SKYRUNNING LAUNCHES FIRST UNIFIED TRAIL SERIES DOWN UNDER

For the first time, athletes from both sides of the Tasman Sea will be able to compete head to head in search of points to be crowned the overall Skyrunning Oceania Champion for 2015. The overall winners will go on to represent Australia and New Zealand at the 2016 Skyrunning World Championships.

Overall, there will be 13 races held over eight events, with four brand new Skyraces that will challenge the most accomplished trail runners from both Australia and New Zealand.

From January to November 2015 runners will have the opportunity to race over distances from 24kms to 100kms in some of the most iconic terrain in the world. New locations selected for races include the first ever race of its kind in the Blue Mountain’s World Heritage area of the Grose Valley and the iconic coastline of New Zealand’s North Island Hillary Trail. The series will also explore Queensland’s Scenic Rim World Heritage area and also take runners to Cromwell, Wanaka and the Victorian Alps.

The 2015 Skyrunning Calendar

• January: The Ultra Easy – New Zealand
• March: The Hillary Trail – New Zealand (North Island); La Sportiva Mt Buller Skyrun – Australia (Victoria)
• April: The Buffalo Stampede – Oceania SkyRunning Championships – – Australia (Victoria)
• June: Wild Earth Ascent – New Zealand (South Island)
• August: Barney’s Bluff – Australia (Queensland)
• October: Hounslow Classic – Australia (New South Wales)
• November: The Ultimate Direction Sky Rock n’ Run – New Zealand (South Island)

Marcus Warner, president of Skyrunning New Zealand says, “The 2015 series will rival those put on in the Northern Hemisphere countries of France, Italy and Spain.”

He adds, “When you have runners required to climb nearly 5000m over little more than a marathon distance on rocky and technical trails, the Oceania series will test the most elite trail runners from anywhere in the world.”

The series is a collaboration between a number of Race Directors across ANZ whose individual races meet the strict criteria required to be sanctioned as an official Skyrun by the International Skyrunning Federation.

These requirements included selecting races on their extreme ascent and descent over unique and challenging terrain whilst encouraging the runner to move as fast and direct as possible carrying the most minimal of gear safely.

Salomon’s Anna Frost who has preformed at the highest level for some years in Skyrunning races in Europe is excited to see ANZ get its own series.

“It is a varied series of races with a little something for everyone. It will be a wonderful display of off-road running downunder and really test our strengths and weaknesses!

New Zealand athlete Grant Guise, an accomplished trail runner from New Zealand comments, “I am really excited to FINALLY have a Skyrunning Series in New Zealand, and having it as part of an Oceania Series is even better. I remember looking at Skyrunning races on YouTube in 2008 and to now have that in our backyard is going to be great.

“I love this steep, rough style of race and I think with eight events across Australia and New Zealand, we have a really good mixture of different styles of event. I’m excited to do some new races and travel to places I have not been to before, as well as lock horns with some top competition over the pond in Australia.”

Fellow competitor Matt Bixley when asked about the new series want’s to send a message to his Aussie rivals considering racing in New Zealand.

“Great spread of races and destinations right across New Zealand, having run in all the locations, not sure which is my favourite. But I know that the Ultimate Direction Sky Rock ‘n Run at Mt Oxford will ruin all Australians concept of what a trail run actually is.”

Australian athlete and current Six Foot Track champion, Dave Byrne is keen to target a win in the series and has been waiting for a series like this for some time.

“The SkyRunning series is a big step in ultra and trail running in Australia and New Zealand. The events each have unique features that set them apart and challenge athletes in varying ways. But what’s most exciting is the idea of having many of the top ultra runners from both countries going head to head on a regular basis. This will serve to better the sport and athlete in Australia and New Zealand set foundation for them to then tackle the European circuit.”

International trail and ultra running superstar, Anna Frost adds, “A varied series of races with a little something for everyone. It will be a wonderful display of off-road running down under and really test our strengths and weaknesses!”

New races for 2015

Race Director Sean Greenhill from Mountain Sports Australia was instrumental in putting on Australia’s first ever Skyrun in 2014 with the highly successful Buffalo Stampede. For 2015 he has upped the ante with two new races.

“The Buffalo Stampede while known as mile for mile, the hardest trail race in Australia is also quite achievable within the cut-offs allowed.

