05/03/2025
Nick completed the Motatapu Trail Marathon this past weekend. Read his post-race reflection here ➡
"The next race on my calendar was the Motatapu Trail Marathon. This race takes you from the outskirts of Wanaka to Arrowtown. The course follows a valley that has been used by Māori for hundreds of years to transport pounamu (greenstone) from the Queenstown region to Wanaka in the north. In the 1860s Māori guides shared this valley with gold prospectors. We would cross the Motatapu, Soho, and Glencoe high- country stations, which are opened exclusively for this event. Interestingly these sheep stations are part of Mahu Whenua which is owned by Country Music icon Shania Twain. I was sure to keep an eye out for her as we trudged through her property. It impressed me much.
My preparation for this race had been perfect. I have a longer-term goal of competing in the Routeburn Challenge in April, looking to place better in my age group. This race was going to provide a good test for race pace training with the added extra of some spectacular scenery and river crossings. My last long run had been a fortnight earlier, the 33k Coastal Challenge along the North Shore beaches in Auckland, which had turned into a 5-hour epic adventure due to surf smashing into the rocks and a high tide. My body had handled it well and recovered enough for me to knock out 21k in a tempo road run the following weekend. My legs were coiled springs, and I expected to hurt, but not die. At the end of the Coastal Challenge, I was able to chug along at a reasonable pace, so I expected to do the same here.
The gear needed for this one was an extensive list. Because we would be in remote areas if something bad were to happen, we would have to be able to keep warm while rescue equipment was shipped in. A beanie, gloves, raincoat, spare thermal top, whistle, survival bag, and a first aid kit all had to be squashed into my pack along with 5 gels and some chews. Once again, my CamelBak Apex pro served me well.
We decided to base ourselves in Wanaka, not having spent much time there previously. It is quite a cool small town, and it had a nice steak restaurant that we fuelled up at the night before the race. The vibe was very touristy with heaps of camper vans parked up on the lake front and all the restaurants were bustling. It was great to see the place doing so well. The economy looked to be on the up. Registration for the race was extremely easy. I picked up my race number from Mt Aspiring College at am on the day of the race, where the buses to the start left from. I just sat back and checked out all the excited athletes, trying to pick who the guns were. This is almost impossible with looks being very deceiving. I can remember running past a couple of athletes whom I had figured would be extremely fast and being passed by some portly builds and some old ladies. You just do not know.
For this reason, it is always best to be very humble when talking to athletes prior to the race. I was sitting next to an Aussie girl on the bus and having done a few trail races now I am starting to fancy myself as a know it all. It turns out that she was a legendary runner having completed a hundred-kilometre race recently and regularly running the trails around Wanaka. She must have quietly been smiling to herself as I gave a few tips. I can remember her blasting past me on the first hill mentioning that her coach had told her to walk the early hills. She obviously knew her body better and I did not see her again. Also on the bus were a couple of long time Wanaka residents, in their 8os who were taking the opportunity to walk the trail for the first time. It was so good to see their enthusiasm and they were splendid examples of the move for life mindset.
The nervous energy on the short 30-minute bus trip to the start near Glendhu Bay was almost palpable. I do not know why I get nervous pre-race. I have chosen this. I suppose it is the fact that within the next few hours you will have almost nothing left and will be crying for your mother. We all excitedly exited the bus and 600 people then lined up for the Portaloo's. A few sneaky characters did try to hide in the paddocks much to the start announcer’s chagrin, who was under strict instructions from the farmer not to let this happen. I suppose it is not too good for the lambs to eat wee stained tussock.
We got to seed ourselves at the start and I thought that based on my previous marathon times that 4 and a half to 5 hours would be where I would end up so lined up accordingly. The initial 4-500 metres was a racy downhill section in which I found that I could keep my heart rate low while moving along at a reasonable clip. As soon as we rounded the corner to the first steep hill on the farm track, I knew that I had made my usual mistake of going out too hard. The first climb lasted for 20 minutes and because of my haste, my heartrate exploded. I just had to slow to a walk and stride up the hill. This was not going to be my day. My big effort in the Coastal Challenge, 2 weeks earlier, was too much, too close. It was going to be a long day.
I regathered myself and got into a good rhythm listening to the banter surrounding me and taking in the beautiful scenery. So good. It was like running in the United Nations as an Irishman, Dutchman and Englishman compared experiences around me. They were truly blown away by the natural beauty and I certainly was not taking any of it for granted. To get through this, I would need to be a little conservative during the first half. We would continue climbing until the 28k mark and then head down a steep section and across countless rivers to the finish. I set my sights on getting to the 3rd aid station at the 28K mark and then survive from there.
All 4 aid stations each were a remarkable sight. They were all manned by the most enthusiastic locals and each had a theme. I am a bit hazy on the order, but I can remember the Where’s Wally theme being a hit and a welcome distraction from the grovel and the pain cave that I was in. I remember hitting the wall at the halfway mark, way too early. I knuckled down counting the Ks to the highest point which was at 28k. I did some harsh self-talk and got myself there and settled into a good downhill rhythm keeping my mind off the pain. Steve Gurney the Coast-to-Coast legend has a saying: “Pain flows where the mind goes.” I started to think about my quads as I descended these steep rutty farm tracks and at about the 30k mark I felt a sharp pain in my L quad. It came on suddenly and I thought “Holy heck! How am I going to get out of here?” I stopped, ate a gel, and then slowly tried to run again. If I kept moving, I could bear the pain and after a couple of Ks it was no longer as sharp. The body is truly amazing. Luckily while I was playing Jedi mind tricks to deal with the pain the Ks were ticking away.
At the last aid station, I still was optimistic of breaking the 5-hour barrier. I did not know that there were some serious river crossings ahead that really slowed me up. I reduced myself to a walk through these so that I did not have an impromptu swim and mentally had to battle to get running again. We came down the Arrow River even passing a guy who was panning for gold at one point. Very authentic. I could hear the finish announcer with about 1500m to go and was desperately hoping to see the finish Shute after every corner. I had been playing the tag you are it game with a guy all the way down the hill and he passed me for the 18th time to take out our little challenge.
I met Sarah at the finish and enjoyed a beautiful Emersons beer and fought off cramp. It took 2 beers for me to find some enjoyment in what I had done, and 3, to plot how I would conquer the course next year.
This is one of the best trail marathons in the country. I can see why people come from everywhere to give it a go.
8th of March 2026. I will be back.
