Mud Run and Rotorua N-Duro Fun!

Our school team ready to rock!

So my weekend started when our PE class from Michael Park School got Friday off school to compete the secondary school's Tough Guy and Gal Challenge out at Woodhill Sands. This 'mud run' event has been running for a few years, but it was the first schools event and it was massive, with over a thousand students, parents and teachers...

I had no idea what to expect, but of corse lots of mud! It was a real buzz on the start line with the rugby teams doing their chants getting amped up. Then we were off, two of my mates and I set into a good pace. Only a couple hundred metres and we were straight into the mud. I jumped into the brown hardly moving stream. Already I was half socked and covered in mud. 

The course brought more and more fun and exciting new, swamps, mud rivers, hills and obstacles. Our teacher had entered us in the 12km event which was two laps of the course, so I headed back out for my second lap. The track was way slipperier the second time, I wiped out too many times to remember :) It was the most fun ever! 

I ended up finishing in 21st place category which was pretty cool. Everyone else from my school also put in a solid effort, with our teacher being the forth fastest teacher on the day. It was such a cool event, I can't wait for next year!

Early morning in Matamata
on the way to Rotorua.

I had a rest on Saturday and then early Sunday morning we were off again to Rotorua. My sister and I got up at 5am to head down to the first round of the 2013 N-Duro. It was my first time doing one of these events. They are a single lap cross country race with the option of doing a 15, 30 or 45km course. Sophiemarie and I choose to race each other on the mid 30km course.
Starting next to the Green lake, there was a bit too much gravel road for my liking but the single track was amazing, as you would expect from the Red Woods. The track followed many of Rotorua's best trails. I raced most of the track with two fast Rotorua boys (ahead of my sister) at what I though was a good pace until we hit the hill. About two thirds into the course we hit a huge climb that went on for what felt like forever. My legs felt like led as I watched the two boys I was trying to keep up with drop away up the hill. I slowly recovered down the next technical downhill. I kept pushing and was extremely happy to come around the last corner and see the finish line. 

A little tired after my race
 and previous run!

And yes I crossed the line in front of Sophiemarie and I placed second in the junior category. Sophiemarie won the females race and got a block of chocolate for the trip home, yay for her and me! It has to be a good race if the winners get chocolate... I will have to ride harder at round two.