During a road trip from Christchurch to the Abel Tasman in the South Island of New Zealand I aimed to put a bit more focus on running. Darryn was still in the midst of recovering and getting back on track from his calcaneus (heel bone) injury. This put any long day or multi day hiking adventures and hours of outdoor climbing out of the picture for us. As an act of balance between getting enough movement in for me, not too much but enough walking for Darryn and actually spending the holiday together, we had an idea:
We would find short day walks to walk together and therefore test and stretch Darryn's walking limits. I would then either run the tracks again or if the tracks permit keep running the path while Darryn starts his return back to the start of the track.
This way I eventually ended up running the 5 beautiful tracks you see listed below and that I'd like to introduce you to. As a reference, our road trip started in Christchurch, passing through Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve, towards Whites Bay near Blenheim. From there over Picton, Elaine Bay and then reaching Abel Tasman National Park. We actually made it all the way up to the Farewell Spit but that's secondary to my wee running journey :)
The distance range of all tracks combined is anything between 2.5 - 60+ kilometres one way. So, there are options for lots of variations depending on what kind of distance runner you are. In case, you're not a runner but are here anyway, no need to leave the page. All of the tracks are splendid, well maintained walking tracks and, at least, equally as enjoyable at a slower pace.
Runner or not, I hope the list below will inspire you to put on some trail runners and get out into a wee bit of green, maybe even checking out some of the tracks below.
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