A Terrible Month Walk-wise

I think June would be one of my worst months walking with a number of disruptions. Firstly I was working at the University as an Examination Supervisor from 8.30am until 5.45pm. I parked down by the University Rowing Club and walked the 2km to Chem Lab where I was supervising exams. Sometimes I squeezed in a few kilometres at lunchtime. I also missed some days because of a back injury and then influenza. On one day I was working from 7am until 9pm in my roles as a courier driver, principal appraiser and assisting a Board of Trustees choose their new principal.

Pineapple Track Club Walk

Saturday 4 June

It was my pleasure to lead 19 club members over Flagstaff via the Pineapple Track. Luckily the weather was good although we struck some cold breezes at the summit. I was conscious of catering for the various abilities. Being safety conscious I ensured we had lots of stops. Once at the top, four walkers asked if they could go on ahead as I sensed they were frustrated with the stopping. The majority of us did the walk in 2hrs 50mins

Pineapple Track Trial Run

On Saturday I have been asked to lead our walking group over the Pineapple Track. Today my mate Danny and I did a trial run. The 12.5km took around 2:45hrs. The weather was fine until we got out of the bush on the way up the track. The wind was very cool.

Laptop Problems

Over the past month or so I have laboured away on a slow internet connection and then I could not go online. After employing a computer technician I discovered my modem had died. Now with a new one, including a router so I can work on my laptop anywhere in the house.

Vice Presidents 5000 metres: This annual handicapped walking race took place at Forbury Park where we had to do five laps of the park. I was given a ten minute handicap with two runners on eleven minutes and one on twelve minutes. I was teamed up with Kieran our club captain. It was a tough handicap but I was pleased that I walked stride for stride with Kieran until he passed me within the last 50 metres. I was placed 23rd out of 31 walkers but was pleased with the 4th fastest time - my time was 35:50.

Gore 12km Walk: This very well run event was held the day following the VP's 5000 metres. I drove down with my mate Craig who had not walked a competitive race for well over a year. He had lost a lot of weight and had worked on his fitness through swimming, cycling and walking. I decided to go for it straight from the start. The walkers and runners did the course at the same time. The course was very well marshalled and did a loop via Croydon Lodge and the race course. I was particularly pleased with my finish which is usually not a strength.

In the results they did not differentiate between the walkers and runners. I was 81st home (31st male) out of 132. My time was 1:33:03 which was pleasing as I wanted gto do sub 8min kilometres. Craig did the remarkable time of 1:39:29.

Three Peaks Walk #2

After last year's inaugural walk where we were directed down the wrong track and not having enough marshalls I was looking forward to this event for the second time. The Leith Harrier Club had taken on board all the criticism by altering the course, having more marshalls and making it 10kms.

It had rained for almost three days so the course was very wet and slippery. Going across Chingford Park was the first obstacle as by the time we hit the footpath, everyone had wet feet. I was in third place for the first 1km as we headed past the Bethune's Gully entrance by 250m where the Moutain Bike track was. We followed this winding track back to the Bethunes Gully track. We then walked up the track until directed onto a bush track. It was steep and very muddy. I started to feel the effects of the walk. I was slow and pased by three walkers. At a plateau we walked through lots of mud and water. When we started to descend through sodden paddocks I found it very difficult to keep my footing, falling over a number of times. I was passed by more walkers as I struggled with my footing. Once on a gravel track and flat footpaths I was able to pass most of the walkers except two who had passed me. I managed 5th place out of 33 in a time of 1:07:04. This race cannot possibly be 10kms as my PB for 10kms is 1:13.

When I finished I looked as though I had been in a rugby match played on a muddy field.

Caversham Club 1500m Walking Race

On what started as a wet day. the Ted Brown, McStay and Walkers Cups were held at the Caledonian. As our leader Kieran was away I was asked to distribute the numbers which I willingly did. 21 walkers participated in this scratch event. I had been runner up in the previous two years so decided to give it my best shot. The club has at least 5 faster walkers than me but 3 of them did not participate. Colin and Gordon who had both beaten me in the previous attempts were walking.

I managed a good start with Colin and I in front for the first lap. Colin is such an accomplished walker that I would have been happy to just stick with him and try to record a PB. Somehow I managed to find some inner recerve and passed Colin and held the lead to the end. My time was 9:01 minutes with Colin 3 seconds behind.

During the race Dave Jackson a club stalwart indicated I was close to running. I was very conscious of this and tried hard to ensure I was walking. At the end of the race Dave spoke to me about my style and he thought it was suspect. I asked him for help in rectifying it. The last thing I want to do is irk my fellow walkers. If this was the case I would pull out of walking races and just do recreational walking.

After the club runners did their events, I led the fast group for an hour's walk up to Opoho via Lovelock Ave. The bush track to the cemetery was too muddy. Once at Opoho we came down Black's Road, along North Road and through the Gardens. From here it was along Leith and Dundas Streets and onto Butts Rd. The final section involved walking beside the Donaghy Tennis Courts, across part of Logan Park to our start at the Caledonian. The course was just over 5kms.

Karetai Challenge # 4

On Sunday 20 March I took part in my fourth Karetai Challenge. The weather was ideal for the 16.5km walk. The 53 walkers started 5 minutes after the 9am starting time. I felt good covering the first 3.2km in 25 minutes. The Tautuku Fishing Lodge at 7km was covered in under an hour. Enjoyed the hill section passing 3 walkers. However they passed me once on the sealed roads. I managed the walk in 2:13:12 which was 12 seconds slower that my PB. I was 15th overall and the 9th male home. FRom the club Tom was 3rd male, Colin 4th, Kieran 5th and Danny was 6th. All managed to complete the walk under 2hrs which is a great effort.

Both the Papatowai and Karetai walks are part of the Southern Coastal Challenge series.