Putting Something Back

Record fields are on order for this weekend’s Great Cranleigh Kauri Run, but even that takes second billing to one of New Zealand’s most innovative event concepts.

When entrants line up on Saturday for the Coromandel’s Great Cranleigh Kauri Run, they’ll be meeting more than just personal goals. Their very presence on the 32km trail from Waikawau Beach over to Coromandel township will leave a positive impact on the regions famous forests. For every competitor who lines up, this event quite literally plants a new Kauri tree.

In six years this unique event has planted more than 1000 Kauri seedlings. This weekend the Kauri population will increase by close to another 400 entrants and trees.  This innovative event is the brainchild of local event organisers Andy Reid and Keith Stephenson, the energetic duo behind Adventure Racing Coromandel, an organisation that organises a number of popular Coromandel-based events such as the Mighty Moehau multisport race, RoadCraft K2 road cycle and ARC Adventure Race.

Their success revolves around a simple ethos of providing a great race in a great place. But in the Great Cranleigh Kauri Run they also have a great cause. It’s this aspect that attracted major sponsor, Cranleigh merchant banking. Cranleigh do a lot of work in the clean renewable energy sector and thought the Kauri Run would be a perfect fit with their company outlook.

The event is certainly a good fit with endurance junkies, because in just six years it has become one of the North Island’s favourite trail running events and also doubles as the second round of the North Island Triple Crown series that started last week with the Toi’s Challenge in Whakatane and will end with the Goat Alpine Adventure Run on Mt Ruapehu in December.

 Starting on the rugged Pacific Coast the savagely scenic Kauri Run traverses the Coromandel ranges to finish on the Hauraki Gulf. Along the way competitors experience 32km of native bush, stream crossing and over 800 vertical metres of climbing. And much of the course is on private land, which means competitors get to see parts of the Coromandel not usually open to the public.

This year’s field might also see record racing, with mountain running phenomenon Sjors Corporaal lining up for the first time. The Galatea farmer emerged from the back country in 2008 with a surprise win in the Goat Run. This year he has lined up the Triple Crown Series and has already won the Toi’s Challenge. But Corporaal has never raced beyond 21k before, so the 32k Great Cranleigh Kauri Run will be a trot into the unknown for him.

Course records for this scenic but savage challenge belong to Tauranga’s Ben Ruthe (2:27.50, 2008) and Australian Hanny Allston (2:42.11, 2008). Corporaal faces tough competition in former New Zealand mountain running rep, Chris Morrissey (Papamoa) and the ever-green Colin Earwaker, who at 54 is also looking for a top three in the Triple Crown.

The woman’s race is expected to come down to Annika Smail and Michelle Hyland. Smail, a New Zealand mountain bike rep who has taken to some running this summer for a change of pace, won the Toi’s Challenge recently and a win in the Great Cranleigh Kauri Run will set her up for the Triple Crown.

Other features of this year Great Cranleigh Kauri Run include a 13k Cranleigh Team Challenge. Entrants from the same organisation have their average time totalled to give a team time, the fastest of which will be the winner.

ends

© Scoop Media