My First Ultra - Tarawera 73km

How do you run for 10 hours...? 

That seems to be the first question people ask when they hear about my race. And when I take the time to stop and think about it, I really don't have an answer. The time it was taking really didn't come into it - I just knew that I had to keep running until I got to the finish line. And when I say running I mean trudging through the mud in the pouring rain and trying not to slip and hurt myself. 

Being the girlie runner that I am meant that I took things very slowly through the muddy sections, which became bigger and longer as more rain fell. One guy ran past me and said 'This is so much fun!' I suddenly thought, you're right! I felt like a kid on a rainy day splashing in the puddles and it put the biggest smile on my face. 

But let me back track for a bit as the mud was mainly in the last 17km...

After 5 weeks of training and a week of tapering it was time to race!

We spent Friday night getting everything ready for the race, making sure I had all the things I'd need to get through the day. We set our alarms for 4.30am and went off to bed. 

The alarm went off and I was instantly wide awake, excitement streaming through my veins. 

I had some muesli for breakfast and then knew that I could chill out for a bit before getting dressed. I was feeling relaxed which was great, I'm not sure why but I just didn't feel nervous. I knew I could finish the distance and I wasn't worried about my time so really I just had to go out there and have fun. 

We set off to the start line, picking up Aunty Avis and Uncle Ag on the way. There were hundreds of people at the start and everyone was in such good spirits. It had started to drizzle but the temperature was perfect. 

While we were standing there they made an announcement to say that the 65km long course was now going to be 69km! Yikes! Oh well, what's another 4km when you're already running that far. NB: It wasn't until much later in the race that I found out it was actually 73 or 74km... Wowsers, this was going to be a long day! 

After an official welcome, a song and a countdown from 10 to 1 we were off! It was a bit of an anticlimax at the start as everyone slowly made their way up the hill. I definitely learnt my lesson that I need to start closer to the front in races. As everyone bottle-necked up the stairs I came to a standstill. Feeling slightly frustrated I squeezed out around the side and ran up the side of the stairs - I would've been there all day if I hadn't. As it was it still took me just under 20 minutes to do the first 2km! 

After about 5km I reached two signs, one pointing to the 'short' course and one to the long course. I looked twice at the short course sign before quickly heading off in the direction of the long course, getting a high five from Tim Day as I ran past. 

I think my chosen outfit for the day caused quite a stir along the course... As I ran back through the start line after the first 12km loop a lady called out 'nice abs!' Thanks to whoever that was, it gave me such a boost. Later in the day as I was running down the never ending mountain into the Okataina checkpoint a girl coming towards me said 'Wow, you're a supermodel!' Once again, thanks! That made me smile and took my mind off the pain in my quads. 

Mum and Aunty Avis were waiting at the start line to quickly refill my water before I took off again. The plan had been to run with Uncle Ag for the first 10km or so, but we lost each other in the first km when I snuck past all the people walking up the stairs. 

Running around Blue Lake was beautiful and brought back nice memories of when Scotty and I had done a short run there the year before. I was feeling really good and had to make sure I didn't get too carried away with my pacing because there was still a really long way to go. 

It was so nice knowing that mum was going to be at every checkpoint waiting for me. Coming into the Blue Lake checkpoint she gave me everything I needed, refilled my water and off I went. Clearly I was far too focused as I didn't even notice all of the volunteers in their pyjamas and onesies!

It was only about 5km to the next checkpoint but I actually found that section quite tough. The trail went through the forest - there were lots of tree roots and the ground was very soft underfoot. It was beautiful, but it just meant taking things easy so that I didn't roll an ankle. 

As I was coming into the Okareka checkpoint there was a really exposed section around the lake and the wind was almost knocking me off my feet. Mum and Aunty Avis were jumping up and down waving frantically so that I would see them. It was nice to be able to give mum a quick smooch before running off down the trail at each checkpoint. 

A couple of km down the road was the Millar Road checkpoint. Support crew couldn't access this area but 'the Flintstones' were there to cheer everyone on. I decided to have a piece of watermelon and a couple of slices of orange because I was feeling a bit hungry. I've never eaten proper food on a run before so I didn't want to have too much. 

I knew that the next section is where I'd cross paths with Scotty. This took my mind off the race as I was trying to do the maths in my head to figure out when I'd see him. 

I spent the next few km running with other people and having a chat which was nice. I had a chuckle to myself as I was running along in hokas and one of the guys I was running with had a pair of vibrams on. As the top runners started coming back towards me I made a point of keeping track of how far behind Scotty was.

