Motatapu 51km Ultra - Wanaka Nz

******some of the photos I have taken below were from my recce run from the course******

At 51km with about 3000m ascent the race sounds a good challenge from the start, combine this with some quite twisty trails covered in roots, a lot of river crossings (and the best part of 3km actually in the river) and most brutal of all.... a 6am start time, it starts to sound like great fun!

Before the race I'd had a quick look at the route and recced the first climb out and back. I'd noticed that last years first place was over 7 hours and thought it sounded slow though after reading a blog it had been a wet day so I guess that costs a bit of time. The Motatapu track is a popular hiking trail and I read a description which sounded all good apart from one part which said 'at Xkm you can enter the river and follow it OR climb out of the valley and take the high route' ... I first thought ok, a dry river bed? Maybe with some water in there in odd patches?

So the race has about 2.5km on wide gravel road before hitting the trail properly. I decided after what happened at Shotover Marathon I best start right at the front as the track is pretty narrow and twists it's way undulating along a trail against a small river and it would make any overtaking difficult. There are 4 main climbs, the first goes from 300m to over 1200m in 12km and you'll notice from the profile that the last 20km is mostly downhill (although not quiiiite that straightforward) with 30km - 40km mostly actually in the river or along the banks and higher sections of riverbed out of the water before a relatively fast last 13km on 4wd track with numerous river crossings around knee deep.

So 5.45am about 150 of us gathered in the dark at Glendhu Bay near Wanaka. A brief briefing again mentioning this river business which at this point was still a mystery to me before we lined up ready to go. I set off running on the shoulder of a guy for a minute or so before moving ahead on my own, the sound of hundreds of footsteps behind as I headed into the darkness. I knew the first checkpoint and just beyond from my recce so was happy to lead and pick up the marker poles every few hundred meters as we weaved along next to the river. At a gate in deer fence there was a guy with me and then a gap maybe a minute at most to the next torches. Soon we were in the woods and the twisty, rooty, trail kept us on our toes, it's very narrow and weaves along undulating but generally trending uphill.

Suddenly the trail disappeared and I found myself dropping into the gully down a steep bank seeing the trail to the corner of my eye. I couldn't stop until the bottom and turned around as the guy just behind shouted and I scrambled up and caught back up. We stayed together and chatted a little on the way to the Fern Bern hut CP1 at around 10km and had to do a kit check so bags off and a quick run through of the 'extensive' kit list (more than I've had to carry on most 100 milers but as long as everyone is out having fun!) The daylight was breaking through and torches were off.

We were on our way within less than a minute I guess and continued to climb. About 30 mins later we hit the first decent descent and I built nearly a minute or so of a gap and started the next climb at a comfortable pace allowing Chris to catch up with a runner back in the distance visible. We stayed together up the climb, I was interested to see if I'd build another gap on the next descent or whether perhaps 2nd had just stopped briefly perhaps.

Again hitting the 2nd descent at almost 20km I pulled gap between us and again a comfortable climbing pace brought us together again. I didn't want to try and push a real gap until this much talked about river section if possible. There were some stunning ridge sections and some impressive valleys and peaks around us. I was itching to get my GoPro out but didn't want to get distracted again.

We dropped down from the 4th peak and down to the river. We were making good progress and then here was the river. Two signs one saying high water and one for low water level, so we took the low water level and I plunged waist deep into the river. After a bit of wading it was actually possible to jump from rock to rock in places and scurry along the bank from time to time though you were getting wet no matter how you did it. After a while we hit the penultimate checkpoint, we were able to take the 4x4 track that was parallel to the river although this still crossed the river numerous times.

I was pretty happy to stretch the legs out and push on averaging just over 7 min miles for the last hour of running and river crossings. I managed to build up a 6 min gap and 2nd place Chris who I'd run with earlier kept well clear of 3rd.

The finish in Arrowtown was pretty busy with plenty going on. Over 3500 athletes with the MTB race, Triathlon, Marathon and the Miners Trail 15km all finishing at different times after we all had staggered starts. I had about 6 hours to wait for the prize giving so walked into the old town and had lunch before coming back and doing some clapping, having a massage, lounging in the sun and catching up with friends.

