HELLO FROM THE QUEEN OF PROCRASTINATION 

What am I procrastinating about? Well, take your pick:

• Finishing my "18 Weeks to Go" blog post: (Happy to say that one was finally ticked off a few minutes ago!)

• Finishing my "8 Weeks to Go" blog post (working on it as we speak)

• Taming the gear monster: Sorting out the RacingThePlanet stuff currently strewn across the spare room bed.

• The dreaded admin: Starting—and actually finishing—the spreadsheet for my gear and nutrition weight.

• The paperwork: Making sure absolutely all of my mandatory forms have been sent off to Sam.

• Logistics: Confirming my ETA to land in the UK—otherwise, they literally won't let me leave Namibia (not that staying there sounds like a bad option!).

Just when I thought I was completely organised for this adventure, life threw a wrench in the gears. I found out that the Early Childhood Centre where I work is changing hands for the second time in three years. It was a massive shock and a stressful scramble to ensure it wouldn't affect my annual leave for the trip.

The good news? I got paid out for my saved leave. The bad news? A ridiculous chunk of it went straight to taxes. Talk about shaving weight off my race pack—now I have to shave my budget, too!

Oh well, there's not much to be done about it now except move forward. Time to stop procrastinating and tackle this to-do list!

Despite the past few chaotic weeks, I am so excited because I have a mini training camp scheduled for the last weekend in June! The plan? Three days of back-to-back power hikes and jogs with my full race pack.

The big question was: where on earth do I go? June in New Zealand usually means endless rain, turning my favourite forest trails into a total muddy mess - not quite the terrain I need to simulate.

To beat the mud, I've decided to head over to the Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua (the legendary home of the Tarawera Ultramarathon). To keep the race simulation alive, I'm booking a bunk bed in a 6-bed dorm. The online reviews specifically warn that the mattresses are hard and uncomfortable... which honestly sounds perfect! It gives me a great chance to try out my sleeping gear and practice my morning and evening camp routines without actually having to pitch a tent in the freezing June cold. I'm tough, but I'm not stretching the simulation that far yet!

The question is: does it defeat the objective if I drive straight to the gym for a sauna afterwards? 

Anyway, it is almost midnight - I haven't touched that spreadsheet, it is way more fun writing a blog, right? So, I had better get some sleep in so that I can get through work and training tomorrow. 

Much love to you all, and keep doing what you are doing. From the blogs, I can see that everyone else is facing their own obstacles and finding ways of overcoming them. I cannot wait to meet you in Namibia.

Much love

Karen - aka Run-Gogo-Run

How did I  get here? Seriously? I went from "57 weeks - I have plenty of time to do this thing" to "14 weeks - what is a cobbler?"

THE SHOE GRAVEYARD

I was catching up with a friend recently who was practically staging an intervention after seeing his son's (another trail runner) shoe collection. He thinks owning more than two pairs of shoes is a sign of a moral failing. I had to break it to him about my expensive shoe cemetery under my bed - an ode to epic fails that have only seen 15km of trail - but cost me a small fortune. 

 Although we were on the phone, I could almost hear him wince when I finally told him the net worth of said collection. But there's more, I added - really leaning into the madness:  I described the drama of deciding between an expert cobbler in London vs an unknown one in my local town, as I would have to entrust my latest shoe acquisition to him to attach the velcro for my sand gaiters. I feel like the Sand Gaiter Pioneer of NZ.

Then I broke down the financial tragedy of training with my preferred fuel and electrolytes - because apparently we don't try anything new on race day(week). So no, I can't stockpile fuel and electrolytes for the race whilst using cheap alternatives during my training. 

Don't forget about heat training as we get closer to the race. It turns out we will still be in winter down here in NZ as I head to the desert. Searching for a suitable, affordable place with access to a sauna became my new cause for financial anxiety this week. 

His response?" I didn't realise there was so much involved in preparing for this adventure". 

My response? "As it turns out, neither did I".  

THE FLASK QUEST AND RTP MAGIC

It's not all doom and gloom, though:  As you all know, the Mandatory Item is like our Bible - and it can become a bit of an obsession. I am currently oscillating between the thrill of ticking off each item and the complete overwhelm of the weight of a safety whistle! This is where the joy comes in -  have no fear when your RTP FB community are a click away.

