A hidden gem of a run

I;ve always struggled a bit with motivation to get out running. Which is strange, because once out running, I tend to not like stopping. An exception is when I haven't been running for several days. Today was such a day. I hadn't run in four days due to a combination of fifteen hour shifts at work, and the wedding of a good friend. So on arriving back in Palmerston North I was keen to get out for a couple of hours on the trails.

Harding's Park is one of the lesser known areas of the Palmerston North area, situated above the Kahutawera Recreation Hub right at the northern tip of the Tararua ranges. It takes around forty-five minutes, at first along a [retty boulder-strewn stream for twenty minutes, followed by a brutal climb, to get to the Platinum Ridge, the main loop track in the park. Today was the first time I had run there in several months, and it would seem that the City Council have been moving to upgrade the track up to the top of the ridge. Unfortunately, only half way threre at the moment, it has made the track a slippery muddy mess... hopefully improvements will be on the way, particularly over the summer months.

Once on the top though, you get to what I think is some of the most magical single track running around Palmerston North. I suppose the slog up the hill must put off a lot of walkers, as I have very seldom seen anyone else up there, which is a shame. The ridge is covered with toe-toe, flax, and sub-alpine scrub, with a few old, taller podocarps here and there. The track is narrow, winding, reasonably solid underfoot, passes several old long abandoned platinum mineshafts, and is great fun. Turns out there are some wild animals up there, too, as I frightened something very large sounding today! And after hooning around, you then get to take the plunge back down the steep climb back to the carpark! A great two hour run, and only 20 minutes drive from town.

Ideally I would have liked to run up the other side of the Kahutawera Valley, on the Back Track through more established, mature native bush up to pine plantations on Scott's Road. Unfortunately I couldn't quite afford another hour, so that will have to wait for another day...