Race Tekapo 50km

Race registration on Friday night, by the shore of Lake Tekapo, was a ‘hold on tight to your bib’ or you won’t be going anywhere tomorrow affair. The bitingly cold air was a shock to the system, after my husband, daughter and I had driven from a sunny, spring like day in Christchurch.

Our flight down to Christchurch, from Wellington, on Friday morning had been easy going and we were hoping the forecast for Saturday morning’s event, of being a fine, calm and dry day, was going to eventuate… but Friday evening’s wind was very ominous!

After picking up our bibs we headed to dinner with friends, before tucking up for an early night. My alarm was set for 4am, giving me plenty of time to eat breakfast and wake my stomach up before the 6am race start time of the 50km event. Hubby and our daughter had a much more sensible start time for their 12km event, of 11am.

I had my usual pre-race sleep – of lying in bed, resting, and being acutely aware of not actually being in a deep sleep. Every hour I turned over to check the time and then rested some more. By 3.45am I gave up, turned off my alarm, and tucked into a very early breakfast. I crept around, not wanting to disturb hubby and daughter, enjoyed my morning cuppa and gazed out the window at the inky blackness. It was so peaceful, no wind or rain, just bloody freezing…. 0 degrees C! I was hugely relieved that the wind had blown off elsewhere and felt excited for the day ahead.

The race briefing was at 5.40am and I arrived just in time, not wanting to stand still in the cold for any longer than necessary.

At the start line I chatted to others, all buzzing about the perfect conditions and jumping on the spot to keep warm. I was conscious of not going out too fast at the beginning, anticipating the relatively flat first 20km, but got swept up in the energy and got into a steady rhythm pretty quickly. We headed over the bridge and past the Church of the Good Shepherd, as dawn colours lightened the sky and our head torches quickly became redundant. I kept my head torch on longer than I really needed, not wanting to break up my comfortable pace, but after a while took it off and tried to stuff it in one of my crowded front pack pockets, amongst the water bottles, energy bars, phone and spare buff. It quickly annoyed me with its bulky presence and as the forest opened up to barren like planes, with rabbit hole obstacles and loose rocks, I paused to take off my pack and stow the head torch firmly in the back, out of the way, leaving my front pockets just for the essentials. Feeling more comfortable I carried on, joining the trail of runners, dotted like ants ahead of me, easy to see due to the openness of this section of the course, that followed the ‘Lagoon Trail‘ over Sawdon Station.

The openness of this section of the run would have been punishing in strong winds (or high temperatures) and there was no where to duck off for a quick pee (I had to hold on for 18km before the first porta-loo made an appearance – and when it did my pelvic floor muscles nearly gave way at the sight of it… this peri-menopausal, mother to three, needs plenty of toilet stops!).

Before the 5km mark the course begins a loop, and as I started on the loop it was amazing to see the front pack of runners zooming past and on their speedy way – absolutely amazing athletes.

The winning woman crossed the finish line in a remarkable time; 04:06:56, and the winning man 03:27:54 – absolutely mind blowing to run a 50km trail course with approximately 1,100 metres of elevation gain at that pace!

Anyway, on I ran, running my own race, making sure I didn’t go out too hard and kept refueling at regular intervals, chatting with runners that passed me by, or who I passed, playing ‘swapsies’ along the trail. The open landscape meant we could see a long way and everyone marvelled at the snow capped mountains that hugged the horizon line, glowing in the dawn light, whilst the moon watched over us.

After about 12km the course reentered the pine wooded forest, following a mix of undulating single track and timber logging roads, before winding its way back to the shoreline of Lake Tekapo, this time in daylight, passing the Church of the Good Shepherd for the second time, crossing the bridge and heading on to the first full aid station (which definitely lost me some time, as the spread was so enticing!). I stopped to a walk as I enjoyed my ‘morning tea’ of jam and cream scones, recharging my body for the climb to the summit of Mt. John.

The climb to the summit of Mt. John starts after the 50km runners have already ran a half marathon. It’s a 300 metre climb to the peak, which reaches just over 1,000m, and is a continual climb over 2 kms. On fresh legs I definitely could have ran part of the climb, but I was conscious of preserving my energy and not burning out too soon (or flaring up my always sensitive left hip!), so hiked this section of the course.

As I reached the summit the first thing I saw was a photographer, waiting to snap the tired – and relieved – faces! This was a great moment, knowing the half way mark was close and the biggest climb of the course was done.

I started to put my legs into motion again, running down the rock strewn pathway, dodging the slippiest parts and seeking out tussock grass patches to aid my grip on the downward descents, pausing every now and ahead to take in the incredible views and admiring the remarkable turquoise colour of Lake Tekapo, which is due to the fine rock-flour (ground by glaciers) suspended in the water.

It was hard to discipline myself to keep moving, as the scenery really was phenomenal and I simply wanted to take so many moments to appreciate it.

As I approached the top of one hill, I saw a couple of marshalls, directing the way, and I threw my arms in the air with sheer elation and shouted out, ‘What a day!’! They responded with the same shouts of delight, as it really was a day for being out on the hills, taking in the most incredible scenery of the southern alps, Lake Tekapo, and Lake Alexandrina.

There were a few km of road around this section, as the course descended Mt John, via the Mt John access road, which was actually a welcome break from having to watch every footfall, and I strode out before getting side tracked at an amazing aid station around the 28km mark! The course then led along the Godley Peaks Road for about 2km before accessing the Peninsula Walkway as part of Glenmore Station, crossing farmland on the west side of Lake Tekapo, before turning alongside Lake McGregor.

It started to feel warmer as I followed the farmland track past Lake McGregor to the outlet of Lake Alexandrina, but I was still glad of my choice to wear leggings, though I did stop to remove my thermal over layer. The course carried on through Balmoral Station, hugging the scenic lake, with beautiful reflections. This section of the run was when I started to feel a little tiredness in my legs, but thankfully no pain and I just kept refuelling to ensure my energy levels didn’t lag. I was grateful to fellow runners for sharing conversations, helping to make the km’s tick over faster!

After passing the Lake Alexandrina huts on the south side of the lake, the course then headed back towards Mt John, crossing back over Godley Peaks Road and heading back up Mt John using the access road. With 40km in my legs I didn’t have it in me to run up the hill, so bid one of my fellow chatty run friends best wishes – as she continued to steadily run up the hill – and got stuck into a steady hike with other people feeling the need to walk.

As I reached the top I knew I was well on the home stretch and felt a renewed sense of energy, as I enjoyed running down Mt John and alongside Lake Tekapo, back to the Race Village and finish line.

I crossed the finish line before midday, with plenty of time to chat to fellow run friends and to cheer Dan and Alice over the finish line from their 12km event, which had started at 11am. Here’s some photos from their time on the trails:

They took time to soak in the amazing scenery.

It was a stunning course and an amazing event to be a part of. Highly recommend Race Tekapo to everyone, with six different events to choose from and a 3km kids dash too!

We enjoyed a post run soak in the beautiful hot pools and the next day woke up feeling refreshed and ready to enjoy the scenery at a leisurely pace, before hitting the road for a scenic drive to Christchurch, where we were flying from later that evening, homeward bound to Wellington, stopping enroute for pies and cookies!

The scenery on the drive was so beautiful and we arrived with time to take a stroll around the beautiful Christchurch Botanical Garden. I’m looking forward to heading back to Christchurch in April next year, for the marathon and maybe Race Tekapo again!!