I ran the trail from west to east as the winds usually favour this direction. I also live in Picton so beer and food were easy after! It was a bit chilly in the morning (9:45am) but it did not take long to warm up. Winds were very low and the trail was relatively empty apart from the dog & horse poo during the first 15km and some familiar faces I bumped throughout the day. There was some construction in Wellington but luckily, I was able to sneak thru it. I had 2 x 500ml water sacks which was the perfect amount. The cooler temps certainly helped. For fuel, I used 5 maurten gels, a few caffeine pills and some candy. The energy was high until the last 6ish km, which also happened to be the busiest part of the trail. I'm sure it didn't look like it, but I was doing my best impression of not being in the pain cave. I had thoughts of going sub 4hrs along the way. However, I was happy to enjoy myself and get some good photos/videos along the way. Hell of a day!
I also opted to limp the extra 3.35 km back to my truck at Prince Eddy's Brewing to round out a clean 50km for my first ultra. It was slow and painful but felt good to check off the list.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCfRUiBSQCySEG2Ve9C1fQgzCJvXJc4EFcykW40/?hl…