lake taupo

mark and i ran in the relay around lake taupo on saturday. the race is 140km, and fifteen of us from AllianceBernstein and Macquarie participated as a team (there were about 5000 participants total).

my leg was 5.5km and undulating, while mark’s was one of the most difficult legs (including a steep, windy 3km hill) and was 7km long. groups of runners travel in cars from one hand-off location to the next. the race started at 2:30AM and our team finished at about 3:30PM the following day.

considering we only agreed to run less than 3 weeks ago, both mark and i performed a lot better than expected. it actually went by quite quickly for me, probably because i was expecting the worst. and before i knew it, it was over. we've been training semi-regularly. on the weekends we have driven out to eastbourne where there's a great road at the end of town with no cars. it's a 40-50km return trip to the last of maybe a couple lighthouses. to the first lighthouse return it's about 12km -- we try to do that, or less.

the views are spectacular on a good day, and the numerous bays make your run/walk deceptive. you are never sure how far you've gone as you can only see from one bay to the next and the scenery is quite entertaining. mountain goats balance on the rocky hillside, while quails waddle across your path on occasion.

for more pics from my wicked weekend, check out my photo album.