MAD MISSION: SOARING THROUGH THE VALLEY

Souring

THROUGH THE VALLEY

Ultra NZ’s Valley Ultra offers three distances for trail runners, all with their own spectacular course filled with the best New Zealand has to offer when it comes to the great outdoors. Participants have a chance to immerse themselves in beautiful dense forest, test their elevation skills with steep descents and climbs, and catch their breath at glorious summits. Taye Pugh challenged himself in the event’s ultra distance, and shares with readers what an incredible experience it is to run in the Valley Ultra.

2021 was going to be my third Ultra NZ Valley Ultra (27 November 2021), and I had built it up in my head all year as the one that we climbed to Petries Ridge and got to experience those breath taking views. This hope was dashed early in the week of the ultra, as the long range forecast looked absolutely horrendous – everyone that knows the Craigieburn Ranges will know that you don’t take unnecessary risks if it’s anything but perfect conditions.

It was my birthday weekend, turning 45, and I was doing what makes me happy with a bunch of like-minded people.

With the last year that we have had and watching a lot of other events get cancelled or postponed, I still felt excited about just having an event to run in. There was still a challenging run in front of me though, and that climb up to the Craigeburn Ski Lodge was going to be no joke.

After a good meal and a great night’s sleep at the Springfield Hotel, myself and a group of mates including seasoned runners Adam Bayliss, Mark Drew and Callum Harrison drove to the start line. Everyone else was doing the 24km Piglet and got an opportunity to give me words of encouragement at the start line for the slightly longer 58km Whole Hog.

We had made a plan that it would take me between 7 and 8 hours to complete the distance and 2500+ metres of climbing so they could go back to Springfield, have a shower and a feed ,and still have time after their race to see me finish.

As I watched the first wave of runners from the Whole Hog take off, it started to get real; the rain had started to fall and it felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees. Soon it was the time for the second wave – we all huddled into the start chute, everyone chatting with the person to the left and right of them, all knowing we were in this together, a shared experience on a magic trail.

As we were almost ready to go, race director Richard Negus gave us the news that I wasn’t expecting – a slightly shortened course (49km) due to the impact of the early afternoon weather. But there wasn’t any time to dwell on the news because after a quick high five with my mate Toby Nicholls (who I had recently ran the Resilience Ultra with), we were off.

Because of the smaller field due to having two waves at the start line, the first 5kms were a nice steady run, a

We had made a plan that it would take me between 7 and 8 hours to complete the distance and 2500+ metres of climbing so they could go back to Springfield, have a shower and a feed ,and still have time after their race to see me finish.

perfect opportunity to get on top of the nervous energy to get breathing under control and settle into a day on the feet. Unlike other years where there was a long train of runners through this tough wee section, everyone seemed to find their own groove and pace.

I found myself running by myself though, being passed and passing other runners. The first hour went by quite fast. With hardly a word being spoken, I was soaked to the skin with absolutely zero chance of ever warming up. For the next hour or so, I met up with a nice young man who had just finished his physio training, and was taking on his first Valley Ultra. I almost felt like a bit of veteran/tour guide as I told him what to expect. This to me was a great wee section and set the theme of the day for me; I was happy to run at a conversational pace and just get to the end in one piece.

As I neared the Texas Flat aid station I heard Rocky and Badger from Further Faster giving out much needed words of encouragement (I think I heard them before I saw them).

I was feeling pretty good at this point, still with around two litres of Tailwind, which would see me to at least the next aid station. A quick high five to my other Resilience Ultra buddy Chris Moresley who had braved the conditions and volunteered to be at the aid station for the day and support his wife who was running in her first event – what a legend!

The next, what seemed like, hour was spent climbing the Craigeburn access road. It was a niggly little climb, and was probably runnable, but it actually felt good to hike this section.

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The higher I climbed, the colder it got, and I remember thinking it was a great decision by the organisers to lower the course. I almost changed my clothes at this point – almost, but not.

Then came one of my favourite sections, the hard packed downhill through the forest, however this year this wasn’t to be. It was an absolute hydro slide, even with my amazing La Sportiva Jackals on I think I must have fallen over around half a dozen times.

Once down, there is a sharp left and off you go onto what is essentially a large lollipop type loop, from memory I think it’s around 15kms of ups and downs. It’s a cool section because you get to see some of the elites as they head home down the stick. The first person I saw was Dan Jones, who looked as if he was running to the shop to get some milk – so very relaxed but flying. A quick go Dan and a well-timed high five and he was gone.

A few more whizzed passed me as I settled back into my slow trudge, with thoughts in my head like, ‘If only I had done more training,’ or ‘If I was 20 years younger…’ and other nonsense ideas!

By this point of the race the weather had really closed in, but the course had loads of aid stations and heaps of volunteers who were all so upbeat. I recall passing a volunteer on a crucial corner (I remember this corner well as I had gone several kilometres off course in 2019). He was huddled in a small shelter, and when he saw me coming he got out of the tent with a massive smile on his face and pointed me in the right direction.

I got to the second-to-last aid station feeling pretty good. I’d chewed through four litres of Tailwind, and by my estimate had around two hours, or two 500ml bottles, until the finish. I handed my bottles to the aid station volunteers who happily filled them back up – I’d completely lost feeling in my hands and was not capable of carrying out this simple task.

As I ran passed the stick section I felt like I was doing okay, and I almost felt as if I was warming up! It was around this area I met up with Charles Aroamo, a fellow Tailwind runner, and if you haven’t heard his story it’s truly inspiring!

As I ran down the road to the final aid station I knew what was coming, but felt like I had run within myself to tackle what lay ahead.

This is Valley Ultra, and everyone knows she has a rather sharp sting in her tail.

It was cool running this last section with someone; we chatted about the day, about past events, and both of us helping us through the rivers and climbs down the riverbed. As I approached the final climb I could see runners way up the side of the hill, and I made a promise to myself to stop looking up.

The track up there was muddy and slippery, it was all you could do to just stop yourself from sliding back down the hill. One foot in front of the other, I kept telling myself, and little by little I eventually made it to the top. I caught my breath, had a quick look from where I had just come, and then it was all downhill to the finish line.

As I ran through the finish line I gave a wee fist pump knowing that I had done the job. What a day, what a course!

No friends were present – they obviously hadn’t received the memo about the shortened course and were on their second flat white coffees at the Springfield Cafe. It would be over an hour before they arrived, so no harm done.

I remember once being told that an event is a celebration of training. It’s the cherry on top of all the sacrifices we’ve make to get there. Everyone who was out on the course was helping us runners realise that dream.

Not to sound too clichéd but it felt like a real community out there, people helping people, people encouraging and motivating. If the world was a lot more like the trail running community, it would be a much better place.

Thank you so much Ultra NZ, race director Richard Negus, and the team for another wonderful day. I can’t wait for next year, which I reliably am told is the year we get to climb to the ridge line.