A nice ‘clean’ pdf of results and placings with age categories will follow soon.

 Top 10 Tips for the Northburn 100 Miles

 1. Start very slow

You should aim to finish at the same pace or effort that you started. This means that you will definitely finish the 100 miles and not suffer more than you need in its latter stages. Your estimated finish time can be calculated and from an early stage in the race you can gauge how much slower you need to be. This event is a hare and the tortoise event as your goal is to finish and finish well. This will be best achieved if you save your energies for the latter stages especially the night section. Any race or event never gets going until the last 25 % of the distance. So for the Northburn see the first 120 km as a decent “warm up” and your mental strategies should keep that in mind.

 2. Think of the journey not the distance

Relish the landscapes, time away from the city, normal routine of life and being surrounded by motivated likeminded adventure types. This will take your mind away from the mission ahead. Thinking about time and distance will only add stress to the challenge. This is a wonderful adventure to be relished so savour the whole experience.

 3. Walk the hills

The reason for this is explained under 1. Start very slow. Your goal is to preserve muscle strength and endurance; running the steep hills will only break down your muscle fibres. My advice is to power walk the hills, jog the flats, shuffle the downs. If you have more zip in the last lap then you could apply more pressure but don’t force your hand too early.

.4. Eat and drink routinely

This is hard to do past the 15 hour mark where the body goes into fat burning overdrive. Up to that point keep the nutrition going in. Utilise fresh food like fruit and whole foods like cold meats and sandwiches. Energy gels are fine to provide a quick lift but your system may need more substantial fuel. Protein drinks are so easy to consume and provide an energy rich hit.

5. Take anti chaffing cream

 Do not underestimate how debilitating chaffing can be; keep it handy just in case.

6. Ensure your lights are fantastic with battery back up

Great lights make a big difference from a physical and mental perspective. Remember a spare back up too and batteries.

7. Take storm gear
   

Err on the side of caution. A mid length jacket with tough material more suitable for tramping may be the best option if things turn pear shaped at night on the tops. Two leggings to stop windchill may again be wise if a cold night. Great hat and gloves will provide reassurance.

8. See every uphill as a cool challenge: there are no problems
   

When faced with the climbs see them as positive opportunities. This ball game is as much a mental challenge as physical. Sleep deprivation may start impacting as it starts to get light so just go with the flow.

9. Keep going slow.
   

Slow and steady…save the sprints for the last 100 metres.

10. Post race plan
    

Make sure you sleep, eat and give time to rest immediately after the event. The first 10 minutes to 2 hours are critical for a speedy recovery. You may take months to fully recover as the body is not a machine so take care during April and May. The Northburn event of 2013 is less than 12 months away!

We will keep accepting late registrations unfortunately late fees will apply.

See the ‘lines’ in the left hand column. This is the order in how you run the race – yes there is some doubling over the same track but nearly every time you’ll be doing it once in the dark (or light) then the next time in the light (or dark)…

Finally you can clearly see where the aid stations are, where TW is and all that.

Enjoy.

Pacers (friends to go with you through the night or for the last few stumbling killometers) are now allowed. They will need to fill in a form, sign a waiver and have a yarn with the medic at pre race registration or before they head out onto the course. Please see our official ‘policy’ on pacing here.

I recently did the 100miles to check it out from a competitors perspective – see how it went here http://northburn100.co.nz/2012/02/13/a-video-log-of-the-100miles/.

Pre-race breifing notes have been up-dated since last year – see here http://northburn100.co.nz/2011/03/22/pre-race-briefing-notes/

Thanks very much to Kia motors coming on board as a sponsor Lisa will be driving back and forth between Cromwell and Queenstown so let us know your arrival times and we may well be able to pick you up!

If you need accommodation in Cromwell don’t forget to give Glen a call at the Golden Gate Lodge +64 +3 4451777

Hope your training is going well! More info to follow in a couple of weeks.

Regards,

The Northburn100 team,
Lisa, Tom, Terry and Glen.

At the end of it all I was thinking – how can I encourage people to come and put themselves through such a tortuous event?? And here’s the thing, the 50km and 100km are great challenging distances that can actually be enjoyed. Those who enter the 100miles are expecting to be challenged beyond their ‘comfort level’, to those people I can in all sincerity say – you will get your moneys worth.

Tips? Trekking poles – I’d like to use them I think next time. Gaiters over your socks – there are a few grass-seads and small stones you don’t want in your shoes. Spare socks and shoes at bag drop area’s. Don’t eat chocolate brownies! 3 out of 3 of us who had some felt sick afterwoods.

Also likely to turn up are some good mates of Lisa’s including:
Molly Sheridan- www.desertskyadventures.com
Samantha Gash
Ray Sanchez
Ali Wehbi
Dr Rajat Chauhan

small day backpack.

rain jacket – it can be just a ‘shell’ but it must be seam-seeled waterproof.
merino or thermal long sleeve top
extra fleece/mid wieght wool top we have just added this to the list.

long tights or trousers
warm cap or beanie
polyprop gloves
survival blanket
own snacks, gels, energy bars etc
water bottles/bladders – enough to carry 2 litres of water at all times
headlight for night-time with back up battery
reflector stripes or vest or back flashing light for night-time running

Good to have
cell phone (recommended but optional)
gps/compass – optional
running gaiters

Good to leave at TW bag drop (just in case)
Extra pair(s) of dry socks
Water proof over trousers
Extra warm top…
Spare batteries for headlight