Trail Run

Henry Rollins often discusses how he sees himself in the service industry. Rollins, who was the lead singer in Black Flag from 1981 until their break-up and then went on to a successful solo career with Rollins Band, is also as a spoken-word artist,

Where: 111km north of Kaitaia Distance: 24.5km one way Degree of difficulty: Moderate. This point-to-point undulating trail is moderately challenging. Access: The starting point for this run is the Cape Reinga lighthouse. Park at the main carpark

Where: 12km south of Port Douglas Distance: 12km return Degree of difficulty: Moderate. The first 2 kilometres feature some brutal climbs, which will get your heart pumping. What goes up must come down though, and it can be tough on those legs vent

Costumes! Fun! Dust! Naked people! The Burning Man Ultra takes place every year at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada Desert. For the ultimate utopian, inclusive, radically accepting and self-reliant experience check out this race. You need a Bur

For most of my life, I’ve had a love–hate relationship with running cross-country. I can vividly remember my first national event running for Burnside High School. It was the first time I felt physically sick during an event (running up the muddy hil

Unlike a lot of people, it wasn’t an injury that made me stop running. I realised that spending hours forcing myself to run around my local bush tracks so that I could pay to go run around other bush tracks in the weekend was boring the bejesus out o

If you have a favourite go-to run, a route that you may run at least once if not twice a week, how about occasionally doing it in reverse? You will be amazed at how much easier/harder/different the same route can be when run in the opposite direction

Poor Pheidippides, the Greek messenger who dashed to tell the Athenians of their victory over the Persians at Marathon, then promptly died, thereby engraving his name into running lore. I say ‘poor’ not just because he died – though obviously that qu

I had a dream that I could be a mountain runner. I would run over hills and up mountain slopes with ease. I would rise each morning at the light of dawn and step triumphantly into the rising sun – ready to tackle any challenge in my way. I would get

The concept of minimalism and the joy of running trails should be natural bedfellows. And, sure, there are plenty of parallels, not least of which is the shared idea of being free; of soaking in moments that are real, being part of something without

The event starts at the base of Mount Kaukau in the suburb of Khandallah, and circumnavigates the outskirts of the city via a network of tasty single track, ripping descents and a tonne of climbing. In the three years that the WUU-2K has been held, i

When Ingrid Hillhouse was in high school, she avoided athletics and anything sport related – apart from joining the marching band. A decade or so later, she did a complete U-turn, and, at age 30, Hillhouse had completed her first Ironman after two ye

Mountains, trails and food – lots of food. Check, check and check. All the classic ingredients for any trail-chasing escapade, stirred vigorously with loose plans, a hearty dose of naïve optimism and a touch of love for pushing the ticker into the re

It may be tempting to book a Jeep to travel up the valley and miss those long, hot days bonding with your body-bag. However, if you ascend too eagerly you may be awarded with a throbbing brain, loose plumbing and general disorientation, only solved w

When my mate Vaughan (orthopaedic surgeon and search and rescue team member) suggested during one of our regular Sunday morning runs up Mauao that we have a crack at the Surf2Firth bush marathon, I thought he meant we should put it in the schedule fo

Ultra-studs are soooo 2017. The real heroes of trail running are those who battle it out at the back of the pack. These people epitomise the grit, spit and stick-to-it-iveness of the endurance athlete and deserve to be recognised as such. There are a

Back in May, I spent a couple of days in Taupo with Total Sport’s Aaron Carter. Our goal was to familiarise me with the trail that runners will be taking on at the Taupo Ultramarathon in October. Having run the Kinloch Marathon a few times, I was fam

I want to break it down so you can easily apply mindfulness techniques in your day. Being present in your task at hand will allow you to move towards being the best you can be in life and in running. Here are some tips to help be more mindful or pres

If you were to ask any runner what the two most important metrics in regards to racing or training were, most of them would answer time and distance, right? When it comes to trail running, I would argue that they are, in fact, time and intensity. If

Along with New Year, the beginning of winter is the time of year where running shoes, gym memberships and yoga-mat sales soar. A panic sets in; we fear the notion of inactivity and developing what is euphemistically called ‘a winter coat’. Deals are

The very nature of trail running is why a lot of us love it: the pure adrenaline of grinding up a steep hill, gutted out with ravines, with just scrub or your fellow trail runner to get you up to the top. Then comes the free-fall descent slick with m

When it comes to runners and our bodies, most of us are more concerned about what is happening with our legs, rather than worrying about how defined our six pack is looking. If we do take time out for any stretching or strengthening work, we are more

There is no getting away from the core tenet of all heavy physical activity – you have to nail your hydration. It’s not strictly true, yet it is not strictly untrue either that if you keep your body well hydrated before, during and after training, yo

I don’t consider myself a runner per se, but I love the outdoors, whether that is tramping, swimming, running, kayaking or whatever. Three or four times a week in the bush or up the hill or along the coast. I have had a few issues with my back, so I