“The Hounslow Classic is a new event on a mountain that’s never been raced on before. It may well be a tougher event than Buffalo, climbing into and out of the rugged Grose Valley several times. It starts and finishes in Blackheath, the highest town in the Blue Mountains of NSW. It’s only a 2 hour drive or train trip from Sydney and is set in World Heritage National Park.”

“Barney’s Bluff covers the summit and hinterland of iconic Mount Barney, two hours inland of Brisbane and the Gold Coast of Queensland. Scrambling, rock hopping and extraordinary views make for a very difficult course but over an achievable distance and cut-off time, also set within a World Heritage National Park. Australia’s best mountain country isn’t all in NSW and Victoria!”

The series kicks off in January 2015 with the longest race in the series the UltraEasy 100km in Wanaka, New Zealand. Race Director Terry Davies was hugely attracted to having his races considered as Skyraces.

Single track on the Ultra Easy.

“Being part of the inaugural international series is a must for me. It’s an opportunity to show-off our unique and amazing locations to a wider group of runners. The Ultra Easy 100kms has a 3am start, which is probably pretty unique! But the view from Roy’s Peak just as the sun comes up will be something quite special, and the Ultra Easy probably has the most scenic views in the series – yes that is a big call but once you have been to Wanaka and around the course you won’t be arguing with us.”

Terry who also directs the particularly tough Mt Difficulty Ascent.  “I’d say it’s the steepest vertical kilometre as part of a Marathon in the series. Through absolutely stunning rocky, craggy country. Being at the start of winter no-one will be over-heating at this race. There’s a bit of snow expected around the tops, it will be a true adventure run.”

The series also recognises the beauty and history of the trails in which they the races are set. Shaun Collins from Lactic Turkey Events is delighted to be involved in the 2015 Series.

“Having The Hillary added to the 2015 Skyrunning Oceania Series is amazing!  Only in it’s second year the event will benefit by attracting some top runners from around the world.  My goal for the event has always been to show the awesome terrain and scenery that I take for granted to the rest of the world.  The next step in the event was to try and show Australians what an adventure the event offers and how easy it is for them to get to the start line being just 30 minutes from NZ’s largest city and airport.

“The trail was named in honour of New Zealand’s Sir Edmund Hillary, and it sums up the sense of adventure and personal achievement that Sir Ed himself championed and was renowned for.  Those that have run the Hillary would find it hard to disagree with that!”

The series final will be in New Zealand and hosted by the Mt Oxford Rock ‘n’ Run and race director Kerry Uren had this to say

“The Sky Rock N Run is the only Sky Running race in Canterbury so it’s great for those wanting to experience something that is within an hour from an international airport. The Oxford Conservation Area is truly stunning – it’s like a wee slice of untouched NZ native beauty. It feels like you are in another world – and of course the views from the summit of Mt Oxford are AMAZING!! The terrain, changeable weather, and amount of vertical gain mean this race is going to be really challenging.”

The series is also proud to partner with Salomon, Compressport, Suunto, Arc’teryx, La Sportiva, Outdoor Research and PACE Athletic who have made the series possible through their commitment to growing the sport in Australia and New Zealand.

How the points system works

To qualify to be Included in the Oceania Series Championship runners need to complete a minimum of 4 sanctioned ANZ Skyruns. For those events that have more than one Skyrun over the race weekend e.g. Buffalo Stampede, Hillary Trail, Barney’s Bluff and Hounslow Classic only one result can be included in the series totals. The Buffalo Stampede attracts double points as it also doubles as the Oceania Skyrunning Championships. Each race has been allocated a set total of points on offer based on distance, difficulty and likely depth of field.

Media enquiries: Marcus Warner – Marcus.warner@hotmail.com 0409321464

For full information: www.skyrunninganz.com.au

When I first saw Terry’s very excited post about his dream to put on this awesome run up to Mt Difficulty coming to fruition, I got quite excited too.  Terry had mentioned it to me a couple of times over the past few years and I have always really enjoyed my training runs up to Mt D.  And then I saw the video he posted a few weeks before the race and to be totally honest it kind of freaked me out!

Rachael early in the big climb. Photo : Alastair Hanson.

Now, I’m just your average Joe Bloggs runner – I’m not that fast, in a midsize field I usually come in around the middle, and only once in my life have I had a podium finish (and that was probably through none of my own doing!) but I have done quite a few events so consider myself to have a reasonable amount of experience – I just like to get out there and enjoy the fantastic countryside and running companionship that is on offer.   I have done a “Terry Davis special” before – one of my very first mountain running events was the inaugural Highland Events Skyline Challenge (which is no longer held) in pouring rain and snowing at the top of Mt Alpha.

