Event organiser Tom Pinckney and competitor Samantha Gash
check the course for the Northburn 100 mountain run near
Cromwell this weekend.
By the time you've finished breakfast this morning, 30
athletes will be hours into a two-day ultra-marathon - and they
could still be running when you finish tomorrow's breakfast,
lunch and dinner.
Organisers describe the Northburn 100 mountain run, near
Cromwell, as "brutal".
"There's no other words for it. This race is bloody tough ...
brutal, even," says ultra-marathon runner Lisa Tamati, who
designed the 160km course on Northburn Station.
"It's equivalent to going from sea level to the top of Mt
Everest, as far as ascent goes; very difficult terrain in
places and there's the occasional part dotted through it that
people will be on all fours to negotiate," she said.
The inaugural Northburn run begins at 6am today and is the
only off-road 160km event in the country.
Among the field are 11 international competitors.
A 100km and 50km race being held at the same time and same
location have each attracted 10 runners.
With the extreme
nature of the race, the safety of competitors is paramount
and a medical team, including a doctor and paramedic, will be
on site throughout the weekend.
Tamati and Northburn Station owner Tom Pinckney joined forces
with Tourism Cromwell board members Glen Christiansen and
Emma McDonald and race director Terry Davis to organise the
event.
The idea came from Tamati, who had been asked to arrange a
"sister race" in New Zealand to complement the Badwater
Ultramarathon - a 217km run in the United States, from Death
Valley to Mt Whitney.
The idea grew from a speaking engagement at Cromwell last
winter where she met Mr Christiansen, who collected her from
the airport at Queenstown.
"I mentioned to Glen about the race and he said he knew the
perfect place - Northburn Station. By the time we'd driven to
Cromwell, we had it half mapped-out."
Mr Pinckney, himself a multisport athlete, was happy to be
involved. He sees the event helping to publicise his 12,947ha
merino and beef farm, which also features a vineyard,
restaurant and function venue.
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