Round the Bays – Auckland (2 of 3)

So my bib number was 9, that’s perfect for me, as it’s also my mum’s birthday!

Everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong in Wellington RtB, so Auckland RtB was bound to be better, right… Well, mostly right. I fixed the flat tyre, a few days earlier and thought I’d got everything sorted. So I thought. The new tyre was a mm to high for my racechair, so the tyre rubbed and wouldn’t turn when fully inflated. Suddenly, the evening before the race, I’m struggling for nearly 3hours to ‘adjust’ the fender. These are the fun aspects of knowing your chair. Sure, it’s my own fault, I should’ve checked over the chair few days before.

Tyres partly inflated, bats on the chair, custom ready for the morning. I packed up the chair into my van and got everything ready for the morning commute.

I arrived at the finish line, to get set for the warm up to the start line. I arranged with a couple of Achilles guides to jog/warm up with them to the start. Lovely chatting and enjoying the morning with Phill and John. At the start line, got interviewed and ready for the run to the finish. With only two of us in racechairs, I knew at least I’ll be second! 🙂 about 2km in, on of the baseball bats on the back of my chair fell, and was dragging on the ground. So, I needed to stop, fix and then continue. Not really stressful at all, because it’s a fun run 😀

The Southern Cross Round the Bays is such a fun event, it’s about being part of something bigger than themselves. It’s awesome to see 30,000 plus people smiling and laughing about to run 8.4km!

After many selfie photos with children and adults a like at the finish line, I graciously accepted the Chemist Warehouse goodie bag, and went home to shower, then rest 😀 Thanks a bunch to all the sponsors, volunteers, organizers, runners, walkers, joggers, wheelies, and basically everyone involved for making it a memorable event. Bring on Christchurch.