Well done Oxfam Trailwalkers – you did it!!
Blisters, bruises, laughter, tears and multi-coloured spandex full-body suits – we've seen it all at this year's Oxfam Trailwalker, and what a fantastic event it has been. The blog below is just a snippet of what went on at the event. We've tried to capture the highs as well as the lows, the joy as well as the pain, but only those people who have joined us in Taupo will really understand what it's like to have walked 100 km in less than 36 hours. It really is a phenomenal achievement. Watch out for heaps more photos on Facebook and Flickr in the next couple of days as we sort through GB of material, but for now farewell from Taupo.
Sunday, 2.10pm: For love and honour
So once again we had a marriage proposal on the Oxfam Trailwalker finish line! The members of Team O.T.O were each wearing t-shirts with “Will you marry me” written on them, and Pole Lui bent down on his knee wearing a black -t-shirt with a question mark on it. And…she said yes! Congratulations to Pole and lucky lady Ene Hayes.
Sunday 2pm: And then there were twelve
Now 235 teams have finished and there are only 12 still out on the course. There are still plenty of people gathered at the finish line to welcome each of the finishers, even though they are finishing quite far apart.
Sunday 11.40am: Delectable ladies
I think we might just have seen the winners of the best fancy dress finish award – Ladies and the Tramp crossed the line in amazing full Victorian garb with a support crew of matching servants.
Sunday, 11.30am: Team Achilles finish
Team Achilles, featuring former All Black Frank Bunce and former league star and amputee Tawera Nikau have just finished with a time of 28:25:12 after enjoying a well-earned beer as they walked down the finishing straight. Achilles International ia an organisation that aims to give people with disabilities an opportunity to participate in mainstream events where able bodied and disabled athletes participate together.
Sunday, 11.20am: Finishing straight
We've just heard that the final team have checked into Checkpoint 6. Now 196 teams have finished, 34 are between Checkpoint 7 and the finish and 21 teams are between Checkpoint 6 and Checkpoint 7. Go teams!!!
Sunday, 11.00am: I hug, you hug, we hug
At the finishing line it's an emotional time. We've seen sobbing, man-hugs, euphoric reunions, sheer relief and more cartwheels than you can shake a stick at (seriously, where's the energy come from?!). Others seem to stroll on through like they're taking a walk in the park (which they are, it's just they've been walking 27 hours beforehand).
Some teams look like they've been through the wars and can no longer fight another day - but one thing the teams and their supporters all seem to have in common is pride; pride in their achievement, pride in the spectacular effort they've put into training and fundraising, pride in the support they've been show and pride in their physical effort - overcoming exhaustion, tiredness, aches and pains to raise money for people in the developing world. And rightly so.
Sunday, 10.40: Land girls arrive
The land girls cross the finish line – it's amazing how much energy some people have after walking 100km!
Sunday, 10.45am: Finish line costume gallery
Here's a selection of some of the best costumes in the last few hours.
 Wacky Waving Inflatable Flailing Arm Tube Guys |
 Extreme 100 km Walkers |
 The Cupcakes |
 Once Were Couch Potatoes |
 Super Grans |
 Long Dark Night of the Sole |
 Raise Your Glass! |
 G.L.A.M |
Sunday, 10.30am: Are we there yet?
No honey, we're not there yet. Unless you happen to be a particularly balanced and aware person who is living completely in the present...in which case, yes, we're always there...which is actually right here.
For this team, right here is about 400 metres from Checkpoint 7. On a normal morning, this would probably feel like quite a gentle hill, but after 27 hours, it's a bit of a mission.
Sunday, 10.10am: Ticking them off
One by one. That's really the only way you can do it. There are a bunch of teams making their way along a very peaceful, quiet, misty and majestic Waikato River this morning, on their way to Spa Park and Checkpoint 7. There are black swans and geese, gliding and quacking, and lots of thermal steam all around.
The walkers have come to appreciate these kilometre markers, particularly after they've walked past another one. Here's what they see before heading up the hill to the final checkpoint – kilometre 93.
