Ski Runner NZ

Moved to new blog address!

2009-12-14T20:02:00.000+13:00

Been playing around and MIGHT start using the following http://skirunner.wordpress.com/ as the new SkiRunnerNZ blog.
Word Press has some very cool features the Blogger does not. Mostly its the cleaner look and better looking and easier to use templates that I like. Please visit http://skirunner.wordpress.com/ for the lastest and leave a comment on the new blog to let me know what you think.
Cheers
Grant

Pick of the Week- NZ's Busiest Trail Run Week?, Kepler Report

2009-12-10T18:43:00.005+13:00

The week starting on the 28th of November to the 5th of December was possibly the busiest week for trail/mountain running in NZ all year. It started with the Heaphy Five 0 on Saturday the 28th. The race had a turnout similar to a ski mountaineering race in NZ, with only 35 on the start line for the 2nd running of this race. Heavy rain and reports of chest high rivers added to slower times than last year and the race was won by Dave Heatley in 7hr57min.
On the Sunday Mal Law started out on his 7 in 7 Challenge, an epic 360km on the 7 "Great Walks'' of NZ.

As Mal was running the Milford Track on Friday, top mountain runners in the North and South Island were making their way to The Goat in the north and The Kepler Challenge in the south, were Mal would finish his 7in7 quest.
Sjors Corporaal won his 3rd Goat, while in Te Anau Martin Lukes also won his 3rd title and Mal Law finished the 7in7 in 66hrs.
All 4 of these adventures are ones that I would love to tackle one day and at this stage I am guessing the first in line for me will be The Kepler, hopefully in a year's time! I started bugging MattB (whom I raced with at the Molesworth) before he even made it off the wait list, for a race report. Here is what Matt had to say of his 6th Kepler-

"Well I guess it would have been nicer to write about a great day running, but that’s not what happened and as Grant asked, I’ll write something anyway.

Kepler 09 was to be my 6th, and I was hoping for a time under 6 hours. I had recovered well after Molesworth, a course of antibiotics had cleared up some pus and I felt as good as ever. 2 hard runs in a row isn’t really a problem. It turns out that 5 in 3 months might be. We turned up on Thursday evening for 4 nights camping, it’s usually a great weekend in Te Anau. Went over to registration for Ann who was running the Grunt, and for me to find out what the waitlist process was. I was still at #36, things weren’t looking good as a few wait listers were expected to turn up. I eventually got in at 9pm on the Friday evening.

6am and we’re off. Ran really comfortably with a couple of friends to Brod Bay, and things went pear shaped from there. I let them go while I fixed a blister. They’d all go on to run between 5:55 and 6:05. Got up the hill and fixed the Blister again. Had my 1st inkling that sub 6 wasn’t on as I was the same pace as last year. Turns out I just couldn’t get over to Iris Burn fast enough. Bummer, it was the warmest it’s ever been, no need for Beanie, Jacket and Gloves. Got there in 3:11, you need to be there in 3:00-3:05 for a sub 6. Oh well, try and break 6:19 instead.

Moved down the valley, stopping to eat and drink every 3k, which is nicely marked by 15 traps ;-) Was going nicely in about 30th, but getting passed by the odd bloke moving quickly. Although I’d always get one back at an aid station. Some people just seem to take a long time at them. Moturau to Rainbow Reach went nicely. I started picking off guys who’d gone too hard. Felt good, just like last time. Nice, if this keeps up I’ll be fine. Straight through Rainbow Reach with the Red Bull I’d stashed the day before. Worked hard on passing another guy who’d flown past earlier. 2k down the track it was all over red rover. I was as empty as I’ve ever been. I walked most of the next 6k but not being passed that often. Everyone was struggling. I did manage to run the last 2k, Pride, and clock 6:42. Not my best work and felt pretty wasted for the rest of the day.

Matt crossing the line at the '09 Kelper

What did I learn? Running 5 Ultras in 3 months is good fun. I’d do more if I could. But ‘racing’ them is going to catch up on you if you’ve done no training. I had 3 weeks off after the 1st 100k, then ran a 56k and 200k on consecutive weekends. 3 more weeks off and then 85k, followed by more time off and then Kepler. I knew I was getting slower, I was also getting lazy with my nutrition and hydration and general race preparation. So back to square one and prepare properly and have some fun.

Te Anau was a good time. Ann had a great run, had an awesome time with the kids and caught up with some good friends. Only 360ish days to go before we have another go.
Matt"

Back On Track

2009-12-08T21:42:00.000+13:00

Training is slowly getting back on track after my recovery period. I planned on springing out of bed this morning and having a quick bite and getting "after it", but instead I hit the snooze a few times and then dragged myself out of bed and opted for coffee and eggs.
I was feeling sluggish after a steady 90mins around the Port Hills yesterday. I Started at the Sign of the Takehe, and quickly found myself on one of the steep, hot dry trails in the upper Bowenvale area/above Vic park. I then ran out to Witch Rock, headed back via Mt Vernon's tiny summit and finished off with the small figure 8 tracks just south of the Sign of the Kiwi before returning to the car.
Today, after my coffee and omelette, I decide to do the trails between BR and CVSC. My watch is away getting a little TLC, so I didn't set a time for how long I would run, as I would have any idea anyway. Starting at 73 and the bottom of Cheeseman Rd and headed to Jack's Pass on the BR rd via farm land and random roads. I then climbed up to Lyndon Saddle, eating jet planes as I went, and then into Craigieburn Valley. I took the valley track up to the Camp Saddle scree slope and scrambled up it. From here the track is well formed, but pretty steep. I was out of water (I was using a 500ml hand held that I was refilling) and keen to get down to a stream. I got to the BR access rd and headed up hill, filling my bottle at a stream and adding some Nuun electrolytes to it. Up the walking track, pass the BR lodges, down the summer rd and back to the stream for a refill. Then I high tailed it back to the car, retracing my steps and eating the last of my jet planes.
It was a really good run, with really warm weather. A strong wind kind of kept things cool, but I ran mostly with my shirt off, which is always a nice feeling.
It was about 3hr10mins all up, which felt great. It's my longest run in a few weeks and it was nice to jump from a 2hr run on Sunday to a 3hr one today. I have started using Attack Point to keep track of my training. Its pretty cool and worth a look.
Just over 10 hrs running in the last week and I am feeling good, I am back on track. My log is HERE

Korowai/Torlesse Tussock Lands

2009-12-06T21:11:00.000+13:00

Had a great little run around the Korowai/Torlesse Tussock Lands today with Jane and Tim. We started just north of Porters Pass and ran up to the pass (939m) and down the overgrown 4wd track. We popped out on 73 after about 30mins of broom bashing and ran up to the hairpin turn on 73 and started running up the steep farm tracks, eventually arriving at Trig M (1251m). We then cross countried it down to Lake Lyndon and back to the car on 73 via the Lyndon fine weather rd. About 2hr10mins.
<a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/new-zealand/-/937126007943810816">Porters Pass/Trig M/Lake Lyndon</a> <a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/new-zealand/-">Find more Runs in , New Zealand</a>

Pick of the Week- Rest & Recover

2009-12-06T16:43:00.000+13:00

Rest & Recovery have been the key themes in my training (or lack of) since the Molesworth 2 weeks ago, so I figure I will share a few things I find work well for me in aiding recovery.
I think recovering from a high intensity workout or an ultra run is pretty similar, the big difference is how long it is gonna take and that often is the difference between a good athlete and a great athlete, how long, or how well our body takes to recover from one effort to the next.
Stretching- I love stretching , it's such a great way to relax your legs and give "new life" to tired, tight muscles. Lately how every I have gotten pretty slack and my daily stretching routine is almost non existent. I did a lot in the first 48hrs after the Molesworth.
Massage- I am pretty lucky to have a massage therapist as a neighbor in Castle Hill, so this is dead easy for me. I also got a massage straight after the race, which did wonders.
Compression- I am pretty new to compression wear, but if you believe the hype it works wonders. I'm not sold, I am also not not sold. I find they work well if you ever get twitchy legs while trying to get to sleep. They do seem to relax them then.
Active Rest- I used to think that a rest day meant doing nothing, but I now think of all my rest days as "active rest". A short bike ride, a walk around the block or a short swim, even an easy 30mins on the CHV trails I all consider active rest, which I think is a key, and sometimes overlooked, part of training. The day after the Molesworth, or any race, I make an effort to get out the door, choosing a short bike ride because of its low impact. I also did a little swimming that week. I still have days were I do nothing (today for example), this is when I feel I really need it. It's a fine line between resting your body and losing fitness.
Post Feast- The post race/workout feast, my favorite part of the recovery process. Sometimes I think the only reason I beat myself up is so I can indulge. Post Molesworth dinner was a burger and fries, but normally it's things like tuna, salad, pasta, Kumara and my all time favorite, a smoothie. I am pretty proud of my smoothie making skills and here's my brew for post run - 1 banana, a generous helping of frozen mixed berries, about one cup of light soy milk (I can't handle drinking a heap of full fat dairy milk, and soy milk tastes pretty good in smoothies), or half cup soy milk, half apple juice, a scoop of protein powder (I use Vanilla Bean CytoSport Whey) and maybe a few blocks of ice. Blend all this up and you have a pretty mean recovery formula! Another nice one is low fat milk, a banana, a scoop of Milo, a little vanilla essence and some ice cubes.
What are some of the things you do for recovery?
The last 2 weeks of recovery has gone well for me, with walks, bike rides and even a few solid runs. It's now time to refocus and get serious about training again!

Julbo Tracks Review

2009-11-27T21:38:00.001+13:00

Click HERE to read a review of the Julbo Tracks on Adventure Magazine Online.

I wore the Tracks for the "Symphony on Skis" ski traverse and Molesworth and Flagpole running races. Very nice pair of sunnies!

Pick of the Week- Bealey Spur

2009-11-25T13:11:00.005+13:00

PICK OF THE WEEK is an idea I had for my silly little blog to help me think of a super easy weekly update. At the moment the creative (or not so creative) juices are flowing and I have banged out 18 blogs last month and are up to 20 this month, but this is a rarity. Often I haven't the time for this kind of blog fest, or I just get plain sick of it. My plan is to spend a lot of time on the trails around Castle Hill and APNP (as well as explore some new areas) over the summer and I probably have to start working a little more than I have been, so the "Pick of the Week" will help me when I am pushed for time. The "Pick" could be a trail, a ski tour, a race/event, piece of gear, or a web site, and I would love to have "Guest Picks", so feel free to get in touch if you are keen.

I feel like I have 6 weeks worth of "Picks", I decided to start with one of my favorite little out and back trail runs in APNP (Arthur's Pass National Park)- Bealey Spur.

Google earth map of Bealey Spur track leading up to the hut (Lagoon Saddle track shown for reference)

This is a great "out and back" run that I have done a number of times now, often on my way home from work in Arthur's Pass, as it's a great way to unwind after a busy day. I can't remember how long it normally takes me to reach the hut, I think 48mins?? The track is steep in places, with some nice treed sections and some wicked views when it opens up. There is water at the hut, so you can travel light.

A sample of the views on offer on the Bealey Spur Track

Bealey Spur is also a pretty fun ski touring destination- Bealey Spur Hut, winter '06

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2009-11-24T18:53:00.000+13:00

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Molesworth '09 Race Report

2009-11-22T20:25:00.010+13:00

What can I say, things started off so well for me at the Molesworth Run on Saturday. After the race briefing we got the "5min warning". The start gun (it was pretty cool, they had a real rifle!) went off and I was away, as hard as I could, I sprinted past the whole pack of solo racers, I was however going the wrong way........

Playing Catch Up

We drove up to the start of the Molesworth, 84.7km out of Hanmer Springs, on the Molesworth Station on Friday afternoon/evening and had a good look over the course for the next day. Pretty much a long ass dusty road, not that exciting really, but the setting is! The road winds up and down huge valleys, over passes and next to rivers. It is a pretty cool place to say the least. We camped at the Cob Cottage camp ground, with a few other runners, but I think most drove in the morning of the race. I felt good when I woke up, had a good breakfast, stretched a little and walked around, but no real warm up, as I was planing a slow pace out of the gate. This however didn't happen. After the breifing we were told 5mins and I ran to the car that was parked about 100m up from the start line. I took off a layer, put on some sun screen and ducked into the trees for one last bath room break before that start. Thats when I heard the gun go off. I ran past my fellow racers who gave me confused and amused looks, got to the start line to hear "oh, there he is, Grant, what are you doing??", turned and started my watch. I received a big cheer from the team racers that started an hour later and tried not to stress too much. I guess I would have lost 1 min, 2 tops and I wasn't too worried. I ran past a few people, chatting with Simon for a bit and then with Paul for a while. It felt really easy, a cruisey pace, one that I rarely would run at. Up front last years runner up Brett Harris and MattB looked as if they were hammering the pace. Matt soon thought better of this and backed off, while Brett romped up over Ward Pass. I caught Matt about half way up Ward Pass, and we walked the steeper sections trying to save energy. We were in 3rd/4th place, with Uwe Paschke now in 2nd. Matt and I ticked along together for over 2hrs, staying at a nice 5min/km pace. We pulled Uwe in on the flats and downs, catching him at 20km, he then hammered up Isolated Saddle, while Matt and I walked the steep sections again. Brett meanwhile wasn't letting up, with a good 4mins on us. I parted ways with Matt at about 30kms, but fully expected to see him again before the finish. With 6 Keplers, 3(?) St James and a Heaphy under his belt I knew he would run a smart, strong race. I rolled in to the start of leg 3 in 3hr32min and Jane congratulated me on my first Marathon. I was now a good 10mins behind Brett, 4 in front of Matt and Uwe and 10mins in front of Paul. I was still running more or less 5min/km and was in a happy place, it didn't last.

