2026 NZ Sri Chinmoy 12-Hour
Even Lower Expectations

The race is scheduled for March 21, 2026 in Auckland, New Zealand. This is supposed to be a once in a lifetime trip with hiking on the South Island for recovery after the race. Training started to fall apart in early December, but I didn't think the early signs of fatigue were significant and ignored them. Winter weather was also colder than normal, which kept me indoors and missing a few workouts. A couple snow storms added to the missed workouts. By the time February ended I had three consecutive months with less than 100 miles. I also finally saw my cardiologist who said I was in atrial flutter, and that was causing my feelings of fatigue. I would need an ablation to correct that, but the soonest that could be scheduled is April 6. As a result I will be attempting to race under extreme adverse conditions.

I'm experimenting with various times and ratios of running and walking to find one sustainable for hopefully 12 hours, or at least long enough to log 50K. Results have been inconsistent. Some days I can barely manage 30 minutes, then maybe once a week I feel normal and can continue for an hour plus. I think I'll have to set aside any concrete distance goals and focus simply on moving forward on the track whenever I can. This final week before departing for New Zealand, I hope to try running two or more times a day to see how I recover and how much time I might need to allow for rest breaks on race day. So far everything seems hit or miss with no pattern I can discern.

The long 8 hour layover in San Francisco added to the total travel time, which included about a 13 hour flight from San Francisco to Auckland. Despite the early arrival in Auckland, the Marsden Suites was able to get me checked in early so I could begin to adjust to the time difference and recover from the flights. I was still left with Friday to adjust. Driving was too stressful coupled with being tired, so I only explored a little in the vicinity including a visit to Brown's Beach. Dining turned out to be more a challenge than anticipated. I finally found a Japanese restaurant, but no English menu, so it was a toss up what I was getting. Strips of chicken over rice was fine, and I had leftovers for Saturday night's dinner.

It was only a few minutes drive to the race. I was a little surprised that parking would cost 20 NZD for the day. The race was chipped timed, but we also had personal lap counters. Scott was a great help later in the race, providing encouragement and advice. With the atrial flutter, I elected to walk the entire time I was on the track. I kept a reasonably steady pace for the first 10 miles, but needed to take increasingly more frequent and longer rest breaks. I was well over 4 hours for my last 10K after deciding I would stop at 30K. Any more than that might leave me too tired for my 7 day Pure South tour. I reached 30K at 8:43:51. The official who was there to monitor the walkers was a great help, offering me a chair when I needed one, and keeping me company during my breaks. There was also a group of Australians who were cheering every time I finished a lap. After I stopped I was able to speak with one of the Belgian walkers to let them know about the Centurion division at Six Days in the Dome.

Overall I can't say I was disappointed in the race, though I had to make drastic reductions in my expectations. I still enjoyed the time there though I got thoroughly sunburned. Sunday I returned my rental car. It was tense driving on the left side, but at least the car had automatic rather than a manual transmission. The flight to Queenstown was uneventful and that began the second phase of my trip.