The Double-Routeburn

Those of you following long on my Twitter feed (hit that big logo on the right to get into it, or click HERE) will have been catching hints this week about my next adventure. This Saturday, so in 5 days, I’m going to be running a rather ambitious ultra-marathon. Here’s the story – there is an annual race just outside of Queenstown called the Routeburn Classic. The run takes place on the Routeburn walking track, a 38km hike that most people do over the course of 3 days. The path crosses a full mountain range and gains somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000m before losing it all again before the finish. The classic does this track all in one, very fast day. The top runners will complete it in around 3hrs. Now 38km of mountain running isn’t anything to make light of – but it isn’t exactly an ultra-marathon. To be an ultra it has to be at least longer then a standard marathon, or 42km. Where the ultra part comes in when my good friend Christian and I get to the finish. Instead of grabbing a beer and putting our feet up, we’re going to turn around and run back to the start. That’s right, 76km of mountain running all in one day.

So is this a wise plan? Probably not. Why are we doing it? Well the easy answer is that it sounds like fun. Now that sounds insane. I guess the reality is that we really want to challenge ourselves – not just physically but mentally. By the end of the day we are going to be totally and utterly worked and in many ways that’s the point. It’s in those moments of frailty that you really get a glimpse at what we’re made of. We’re going to be filming it too – so even if it all goes pear shaped and we turn into babbling, whimpering fools – it’ll all be on tape for your entertainment!

From the seed of ambition, both greatness and folly grow.

Have a look HERE for more info about the event and check out this video for a bit of a preview of what it’s all about.