Record numbers tackle Taupo Half Marathon

It was a case of survival mode for Daily Post reporter CHRIS BRAMWELL when she joined over 4000 runners and walkers to complete Sunday's Taupo Half Marathon.
As the first runners were crossing the finish line in the 12th annual Taupo Half Marathon, I was just starting to cross the pain threshold.

Having never run for any reason other than having to get to the shops before they close or to escape a snarling black bear, taking on the Levene-sponsored event was not a decision I took lightly.

I started training at the end of May following the schedule posted on the event website. Two weeks out from the event I pulled a ligament in my foot jumping off a seawall, which knocked my training sideways a bit.

However, a bit of intensive physiotherapy cleared that up, but I was left feeling not quite as prepared as I could have been on the big day.

After a less than favourable weather forecast, Sunday morning dawned overcast and a surprisingly warm 7C - toasty for Taupo in August.

Despite starting in the third wave of runners, I still had great swarms of people bounding past me as I passed the vaguely irritating 1km sign.

I was astounded at the numbers of people stretching ahead of me along Lake Terrace.

The event had record numbers of entries, totalling just over 4000 and I felt as though I was part of a human river snaking its way along the lakefront.

I spent the first 5km trying not to go too fast, saving my legs for the later part of the race. The first drink station provided me with my earliest challenge - how to drink and run.

I remembered someone telling me to squeeze the cup into a spout and pour the water into my mouth, which sounded easy enough. And for an experienced runner it probably is, but not this first-timer.

I ended up with the majority of the water shooting up my nose, and then stumbled along coughing and spluttering for a bit until I regained my composure and carried on.

At the halfway point and second drink station I decided not to bother with the spouty-thing and just threw the water at my mouth, which kind of worked but left me feeling slightly drowned.

I still felt pretty good at this stage so I decided to push myself a little harder, and sprang along the off-road section, overtaking people and feeling somewhat euphoric.

This was obviously some kind of runner's high as it wore off with a bit of a thump at the about the 17km mark. Then the pain set in.

My left inner thigh told me that the joke was over and my right knee joined in with a protest song.

As an epidural was not an option, I chose to completely ignore my dissenting limbs and tried to entertain myself with listening to other peoples breathing and trying to guess what they were listening to on their iPods as I stumbled past.

By the time I got to the finishing chute I was in complete survival mode, though my partner reckoned I looked pretty fresh-faced - what a liar.

My original goal was to finish in less than two hours, but I crossed the line in 2:05:36, 44 minutes behind winning woman Ruth Kingston of Auckland.

When I woke up yesterday I could have sworn someone had been tap dancing on my legs all night and I spent most of the morning limping about in bit of a daze.

But come the afternoon I had started planning my next challenge, the Xterra 21km trail run.

Bring it on!