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CurraNZ athletes shine in Grand to Grand Ultra 7-day stage race
on October 09, 2024
The Grand to Grand Ultra, America's premier 7-day stage race, has once again left its mark on the stunning landscapes of Arizona and Utah, and this year, we proudly celebrated as one of the event’s official sponsors.
Runners embarked on a grueling journey across 270km of breathtaking deserts, majestic mountains, and rugged trails. This epic multi-day challenge put competitors to the ultimate test, pushing their limits while surrounded by the awe-inspiring beauty of Continental America.
Not only that, we were delighted have two ambassadors take part - Dr Kate Cush from Australia and Dr Inia Raumati from New Zealand.
The 11th renewal of the event saw 56 brave souls set off to traverse the beautiful yet brutal course across Continental America, with 38 crossing the line seven days later.
This year's winner was Mérile Robert, a stage race ultra specialist with six Marathons Des Sables finishes to his name, who won the Grand To Grand in 2022.
Kate Cush (left) had a great run, finishing in 10th place overall, fourth female and first in her age group in a time of 48:35:13.
Kate, a Doctor from the Blue Mountains in Australia, is relatively new to ultramarathon, having run her first ultra in 2019.
She says: "G2G was the toughest event I have ever done. I have taken part in several stage races before; 210km in 3 days, 120km in 4 days, 120km in 3 days, all of these were supported meaning I just carried what I needed whilst running that day.
"G2G involved 270km across 6 days of running and we carried everything we needed for the week (except the tent): food, camping equipment, mandatory safety equipment. I started with about 10kg - 5kg was food which I enjoyed consuming and reducing this weight each day. I didn't carry much that I didn't use.
"The scenery reminded me in many ways of the West MacDonell ranges in Central Australia: the reds and blues but the spaces are even vaster and the land formations higher.
"I was surprised by how the weight of my backpack, the intense sun and heat and probably the altitude would affect me and really limit how much running I could do. The soft sand was also challenging. We ran through slot canyons, up rocky hills, over soft and hard sand, and more and more soft sand, dry creek beds, sandy roads spiked with cacti, scrubby bush marked with the reassuring pink tape and flags every 100m.
"I loved the mandatory digital detox (although was a little nervous not knowing how my family were going). It made for a totally immersive event. It meant that at the end of each day everyone sat together and talked, or enjoyed the silence and the stars.
"Day 3, which was 87km, was of course the biggest challenge. I was affected by the late start at 10am which meant running all day in the intense heat until 6pm when the sun was setting. However, once the sun set we had stunning conditions. Running over the sand dunes in the night was surreal, star lit and guided by the reflective pink tape it was quite an experience.
"I increased how many CurraNZ capsules I took over the days from 2 initially to 6 on the longest day and then 4/day. I was fighting off a coldsore and the capsules seemed to keep my immunity strong. I still haven't had a cold/ flu or Covid since I started taking CurraNZ in May, despite international travel (and working in Emergency).
"Usually a big event like this is a massive insult to the immune system but I have remained healthy and recovered better than I had expected. I am jet-lagged but strong and healthy.
I am proud that I was able to finish this event."
Inia Raumati was our other sponsored athlete, waving the CurraNZ flag. This was Inia's 6th race on 6 continents as he heads towards setting a new world record of racing 8 stage races on 8 continents. The sandy surface and higher altitude were particularly challenging for Inia however he still managed finish in good form in 14th place out of 38 runners.
