An event worthy of The Paparoa Track

Local organisation pitches to run world-class running and MTB event on The Paparoa Track Great Walk.

Routeburn, Kepler, Abel Tasman – they’re famous as Great Walks and garner international attention from runners wanting to challenge themselves. The Paparoa Track, when it opens next year, will also attract the same kind of attention from international runners and mountain bike riders.

Members of the local adventure sports community are working hard to see the economic development of the track realised, and are planning an event to honour the resilience and nuggetiness of The Coast.

The construction of New Zealand’s first new Great Walk in 25 years is progressing well, with an update from the Department of Conservations update highlighting there is less than a year to go for final completion.[1] The 65km of iconic New Zealand scenery that The Paparoa Track will take in, includes the towering tops of Mt Hawera and Mt Ryall, multiple streams and mountain creeks, dense wild forest and massive limestone cliffs.

The creation of The Paparoa Track was announced by the government as a living memorial to the 29 men who died in the 2010 Pike Mine tragedy.[2]

The Paparoa race event and festival is the proposal by Steve Bushby along with a group of motivated organisers. “We know that the Paparoa Track will be good news for the region. Our proposal to put on a world-class race event that showcases the track that will be an extra kickstart to get the profile of the track up there with the rest of New Zealands great walks,” says Bushby. The group behind the race concept has been consulting with local stakeholders, including the Department of Conservation, Ngati Waewae, representatives from the Pike River Families and community groups for the past year. This will also be the first great walk to allow mountain biking year-round, the potential is massive.

Steve Bushby grew up in Kaiata and has seen the changes in the region due to the loss of jobs from the closure of various industries. “We want to support the vibrance of the West Coast through a proven model. To see the potential of adventure sports to assist mining regions transition their economy, one need look no further than Leadville, Colorado.” A similar-sized town to Westport and Greymouth, Leadville is a thriving mountain town which hosts the US’s largest trail run and mountain bike series. But in the early 1980s with the closure of its mines, Leadville suffered mass unemployment due to mine closures.

Bushby explains: “As part of our work in creating the race we went out to Leadville and met with the Leadville race organisers and asked them for their secrets so that we could replicate the success here, but in our own West Coast way. It was amazing to be able to sit down with Merilee and Ken who founded the race back in the 80s.” The Leadville Race series now has multiple events and brings significant revenue to the town every year. “The positive income and awareness that an event brings to a region shouldn’t be underestimated. Rather than people saying, “Oh, I must go there some day,” when there is a date in the diary they think, “Yes, I must book in for that right now.”

A theme of the race will be the strength, resilience, grit and nuggetiness that the West Coast breeds and especially the female adventure sports stars. An example of this is local trail runner Ruth Croft who has won tier 1 races on the world championship circuit in Europe.

The proposed event has seen strong levels of interest from both the mountain biking and trail running communities, but it is the female half of the field that Bushby says is particularly impressive. “Despite a small population, the West Coast produces the toughest, most adventurous female athletes in the world,” he says. These include mountain biker Casey Brown (5-time whip-off World Champion), Ruth Croft (record holder on the prestigious CCC course in Chamonix) and Emily Miazga (three-time world multisport champion). Beyond these three there is a depth of national level athletes, including Local Police Area Commander Mel Aitken, who has won numerous New Zealand races both on road and in the mountains. “There is a massive opportunity to unwrap how and why it is that the West Coast produces to many top-flight female athletes and share that formula with the rest of the world,” says Bushby. “We want to make the imparting of determination and resilience an integral part of The Paparoa festival experience.”

Ruth Croft now spends six months of her time in New Zealand and six months racing in Europe. She has been giving valuable insights to the organising team. “The West Coast is remote and the environment is rugged. As a teenager, it was the Paparoa Ranges that first introduced me to trail running,” says Croft. “In recent years I have had the opportunity to race and compete all over the world but the trails on The Coast are just as unique and spectacular as some of the best I have run on. I want to help put the West Coast on the map as not only a destination that can provide a world-class race, but as a place that can provide an experience for visitors unique to this region of New Zealand. This is my home, and where my running all began. I would love to see it shared with the rest of the world.”

Rather than simply bringing an influx of competitors for the weekend, the race organisers are creating strategies to ensure repeat visitation. “We know that when people get to the Coast they absolutely love it, so we’ll be creating plenty of excuses for them to come here several times a year,” says Bushby. “We have plans to create a ‘West Coast Crown’ in collaboration with other races, as well as training camps for runners and riders and working with local tourism providers and West Coast Tourism to create attractive packages to keep people here for the week rather than just the weekend.”

“We want to involve everyone in the community who wants a role,” says Bushby. “We know that visitors will come to experience the untamed natural beauty of the place, but they’ll stay and return because of the hospitality and authentic experience that they’ll have here, and what they can learn about being tough and resilient. It’s going to be an epic adventure for everyone involved.”

For more information, visit www.thepaparoa.co.nz

[1] http://greatwalks.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/i/A319C3F8BC8C728C2540EF23F30FEDED/26EDA43987E1965E33C48669A65BFAC1
[2] http://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2017/new-great-walk-through-paparoa-approved/

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