Brett and his support, looking strong about 2hr30 in.

Matt told me Brett had gone out hard like this last year, but exploded. He still hung on to 2nd, but it was almost an hour behind first, so I was trying to position myself to pounce in case this happened to Brett again, although I didn't expect him to make same mistake twice.

It seemed to happen fairly suddenly, I guess I was trying to stay positive and ignore my decline. Somewhere around 50, or 55km I guess I really started to slow, none of my food tasted any good and I was so sick of sports drink. I struggled into the start of the final leg, easyily 20mins behind Brett, now with Paul just 2mins back and Matt and Uwe another 2mins. I stopped and drank some soup in an attempt to get something different and salty down me and was quickly told off for stopping by a friend and started running again. Paul then passed me at a pace that made me feel like I was standing still. Paul's pace had been really constant all day and he was running a great race. I tried to stay in touch and at one point when he was walking and drinking I still thought there was hope, that was until I realized that his walking pace was faster than my "running" pace. To make things worse, Matt was now closing in, thankfully, for me at least, Uwe had hit the wall.

About 15km out I busted out the water, salt and flat coke mix. While this does't sound that great, it is magic. Once it kicked in I started to pick up and once I finally saw the turn off to Jack's Pass I was ready to go, but Matt was still closing in. The climb up to Jack's Pass was pretty flat and short, but it was a hill and I love running hills. Even after 75km, I was happier going up this, than I was along the windy flats, the coke may have had something to do with it? I got to the summit and still had a good gap on Matt, increasing it, only for him to close in a little. I opened it up, finally shaking him, hit the flat and felt surprisingly good.

The DOC sign says it all........

I crossed the finish line in 7hr44min20, 15mins behind Brett and 3 behind Paul. Matt was just 3 behind me.

Coming into the finish in Hanmer Springs

I was happy to be finished and was feeling surprisingly good. I chatted with a few people and got a massage. When I took off my socks I was greeted to a nice surprise-

Hmmm

Really happy with my first "Ultra", even more so considering I only decided to do the Molesworth 3-4 weeks ago and hadn't specificity trained for such a big race. My placing was a pretty fair representation of my race and I got a little luck with Matt not having one of his better days. Interestingly the top 4 on Saturday would have been the top 4 in the 05 and 06 races, with only the winner in 07 and 08 (Both times John Bayne) going faster than the first 4 on Saturday, so it was a pretty strong field going off that. I haven't seen any older results, but do know the record is an amazing 6hr32mins by John Thirkettle, set in 1996. That's faster than the winning 2 person team this past weekend!!

I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Jane who supported me during the race (and day to day in general). She worked her ass off, parking ahead, running down to meet me with food and water and running with me for a few hundred meters at a time, every 3-5 km or so (about every 1000m by the end). No way I could have done it with you Jane, so thanks heaps! Next year we can trade places.....

Molesworth Course Break Down

2009-11-19T20:55:00.002+13:00

The following is a break down of the course for the Molesworth, taken from the Marlborough Harrier Club's web site.

Race Distances and Course Description

Leg One:
km from start
Start		Molesworth Gate. Short sharp undulating run, sharp corners and steep pulls leading up to Wards Pass, then steady zig zag up to summit.
9.0km		Summit Ward Pass. 1145m. Steep descent into isolated flat and the
10.9km		Acheron River Bridge, - flat open country excellent running to
13.8km		Saxon River Bridge, similar country through to
20.0km		End of Leg One, Sign post west end of Isolated Flat.
Leg Two:
km from start	km from start of stage
Start		300m of flat before a steady climb to summit of Isolated Saddle.
21.2km	1.2km	Isolated Saddle, easy down hill to
22.2km	2.2km	Red Gate turn off. Undulating easy run to
24.4km	4.4km	Severn River Bridge. Short, sharp sections through to
35.9km	15.9km	Yarra River Bridge. Similar country through to end of Leg 2 at a point
42.0km	22.0km	being 2.5km passed pylon no. 1078. Leg Two Ends. Clearly signed. MARATHON CHANGE OVER POINT.
Leg Three:
km from start	km from start of stage
Start		road closely follows Acheron river with several steep pulls around bluffs to
50.5km	8.5km	Five Mile stream. Road gradually eases, and the valley widens as the confluence of the Acheron and Clarence Rivers become visible at -
58.5km	16.5km	Historic Acheron Accommodation House. Road descends gently to the Molesworth boundary on the Clarence River Bridge.
58.9km	16.9km	Clarence River Bridge. Public road from here to Hanmer. Crossing the bridge the road follows the Clarence upstream to a gate and
63.4km	21.4km	End Leg Three.
Leg Four:
km from start	km from start of stage
Start		road continues adjacent Clarence River gently climbing towards Jollies Pass and Jack's Pass roads.
70.1.km	6.7km	Jollies Pass Road, continue past this intersection to
75.4km	12.0km	Jack's Pass Road and the final mountain. One final effort up a steep 2.9km to the top and
78.3km	14.9km	Jack's Pass Summit. Road then descends steeply into the outskirts of Hanmer township, turn left at end of Jack's Pass road, (opposite camp ground) and follow road into town keeping to right hand side of road. Finish through avenue of trees opposite Thermal Pools. Finish will be clearly coned, marked and visible. Take a deep breath and lunge over the line at
84.7km	21.3km	The Race is Over!!!

On a side note the weather is looking pretty average for the next few days. rain Friday night camping and 100km winds at 1000m in exposed places. Could be a bit breezy running over Wards Pass........

Some More "Words of Wisdom"

2009-11-18T10:28:00.005+13:00

(Keep the guess rolling in for the Molesworth folks!)

After the "Words of Winsdom" post the other day, here are a few more first timer tips.

These are from Paul Charteris. Paul is the man behind the Tarawera Ultra and Trail RunZ and he has raced in the Western Sates 100 miler.

1. Don't run on Thursday or Friday. There's simply no need to do
extra training so close to the event.
2. Don't carry all sorts of useless crap that you'll never need. I
see a lot of ultra-runners carry huge amounts of food, drink and
clothing. It only weighs you down.
3. (you already know this one). Start slow. I mean real slow. At
Western States it was 1.5 hours before I reached my "running pace"
and you know what, 5-8 hours in to the race I passed about 50 other
runners who had started way too fast.
4. If the day is going to be cool, try and get some calories in you
earlier rather than later. After a few hours of running you may not
feel like eating or drinking much in anycase.
5. Don't be afraid to load up on some decent fat in the next few
days. Quite a few studies have shown that fat loading results in
superior performance for ultra-distance events.
6. Watch all the Killian Jornet videos you can between now and race
day. That dude is phenomenal.

Thanks heaps Paul, and also Byron!

If any of you out there have a tip you would like to share that would be great! Leave it via a comment.

Molesworth- How Long?

2009-11-17T20:52:00.002+13:00

How long is the 84km Molesworth gonna take me??
Well your guess is as good as mine! To prove this I will give away a Dynafit Racing Cap to the person who guess's the closest to what my time ends up being. For what its worth my goal is 8hrs, so there is a start point for your guess.
One guess per person, so make it count. If you read this blog, then make a guess. I don't think there are a huge number of you out there, so you have a great chance of scoring a sweet hat!.
The Racing Cap is perfect for cruisy spring ski tour's (when you don't need a helmet), or trail running in the summer months. Good chance I will be wearing mine this Saturday.
I'll post this bad boy to you were ever your at.
Leave your guess here via a comment. 8:01.10 for example (8 hrs 1 min 10 sec, but I don;t think we need the sec's?). If you don't have a blogger account, leave a e-mail address , or a name at least.
Good luck

Fuel Me Fueling Me

2009-11-17T20:15:00.001+13:00

I am pretty excited to announce a new sponsor- Fuel Me, NZ's Endurance Sport Specialists.
Andrew and the team at Fuel Me have over 8 years in the sport's nutrition industry and carry only the highest quality sports nutrition and training gear. Their top selling brands include Skins, 2XU, Cliff, Leppin and Cytomax, as well as my personal favorite, Gu.
"If it's not going to work 100% for you, we're not going to sell it to you" attitude, teamed up with a 30 day correct fit Guarantee and the best prices around, you really can't go wrong with Fuel Me.

I have ran two wins in the Crater Rim and Flagpole races with the 2XU Race Socks on, been fueled by Gu's on my bigger Molesworth training runs, as well as the sub 13hr Symphony on Skis this past winter and recovered amazingly well post race with the help of my Skin compression tights and Cytomax Whey Protein mix.

Words of Wisdom

2009-11-16T21:27:00.004+13:00

So less than 5 days before my first ultra run, the 84km Molesworth Run this Saturday. I am getting the same feeling I used to get when I was say around 7 years old or so, before a birthday, or Xmas. You know, when the excitement is slowly building, the not knowing what Santa might bring you, or what kind of cake you will get.......
This "excitement" is of course mixed with a new, less comforting emotion.

Running 84km is not what bothers me. You see after 84km I am done, so I am OK with that. It's the unpleasant time between K's 50 to 70-75 that I think will be really hard. Simply put I am scared. But to my surprise, this fear excites me a little bit, just enough to give me that feeling that this Saturday will be fun.
I have been researching and asking around, trying to get as much "fun" out of my first ultra as possible. Luckily I was able to get some words of wisdom from 2 very experienced Ultra runners. I put to them what the number 1 tip would be to someone about to run their first Ultra.
Bryon Powell is the man behind iRunFar, an amazingly informative website for Ultra Runners. If you have been watching Kilian's Quest you would have seen Bryon as he was Kilian's first pacer during the Tahoe Rim Trail. This is what Bryon had for me-
"For races 80k and longer, think of the race as a "training run" for the first two thirds of the distance. Run easy (like a decent 30k training run for the 80k and easy enough for the 160k that you could run all day) and take care of yourself. You want to go into the last third of the race still able to move well.
One way I try to remind myself of this concept early in a long ultra is by envisioning the race as an out-and-back course and thinking, "Could I run as fast at this point on the course on the return trip."
In other words, at the 20k mark in a 100k, could I see myself running that same pace at 80k. I swear it keeps me honest."
Pretty much the kind of answer I would expect from Bryon, but it is really nice to be reassured from someone that has been there.
I think my biggest issue will be, apart from pacing myself in the early stages of the race, is getting to sleep the night before.

Mt Vernon Run Up Report

2009-11-12T21:27:00.000+13:00

Had a great time at the Mt Vernon Run Up last night. It was a pretty good turn out, with about 65 folks turning up to race.
Tane Cambridge when out hard, leading the pack up the valley track
all the way to the top of Mt Vernon, reaching the summit first. I gave chase, slotting into 2nd place, but lost contact with Tane about half way up the valley and was then past by this years Crater Rim 30km winner Mark Tuckett just below the summit rd. I past Mark back once we hit the real steep section and it seemed like we might have been closing in on Tane a little near the top of Mt Vernon. I glanced back to see Martin Lukes (yeah, I am surprised as you, I don't know what he was doing back there?) still running up the steepest park on Mt Vernon, while the rest of us were all walking! It was pretty impressive.
Once we reached the top Tane was long gone and Mark teared off after him. My legs were not only feeling the 24mins it took to reach the top, but also the 4.5 hrs from Mondays Casey- Binser run. I guess also my heart wasn't in the race, if it had been I would have never let Tane get away on the uphill. To throw your self down the farm track you have to really want it, I really didn't. Placing wasn't a big deal (not that I wasn't stoked to be in 3rd place!), bettering last years time was.
It was nice to have some support on the course, with Jane, who was resting for a half marathon this weekend, being on the steep, rock single track before this finish.
Mark managed to run down Tane for 1st. They run 34:34 and 34:42 and I held on to 3rd place, crossing in 35mins, 1min54sec better than last year!
Full results HERE

Fuel Me Weekly Fuel Saver

2009-11-12T20:21:00.002+13:00

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Mt Vernon Run Up Video

2009-11-12T08:00:00.001+13:00

Heres a little video Jane took of the Mt Vernon Run Up last night.

Mt Vernon Run Up- See You There

2009-11-11T13:09:00.002+13:00

The Frontrunner Off Road Series starts tonight with the 'Mt Vernon Run Up' at 6.15pm (Junior Race will start at 6.20pm). Meet at the Mt Vernon carpark at the end of Hillsborough Terrace. It will be signposted. $10 seniors, $5 juniors.

I wasn't 100% I would line up at the Mt Vernon Run Up after feeling a little tired after the Casey- Binser run I did on Monday,

but after my little pre race routine this morning, my legs feel good and I am looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces.

I went out in the wet, cold southerly this morning and did an easy 10 min warm up, some drills and then 2 x 30sec "stride outs". 10min jog back to the car and my legs feel good to go. I normally do this preparation the day before a race, but with the Vernon Run Up being at 6 tonight a small stretch of the legs in the morning works well for me.