Another stunning race in NZ. I think if I had to choose between this or Shotover I'd go with this one purely because it's a bit longer and finishes within easy walking distance of town (just about an ultra by about 11km ;) ) ideally though I'd recommend the both of them!

For me that's basically my last longer run before the Northburn 100 mile in 2 weeks. After that I'm back in the UK on the whole before hitting the Alps in June for the next trail run coaching week (see www.charliesharpe.co.uk) for the details if you're interested.

Ultima Frontera 166km 2014 - Spain 1st + CR

It might sound a little bit of a crazy idea running 2 100 mile races in 2 weeks (the last was Magredi Mountain Trail 100 mile in Italy) fair enough.... Though seeing as I've done worse things before and I just love running, especially if there is an odd mountain about, the trails here are amazing, (which is one of the main reasons I'm holding a coaching and training week here too) I just had to get it booked! 

I've been to the Ultima Frontera race twice before in 2011 and 2013 (2011 slightly shorter course with less ascent and in 2013 the same course as this) The organisation is great and the flights to Malaga from the UK are pretty low priced meaning it can actually be cheaper to go to Spain than it would have been to head down towards southern England or up into Scotland for example. From leaving the hotel at 8am to being back home by 1pm on Monday it's pretty good! 

To the actual race! Registration was on the Friday or pre race on Saturday. I arrived in Loja and grabbed some food before collecting my number etc and catching up with the crew! Headed back to base for a good feed in the evening and an earlyish night. 

View behind the hotel, the final couple of km comes around the front of that hill.

The checkpoint distances (35km and 64km were the same place and also 118km and 147km were also the same place) The route is 2 x 83km laps with about 5500m elevation total

Race started out at 9.15 on Saturday morning with an 83km race, 55km race, half marathon and the 166km all out on the same route for the first 10k, I was running around 6th person here although 2nd in the 166km. In my head I was expecting something between 18 and 20 hours considering the MMT and the hot weather forecast (apparently it sailed past 30 degrees) it felt hot and there isn't a lot of shade until it goes dark!

I noticed that the climbs felt easier than last year and felt really good, I moved into the lead of the 166 although still behind one runner of the shorter 83km event until about 30km where I passed him on the long 8km climb to cp2 and the highest point of the course.

Reaching 35km feeling good I headed off to 48km cp and made light work of the long climb and chewed up the descent pretty fast too. Roughly ... I was getting through 500ml of water and about 300ml of coke between most cps and adding 10 drops of EleteWater to the water. I did have a few additional gulps from the odd fountain as we passed through the small towns here and there too! Next up is a small climb followed by a long single track section before a gradual but exposed climb to the 64km cp, a very runnable section if you can handle the rocky single track. It was getting hot though and I drunk my fluids so eased the pace for 3 or 4km to reach the cp.

Next up quite a short section about 6-8km to the final cp with little ascent to deal with. I made use of a stream and lay in it to cool down, I was pretty hot but held the pace off and tipped water over myself whenever possible. It was a fairly brief cp stop before running on towards the half way point (aka the finish line in another 83km!) I think a lot of people who didn't finish get to the half way point just as night is arriving and the pressure of a 30 hour cut off combined with the fact that your hotel is a mile away and you're about to set off for ANOTHER 50 mile lap... if you're not totally focused beware of that! I got through in plenty of light, about 8 hours something for half way so about 5.30 in the evening, not too bad. I went in and ran my head under the cold tap for a couple of minutes before topping up my bottles and doing a few mobility exercises and heading out for some more trail slaying!

Despite being later in the day I felt hot and made use of a couple of springs to cool off thinking of it more as time invested rather than wasted. I knew I'd moved a little slower here to the first cp but I felt great and arrived at 103km before dark. There is a decent hill between here and the next cp 10 miles away and I knocked it out in about 1 hour 40 looking back. I had received a message to say that 2nd place was over 2 hours behind at half way and I was still moving comfortably. As I hit the cp at 131km I got a message to say that 2nd place had just left the 103km cp. We were both heading to the same cp next although it being my 147km point and his 118km point... Who would arrive first....?

