I am pretty excited today as I just enter the Tarawera Ultra Marathon 100km race that will be on the 19th March and goes from Rotorua to Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty. This race has been one that has been in the back of my mind for a while now but I was plaining on holding off entering it until early March. Things played out a little differently and it is really really good to have some race plans firmed up a little more. Before entering the TU100k today the only other race that I was entered in for the summer was The Blackball Hilton Croesus Crossing on Jan 22. The Croesus will be a great outing- 26km, about 1200m climbing I think, some good competition and a staunch race record. But after my small tastes of ultra races (Molesworth ’09, Naseby 50k and Kepler ’10) and the pure joy I get from bigger training runs I am ready to test my self some more in a ultra event. As far as a 100km race in NZ goes there is no choice in which one to line up in- Tarawera. Every thing I have heard, read and seen leads me to believe that this is one classy event and that Paul Charteris knows his stuff when it comes to putting on a race! I think that the big point to point race course looks really cool and having THIS GUY on the start line should be pretty cool, his results speak for them self.
Anyway, no lack of motivation to train now! I got Yap Yap camping down the road and Lukes is saying he is keen to come play on Thursday (he has been in Chch hiding from the rain, but I guess it has found him- and every one). Might do Casey- Biners if the side streams aren’t a raging torrent still.
Below is a little footage from part of the Tarawera course (heaps of images HERE)
http://player.vimeo.com/video/8788581
Tarawera Ultra: Tarawera Falls Track from trail ruNZ on Vimeo.
Ski Runner NZ 
