SK MAIN RANGE - SAM ‘WRAP KING’ Hansby

I was back at Putara Road End after a sleep in the Subaru. With a time in mind, I was going for another solo attempt of an SK Main Range. I continued my SK trend of no research on splits required for a specific time. However, against the trend, I was well prepared in terms of food and equipment – fully charged phone, about a gallon of water, warmth, and plenty of sustenance. Training could have been more specific but I always remember Chris Swallow saying in one of his SK presentations, “you never feel ready for an SK”. The idea to attempt another one was also buoyed by watching Andy Carruther’s “Tararua S-K” film recently. With these inspirations in mind, I gave my Subaru a pat, reminded it to stay there and headed into the Tararua. I left Putara at about 4.30am. 

First peak reached was Herepai. The views and rising sun acted like a stimulant giving me a good boost. The sunlight lit up the cloud I had just climbed through while also signalling out other peaks above the clag threshold. I soaked up as much of the scene as possible but most of my attention was tamed by the route ahead.

I was probably already three wraps in by the time I made Mt. Dundas. Initially, I was loving my wrap flavour choice – just plain pasta, peanut butter, and peri peri sauce. (I still, as I write this, think that looks like a smart long run diet. I don’t know why it didn’t work wonders for this run). I also had some caffeine gels, snicker bars, and sour worms. I’d even packed some electrolyte powder in a ziplock bag which I planned to use on every second full up of my soft flasks. Very well prepared this time.

The only glitch so far was my phone battery had dropped dramatically after taking some photos. Apparently, it was all a bit much for the phone so it decided to switch off and restart itself. This fairly benign action drained the battery to under half. Since the restart and adding to slight agitation, my gloves which were missing the forefingers and thumbs to help use the touch screen weren’t working. Despite the innovation, I was still having trouble contacting the screen with the glove-free digits. No matter how much I explained to my phone that these fingers were glove-less and should, therefore, be recognised, it didn’t seem to matter. No recognition.  

GPS wasn’t needed anyway. The route ahead was clear and my memory from previous runs were mostly intact. I switched the phone off before making Dracophyllum Biv. I felt all good and without any idea of splits from my last Main Range SK, assumed I was ahead on time. This wasn’t the case. I left Dracophyllum Biv after a mistake. Most of my remaining electrolyte found its way to the ground after I discovered how difficult it was to pour powder from a ziplock bag into a small bottle opening.

I can only imagine what eating pasta wraps hour after hour does in a hot stomach as it’s being swished from side to side – it’s probably a hell inferno in there. I continued loading wraps into my mouth but with less enthusiasm. The energy return wasn’t occurring like it was at the start. My stomach was starting to shut down… or it was full up with wraps and because of external energy needs, digestion was slower than usual. Instead of not eating another wrap, I decided to eat my sixth wrap just before reaching Aokaparangi. This would be my last wrap for the day.

Aokaparangi to Maungahuka was a slow affair. I would’ve been able to follow my path back along this section using the small regurgitated bits of wrap I was coughing up as breadcrumbs. Fortunately, there was no need to back-track. 

I came across two young bucks (Daniel Pringle and Nick White), in the middle of completing a Southern Main Range, before Maungahuka Hut. We exchanged feelings of suffering and caught up a little at the hut where I changed into a fresh pair of socks. 

I’d accepted I wouldn’t be making it to Kaitoke in under 20 hours as I made my way around the obstacle course that follows Maungahuka Peak. Even with fresh socks, my mindset was dipping along with energy levels. At the start of the day, my plan was to hold back until Mt. Hector and just let it fly from there down to Kaitoke. I hadn’t accounted for the feeling of lethargy and a creeping dread for what lay ahead – Marchant Ridge. I was feeling sorry for myself on the way over the hilly bridge to start the Southern Crossing. Usually before each hut, I perk up a little but there was no excitement as I made Kime Hut.

A part of me was eager to turn right and finish early down at Ōtaki Forks. That part of me couldn’t see what I would get from finishing – I was going to be slower than my previous time and I wasn’t having fun. I’m glad I didn’t listen to that voice in spite of those legitimate reasons, but it was the thought of complex logistics that put a nail in the idea. It was much easier for my brain to push on than to change plans and organise a pick-up from Ōtaki.

I grinded my way over Hector as the sun settled, mixed with some approaching cloud and violent winds, it created firestorm-like images around me. The awesome scene didn’t improve the situation in my stomach. It wasn’t accepting much input along the Dress Circle and continued its decline as I made my way down to Alpha Hut. Caffeine was risky but everything seemed to displease the stomach at this stage. It wasn’t angry like it had been before, just disappointed. The wrap bridge was well and truly burnt down, so knowing there could be consequences, I forced a caffeine gel into the burning inferno.

As I shuffled my way along Marchant Ridge I tried to dissociate myself from the situation. Leaning forward with my eyes one quarter open, I lumbered onward attempting to tune out everything but the route ahead. The moonlight, combined with my head lamp, created what looked like a limestone path ahead. When I occasionally leaned my way off the white pathway, an alarm sounded off in my head and I would painfully draw myself back into reality to find the track again. Once I was back on track, I was able to switch back to a semi-conscious state to carry on following the limestone path. This mental state got me to Kaitoke without having to appreciate how much time and pain that went by. 

I was greeted by three friendly faces at the carpark at about 3.40am – Jamie Peryer, Catherine McManus and Joe Murphy. SK legend, Joe, was heading off to complete his 11th and final SK for the year (22 in total).

One thing that really annoys me after finishing a race or a mission is making excuses for why it didn’t go better. There’s more chance that something will go wrong than no problems arise, and the chance of something coming up increases with duration. To expect everything to go right is ridiculous. It’s a wonder that things have gone so right for me with my lack of planning. In saying this, I need to find excuses to tell myself to keep up an illusion of improvement. 

My excuse this time is the wraps. I still had five wraps left in my pack at the end and they stayed in there for a while. Just the thought of them brought about nausea so I was afraid what might happen if I had to handle them. That feeling faded after a couple of days allowing me to discard of them appropriately. But as I put them in the rubbish bin, I caught sight of one and realised my relationship with wraps may never be the same again. Something about that combination of ingredients didn’t work for me. For my next big run I’m going to lean towards using just simple sugars to make it a little easier for the stomach.

Thanks to Catherine and Jamie for greeting me at Kaitoke after waiting there for four hours. And Joe Murphy for also greeting me and key swapping. Joe’s achievement in 2023 is incredible, I’m inspired by people like him doing big things in the Tararua Range. Also congratulations to Jonathan Armstrong and Brendon Varty for completing their main range in under 24 and earning premium status. Thanks to volunteers completing work on the huts and tracks in there. Your mahi is truly appreciated.   

By Sam Hansby - 2023