Richard McChesney won the 2010 Hutt River Trails 61km (38 mile) ultramarathon in New Zealand. The race starts from Featherston, crosses the Rimutaka ranges and follows the Hutt River down to Seaview, near Wellington. It was a tough race in tough conditions. Richard describes how he prevailed.
It was six o’clock in the morning and, in New Zealand, supposed to be summer. Yet we were sheltering from persistent rain and a biting southerly wind – one that had blown in from the Antarctic – as we awaited the start. Remind me: why do I do this?
The good news (for me) was that Graeme Butcher, the 2009 winner, wasn’t running (out injured) and the field was open. Last year, in blistering heat and with a tail wind the whole way, I’d struggled home in 6th place after dropping three places over the second half of the race. I wanted to improve!
I thought I was in with a chance as the only person in this year’s field who’d beaten me before was Simon Clendon. I would watch him carefully but stick to my game plan of taking the first half steady and seeing how I felt once we crossed the mountains and descended onto the flat trails beside the river.
With that in mind, and the fact that in the first 8km (5 miles) we would be climbing from sea level to around 500 meters (1,600 feet), I started off at a very easy pace. Somewhat worryingly, everyone else started at an even easier pace and after 15 minutes I found myself alone and the lead…
The race climbs and then descends the Rimutaka Mountain ranges following old railway routes that were abandoned when a tunnel was put through the mountain 60 odd years ago. Up there I remembered why I do this type of thing. The Hutt River ultra marathon must be one of the most beautiful running races in the world and there was definitely something surreal in being out there, alone, surrounded by nature, and being chiselled by rain.
Richard celebrates his first ultramarathon victory
The rain however had turned streams into rivers and my shoes soon filled with water. I became concerned for my feet but there was little I could do except think ahead to the post-race party and all the blisters I’d have to show off.
I passed the first 5km in what would normally be considered a very slow 29 minutes. This was to be my slowest 5km split of the entire race. Even so, because we had already climbed 250 meters by 5km, the field was well strung out.
Bizarrely, the route passes through a number of disused railway tunnels that are completely dark. You can carry a torch or, as I did last year, stumble through feeling your way with your hands outstretched against the tunnel walls. I opted for the torch this year and chalked up another surreal experience, but at least a dry one.
Approaching one third of the distance I saw people ahead of me, the runners for the associated marathon waiting patiently in the rain for their race to start. A few cheered as I past, but most were too busy with their own last minute race preparations.
About 30 minutes later the first of the marathon runners caught me. They’d started a few minutes after I’d past them and, in the meantime, had seen no other ultra runners. This gave me a much needed boost. I started to entertain thoughts that I might actually win my first ultramarathon.
Feeling strong, I ran with the lead marathon runner for a few minutes but then decided the pace was too quick and let him go ahead. I didn’t want to go hard at that stage and suffer because of it later.
Another hour passed and I was still running strongly. I’d crossed the mountains now and had reached Hutt River trail. I passed a second group of runners waiting for the start of the half marathon and knew I had just 13 miles to go.
Shortly after that I hit marathon distance in a time of 3.33, a couple of minutes ahead of schedule, but I was still concerned that Clendon or one of the other runners would dash my hopes of a win over the final miles, especially as I had now run out of my pre-mixed carbohydrate supplement.
I’d naturally prepared for this by carrying carbohydrate powder and I stopped at the next aid station for a few minutes to mix it with water. Unfortunately, the wind scattered most of the powder and I was left with half the amount of drink than I’d planned for. I was down to gels for the final 15km.
By this stage I started looking over my shoulder every couple of minutes until the moment I’d been dreading arrived. Another runner appeared and gained ground on me quickly. As he flew by I saw he was a half marathon runner and my spirits soared again despite the strengthening wind and nearly horizontal rain. I knew there was a reason I’d swapped the UK winter for a New Zealand summer.
Down to the final mile and my thoughts drifted back 15 years to when I’d last won a race. I could hardly believe it was about to happen again. But then another runner came into view. I dug in deep but couldn’t hold him off.
“Which race?” I gasped.
“The half,” he grunted, and bound ahead.
Two words, but such fantastic words. I cruised home in 5 hours and 20 minutes with a smile on my face, savouring victory in a truly memorable race.
Ultra feet: My blister's bigger than your blister
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