Next thing I knew Scotty was coming down the trail towards me, I was so excited to see him! We had a quick chat (and a quick kiss) and then he was off! 

It gave me a real boost getting to see him and all I could think about was what position he would finish in. Little did I know that he'd been having knee trouble which was slowing him down. 

The decent down into Okataina was brutal. Never before had I wanted a downhill to end as much as I did that day. My quads were screaming at me to stop and all I could think was that Scotty had warned me about that part of the race. I literally had to stop a couple of times so that I wasn't running downhill for a few seconds and my legs could get a rest. 

As I came into the Okataina checkpoint mum and Aunty Avis were standing in the pouring rain completely soaked (lucky we bought mum a brand new waterproof jacket the day before!) As soon as they saw me they were clapping and cheering. They said that I had to do an out and back around the lake to make up another 4km... Just when I thought I was halfway and could start heading to the finish line! 

The out and back was interesting. There were so many people going in both directions that I had to keep stepping to the side to let them past. There was a super excited guy at the turnaround point handing out hair ties to prove we'd gone the whole way - his enthusiasm was fantastic! 

Once I got back to Okataina I got to stop and have a bit of a chat with mum and Aunty Avis. They refilled my water and gave me more gels and endurolytes while I drank my strawberry milk (good source of protein!). I'd never had a milk drink during a run before so I was a bit nervous about how it would sit in my stomach. I know, I know, never try anything new on race day! Thankfully I was fine! 

One of the highlights of the race was when my watch clicked over to 50km. I couldn't believe it, I had just run 50km!! I was pretty emotional at seeing this and had to fight back the tears. 

The final section (approx 18km) was tough. I had been dreading the climb back out of Okataina but that was actually pretty easy. I hiked the whole thing and was feeling pretty good. It was nice to see Uncle Ag as he was coming down the hill - we stopped for a quick chat before continuing on. Unfortunately he was pulled from the race once he reached Okataina due to the time cut off. We decided later that it was probably a blessing in disguise once we saw the state of his toes! 

By now my watch had died - it only has an eight hour battery life. I was hoping it would last for the 60km but when I knew I was running 73km there was no chance it would last that long. 

It was hard running without a watch, I didn't know how far I'd gone or the pace I was doing. It also made it difficult to judge when I was due to take my gels and electrolytes. I just had to guess and hope that I got it right. By now my stomach was sick of taking them anyway so I probably took less than I had thought I would, but I still had a good amount of energy. 

Trudging through the mud was tough. And there was a lot of mud! I didn't want to slip and hurt myself so I took things really easy. My goal was to finish and I wasn't worried about how long it was going to take, I just wanted it to be fun. And slipping and hurting myself was not my idea of fun. 

It seemed like it was taking forever to get back to the Millar Road checkpoint, I had no idea how far away it was or how long I'd been running. People started passing me as I tiptoed through the mud. I moved to the side and cheered them on as they went past. 

Next thing I knew I was running around a bend and suddenly heard Scotty cheering for me. I was so happy to see him - after finishing his own race (in 5th place!!) he'd come back down the trail to meet me! 

We ran together to Millar Road which was only about 1km thank goodness. I was really hungry by this point so stopped and had some more orange and had a chat with the volunteers. They were rather wet looking Flintstones by this stage. 

We continued on down the road - it was a gradual downhill to the finish line. My legs had just about had enough but Scotty kept telling me to keep running. As I was running down the road I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. One of the photographers that was taking shots of people coming down the road said 'She's been smiling like that all day!' It was so nice to hear! 

Scotty said I'd soon be able to hear the PA system, and he was right. As I started to hear voices over the PA and people cheering I started to get choked up. I was so close. A few hundred metres and there was a left hand turn off the road and onto the grass, and straight down the finishing chute. 

Scotty cheered me on and then took off to stand with mum and Aunty Avis. I ran hard along the grass to the finish line, tears in my eyes and feeling an overwhelming sense of achievement. Mum, Aunty Avis and Scotty were screaming and clapping, and grinning from ear to ear. 

I'd done it, I'd just run 73km, I'd just finished my first ultramarathon! 

I couldn't have done it without the unconditional love and support of my amazing husband. He helps me train, keeps me focused and encourages me to pursue my dreams. Having him run the last 4km with me was the perfect way to finish the race. 

And what made it even more perfect was having my incredible mum there every step of the way and to see the look of happiness on her face at every checkpoint and even more so at the finish line. I wouldn't have wanted to do it any other way!