#236 Wensleys Cycles winter duathlon: should I / shouldn’t I?

I had planned to do this again this year. But I haven’t been running lately plus I don’t have anyone to by my handler. So should I still try it? And if I do – how will it go?

Here’s what I decided (and why).

Continue reading “#236 Wensleys Cycles winter duathlon: should I / shouldn’t I?”

Matariki light show Invercargill 2022

This year was the first year that Matariki (Māori New Year) was celebrated as a public holiday. It is related to the lunar calendar and the rising of the Pleiades star cluster. This usually happens late June/ Early July.

This is a 35 second short video of the Matariki light displays in Queens Park. Friday 24/6 was Matariki this year and this was the day that the light show opened. It runs for 4 days. 

I ran into two issues with this as a disabled person.

  1. The roads close to the park gates were closed. So I had to park a long way away – not ideal when I can’t walk far. When I got to the traffic control to complain they said oh, you should have driven up to here, we would have let you through. Well a road sign would have been nice, I’m not a mind reader.
  2. There was a one way system over a small bridge at the duck pond. This was not made obvious to me till I had walked a long way in the other direction to be turned back saying the bridge was one way the other way. The arrow I was meant to see was on the floor, in the dark under the masses of feet of the crowds around me. Not helpful.

Simple little things can ruin your experience when you’re disabled.

#232 The Ice Breaker challenge: my first ever Waka Ama race!

Sheesh it was hard yakka! But, what’s bloody excellent weekend – my first ever Waka ama regatta and the result came down to just tenths of a second. Watch to find out what happened!

Continue reading “#232 The Ice Breaker challenge: my first ever Waka Ama race!”

Murihiku Women’s Duathlon: race report 🏃‍♀️🚴🏻‍♂️🏃‍♀️

This was a very special day for me.

The last multisport race I was able to take part in stood up on two feet before today was in 2012 (my last world champs – in Auckland) That’s also the last time I was really able to run. Ten years is a long time, and in reality I have not been back running very long at all.

Once upon a time this race wouldn’t have been a challenge for me at all. Today it was a giant challenge indeed.

⭐️ first multisport event on two feet post amputation (till now I have used the wheelchair)
⭐️ first time using the running blade in a race event situation.

Race distance: 500m-9km-2KM

Continue reading “Murihiku Women’s Duathlon: race report 🏃‍♀️🚴🏻‍♂️🏃‍♀️”