I ran better on this section than I did during the first lap as it had cooled down to around 20 degrees now and it was dark, I was feeling even better than I did during the afternoon! I was enjoying the trail but suddenly felt something in my right calf..... I kept going, few minutes later felt it again... I eased off to a steady run then suddenly again I felt something weird... A little tiny dog had been following me for I don't know how long and made me jump big time! There was nothing wrong with my calf just the dog had brushed against my leg, being dark and totally focused on what I was stepping on in front I didn't expect it at all. Anyway it stopped and ran back and suddenly I had hit the cp, no sign of runner number two who would now have to be at least 3 and a half hours behind. I knew it was 'in the bag' now and changed my head torch batteries, had a quick chat and topped up my water before heading on for the final cp!! Last 14 miles to go! 

I moved well over the last section and made my way up the gentle climb towards the last descent into Loja. I wasn't sure on my actual time at that point but knew I hit 161km at 17 hours 30 something and decided that the final 5km with a decent uphill could be doable in under 30 mins. I pushed pretty hard for it but came home in 18 hours 2 minutes! Not quite the sub 18 but I was happy that I had run well without any particular low spots other than being a bit hot during the day.

Some might notice I ran in road shoes, the tracks and trails are firm and there are a few short tarmac sections through towns, it's not too technical if you're regularly on the trails and fells although if you're only used to running on the road I guess it would feel quite technical in places.

A few of the questions I've been asked about this one so far...
Did I eat anything? I had a banana in terms of food during the race, calories from 2 fruit juice cartons and an orange juice carton, literally a couple of crisps at a checkpoint and coke for fluids.

Before the race? 3 breakfast 9bars on the morning. The night before I had Spag Bol and a massive sandwich which had everything from eggs to chicken, ham and bacon in it. Delicious!

Is it easy to do a race abroad? The ones I have done YES. Organisers tend to be very helpful from my experience, at the airport or bus terminals etc there is always someone speaking English too if that is a concern you have. It's not too difficult to learn a few words though either and I wouldn't be surprised if someone has an app that translates things on those fancy phones?

So have you another 100 mile booked in 2 more weeks?
Haha... not as it stands, having an easy week and then looking at training and racing plan for next year and then what events to fit in where! Thanks to winning this I now have an entry in the AAUT for 2015 too! Should make a nice summer holiday after the Dragons Back.

If you'd be interested in finding out more about the trail running coaching week held towards the end of February 2015, to see if it's right for you, hear some more details, just send me a message through the contact form on my website and I'll keep you in the loop! 

Trail Running Coaching Holiday 2015

How would you like to spend an intensive week in Spain with myself and a small group of keen trail runners learning how to take your trail running to the next level? Everything from kit to technique to training and racing.

What if the routes and sessions were taken care of, logistics were arranged along with comfortable accommodation? 

You could literally just enjoy the running and have a fantastic week with like-minded runners in a friendly and supportive environment. If it sounds like it might be of interest to you,

It would be aimed at runners who'd like to... 
Improve their technique and feel more confident over varied terrain, 
Discover how to strengthen the body, including the core, effectively and specifically to running, 
Learn what to fuel your body with to improve your recovery,
Find out and try out safe ways to include quality speed training within your schedule,
Learn how to cruise up hills and tackle longer races...
And of course those of you who'd like to enjoy a fantastic week of trail running with awesome, like-minded people in (probably  ) nice weather with plenty of time to relax whilst you're there too!

We've got the accommodation sorted for the 21st to the 28th February 2015 in Spain so we're close to trails and we have the in depth local knowledge of Paul Bateson who lives in the area and organises races in the region and has probably scouted out more of the trails than most, to make sure each run is fantastic! Places are strictly limited, we are looking to keep the group small <10 so everyone gets the attention they need and to ensure everyone has a fantastic experience.

Here are some images from around the area Alhama De Granada and the accommodation to whet your appetite ready! 

If you'd like to find out a little bit more information and keep up to date with the finalised details and  see if it's right for you, just drop Charlie a message through his website contact form HERE with your questions and he'll be able to give you a call! You'd have to arrange your own flights to and from Malaga (AGP) Airport and we'll deal with the rest! Final details soon!