The Kepler Challenge

The Kepler Track traverses 67 km of forests and mountains starting at beautiful Lake Te Anau in New Zealand's Fiordland, not far from Milford Sound. The Track is the venue for New Zealand's pre-eminent off-road ultra race.

It's 5:30 am and I'm standing with more than 300 other runners, all geared up with backpacks containing our mandatory thermals, wet weather gear, hat, gloves and survival blanket. We had this gear checked yesterday at race registration, and there'll be another check at Luxmore Hut above the treeline at 1075 metres. Anyone not carrying all the required gear will be prevented from continuing on.

The forecast last night was for storms, rain, snow flurries on the higher peaks, and winds of 60 km on the exposed ridges. This morning they are saying the weather system will now come in later in the day and we should be off the mountain before it hits.

At 6:00 am sharp we're off. The first 6 km takes us along the lake shore through a forest of silver birch trees with every square metre of ground covered in moss. The track is 2 metres wide and years of falling leaves have covered it, making it a dream to run on. The rising sun filters through the magnificent trees, with the lake clearly visible for much of the run. It's the kind of forest scene they photograph for wall posters.

At Brod Bay, we leave the lake and make our way to Mt Luxmore Hut. Coming out of the tree-line at around 900 metres, I am hit by a freezing wind and despite my two thermal tops, I stop to put on my wind proof jacket and gloves.

Running above the tree-line is always exhilarating, and this is no exception. All around are granite peaks with patches of snow. Alongside the track the tussock grass grows in profusion, and as I approach the hut, a number of small mountain lakes become visible.

The hut is a well developed affair housing 60 people overnight. The on-lookers think we're mad. They take 3-4 days to complete the walk, and cannot understand what would drive anyone to want to run it in a matter of hours. Of course, underneath the good natured joking, there's more than a small level of respect for the runners.

I get my gear checked, grab half a banana and a hand full of jelly beans, and stuff my gear back into my pack as a helicopter landing on the nearby helipad nearly blows everything to the four winds. Then I'm off. I'm feeling good.

For the next two hours I traverse the high area above the tree-line, with a maximum elevation of around 1400 metres. Some sections are along a sharp razorback ridge, with patchy snow alongside. Great stuff.

We are then treated to a truly magnificent hour long run from the mountain top to the valley below. I'm in my element when running down hill - pretty ordinary on the up hills, but I usually do OK on down hills. The checkpoint at the bottom of this run is in a beautiful area of birch forest. The voracious sandflies force me to stamp my feet while filling my bottle, like a horse trying to rid his legs of flies.

From the base of the mountain, I run alongside a stream which grows in width and power as it rushes towards the lake. There is spectacular scenery wherever I look. But by now, 6 hours into the event, I can think of only one thing - when will this damn thing end. For the last 3 hours I've had a tussle with a lady some years my junior. She's a nurse from Central Otago and we first made our acquaintance as I sprung her coming around a corner while she was attending to the call of nature. I promised her as I passed that I would not look. She caught up with me and we ran together for a while.

Now 6 hours into the run I pass her as she stops to eat some Power Bar. She offers me some, but I say that the next stop will only be a little ways off and so I'll wait and get my stuff out of my back pack there. This is a mistake. She takes off and I don't see her again. The Power Bar certainly did the trick for her.

From here on, it's a death march. I've allowed my calorie intake to fall too low. I eat or drink some stuff and that picks me up for 10 minutes, and then I'm back in the hole. I continue to run, but my pace has gone to the dogs.

At Rainbow Reach 11 kms from the finish, Olga is waiting on a nearby bridge. She gives me a chocolate bar, and I see a bottle of Coke on the aid station table. I ask for some, and gulp it down. What a product Coke is! It works its magic and I'm off again.

Half way through this last 11 km however, the Coke runs out and I'm as sleepy as hell, a sure sign of low blood sugar. I decide to pull off the track and lie down for a short nap. I am 6 minutes on my back when I'm awoken by a 60 year old lady and a 20 something year old young man striding purposefully towards the finish line, full of conversation. Clearly I can't allow them to beat me in, so it's up and at 'em again, refreshed from my power nap.

I come into the last aid station only 2 kms from the finish. One of the things I've learned about trail running is that you NEVER take your eye off the track, even for a second. This was reinforced when I glance up momentarily to read the "2.4 km to go" sign, and sure enough, and I kick a root. I lunge forward to prevent falling on my face, and both calves locked solid in cramp. I sit down, thinking my race is done as I just can't walk. But after a time the spasm passes, and I continue on, trying to get in under 10:30.

Ahead of me and out of sight I hear the announcer calling the times of the contestants as they come across the finish line. I cross the dam wall a few minutes later, and the announcer says that if I kick on, I may get in under the 10:30, and so I pull some extra out of the empty barrel and finish in 10:29:01.

I lie down on the ground spread eagled for 5 minutes, and Olga has a field day with her new digital camera, recording for posterity my post Kepler crash. It's then back to the motel, a shower, lie down for half an hour, and then down to the restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow I repeat part of the course again with Olga. She was unable to participate in the official "Luxmore Grunt" today because of illness, but she plans to complete the 28 km journey up to Luxmore hut and return tomorrow.

Comment : Olga did complete the Luxmore Grunt the following day. We spent the next 4 days travelling through Queenstown, Wanaka and then over to the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers on the west coast. The South Island of New Zealand has some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, and if you have never seen glaciers coming down from high snow capped mountains and melting off into fast flowing rivers, literally carving up the landscape before your eyes, it's something you need to do before you die.

John has also written the following articles that are published on CoolRunning Australia :

• [Sep 2005] Glasshouse 100 Miles - Success in 2005
• [Feb 2003] Cradle Mountain Run Completed
• [Dec 2002] The Kepler Challenge - New Zealand
• [Apr 2002] Marathon Des Sables - My Saharan Adventure
• [Mar 2002] Six Foot Track 46km and back!
• [Jun 2001] Wilson's Prom 100km (short cut)
• [Jun 2001] Great Wall Marathon
• [Feb 2001] Cradle Mountain Run
• [Oct 2000] My First attempt at 100 Miles at Glasshouse
• [Aug 2000] Mt Kinabalu, Borneo Run Up

Feel free to E-mail him at jlindsa1@bigpond.net.au.