Race Report: Race The Train - Kingston, New Zealand

There aren't a lot of people living in New Zealand.  Most of the towns are pretty small.  So although the population is, broadly speaking, pretty athletically-oriented, there are a limited number of running events available.  Before leaving the US, we checked the NZ race calendar to determine whether our travels would coincide with any races.  

Many races here seem to be held in the evening during the week, often organized by a running club and held at a bar or pub.  Obviously, New Zealand knows a thing or two about runners!  For example, we really wanted to run one of the Honest Lawyer 5K runs on a Monday night.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite fit into our schedule - but we were REALLY lucky to find something a bit bigger that did.

So, on Sunday morning (Jan. 8) we set out for the Race the Train 5K/12K  in Kingston, New Zealand.  "The Train" is the Kingston Flyer, a vintage steam train.  The Flyer is a passenger train that, in its day, ran between Kingston and Invercargill:

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That trip is ~150 kilometers.  Nowadays, the engine and a few passenger cars run between two small stations (Kingston and Fairlight, 12 km apart) as a "heritage service" several times a day.


"Race the Train" is the brain child of Adrian Bailey, founder of ActiveQT, a company that produces running, walking, mountain biking, and multi-sport events in New Zealand.  In the case of this event, the name is pretty self-explanatory: Runners and the train start together and race from one station to the other.  We were lucky enough to be part of the inaugural event!


The race was a point-to-point event, from Fairlight to Kingston. Runners were invited to park at the finish line and, for an extra $5 (race entry was $30 NZD), take the train to the start.  This was a bargain, considering the normal one-way ticket price is $17.50 (and what tourist is actually going to ride just one way??).  


The catch was that only the first 300 people to arrive on race morning could take the train. Everyone else would be transported by bus.  We arrived 50 minutes before the train's scheduled departure and were met with a mostly-empty parking lot:

The Kiwis are a pretty relaxed crew.  Most showed up ~15 minutes before the race.

Our reward was getting to watch the engine manuever into place in front of the passenger cars.  We haven't quite figured out how to get video uploaded yet on a sketchy, slower internet connection, so we'll save that for another time.  [Dad, you will LOVE it.]  But here's a photo:

The Kingston Flyer!!!

We got our bibs (no packets or swag, just a bib and a train ticket!) and found the restrooms in the Kingston Station.  They weren't hard to find. The Station was small:

Then, we hung around and enjoyed the view and pre-race prep until it was time to board the train.  We did a walk-through and saw the first and second class cars, the private cabins, the dining car, and the luggage car.  What a cool piece of history!  

First Class Car

Second Class Car

There were basically enough seats on the train to take the runners and their supporters (who were invited to ride BACK on the train and cheer, while everyone else ran), no buses necessary.  And with that, we were on our way!

The ride from Kingston to Fairlight takes ~30 minutes on the train.  We enjoyed the scenery (mostly farmland and livestock, with plenty of mountains in the distance), scoped out the terrain (we couldn't figure out WHERE we'd be running but the area near the train looked pretty flat), and laughed with some Kiwis who were poking fun at the US's interpretation of "the right to bear arms".  [Small world story: We'd actually seen these same guys manning a table of local photography at the art/craft show in Queenstown the previous day.]  Also, as cool as the train was, we both fully support the move away from coal powered steam engines.  Man, that engine created some powerfully smelly smoke!

We arrived at the Fairlight station in time to use the restrooms again - and I think it was the first time in my life I've ever seen the line at the Ladies Room move more quickly than the line at the Mens.  Small victories, small victories.  I insisted that Kee-Min snap a Salomon promotional shot:

Fleet Feet Sports & Salomon at Race the Train 12K

Then, we got lined up at the start.  There were a total of 134 runners participating, and I had no idea what the pace was going to be like.  I was now fighting the cold Kee-Min had earlier in the week, was feeling a bit weighed down by yesterday's pies, and the sun was already starting to heat the day.  I didn't know what was going to happen once the gun went off. I decided I'd be thrilled with a 7:30 pace, happy with an 8:00, and ready to accept whatever felt like a solid effort.

Race Director Adrian gave us a few instructions (follow the path, you can't get lost, the gates should be open, vault 'em if they aren't, don't touch the train), the engine pulled up next to us, gave a whistle, and we were off!!  [Is it unfair for one of the racers to signal the start?  I think the train may have gotten a slight jump on us!]

About 60 seconds into the race, and I knew the field was fast.  These people all looked way too fit to be going out "too fast" for their ability.  We started out with about a mile over lumpy, grassy field that doesn't look too bad to run on, but can terrorize someone who is protective about her ankle.  I was already wishing I'd made some space for a pair of Salomon trail shoes (CrossMax, maybe?) in my backpack.  Then, we moved on to gravel for the next 4-ish miles.  Kee-Min was manning the camera at this point:

The train had pulled ahead of me, at least, pretty early on - to give the fastest people a challenge, perhaps - but not without leaving some big puffs of stinky black sooty smoke in its wake.  The wind direction was against us - and by "against", I mean "blowing said smoke in our faces".  This was, easily, the worst part of the whole race.  Perhaps Adrian could arrange for some wind in the opposite direction next year? :)

OK, in this photo, the smoke is blowing away from the runners.  But that wasn't the case for most of the race.

