Change of course leads to win for Rotorua runner in Tarawera Ultramarathon

Rotorua's Katrin Webb, winner of the women's 87km race at the 2017 Tarawera Ultramarathon in unusual circumstances. PHOTO/photos4sale

Stuart_Whitaker_FEB15_happy.epsUltramarathon

Setting off to run 102km, but only getting to the 87km mark, might be regarded as disappointment for some - but not for Rotorua athlete Katrin Webb.

For a start, it meant the 40-year-old won the women's 87km race at the weekend's Tarawera Ultramarathon.

Illness in the lead-up had hampered her preparation, and by the time she got to 70km, where the 102km course goes one way and the 87km runners go the other, she knew she was going to have to switch to the shorter distance.

"I'd been sick for the last two weeks before the race. I ended up with a viral cold and wasn't feeling flash in the weeks before, but thought I'd still line up for the 100," she said.

"But during the race, it caught up with me and I started having dizzy spells and so I had quite a struggle all the way from Okataina to the Falls, and almost pulled out. But my support crew made me go down to the 70km mark and then I made the call to go to the 87km distance."

She said by that stage, a further two hours of running would have been too much for her.

"I dug deep and gave it everything to make it to the finish line. I didn't realise that I ended up with a fairly good time we had a bit of a giggle because I didn't realise [I'd won] until late [Saturday] night when we had a look at the results."

She said shortening her run was the right thing to do.

"I'd done the 100 the year before, so it wasn't like I needed to do the 100 to have a tick in a box, so I wasn't disappointed. It was a real tough day for me mentally, because I was very close to pulling out."

As well as last year's ultramarathon, Webb has completed five full-distance ironman triathlons.

She was heavily involved in helping race director Paul Charteris organise the ultramarathon and was also one of the driving forces behind the dog-friendly Dogaine team fun run last Thursday.

She ran to raise money for Kawerau SPCA.

"We adopted our dog from Kawerau SPCA and I got involved with them and realised how, with being quite remote, it's really quite hard for them to get cash funds."

Webb had no definite plans for her next race, and said the priority now was recovery.

"I need to look after myself quite well now, and then I'll see, depending on what life throws at me. But I'm always out running with the dogs."

Webb's 87km race winning time was 10:47:39.