So at first I was really excited about this race and then I was absolutely terrified.  Terry did not help matters at all when we were sitting at our kids swimming lessons, talking about the race and he said to me that there was potential in this race for someone to die.  Great way to promote the race Terry!! Not only did he tell me this once or twice but about a hundred times (ok slight exaggeration, but only slight).  By this stage I was kind of thinking that maybe I shouldn’t do this event, that I wasn’t up for it and it was too technical for me.  But I couldn’t stop thinking about it and how awesome the course was and it drew me in.  So nothing like leaving it to the last minute (especially after yet more warnings from Terry about the danger), I entered on Friday.

Then we had the briefing and needless to say I didn’t sleep well on Friday night.

Saturday morning dawned with the classic Cromwell fog and I knew we would be in for a gorgeous day up above it on the hill.  Nerves reached their peak but also the excitement of the unknown was creeping in.  There’s nothing like doing a race for the very first time for me – not knowing what lies ahead and also not having any pressure of previous times to beat and goals to achieve.  I went into this event thinking I would take around 4 hours to complete it and I was going to try and “enjoy” it as much as I could.  To be honest I was not looking forward to the first part of the run – having to do a lap of the rustic course first before we headed uphill did not excite me in the slightest but as it turned out it was the perfect warmup before hitting the steep stuff and I actually enjoyed the loop.  Terry had warned us at the briefing of the steep uphill in the first part of the climb and he said we would know in the first 10 minutes if we wanted to continue – and there would be no shame in turning back and going to do the Rustic instead.  “Like hell” I had thought at the time – no way would I be turning back to go down after getting part of the way up that hill. The climb up didn’t bother me in the slightest (from a heights/gradient) perspective, yes it got steep, VERY STEEP, it was definitely hands on the ground territory and I was making sure at some points that I was certain where my hands and feet were placed before I made my move but I plugged away quite happily and made my way up the course following the markers.  I was thinking at that point that Terry had unnecessarily tried to scare me off – not knowing what still lay ahead on the downhill section!  I wasn’t keen to look back to see where I had come from until I eventually made it through the fog and out into brilliant sunshine where it was welcome relief to stop and take a couple of photos.  At this point it wasn’t as steep as previously and it was a little easier to continue the climb up.  At one point I looked up and could see the runners far ahead in the distance and it was a little daunting that I still had quite a way to go.  It was very slow going up the side of that hill for the 3km climb – my watch recording two 30 minute kilometres and a slightly quicker one at 25 minutes!!!  Catching a glimpse of a radio tower I yelled out to the guy behind me that we were nearly there – only for it to disappear again and we had to slog it out for what seemed quite a distance before finally reaching Steve, the marshall at the top of Mt D.  At this point I had put my hat and gloves back on, as well as my windproof vest, as there was a bit of a cold breeze blowing and it did make me think that I wouldn’t like to be doing this event in bad weather as we were quite exposed up there.

Rachael heading for home after surviving the “tickey” bit above. Photo: Nigel Lines

After a bit of a chat with Steve and refuelling I made my way onto the 4WD track to start the descent – checking my watch I saw I had covered 9.5km in 2:18, not even half way I thought but quite happy I should be well on track for under 4 hours.  The next few km ticked away as I ran down and chatted with Alan from Queenstown.  It was pretty easy running, down the 4WD track – just the odd snow drift to run around the edge of and a few slick parts to watch out for.  We hit the fog again just before the tape directing us to head off the 4WD track and back onto the uneven, untracked ground.  This slowed us down again as it was harder to run on and also the fog made it difficult to see where we were headed so there were quite a few points that I had to stop and look hard for the next marker to make sure we headed in the right direction.  But I never felt like we couldn’t find where we were going so I was happy with the track marking.  At this point I’m thinking again what on earth was Terry Davis going on about trying to freak me out with warnings of a nasty descent and his story about when Ed started shaking his head and telling Terry he couldn’t make people go down that way  – when we reached Penny, who was marshalling, and was meant to be at the worst part of the descent but had climbed up further as apparently people were getting a little wary higher up from where she was originally.  Penny told us to take it easy down through where she was but it was nothing to worry about and then to watch out for the yellow Caution signs.  That was all fine, we made it down past Penny cheerily waving goodbye, made it carefully past the first caution sign and then we hit the second caution sign and OH MY GOD I then knew what Terry was talking about!!  It was steep and technical and pushed me right outside my comfort zone coming down that cliff face – I came down most of that face on my backside and clinging on to any thyme bush I could get my hands on, at one point I was the most uncomfortable as I really just didn’t know what my next move was going to be but Alan had kindly stuck with me and made sure I got down safely with a few pointers of where to go next – albeit very slowly!!  There was only one point in that descent that I felt totally unsafe and the rest it was just up to me to know my limits and come down however I thought I could.  I’m not ashamed to say I came down there pretty slowly – I’m just happy to say I got down in one piece without tumbling to the bottom!!  Thinking back on it now I needed to go down that slowly, as if I had tried to rush myself over something that I just had never experienced before it could have ended in total disaster – just like Terry had said!

