Women Battle For Record Time In Routeburn Classic Adventure
Media Release from Routeburn Classic
April
28 2013
Women Battle For Record
Time In Routeburn Classic Adventure Run
A
‘window’ of fine weather and a battle supreme between
two of New Zealand’s top female distance runners made for
a sensational tenth anniversary Routeburn Classic
yesterday (April 27 2013).
The
exclusive adventure run is staged on New Zealand’s world
famous Routeburn Track.
Dunedin’s Victoria Beck
took out top honours in the Peak Performers Women’s
division in a new women’s record time of 3hrs 25min 14sec,
beating fellow Dunedin-ite Whitney Dagg, women’s champion
for the past two years, into second spot with a time of
3:35:51. Third was Helen Gillespie of Hokitika in 3:37:36.
Dagg is training for a super-endurance race so
astoundingly turned around at the finish line and ran back
to The Divide and Te Anau.
Beck said she did not
know what to expect from the run as it was her first
time.
“I was worried it would be really
technical, but it was better than I had imagined and I had
it in the back of mind that it would be possible to win,”
she said.
“Because I didn’t know what to expect
I was a bit tentative going down the first big descent and
Whitney caught me at the 10k mark, but that put some fire
behind me going up the next climb I and I pulled away again.
“I really hope to be back next year -- the organising crew
was just awesome, it’s such a cool event.”
Slippery track conditions due to heavy overnight
rain saw slower times for the top male contenders than 2012,
but Luke Hurring from Timaru still put in an impressive time
of 3:03:49 to take out top honours, with Dallas Wichman
second in 3:03:55 and Thijs Hubber third
in 3:10:33.
Luke Hurring said it was the first time
he’d competed in the Routeburn Classic, joining a friend
from Auckland.
He has mainly competed previously
in 5,000m and 10,000m track races but said he had been
“mixing it up a little” and recently competed in the
Wanaka Challenge Half Iron Man.
“The Routeburn
was absolutely incredible,” he said. “I had no
expectations of the course as it was my first time so the
slightly damp conditions didn’t faze me and I was happy
with my race, it was good fun!
“Because I’d
never seen the terrain before it was perfect opportunity to
check out the stunning scenery, lakes, valleys and
mountains. I’d definitely like to return and do it again,
it was pretty spectacular!”
Local Queenstown
runner Mark Douglas also set his own record of sorts –
having competed in all ten Routeburn Classics, he was last
across the line in 7:12:26, despite battling hip problems.
Running for the first time was his daughter Fleur
Douglas who completed the course about an hour before her
Dad. His record was noted with the surprise presentation of
the 'Mark Douglas Perseverance Trophy' at the awards
presentation on Saturday night, marking his decade of
achievement.
Mr Douglas said he was “never going
to not do it”, despite the pain.
“It was pretty
difficult because I was in pain going uphill from the
McKenzie Hut onwards, but from there on there was no way I
was going to give in, I just plodded on, very determined.
“I was completely blown away with the award,
just overwhelmed, quite lovely. My daughter also did
wonderfully well, I was very proud of her.”
And
despite the medical issues Mr Douglas said he intended to
return. “My intention is to keep going. I’ll be back if
it’s at all possible.”
Race organiser Evan
McWhirter said he was thrilled to have got the race underway
when all the forecasts and advice pointed to him having to
potentially call it off.
“Luckily the front
we’d been worried about came through early and while it
teemed down with rain all night long when we woke up in
morning there was this fantastic ‘window’ of good
weather so we took it!” he said.
“It was all
high cloud both sides of the Harris Saddle, which meant we
could get the helicopters over the track, and it didn’t
start to drizzle on the slower competitors until the end of
the day.
“Because track conditions were slippery
due to the overnight rain we had lots of competitors with
ankle and knee ‘tweaks’ and ‘sit downs’, which
resulted in six ankle sprains and one heli-vac from the
Routeburn Flats with someone who didn’t feel he could
continue, but all in all that’s to be expected from a
track with the ups and downs of the Routeburn.
“It certainly wasn’t cold so no snow like
we’ve had in previous years!”
Mr McWhirter said
one of the most special moments of the day had been
presenting the trophy to Mr Douglas, who was completely
taken by surprise.
“We had the Perseverance
Trophy specially made for him because he epitomises that.
That was the highlight for me, giving him that trophy and
touching the emotions of the big man.
“I can’t
believe the race has been going for ten years, but it’s so
much fun and we wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t enjoy
it. We have a passion for the event, the area, and the
people who support it year in year out.
“Part of
the challenge for us is improving it every year, not only
with the race itself but in our super spot prizes and a
goodie bag for athletes that’s like a ‘Santa sack’ of
things they want and need.
“We’ll be
back!”
More than 320 runners took part in the
tough adventure race which starts at the Divide on Milford
Road, crosses the Fiordland National Park, over the 1127 m
Harris Saddle and finishes in the Mt Aspiring National Park
near Glenorchy.
The Routeburn Classic is a renowned
mountain run in one of the most beautiful places in the
world. It is described as a true adventure run in stunning
Fiordland national park and a unique challenge for athletes
of all abilities and
ages.
Ends