Sunday, 9.30am: Here come the crazies
We're well and truly into the morning of day 2, and a steady flow of teams are crossing the finish line. Half of the people have completed this challenge and half are still out on the course. The music is pumpin', the walkers are jumpin' (well, ok some are limpin'), and the costumes are bumpin'! Check these guys out from a few hours ago...just your friendly neighbourhood pack of animals out for a Sunday stroll...
Sunday, 5.40am: Checkpoint update
Here's another update on the teams' progress:
Between CP5 and CP6: 66 teams
Between CP6 and CP7: 90 teams
Between CP7 and the finish: 37 teams
Finished: 62 teams
Sunday, 5.20am: Getting busy at the finish
There's a great atmosphere at the finish with lots of teams arriving close together and many of the teams sticking around to welcome other teams. Team 9999 Steps to Go arrived resplendent in jester hats and spotty ties.
Te Rio Tio arrived sporting fluffy bunny ears. It was difficult to place the finishers medals over those ears!
Sunday, 4.20am: Checkpoint update
Here's another update on the teams' progress:
Between CP4 and CP5: 3 teams
Between CP5 and CP6: 119 teams
Between CP6 and CP7: 63 teams
Between CP7 and the finish: 29 teams
Finished: 43 teams
Sunday, 4am: Fancy finishers
Despite the fact it's the middle of the night teams are starting to arrive at the finish in fancy dress. The Ukulele Ladies arrived in fetching matching lei. Legs of Lumley arrived in glittery skirts (including their male member) to be met by a similarly attired support crew.
And Give a Damn for Oxfam strode in like proud princesses with tiaras.
Sunday, 3.45am: It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it
Even in the middle of the night the bins in the recycling stations have to be emptied regularly. Spare a thought for those hardy souls who empty the recycling, compost and landfill bins such as Oxfam's Sarah seen here.
Sunday, 3.15am: Tweets from the trail
We've been loving the tweets from the trail by walkers using the #otwnz "hashtag". Here are some of our favourites since darkness descended:
- @CathyKoo The lines of head torches in the dark is quite amusing. The aliens have landed!
- @HeyChristeena 72kms crept up fast. Team having a perky moment completing A to Z fruits and veggies, and capital cities!:-)
- @oxfambeezneez kia ora Mel at Dominos for the awesome chips, to keep the team happy.
- @walktalkfund "we've got less than a marathon to go" says Perrine. When has that ever been a good thing? Pain killers making life peachy. 60km
- @BoomTownKieran Glow sticks are a SWEET addition to the #OTWNZ kit - loving all the walkers and support crew decked out like it's a rave out here!
- @HemoataBrown 54km....our bodies feel old and our legs would much prefer to be in an elevated position!
- @tsootw Its dark....oh well just keep on walking and watch red-hued sulphur clouds raise up toward the sky 61km
- @mikeNZ 58km i have no idea where in taupo we are. Great family just before epping place outside cheering on #otwnz
P.S. We've also been following them using this list of participants that catches people who forget to include #otwnz.
Sunday, 2.50am: Tired as a dog
The walkers would like to sleep but can't, the support crews would like to sleep, but can't. The event crew on graveyard shift would like to sleep, but can't. But Euan the event mascot gets to curl up on a hottie. We forgive him 'cos he's so cute.
Sunday, 2:15am: It's a small world after all
How is it that in a world of nearly 7 billion people, you can still randomly bump into friends from your past in the strangest of places? I met Kim Cleland two years ago in Bougainville while filming the Sisters on the Planet video about Ursula Rakova. Kim was actually working for VSA with Ursula's organisation Tulele Peisa, helping people from the Carteret Islands to relocate back to the mainland. The Carterets are extremely low-lying atolls and the 2500 people who live there are struggling with salt water pollution of their food crops and drinking water, eroding shorelines and king tides that literally wash over the entire islands. Kim and I had a harrowing journey out to the atolls in a 4-metre banana boat with no life jackets, no spare motor and no seats, flying off of big swells and dodging thunderstorms. So here I am enjoying the atmosphere at Checkpoint 5, middle of the night in a warehouse that should be closed, and up walks Kim. She's part of Oxfam Trailwalker team Vilead Ufollow. Considering the girls have already covered 65km and raised nearly $2500 to help overcome the injustice of poverty, they're looking amazing. Have a great leg...see you at the finish line in the morning! (that's Kim second from the left...10 points for visibility!)
