Ruth-less pursuit of excellence

PLUS: Notes from Headingley #3, Covid hits the ABs, booze and live sport mix awkwardly again, and the Silver Ferns are named.

Ruth Croft continues to amaze.

This weekend she won the Western States, invariably described as the toughest foot race in the world.

(It probably isn’t anymore. As society digitises to make life “easier”, so does the capacity to create masochistic events to prove that humans are just a random collection of cells that can be reduced to base survival instincts if you keep them upright in a pair of trainers for long enough.)

But it’s tough, bloody tough, with a grotesque elevation chart and extremes in temperatures that fuel the industry for laughably overpriced breathable fabrics and seam-sealed running jackets.

I’d suggest you read this entire piece from Outside, it’s worth it, but if there’s a single paragraph that sums up the race, it’s probably this one.

There is a place along a canyon where the path is only two feet wide, with a perilous drop-off on the exposed edge. Most runners hit this stretch in the middle of the night with rubbery legs and dulled senses. At another point the course turns off a logging road and onto a trail. Miss the turn and you run off a cliff. The summer heat parches you, and there are stretches of up to 16 miles where water is unavailable. Then at 88 miles you're up to your waist in it, hanging on to a guide rope while you ford the moonlit American River. At night, after you've been slogging along for, say, 22 hours, you hear things rustle in the thickets as you pass… Your flashlight is your only guide, but the shadows begin to play tricks on you. Are you hallucinating, or were those really raccoons and skunks scurrying across the path at your feet?

Croft, a West Coaster, has a remarkable collection of muscle fibres and tendons. She also has a head on her shoulders that transmits the “keep going” message to her heart, lungs and legs long after most have quit.

She finished second last year, which drove her decision to return.

Croft won in 17h 21m 30s, the third-fastest women’s time in the race’s 49-year history.

“A lot of it’s just having fun. A hundred miles is a really long way. If you’re not having fun, it’s just a lot further,” she said as part of this finish-line interview.”

There is probably no single sporting event I’m more cynical about than the Halberg Awards. Attempts to try to compare achievements in different sports across different events used to get me worked up and angry, but now they just leave me cold.

I would, however, be mildly disappointed if Croft’s name wasn’t prominent on the ballot.

Most of you won’t read the Western States feature linked to above because, let’s face it, we’re all a bit time poor.

I can’t let you leave with my favourite anecdote about the event, taken from the 1979 race.

In 1978 a runner who was well under a 24-hour pace became lost around 2 A.M. somewhere between 93 and 97 miles. He was found at daybreak complaining that his wife had failed to meet him at a checkpoint. He has since divorced her, abandoned running, started smoking, and gained considerable weight.

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Croft was not the only Kiwi long-distance runner kicking arse over the weekend.

Caitlin Fielder, the partner of Kiwi cyclist George Bennett, finished second in the Marathon du Mount-Blanc in a time of 4h 20m 21s. Fielder is an artist who specialises in custom painting shoes.

You can learn more about her here.

Notes from Headingley #3

NZ 329 & 326

ENG 360 & 183-2

You might notice the number above doesn’t correspond to the days played but there’s a simple reason for that: I saw only the highlights package from day three.

I stayed up last night though and it felt a little disorienting; like you’ve seen this movie before and you’re pretty sure you know how it ends but there’s weird little variations before you reach the same denouement.

I intend to wrap up the series in depth tomorrow, including the bizarre treatment of Ajaz Patel post-Mumbai miracle, so I’ll keep these very brief because some points will be expanded upon.

• Jack Leach took 10 wickets for the match. He opened the bowling in the second innings. New Zealand’s spinner has 31 first-class wickets at a tick under 47.

• A whole lot of different stuff goes into the winning and losing of a five-day test but it’s not a stretch to say that one selection decision has potentially condemned New Zealand to a fourth test lost on the trot and a whitewash at the hands of a team they are, in many respects, better than.

• It’s not over yet, of course, and there was a time not that long ago when New Zealand could be counted on to pull rabbits out of hats. This ball is 39 overs old, however, it’s not swinging and it’s only real feature is its laser-like focus on the middle of Joe Root and Ollie Pope’s bats.

