Tarawera Ultramarathon
Getting Ready For My First 100 Miler at the Tarawera Ultra
Annabelle Latz / 12.02.2021
It’s race week for Tarawera Ultramarathon 100 miler.
This means riding the wave of pre race excitement, nerves and the ‘Why Am I Doing This’ moments.
It means ploughing through the normal weekly, disorganised to-do lists of work and animals, and all the chaos that goes with that, and where banking more sleep seems an impossible luxury more than a necessity.
Race week is always a scramble
And before every Ultra Marathon that’s had months of training invested into it, I’m sure I can speak on behalf of most ultra runners when I say we always promise ourselves that we’ll be organised with our packing and race food and all our gear, and get plenty of sleep in the days leading up. And we’ll be totally relaxed and chilled ...
But in reality, it’s quite typical to get 48 hours out from the start line and think ‘I’ve got niggles and am bloody tired. I hope I’ve got all my gear. And I can’t wait to start.’
This is one of the reasons ultra runners keep signing up for more races.
You push through those sticky moments during a race where every inch of the body hurts and you’re vowing to never do this again.
Upon reaching the finish line, you let the dust settle, then your mind wanders to think about how you had the luxury to put your life on hold for just a day or so. You think about those great chats you had during the race with fellow runners, and how beautiful those sights were, captured throughout the day and night ...
And you appreciate that those internal battles with your own mind only ever get experienced by those who push themselves to the limit, where the war is between you and yourself only, and you tap into that inner grit that screams ‘don’t stop.’
I’ve heard so much about Tarawera Ultramarathon, and am stoked it’s the one I will put down as my first 100 Miler.
Yes, the first, meaning I’ll probably do more.
Because, like anything, there’s always room for improvement and there’s nothing more satisfying than learning your own lessons and polishing your performance a bit more.
Ultra running is also a great way to check out your own country. I’ve never explored the back and beyond of Rotorua, but from what I hear it’s pretty damn lovely and well worth packing your running shoes for.
Annabelle is raising funds through on her first 100 mile run for the music programme at The Champion Centre, which supports children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, extreme prematurity, epilepsy, developmental dyspraxia, Autism Spectrum Disorder and other genetic disorders. You can help support the work they do through her fundraising page at; https://givealittle.co.nz/fun.../httpswwwchampioncentreorgnz
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