RUN LARAPINTA
Run Larapinta is a 4 day, 4 stage trail running race along the most spectacular sections of the iconic Larapinta Trail in Australia’s Northern Territory. Boundless beauty, breathless exuberance, day-old friendships that will last for years and the unspoilt grandeur of a landscape that transcends time… this is an extraordinary run that should be on every bucket list.
Namatjira Course Descriptions
- Stage 1: 11km around Alice Springs to the Old Telegraph Station.
- Stage 2: 20km from The Old Hamilton Downs Station to Standley Chasm.
- Stage 3: 22km from Glen Helen to Ormiston Gorge.
- Stage 4: 30km from Redbank Gorge to and Glen Helen.
Well, it seems that Michelle Grocock has added yet another extraordinary event to her ever growing list of achievements, by taking on Run Larapinta this week. Here are some of her reflections:
STAGE 1
- Run starts in bright daylight and finishes in pitch black. Rocking the sunnies headtorch combo
??” - Awesome run. Best finish line chute ever. Well, maybe after an Ironman one. Run Larapinta Stage 1 complete.”
- Clearly enjoying myself….that was an awesome run. And yes, that photo was during the run ?
STAGE 2
- Wow, 5hrs 28 to cover 22km. That wasn’t a run. That was a non stop rock climb. Couple of photos. More later. A can of the black doctor just went down very well. And the answer to the question “is that the running path?” is yes, in all photos. They made us ensure we were carrying at least 3 litres of water for the last ~13km. I now know why.
- Ok, here’s the photos from Run Larapinta Stage 2. Old Hamilton Downs Station to Stanley Chasm. Will give you a a good sense of the whole event as the photos are fairly well spread out through the run / rock climb / scramble. Basically in every photo two rules apply – (1) yes, that is the running trail and (2) yes, if there’s a hill in front in the photo you can guarantee we had to climb it. The last 13km was entirely steep ups and downs and rocks everywhere. Tough event but such a beautiful place
❤️
?
STAGE 3
- Awesome run today – 23km in 4hrs 20 today. Absolutely loved it. Just so beautiful. Run Larapinta Stage 3 – Glen Helen to Ormiston Gorge. A lot more running than yesterday together with some very slow, but very beautiful and enjoyable rock hopping and sand running. A few photos here, will try and post more later. Phone reception not good though.
- Run Larapinta Stage 3 photos. The further we went, the more dramatic the scenery got. Just amazing.
STAGE 4
- Yay – made it. Run Larapinta complete! Just a casual 6 hours and 30km today. Now I deserve a beer. What an amazing experience.
- Run Larapinta Stage 4 photos….Redbank Gorge to Glen Helen, 30km. Lots more rocks and plenty of walking for me
JT UPDATE
Week T-16 To Busso
16 weeks to go and a highlight of the week was catching up with the rest of the TA crew to see the motivating “We Are Triathletes” movie. Watching the pros train reminded me how much I miss the sport.
The other great highlight was my first post-op checkin and physio appointment, which I was quite excited about going to. All surface wounds as well as the surgical incision are healing really well. However, the physio did make the mistake of telling me he “doesn’t expect me to lift my arm past 90 degs in the next 4 weeks”. I told him “you know you’ve just set me a challenge, don’t you?” 
?.
Still no activity (nothing that will cause any sweat and no pool walking due to risk risk of infection). Trying very hard to be patient.