At about the 2-3 mile point, the train stopped, let runners catch/pass, and started again and re-passed me.  This resulted in more smoke, and some (supposed to be encouraging?) shouts of, "Come on!  Run faster!  Can't you catch us?!?" from the on-board spectators.  I didn't see the train again until I arrived at the Kingston station.  We may have raced the train, but we didn't beat it.

By about mile 3.5, I had already had it. I wasn't running that fast, but between a cold, sooty smoke, and the really dry air in NZ, my breathing was more labored than I prefer.  I backed off the pace a bit and settled in to enjoy the next few miles.  Kee-Min also got tired at this point (we weren't running together), and he stopped taking photos. [Keemin's editorial note: Tired of taking photos; tired of running probably kicked in a few miles later.]

About 2 miles from the end, we moved onto a dirt track, and even hit a few puddles.  The scenery remained unchanged: gorgeous mountain backdrop and dry, dusty grass surrounding us (no shade to be found!).  Also, an occasional sheep or cow raised its head in support.  Or laughter, I won't speculate.  Until the very end, we were within 40-60 meters of the train tracks.  Pretty darn cool!

The trail was pretty obvious the whole way, and any confusing points were marked with an arrow.  In an open field, it's hard to miss the arrows.  Perhaps some talented Rochesterians would have been able to, but overall, Kiwis believe in personal responsibility.  Everyone seemed to do just fine.

There were some mild downhills on the last mile into the finish, very much welcomed!  Adrian was on the mic at the finish line, calling everyone across - he even attempted Kuzmiak-Ngiam with good success.  Kudos!  And hey, the finishing chute even looked sorta familiar (not enough runners to justify a fence/tape):

My finish time was 57:40 (no chip timing); not quite as fast as I would have liked, but I did break an hour, and got a good workout in.  I can't tell you that the race was fun and giggles the whole time - in fact, there were a few points when I felt pretty awful.  But that Salomon jersey kept me running!  But the whole thing was a really neat concept, we got to ride and run with the train, and the running community here turned out to be awesome (and fast!).  Everyone was friendly and helpful, despite a bit of drop-bag confusion.

Kee-Min finished about 5 minutes after me, and we rehydrated and splurged for an ice cream from the very clever ice cream truck that showed up at the finish line.  We hung around for about an hour before awards commenced.  

The race was sponsored by New Balance (another familiar flag!):

And boy, did NB produce.  There was a ton of swag for the winners.  Age groups were divided oddly (although maybe normal down here): 16-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, etc...  First, second, third got some combination of NB gear: sneakers, tote bag, compression gear, hats.  No age group prizes for either of us - as I said, this field was fast.  The winning times were 38:43 for the men and 47:04 for the women.  I finished 7/34 in the 16-39 division, and 49/134 overall.  Kee-Min finished 37/46 in the Men's 16-39 division, and 79/134 overall.  If you're a super curious number cruncher, the results are here.

There was plenty of wine donated by some local wineries and some adventure activities donated by local companies (rafting, bungy, zip lining, etc.), and they raffled off these goodies at the end.  These were some really stellar prizes, let me tell you!

Have I mentioned Kiwis are laid back?  Case in point: This is how the raffle was run:

1. At the finish line, we put our bibs (no names, just a number) in a bucket.  No pull-tab, just the whole bib in the bucket.

2. They drew out a number.

3. If you remembered that as your number, you went up to claim a prize.  I guess they could have cross-checked against the registration list, but no one bothered.  Honor system. 

Out of ~25 raffle prizes, only ONCE did two people stand to claim the prize.  What happened?  They gave them both a prize!  I loved this system and outlook.  Everyone was grateful, no one was greedy.  We had quite a fun time during the award section.

We also learned that quite a few of the participants - including some of the winners - had biked down from Queenstown (30 min car ride) that morning.  Many were biking back.  Relentless Forward Progress, how's THAT for some pre-miles??  :)  Others refused the train ride to the start and warmed up with a quick 12K from Kingston to Fairlight.  

Overall:  An interesting off-road (but not really trail) race.  Dry, hot, and smokey at times - but it was neat to be a part of the inaugural event.  Adrian seems like an awesome race director, and has been able to procure a fair bit of sponsorship.  The $30 NZD entry fee may seem a bit high for a race without chip timing or finish line food (only water), but the community, novelty, and high probability of some nice raffle prizes made it worth it for us.

A huge thanks to Active QT, Adrian, and the Kingston Flyer crew for making this race a reality - and welcoming us to your event!!

Tired, but accomplished: