Thanks to you, we raised over $1600 for Cambridge Community House.

The Tarawera Ultra Marathon 53k, was an event I was nervous about. I had ‘put myself out there’ and felt a fair amount of pressure to get the job done.

3 weeks beforehand in my lead up I ran the Gisborne (off road) Marathon which proved to be really challenging terrain and flared up an achilles injury that was pretty significant. At 25km on the back blocks of Gisborne with no aid stations or phone service, lame and hurting, I was starting to worry that Tarawera would be a complete flop!

With no choice but to keep running, I finished Gisborne (somehow won my age group) (benefits of getting older) and went straight to The Warehouse to buy a chilly bin and a bag of ice. I nursed the tendon for the next 3 weeks, training became a mix of water jogging, cross trainer and bike and I literally crossed my fingers that I would be fit enough. What a disaster.

The morning of Tarawera I felt organised and calm but had to accept that if the tendon didn’t hold up I would have to pull out mid race.

The first 25km was actually pretty fun , I got into a good groove and enjoyed the scenery. By 25-35km, my hip flexors were getting pretty sore, I had a bit of an unusual gait to avoid the achilles and this created its own issues. I was counting down the kms to see my crew of my husband Sam, daughter Bela, friend Shells and her family at the 35km Blue Lake aid station. What a lovely sight, running in and seeing them all!  Just sitting down for a few minutes was a mental boost and helped me stretch my sore achilles and hips.

With my water flasks filled and a bit of a snack, off I went for another 10km of trails and hills towards the Redwoods Forest.. This station had a super fun party vibe and I txt Sam to bring my road shoes for the final stretch to the finish line. I had a very random hot spot on my toe that was a complete surprise. After a quick shoe change, I was set up for the last 7km. On the home stretch - though the 48km-53km seemed like far further…. It was hot and very strong hydrogen sulfide smelling around the Rotorua lake front, certainly a new challenge.

I was delighted to see the finish line, my wonderful crew and know that I could tick off my very first ultra run. My tendon was a little grumpy but it held up.

This race and prep was an amazing experience and a privilege to be able to fundraise for Cambridge Community House (CCH). CCH invited me to their staff meeting to say a few words about the event and my journey and they were very grateful for the fundraising achieved.

The next races are being planned and looking forward to the adventures ahead.