The Routeburn Track in a day has been on my to-do list since Lillian and I attempted it 10 years ago but were stymied by poor weather. So when I managed to obtain a place in the Arc’teryx Routeburn Classic, a trail run that covers the track in a day, I was excited by the chance to try again.
The race takes place in mid-April and is limited to just 400 entrants. I missed the original entry but ended up with a place after being on the waitlist for just a couple of weeks.
One of the things that makes the Routeburn Classic so attractive is that the organisers deal will all the logistics of the A to B route where the start and finish points are 5 hours drive (325km) apart. The length of the track is only 32km!
At 6.30 on the morning of the race all competitors get on buses in Te Anau and are driven to the start at The Divide. As part of the race you can book a bus transfer (or even a helicopter!) from the finish to Queenstown.
The weather in the week prior to the race was described by the organisers as “turbulent”. There was snow on the mountains down to below 1000m which made for pretty photos – Lillian and I spent a couple of days mountain-biking in the Cromwell and Queenstown area enjoying views of the snowy mountains – but did not bode well for the race. It must have been a stressful few days for the safety crew. The day before race day we received this email update.
“Weather Update – It will be cold!
Snow has already fallen on parts of the course this week, with more rain (and potentially snow) forecast. Current models indicate 50-70mm of precipitation. We’ve adjusted marshal deployment to get teams in place ahead of the next front, so we’ll have eyes on the ground accessing conditions early on race morning. There are patches of snow on the track with isolated icy sections. Snow is currently on the Mackenzie zig zag.
At this stage, the event is proceeding as planned. A final review will take place on race morning once we receive updates from the the on-course team.
Please be aware that the Department of Conservation (DoC) closed the section of track between Mackenzie and Falls Huts yesterday and today has a strong warnings and recommendation to turn back if poorly equipped or inexperienced. There is a high likelihood this warning will remain in place through tomorrow.”
Based on this update and assessing the weather in Te Anau, I decided to err on the side of caution with my clothing. I wore running tights and packed some light waterproof trousers. I also wore my mountaineering Goretex shell over a merino t-shirt and long-sleeved base layer.
The weather on the bus ride to the The Divide was not atrocious and it was a treat to see the Coffee Cat car at the start. Lillian and I had enjoyed their coffee on a bike ride from Milford Sound to on a previous trip.
Participants were given a race briefing and one last chance to get back on the coach and ride back to Queenstown.
We started in 4 self-seeded start groups. I decided to be at the back of Group 1, a good call. The pace was steady and we walked the steeper sections. It wasn’t raining and it was sheltered in the initial forest section. I felt hot in my jacket, even unzipped, but was not sweating too much. At one point the sun peaked out and perversely I felt a twinge of disappointment that it was not going to be as epic as we were expecting.
On the section between Lake Howden and the Mackenzie Hut we passed below a waterfall that was raging and blasting spray over the track.
We were warned to hang onto our hats (literally) and I stopped to zip up my jacket. It was to remain fully zipped until the final few kilometres of the race.
The trail down to Mackenzie Hut was slippery and technical. It was the second descent of the day and my descending leg muscles were already feeling worked. We reached the hut after one and a half hours. I could see the trail zigzagging up above – just one more climb and I figured we would be over the Harris Saddle.
How wrong I was. It took another hour and 20 minutes to reach the Saddle. The weather closed in, it started hailing and we spent prolonged periods pushing into an icy 50kph headwind. My gloves became soaked and although I wrung them out a couple times my hands became increasingly cold and non-functional. The rest of my body was okay although I did not feel overdressed. If would have been possible magic on my waterproof trousers I would have done so.
I had a couple of walking poles which helped on the stepper sections now my legs were getting tired. However they didn’t help my hand warmth as my fingers were exposed while gripping them. Fortunately I managed to fumble a couple gels out of my pocket so was able to stay adequately fueled.
The track continued contouring around the mountainside disappearing into the cloud. Dotted ahead were runners, walkers and the occasional stationary safety marshal. These were every 15 minutes in the exposed section – massive thanks to all of them as it can’t have been fun standing for hours in those conditions. I also felt for the regular walkers on the trail who had to constantly stand aside to let us pass and who often shouted out encouragement.
As we rounded each spur I hoped that we would see the path zigzag up to the Saddle. When we eventually reached that point I felt a surge of energy. The final climb up was sheltered from the wind. Hopefully the worst was over.
That proved to be the case. The freezing level was 1600m so it must have been around 4-5 degrees on the Saddle, which is a 1255m, but as the descent was out of the wind we rapidly warmed up. The official photographer was waiting by Lake Harris just beyond the Saddle.
I was definitely grateful they were there as my hands were too cold and wet to take photos. Thank you Photos4sale.
The next checkpoint was the Routeburn Falls Hut.
All the rain meant the waterfalls above the hut were extremely photogenic.
I was worried I hadn’t been drinking enough as I hadn’t yet finished the two 500ml bottles in my running vest. However I did eventually stop for a pee, thankfully at a point where I had regained enough manual dexterity to do the needful. I had an extra 500ml that I had been carrying in my backpack that I chugged in the final few kilometres.
On the steep rocky sections I found I was descending a little slower than people around me, although one female competitor made an impression on me by barreling past at about twice my pace not far below the Harris Saddle.
However, once in the less steep sections below the hut and following the Route Burn, which made up the final 7kms, I started to make up time and overtake people. I finished having a friendly sprint for line with someone who had latched onto me as I went by.
But although he beat me to the line I think I won the competition to stop our watches.
At the finish people swapped stories and showed off ripped blisters and other gory foot injuries. I chatted to a lady at the finish who was telling her epic tale of the race. She had been drenched at the waterfall and then frozen in the wind, so much so that she was almost pulled out of the race at the Harris Saddle checkpoint. Some hikers eventually helped her change her clothes in the emergency shelter there.
I realised later that it was her who had flown by me on the descent. Interestingly she was only 5 minutes quicker from the Saddle to the finish than I was, so the faster runners must make up a lot of their time on the more technical descents and the climbs. And it is startling how much quicker they are. The winner took 2 hours 48 minutes, compared to my time of 4 hours 18 minutes, which put me 56th out 294 finishers.
I was happy with the day. I’d made the right clothing choices, and my nutrition and hydration went well. Crucially I didn’t have any cramps. I actually ended up helping out someone who was cramping by giving them a salt tablet.
Since the cramp fest at the Tarawera T50 I had taken a sweat test and found that my sweat had average salt content (c.800ml of sodium per litre) but that I am a heavy sweater, losing around a litre per hour if I am exercising hard. So I drank 0.5g of sodium pre-race in the bus and at the start, had 1g in my drinks and ate 4 Performance Hydration salt tablets (1g in total). Was that what made the difference? Perhaps. I’ll try the same in my next race and hope it works again!
If anyone wants to see some photos of the Harris Saddle when it is not covered in cloud, you can read about Lillian and my adventure on the route 10 years ago here.
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