Giant Man looms soon

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 14, 4 September 1984, Page 11

Giant Man looms soon

The 'Martini Giant Man Race' over the top of Mt Ruapehu is due to be held on Saturday 6 October this year. This race from the Whakapapa Skifield on one side of the mountain tctfthe Turoa Skifield on the otKer and then down the Ohakune Mountain Road to the, Junction, must be one of the most gruelling events in any ski calendar. Carrying all their gear throughout the race each competitor starts climbing from the Knoll Ridge to the Mangaturu Glacier on the south western slopes. The skis they have been carrying are then fitted for the schuss down the Turoa Skifield until the competitor runs out of snow. A quick change into running shoes with skis strapped to their backs competitors start the long 11km run down the Ohakune Mountain Road to Pipers Kings Court in the Junction. The race was not run last year because of unfavourable

conditions but in 1982 conditions were perfect ... a bright sunny day with lots of snow. Eighty-two competitors took part on that occasion and the race was won by Tony Gazley, a Wellington architectural draughtsman, in under two hours. The last competitors to complete the cou'rse arrived a leisurely five hours later complete with stereo tape recorder. Gazley climbed, skied, then ran the 1 1 kilometre final leg to the finish in a race record of lhr 54min. 21sec, to win first prize of $1,000. "It's a hard event, no two ways about it," Gazley told the Bulletin last week. He felt 'shattered' at the finish. Last year's poor snowfall prevented the race being run, and Gazley's entry this year is far from certain. He intends to put the decision off until later in the year, and says it all depends on his training in the meantime.