Like the Flagpole race, tonight's race will be a good indicator of where I am at with my training. Place isn't important, rather bettering my 36min54sec that I did last year is the goal.

I am also hoping that the top 2 finishers from last years race -Carsten Jorgensen and Martin Lukes (both past winners of the Kepler Challange) will be on the start line, as its always fun to be able to measure your selfagainst the "fast guys".

KILIAN'S QUEST EP.10

2009-11-10T08:12:00.001+13:00

Kilian's Quest - Backstage
Discover the last episode of the season, in which you will find out about the Tahoe Rim Trail record from backstage.
Also worth a look is Salomon's mini site, with a interactive map of the Tahoe Rim Trail.

7 in 7

2009-11-09T21:31:00.001+13:00

If you haven't heard already, Mal Law will be running 7 of NZ's "Great Walks" in 7 days!

Below is Mal's grueling schedule-
Day 1 – November 29th – 42.7km – Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk
Day 2 – November 30th – 41km – Tongariro Northern Circuit
Day 3 – December 1st – 51.9km – Abel Tasman Coast Track

Day 4 – December 2nd – 78.4km – Heaphy Track
Day 5 – December 3rd – 32.1km – Routeburn Track
Day 6 – December 4th – 53.5km – Milford Track
Day 7 – December 5th – 60.1km – The Kepler Challenge
Total distance – 359.7km
* as a competitor in the annual Kepler Challenge mountain run
Mal's goal is to raise $50,000 for The Leukaemia & Blood Foundation of NZ.
Pretty brutal, but I have to say it sounds fun.
More info HERE

Casey- Binser

2009-11-09T17:06:00.002+13:00

Did my last "big" training run before the Molesworth today, the Casey- Binser Saddle loop. It's around 32-35km long and about 1300m of ascent/descent.
It took me a good 30-45mins to get warmed up and into this training run today, with the track leading up the Andrews Stream being fairly steep at the start I just took my time.
By the time I reached Hallelujah Flats I had gotten into the swing of things and was feeling good. I made my way up over Casey Saddle and down to Casey Hut, reaching it in just under 2hrs after starting. A quick pit stop and filling of my water bladder and I was off, running through some really beautiful old growth forest, before joining onto the mountain bike track in the open river flats. There was a stiff head wind going down the Poulter, but I was able to move at a good pace on the open track. A sharp right hand turn off the Poulter and I was on the steep track up to Binser Saddle. This was pretty steep and as long and as slow was on today's training plan I ended up power walking up a lot of this climb. The trail down to the Mt White Station road was pretty nice, albeit a steep and wrought track, the views were great. I drive 73 from Castle Hill to Arthur's Pass at least a few times a week and seeing the other side of things was pretty cool. I got off the Binser Saddle Track and ran the last few km back to my car on to the Mt White Station Rd, (which was a good taste of what I am in for at the Molesworth) arriving 4hrs32mins after leaving.

Frontrunner Off Road Series

2009-11-06T08:38:00.002+13:00

The Frontrunner Off Road Running Series starts Wednesday week on the Port Hills.

It will see 3 weeks of superb hill running above the fair city of Christchurch.

We kick off with the 'Mt Vernon Run Up' on 11th November at 6.15pm.

$10 seniors

$5 juniors

enter on the day

See the following link for details http://www.athletics.org.nz/CANTERBURY/Resource.aspx?ID=7423

Results of previous Series are available here: http://offroadseries.giorgio.co.nz I did the Mt Vernon Run Up last year and had a great time, as it was really social after work event, with some top racers. I Finished in 6th, a good 3mins off the winner.

The Press Flagpole Race Report

2009-11-04T19:59:00.005+13:00

If you looked hard (I mean real hard) in yesterdays Press you would have eyed the below race report form Saturdays Flagpole race.-

"MOUNTAIN RUNNING

Over 300 runners were on the start line at Flagpole Farm, behind Whitecliffs Domain in the Malvern Hills, on Saturday morning for the annual mountain running race.

Newcomer Grant Guise, who lives at Castle Hill Village and is a relative unknown in the mountain running scene in Canterbury, won the open men's title ahead of previous champion Jacob Roberts and last year's winner Kerry Faass. Guise and Roberts ran togeather for much of the 21km circuit and it was not until the last 5km that the former made his move, finishing in 1hr 28mins 29 sec and just 25 seconds clear of Roberts.

Athletes run 5kms up a steep vehicle track to the summit of Flagpole Hill, descending down the western side into the Selwyn River, running down the Selwyn River Gorge, crossing the river 12 times and completing the 21km circuit back at Flagpole Farm where they start.

Fiona Gilroy was a clear winner in the open woman's race, finishing more than three minutes ahead of second-placed Karen Muller.

Results:

Open Mean: Grant Guise 1:28:29 1, Jacob Roberts 1:28:53 2, Kerry Faass 1:33:44 3.

Open Woman: Fiona Gilroy 1:52:09 1, Karen Muller 1:55:47 2, Jane Harper 1:56:25 3. "

Its pretty cool to see a little local mountain running race like this making it to print as you hardly ever see any running, let alone mountain running (out side of the Keepler I guess) in the news paper. Now if we can just get some ski mountaineering in the paper.........

B2B- 2nd day

2009-11-03T22:16:00.004+13:00

Did day 2 of my B2B (Back to back) training in preparation for the Molesworth today. I left sunny Castle Hill for cold, grey Christchurch (I had a little work to do) and headed for the trails in the Port Hills, after making a quick stop at the Burrito Company first.

I ran a few different trails, some loops, back tracking a little, got a little lost on some trails I hadn't done before and managed 3hr40 and 1200m ascent. No idea how many km's, but I guess at least 30?

That's about 70km's in 8hrs in the last 2 day, add Saturday's race (plus warm up, cool down) and the short jog Sunday, I have done about 100km and 10.5hrs running in the last 4 days. I know some people run 100km easy week in, week out, but this I am sure will be my first, so its a pretty satisfying and tiring feeling. Looking forward to a swim tomorrow morning!

Felt surprisingly good, until the last 20-30mins on today's run. I carried 500mls of Replace and 4 Gu's again, filling up the water bottle twice. The Gu's are working well for me, but after 3hrs I start to crave "real" food and some protein. Today I was dreaming about tuna sandwiches and the Cliff Bar I had in the car.

Just printed of the Molesworth entry form, will fill it out and get it in the post. Hopefully I will get accepted as I have no previous ultra experience and haven't even run a marathon.

"ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED ON A FIRST RECEIVED BASIS, however the organising committee reserves the right of acceptance."

Flagpole Photos

2009-11-03T08:12:00.003+13:00

If you were at the Flagpole Run Up on Saturday chances are Gary at Nesport snapped a photo of you! Gary has a new hundred photos up on the Nesport website from the race Saturday and prints are available to buy.

Rounding the trigg on the summit of Flagpole in 1st place

Nesport details- web- www.nesport.co.nz

email- gary@nesport.co.nz

ph- (04) 4616635

Molesworth Training

2009-11-02T21:12:00.002+13:00

So I am about 95% sure that I am going to have a crack at the Molesworth 84km Ultra on the 21st of November. Yes, I know it is a silly idea, but curiosity is starting to get the better of me.

I have been reading up a storm over at I Run Far, researching tips for training and diet for ultra runs. One of the things I picked up is the B2B (back to back) training. This is doing 2 long days in a row and after an easy 35mins yesterday I did day 1 of my B2B today.

I started running from home with no pack and just 4 Gu's, turned left onto 73 and ran over the Broken River bridge and took a sharpe left onto the trails, running towards Flockburn. From here I got on to the Broken River ski area road at Jacks Pass and made my way onto Lyndon Saddle, 1hr30 after leaving home. I then ran down to the CVSC access road and reached the ticket office 45mins later. I sucked down my 3rd Gu and grabbed a handfull of snow as I made my way to the mountain bike track that leads back down to Lyndon Saddle. Back to Jacks Pass I then made my way to Forrest Lodge via Drac Flat. Making my way down the Cheeseman road was long, as my last Gu was long gone and there were no streams for water, but I still felt pretty good. I rolled back into Castle Hill after 4hr25 and about 38kms and 1500m climbing.

You can check out the run at Map My Run by combining this MAP and this MAP.

the way I see it, the key to a successful B2B is the recovery. Cold bath, protein smoothy, wearing Skins, LOTS of water and rest are all on the menu right now. On that note, night...........

Flagpole Run Up

2009-11-01T21:07:00.007+13:00

Had a great day yesterday at the Flagpole Run Up, a 21km, 800m ascent mountain running race, held just out side of White Cliffs. After my pre race preparation on Friday that included a short 30min jog with some "stride outs", spending 8-9hrs on my feet working, getting a stomach ache, a weird twinge in my hip, a massage and a hair cut, I was ready to go Saturday morning!

Last year I did 1hr4omins and placed 5th in the Flagpole, a result I was really happy with in what I called my "come back" race, after not doing a running race in about 8yrs. It was also my first mountain/trail running race and the longest race I had run at that time. This time around I knew what to expect and had a bit of confidence after the Crater Rim 2 weeks earlier. I picked up my race number and looked over the start list, picking out of few names that I recognised and was really excited to see that Jacob Roberts, 2009 Routeburn and 2x Avalanche Peak winner would be on the start line! Jacobs 2hr52min Routeburn run earlier this year is bad ass and he was totally dominate at the Avalanche Peak race. Both of these races are ones that I aim for and it’s cool to see some one dominate them the way he did last summer. Jacob is also part of Richard Usshers adventure racing team, so it was gonna be a fast race.

As expected the race started at a fast pace and Jacob went out in 2nd, with last years winner Kerry Faass and I slotting right in behind. 4 of us very quickly went to 3, and then almost immediately it was just Jacob and I. It seemed Jacobs plan was to run hard until he had broken everyone else, as he had no problem taking the lead and hammering this first, long up hill.

4km in we had climbed 500m in 22mins and reached the summit of Flagpole together in 28mins. As I stopped to drink a gap opened between us, which was fine, as I was able to follow Jacobs lead on the steep farm track that was wet and muddy. We reached the Selwyn River together and I slotted right in behind again. We had 12 river crossings and even a short swim when we got a little of course. Neither of us seemed to be able to loss the other- this of course was great news for me and I was hoping a little frustrating for Jacob.

I made a half ass move around 4km out, on a short hill, but had nothing in my legs. I was now clinging on, trying not to get dropped on the final K's. We rounded a corner into a down hill and got the view of the 19 and 20 km marks. I had been stronger on the down hills all day and used gravity to make a small break. This rolled into a flat and then what felt like a long steep climb to the 20th km. Looking back (a lot!) I could see the gap growing and growing and I threw my tired legs at the final down hill and the final stretch back to the finish line.

As I crossed I heard Chris Cox, the race director, over the loud speaker, he sounded as surprised as I was that I crossed the line first, announcing me as “a surprise winner” and “a dark horse”. My time was 1hr28mins, possibly a course record, but the race has only been going for 4-5 years. Jacob was about 30secs behind and Kerry, about 5 mins, 2 mins slower than his 1hr31min winning time last year.

I chatted a little with fellow racers and Chris, but quickly grabbed a little food, water and a dry top, running back to see how Jane was doing. Last year Jane finished 12th (not bad for her first running race). I reached her with 1 km to go and she was in 3rd place and was looking strong. I jogged with her for a while, but was finding it hard to keep up! Jane finished about 12mins faster than last year!

Post race Chris was nice enough to shout me a massage and then we stuck around fro the prize giving. Some pretty good sponsors at this race and I went home with about $220, made up of vouchers and cash. This was very quickly spent at the Shoe Clinic on some Brooks Cascadia 4's.

Big thanks to all that made the Flagpole Run Up happen- Chris and the Avalanche Peak team and all the great sponsors.

LEFT: Jane on her way to finishing 3rd at the Flagpole Run UP

Cass - Lagoon Video

2009-10-28T21:43:00.001+13:00

Partly piss take, but mostly for fun- here is a little video of me running up to Lagoon Saddle, part of the Cass - Lagoon Track which I ran last week.

Helicopter Hill Test

2009-10-27T11:48:00.003+13:00

Did another "test" run up Helicopter Hill yesterday, my last one being on the 14th. The last time I did this it took me 21min21sec to run the 450 vertical meter, 2.7 km trail.

After the Crater Rim race and the Cass Lagoon track in the last 9 days I wasn't sure how this "test" would go, but that's the reason it's a test, right?

After a 20min warm up on the BR rd I cranked into my workout. Feeling strong, I ate into the 1st flatter part of the run and I was thinking that I might even be able to go sub 20mins, but hit the wall somewhat on the final climb towards Lyndon Saddle. I was able to regather a little once I got out of the trees and made it in 20mins23sec.

I was pretty happy with this time as after a big week of training I have been able to recover well and make this workout really count. I'll taper a little this week with the Flag Pole Run Up on this Saturday. I placed 5th in a time of 1hr40 in this race last year and am aiming for a time in the low 1hr30s and a spot a little closer to the front of the pack. Last year I had done more or less no running at this time, as opposed to this year where I have around 6 weeks of solid running under my belt. This has been made up of very little speed work, the closest I have come to speed training is the above workout, which is more of a tempo workout. The plan is to up the speed training during November, before heading to Europe, but I might find myself doing the Molesworth yet?

