Yesterday was my first event since my last Ulltra around the Isle of Wight. Coming six weeks after Luke's birth, and with an unpredictable sleep pattern over this time, to say the least, I knew it was going to be tough. The Holdsworth-Jumbo circuit is usually a three day hike in the Tararua range, rising from 300m at the start up to 1470m at the Holdsworth trig. For several years, there has been a trail race around the circuit, and this year, for the first time, the option to run the trail in either direction was offered.
I'd decided around a week earlier to put in a last minute entry to run the trail in the Jumbo-Holdsworth direction (the opposite direction to the original route), which turned out to be the most popular directionm and the dirction with the quicker times. My little sister Lizzie, who has recently had some of the best orienteering results of her career, including a third place in a World Cup sprint event, entered in the opposite direction. Due to the early start of the race, and the distance from Palmerston North and Wellington, we decided to camp out at the Holdsworth road end, near the start the night before.
We woke up after an uncomfortable and all-to-brief sleep, we woke to a beatutiful but initially cool day. We registered, went through gear check (due to typically unpredictable Tararua weather, every competitor needed to carry a raincoat, thermal top and bottoms, hat and gloves and a survival blanket, and a map due to the potential to come down the wrong ridge in the mist if it were to descend).
At 8, we were off. After about 200m, the field ground to a sudden halt, as we were forced to queue to cross the bridge to the start of the trail. Though a few hardy souls felt a quicker route straight through the icy cold Atiwhakitu Stream, the fear of blisters to come from wet socks kept me in line. Then it was initially onto a well maintained gravel track through mature beech forest, slightly uphill in gradient. After a kilometer or so, the field spliy, the few tackling the old route, and Mt Holdsworth first turning left up the slight gradient of th Gentle Annie track, and myself and around three quarters of the rest of the field continuing along the valley floor for another 7 kilometres.
Initially I found the going quite tough: I'd started quite near the back of the field, and felt the need to try and keep up the pace, but struggled. Perhaps it was the early hour, not being into morning running so much, maybe it was my lingering cold: either way, it was a welcome break when I caught up with a line for the suspension bridge over Holdsworth Creek. After a few minutes of waiting, it was over the bridge and away again, and fir some reason, despite the track becoming more rooted, narrow and winding, I started feeling much stronger. After 50 minutes I reached Atiwhakitu Hut, an old tramping hut on the valley floor and the first check-point. Despite only being about 7.6km in, I had hoped to reach here by an hour, so was happy with my progress, though also realized this was the start of the hard work.
The only cut off point on the race is at Jumbo Hut, which is three kilmoteres past Atiwhakitu. Unfortunately, this short distance also includes around a kilometre of vertical ascent. The going was tough, for the most part it was a hands-on-knees slog uphill, and this was wheret he lack of sleep over the past month and a half really hit me. Getting above the tree-line, and seeing the hut and the ridgeline beyond though, all the hard work paid off. I had aimed at two hours to get to Jumbo Trig point, about a kilomtre beyond the hut, at 1405m, and hit it just on the dot.
Running along an alpine ridge on a beautifully clear day is one of my favourite experiences in trail running, and we were lucky to hit the jackpot yesterday! I met Lizzie just beyond Jumbo, at about 2 hours 5. At that opint she was just behind the first girl going the opposite way, and making good time, but as we passed admitted she wasn;t feeling well at all: unfortunately this was an omen for things to come. After Jumbo, the track drops down, over a smaller peak to a low point of around 1100m, before rising again to Holdswort Trig around 3km on at 1470m. The views over the Wairarapa planes were amazing, it's a shame I didn't have time to stop and take some photos for the blog! I reached Holdsworth trig after a bit of bashing through mud and high tussock at around two hours 45, with the knowledge that it was mostly downhill to the finish, and left with the aim of smashing through the final 10km or so. THe next 2km were the most fun of the course: still above the bushline, but with the tusssock thinner, loose rocks, arms out, and letting fly down to Powell Hut at 1200m. I hit the hut at 2 hours forty.
The final leg unfortunately didn't turn out quite as planned. I initially negotiated the steep downhill through mountain beech forest well, and picked up a few places. With about 7km to go, I hit Pig Flat, a short rise follwoed by some meandering board walk, then the Gentle Annie track from about 5km. Unfortunately, the gentler gradient played tricks, and I took a few spills down this section (this actually turned out to be a common theme: sitting with Lizzie at the first aid area at the end, a succession of runners who had impressive gashes and cuts came past, all who had fallen where the track supposedly became easier!). Unfortunately, though, my legs also started to give in on me at this point, and I was unable to pick up the pace I had hoped for. In the end, I finished in 3 hours 47, well inside the four hours I had aimed for, but a fair way outside the 3 hours thirty I had hoped for. Lizzie unfortunately suffered from several dizzy spells along the bottom track, to the point of having to sit down for prolonged periods, and was a couple of minutes behind me. She still managed to claim a prize as the first girl to the top of Mt Holdsworth though, a nice little trophy to add to her collection! As for me, inner satisfaction ahd to make do, as well as sore legs today. Hopefully next year I'll be back, with more sleep in the lead-up, and a one year old at the finish to welcome me home!
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