I put out an enquiry about where I could purchase 800ml Raidlight Go flasks, as they seemed to be out of stock everywhere. (ignore the fact that I have accumulated a dozen or more other assorted flasks which are mocking me from my kitchen cupboard). I do believe it was within MINUTES that a donor in the UK answered my call. Remember, I am in NZ - the farthest place from anywhere in the universe - but geography proved to be no match for the RTP magic. A few weeks later, the courier delivered my holy grail flasks to the early childhood centre where I work. The kids were so curious about my funny flasks that I did a lap around the room, demonstrating how I sip from the flasks' straws while hiking or running.

A massive thank you again to the RTP legends for helping me tick off another item on my Mandatory Items list and giving me so much to be grateful for.

Training in the meantime:  I have had the pleasure of a new hiking buddy who, for now, is slow enough for me to keep up with. I also rediscovered two of my favourite trails I used to run while training for triathlons many, many years ago, meaning I can give my current trail a break for a session or two per week. Because we were hammered by storms, all my favourite training grounds have been impacted by slips (mudslides), so my choice of trails has been curtailed. As a result, I am sticking to a route near my house and the beach. 

If it takes a village to get this old girl (Gogo) to Namibia, then I have the best village in the business. 

See you all in Namibia ( now it's in 13 weeks)

Keep up your training and your enthusiasm. 

Karen

(aka Run-Gogo-Run)

My new mantra:

I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go. 

Hello again! 

So I am very embarrassed to admit that I wrote this blog at 18 weeks to go, but promptly forgot to add photos and hence forgot to post it. And where are we now? 8 weeks to go!!! I have no excuses, people, none whatsoever.

Now that that is out of the way, the reason I originally penned this blog is to share what makes this "more than a race" for me. Something that has really surprised me is the kindness and buy-in from strangers in making things happen, especially when I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.

RTP PATCHES 

One day at work, I mentioned that I was thinking of doing my own heat-transferred badges when a colleague said, "Oh, my sister does that as a side hustle" and gave me Teresa's number, AKA The Kreativ Human. Her quote was so reasonable that it was a no-brainer to give her the job, along with very specific instructions on how the patches had to be placed. When I went to pick them up,  she confessed how stressful it was to get them just right, so I asked if she needed to charge me more. To my utter surprise, she refused ANY payment, saying it was her donation to my race. I don't even know this woman! A huge shoutout to Teresa Harrington of The Kreativ Human. Thank You.

SHOE SAGA

While I have enjoyed geeking out on lightweight gear, headlamps, utensils, electrolytes, and nutrition, I was stumped (bad pun) about which shoes to go for. So far, I have experimented with Inov8 Trailfly, Altra Lone Peaks, Topos, Altra Olympus 275, and Altra Experience Wild. Yes, I have wide feet. But, none of these shoes provides the cushioning I feel I need for the distance we are talking about. I'm currently caught in that classic ultra-runner's tug-of-war: the logical brain says, "Get the aggressive lugs for the Namibian sand," while the feet are screaming, "Please, just give us the cushion!" I eventually succumbed to the Salomon Ultra Glide 4 WIDE. (Finally, Salomon is catering for wide feet). But after spending yet another week's wage on yet another pair of shoes, I now had to surrender them to a cobbler, who said he had never attached velcro for sand gaiters before. Well, after summoning all my faith, I did just that. And what a fantastic job Shane's Shoe Repairs, right here in Tauranga, did. He mentioned that the job took longer than he had calculated because of the tricky contour of the outsole. Again, I offered to pay more, but he honoured his quote, saying he had learned something new. So, I, yes, me, found the only cobbler in NZ who does sand gaiters, and remember I was about to ship the shoes to a cobbler in the UK. I am so glad I didn't. 

 This photo was taken by a friend of mine, Ane. Ane has a very convenient side hustle - creating video content for social media. So, whilst having a braai at her place (yes, some of us still resist having a BBQ), she said she could help me boost my NZ version of GoFundMe, my GiveALittle fundraiser, and, by extension, my non-existent social media. We set a date, and honestly, for someone who prefers being behind the camera, I had so much fun with Ane.  Ane knows a bit more about me than most, so she managed to extract the beginning of my WHY, which until then I couldn't fully verbalise. Thanks, Ane of AM Media, and thank you, Sam, for posting my little video on RTP's social media pages. 

