'It's easy until it's not'- Arrowtown Backyard Ultra was about testing runners' limits
Some races end at a finish line - instead, the Arrowtown Backyard Ultra is all about how many times runners can cross the start line.
On Saturday, 150 competitors lined up to see how many laps of the 6.7 kilometre loop alongside the Arrow River they could complete, on the hour, every hour, until they could go no further.
Race organiser Brandon Purdue said the sold-out event was designed to test the grit and resolve of even the most determined runners.
"One of the catchphrases is 'it's easy until it's not' - so runners might do the first 3-6 laps, thinking 'this is super easy, I can go all day,' and then you get to like 12, 18 laps and slowly but surely it wears you down and it just gets harder and harder," he said.
Wānaka runner Dan Hammett made it right through the first night and found his breaking point at 27 laps.
He said his knees were seized up, and he "couldn't think straight anymore".
"A tough day, a tough night, but a great bunch of people. I'm just knackered," he said.
Nick Doig from Christchurch said the key was in the precious minutes of recovery in his tent between laps.
"Legs up, fuelling, salt pills, whatever I need," he said.
Last year's event was won by Paul Maxwell from Waitati, who clocked up 302 kilometres over 45 laps.
Christchurch runner Hadani Woodruff - last year's women's winner - was aiming to beat her previous record of 37 laps partly to "beat the boys".
She said her feet "felt like a big hammer had been mashing into them," and she was trying to eat around 250 calories each hour to keep going.
On the upside, by the second day, the course took on a meditative quality, she said.
"It's a bit like mindfulness, actually. You just go into quite a calm, relaxed state when you're running. You follow the path, you chat to people. It's a cool experience - until it hurts."
That was an experience shared by Cromwell's Kieran Philip.
"You kind of learn where your walk spots are, where your running spots are. You get all these little characteristics you get familiar with. I haven't named everything yet, but that will come later," he said.
He said he was driven by a need to see how far he could push himself.
"You don't know until you try," he said.
Behind each stubborn runner was a patient support crew - including, in Kieran's case, his parents.
Lynne Philip said she was enjoying being part of the race, and fielding requests for different supplies and food.
"Kieran tells us basically what he thinks he will want next time when he comes in. So we make sure it's here, instantly ready for him so all he has to do is sit down and grab it, eat it, drink it, whatever."
Backyard Ultras began in Tennessee in 2011 and have since amassed a global following.
Over the next year, at least 16 races following the same format were scheduled across New Zealand.
Brandon Purdue said the community and atmosphere were what made them special.
"If you think about a marathon - it's amazing that feeling you get when you cross the finish line. Now our runners get to do that on the hour, every single hour," he said.