• It was a real struggle for Daryl Mitchell (56) last night. For a guy who has dominated the crease this series it was fascinating watching him grind it out while batting himself out of form. Tom Blundell (88 not out) on the other hand was excellent. Michael Bracewell in particular did their hard work a disservice and it was galling not to see the tail give Blundell an opportunity for his second ton of the series.

  

  Look mum, one hand. Photo / Getty Images

• England have won every key late-game moment so far in this series. The first session tonight is the last chance for the Black Caps to redress that balance.

• It might be time to start having a talk about whether the test side needs a new voice in the changing rooms.

New Zealand Cricket is holding a press event tomorrow morning to announce its home schedule for the summer. If this test goes the way it appears to be going, then it’s not a bad move to try to change the conversation.

Will booze ban solve crowd issues?

I’ve written before about rugby’s recent hypocrisy regarding booze - that is to say, they’re happy to sheet some of the blame on dementia/CTE to alcohol consumption while taking that industry’s money - but after a bunch of recent crowd disturbances the question is being asked as to whether it’s time to turn the taps off at the grounds?

The NZ Herald’s Gregor Paul has long been a critic of rugby’s relationship with beer and wrote last week that NZR could live up to its desire for inclusion while it kept its sponsorship ties with beer brands. In a piece under the existential headline “Radical steps are needed - New Zealand Rugby must ban alcohol to survive” ($), Paul wrote:

There really is no point in NZR investing in all sorts of digital ways to enhance the stadium experience when the single greatest impediment to anyone enjoying being at a test remains the likelihood of finding themselves sat next to a group of obnoxiously drunk morons.

Test matches have… become a magnet for those who find glory in drinking to excess and therein lies the biggest problem with alcohol – not everyone can be trusted to use it in moderation.

I bring this up now because I didn’t get a chance to watch the Kiwis v Tonga on Saturday, but I got plenty of chances to read all about this nonsense in the post match.

Security deals with a pitch invader at Mt Smart Stadium. Photo / Getty Images

While I agree with Paul in many of the points he makes, it doesn’t address the horrendous pre-loading that sees hundreds of men and women arrive at the gates in a condition that should see them turned away.

It also bothers me on a selfish level that responsible adults should be prevented from enjoying an adult drink responsibly because others can’t.

That said, it is probably time to trial exclusive 0.0% beer taps in stadiums.

If it helps get parents bringing their kids back to live night sport, the benefits of a Steinlager Zero series could be profound.

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The “All Blacks in disarray” was a familiar headline during last year’s northern tour but they face a different threat from a familiar foe this week.

Their build-up to the most anticipated June series in a decade has been hampered by Covid-19 in the camp, with coaches Ian Foster and John Plumtree testing positive, alongside midfielders David Havili and Jack Goodhue.

The midfield was already one of the All Blacks least convincing areas before the virus took out two options, but here’s TVNZ’s Patrick McKendry to run through the ramifications.

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The Silver Ferns squad for the Commonwealth Games has been named.

Shooters: Maia Wilson, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Grace Nweke* (subject to medical clearance and return-to-play protocols), Bailey Mes. Midcourt: Gina Crampton (c), Shannon Saunders, Whitney Souness, Kate Heffernan. Defence: Kayla Johnson, Phoenix Karaka, Kelly Jury, Sulu Fitzpatrick. Reserves: Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Claire Kersten, Tiana Metuarau, Mila Reuelu-Buchanan and Elle Temu.

To be clear, I only paid attention to the playoff rounds of the ANZ Championship so my recency bias is strong, but at first glance Noeline Taurua is going to need all her mysticism and magic to get this squad anywhere near a gold medal.

Unless Grace Nweke emerges as a an unstoppable star - and it might be one major event too early for that - the shooting circle looks thin on talent, with Tiana Metuarau the major omission.

The midcourt looks bizarre. Speaking to a couple of keen netball judges, there is more talent in the reserves and at home than there is going to Birmingham, with Maddy Gordon, Sam Winders and Mila Reuelu-Buchanan all missing Taurua’s final cut.