COACH KRISTINA

I would say my greatest gratitude goes to my coach, Kristina Huffman. How she puts up with me, I don't know. She patiently waited for me to learn how to coordinate a workout in an app, sync it to my watch, and START and STOP it. Don't laugh - this was probably more difficult than the workouts themselves. Kristina has coached me with kindness, firmness, empathy and a wealth of experience behind her - she leads by example. Thanks, Zach, for introducing us. 

THE RAIDLIGHT HARD FLASKS VIA THE WHATSAPP COMMUNITY

I feel like I might have mentioned the other serendipity I experienced re the Raidlight Bottles in another blog - if not, I will leave this story for next time.  

FROM 'SOME DAY' TO "18 WEEKS TO GO"

There is a specific kind of gravity that hits when you cross the 18-week mark. The countdown has shifted from a distant abstract to a very real, weekly rhythm. The "novelty" of the gear-buying phase is fading, replaced by the quiet, early-morning reality of training blocks and weighted packs.

This week, the weight in my pack felt like more than just mandatory gear; it felt like the weight of the challenge itself. But then I think of Teresa's kindness with my patches, or Ane's help in finding my "why," and that weight feels a little lighter. I'm realising that while I'll be the one physically moving across the desert, I'm carrying the energy of everyone who has helped me get to this start line.

If you had told me a year ago I'd be losing sleep over lug depth and calorie-to-weight ratios, I probably would have laughed. Yet, here I am, "geeking out" and loving every minute of the obsession. It's a strange, beautiful process of stripping everything down to the essentials—what I need to survive, what I need to move, and who I need in my corner.

 A few photos of the places where I train.

Well, that's all for now, as I need to get current and start working on my "8 WEEKS TO GO" blog. 

Much love

Karen (aka Run-Gogo-Run)

Kia ora, Racing the Planet family! ​

My name is Karen, and I'm a 62-year-old adventurer who's still chasing dreams and embracing challenges. ​ I've always been a bit of a misfit, trading dolls for dirt roads and forts as a kid, and later swapping teenage norms for a 630km bike ride from Johannesburg to Durban. ​ That ride was my first taste of pushing limits, and I've been hooked ever since. ​

Fast forward a few decades, and life brought me to New Zealand, where I rediscovered my love for physical challenges. ​ I joined a triathlon club and completed a few sprint distances. I will admit I was a bit giddy, so I signed up for a half-marathon tri, which (no surprises there) handed me an epic DNF.  No worries, I would just focus on each discipline in isolation, complete a 160km cycling challenge, followed by an open-water swim around Mauao, and even earn a teaching degree at 55 while working full-time. ​

Running, however, has been my Achilles heel—literally. Five fractures and a lot of physio later, I'm back on my feet, stronger and more determined than ever. ​

My journey to Racing the Planet Namibia started during lockdown in 2021, when I stumbled upon Jeff Pelletier's running films on YouTube. ​ Watching his adventures sparked something deep inside me. ​ But it wasn't only his adventures; it was probably more the resilience and courage of the incredible athletes he interviewed. The common thread in all the interviews was - nothing is really impossible. Or rather, even that which seems utterly impossible is actually achievable. Could I really do this? ​ I wasn't sure, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I had to try. ​ That's when I met Zach, a fellow late bloomer who started running at 57. ​ He believed in me when I doubted myself the most, and his encouragement became the fuel I needed to keep going. ​Zach opened my mind to the concept of possibility rather than all my imagined limitations.

Zach introduced me to his friend Kristina, an incredible coach who's been guiding me for the past 9 months, or according to Training Peaks, with 57 weeks to go until RTP Namib 2026. ​ It hasn't been easy, but every step has been worth it. Zach's passing in July 2025 was a heartbreaking loss, but his words—"Karen, you've got this. ​ Your journey has already started"—still echoes in my mind. ​ I'm here to honour his memory and prove that age, setbacks, and loss don't define our limits. ​

Racing the Planet is more than just a race; it's a community, a journey, and a celebration of resilience. ​ I'm excited (another word for nervous!) to take on Namibia, but I know I'm not alone. To anyone out there wondering if they can do something like this, my advice is simple: take the first step. You might surprise yourself. ​ 

Here's to the adventure ahead! ​

Aroha nui

Karen

P.S. My other mantra is "if at first you don't succeed, try again'.