Great Lakes Relay February 2010

A foolhardy bunch of Hubbards staff took part in the New Balance Great Lake Relay on 19th - 20th February.

This event is a 155km relay around Lake Taupo and attracts 5000 competitors each year.

People enter teams of up to 18 members to complete 18 legs of various lengths and difficulty (lots of hills).

Hubbards team was a composite team of walkers and runners made up of 7 staff and 6 adopted "Hubbards family" members.

Kelly was our first out of the blocks at 10.30pm Friday night! Following in, in a daze of "its after my bedtime" were the team members who had to go out into the 'wilderness' of rural roads and walk or run in the dark (no street lights out there). And it was COLD!

The luckier members of the team didn't have to get out of bed until the sun was up, but then again it was very very hot during the day. So all was fair in the suffering stakes.

Kelly getting ready to hit the road

The Hubbards Round Taupo Relay Team

Everyone had a small challenge to face but they made an awesome effort and we came in 17 hours and 45 minutes after we started. That was 3 hours ahead of our forecast time!

Obviously we are not very good at forecasting. Or are we just a lot better than we think we are? We finished the event running over the finish line as a team and we were smiling as we did it.

Waiting to cheer on the last runner

Picturesque scenery en route...

We had a well earned BBQ at the team headquarters and then to the spa to relax before bed.  Most of us had been awake for 36 hours straight!

Keeping warm at the transition point