Volcanoes: Mt. St. John, Mt. Hobson (14.93km)

Scorcher! There is a reason why most people aren't stupid enough to go running in the middle of a sunny day. It started off with a gentle breeze but that died away fairly quickly and then it got hot. Still what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Overall pace was on the slow and easy side 01:16:20 (5.06min/km) - still this distance is very much long run territory for me right now.

In keeping in line with the last posts (that is 'Laufen bis der Vulkane') the mission today was to pick a route that took in two small volcanic cones in Auckland that I hadn't visited - Mt. St. John and Mt. Hobson.

The first stage of my run took me through the now familiar Grand Drive a gradual climb through one of the entrances of One Tree Hill. You can run on grass up here which is good for some variation. This leads into Twin Oak Drive which has trail adjacent. Running through the park is great for fresh air. Here is a picture looking back on Twin Oak Drive with the trial to the right.



Around the 6km mark the summit climb to Mt. St. John. This wasn't too bad (it isn't very much of a volcanoe!) and included some steps. Good view. Here is the crater itself from the summit ridge.



Around 8km hit Mt. Hobson this climb had a bit of a rural feel to it following what looked like tractor tracks - a few walkers around probably thinking I was mad running in the heat. The way down was a better track and made me think it was the official route. View from the top to the suburb of Newmarket. The iconic skytower can be seen in the city centre.




The remainder of the run took in suburban streets through Remuera, Epsom, and One Tree Hill. Cut through the park in the other direction from Atarangi Rd.

Legs getting sore in the homeward straight which was a reminder to me about doing too much too soon (i.e. I did the Big King run just 2 days prior). Might take a 2 or 3 day break...

Here is the route: