I had the idea two weeks ago. I was spending the day at the beach, and before going for a swim I usually insist on doing at least a little exercise. A couple of weeks ago I visited Cheltenham Beach – in the shadows of North Head on Auckland’s North Shore. North Head is one of the city’s many dormant volcanoes, and so a nice hill-sprint to the top was an obvious choice for pre-swim exercise.
It was very worthwhile, so the next weekend I decided to sprint up 6 of Auckland’s urban volcanoes. To help celebrate this being the first post on my new blog, I thought I’d invite my very first client through Body Transform, Todd Mohi. Todd completely transformed his body almost two years ago (read about it). The question was, what kind of shape is he in today? And would he make it up all 6 peaks that I had mapped out for us? As it turned out, we got an extra challenge along the way…
Volcano 1: One Tree Hill
You see, when we began the day was overcast and misty. Perfect conditions for a gruelling day of uphill sprinting. One Tree Hill was the longest of the climbs and was a great warm-up.
Summit of One Tree Hill. Fresh and ready for the next one.
Volcano 2: Mt Hobson
No problems here. Todd really took off at this 50m stair incline and I really could not chase him down on the way to the top....
....although he clearly burnt up some fuel doing so and was feeling spent.
Volcano 3: Mt St John
This volcano is very dear to me. I used to live at the base of it, and would often spend my mornings grinding my way to the top and back. A great homecoming for me, and I set a new record time to the top.
I was dazed for a few seconds by my intense efforts.
Both fatigued and fearful, knowing next up is Mt Eden –the steepest climb of the day.
Volcano 4: Mt Eden
Really steep and really off-track. Slow going and our calves were screaming for mercy. None was given.
No easy way out of this situation. Up Mt Eden with 3 more minutes of discomfort to go.
The top of Mt Eden and a great victory. However, right at this point the clouds parted and the sun came out. And it was hot. We did not anticipate having to run in heat, and by now it was midday...
Volcano 5: Mt Victoria
I don’t know what the temperature was at this point, but the black surface reflected heat like hot coals. This was a difficult climb. The unexpected heat of the middle of the day caught us out without water supplies.
Now just one more to go. Dehydration was real.
Volcano 6: North Head
Mission accomplished. Six volcanoes in one day.
Behind is the reward: pristine Cheltenham Beach. That is a swim well-earnt. The great news: almost two years after completely changing his body and his health and fitness, Todd is fitter and stronger than when I first taught him. That is success.
Run hard ‘til next time. Phil.
nice one guys! back in ’03 i did a much smaller version of that – eden / one tree / st johns
Good work. However, if you guys were true hardarses, you would have swum to Rangitoto Island and run up that too.
Well done! Inspiring stuff. Do you run down as well? I am a bit hesitant to run down hill. I think it is the cause of a few of my knee niggles.
Downhill can indeed be hazardous. I have a suspect left knee myself, and so downhill is always taken at a slow speed. Uphill is low-impact I find. I highly recommend it.
Have you ever considered 1 volcano – 6 days?
Good luck with your future endeavours.
What a cool idea. Wish I had volcanoes where I live…As long as they don’t go off huh?
Wow. Great photos. You live in a beautiful part of the world right there. What a cool idea.
That was an awesome challenge cant wait to do it again!
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