Blyth's Brenda and Marc Orr complete New Zealand ultramarathon in challenging conditions

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Brenda and Marc Orr of Blyth are freshly back in Huron County after participating in the Tarawera Ultramarathon in Rotorua, New Zealand travelling a challenging 55-kilometre route in a day-long torrential downpour, only to cross the finish line hand-in-hand.

 

Brenda is no stranger to running events, having competed all over the world for many years. However, this was the pair’s first time to New Zealand and the foundation for the visit was built a few years earlier in Switzerland. There, the couple was hiking Mont Blanc when they met another couple from New Zealand. They struck up a friendship and began spending more time together, visiting Blyth in both 2024 for six weeks and 2025 for three weeks.

 

Taking part in the ultramarathon was eventually discussed and Brenda and Marc decided to make the trip. However, when it was time for the rubber to hit the road, the couple had difficulties training for the event they would be taking part in and the region in which the event takes place.

 

Brenda said it was tough to replicate the terrain of New Zealand and the humidity of the region ahead of the run, but they did their best, making their way to Singapore and the Philippines in December and Arizona in January in an effort to prepare and acclimatize. However, nothing could have truly prepared them for what awaited them in New Zealand.

 

First, the traits of an ultramarathon are that it must run longer than the traditional 42-kilometre marathon course and second ultramarathons are often run on trails and over mountains, whereas conventional marathons are almost always run on city streets with little to no elevation.

 

They spent two weeks there getting used to the region and getting on local time, while also doing some sightseeing with their friends. On race day, Brenda said that she and Marc were in for quite a surprise. It was hot and humid and it absolutely poured rain all day. Because of the terrain of the run, the course became sloppy, muddy and difficult to traverse, Brenda said, saying the mud was the kind that feels like it’s trying to suck the shoe off of your foot when you step in it, making completing the run all the more challenging.

 

But finish it they did in nine hours, 48 minutes and eight seconds. One of their friends completed it alongside them, while the other opted for the 100-kilometre route. He has since lost all of his toenails, Brenda said, while Marc has lost about three. She has one that may be losing the fight but that, as of press time, was still holding strong.

 

In addition to the complicated terrain and adverse weather conditions - both the oppressive heat and humidity and the rain - Brenda said that one of the biggest challenges she faced was chafing - a historic foe and occupational hazard in the running community. 

 

When asked if she and Marc were planning their next run yet, Brenda compared it to childbirth, saying that it’s hard to envision doing it again in the immediate aftermath, but, after some time, surely she could be persuaded. One of their New Zealand friends turns 60 in 2027 and there have been preliminary discussions about an ultramarathon in Australia next year, but nothing has been confirmed.

 

She also noted that, in the lead-up to the New Zealand trip, she did some research and found that just 0.007 per cent of the world’s population will ever complete an ultramarathon in their lifetime. Now being part of that 0.007 per cent, she’s not sure that she shouldn’t concentrate her efforts elsewhere, having accomplished that feat, but she and Marc still have time before they need to make a final decision.