Friday, March 15, 2013

Random follow #66 - #tarawera

For one day of every year some of the most elite join the average punter and attempt to run, walk, crawl and cover 100 kilometers of forest trail.  People from all around the world descend upon the small city of Rotorua and converge on a network of trails that sees them travel from Rotorua through to a very small rural town called Kawerau.

This event is called the Vibram Tarawera Ultra Marathon (VTUM).  It is a 100km race that is an absolute icon of the New Zealand trail running scene.  In 2013 the VTUM turns 5 years old.  That is 5 years of some the worlds absolute best runners running through some of New Zealand's most scenic countryside.

This year the official hashtag for the VTUM is #tarawera.  There will updates throughout the day from a few different sources watching all the action as it occurs.  And this race is not just about the elite runners.  There are plenty of them.  This year there are runners with personal bests in the marathon of 2:16.  Runners who smash world records and kick butt.

One kiwi elite runner is kiwi girl @annafrosty.  She is a professional athlete who gets flown around the world to compete in all sorts of races.  She is also a very determined, hard headed and single focused person for whom anything less than giving more than her best simply isn't good enough.

It is also about the everyday kiwi getting out there and giving it a go.  Kiwis that I know of that are involved one way or another with the event are -  @imapping, @sarb, @piphyde, and a big supporter of the run @darrenashmore.  And @gr8dairynobull have a runner out on course as well.  These guys

And the man himself.  The one with the dream that he wanted to create an iconic ultra running in event in Rotorua - @trailrunnz.  Paul is a really great guy.  He is super humble, doesn't get too flapped about things and is an amazingly nice guy.

As for me I myself am going to be out there on course working at the aid stations.  Ensuring runners have water, food and energy supplies to aid them through their day.  And I tell you what - it is going to be a simply amazing day!  This is an one off event that is totally NOT TO BE MISSED!



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