A group of Central runners smashed out lap after lap in the first Alexandra Airport carousel backyard ultra running event recently.

For Central’s Teresa Noble the goal of 100km had special meaning, she wanted to prove to herself and others that her hidden illness of Crohn’s disease, diagnosed nine years ago, wouldn’t stop her.

She’s tried to complete 100km previously but had to withdraw at 75km in an Arrowtown event.

Together with running buddy Joel Neilson she completed 16 laps (107km) at 1am on April 20, after starting the event at 9am the day before. 

Teresa said she was chuffed to bits to complete her goal and the “icing on the cake was doing another lap after”.

Joel and Teresa with her t-shirt raising awareness about Crohn's disease. PHOTO: Alexandra Airport Backyard Ultra Facebook

It took months of preparation for the pair and they ran 100km each week as the event got closer.

“We focused on running laps at the airport both day and night time, so we were comfortable. We also practiced what we were going to eat on training runs, and then had everything bagged up for each lap.”

Having a home advantage, and a huge support crew of friends and family definitely helped the pair.

“The Airport is fantastic for both running and biking. The course was awesome, and we would break it up in our heads.

“It was so cool that there were planes buzzing around all day, and the beautiful colours of the autumn leaves were stunning. The course kept you interested in every lap.”

The day got hotter and by the evening the weather turned, along with having to run with headlamps from lap 10, heavy rain began to fall. 

Crohn's is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects one in 500-700 of the population, symptoms can vary greatly and for sufferers there are times when symptoms flare up (relapse) and times when there are few or no symptoms (remission).

Teresa said despite suffering from a challenging health condition it is important to keep moving for both your mental and physical well being.

“It will be tough, but never be afraid to set a goal and accept that there will be failures on the way. This is all part of the journey, and will make you stronger....I promise. Do not let your condition define you.”

A backyard ultra is a form of ultramarathon race where competitors must consecutively run a 6.71km course in less than one hour, every hour. 

After finishing each lap, the remaining time within the hour is used to recover and refuel for the next hour's race. The race finishes when one person completes one more lap than anyone else.

The winner was Cromwell’s Kieran Phillip who completed 26 laps, second was Queenstown’s Jub Bryan (25 laps) and third was Ettrick’s Jonty McKinney (24 laps). Last woman standing was Alexandra’s Claudia Cooke who ran 18 laps of the course.   

Two local teenage competitors who completed personal bests were Cromwell’s Nevaeh Reddy (six laps) and Alexandra’s Meia Wetherston (four laps).

Local runners (from left) during the event Joel, Teresa and Claudia. PHOTO: Alexandra Airport Backyard Ultra Facebook

The Alexandra Airport Backyard Ultra was the brainchild of local trail runners Hannah Presswood and Tom Heath and there were 50 entrants from across the South Island.

A portion of the entry fees was donated to Bowel Cancer New Zealand and I am Hope to support these charities with their work with youth mental health and bowel cancer patient support and advocacy.

For more about trail running in Central, find the Alexandra Trail Running Group on Facebook, they meet each Tuesday and Thursday 5.30pm at Shaky Bridge.

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