WAI2K Review

Last Saturday was the WAI2K trail event. It is one of my favourite days in the running calendar and it was one of my first opportunities to be present at a race with some of my athletes participating. Three of the Your Running Pal community were toeing the line, all in the 25km distance.

It was a different feeling for me waking up to a race day of my own. Perhaps not the same level of performance anxiety I would be experiencing on the morning of a race, but the excitement was still there. It was a great feeling to be so confident that all of my athletes had the fitness and confidence to achieve their goals, and were in control of whether they would have a great day or not.

From our pre-race conversations, I knew that each athlete had a clear view of their Objectives, Strategy and Tactics for the day. I also knew what my role on the day was. Being a reassuring presence at the start line, and at the halfway aid station, including helping with filling bottles and checking on fuelling progress. Of course, I was also there for the most important opportunity of all: finish line high-fives.

I positioned myself at the halfway aid station and was excited to see how all of the runners would be progressing at that stage. It was great to see that they were all reporting feeling strong and executing their plans effectively, especially Bridie, who had been putting a big focus on fuelling and hydrating effectively.

It was particularly great to be able to give Lucy a seamless aid station experience after she has crewed me at so many of my events. Spare bottles were pre-filled and gels ready to be handed over. It was so slick that Lucy did complain that she was looking forward to a breather at the aid station and hadn’t broken stride at all. While I was able to help with bottle filling for other runners, I definitely could have been a lot more assertive in trying to encourage others to take more supplies. I was surprised how many people were coming through without taking any fluid, and there was a lot of thirsty-looking runners at the finish line.

Lucy, Bridie and Sav all got great results and crushed their goals. It was particularly pleasing to see Sav take home the win in the 25km race. Huge shout-out to Els who also put in a massive shift volunteering at the finish line, including cheering in the final 100km finisher at 1.20am!

A happy race winner! Credit: @brentfromnz

I’m looking forward to lots more big events and exciting goals over the summer, hopefully with plenty more successful bottle handovers and big finish line grins!

Your Running Pal squad out in force. Credit: @brentfromnz