KILIAN'S QUEST EP.09

2009-10-26T16:23:00.003+13:00

KILIAN'S QUEST EP.09- HYMN TO THE RIM

EP 09 in Kilian's Quest is now available at Salomon.com, its well

worth a look (as are all the episodes). Its nice to see it isn't a total walk

in the park for him- he might actually be mortal...........

Some pretty good quotes in this episode-

"More kilometers, more fun" is pretty good, but my favorite is

"If you think you have already achieved something in this world you are a fool"

Cass - Lagoon

2009-10-22T19:02:00.004+13:00

Got out and did the Cass - Lagoon track yesterday, running from the Bealey end after leaving the car at Cass and hitching to Coral Lynn.

The sign at the start of the track, complete with times and map

Me with the Bealey (flowing from Arthur's Pass) and Waimakarir rivers

I am not 100% on the distance, but Mike Steel has it at 34km. Going off map my run I was thinking 32km and 1000m climbing............

On Cass Saddle after 3hr35min of running and 1500m climbing!

I was thinking it would take in around 4hrs to run this loop, but there was around a extra 500m climbing that I first expected (1532m ascended according to my T6C), and the going was pretty slow on the rivers beds and I also made the short side trip to Mirror Tarn. In the end it turned into a 4hr45min epic. I probably didn't eat or drink enough early in the run, as I was feeling good, but once over 2 3/4 hrs I started to go down hill a little and the last 45mins down the Cass River bed wasn't pretty.......

I had left a feast- pasta, miso soup and smoothie- in my car so was pretty pumped once I final finished.

Chowing down - my post run picnic!

Moa Hunting

2009-10-20T15:20:00.004+13:00

"One of the most recent alleged sightings of a large moa took place on January 20, 1993, in the Craigieburn Range. Three individuals sighted and one of them photographed what they insisted was a six-foot-tall bird. They swore it was a moa, not an emu, ostrich, red deer, or any of the other expert-proposed or media-suggested animal candidates.

Paddy Freaney, current hotel owner and former instructor with the British Army’s elite Special Air Service, and his companions Sam Waby and Rochelle Rafferly were tramping — a New Zealand term for hiking in rugged terrain — in the Canterbury high country when they came upon a large bird. “The minute I saw it, I knew what it was,” Freaney said soon afterwards. “I believe it was a moa.” "

-www.cryptomundo.com

I am planning a mini Moa hunting expedition tomorrow, so have been researching up a storm today. I believe that the last Moa spotting was in the Cass-Lagoon Saddles area. I only have the day to do the 32km long, 1000m vertical Cass-Lagoon track, which is normally a 2 day tramp, so I will park at the Cass end, hitch to Coral Lynn and run the track with camera in hand. Hopfully I can snap a better shot of a Moa than the crap photo (see below) that Paddy Freaney took back in '93!

Paddy's Moa photo, taken in 1993

Cass-Lagoon Track
Find more Runs in Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand

My planned route for tomorrows Moa Hunt (mapmyrun.com- choose "Satellite" for map type)

Life

2009-10-19T16:46:00.002+13:00

Don't worry, I am not gonna start blogging about the meaning of life like some granola munching, telemarking hippy. I just wanted to share this really cool ad from Brooks Running.

Also worth a look is Brooks "Dream" ad.

Enjoy.

Crater Rim Run

2009-10-18T21:18:00.010+13:00

Had a successful outing at the Port Hills Athletics Club's Crater Rim Run this morning.

There was a 30km race, as well as the 20km option that I raced in, with some top racers competing in the longer race, like 2008 Kepler winner Martin Lukes and NZ cross country skiing team member Nat Anglem.

After the initial pretenders during the first climb dropped off, the real contenders were left, I found myself in 3rd place going into the steep downhill into Rapaki Valley. By the valley track I was in 2nd, tucked right behind 1st and with a good margin on the chasing group. I was pretty comfortable hanging out in 2nd place and settled in as we crossed the Summit Rd and got onto the Mt Veron track. I sat back and studied my opponent- head bouncing, arms high and pumping already, a slip on a rock "Maybe I should make a move now? no, be patient..." (I talk to myself a lot while running).

A quick glance back and our gap is slightly bigger at best, but we are ticking over nicely and I stay put. We enter the trees and get onto the funnest part of the race, short ups and downs, in and out of the trees, broken by the Summit Rd. It was somewhere in here that my new friends cap went flying past me, he stopped and went back for it and I took my opportunity. It happened just before some large stone steps and I threw myself at these, taking 2 or 3 steps at a time, making a good break. As I approached the Sugar Loaf and had a quick look back and had around 15sec on 2nd now and hammered the next section to the Sugar Loaf parking lot and down Cedric's Track, again taking few steps at a time and passing racers at the back of the 30km race. Running around the back of the Sugar Loaf I started to tire for the first time, but wanted to keep pushing, the goal being that I would be out of sight of 2nd place once we started going in and out of the trees again.

Getting back to the Crater Rim Trail I saw Jane about to go around the Sugar Loaf and started to pass oncoming runners, bumping shoulders as we exchanged encouragement. As I passed over the Summit Rd to Rapaki Track I was told I had 2mins on 2nd, with 5km and 435m descent and 115 steep meters of climbing to go. The downs hurt a lot, especially the last part on the pavement and the climb was a power walk at best.

I stopped my watch at St Martin's Primary School at 1hr29, over 10mins faster than I had guessed I might go.

Jane did really well, finishing 3rd and was really happy with her race.

Big thanks to Port Hills Athletics Club and all those who helped make this great little race happen.

KILIAN'S QUEST EP.08

2009-10-16T07:48:00.000+13:00

Well worth a look! Enjoy.

My "little" friend

2009-10-15T20:14:00.004+13:00

I say little because at only 1262m Helicopter Hill is relatively small compared to the other peaks in the Craigieburn Range. But for 21 long minutes yesterday it didn't feel little at all.

Talking with Pierre when I was in France he recommended a 25-30min (or 600 vertical meters, whatever came first) hard climb once every 1 or 2 weeks, while Javi said he would do 13- 15 mins climbs like this.

The key is doing it on the same slope or hill each time so you can gage your performance. It's a little bit like a race against the clock in some ways.

Helicopter Hill Run
Find more Runs in Craigiburn Forest Park, New Zealand

I used MapMyRun.com again for the Helicopter Hill run.

In winter we did similar "tests" like this up Porters and Cheeseman ski areas and once all the snow has gone I will do similar runs up the Avalanche Peak Track on Arthur's Pass! This is a really good one, one of my favorite runs. My fastest time from the AP DOC center to the summit is 55mins and I have heard of folks doing it in the low 50's. A sub 50min effort would be pretty huge..........

Crater Rim Run

2009-10-14T08:17:00.005+13:00

I'll be lining up for the Port Hill Athletic Club's Crater Rim Trail Run on Sunday morning in what will be one of the few running races I will do before leaving for Europe and another winter!

The Crater Rim will also be the first race I have done since the Routeburn Classic in May, not counting the Skin to the Summit, which I did on heavy gear, so I didn't really feel like I was racing that day.

Racers on the Crater Rim track. Photo from porthills.org.nz

There is a 30km and a 20km race, both starting from St Martin's School, climbing up to the summit road and heading towards the Sign of the Kiwi. I am opting for the 20km race as I have only got back into running regularly for a month or so now. Going off my training times I think I can go under 2 hours pretty easily and will be shooting for lower than 1hr40mins.

30km starts at 8am, 20km at 0830, see you on the start line!

Sun Rise

2009-10-13T22:46:00.003+13:00

Got out for a little dawn patrol this morning. Most successful dawn patrols take place mid winter when the sun rise is late, meaning you can sleep in a little more and cold, wintry snow is on the cards, compared to the refrozen crap that I skied on at 0730. Had I been a few hours later I could have scored some great spring corn, but that wouldn't have been a dawn patrol. Besides I would have missed this great sun rise, which made it all worth it.

The Pre Breakfast Run

2009-10-12T09:01:00.004+13:00

"The hardest thing you'll have to do is get out of bed. After that it's easy" that's what I have been telling myself for a while now as I drag myself out of bed for a pre breakfast run. While I can jump out of bed if it's a powder day and especially if I can hear coffee being made, going for a run is a little harder.

Why? When there are a lot of really good benefits to running first thing. Its a great way to start the day and a little 30-60min run in the a.m. is a great way to up your overall training. I have done this on and off for about 15 years (admittedly it was mostly "off" during my punk rock fueled late teens/early 20s), but it is a habit that I have gotten back into, especially when we were training for the Symphony this winter. The reasoning was, so Javi said, that training first thing before you have eaten on an empty stomach means that your body has to learn how to burn fats and use them as energy. Simply it has nothing else to burn. This was really important for the Symphony because we knew that we would be on the move for over 12hours and we wouldn't be carrying a heap of food.

I noticed the difference it made only after a few weeks of doing this. I hit the wall hard on our Craigieburn traverse, but manged to hold it together pretty well for the SOS.

Javi chows down on some some yummy body fat mid Symphony

This also is going to help when you have an unexpected big day.

I have started to up the running a little as this is an important time in pre season training for me and the pre breakfast run is playing a big roll. I have gone from feeling sick after 10mins of running to doing 50-60 min run in the morning.

Closing Day- CVSC

2009-10-05T10:51:00.005+13:00

Jane skiing 6th Gut at Craigieburn yesterday

We got up to Craigieburn yesterday for only our 2nd day skiing the tows this winter. Yesterday was closing day for Craigieburn, along with all fields in the Range, apart from BR, but you would haven't guessed it. It was snowing and bloody cold. What was good was real good, but was was bad was terrible. There was 10-20cm of wind blown snow, with a shiny, slick crust underneath. the skiing was pretty fun, especially mid slope where it was blown in. It was fun to just ride the tows and ski with my heavier set up for a change.

Map My Run

2009-10-05T09:59:00.004+13:00

Just discovered this web site MapMyRun.com Its pretty cool as its allows you to map your run (or bike ride, ski tour or hiking trip I guess) and get distance and vertical gain and loss.

Below is a map of the run I did yesterday after skiing at Craigieburn yesterday morning. I ran home via Lyndon Saddle and Drac Flat.

CVSC to CHV via Lyndon Saddle, Drac Flat Cheeseman access rd
Find more Runs in Craigienburns, New Zealand

One thing I have found is possibly the vertical isn't 100%. I got a different vertical gain/lost than what my t6c gave me?

Map away!- www.mapmyrun.com

Salomon Speed Cross 2

2009-10-03T16:59:00.008+13:00

The Speed Cross 2 trail running shoe from Salomon has been on my wish list for a while now and yesterday I finally got my hands on a pair! I guess the verdict isn't out yet as I have only had about 1hr30mins running in them, but so far I can say they are pretty nice.

Drying out the Salomon Speed Cross 2 after a muddy trail run around Castle Hill Village

They are super light, about 290gms, have a nice low profile and have great grip. I really like the feeling of being close to the trail, so the low profile is nice and they still have a surprisingly good amount the cushion for such a light shoe. I'll probably end up using the Speed Crosses mostly for racing and speedy runs and train in my other runners that are more suited to day to day running.

Once I have had a bit more time in them I'll report back with how they are working out, probably after the Crater Rim Run, or Flagpole Run Up.

If you click HERE to visit the US Salomon Running web site you can see a cool little video of Adam Chase talking up the Speed Cross 2.

I also got a look at the latest version for the XT Wings, Salomon's flag ship shoe and my all time favorite trail runner. It's good to see they have made some subtle improvements, that will help with durability. The eyelets for the laces are now plastic, meaning the laces are not gonna wear and break, which was my biggest gripe with the older model.

Now for the real gear geeks below is a little video from Canadian Running and their visit to Salomon Running in Toronto. It is kind of a silly little interview, but does give some really good insight to the benefits of using a specialized trail running shoe.

Learning about trail running gear at Salomon from Canadian Running on Vimeo.

For more info on getting your hands on some sweet Salomon Running gear visit the Salomon NZ web site to see what is available - www.salomonrunning.com/nz/

Suunto T6C- 277hr51min, 110591m Review

2009-10-03T13:02:00.011+13:00

After 277hr51min of training and 110591m of ascent I figure I should finally write something regarding

the Suunto T6C training watch, or should I say my "personal sports laboratory".

The T6C is my 2nd Suunto watch, the first being the ever reliable Altimax. The Altimax is a great watch and I found it great for tracking vertical while skinning, but I was keen to get something more training specified and I had been keen on a heart rate monitor for a while.

The T6C was the obvious choice being able to track heart rate, vertical ascent/decent and at what rate. The other cool thing the T6C has going for it is the Training Effect (TE) feature. The T6C calculates the TE by gathering information like your heart rate, max heart rate, activity level (how active you are) and weight. It then gives a real time TE which is like an overall look at your training, rather than your heart rate which just gives you a snippet of what's happening at that particular moment.

Rather than writing down all my workouts, I simply upload everything to my PC, which makes for some good reading. Not surprisingly July, August and September were my biggest months of training, with a little over 60 000 meters ascended in around 125 hours.

