In March, a team of us were lucky enough to head down south to participate in and support the 2009 Icebreaker Motatapu mountain bike/marathon race. At times, it was a pretty daunting experience (to say the least), but the awesome location with it’s mind blowing scenery ensured it was one race we wouldn’t forget in a long time.
“A call went out to our office to sign up for the iconic South Island event at Motatapu. I now had an incentive to attempt my first marathon after a lifetime’s love of beer and pizza.
The big day arrived and on a chilly March morning I was standing in line with about 500 other intrepid runners. The gun sounded and elite athletes bounded away from the start line followed by us less elite souls. Pretty soon the field had opened up along a narrow ribbon of track winding across the glorious landscape and the cold morning had given way to a bright, sunny day.
The remainder of the run was full of awesome scenery, a challenging track and an occasional wake up call from a very cold Motatapu river. During the final 2km supporters began to appear along the route. Their shouted encouragement lifted my flagging pace and it was great to see our own Icebreaker crew cheering and waving banners at the final approach.
I had actually completed a marathon and it felt fantastic. It was fun swapping stories with the team and everyone was still buzzing when we went on to celebrate that evening with beer and pizza. Back to square one? Maybe!”.
- Bill Powell, Mac operator
“For 25kms I ran and enjoyed the incredible scenery. For another 10kms I walked, then hobbled while trying to keep my spirits up and my legs moving. Then…..35k into it, I sat down and cried. Everything was hurting and I had nothing left to give. What a crap time I was having!
Then I remembered something my mum said to me when we were in Cambodia over Christmas: “Aren’t you lucky, Sarany, not to be stuck on the streets of Cambodia, begging”. Wandering through the most beautiful landscape, running in the name of the coolest company to help unfortunate children buy food and clothes is not a crap situation to be in.
So I grabbed hold of my second wind and ran with it. That wind delivered me to the finish line in a time of 5 hours 51 minutes, where I collapsed in a heap and cried my little heart out.”
- Sarany Pan, Financial Systems Analyst
“Crossing the finish line at Motatapu was quite possibly the most amazing feeling I’ve ever had. Even though it was at least 3 hours after most of the Icebreaker team finished, it didn’t matter. For me, Motatapu was a massive achievement, having never done anything like it before. After joining Icebreaker 12 months earlier and wanting to get into the team spirit of things, I decided Motatapu was a case of ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ and I’m so glad I did.”
- Sarah O’Leary, Design Project Manager