After the scramble down it was a climb through the fence back onto the 4WD track that led us back to the rustic course and an easy 2km trot home.  I met my husband a few hundred metres from the finish who had come looking for me as he was tracking me by GPS and he had got worried as it looked like I had stopped in one place and hadn’t moved for 15 minutes – yeah I said cause I had to come down Terry’s hideous cliff face and it probably took me 15 minutes!!!!!

Happy to be finished in under 4 hours, I reflected back on the race and the reality set in that I had actually done it and completed another one of “Terry’s specials” and special it was – nothing I have done before this race compares in any way, shape or form.  A gruelling climb and then technical downhill, where I was pushed right to my limit, made for a race where time spent running was outweighed by time spent hiking or clinging to the hillside but I loved every second I was out there (okay maybe not the cliff face as much!!) and the buzz I had for the rest of the day tells me I’ll be back again for more next year.  You haven’t quite managed to scare me off just yet Terry!!

5 marathons in 5 weeks ending it in style at the Rustic Run! Firstly a huge thank you to Terry Davis, Ed Stevens and all their team for putting together this amazing event.  They had so many different runs taking place at the same time giving plenty of options for everyone.  Everyone I know is always asking for great local events that are affordable to attend, have a good social aspect and great scenery.  The Wild Earth Ascent and Rustic Run answered this.  I really hope to see this event supported by a lot more local people next year.  I know it sure beats heading out for a lonely long run.

A big goal of mine this year is to work on my running for my Ironman racing.  Hence running 42k+ each weekend for the past few weeks.   When I heard about this race I wanted to be on that start line.  While it may seem crazy to go out and run this distance every weekend (although I am guessing not to the people that took part in one of these events) having finally beaten my injury I’ve had for over 12 months I couldn’t think of anything better.

On to the race…  Packing up the car and heading to central for the weekend is always a great change.  The weather in Dunedin had been so cold and damp and I couldn’t wait to get out of there!  Well I forgot that I mostly head to central in the summer and it was actually pretty freezing up there but was so still, with not a breath of wind.  Race morning came like any other and I was excited about the fact I was only running a marathon and didn’t have a whole Ironman nor the 3.30am wake up call.

Out to the location at the Gold Miners Trails in the pitch black with the head torch on and it was time to go.  I was suddenly thinking what have I got myself in to? As I am far from a mountain goat with my running ability and was sure I was going to fall over a million times.  Luckily I had only signed up for the Rustic Run and not the Wild Earth Ascent (maybe next year).  My marathon race consisted of 8x 5 and a bit km loops.  They were a great change from the roads I am use to.  Made up of wider trails, rocky parts, single tracks, grass and some good wee hills up and down, all making the time go by.  There was also the option of a half marathon around the loops or straight up the mountain!

As I got around each lap the hills got bigger and the legs were turning to jelly but there was always a group of friendly spectators to send you on your next lap and Glen there to hand me my goodies.  The great thing about this event is you can set up your own aid station and drink and eat what you like. Proud to say I didn’t fall over once, only a few close calls and actually really enjoyed all those laps, coming away with the win.  Definitely a must do race to put on your calendar for next June.  Hope to see you all there.  Big ups to my sponsors Kinetic Health, Shoe Clinic Dunedin, Nathan Performance Gear, Aloe Up and Cycle World Dunedin who all keep me in this sport.

More details on the Rustic Run and results HERE

Wild Earth Ascent details HERE

First 7 “runners” walking up the first climb.
Photo: Alastair Hanson

I’m not going to describe how or why this event came to being. I wasn’t even meant to be there, but I couldn’t ask for a better substitute for the event I was supposed to be at. The head cheese at BCR has been out on one Rogaine with me, he hates them, with a passion, but The Wild Earth Ascent is the very reason I like Rogaines. It takes you to places that very few people have been to, you’d never go to even you thought about it AND….. you get the opportunity to get lost.

