I arrived quite early in the evening, just as daylight was starting to dim, and although cold, it was fun watching runners arrive in the dusk. The collection of flourescent jackets, reflective running gear and glow-sticks increased as the evening got properly dark, and as we lined up at the start, head torches were switched on and began to twinkle in the night. The night was reasonably cool, and the wind a little bitter, but we had been informed that the trail through the bush was well sheltered, so I opted for just some thermal gear, and kept my jacket packed in my Camelbak.
The starting horn sounded, and we were off into the night, the course had been organised with some quite wide sections of track for the first few km, giving everyone plenty of time to sort out their order before reaching the narrower single track. The track was relatively smooth, but quite muddy, and I had fallen into line in the middle of a 'snake' of bobbing head torches, everyone moving at a steady and manageable pace as the trail wound upwards. Directly infront of me, a man with his two extremely well behaved whippets jogged, the wolf-shaddows of their doggy profiles, exciting my hind brain, the primal wilderness night running instincts making me feel like a cavewoman in the forest.
After the gradual climb, which in the dark was delightful, because I didn't have much perception of height until breaking out of the bush canopy to see the street lights of Wainuiamata far below. Emerging from the bush, the track widened again, and the snake broke down, as faster runners streaked away down hill. I tried to keep up with Mr. Whippet for a while, but feeling cautious of foot placement in the small circle of illumination from my head torch, I wasn't able to match the pace.
There seemed to be some confusion from other runners about having taken a wrong turn, but the trail was really well marked with flourescent tape and glow sticks, so I was unconcerned. After running down hill for a bit, the trail made a sharp turn, and the uphill begain in earnest. The trail for this section was not only steep but also rutted and slippery, with vast sections of rugged bedrock to clamber up. I slowed to a walk for a bit, but my walking muscles are so inefficient and unpracticed, that I soon found the slow jog was much easier for me. Three steep sections of rugged track followed in quick succession, before I emerged at the top.
And the view was incredible. The whole of Wellingon city and the Hut Valley sparkeled below, cradling the inky depths of the harbour, and winding tendrils of street lights over the hills in the distance. The clear, cool evening meant that the view stretched for miles in every direction, and it was lovely.
From the top, the run was pretty much down hill all the way back to the start line. Wide trail persisted for a while, before single track took over again, and I was once again sheilded from the icy wind by the trees. I ended up running much of the return section on my own, and it was fab to enjoy the solitude of running trails at night, with the comfort of knowing there were heaps of others out there too. I found that my eyes had to work pretty hard to keep the flow of information up for my feet. Having such a narrow, and relatively dim circle of vision was quite tiring. I was able to pick out where the path was, and to negotiate various branches and obsticles, but was moving fast enough to have difficulty determining surface texture and slipperyness. I ended up relying a lot on the sensations coming up through the soles of my shoes to determined pace and stride length over varying terrain.
I could hear the music from the finish line for quite a while before suddenly bursting out of the bush, and covering the last few meters to the brightly lit finish line.
This was yet another fantastically well organised event, with a well marked trail, encouraging marshalls and friendly courteous runners. Cheers Xterra and Cheers Wellington.
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