Saturday, November 17, 2012

Keri Keri Half-Marathon

  Yesterday I joined 2,500 other crazy Kiwis for the annual Keri-Keri half-marathon! It is a competitive race of 21.1KM (13.1 miles) across the beautiful terrain of the Northland near the bay of Islands. 

1:10:08 was the record time to beat for this particular race, but I was overjoyed that I crossed the finish line right at 2hours, a personal best! (I personally can't imagine how a human could run that far in only an hour, but apparently the world record is somewhere around 40 minutes- Wow!)

The energy at the start line was electric as everyone crowded in, ready to begin a journey that would take us from Okaihau to the Keri Keri city centre, over hills and valleys, through cold rain and wind.  (the not-so-fun part)

Once all the runners and walkers completed the race, prize-giving began.  The prizes included gift vouchers, sports equipment, cruises, camping gear, free flights and even a new car from the big corporate sponsors. Go figure, out of 2,500 people I actually won one of the spot prizes: a new tennis racket and tennis balls!

It was a great event and other than blistered feet and sore hips, I'm doing well.  :-)

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