I’m not usually a fun-run kind of girl – to me, the words ‘fun’ and ‘run’ do not belong in the same sentence. If you ever see me running, you should probably start running from whatever is chasing me too. I do like a good walk though, especially for a good cause, so I decided to sign up for Round the Bays in Auckland this year!
The day started off overcast and windy. I somehow got lost on the way to the bus station, and then we couldn’t get on the first few buses because they were too full. Once we made it to near the start of the course in Britomart, we met up with some work colleagues who were also participating and headed to the start line. The first finisher crossed the finish line right as we crossed the start line (show off!) but we weren’t in a hurry.
The route followed the coastal road from Britomart to St Heliers Bay (8.4km), and was very busy. We had heard that over 50,000 people had signed up, although according to the finishing stats, only 21,000 actually crossed the line. Some people were in costume, so next year we’ll have to be more organised and coordinate some sort of group fancy dress! We also stopped to take many photos of Rangitoto across the bay (because it’s rude not to). We reunited a lost child with his mother and rescued a tiny Croc.
Luckily, the weather mostly held off for the walking part, but once we’d crossed the finish line and gotten our medals, it started to rain. And then as we realised we had to walk another 10* (*read 20) minutes to the field where the food tents were set up, it started to pour. We were damp by the time we got to claim our sad burgers, and drenched by the time we’d spent half an hour trying to eat the burgers half under a gazebo while the rain blew in sideways in big gusts.
By the time we’d decided to leave, the queue for the shuttles back to the start were astronomical and not particularly well-organised. We decided to try and walk back for a local bus, but it started raining even harder! By the time we’d walked another 2km back to Mission Bay, we would have been drier if we had tried to swim it! None of the buses would stop for us, so we ended up having to call for a rescue lift and finally got home over two hours after we left the event.
All in all, we had a super, if soggy, time! Next year, I might skip it if the weather doesn’t look so great and organise my ride home in advance instead of relying on event or public transport. Until then, I’ll go hang my medal and certificate declaring me in 19,254th place on my wall.
