Taranaki Hardcore

Ever heard the saying Taranaki Hardcore? It describes the people of the region, who go all out in the best way possible. It's also a very apt description for the awesome Good Homes Taranaki Off-Road Half Marathon. Nuggety. Yeah, that's how the course was described, and thats exactly what we got. 

A last minute decision to enter the race at Lake Mangamahoe saw a quick roadtrip down the country. We arrived, had a quick and easy pack pickup and then headed out to check the course. I often like a bit of a jog over a part of the course the day before and I have to say the section I picked to jog really had me regretting not tapering.

Race day and Taranaki offered up overcast, thick muggy weather. Bright shorts, shoes and packs galore, the Taranaki Hardcore crew were definitely out in force. Nerves were building but the start line was chilled as. 

The race itself, well it was bloody great. A good km of wide track started us off for the pack to sort itself out before moving on to beautiful single tracks. If you are a fan of the uphills like me then this course has plenty. If you aren't - well they are short enough that you get some decent reprieve between the pain. The rain the night before left the course a bit sticky and slippery requiring either extra care or recklessness down the hills depending on which way you swing. That brings me to swing bridges. How do you run across those things well? 

Reaching the halfway point, I was regretting my lack of taper even more. That all changed with a bit of fun on some curving mountain bike tracks, which let me get my breath. We curved back past the start and started grinding up another big hill. A long downhill signaled the beginning of the end with a few more K's winding back round more stunning trail. Popping out the top of one last hill I arrived back onto the same track I started on and made the final push to the finish.

One thing I absolutely loved about this course was how well marked it was. I don't know how many of you have got lost on a trail but I'm a bit of a shocker at it. Pink arrows were everywhere and really obvious, and the marshals were excellent. Organizers were top notch as well. I'd recommend this race to anyone who enjoys trail running, but in particular I think if you are considering giving trail running a go then this is the perfect intro race! Go the Naki!

Editor's Note: what Sabrina modestly omits to mention in her write-up is that she WON the Women's race with an impressive time of 1:50:02, beating Italian superstar Cecilia Flori into 2nd place by almost 2 minutes! See the full results here. Find out more about the event here.

Sabrina in full flight!