12hr58mins, 4260m vertical- Javi, Lorenzo and my t6c were the perfect companions for a "speedy Sympohny"

My lowest volume of training was during February when I managed a laughable 10.5 hours and 4500 vertical meters. This was when I had tendinitis in my shin and walking was a struggle.

If this isn't enough you can team the T6C up with a GPS and/or Foot Pod! I haven't had the chance to try any of the "Pods", but from what I understand you can get all kinds of feedback about your pace, stride, how fast you're going. The GPS Pod I could see being especially good for tracking distance and elevation gain/loss. Hopefully I will be able to report about the Pods at some stage.

As we all know the Germans are big on efficiency, so I think its speaks volums about the T6C when they are handing out awards to this watch - -

"Germany's Runner's World, one of the leading running magazines in the world, tested a range

of distance trackers in November 2008. Of the six models tested, the jury rewarded Suunto

t6c and Foot POD with the title "Runner's World Test Winners". Read more about this award

To find out more about the t6c, Suunto watches and where to buy one in NZ click HERE

Kilian's Quest

2009-10-03T11:38:00.004+13:00

Winter's pretty much over (mind you, snow to 800m today!) and spring skiing is in full swing. If you're like me, as the days get longer and warmer you'll still want to hold on tight to winter and keep skiing. But this spring I have found it a lot easier to make the transition from ski touring to trail running. This time of year I normally always struggle to get out running. I feel fit and strong, but my legs are weak when it comes to the high impact that running has compared to skinning. Living out of the snow for the first winter in 4 years has meant I have ran a lot more over the winter than in the past, meaning this year the transition has been an easy one. Still I always struggle with motivation.

Enter Kilian's Quest.

For those of you that don't keep up with the competitive world or ski mountaineering or mountain running (if you don't then I guess you are here by mistake?) Kilian Jornet is kind of a big deal. The young Spaniard dominates ski mountaineering and mountain running. Rather than going into detail, just click HERE to check out Kilian's Quest. Episode 7 will start up, but it's worth scrolling down and starting with the teaser.

I find this kind of thing really motivating, I mean if this guy can run for 38hrs, then I should be able to muster up and go for a 30min jog before breakfast.

Other articles that are worth a read are-

Runner's World Article on TRT

Salomon Running on Facebook

Just Like Last Year..........

2009-10-03T11:21:00.002+13:00

Just like last year at this time I have started to neglected my poor little blog again.

Suddley I seem to have a heap on and "blogging" seems to have been put at the bottom of the to do list.

Completing and then writing trip reports and an article on the SOS, then organizing The Tour Backcountry Ski Race, getting a 3000m vertical day in with Duncan, Jane and Tim, resuming"regular" work and getting back into running (twice a day when possible) has left me wondering what the hell happened to September

Part of me also things the blogging is a little lame...........

Its fun, and I enjoy writing (well trying to), its something I do for my Mum to keep up with what I am up to as much as anything.

Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things, for my Mum if nothing else.

Dynafit Calander- September

2009-09-15T07:38:00.002+12:00

I slacked off with the Dynafit calender there for a while (5 months?) Here's September-

This image is from the Dynafit Woman's Team and the Haute Route Plus transverse they did. Itwas from Chamonix- Zermatt- Alagna. 140km and over 10,000 vertical meters! Its took the them 3 days.

SOS- Final Preparations

2009-09-11T18:59:00.004+12:00

Javi and Lorenzo give the thumps up to our pilots 8yr old son that came along from the ride. We had to navigate by moon light and head torch to the hill side sticking out just in front of the coppers nose, that's where the Rutherford Stream comes out.

We opted to fly in to Rankin's Hut via helicopter from Mt Cook Village for the Symphony last Friday night, rather than trying to access the upper Godley by 4wd. The weather window opened and we wanted to make the most of it!

One final check of the map by candle light before our chocolate and fruit dessert

We flew into Rankin's Hut with nothing more than our day packs for skiing and some pre cooked pasta, hence no sleeping bags.....

What time? GO TIME!

Stay tuned for more...........

Symphony On Skis

2009-09-07T10:10:00.005+12:00

Rankin's Hut, Godley Valley
Finally did the Symphony On Ski over the weekend. It has been a goal of mine for a while now to do a "fast Symphony", so it was amazingly satisfying as Lorenzo, Javi and I skied down to Chancellor Hut on Saturday evening, having started in the darkness earlier that morning from Rankin's Hut in the Godley Valley.

Javi, Grant, Lorenzo- Graham Saddle, with Mt Cook behind us

Skiing down to Chacellor Hut, Fox Glacier

A big thanks to Dynafit for setting us up with a full kit of gear, especially the new Dy.N.A race boot and World Cup race skis.

Also thanks to Yoli, Vio and Fred who meet us at Chancellor with food, dry clothes and sleeping bags.

More details to come.......

UTMB

2009-08-29T15:13:00.003+12:00

If your looking for a little training motivation (like I am!) on a windy Saturday afternoon, check out the Ultra Trail Mt Blanc, a 150-160 km running race, with a total elevation gain of around 8500m!

You can follow along via Salomon Runnings Twiter site-http://twitter.com/salomon_Running

Salomon Running is the sponsor of pre race favourite, record holder and ski mountaineering super start Kilian Jornet.

Start of the 2009 UTMB

Well, I'm off for a run!

Avalanche Peak

2009-08-25T19:17:00.002+12:00

Javi starting out in Arthur's Pass Village

Javi and Jane with the ski's on and Mt Rolleston in the background
Skiing one of the Avalanche Peaks SE Couloir's
Climbing onto Mt Lyells Summit, with Low Peak behind me
Javi skiing another one of Avalanche Peaks coulior's on our 2nd lap

Had a great day skiing Avalanche Peak and Lyell Peak in APNP on Saturday. Glad we made the most of it before this big wet spell hit us.....

Craigieburn Traverse

2009-08-25T18:42:00.005+12:00

Got out for a CVSC to Porters traverse last week. The day was nice, but snow conditions were not as good as what they were last winter when Jane, Kath, Duncan and I did the same trip.

The traverse was 2425 vertical meters and took us 4hrs51mins from the CVSC ticket office to the bottom of T1 at Porters.

Javi and Lorenzo starting out at CVSC.

Javi and Lorenzo at the top of the Hamilton Peak, first climb.

Some tricking skinning just before the top of Yukon Bowl

Lorenzo and I on top of Mt Izard. Notice the thin snow coverage.

Javi and I boot packing to the top of Mt Cloudesley.

Pretty happy with a great day in the Craigieburns. Pretty sure a sub 4hr30mins trip is doable in better conditions as the thin snow meant a lot of extra boot packing as well as slow skinning and skiing.

We were all out on the new Dy.N.A race/light weight boot from Dynafit, as well as the newly improved RC20 race pack. Javi and I also had the new Dy.N.A World Cup race ski. Glad to say all work very well, apart from the standard sore feet/blisters that is expected from new boots and big days.

Tips for The Tour #2- Never Stop Moving

2009-08-22T22:51:00.001+12:00

Weather its going out for a day's ski touring, a tramping trip, or at The Tour, one of the easiest ways of traveling fast is never standing still.

Some of the easiest and simplest ways to keep on the go is to keep a steady pace, use a drinking bladder, carry food in your pockets and stuff your skins down your top (so you never have to stop and take your pack off).

You could go the whole 9 yards and use super slick ski mountaineering race transitions also. These include 15sec or less skin off transitions, under 45sec skins on and the always impressive ski's on the pack with out stopping.

Check out the below video of Javi demonstrating how to quickly go from skinning to boot packing.

Tips for The Tour

2009-08-13T10:28:00.000+12:00

With The Tour now only less than 6 weeks away I figured it might be nice to give a few tips to aspiring competitors.

This week's tip is a pretty obvious one. I can't remember were I heard/read it now but is a goodieand one I heard a few years ago when preparing for my first ski mountaineering race.

TIP # 1- Back country ski your ass off.

Like I said its a pretty obvious one, but it's surprising how few people really do it. Rock up early this weekend to your local ski hill and start skinning pre-opening (check with patrol first!). Do a lap (or 3) either in-bounds, or if the avalanche hazard is suitable (you can check HERE) head into the back country. Get familiar with your gear, the techniques and systems that you'll use.

Once you're done skinning then hit the lifts!

If you can't get to the snow, play around with your gear in the living room, getting familiar with it all. And go for a few runs, bike rides or hikes in the hill for your endurance.

Above all, make it fun!

Avalanche.Net.Nz E-Newsletter

2009-08-05T21:43:00.003+12:00

"Most people casually access the backcountry through ski areas. Often they have no safety equipment and think that because of their proximity to the Ski Field they are somehow safe. This is wrong! The moment you set foot over the ski area boundary you are on your own, and you need to be prepared and equipped for the dangers you may encounter. One of these is the Avalanche danger. The backcountry snow pack is uncontrolled meaning it has not had explosive charges used to bring down avalanches before you go out there. Weak layers within the snow pack can persist for many weeks, and can remain sensitive enough to release under the weight of one person.

You are just as likely to get caught in an avalanche 10 meters from the ski area boundary as you are being deep in the Southern Alps. It is all uncontrolled."

-Gorden Smith

Read all of the Avalanche.net.nz Synopsis for week ending 4 August 2009 HERE

or go one better and sign up for the weekly Avalanche.net.nz e-mail newsletter HERE

2009 'Burner

2009-08-02T21:48:00.001+12:00

The 2008 CraigieBurner winner and organizer of the 2008 Ohau Backcountry Blast, Duncan Sherratt, will be organizing the '09 Burner.

The word from Duncan-

"The Scarpa Craigieburner ski mountaineering race will be taking place this year on the 5^th of September at Craigieburn Valley Ski Area. As the oldest race of it’s kind in New Zealand it is certainly unique. Competitors will have the chance to use the lifts or their own steam to race around the mountain. It is essentially a day’s ski touring or club field skiing condensed into

about 1-2 hours. The event has a really good vibe as only you could get at a club ski field in New Zealand.

Gary Mac getting his Burn on

We’re again lucky to have awesome support from Scarpa, Marmot and Craigieburn Valley. Scarpa have generously offered two pairs of Scarpa ski boots for prizes. As they say you have to be into win so we hope to see you all there on the 5th of September. The ski boots will be given away as spot prizes. So all the more reason to turn up and ski quite quickly (up and down).

The scene at the finish line of the '08 Burner

The race will be kicking off at 10am. We’ll be up there from 8.30am taking registrations. We’ll have a few beers and laugh about the day later on in Koroheke Lodge.If you have any questions about the event check the blog, www.craigieburner09.blogspot.com. The blog will be updated with information, course details and entry information closer to the event."

Cheers Duncan

THE TOUR- entry open!

2009-08-01T21:19:00.003+12:00

Entry for The Tour Backcountry Ski Race is now open!

Click HERE for the entry form.

Expect the young fellow in the white & red suit in the photo above to be near the front of the pack at The Tour

ATK RACE

2009-07-30T15:54:00.005+12:00

Your heard it here first (OK, 2nd, I just posted it on mountainz)- ATK RACE is now available in NZ!

ATK is a small Italian company that makes amazingly light ski mountaineering race products. So amazing they are, the ATK NX race binding is even lighter that anything on offer from Dynafit! The NX is a specialized race binding, that works the same as the Dynafit system and is only 120gs per binding. ATK also has 2.4m carbon probe thats only 100gr! NX binding- rrp $990- super speical- $770 Carbon Probe- rrp$195- super special- $150

Carbon Kevlar Poles- rrp $370- super special - $290

A really nice option with the NX binding is the adjustment plate that can be mounted on the ski and then the NX heal on to this, allowing different size boots to be used.

For the full ATK line check out www.atkrace.com or e-mail me for details.

Low Angle Touring

2009-07-27T22:24:00.006+12:00

With a Considerable to High avalanche danger over the weekend, it was all about picking the right options. For me it was a no brainier- low angle ridge travel. Nothing says low angle ridge travel around the Craigieburns more than the traverse from Cheeseman ski area to Mt Olympus.

The skin track to Mt Cheeseman was laid in and Lorenzo and I made quick time, reaching the summit of Cheeseman in under 50mins and

were standing on Mt Olympus 1hr 35min after leaving the Cheeseman day lodge.

Lorenzo and I, Mt Olympus summit. Mt Enys on one side, Mt Hutt Range on the other.

The ski back was great fun, apart from when I came derailed on the flats and came to a sudden stop.

We even made a quick ski into the Hut Creak head waters, laying in the track for the next day, when Jane and I returned for a simalir tour, this time skiing into the Ryton Valley.

The Fast & Furious

2009-07-26T19:58:00.002+12:00

"The Fast & Furious" is a article written by Andrew McLean that was published in "Coulior" magazine a few years ago.

Its a cool little piece and was the first time I read about a ski mountaineering race (its probably the first article write by a non Euro about a ski mountaineering race?).

