I like that the Tarawera Marathon is a retracing of history's footsteps, a retracing of the route the locals of Mount Tarawera took to flee the eruption which destroyed the famous pink and white terraces. It's an event which has attracted a lot of local Maori, running and walking to retrace ancestral paths. It's a variety of terrain, forest, bush, lakes, trails, paths, climbs and descents.
Race report: The only thing I need to put into words is the fact that I was flying down the Tarawera Trail over the last 15km. I was hauling people in, on the nicest part of the track, having a great time. With only 2km to go, I hit the last hill. And then I remembered that the last hill was 4km from the finish line. My Garmin was wrong and my world imploded - those final 4km were a killer. My saving grace was passing a young bloke running his first marathon, and goading him into running with me - we kept each other going right to the soft sand of Lake Tarawera.
Other than that - a picture paints a thousand words. One happy camper.
