UP FOR THE CHALLENGE

Up for the

CHALLENGE

Images supplied: Whakatāne District Council

Breathtaking scenery, a truly challenging course, and the chance to follow in the footsteps of history - Whakatāne’s Toi’s Challenge has it all and Air Chats can get you there to be a part of it - and to really kick off your spring in style.

NESTLED IN THE HEART OF THE EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY, Whakatāne has long been known as a classic Kiwi holiday destination. A great little town beside the sea with outstanding fishing and the unparalleled Ōhope Beach, it is also the sunshine capital of Aotearoa New Zealand, steeped in history and blessed with some remarkable walking, hiking and cycling trails. And each year one of those trails, Ngā Tapuwae o Toi, or ‘the footprints of Toi’, plays host to a unique event that takes your breath away in more ways than one. An 18 kilometre course traverses the hills between Whakatāne and Ōhope, challenging your fitness and stamina and offering up some genuinely spectacular views of native bush and the seemingly endless coast, all with bird song as a soundtrack. For something completely different to an urban half marathon on pavement or a round the bays jog, Toi’s Challenge can’t be beaten.

The course - just like it says in the title - follows the footsteps of Toi, the great chieftain who founded a tribe whose descendants went on to settle much of the east coast of the North Island.

According to the traditions of local iwi Ngāti Awa, Toi’s stronghold was Kaputerangi, ‘The pa of gentle breezes’, which is one of New Zealand’s most ancient pā sites having been constructed some 800 years ago. On a clear day the views from this pā site make it clear why Toi chose the location - but even when the weather is less than ideal it is a dramatic and timeless place to be, high up between the sky and the sea and looking out to Moutohorā/Whale Island in the bay.

The Challenge was founded in 1992 and has grown from strength to strength ever since; within the last decade entries have risen from a hardened core of 100 to around 900 and growing, as more and more people understand the charms and tribulations of ‘Toi’s’. The Whakatāne Athletic and Harrier Club got the whole ball rolling back in the day, and they still oversee the Challenge today; a dedicated team of passionate Whakatāne locals make it both a well-oiled machine and a great, friendly event filled with camaraderie and a good-on-ya Kiwi vibe. Put it this way - in addition to a medal and a warm welcome across the line from the locals, all finishers get a punnet of strawberries from sponsor Julians Berry Farm and Cafe. And of course bragging rights.

And let’s be honest, if you meet the challenge and do get over the line, you deserve to brag. At 18 kilometres the course is a bit shy of a full half marathon, but it’s also way more hilly than your usual half marathon. We’re not talking Mt. Ruapehu - the maximum elevation is 183m - but the course is up and down continually, over a variety of surfaces including bush track and beach, so come prepared for a proper work out.

Entrants can do the whole course, or can take it on as a team and split it into sections, and you can even do a shorter six kilometre walking course. But fear not - no matter how you slice and dice it, everyone’s a winner and picks up a gong. And strawbs.

“I think the attraction is the scenery and the challenge of the course,” says William Doney of the Whakatāne Athletic and Harrier Club, who has been organising Toi’s for the last ten years. “The trails through native bush are fantastic, but the views when you get up top are really spectacular, looking all along the coast and out to the islands.”

“But I think a big part of the appeal of Toi’s Challenge is that it is still a real community event made by and for people who are pretty passionate about the Challenge. Our local radio station 1XX has been on board as a sponsor from year one, and because the course passes through a kiwi area we sponsor the local kiwi trust - so that everyone taking part is giving something back to that trust and helping to look after our kiwi; it’s that kind of event, all our local businesses come out to support us and the entrants who come here to be a part of it - and we love welcoming everyone and anyone who comes to take up the Challenge!”

Toi’s Challenge is on Sunday, November 14 and you can find out more about it at whakatane.com or wahc.co.nz

29TH CHALLENGE

ENTER ONLINE