With Heights of Winter cancelled due to storm damage and a birthday on Sunday, a day trip to Cromwell was a good option. Being just a bit excited saw little sleep and I was away from Dunedin at 4am for the 8am kick off. Terry was clear that he didn’t want anyone coming who couldn’t look after themselves. So what the field lacked in size it didn’t lack in depth and it was no surprise to find myself at the base of the first 1000m climb off the back of the pack that was a mix of ½ and Full Ascenters.

That first 1000m occurs in just 3km, with the last 100m being quite flat. There was no hiding, you were going straight up and managing heart, lactate, quads, calves and potentially fatal falls were the order of the day. Or just staying on course. I got into a nice rythym and climbed with Dean Hudson, the shepherd from Lake Mckay Station on which the Big Easy is run. He and I had spent a bit of time running that one together as well. Up through the inversion layer and into a stunning Central Otago Skyline. Another aspect of this run is that the number of photo’s taken/participant is quite high. It seemed like everyone made the most of the opportunity to explore and enjoy the surroundings.

Eventually we topped out at the Transmitter, 1000m climbed in 60 minutes (55 for the front bunch) with a 27 minute kilometer thrown in for good measure. The return on the first lap took us 6km down a good farm track through patches of snow drift to a spur with a direct line to the bottom. I ticked along down there at 4:00 min/km trying to take care of my legs for the 2^nd half. The split from the track to the spur didn’t cause me any problem although it did for some others who may have run all the way to the bottom then joined the end of the 2^nd lap. What caused me problem was following the spur and then coming to cliff straight ahead and to my left, so naturally I took the gentle open spur on the right only to have to re-climb it and find the notch in the cliff we were to go down. Oh well, 3 or 4 minutes wasn’t going to end my day. Then we got to the good stuff, straight down a rock face where catching a toe could see you pitch forward and freefall some distance to hopefully land in a patch of thyme rather than rock. Nigel from eyetoeye photography placed himself at the base and managed a few great shots of the scrambling required.

Matt getting ready to drop in. Photo- Eyetoeye- www.facebook.com/negotiates

I bumped into Terry as I returned to the start/finish, “You’re a funny f…er Terry Davis”. He takes great pride it getting us to do things that others wouldn’t dream of putting on. I don’t think it concerns him at all that only 8 of us finished the full marathon. I think he’d be good at putting on a Barkley Marathons type event and try to break us one by one.

From the base we begin the 2^nd climb that seems even steeper but eventually flattens out to only 25-30% instead of the 40-50% for the majority of it. Never have I been so happy to have a Suunto and watch the Altitude tick by in lots of 100m. This climb was the undoing of a few. I got off course at the top by good judgement had me follow the track knowing it would go to the Transmitter, but for our poor old English/Aussie/U168 mate it was the end of his day. Losing a heap of time he opted for the quad bike ride to the base so that he could get to Dunedin in time to watch the English lose to the AB’s. For me I got a time check to Grant half way up, it looked like he had 20+ minutes. At least I assumed it was Grant, it was just a person on the horizon. Turns out I lost 12 minutes on that climb but I’d expect that. 4km for that 1000m and with no one insight behind it was time for photo’s and a look around before the traverse across the tops and the long long run down to the Kawarau river. At which point Terry had clearly decided we’d seen enough track and pushed us across the side of a terrace with sore feet and through some lovely rosehip, thyme, matagouri and rock, all with a fast running finish just 50m away to right. So instead of 4:30/km I was reduced to 16-20 minute k’s.

I’m not sure that making the podium is much to claim when there are 8 finishers. But I’ll take it. I’m often told that by running in the hills I’m missing so much of their beauty. To that I say rubbish. By running in the hills I’ve been able to visit so many more places in the time I have available, especially with a young family. The 3:30am start was worth it, I got to see a great place and be home in time to enjoy Orienteering with Samantha who had dressed up like a Vampire.

An enormous thanks to Terry for giving us the opportunity to do something beyond the imagination of most. There was a great crew out on course, all very experienced themselves, making sure we got from A to B in some sort of order.

The Ascent goes up, down, up and then down. I am useless at going up so it should be fun. We have an interesting piece of compulsory gear, a GPS enabled cell phone with a Tracking App so that Terry can find us if it all goes pear shaped. The weather is good though and sadly the snow has gone so there shouldn’t be too many issues. But what it also means is that live tracking should be possible for a wider audience.

