A Glitch in the System

After a prolific year and a monumental summer exploring the mountains around Nelson and Taranaki...

Road tripping down the North Island...

Running to the summit plateau of Mt Ruapehu...

Battling the misty Tararuas to claim Mt Hector...

Soloing Nelson Lakes' Travers-Sabine circuit in a weekend...

Surveying the mighty peaks of Arthurs Pass...

Going Syme to Syme around Mt Taranaki...

... my adventure streak has finally ended. 

While barefoot running along the slippery Okura coastline, my toes lodged into the sand and I suffered a painful, twisted landing. As I fell, my knee twisted and wrenched delivering a double shot of hyperplantarflexion to my left foot. I lay writhing in a salty puddle, hoping I could walk it off...

Only Okura? Never under-estimate the Okura. 400m past this point, and it was all over.

Luckily, this was a fundraising walk for the AUTC Oxfam Trailwalker team, and I had the choice of 40 trampers to carry me the 3km back to the Stillwater carpark. Exhausting work just hanging on while my limp foot began to stiffen and swell; I was glad we weren't any further from the road. [Yes, a gentle reminder about safety in the outdoors...]

Despite life in crutches being hard work and often frustrating, there's still plenty of adventure to be had. Inability to run doesn't mean I'll get fat - climbing the hill from Britomart to University makes for a huge upper torso workout, by the end of the day my shoulders are burning under the stress.  

One of the many skills to be mastered on crutches

There is never a "convenient" time to be injured; it was likely to happen sooner or later. In my mind, it is better to be injured now while studying in Auckland than while ploughing through the mountains of the South Island.

The 24 hour adventure race in Northern Coromandel involves sea-kayaking, mountain-biking, running, and navigation. As well as a few mystery activities! Which will remain a mystery for now...

I'll be postponing my entry to the world of adventure racing - this weekend's "Jurrassic Arc" 24-hour adventure race in Northern Coromandel will go on without me, but with Edward Lawley stepping in its a relief that the team isn't affected. Go team Celebrate the Day!

New Balance MT110 - only available in USA. Time to make a truce with your mates in the states.

An extra kick to the guts, my much anticipated pair of New Balance MT110 trail running shoes arrived from BOULDER, COLORADO the day after the injury. New Balance is getting excruciatingly close to creating the perfect shoe - partly designed by Anton Krupicka himself. Sporting a 4mm heel drop, nicely balanced tread pattern, more durable side mesh, and weighing only 230grams, these shoes are ace. At least I'll be able to crutch around in style.