Race Day

One of the things our group of visitors from Residency wanted to do was run in this organized race near the town of Gore. It was a 5k or 15K run, or you could mountain bike. We all decided on running. It rained HARD the whole way to the race, but stopped just long enough to let us get through the run before heading on to another type of race: the horse races!

Heading up to sign in. Cold day for a race in the middle of 'summer'.

Getting ready to run!

Cathy and I opted for the 15K, which ended up being quite a feat. The first 5K was straight up hill... yikes.

What cruel person chose the course for this race???

Seriously. This isn't a trail. It's a cattle crossing, and I have 12 more K to go, so don't feel like getting my feet wet at the very beginning!

On the bright side, the scenery was stunning.

We finally made it to the top, the worst 5K is done! But why did they make us go up there???

The next 5K was straight down, right back to where we started. This was my favorite portion of the race.

10K down, 5 to go!

Meanwhile, everyone else had finished their 5K like a group of champs. They just hung out and waited patiently for Cathy and I to finish.

Nate looking fresh and fly after his race.

and when I said 'waiting patiently', maybe they got a little impatient.... sorry guys! That race took a lot longer than anticipated! Didn't see that giant hill as being such a beast!

We finally finished!

Side note: Just prior to our race, Cathy and I had our picture taken, and we were in the Southland Times!

Second Side note: There are no pictures of Dan at the race because he ran too fast. He was the second male to finish the 5K race. He won a prize!!!

After a little recovery time, we hit the road back to Invercargill, changed clothes in a Burger King Bathroom, and headed out to the horse races!

When we told Dan that sometimes people get really dressed up for the races, he raided my closet and came up with this gentlemanly ensemble... The mustache was all him though. I had no part in that...

Once settled in at the races, we basically set up a photoshoot with Steph as the main theme: Enjoy!

Give me Blue Steel.

Give me Sweet.

Give me Happy.

Give me More Sophisticated Than I Can Handle.

When the races were over, we popped over to the surprisingly delicious Indian restaurant, which also happens to have the best table-service in all of Invercargill in case you are ever in the area.

Another successful day in New Zealand.