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26 December 2003

Well what a change from last year. The weather started dicey then turned nasty with gale force winds (fortunately a tailwind) and rain as most runners were traversing the ridgeline on the Eastern hills.

Al Cross, Jill Westenra and Kevin Waters took the specially made souvenir mugs for being first male, female and first walker to the finish line.

A special mention must be made of the intrepid souls who were not satisfied with the double mountain crossing, and decided to traverse the Western Hills via Boulder Hill. For their efforts they got a close look at Dry Creek Quarry, site of 'Helms Deep' in the 2nd Lord of the Rings Movie! Lucky things!

Maybe we will go next year, maybe not. It is very gratifying to see the growth of the event but if it is to grow further some changes will be needed. Possible changes will be discussed with years entrants during the coming months.

Report by Paul Brydges

"Matyas (James) and I turned up to the Griffin's Carpark at the bottom of the Wainui Hill and took the bus provided to the start in Pauatahanui. It started raining as we drove to the start which looked ominous for things to come, but by the time we had got to the start line the weather had cleared. The run starts from Belmont Road, and Matyas and I ascended the gradual slope up Belmont Road which is sealed for the first 2.5 - 3k or so, then it was onto unsealed roads through Waitangirua Farm in Belmont Regional Park. The total climb to the top is approximately 7k in total. Whilst you are climbing all the time the gradient is pretty gradual so its not too bad at all, except the excesses of Christmas and the lack of running was starting to take their toll. You then descend through Belmont Park and down Hill Road to Ian Kemp's house where you sign off to say that you have negotiated your way safely out of the park, a welcome drink from Ian's tap was also enjoyed. We then continued our descent down Hill Road and across the valley floor where we had another drink at the bottom of Summit Road. It's as you are ascending Summit Road that you really start to question your sanity as you see what lies ahead. We started running up the fire break at the Summit Road but our running quickly turned into walking and the frequent use of four letter words. Finally we finished the initial ascent to ridge line. The disappointing thing was that the weather had closed in and so there so little to see. We then continued along the ridge line which has several really quite steep but thankfully not too long climbs which by that stage often involved as much walking as running.

"But I knew the best was to come - we still had the "Hill from Hell" as they call it, which really does rival "Baked Beans" [the steep track up the back of Belmont Trig]. It's not quite as long as Baked Beans, but it's definitely steeper and just as we approached the "Hill from Hell" the strong winds which we had initially had as a tail wind then became a head wind and it started to rain as well. We struggled up the hill cursing every step, questioned our sanity on a boxing day and came to the conclusion that sanity was no longer in the equation. It was at this stage that I told Matyas not to wait for me and I trudged up the remainder of the hill thinking to myself never again. Finally I was at the summit and could descend to the finish. This was when the run got really hard for me as I now realised that it actually hurt more to run downhill than it did up. I seemed to have strained something in my groin and my right calf was cramping as well. So I carefully negotiated my way through the last 2k to the finish line, now some 4mins behind Matyas. In hindsight, I think I would consider doing the run again, provided I am in better shape or alternatively still drunk from Christmas so as not to be able to feel the pain."
Thanks Paul, I'm sure you liked it really...

Results

Key: F = Female
Walk = Walker
* = Ran via Boulder Hill

Place	Name		Time	Notes
1	Al	Cross	1:39:20
2	Colin	Rolfe	1:41:26
3	Brendan	Quirke	1:43:38
4	Hamish	Carson	1:44:30
5	Bill	Edwards	1:44:31
6	Scott	Emmens	1:45:28
7	Benoît	Rupprecht	1:47:13	France
8	Ian	Kemp	1:48:08
9	Jill	Westenra	1:48:14		F
10	John	Robertson	1:50:47
11	Damian	Walsh	1:50:59
12	Sander	Kriek	1:52:54
13	Paul	Dalton	1:52:55
14	Paul	Carlson	1:53:09
15	Kelvin	Wong	1:53:11
16	Chris	Speakman	1:53:45
17	Tom	Jarman	1:55:00
18	Paul	Homan	1:55:15
19	Ian	Crowe	1:57:29
20	David	Creamer	1:57:29
21	Ray	Wood	1:58:47
22	Brendon	Flanagan	2:00:50
23	Steve	Tallon	2:02:13
24	Rob	Saker	2:02:51	Australia
25	Arthur	Klap	2:03:31
26	Stephen	Anderson	2:04:42
27	Matyas	James	2:05:56
28	Robert	Douglas	2:07:47
29	Paul	Brydges	2:08:59
30	Simon	England	2:10:31
31	Tore	Martin	2:13:14
32	Don	Coley	2:13:14
33	Gerard	Bourke	2:13:14
34	Steve	Robertson	2:14:44
35	Andrew	Bennett	2:17:24
36	Jeremy	Ryan	2:18:24
37	Earnsy	Liu	2:19:59	Singapore	F
38	Christian	Marti	2:22:48	Switzerland
39	Ursula	Marti	2:22:48	Switzerland	F
40	Helen	Sutherland	2:22:49		F
41	Ross	Cheesman	2:22:49
42	Dave	Eagle	2:24:37
43	Pam	Millard	2:25:17		F
44	Bruce	Murtagh	2:26:07
45	John	Murtagh	2:26:09
46	Steve	Bligh	2:26:25
47	Jenny	Raymond	2:26:26		F
48	Martyn	Reynolds	2:27:34
49	Jim	Maxim	2:27:34
50	Sue	Childs	2:28:55		F
51	John	Hammond	2:28:55
52	Leanne	England	2:32:58		F
53	Vanessa	Preece	2:32:58		F
54	Trish	Coley	2:41:19		F
55	Alison	Roberts	2:42:17		F
56	Sophia	Munro	2:42:17	Canada	F
57	Elaine	Richardson	2:47:40		F
58	John	Veal	2:47:40
59	Derek	Richardson	2:47:40
60	Rose	Martin	2:52:29		F
61	Jill	Saker	2:53:17	Australia	F
62	Debbie	Arnold	2:55:50		F		*
63	Valerie	Anderson	2:56:16		F
64	Michelle	Snead	2:57:17		F		*
65	Albert	van Veen	2:57:19				*
66	Silverio	Governo	2:57:52	Scotland			*
67	Kevin	Waters	3:01:55			Walk
68	Dave	Morrell	3:15:00			Walk
69	Sue	Tucker	3:19:51		F	Walk
70	Alistair	McLeod	3:25:47			Walk
71	Jim	Anderson	3:27:15			Walk
72	Vicki	McLeod	3:31:54		F	Walk
73	Donna	Bainbridge	3:32:00		F	Walk
74	Ian	Andrews	3:36:15			Walk
75	Karen	Miles	3:36:39		F	Walk
76	Tim	Exton	3:36:40			Walk
77	Helen	Chesterman	3:36:51		F	Walk
-	Richard	Willis	DNF			Walk

Photos: At the start and at Tilbury St.

Photos from Earnsy Liu.

The 10am start


Daysh St. Naenae


Summit Road

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