A busted knee on the Hillary Trail

I returned home with a busted knee and a bruised ego. It was so hard to make the decision to pull the plug at Piha Aid Station during the Hillary Trail Race 80km. I trained so hard for this race. I’d spent the last two weeks in Tongariro National Park logging vertical miles, and even climbed all three summits in Tongariro in under 12 hours.

I took a nasty fall on a steep descent when the rock I set my foot on gave way, and I ended up busting my knee. I could have walked and jogged and finished, but with the Queenstown Classic 300km in a week, I didn’t want to risk it. DNF #3 in the books. An assessment by a doc showed a ligament tear, and recommended at least 2 weeks of no running.