2011 Tarawera Ultramarathon stories

Here are some stories from the 2011 Tarawera Ultramarathon run, in no particular order:

Andrew Eberhard finishes the 60k (and his first ultra). See his youtube video of the day

Mick Tarry from Christchurch conquers the 100k - while rasing funds for charity

Grant Guise (3rd place in the 100k)

Team Five Fingers (inlcuding Barefoot Ted, Max, Ruby and Kugs) in the 85km relay

Great article in the Bay of Plenty Times (PDF) and in the Rotorua Daily Post


From 20-year-old Kristian Day (4th place in the 100k)

My build up to the 2011 Tarawera Ultra 100km was a relatively new experience to me, having only ever raced one ultra before hand- the 2010 Kepler Challenge. Even so I figured I had read enough blogs or books to adequately prepare myself for the beast and was far more excited than nervous when I lined up at 7am on Saturday morning.

I remember moments before Paul started the countdown Kerry Suter turned around and said some words I would carry with me the entire day “Run smart till the 60k”- then we were off.

The first few 15 minutes or so I found myself sticking relatively close to whoever had a head lamp and deciding not to worry about where I was in terms of position until I could see properly.

By the time I had reached the water tower around 5km’s into the race I had found myself latching onto three other runners, at the time I had no idea who they were but decided I liked their pace so would stick with them and take my chances.

Eventually sometime between the water tower and the first aid station at Lake Tikitapu we had started talking and had realised I was with Sam Wreford, Vajin Armstrong and Grant Guise, of course I knew who these men were and immediately felt as though I may be abit out of my league in terms of pace and position. I decided however I would just stick with them and see how I went.


Kristian (without shirt) runs with Sam, Vajin and Grant. The top 4 finishers of the 100k race are all here. Photo courtesy of Jamie Troughton

I reached Okareka 20km into the race in 1:36, by this stage Vajin and Sam had started to pull ahead of me and Grant on the road section and although we could still see them, I think both me and Grant knew we probably would never catch them again. After Okareka I ran with Grant almost the entire way to Okataina Lodge, the only time we wouldn’t run together was when Grant would stop to pee. By this time Grant had decided to voluntarily walk some of the steeper hills, he would often ask if I wanted to run ahead, I knew he was far more experienced than me however and decided to follow his lead which I think ultimately was the right decision. I remember around this time starting to feel quite queezy, more than likely the result of the sickening gel and sports drink combo I had been ingesting the previous 3 hours. I decided to ditch the gels and eat solid food from the aid stations and also get my crew to dilute my drink bottles before they handed them too me, this helped a lot.


Grant and Kristian running together. Video courtesy of Jane - thanks Jane :-)

Both me and Grant hit Okataina (37km) at the same time with a split of 3:16, by this time Vajin and Sam were some 5-10 minutes ahead of us, but we still had a 20+ minute lead over whoever was behind us so weren’t to worried about being caught. At Humphries bay (46km) I was feeling pretty bad and realised I was having a harder than ideal time sticking with Grant, soon after we left he pulled away from me and by the time I reached Tarawera Falls at 60k he had fully dropped me and I was running alone for the first time the entire race.


Has anybody seen my shirt? Kristian Day at the Tarawera Falls Aid Station. Photo courtesy of Hadley Craig

The 10km stretch between Tarawera Falls and Titoki were probably my darkest moments of the entire day, I had no Idea how far ahead Grant was or how far in front of 5th place I was, I felt pretty miserable to be honest, I knew once I got to Titoki at 70km I could get Ruby my Pacer, I just didn’t know if I could get there.

It’s amazing what a friend can do for your spirits after 70km, and I immediately chirped up when I picked up Ruby. I quickly ate some food (mostly watermelon) and we headed off to Awaroa. I had decided before the race I wanted to run the last 30km in no more than 3hours, 6 minutes a km I figured would be achievable and was confident in my ability to maintain an even pace over the relatively smooth forestry roads.

The Awaroa loop aka “the 5k loop of despair” soon emerged in front of us, and I was expecting a harder than ideal time dealing with it, fortunately I was surprised I managed to deal with it quite well, completing the loop in just over 30minutes and hitting the 80km mark in a time of 7:39. Ruby asked the volunteers at the aid station if anyone had entered since we had been past and I was glad to hear nobody had. This gave me at least a 30minute lead on anybody behind me and put to rest any fear of being caught. It was just now a matter of settling into a rhythm and pounding out the last 20km in 2hrs or less. By this time Grant was over 20minutes ahead of me and I knew I would never be able to catch him, he was far more experienced than me I later found out he just killed the last leg.

This late in the day I was glad I had a pacer; Ruby would let me stop at aid stations and walk the up hills provided I injected pace on the flats in order to keep my total average speed at 10kmph. She had also told me I was definitely going to get a sub 10:00 and if I stayed on pace, although I couldn’t win I could still break last years record.

The last 10km was a mixture of swearing, spitting and absolute agony and I was just waiting for the next aid station and an excuse to stop, even for a few short seconds. The last 2km over the golf clubs was by far the most disgusted I’ve been my entire life and by this stage I hated everybody, I just desperately wanted to stop I was literally almost in tears. Then almost out of nowhere we saw the cones to the finish line.

Running down the finish line was probably the happiest moment I’ve ever experienced in any race. The mixture of emotions one experiences is almost indescribable to someone who hasn’t been there before. My finishing time of 09:37:49 had meant I had stuck to my pace, finished 4th and beaten last years first place by almost 10 minutes.

In reflection I think the whole race went pretty well and I couldn’t have asked for a better result, but to say it was all my own doing would be simply egotistical and stupid so there are a few people I would like the thank:

Paul Charteris, his amazing volunteers and aid station crew. You guys were bloody fantastic and made my day so much easier.

My mother and Grandfather for your awesome support, having a fresh water bottle at each aid station and putting up with my swearing at the later stages.

Grant Guise for your awesome company up to 50km, you certainly made it an experience and can’t wait to run with you again.

Ruby Muir, thank you so much for your great company and support over the last 30km I don’t think I would have ever made it to the end without you.