Since getting my feet moist (gotta love that word) in the adventurous world of multisport, I have made some fantastic new friends and have gotten to explore amazing terrain down here on the South Island. I've a lot more "Newzealanding" to do, and I get a bit antsy thinking that I'm not going to have enough time, but all great things do take some time to achieve, just like training for a race. In the meantime, I got to thinking one day while hanging out on top of some amazing peak (there's too many amazing peaks for me to keep track of down here). Anyhoo, I decided that I really should write about the amazing friends that I've made, mainly the girls (sorry fellas). There's enough well known male athletes down here in NZ (yawn) and I really want to get exposure on the badass babes that roam the hills and do some other cool shit. I'll call this Chapter 1 of my new blog; BABS (badass babes). There may be the odd bloke guest blog along the way, depending on how much exposure the blog beast gets. Please share (wink wink).
One of my female buds is a blonde bombshell called Kat Bulk. Kat is a hard bird to pin down, because when she is not sleeping, she is either working or out conquering some nasty spaniard-tussock mountains.
Today, she is out on her second slaying of Coast to Coast -The Longest Day. Last week, I managed to get her in a headlock and ask her some questions, and she even agreed to have her photo taken! Thanks for the photos Eliot. Click on Eliot's name after you read this for some great writing and photos :)
Anyone who has trained for Coast to Coast, or any other race that seems like a life mission, knows that it takes a shit load (we can say "shit" down here in NZ) of commitment, training, spending money on gear, eating mounds of food, and driving yourself to races or places in order to train with other like minded people, alas, if only money trees were real. Your friends probably think you are nuts (and you somewhat are) and they may never get what you do, will never know what is like to exert your muscles, feel your heart work hard, and be rewarded with ecstatic feelings of triumph when you are on top of a mountain, and that's ok! As long as you are healthy and happy, that's all that matters.
Sponsorship on these kinds of events helps a ton, so Kat would like to give a shout out to the following. Just click on those names to satisfy your curiosity, you will probably be educated from doing so. CLICK ON THE NAMES!
Fergs Kayaks, Barracuda Kayaks, and Gurney Goo
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| Game face :) |
Place of Birth: Dunedin
Current home: Queenstown
We all know that work is overrated, but what do you do to pay the bills?:
I actually love my job, I am a Land Surveyor, I work for awesome bosses who totally get that I need to do some serious adventuring at least 3 times a week
Your first race: Kiwi Kids Triathlon, waaaay back in the day, more recently it was the Routeburn Classic 2013
Your toughest race: There have been a few pinchy ones, 80km ultra with torn quads, Longest Day 2016 (aptly named race) and 12 hour Pisa Rogaine, it's never fun getting broken
Best hard-to-get-to location: Joe River behind the Barrier Range
NZ weather can be: calm and windless, although it's possible this is some sort of shared delusion
When adventuring, you always have: Gurney Goo (and not just 'cos I am sponsored), some sort of ridiculous SPF lip balm in your pack
Fill in the blanks: Without exercise I would be a wolverine!
Best training advise that you've been given or can give: Never forget to find the joy and the beauty in what we do, we are privileged to be fit enough and curious enough to explore the corners and the edges of our planet, our physiology and our psyche, train hard, but train smart so you can get the very best of all three!
If there was a 100 meter egg and spoon race between Steve Gurney and All Blacks skipper Kieran Read; who would win and why? Totally Gurney; he would come up with some sort of elegant and ingenious invention to secure egg to spoon, probably psyching Read out, and then sneakily taking the victory....inventions may include jet propulsion or some sort of catapult and parachute deployment device
After this years C2C race, what are you most looking forward to doing?
Race-wise - Routeburn Classic 2017
Training-wise - some solid paddling in my awesome new boat ;-) and recovering strong so I can start hitting some mega expeditions again soon, forming a healthier relationship with my mountain bike, skiing, might also be time to learn to surf
Life-wise - adventuring with G-Man, catching a massive snapper, and missioning with my awesome posse of crazy adventurer mates
Travel-wise - hitting up some international races (did someone mention matterhorn marathon?)
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| The best backyard view |
It truly ends up being more of a mental race rather than a physical one, but you better be in the shape of your life for an adventure like Coast to Coast; it's not called The Longest Day for shits and giggles (I know from experience). You eventually settle into a rhythm and forget what position you are in, you find yourself becoming more in the moment and realizing how fortunate you are to be in a position to compete in a race like this. You know that all your hard work is paying off, no matter the outcome.
I know my friend Kat will do a fantastic job today and she will be proud in doing so. The support from her crew, her family and friends cheering for her will outweigh the results. To complete a race like this is a massive achievement and as any Kiwi who's into all things outdoors knows, it's a rite of passage. It will have you chomping at the bit for more.!
I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes - "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional" - Haruki Murakami
I think this applies to most things in life if ya think about it.