Its well worth a read-

"With Backcountry skiing being such a peaceful pursuit, you might wonder why anyone would want to ruin it by turning it into a competition. The answer, as with thoroughbred horses or hissing cockroaches, is that racing improves the breed. True, not everyone sees touring around in emasculating skin tight suits as an improvement, but there are many other aspects of Ski Mountaineering racing that can directly improve your smiles per hour ratio." READ MORE

Racing Training and some Steep Skiing

2009-07-19T20:18:00.003+12:00

Been upping the training a little the last few weeks, with around 10,000 vertical meters of skinning and skiing in the last 2 weeks. Not that much when you consider the Pierra Menta is that much vert in only 4 days! In saying that its not all about the vertical- I've had some slow days, speed work out and tempo sessions and things seem to to falling into place training wise for me for the first time since around February.

Possible 2nd ascent of the 1st day of The Tour

Some of this training has been getting out and about exploring the course for The Tour, a backcountry ski race that I am organizing this September.
Yesterday Lorenzo and I explored what could be the course for the first day of racing, the area north of Cheeseman ski area.

Lorenzo tears in to Yukon Bowl

After skiing west off the back of Cheeseman we meet up with Damo and headed toward Yukon Bowl and then up Mt Wall.

Lorenzo booting out of Yukon Bowl, up Mt Walls sunny North slopes

Lorenzo dropping a steep line off Mt Walls south face
Once on Mt Walls west ridge we started eyeing up some of the steep liners that face south, towards Cheeseman ski area. I always get asked as I am skinning up at Porters or Cheeseman "are you cross country skiing?". I guess yesterday we were extreme cross country skiing as Lorenzo had no issue scrabbling up a steep, exposed ridge to drop in to a 40 degree coulior on his 160cm race skis and carbon boots.

Damo about half way down our dog legged line

Damo and I opted out of the ridge scrabble and skiing a nice little dog legged chute that had a few turns before opening out onto the snow field below.

A nice day of 1300m and we made it back just as the wind was starting to howl.

Castle Hill to Porters

2009-07-11T13:07:00.006+12:00

Jane starting out with the days mission in sight
We awoke to yet another amazing day in Castle Hill and with the snow down to the valley floor we slipped into our ski boots and walked out the front door with Mt Cloudsley's Long Spur the day's objective.
Jane passing through an old farm gate at the toe of Long Spur
We started skinning about 50 meters from the house and skinned through the beech forest in Thomas Bush and up onto Long Spur.
Long Spur- the climb of 100 kick turns..........
I run up Long Spur in the summer, taking around 2hrs to the top, but with new snow and a skin track to put in progress was slow as we kick turned our way up.
Me booting on one of a few short, rocky sections on the Spur

Jane about to start the final skin to Mt Cloudsley's 2107m summit

We reached the top of Cloudsley after 1400m of climbing and 3hrs 20mins. Once on top we headed south for Mt Enys, having already arranged for our car to be at Porters.

Jane skinning with the Ryton Valley and Mt Rolleston in the background

The views and low down from atop Mt Enys

Jane skiing some excellent powder off Mt Enys' east face

We reached Mt Enys, 2194m, just under a hour after leaving Cloudsley and skied some great snow. We also met Duncan and Kath who were doing the same trip but in reverse.

My tracks west

I got a quick run in the west facing slopes that skied great before we traversed back into Porters via Bluff Face.

Back to reality- Bluff Face

We got back into Porters and were reminded how the other side skis. The upside of "reality" is they have coffee and BLT sandwiches!

Skin to the Summit

2009-07-11T08:03:00.003+12:00

The Speights Summit Skin To The Summit race was held on the 4th of July as part of the Queenstown Winter Festival and we travelled down for the short skin from the Coronet base are, up M1 and to the hope of the lift.

Me climbing hard with "heavy gear"

The race was a "dawn patrol", meaning it started in the dark and we skinned with head lamps as the sun came up. Not to surprisingly Lornezo and Laetitia came in 1st and 2nd, with myself in 3rd. Theo and Willy battled it out for the 3rd male across the line, with Theo winning there sprint to the line and Jane was the 2nd female.

Skin to the Summit top 3 female and male finishers

Foggy Peak

2009-07-01T23:12:00.005+12:00

I got out for another little outing up Foggy Peak on my way home from Chch today. This area off Porters Pass is fast becoming a favorite of mine, even if my touring from here has been limited.

There has been maybe 10cm of new snow over the last few days and while some walking would be required, it looked like it would be worth it.

Me on top of Foggy Peak, with Porters and Cloudesy on either side

From the top of Foggy I skied more or less North down the ridge and had a short climb to the to of a NW facing slope. From here I ripped down to around 1400m elevation, encountering a mixture of dry, wintry snow and nice corn.

I then climbed back up to Foggy and skied a Southerly gully that was surprisingly good! So good I skied it a lot lower that I should which resulted in a good bit of scrub bashing to get back to the car at Porters Pass. Starting to crank up the training a little, with almost 5000 vertical meters climbed over the last week, but will need to step it up if I'm to make a sub 2hr5min car to summit to car speed climb of Rolleston's Low Peak and lower the 18hr record for the "Symphony on Skis".

Porters- Opening Day '09

2009-06-26T23:11:00.004+12:00

Skinning to the top of Porters
Got up to Porters for a short skin up the groomed this morning. It was opening day for Porters and a pretty good one at that. The skin up was pretty nice and I run into a few folks that I hadn't seen in a while. We busted thought the cloud and into blue sky's on top. The ski down was pretty good to.

Me, Jane and Laetitia above the cloud.

"trust me, I do the best"

2009-06-24T22:47:00.000+12:00

Ahh, the beginning of next week never felt so far away...........

Barre des Ecrins (France) Speed Climb

2009-06-07T19:04:00.004+12:00

On 23 April 2009, DYNAFIT athletes Nicolas Bonnet and Matteo Eydallin have set a record for climbing the Barre des Ecrins in 2:51 '26s.

Record des Ecrins ski alpinsime 2009 I really like to see the top racers take their skills and endurance in to big peaks in this fashion and it is certainly the direction I would like to take with my own skiing.

I find the style of this particular speed ascent pretty interesting. I'm not sure what to make of the ditching of skis, pack and ice axe at different stages of the attempt.

Nico and Matteo had planned to make an attempt on the Mt Blanc speed record, but I believe conditions were not suitable.

An Icy Little Ski

2009-06-07T18:48:00.004+12:00

I managed to get out for a little ski off Porters Pass this afternoon.

After plans with Tim fell through I was still hoping to get a good mission in, but we woke to cloudy morning. This ended up being more an inversion layer than anything, so I headed out after lunch.

The view from the top of Foggy Peak, with the ridge leading to Castle Hill Peak.

After an hour or so of booting up mostly iced over scree and some slick "dust on crust" I was on Foggy Peak. I skied down and made my way towards Castle Hill Peak, before decided to do a few laps in the shady south facing bowl just north of Foggy Peak. On the way out I caught up on Dave and Ed, as we followed an icy traverse out.

Pretty firm in the hills and I would highly recommend an axe and crampons.

Remarks Queens Birthday Weekend

2009-06-04T21:40:00.002+12:00

Had a nice little social/business trip down to Queenstown over Queens Birthday Weekend. The car was packed with Dynafit gear we had to drop off along the way, as well as our own gear after hearing early season conditions were good in the Southern Lakes.

We meet up with Gary and Rae on Saturday morning for a quick tour up the Remarkables.

Jane, Rae and Gary approaching Wye Saddle, above Lake Alta

We skinned up to Wye Saddle, with great views down to Lake Alta and up at Double Cone. We then did a short ski into the head of Wye Creek and climbed up to North Wye Saddle and onto point 2050m.

Jane skinning onto point 2050m, with the Wye Creek Basin in the background.

Making turns on firm North facing snow

I was really impressed with the options for touring up at the Remarks and around every turn there is another peak waiting to be skied, but I guess that NZ for you.........

The Perfect Fold-

2009-05-25T18:06:00.004+12:00

Heres a short clip on how to get the perfectly folded skin every time. I think its pretty self explanatory, but I do explain it as I go. I was shown this tip from a mate, Steve, while on my one and only trip up the Tasman Glacier.

Mt Bruce

2009-05-24T16:39:00.007+12:00

Despite waking up to another day of wind and rain, Jane and I really wanted to get out for a ski today. The strong southerly meant that our best bet for some OK weather would be to head west and we figured that Bealey Spur or Mt Bruce could be a good bet. The Kelly Range is also worth a look during a southerly storm for fine weather, but they only get up to the 1300m range, so we figured the snow line would be to high still for that mission.

Mt Bruce's North Face, with line up and down.

Welcome! Jane at the start of the track.

We started out at the Cora Lynn end of the Cass/Lagoon Track and made it out of the bush in around 45mins. We were able to start skinning here, albeit on a thin covering of wet snow.

Jane skinning up.

The snow was very wet and pretty thin at first, before getting more supportive around 1350m. It was the first time we had been up Mt Bruce and were pretty impressed with the nice rolling terrain of the North Face, as well as the steep, couloir ridden South Face.

Jane on the "summit" (west) ridge.

We made it to Mt Bruce's 1630m high summit amid rain and wind. We had a quick look around, scouting out lines for a return when weather and snow conditions would be more favorable.

Jane and I on the top of Mt Bruce

Jane skiing down, with Bealey Spur and the Waimakariri River in the background.

Our first few turns off the top were pretty good, but we soon found ourselves doing survival turns down heavy, wet snow and tussock.

The skiing was a bit of a disappointment after skiing some nice powder mid week, but I am certainly not complaining- ITS STILL MAY! We are pretty lucky really to be skiing at all and at the end of the day I was just stoked to get out and ski somewhere that I have never been before. Exploring a new area and standing on a peak that I have looked at many times.

NZ Skier Mag- out now!

2009-05-21T20:33:00.003+12:00

The latest issue of NZ Skier is now on the shelves. It's the biggest issue of the magazine that I can remember seeing and is crammed full of all kinds of wonderful stuff, including an article by yours truly on skiing the Craigieburn Range.

While publishing an article by a kid from a farm in Riverton (its kind of near Gore), that got around 30% in school C English could be seen as a low point for Hamish and Neil at NZ Skier, don't let that hold you back from rushing out to your nearest news stand and picking one up. '09 Buyers Guide, Scott Schmidt article and a "How Kiwis ski the world" feature all make for a great read.

Also worth a look is the new www.nzskier.com web site!

What are you waiting for?? Click the damm link and go buy a copy of the magazine...........

"The Road to Castle Hill" is paved with taxpayer's money...

2009-05-21T19:55:00.002+12:00

I just finished reading "The Road to Castle Hill" is paved with taxpayer's money... , by Graeme Kates.

It outlines the ongoing saga of Castle Hill Station and access to public land. Its well worth a read and can be found HERE

Routeburn Classic Mountain Run

2009-05-12T18:07:00.004+12:00

Jane and I raced in the Routeburn Classic, a 32.6km mountain run, this past Saturday. the Classic follows the Routeburn track, starting at the divide near Homer Tunnel on the Milford Road and finishes 32km later near Glenorchy.

Just after the Harris Saddle and just before Dan (in front) unfortunately twisted his ankle. Photo from Magic Memories

After we both had all of February out with injury we had struggled a little with motivation and I especial had trouble getting back into a good training routine.

Leading into the race I wasn't sure what to expect- I hadn't run 32km in almost 8 weeks. The longest ran I had done in a while was about 3 weeks earlier, 2h45m and I was preparing myself to be out for a hour more than that as confidence wasn't high. But I did manage to rest and eat well in the week before and was ready to get out and have some fun with the event, rather than get caught up in the "race".

It started to lightly snow as we got ready to start the race and I purposely started out slower than what I normally would, think I was in the 20-30s. As soon as the track steepened the folks in front of me went to a walking place and I knew it was time to move on. I quickly passed about 8 people and caught 2 more just after 3km. I then latched onto 2 runners, one, Dan, whom I knew from when I lived in St Arnuad 5 years earlier, and there I stayed for the next 15km. I managed to twist my ankle and hit the deck twice during this time as well as pick off another racer and we were also told we were in the top 10!

At this stage I was both really surprised and stoked. All I was thinking was "top 10", but in a 32km mountain run a little luck always helps. Now this was defiantly not my luck, but when Dan unfortunately twisted his ankle and the other runner I had been with had the stitch, I took my chances and made my move. I of course check that Dan was not seriously injury and even offered another runner to pass me. I spent the next 11 or so km looking over my shoulder and throwing in surges (after the Coke I drank kicked in). I'd never been on the Routeburn track so it was hard going on the final few km not knowing when the finish would be. I finally rounded a bend to see the the finish line, crossing the line in 6th place, in 3hr 12min, less than 1min behind the 2007 winner and under 10mins off 3rd.

Pretty happy and surprised to say the least!

Jane had a similar race, finishing in 54th over all! She was the 5th female in a time of 4hr15min.

Now we will be resting little before upping the training for the winter and the upcoming ski mountaineering races.

A race report can be seen HERE and results HERE

Craigieburns- Looking Good!

2009-05-05T19:12:00.002+12:00

The Craigieburn Range (L-R Cloudsley, Izard, Cheeseman), 730am, 5th May '09- looking pretty good for this time of the year and going off the forecast for the next few days, its set to get a lot better!

