ADVENTURE RUN: Bay's 'goats' all agree the pain was worth it

ANENDRA SINGH
When it comes to challenges, don't follow the path - instead, leave a trail.
That's great advice about life in general, except that the Hawke's Bay competitors at the The Goat Adventure run near Mount Ruapehu may beg to differ.
According to the rules of the run you couldn't go more than one metre off the track, says Tim Wrigley, of Napier.
"I thought I was reasonably prepared, having trained at Te Mata Peak, but The Goat track was not defined and the boulders were slippery.
"I was studying the track religiously because when the race finished people had cuts everywhere," the 53-year-old Napier barrister said.
For most of the nine Bay runners the scenery was breathtaking but being able to enjoy it was another thing. Wrigley's trainer, Linda Smith, 45, of Taradale's Pettigrew-Green Arena Gym, said taking your eyes off the ground was not the best move.
"I didn't see any of the national park. All I saw was the front of my foot and the feet of the next person in front of me," she said with a laugh.
Smith also trained Wrigley's wife, Mary Moore, Kim Forshaw, and husband and wife Adrian and Cath Walker, all of Napier. Other participants were David Lochore (wife Virginia withdrew due to an injury), of Porangahau, and Napier's Diane Howell, Sarah Irving, Wendy Laros, Kevin Weir and Guy Harding.
Mary Moore did not compete due to a back injury. Most of the Bay contingent TodaySport spoke to were all doing The Goat for the first time and had first spotted the adventure run on the internet.
Smith said the sharp volcanic rocks and mud made it difficult, but the day was full of fun.
Farmer David Lochore said: "It was a pretty hard day at the office - you know, half way between a run and a scramble." Asked to describe how he felt, Lochore said: "Pain."
Irving, 32, a veterinarian based in Waipukurau last weekend, said it was the biggest challenge for her since doing the Special K event in Rotorua two years ago.
"It's hard, but you get a huge sense of achievement when it's finished," she said.
"The scenery is stunning and everyone gets a medal and there's a big social thing afterwards.
"People from different ages are all there for the same thing."
Cath Walker, 41, an inventory manager at Turners and Growers Enza, goes a step further, claiming events such as The Goat run are great for relationships.
"It's definitely good and makes you appreciate each other," she said.
Husband Adrian Walker, 37, an engineer, had to help her after she was left clutching her calf muscle almost half way through the route while going down a tricky stretch.
"I thought I had broken something but there were these two women in front of us - both were called Ali - who were carrying first aid kits and they bandaged my leg," Cath Walker said.
A marshall on the track suggested she go back because it was easier than completing the run.
"There's no way I was going to go back," said Walker, who was disappointed with her "slow" time but relieved to have finished despite the three falls and cramps, that subjected her body to spasms.
However, despite the pain and anguish all the competitors aim to go back there next year.
Smith, whom Wrigley describes as "an amazing motivator and someone who takes the workout further than the gym".
"I'm definitely doing it next year but I'm going to be taking a lot more people with me. Maybe you'd like to come too?"