Sunday, 2.10am: Finish line update
A few more teams have finished now. The second all-female team to finish but with the fastest time due to their later start, the Scrambling Scarfies, ran in looking remarkably fresh-faced to hugs from friends and a parent or two. The third of our Australian teams who have also done the Aussie Trailwalkers and fancied doing ours too, No Sleep Til Bedtime, have arrived, as have the first of the 4 Procare teams, Procare Supports Vanuatu arrived to cheers from a dozen yellow-hatted supporters. As there are 4 Procare teams these guys and gals will back at the finish three more times before the night is over. At the official finishing photo area, the support crews are invited into the photo to join the team once their photo has been taken. With a dozen extra people, this was certainly a very full photo area!Not long after another of our teams with an international member, Speedy Gonzales: Cruisin' in Taupo, who have a member from Singapore crossed the line.
Wow! 21 teams have finished, so here's another update on the teams' progress:
Between CP4 and CP5: 6 teams
Between CP5 and CP6: 169 teams
Between CP6 and CP7: 49 teams
Between CP7 and the finish: 12 teams
Finished: 21 teams
Sunday, 1:55am: The witching hour
This is the time of night when people start hallucinating. But the moon tonight is definitely no trick of the eye – it's all real. Unless you are also seeing a little boy sitting up there with a fishing rod...
Sunday, 1:45am: Hugs, heat lamps and hot food
Checkpoint 5 at the Taupo Gliding Club is where it's at! There are hundreds of people here, some full of energy and some definitely looking worse for the wear, but all happy and proud to have made it this far. Lots of hugs all around. And they've got a jet heater inside the club that feels like standing behind an F15 engine at takeoff...nice touch.
Middle of the night and the barbie is showing no signs of slowing down!
Sunday, 1am: What's it like out there?
When was the last time you spent all night outside? Without a tent? It's quite a feeling being out in the elements from the time the sun goes down until the time that it peeks its head up on the other side of the horizon. On a fine night like tonight, it's quite peaceful. One thing special about Oxfam Trailwalker is the feeling of camaraderie throughout the wee hours, kilometres from anything. Everyone's looking out for each other. Checking to make sure the strangers they pass are OK. Offering a hand, or a bit of encouragement. Some people carry portable speakers and you can hear them from the distance. And everyone has a head torch, so wherever you are, you are part of a long river of lights, snaking its way over the hills, around the bends, across the rivers, and eventually all the way back to the Taupo Domain and the triumphant feeling of having finished The World's Greatest Team Challenge.
And how do people make it for 12 hours in the dark without getting lost? Simple. The course is fully marked with glow sticks, arrows and reflective tape. This one here is kilometre 65. If you think walking 100km is a mission, you should try marking it, and then going around again to put glow sticks out for the night section, and then going around again to clean it all up! Big thanks to all of the volunteers and the Oxfam Events Team...you guys are legends.
These videos give some idea of what it is like to walk in the dark:
As expected, the City Girls are cranking through the course with characteristic good spirits...
And the Auckland Tramping Club are going strong. Keen to get some well-deserved food...
Sunday, 12.40am: In the buff
Just when we thought we'd seen it all, Team Buff Injinji thought the most appropriate way to finish up their 100km would be...in the buff! If you remember a few hours back, these were the guys who pulled off a cartwheel on the way into Checkpoint 4 and they wear special socks that look like gloves for your feet. At least they kept their socks on...
Finishing just before were Team Fitness For Fun – their sponsor, Max International College of Fitness will donate one place in a specialised fitness business diploma worth $9,000 if the team reach $4,000 in fundraising. The team's total is currently $2,210 so help them out by donating to their cause!