More Early Season Turns

2009-05-02T18:52:00.006+12:00

I am both surprised and stoked to say it is the 2nd of May and I have already gotten out on 3 ski tours and winter is yet to officially arrive, although looking out the bed room window first thing this morning it sure looked like it had! A week out from the Routeburn Classic mountain run, Jane and I could have probably benefited form a easy run this morning, but with the Craigieburns looking so inviting we decided a mellow ski tour couldn't hurt. It was hard to say if there was more snow than when we skied at Easter, as it wasn't as low, but it had stormed for a few days longer. It was a late start as I organised my gear between making breakfast and consuming all important coffee and we got to Middle Hut around 1015.

Jane starting out at Middle Hut

There wasn't as much snow at Middle Hut last time and we started on foot, but after around 5-10mins were skinning. As we climbed the snow quickly got deeper and by the time we reached the top of Cheesemans main tow there was as much snow as Easter time, but this time it was more consolidated.

Skinning towards the ridge, Mt Cockayne in the background

We made it to the top of the ridge and skied into Tarn Basin, were we discovered some great snow and were surprised to not hit any rocks. This convinced us to do another 2 laps in the upper bowl of Tarn.

Jane skinning back up for lap number 3

After this we skinned to the top of Mt Cockayne and then skied back to the car at Middle Hut.

Jane and our turns off Cockayne

All up about 875m of ascent/descent. Below is a little video of the 2nd lap in Tarn

Ski Mo Race Transitions

2009-04-26T10:02:00.004+12:00

I am certainly no expert on the subject, but I am well aware that in a ski mountaineering race transtions (were you go from skinning to skiing mode, or vise verse) are a huge part of a race, were time can very easily be gained or lost. As racers here in NZ get better and better, I am sure the transaction will start to have more of a roll in the results. Standing at the top check point of last winters Dynafit/Porters Speed Up race this was very evident, as I think 2nd- 6th place came down to the transition. To help those wanting to up the ante this coming winter I have uploaded some transition videos that Noel and I made last winter up at Temple Basin and they are on the side bar if you scroll down a little. Getting fast at transtions is not only good for racing. When Kath, Duncan, Jane and I did our Craigiburn Valley to Porters traverse last spring we did no fewer that 12 transtions. An average transition might be 5 mins, but with race gear and style we were spending closer to 1 min on transtions. Totaled up that's a saving of around 48 mins! If you have any questions, please asked via a comment and I'll try to answer them.

Photo of the day-April skiing

2009-04-13T21:45:00.002+12:00

Jane skinning towards Mt Cockayne during our Easter Friday dawn patrol at Mt Cheeseman. We skinned from Middle Hut to the top of Cheeseman and skied the whole way back to the car! Not bad for April.

Summer Skiing

2009-04-01T06:48:00.003+13:00

I've been missing skiing alot lately, between looking at web sites, getting e-mails from mates in Europe, reading old issues of Couloir and hearing about Duncan planing his trip to Alaska I was itching to get out and ski. It was a lot of hard work, but I knew after such a big winter and even some fresh snow over night here in the Craigieburn Range, that if I looked in the right places I would be able to hunt out a little snow to play on. ENJOY!

Mount Blanc Race Attack

2009-03-28T20:31:00.002+13:00

Be sure to tune in to the Mount Blanc Race Attack that is planned for the 30th of April. The goal is to break both the ski/speed climbing record and the over all speed climbing record from Chamonix to Mt Blanc's summit and return. Nicolas Bonnet of France and Matteo Eydallin of Italy will attempt to break the record of Swiss mountaineer Pierre-André Gobet- 5hr 10min. If successfully they will break the speed climb/ski record set by Pierre Gignoux and Stephan Brosse- 5hr 15min. While I really enjoy ski mountaineering racing a lot, it is this kind of skiing that really gets me excited, taking the skills learnt in races to the big mountains! More details can be found HERE

April Dynafit Calendar

2009-03-28T20:25:00.001+13:00

April Dynafit Calendar

Avalanche Peak Challange '09

2009-03-09T21:14:00.004+13:00

FULL RESULTS HERE Finally raced the Avalanche Peak Challenge this past Saturday! Seemed like a age ago that I entered for the race and then after being out of action for a month I didn't think I would race at all, so it was a feeling of relief when I was standing in the rain on the start line out side the Arthur's Pass DOC center. I have to admit I aren't the smartest racer. I decided to stick with my pre injury race plan. This was a decent race plan, but it didn't take into account the month off from running that I just had. I went out in the lead bunch and entered the tree's in 4th or 5th place. I excited the bush line in 4th, after spending a little time in 3rd place. The rivers were running high and the day was wet and windy, so we got turned on to Scott's track at around 1680m. Some mad man when flying past me here and I went into a cruz mode on the down hill. I snapped out of it when a racer came up behind me just before we got back into the Village. I was super surprised to see the 4th place guy just in front and went after him so after we got on the Bealy River. It was a long 10km to the Bealy Hotel, with 3 of us changing positions a few times before I finaly ended up in 6th place. Not surprisingly I run out of stem in the final K's. I ended the run in 2hr23, about 15min behind 1st place and around 5 mins off a top 3 finish. Over all really happy with the result! Jane finished in 5th place and was also pretty happy after not running a lot because of a twisted ankle we got around 6 weeks ago. My Mum, who turns 60 this year, also did the race in the tramping class. She did pretty well, apart from having some lady that was freaking out a little clinging on to her climbing up the Avalanche Peak track. This slowed her down a little and she ended up coming in last (I think). I was pretty impressed that she stuck it out after being slowed down so much during the first half of the race. Nice job Mum!

Avalanche Peak Challenge- Compulsory Gear

2009-03-02T18:27:00.005+13:00

Most mountain running races have a list of compulsory gear and with the Avalanche Peak Challenge climbing up to 1800m above sea level, down a nasty scree slope and along less than ideal river bed, its no big surprise that there is a list of compulsory gear for this weekend. My compulsory gear is as follows- -drinking bladder filled with water or other drink at the start: Platy Pus filled with some watered down sports drink - long-sleeved parka: Texner Hyper Light jacket-100gr! -hat or hood on parka: Buff! -two long-sleeved thermal tops, one to wear and one spare. If you do not wear one of them during the race, you must carry two of these tops: I'll have to search out might lightest 2 thermal tops -tights or leggings: Luckily I have a nice light pair of 3/4 Dynafit tights, that hopfully will be OK -gloves: A pair of $5 thermal gloves from the local gas station -thermal blanket and survival bag: Got the thermal blanket out of my winter survival kit –all of the above to be carried in a day pack: Salomon Raid Revo 15 I'm gonna use the Salomon XA Pro running shoes, my T6C and a bunch of Gu. My pack with all the compulsory gear in it (minis the 2l H2O) weights in at 1247gr. A lot lighter that my ski mountaineering race pack, that's for sure. Hoping that the 3/4 Dynafit tights and crazy light Texner jacket will be excepted

Jane and ChristinA making there way off the Rome/Avalanche Ridge and into the Crow Valley

Avalanche Peak Count Down

2009-03-01T19:51:00.002+13:00

One of my bigger goals of the summer, the Avalanche Peak Challenge, is this weekend (7th March). Today I did only my 3rd run in over a month, not exactly great preparation, but that is the joy of being injured I guess. With R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compression and elevation) the shin splits/tendonitis I had in my lower right leg seems to have settled down, so after a 30min and 1hr earlier this week (as well as a few road cycles) I did 1hr20min run up the BR road, over Camp saddle in to the Craigiburn Valley and back to the BR road via Lyndon saddle. This run was my last run before getting injured 5 weeks ago, so it was a little bit of a head game, as I worried that it might be something about this particular run that injured me. My shin had a little niggle, but I iced it straight after and is now feeling fine. I worked a little hard than the last time I did the run, but did it about 10mins fast and felt I could have gone faster. Surprisingly I may not have lost as much fitness as I expected? I have have had the Suunto T6C for almost 2 months now, but it hasn't been till these last 3 runs that I have done that I really appreciated it. The T6C takes your heart rate, then using your activity level (my has dropped from about 8 down to 5) it calculations a training effect. I found this really useful as I have wanted to take things really easy as I am getting back into running. Will see how much time I have over this week, but hopfully will do a few more post Avalanche Peak Challenge posts.

Dynafit NZ Show Room

2009-02-28T21:49:00.003+13:00

Just got done setting up the Dynafit NZ show room. Like a proud parent I wanted to show it off. If your ever going past Castle Hill and want to check out the best ski touring gear shop in the country, get in touch so we can arrange to be here!

Dynafit March 2009 Calendar

2009-02-27T11:32:00.003+13:00

March 2009 courtesy of Dynafit.

The Tour, a New Setup and Art

2009-02-23T19:52:00.010+13:00

THE TOUR So I have been talking (I do a lot of if) about organising a bigger ski mountaineering race for a while now. making a 2 day stage race, for teams of 2, kind of like the TSF or a shorter version of the Pierra Menta. I have finaly got the ball rolling, I sent out letters to possible sponsors, started on my concession application to DOC and started looking in in event insurance. Most importantly I have done a possible race map!The race, or I should say "The Tour" which is what I am naming it, will be based out of Cheeseman ski area. Cheeseman is a great place for this kind of even as it offers really easy access to the backcountry, meaning less time skiing around the ski area. There will be a gear check and pre race meeting the night before and a awards lunch on the Sunday afternoon. We haven't set entry fee yet (it will depend a lot on insurance and such) but I hope to do a package deal, that will include entry to the race, accommodation and meals. So it could be getting up to $400 per team-I would love to hear feed back on this. Click on the above map for a better look. So you all know, entry will be limited to 25 team (possibly making 5 of those spots for female teams), so you have to get in quick when entries open!

Dave's new setup- Mounted up a pair of Se7en Summits with TLT Vertical Lite bindings today for a mate Dave. Pretty sweet set up to say the least! Nice and lite and will be able to handle all conditions nicely. The Se7en Summit really is a quiver of one, so it was a good choice for Dave, who wanted something for general touring, fast and light missions and the odd ski mountaineering race (The Tour!). Dave went with the super solid Zzero4 PX, the lightest 4 buckle boot in the Dynafit line. All we need is some snow!

My Girl Friend, the Artist-

I have to say I think Jane is pretty hand with brush in handy. Below is her latest. My photo taking skills don't do it justin.

On The Mend

2009-02-20T19:25:00.006+13:00

Haven't been posting much lately as I have had a run of injuries since our trip to Totaranui (which was great!) and didn't feel that "I'm injured and its great fun" would be that good of a post. Its started with a achilles heal niggle, then a tingling in my groin/hamstring area and then settled in on a tendon in my lower right leg. My training had been going really well, I was feeling like I was just settling in to a good routine and feeling strong. I had a great training run over the Avalanche Peak Challenge course, reaching the summit of Avalanche Peak in 55mins and getting to Klondye Corner in under 3hrs. I had planned to run over bits, if not the whole course at least another 2 times. Having not run in coming on a month is a real disappointment. The good news is am finaly on the mend. The swelling in my leg has gonna down and I have been out on a few bike rides. I am confident of doing the Avalanche Peak Challenge, but my goal of a top 5 finish is probably now unlikely.

New Dynafit Order/ Snow Leopard Trust

2009-02-14T09:13:00.007+13:00

Finally got in our new Dynafit order yesterday! Its pretty exciting to say the least, a bit like Xmas, as Jane and I unpacked box's full of skis, boots, bindings and even some soft goods for the upcoming winter.

Our spare room/ office is now looking like a ware house.

If you are after some new ski touring gear for the winter, or are just after some advice on gear, contact me at dynafit@dynafit.co.nz I've also updated http://www.dynafit.co.nz/ so you can check out all the new products we are bringing in. Note=we are a little limited on some stock.

Snow Leopard Trust/ Dynafit Auction

Click on the above image to place a bid on a pair of limited 8 of Se7en Summit skis and Vertical ST bindings. All procedes onto the Snow Leopard Trust.

2009-01-31T14:20:00.001+13:00

Feb 2009- Dynafit Calendar

2009-01-29T20:18:00.000+13:00

Here's the month of February, courtesy of Dynafit.

Totaranui

2009-01-14T15:34:00.004+13:00

Off to Totaranui for about 5 nights, which we are really looking forward to. Hopefully we will get some good weather and be able to make the most of the beaches that I have heard so much about. As well as laying around, doing nothing, I hope to get a good dose of trail running on the the many tracks that are in the area. I have some new toys to play with as well. I have had the T6C watch from Suunto for about a week now. Its pretty cleaver, tracking heart rate, EPOC, calories used, altitude gained/lost and even tells the time. Also have a Raid Revo pack from Salomon, after Jane decided the Vest Pack was for her, and I made a tough decision of getting a a pair of XA Pro 3D, rather than another pair of XT Wing running shoes. I rate the Wings highly, so hopefully the XA's don't disappoint! Should be able to fit in some fishing as well! Will report back in a week or so, hopefully will some good photos of the Abel Tasman!

Routeburn Classic

2009-01-12T07:53:00.002+13:00

The Routeburn Classic trail running race entries opened today! Entry has been open for 50mins and only 5 spots remain! Enter now to get in, or at least have a good spot on the wait list.

First Post for 2009!

2009-01-11T11:45:00.005+13:00

Been quite a while since my last blog and while I would love to say my absence was due to an exotic ski trip, making first descents in waist deep powder this is, unfortunately, not the case.

