By David
Arthur Lydiard is best known as the architect of the long distance conditioning method of training. He introduced the world to the idea that running 100 miles a week was good for you. What is less well known is the 24 mile Sunday run that was a staple ingredient of Arthur’s program. He called it the Waiatarua. A few years ago when I was what Alison describes as a, “svelte young thing” I ran the Waiatarua. When Alison was one of the world’s best middle distance runners she also added the Waiatarua to her list of accomplishments. I was impressed by that. Competing on the European circuit, running in the Commonwealth Games and winning national championships was all well and good. To be a real runner though; you first had to master the Waiatarua.
There is hardly a New Zealand Olympic medalist that hasn’t run the Waiatarua. I know that Snell, Halberg, Magee, Walker, Moller, Quax and Dixon tested themselves high on these hills west of Auckland before their Olympic efforts and emerged victorious.
Sadly though, the days when I could run Arthur’s signature course have gone. Even Alison would probably find the full circuit a bit much these days. Perhaps though it was still possible to pay our respects; by car. Last Sunday we drove around the Waiatarua. I’d forgotten the magnificence of what it’s like up there. Let me try and describe it to you; to convey the special qualities of this stretch of road that fashioned a dozen world class athletes.
The view that awaited us
I thought we’d start in the parking lot of the Westview Medical Center in the Auckland suburb of Glen Eden. Westview is an appropriate name and their clinic backs on to West Coast Road, the first stage of the Waiatarua circuit. The first few miles are through typical old suburban Auckland; that rambling mix of houses on quarter acre sections and small warehouses advertising quality used furniture and warrant of fitness checks for $50. The houses are big, brick and boring; reflecting New Zealand’s character at the time they were built. Every mile or so we pass a New Zealand dairy. Other countries don’t really have dairies. I suppose they could be described as mini-mini supermarkets specializing in milk, soda, bread and newspapers. The road is an easy series of gentle undulations; giving no warning of the perils to come.
Suburban Auckland ends and rural Auckland begins as we pass the Artisan Winery and the road noticeably and deceptively begins to climb towards the Waitakere Ranges. Now there are long stretches of road with no houses; replaced with small farms and scrubby second growth bush. The houses here are newer and more interesting; the product of those who can afford to live on an Auckland ten acre lifestyle block. The footpath is only on one side of the road now. Soon that too will end and we will need to share the road with the Waiatarua’s limited number of cars.
Three miles from the Waiatarua summit at the corner of Kauri Loop Rd. just past the stunning Otimai Girl Guide’s home the serious test of the Waiatarua begins. Now there are no footpaths or secondary scrub. We enter a world of thick native bush and steep, very steep hills that will climb without relief to this runs highest point 1000 feet above Auckland’s harbor. Did you ever wonder what quality made Lydiard the world’s best middle distance running coach? Whatever it was, it was the same quality that caused him to select a run that has its steepest climb, its toughest moments half a mile before the summit, half a mile before we reach half way. I have never seen a steeper section of open road. And yet if you are good enough, if you want to challenge the world’s best runners in Zurich, Cologne and Berlin you run hard to the summit of the Waiatarua.
The next six miles are not for the faint of heart either. The road along the summit of the Waitakere Ranges is a roller coaster of steep rises and falls. There are some stunning rewards that partially compensate for the effort to get there. Nowhere in the world is native bush as lush and green as in New Zealand. Silver Fern, tall Totara and Rimu line the path and provide much needed shade. Through gaps in the trees it is possible to see across the City of Auckland to the Waitemata Harbor and out to the Hauraki Gulf where Russell Coutts defended and won the America’s Cup. Best of all is the stop at Arthur’s small waterfall for a drink of cool water. The healing properties of the spring water from the grotto at Lourdes could do no better. Refreshed we run strongly toward the idyllic township of Titirangi at the end of the Waitakere summit portion of the Waiatarua.
The last four miles from Titirangi are the reverse of the Waiatarua’s first few miles; down the hill, past the designer houses and into the suburbs, past big block houses, small businesses, car dealers and corner dairies. Finally we turn on to West Coast Rd. and stride down the gentle slope back to the Westview Medical Center. There are few training experiences as satisfying as running the Waiatarua. Standing at the end looking up at the mountains, knowing they set their test and we overcame. This run is hard. It has history and tradition. It is so much more than 24 miles of tarmac. It is a road that builds champion runners. The really sad thing is that when Alison and I drove around it last Sunday morning we didn’t see one runner making use of the best training ground in the world. We were not alone though. Along every straight, around every corner they were there – the spirits of Moller, Snell, Halberg, Magee, Dixon, Wright, Walker, Roe and Quax. They would have been there on a Sunday morning.