Use the following link to find out location, it will open a page and if you switch the viewer to satellite (photo) you can then compare the location to the image below. Where the username says mattbixley you substitute in others you may know. Anyone who wants theirs added to the list send a message or write in the comments.

Link for Anroid users

http://www.greenalp.com/RealtimeTracker/index.php?viewuser=mattbixley 

 Usernames:
mattbixley
grantguise
croydon
lisamcf

Link for Apples ?????????

Course:
A 5k loop with out and backs at the base, followed by the First Climb and Descent in RED. The 2nd lap then climbs and descends via the BLUE lines. A fun day.

For an event organiser who’s best known for the Northburn100 you may be surprised at how excitedly Terry talks about the Rustic Run’s 5.275k laps. “I seriously LOVE this loop  – it is just a sweet wee run. There is some technical single track, there are some grunty but short hills, there is lots of smooth fast grass track… seriously one of the best 5k loops about. It’s particularly good for newbees to trail/mountain running. 5ks is very achievable and the whole idea of the event is to do it with a team as a relay. There is a cool start/finish area with hot drinks and food… music playing, teams bring their own chilli bins and camp chairs… just a great supportive atmosphere.”

The other thing Terry goes on and on about is the majesticularity of Mt Difficulty looming very steep and about 1km high above the venue.

“Over there is where you climb up the second time…” Terry Davis points out the big climb in the 2nd lap of the “Ascent”.

And that’s where the Wild Earth Ascent comes into play. “Imagine a course that just went staright F#$%en up that!!” It was the gut wrenching loss of the America’s cup last year that pushed Terry to seek out a route up the front face of Mt Difficulty. He found a goody but is was following a chute that would have been way too dangerous with falling rocks and things… So he’s laboured away (it was very selfless hard work apparently) and come up with not one, but two routes basically following ridges from the base to the top. “this type of event needs to have a Marathon aspect to it to get any credibility and make it worth peoples while to come all this way in the dead of winter. And these front faces are so special I thought to give best bang for buck we’ll make it a loop course and send them up it twice, but over new country each time.”

He knows this course is not for everyone and he’s gone to some lengths to actually put people off entering. “We really only want very confident mountain runners/trampers to show up for this event. The front faces are probably the most continually steep, steep parts of any event like it in Australasia – it’s between 30-40’ gradient – 30’ doesn’t look like much on a protractor but when you’re clinging on to the side of the mountain it feels surprisingly close to 60-70’!”

But it’s actually not all about the up hill. Once at the top of Mt Difficulty (so named by the early gold miners trying to find a way from the Dunstan to the Arrow) you have about 8km of SWEET traverse/downhill before heading back cross country – gnarly down and back up following a fence line and then more traversing and a steep downhill down to the river – all good adventurous stuff and that’s the finish of the first loop. For those doing the marathon they get a whole new ascent to do – the same 8km SWEET traverse and then another 9 gentle downhill ks back to the finish.

The weather and time of year will add another ‘adventure’ dimension to this course. “I fully expect a hard frost and then a clear calm day for the event – that is what’s typical for this area at this time of year – but hey if we don’t get a beautiful day we’ll have an even more AWESOMER adventure!”

There are back-up plans if the weather is just too dangerous but don’t worry, they don’t cancel events at Highland Events for any weather and whatever the alternative course may be you will get a worthy mission out of it.

If you go quick you’ll be finished in time to get a ride down to Dunedin for the Rugby – but Terry would rather you hung around for the Beer and Pizza at the Golden Gate that evening for the slideshow of pics from the day and presentations. Beer and Pizza included in the entry fee!! I’m in! See you at Registration Fri 13^th Golden Gate Lodge Cromwell.

http://www.highlandevents.co.nz/rustic-run-and-walk

http://www.highlandevents.co.nz/wild-earth-ascent

FREE STUFF- The North Face and BCR have teamed up and have 2 little prize packs to give-away. Up for grabs is a TNF day-pack, cap and beanie, as well as a little PocketFuel Naturals sample pack. We have 2 of these packages to give away in conjunction with Highland Events Wild Earth Ascent. To win- it is easy, the next 10 people to enter either the Wild Earth Ascent full or 1/2 marathon will go in the draw. Terry will randomly pick 2 names once 10 people have enter (so enter quickly!) and you will receive you prize at the race.