Rather its just been a busy time, with nothing overly interesting to report.

Working, catching up with family and friends over the holidays and training

What time I have spent on my computer has been used to update dynafit.co.nz with new products for the 2009 winter. I'm expecting the goods to arrive in 4-6 weeks!

A little late for January, but this is from the 2009 Dynafit calendar-

I'll keep posting the months as they roll around, and don't worry, the year will improve.

Hamilton Peak Run

2008-12-08T15:45:00.008+13:00

Had a great little run up the Craigieburn Valley yesterday. Started near Hwy 73, ran up the CVSC rd for a short while, then took the Craigieburn Valley Track that heads off to your left, following it for about 3.5km when it reaches the bottom of the CVSC access tow. From there a summer rd switch backs its way up to the day lodge. From there I scrambled across scree to the top of Hamilton Peak.

Me on Hamilton Peak

The run down was fast as I was able to move quickly down the soft scree, cutting the switch backs. It was pretty cool to see CVSC in the summer (but I do prefer it covered in snow), the summer Rd's, streams flowing, small rocks transformed in to big ones and especially the destruction from a very active avalanche season.

Hamilton Saddle and Hamilton Peak

The amount of trees that were plowed down form the slides off Hamilton is very evident now the snows gone and most impressive.

"Gods lawn mower", trees mowed down from 2 slide off Hamilton Peak during the winter. Construction of Chalet Jarman top left corner.

If you haven't seen it yet here's the poorly recorded video of the 2nd '08 monster slide of Hamilton. The first was 2 days earlier than this fella and was a simpathic release, the 2nd was from Heli bombing

Avalanche Peak Challenge Training

2008-12-05T22:25:00.005+13:00

Been trying to get my training for the Avalanche Peak Challenge back on track this week after losing some focus on training with the move to a new house and work. Things seemed to come together well this week, with a 1hr30min around Craigieburn Valley, a 2hr run in the Port Hills and a run up Avalanche Peak today. I was feeling a bit tired after the 2hrs in the Port Hills on Wednesday, and went at a steady pace walking, not running up the Avalanche Peak track (its really steep!). I started to feel better as I got out of the trees, but still wasn't trying to really push it. I was sure I wouldn't get close to my fastest time, a touch under 1hr, which I did pre winter. So I was pretty surprised as I got to the final part of the climb, the somewhat knife edge ridge, with a little exposure, and looked at my Suunto and saw I had 3mins to spare to make it a sub 1hr trip to the top. When I stopped my watch, making the trip from the Arthur's Pass DOC center at 737m to Avalanche's 1833m summit in 58mins. I was quickly brought back to reality when the local "clown" in the DOC center told be he's done it in 54mins! Jane started out before me, feeling similar and had a similar result. She did the trip in 1hr20 last week and today was 1hr16min. Training is slowly getting back on track..........

Skiing and Pebble Wrestling

2008-11-30T13:06:00.012+13:00

Well some might say silly things like "it’s time to move on" or "winter’s history", there are still a few folks around that are keen to milk what little snow is left from the big snow falls we had this past winter. I was pretty stoked to find 6 other like minded folks for a ski up the Otira Valley this past Saturday.

Dave starts the 1hr+ approach in his ski boots

With over 400mm of rain during the week the snow pack had taken a real hammering and was totally soaked. This along with warm temps meant things were a little iffy stability wise and we knew we would have to play things by ear, but the hope was to ski off Rolleston's Low Peak.

Jane nearing the snow line, Hwy 73 in the distance On the snow and away skinning.

It was a pretty long hike to the snow compared to last time I was up the Otira Valley. The snow was thin and we really had to pick our way up, including one section where we had to kick turn our way up like it was going out of fashion.

Duncan standing guard, as Tim scrambles

The snow was soft and wet and we opted to scramble up rocks where possible, rather than expose ourselves to the sloppy snow pack. It was about this time we also flagged the Low Peak and decided to head toward Goldney Ridge, where the snow was less sun affected.

The boys on the Goldney Ridge, looking at Low Peak

The skiing was OK. I was actually surprised how well it skiied considering how crappy it was to boot up in. I was also skiing a pair of Dynafit Manaslu skis for the first time. These guys are pretty fat compared to what I am used to - 95mm under foot and 178cm long, so a big ski compared to what I usually ski on. The first few turns felt strange, but once I got into it I started to enjoy them. They are super light for their size, but didn't seem to get pushed around, like a lot of light skis do.

Tim not wanting to let go of winter......Myself enjoying the Manaslus in the variable soft snow

After refueling at the Arthur's Pass store and a little gardening and quiet time in Castle Hill, Duncan and Dave started getting restless so we headed out to to wrestle some boulders. It has been ages since I have done any climbing and I'm pretty average at the best of times, but it was pretty fun and very enjoyable to see the crew getting after it.

Dave and Kathleen about to "mantle the shit out" of some poor, unsuspecting soft rock

Busy, busy............

2008-11-22T16:51:00.007+13:00

Been pretty buy lately since doing the Mt Vernon race, which seems like a long time ago now. The Thursday after the race Jane and I moved into our new place!! Pretty exciting to say the least. We have great views of the Craigieburn and Torless Ranges and even have a vegetable garden! Below are some photos of whats been happening.........

Jane and Gus out side our new place

The Cheeseman Rd is now open at Forest lodge all the way to Middle Hut. Got out for a little ski, here's a small snow bridge that I crossed, just like in the real Mountains!

Tarn looking a little worse for wear, still managed to milk 500m vert of skiing. Whats there is skiing good.

My pet duck, before I returned him (her?) to the wild Graeme Kate's has a new web cam up and running on softrock.co.nz, it faces west, towards Lyell Peak

Mt Vernon Run Up

2008-11-13T06:54:00.003+13:00

Did the Mt Vernon Run Up, the first race in the 2008 Frontrunner Off Road Series, last night. The course was 7km, up the Valley track, across the summit road, to Mt Vernon Summit and return down the Farm Track. I was talking with an older racer pre race who told me there were "lots of fast guys here tonight". I'm totally clueless to the trail running/multi sport scene here, so I have no idea who's who, but it was good to hear that there would be some top guys around as it's always fun to see how you measure up. Things started fast and furious as people sorted themselves out before reaching the single track and I slipped in around 5th or 6th. I ran up the Vally track on Monday so knew what to expect - a narrow, uneven and windy track that worked its way up to the summit road. There was a little passing/being passed on the way up and I got to the summit road in 9th place, just as a mate, Rob, passed me. The raced crossed the road and then climbed steeply up to the summit of Mt Vernon and then descended steeply. The down is normally where I struggle, so I was surprised when I pulled away from one racer and started to gain on 2 more, including Rob. I passed another and caught Rob just as we got to the steep single track finish. A quick cutting of a corner saw me sneak past Rob and get within 5sec of 4 and 5th place, finishing in 6th. Pretty happy with my 36min54sec time and how I was able to finish strong on the down, but in hindsight I should have pushed harder on the up. Jane had a good race, finishing 5th also, in 46:25 and even sprinted past people in the finish! The next race in the 2008 Frontrunner Off Road Series is the Godley Head Run Out, this Wednesday, the 19th, before the series wraps up with the Evans Pass Run Over on the 26th Nov. Highly recommend heading along to the remaining races. Last night was a really relaxing and friendly atmosphere and at $10 a race you can't go wrong.

Salomon Running Review

2008-11-11T21:21:00.008+13:00

I managed to get my hands on a Salomon Running XA15 Pro Vest Pack a few weeks ago for a demo and used it on my bigger training runs that I did last week. It was nice to have a pack for the runs I did last week with the new snow in Arthur's Pass. I was able to easily carry a shell jacket, warm hat, Buff, gloves, a little food, 1L water and even my camera. The most notable thing about this pack, as you would have noticed in the name, is the vest feature. The front of the shoulder straps have a pouch on each side for carrying water bottles and the vest feature is between these. By loading up the 2 water bottle pouches (about 1.5L) and carrying extra food bars/energy gels in the vest pockets you have more room, or don't need as much room, meaning the 15L on your back is plenty big enough to carry a spare layer, gloves, a hat - all the stuff that is required for a mountain/trail running race.

XA15 Pro Vest Pack, with Vest's circled

Back of the XA15 Pro Vest Pack, showing drinking bladder compartment and drink bottle pouch (circled).

The pack itself is fairly small and sits very snug on your back, taking up around only 2/3 - 3/4 of your back, meaning there is good breathability on your back. Its fit is very nice, the adjustment straps that are used to snug the vest tightly mean that the pack hugs nicely when running at high speeds over uneven terrain. Loading the water bottles and other goodies in the front means these heavier items are not on your back, which usually cause the pack to swing and bounce around. For me, the biggest drawback of the XA15 Pro is the Vest feature itself. I feel a little like action multi sport man as I zip up the front of the pack over my chest. At first I wasn't 100% sold on it, but I have warmed to it over the 9hrs I spent running with it. I'll definitely use a pack from the Salomon Running range while running/racing this summer, if not the XA15 Pro, then possibly the Raid Revo 15. The other Salomon Running product I have been using and am really impressed with is the XT Wings trail shoes. I'm onto my second pair of Wings and I don't think I've ever brought the same shoe twice! The Wings feature Salomon's quick lace system, which I've found work well, holding nice and snug. The heal is wide and well cushioned, as is the forefoot area, making for a smooth and well supported ride on rough, uneven trails. The Wings, like all Salomon Running shoes, are a dedicated trail running shoe, but do offer enough cushion for short amounts of road running, like running to and from a trail head from home or the car park. Running through the snow last week in APNP, I was most impressed with the "ContaGrip" sole that didn't slip once while running over snow covered rock. My biggest dilemma is what shoe in the Salomon Running range to get next! Most who I have talked to rate the XA Pro 3D higher than the Wings, while the new SpeedCross 2, the race shoe of choice for the likes of Jonathan Wyatt and Kilian Jornet, look very impressive!

Salomon's new SpeedCross 2

Your best bet for getting a hold of Salomon Running products is from your local Front Runner or R&R Sports store, or call 03 366 1122 for stockist.

Congratulations Gena!

2008-11-11T14:59:00.004+13:00

"Hello, I am Gena"

A huge congratulations to Gena and his family! I had a very excited Gena call me yesterday afternoon to tell me that he'd just got off the phone with his lawyer and he and his family have gotten New Zealand residency! I know that this is something that Gena has wanted for a while and I am sure there was a bit of celebrating in Albany at the Sibaev house hold last night.

For those who don't know Gena, he and his family moved to NZ from Russia a few years ago. Gena was really hoping to get residency this time last year in the hope that he could race for NZ at the world ski mountaineering champs. Looks very likely he'll be racing for NZ in Andorra in 2010!

I was think how Gena's residency application suddenly got approved and the only thing I can think of is the newly elected John Key must be a ski mountaineering fan and fast track Gena's application, ensuring he'll race for NZ in 2010......................

Ski Runner NZ

Moved to new blog address!

Pick of the Week- NZ's Busiest Trail Run Week?, Kepler Report

Back On Track

Korowai/Torlesse Tussock Lands

Pick of the Week- Rest & Recover

Julbo Tracks Review

Pick of the Week- Bealey Spur

Fuel Me Mates Rates Weekly Fuel Saver

Molesworth '09 Race Report

Molesworth Course Break Down

Leg One:

Leg Two:

Leg Three:

Some More "Words of Wisdom"

Molesworth- How Long?

Fuel Me Fueling Me

Words of Wisdom

Mt Vernon Run Up Report

Fuel Me Weekly Fuel Saver

Mt Vernon Run Up Video

Mt Vernon Run Up- See You There

KILIAN'S QUEST EP.10

7 in 7

Casey- Binser

Frontrunner Off Road Series

The Press Flagpole Race Report

B2B- 2nd day

Flagpole Photos

Molesworth Training

Flagpole Run Up

Cass - Lagoon Video

Helicopter Hill Test

KILIAN'S QUEST EP.09

Cass - Lagoon

Moa Hunting

Life

Crater Rim Run

KILIAN'S QUEST EP.08

My "little" friend

Crater Rim Run

Sun Rise

The Pre Breakfast Run

Closing Day- CVSC

Map My Run

Salomon Speed Cross 2

Suunto T6C- 277hr51min, 110591m Review

Kilian's Quest

Just Like Last Year..........

Dynafit Calander- September

SOS- Final Preparations

Symphony On Skis

UTMB

Avalanche Peak

Craigieburn Traverse

Tips for The Tour #2- Never Stop Moving

Tips for The Tour

Avalanche.Net.Nz E-Newsletter

2009 'Burner

THE TOUR- entry open!

ATK RACE

Low Angle Touring

The Fast & Furious

Racing Training and some Steep Skiing

Castle Hill to Porters

Skin to the Summit

Foggy Peak

Porters- Opening Day '09

"trust me, I do the best"

Barre des Ecrins (France) Speed Climb

An Icy Little Ski

Remarks Queens Birthday Weekend

The Perfect Fold-

Mt Bruce

NZ Skier Mag- out now!

"The Road to Castle Hill" is paved with taxpayer's money...

Routeburn Classic Mountain Run

Craigieburns- Looking Good!

More Early Season Turns

Ski Mo Race Transitions