The Mobile Athlete’s Seaside Haven aka M*A*S*H Backyard Ultra will take up refuge at Queen Elizabeth Park / Whareroa on the Kāpiti Coast over Wellington Anniversary weekend. Camp will materialise in the paddock next to the Ramaroa Centre, an easy 35 min drive / 45 km north of Wellington City. A restful (until it’s not!) BYU course with approx. 60m of elevation across paddocks, beside the coast, along the historic Yankee trail, down ex-farm tracks, around wetlands, amongst kahikatea forest remnants, and past historical landmarks awaits you!
QE Park has a rich history. Major Māori settlements were here up until the mid-1800s. From the 1830s onwards, European ships regularly moored off Whareroa Beach in the lee of Kāpiti Island. And before long, European settlers were clearing the land, draining wetlands and sowing pastures here.
Between 1942 and 1944, over 15,000 American troops occupied QE Park. New Zealand / Aotearoa’s army was stationed in North Africa, so when Japan threatened invasion, the United States Marines stepped in.
Deriving its name from the 1970’s TV series M*A*S*H (a war comedy centred around a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), the M*A*S*H Backyard Ultra pays homage to the young US marines that encamped at QE Park to defend Aotearoa.
The question is – how many Yards will you throw down in their honour?
