Coach Holly's 2025 Taupō Ultra 100km Race Recap

WOW, how fun was that! I had a really good day out there and felt strong. I definitely had low points, but I knew they would pass and they did. I was really proud of my performance, 4th female in a time of 11.50. For me, that is hours faster than previous 100kms i've done. 

When I reflect back on the day, I can pinpoint some specific things in my training and during race day that made all the difference. 

1) Strength training 

Throughout training I prioritized 2 strength sessions a week and lifted heavier than I ever have. The sessions didn't need to be long, half an hour worked well. Thanks to my lovely friend Leesa Palmer for giving me some guidance and advice around this. I focused on doing less reps and more weight. In training I noticed I felt stronger on the hills and got less leg fatigue. I've run those kinloch tracks lots and even though they are not steep, the constant nature of the up and downs means your legs take a beating. That last stretch from Headlands to the finish can be painful if you're not prepared. Strength training really helped me with this.

2) Nutrition and hydration 

I've worked hard over the last 6 months to eat healthier overall. Less processed food, more fruit and veggies and lots of protein. With 3 kids and a busy lifestyle I definitely am NOT perfect by any means, but I have been actively working on it  and it has made a big difference to my daily energy levels and also my gut health. This means I have more energy in big training weeks, I get less nauseous on the run, and can eat and drink more easily during an event. In training and in the event I worked hard to ensure I was getting enough calories and stuck to a nutrition plan that worked. This helped keep my energy levels high right through to those last few kms. 

3) Caffeine

I experimented with more caffeine in training and used a specific caffeine strategy. Caffeine is a fantastic performance enhancer so I used it to my advantage. I tried out taking more caffeine in training so I knew my body could handle it. On race day from the 3 hour mark I took 100mg of caffeine every 2 hours. This was from maurten gels and 1 Celsius energy drink at the kinloch aid station 

4) Speed work!

Speed work and I haven't always been the best of friends. I love a good plod, and I used to do a lot of training around the same speed. If you do the same thing though, you get the same result so I needed to increase the stimulus so I could make improvements. In the last 6 months to a year I've leaned into speed work consistently and it's been so beneficial. I did a marathon training block before Taupō 100km where I focused on lots of threshold sessions, and then in this training block  I included a decent amount of both tempo and faster speed sessions into my training. Hill repeats were a fav, and I put some faster blocks into long runs. 

5) Friends!

I had a few of my bestest friends come and support me and it was the loveliest thing. They were the best pit stop crew, and seeing their smiling faces at the 50km and 76km aid stations made me so happy. I felt very lucky and grateful for their support. My husband and kids were also sending me encouraging messages and videos that I'd quickly look at to give me a boost. That was so nice. I made sure I smiled the whole way. No matter how I felt, I kept that smile plastered on my face.

6) Consistency.

Getting better at ultras takes months and years of consistency. Luckily for me I LOVE running so this isn't a problem for me, but just like anyone I have days where I don't want to get out there. I always remind myself though that I will feel so much better if I do it. Unless there's a genuine reason for not, I just get out there and get it done. I have built up my tolerance for higher mileage, and I felt fit going into the race. 

The thing I love most about running is that it's a constant process. There is always something to work on and get better at. I can't wait to see what I can achieve next, and I can't wait to help others do the same in their running 

- Coach Holly