Marathon madness in the South Island hills

At 4:30am, Saturday, March 12, Mike's phone alarm chimed into life with Eric Hutchinson singing "Okay, it's all right with me. Some things are just meant to be." Hmm, even a good song, no matter how philosophical, can't make that early hour any easier.

We're in Queenstown on the South Island. We have 30 minutes to get up, get dressed, grab a coffee, and meet Xen and Shelaine at our rental car. It's dark. It's cold. And the nerves are fierce.

It's marathon day!

After an hour and a half of winding South Island roads, Mike and Xen drop Shelaine and me off at our shuttle stop.

Fast forward 45 minutes and a bus ride, and we're at the registration desk.

And at 8am, the gun goes off. Into the hills we go. 42.2 km of offroad running on farm track through pristine hills, private sheep stations, and some of the most picturesque scenery we could ask for.

The first 30 km took us up, up, and more up. Was I ever relieved to reach this spot!

The last 12 km dropped us right back down again. Going down sounds easy, but on tired legs it's just about as tough as going up. The marathon organizers did their best to encourage us on.

Although our respective knees tried to put a stop to our efforts with some fairly painful protests, Shelaine and I both made it to the finish.

500m to go...

Rehydrating at the finish line...

We're all done! Time for a beer to celebrate.

Thanks Shelaine for the inspiration to give it a go. Same time same place next year?

And huge thanks to Mike and Xen for (yet again) cheering us on. Your support makes all the difference.