Soap. It’s become the new gold in supermarkets since COVID 19 turned our world upside down.
In recent years we’ve been bombarded with advertisements for soap alternatives. There are all sorts of fancy hand sanitisers, wet wipes, and sprays on the market.
But it turns out that good, old-fashioned soap is the key to washing dirt and germs off our hands and down the drain.
So, from a teacher and science-nerd, try these experiments to see why every bubble needs a little soap these days.
“I love the outdoors and I love a challenge. And I love people that love a challenge. It’s really important in my heart and in my wife’s heart to recognise the strength in everybody.”
Scott Worthington at the close of the 2020 Revenant Ultra Adventure Run
Scott and Tom about to present the very first Revenants with their ceremonial shot glass full of Welcome Rock whisky.
One of the very special things about the Revenant run is its community feel. The runners, their families, supporters and all the volunteers feel a sense of connection and belonging.
It’s not an accident. Everyone has a part to play in the Revenant family.
Revenant 2020 was all we hoped for and more. It had drama, heartbreak and challenge a-plenty.
I was lucky enough to be out on the course in this year’s event. Here’s how it unfolded.
The 2020 Revenant Ultra Adventure Run challengers meet at the race briefing at the Welcome Rock Trails / Blackmore Station woolshed. The next time they’ll all be together will be at the start line in the early hours of a January morning.
Can You Imagine Going Deep Into The Revenant?
“ I saw a black and white cow pulling a caravan up the river.”
That might have bothered Shaun the first time he clambered up the Nokomai River. But as he scrambled over boulders and under logs for the fourth time in 60 hours, the cow didn’t faze him at all.
When you’re pushing body, mind and spirit to the limit, hallucinations happen. Your brain starts to play tricks when you’ve been running and navigating with no sleep. And when you’re climbing, descending and racing for 190km over three days.
It happens when you go deep into The Revenant.
25 men and women lined up in the 2020 race on Welcome Rock Trails this year. Some had been there before — they had demons to conquer. Last year, no-one came close to finishing the race.
Others were there to discover their own limits. How would they face the challenge that is the Revenant Ultra Adventure Run?
Blue gums line the gravel road that winds past our dusty little farmhouse. Look out to the west. Once you could see for miles, but not any more. Now your gaze stops at the towering gums.
Why are they still there, blocking my view?
Eucalyptus trees, as blue gums are more properly called, are a hardy bunch with more than a few annoying features.
You couldn’t call them pretty trees. Their bark peels like last week’s sunburnt skin littering the lawn with long brown stripes. Branches sprout every which way and their dull green leaves hang limply from every twig.
Kiwi Saffron’s Steve and Jo Daley are as down-to-earth as any couple you’re likely to meet. He’s originally from Te Puke – think Kiwifruit and beekeeping. She’s from pioneer Southern farming stock. With those backgrounds, as you can imagine, they’re not afraid of a bit of work.
And that’s just as well because as well as caring for cows on the farm, beekeeping and contract fencing, Steve and Jo are the hard-working duo behind this small, but increasingly successful, organic saffron company.
