say-

BCR- How has your build up been to the T42?

CK- I wouldn’t say that I have had a specific build up for this event; in fact all I am doing at the moment is trying to return to fitness. I had approx. seven months off last year and early this year with repeated calf strains. They have come right now, but it has rendered me relatively unfit. Despite my poor showing at the Rotorua half marathon, I feel like am in reasonable form…just lacking the miles.

Craig at the 2006 WMRT

BCR- You are a pretty handy road marathoner- do you spend much time training off road on trails, or is most of your running on the roads still?

CK- Like most runners I enjoy getting off the pavement, however, I am the kind of runner who thrives when I can get into a rhythm. This is not a great trait for technical off road stuff, but I do enjoy it.

BCR - Preparation for a road marathon and the T42 off road marathon- what’s different and what’s the same with your build up/training?

CK- As I said, I haven’t really done anything specific for this event. I am going to be very underdone.

BCR- Are we going to see more of Craig Kirkwood on the trails in the future?

CK- I have done a couple of trail races over the years including Tois, Kauri, & Tussock Traverse, but the fact that I am not very good technically really frustrates me. I tend to put high expectations on myself and I hate not being able to perform as I would expect. The Tarawera 100km does interest me…maybe in a couple years. I am doing Ironman Melbourne in March 2013.

BCR- What are your expectations going into the race and who do you see as your main competition?

CK- I would expect to be in the top 5, but I really am just coming down for the experience. I haven’t seen any kind of start list, but I would expect Kugs (James Kugler), and Kerry Suter to take me apart at the moment.

Comments- Like we said at the start of this preview- it’s not really a preview as we haven’t seen a start list and don’t know who is/isn’t running. This is where YOU come in! If you know of someone who’s racing and might be battling at the front, we would love to hear. Especially in the women’s race. Or if you want to share your picks- please leave a comment.

James had this to say on the race- “The event begins with a killer ascent straight from the start. I set the early pace with Sam Manson and Nick Hirschfeld on my heels. The three of us ran together for the first 10km. Once we crossed onto Rangitoto, Sam stepped up the pace. Nick and I dropped off, doing our best to limit the damage.”

By half way Manson had established a solid lead, with Hirschfield in 2nd and James 3rd. Not long after this Kuegler passed Hirschfield and at around 30km Hirschfield dropped, with Manson going on to win, with Kuegler in 2nd.

In the woman’s race Lesley Turner Hall not surprisingly won comfortably.

Men’s 42.2km Marathon: 1 Sam Manson (3:15:20); 2 James Kuegler (3:27:21); 3 Kelvin Meade (3:28:45).

Women’s 42.2km Marathon: 1 Lesley Turner Hall (3:48:16); 2 Katrin Walbert (4:08:24); 3 Kristin Fulton (4:23:13).

Check out  www.thedual.co.nz for full results

Thanks James Kuegler for the low down!