Goats and Tussock Traverses

 THE GOAT TONGARIRO 2013

Returning from Europe, it was time to focus on perhaps the most ambitious fitness goal I set myself in 2013, The Goat – a 20km run on the side of Mt Ruapehu between Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields. I was under no illusions that this was going to be a tough race but I don’t think any level of preparation would have left me ready for just how tough.

The weather forecast wasn’t great and the organisation team doing the registration gear checks seemed to be quite diligent  that people were carrying the compulsory items of wet and cold weather clothing. It’s very easy to scoff at compulsory items as being an unnecessary burden at trail running events, until of course you get a day that you actually need to use that jacket, gloves and beanie [I hope never to have to use the safety blanket] that they insist you carry. Goat Saturday 2013 was one of those days. 

Pre-start at Whakapapa village was a thick pea-soup of freezing cloud and misty rain. Every man and his dog sought shelter in the cafe until as near to start time as possible. Conditions never really improved. Wind chill was a reported -6 or -7... not the summer conditions everyone had hoped for. And all the rain made for freezing cold stream crossings and mud. Lots of mud! 

This was pretty much the only photo I could find of myself in action, albeit through a very rain soaked lens. Kudos to the photographer for sticking it out in those conditions!!

The mud was incredible and it made for really slow going. At one point I dropped off a small bank into what looked like a normal ankle deep puddle, only to disappear up to nearly my chest in freezing cold water and thick mud.

By the time I reached the infamous rock scramble up the waterfall just a few kilometres from the finish, I was in a pretty bad place. Physically I was hurting a lot. Thanks to the cold, after every stream crossing my legs began cramping pretty badly and mentally I'd had enough. Thanks to an observant marshal who could see my hurt, and a dose of the cramp stop she was carrying with her, I got some respite and battled on. 

 Finally reaching the Turoa carpark and the finish line brought a massive wave of relief. The cold Mountain Goat beer and hot burger that they dished up was really appreciated. But there was no time to linger. Despite throwing on dry, warm clothes the cold just would not go away and like many of the other runners, I was showing early signs of hypothermia. It was down the mountain as quickly as possible for a long hot shower and a quick nap before the prizegiving.

I apologise to whoever had to clean my motel room. The black volcanic sand just seemed to come out of every item of clothing and bodily orifice.

On a good day I can knock out a half-marathon in around 2:10. Not fast but respectable enough for a fat bastard such as myself. Today the 20km and 1,350 vertical metres of the Goat took 4:50. It was that tough.  Surely the conditions can't be that bad two years in a row though. I'll be back in 2014.


TUSSOCK TRAVERSE 2014

Six weeks on from the Goat and it was back to Mt Ruapehu, this time for the 26km Tussock Traverse run from the Tukino access road to the Chateau Tongariro in Whakapapa village. Unlike the Goat weekend, this time there was the promise of sunshine and light winds.

It was a long bus ride around to the start on the Tukino side of the mountain where the run started with a 2km grunt up the ski field access road before dropping down into the moon like terrain of the Rangipo alpine desert.

The first 10 kilometres was through this barren landscape before the gin clear Ohinepango stream signalled a short bush section. At this point the heat of the January summer sun was starting to be a factor. And that stream looked so inviting but I resisted the urge for a quick swim.

After another four kilometres, and with a big climb looming, I did take a short detour off the course to a nearby stream. By this stage it was hot... really hot! A quick dunk of my head in the cold water was just the refreshing relief that I needed before tackling what was a relentless climb, followed quickly by another just like it.

I had no real idea of what the terrain was going to be like in this one. I've done a lot of tramping on and around Ruapehu, but never on this side of the Tama Lakes. In doing my research I'd found a couple of GPS logs from people who'd done the run previously. One suggested around 700m of vertical ascent and the other less than 400m. That's quite a bit of variation and both sounded a bit on the light side for a run of this length on the side of the North Island's highest mountain. Sure enough, my own data file when downloaded came up with closer to 1,000 VAM, a figure that corresponds with the pain I was feeling in my legs afterwards!

The heat and the relentless climbs took there toll and I found myself battling for the last 6 or 7km. But as I got past the Tama Lakes, I got back onto tracks that I was familiar with. Passing Taranaki Falls and knowing exactly what lay ahead gave me a little confidence boost to push through the pain barrier and enjoy the last bush section before popping out into the tussock again and the welcome sight of the Chateau Tongariro which marked the finish line.

A cold beer in the sunshine later and I could reflect back on how far I'd come compared to the state I'd let myself get into a year earlier.

Time for another challenge. The focus moves away from running for a bit and towards walking. In just two months time, a team of us from work plan to take on the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker event... the result of a drunken bet I'd made with another work colleague that I would never walk 100km.