Middle Earth Adventures

McCrain's in Middle Earth
A travel dialogue of our adventures in New Zealand

In February 2004, Jim and Kathy McCrain began a five month oddessy in New Zealand. Kathy was transferred to Auckland for a temporary work assignment, and Jim followed her for moral support. (Isn't he just the greatest husband?) What follows is Jim's account of this adventure.

Things We Saw Today! (Part Two)

The Tongairiro Mountain Classic

March 20, 2004

The Tongairiro Mountain Classic is an adventure race that encompasses running, mountain crossings, mountain biking, kayaking, and more running! Approximately two hundred people participated in this race, starting at 7:00 am and finishing six to eight hours later. Kathy and I got tired just watching! To see these athletes come running down a dirt road, after already having crossed a large mountain on foot and by bike, and then go stumbling down a river bank to get into a pretty cold river for an hour of kayaking the rapids, was incredible! I will stick to the rather mundane (and much easier) sport of backpacking!

Prior to arriving in New Zealand, I had made contact with a fellow guitar player from Auckland, that also happened to be an outdoors fanatic. He mentioned that he would be running in this race, so I said that I would like to come see it. He invited the two of us to come to Turangi, where the three of us would share a "holiday home" with his logistics manager. I had never actually met Alan in person, but if you can't trust a guitar playing, mountain climbing Scottish doctor that lives in New Zealand, then who CAN you trust?

We got to Turangi after the race had begun, so we had to inquire from the race officials about Alan's race number. They informed me that he was number 68, and that he was "somewhere on the crossing" at the time. The "crossing" is the Tongairiro mountain crossing. It is a 6 to 8 hour hike for most people. Alan was expected to run this section in just a couple of hours! So, we headed to the Kayak Transition Point to make sure we would see him after he completed the "crossing." The problem was that we had no idea what he looked like. By a very lucky coincidence, I asked a Race Official if #68 had come through yet, and they said no. I set up my camera and started taking pictures of the racers, only to have the Officials say "Hey! That's number 68 right there!" I was taking pictures of Alan and didn't even know it!

Alan didn't win the race, but he DID finish it. What an amazing accomplishment! As I have heard a lot of people down here say, "Good On Ya!, Mate!"

Now AFTER the race, things got a little weird and a LOT of fun!

So what do a bunch of Kiwi Adventure Racers do after a day-long, grueling experience? They go to a Pub! Not wanting to have our hosts think we were "light weights" or to appear in any way rude, Kathy and I humbly accepted the invitation and went with them. The beer here is quite good, by the way! (Sorry Dad and Grandma! Now you know the truth. I DO drink beer on occasion!)

After a few drinks, it was off to the holiday house they had rented to get ready for the evenings activities. This would be a visit to a Pub, followed by dinner, a visit to another Pub, and then the Race Awards Ceremony. After that, it would be back to a Pub for a relaxing evening.

Are you starting to see a pattern here? I hope so, because it explains a LOT of what happened at the Awards Ceremony.

It seems that these athletes work hard, and then play hard. They have a great sense of humour, not just about life in general, but especially about themselves. In addition to awards given for the fastest times of the race, the winners of the individual legs, and other such awards, there were awards for things like "Kid who broke the car keys in the lock so his parents missed the race." "Most visible wound." (Won(?) by a Lady that had landed on her face, cutting her upper lip into two pieces that had to be stitched together. The guy with the busted ankle lost because it "wasn't visible.")

And then the games started. For the prize of a few T-Shirts, groups of four racers lined up behind a trash barrel. (Oh yeah, I should mention that they are standing on the edge of a swimming pool.) When the "Go" is shouted, one member has to strip nude, and then get into the trash barrel. Two team mates then put the barrel into the pool, making their way to the other side. If you get your nude partner wet, then you lose! The first team to the other side that gets their "nudie" fully clothed, wins.