Dented pride, cuts, grazes and a broken collar bone from the incident did not affect Bulk’s determination to tackle another Longest Day, and she continued to train, running over the Wye Creek Track, despite throbbing pain from the area of the break. But her biking was restricted to time on her wind trainer.
She spent time on the water in her kayak, although it was only reflective, sitting in it parked up as the waves gently rocked her against the shoreline.
Bulk (30), a Queenstown-based land surveyor, stepped up to multisport racing three years ago, after becoming inspired while officiating at Godzone on the Kaikoura course.
"It was on my bucket list, really. It was always something I wanted to achieve," she said of drawing inspiration from Godzone.
She admitted that heading straight into Godzone competition as an introduction to multisport might have been too much of a challenge, having only a running background, no kayak experience, and not having ridden a bike seriously for 10 years.
She said that doing the two-day event in 2015 offered her a good entry into the multisport scene.
"It was a massive learning curve and a good starting point for the Longest Day."
Bulk finished ninth among the senior women and 56th overall in the two-day section in 2015, clocking 16hr 4min 4sec. Not deterred, she made an immediate step up to the Longest Day last year, clocking 17hr 6min 15sec to finish 23rd in the open women’s section and 92nd overall.
While Bulk is stamping her competitive mark on the multisport scene, it has been her presence in ultra-distance and off-road running over recent years that has gained her tremendous respect, with podium finishes at the Great Naseby Water Race on the 60km and 80km courses. At the Routeburn Classic she has cut her time of 6hr 30min five years ago by almost 3hr to clock 3hr 45min last year.
Apart from officiating at Godzone later this month, in the Queenstown area, Bulk’s next challenge will be a return to the Routeburn Classic for a sixth time.
"After a couple of intense years in terms of training, I’d like to give my body a well earned rest," she said of not having anything else listed in her race book just yet.
