Today was the day of the 15.5km Papatowai Challenge. It rained overnight and the weather forecast was not very encouraging. I met Jan Stevens and Ruth Harley in Strathallan Street at the NZ Post Centre at 9am. 5 minutes later we picked up Craig and headed south. It took an hour and 20 minutes to reach Owaka where we stopped at the 4 Square supermarket for a hot drink. Next was a toilet stop and then off to Papatowai getting there before 11.30am. We registered and waited until the 12 noon start.
There were 195 walkers and the weather was overcast with no serious rain. I was pleased with my walk from the start and along the bush track. Next was the beach which was much firmer than I thought. I was passed by a number of walkers. Once I got onto the track through the sand dunes and onto the 4WD track, I felt good. We then walked up a gravel road until we reached the summit. I wanted to get under the average time of 2:15 and realised I was behind the pace. I stepped it up and finished in 2:14:59 which was satisfying considering the terrain we walked over. Jan and Ruth finished in just over the two hours. Craig found the terrain tough but did well to finish in 2:19:59.
I was soaking by the time I finished with sweat and the light rain. The good news is that I had no blisters.
We hung around for the prize giving and spot prizes. It was raining heavily so we decided to miss the spot prizes and leave just before 4pm. I finally got home at just over 6pm.
There were 195 walkers and the weather was overcast with no serious rain. I was pleased with my walk from the start and along the bush track. Next was the beach which was much firmer than I thought. I was passed by a number of walkers. Once I got onto the track through the sand dunes and onto the 4WD track, I felt good. We then walked up a gravel road until we reached the summit. I wanted to get under the average time of 2:15 and realised I was behind the pace. I stepped it up and finished in 2:14:59 which was satisfying considering the terrain we walked over. Jan and Ruth finished in just over the two hours. Craig found the terrain tough but did well to finish in 2:19:59.
I was soaking by the time I finished with sweat and the light rain. The good news is that I had no blisters.
We hung around for the prize giving and spot prizes. It was raining heavily so we decided to miss the spot prizes and leave just before 4pm. I finally got home at just over 6pm.
Some statistics
195 walkers - 42nd home
360 walkers and runners - 78th home
Next event - Karetai Challenge - Sunday 16th March at 9am
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