Recently Laressa and I did the Kapakapanui loop as an Evening stroll which we posted on Meetup. Some of the comments were interesting as such as “Wow! 4 hours! You’l be running! lol”

Actually, we didn’t need to run, we just didn’t do any faffing and simply chatted the whole time without pushing it that hard.

Whilst I understand that DOC times list the loop as 6 – 8 hours, the reality is that it’s a walk on the outer edges of the Tararua Ranges so the times are very generous and aimed at your casual weekend walker, not hardened trampers.

It did get me thinking how long it would take to run so I set off to give it a crack today. My goal was to get it done in under 3 hours, but I was not sure if I’d be able to nail it first attempt.

I set off early to avoid the midday heat (plus I had other commitments that day) and picked the Anti-clockwise direction to avoid running down the steep bit.

The path is in great condition, probably the best I’ve ever seen it. Massive respect to DOC or whoever has cleared the trail up to the trig, it used to be an over-grown mess. Seeing where your feet need to be placed makes a big difference.

Very little running was done before I got to the trig, and I cursed each time my shoelace came undone wasting precious time faffing around with them. I also had to take my back pack off to access my water bottle. Such a rookie move! I have a bladder so really should know better.

I think I passed someone I know on the way who called me a crazy idiot. Sorry I was too zoned to return the compliment, plus I was about 20 meters past by the time I registered as I raggy-dolled down the path 😔

Total loop time 2 hours and 38 minutes. Not a bad for a 13km morning jog and my shoes are clean thanks to the river at the end 😁