From cyclone recovery to a finish line victory for Hawke’s Bay runner

Glen Chesterman stands at the foot of a cleared slip on his family's Maraetotara farm. Photo / Mitchell Hageman

Glen Chesterman didn’t think he would win his latest trail race.

Until last weekend’s victory at the 73km Ring of Fire race at the Ruapehu Trail Festival, the 26-year-old trail runner had been hard at work on his family farm in Maraetotara, helping clear humungous slips on the property and making sure cattle were accounted for.

“It was kind of unexpected really, considering everything that has been going on,” he humbly told Hawke’s Bay Today.

While actively doing recovery work, Chesterman was also training, getting up early most mornings and heading out on afternoons to run.

By Wednesday on the week of Cyclone Gabrielle, he had already been for a significant trail run.

“Quite often he runs [on Te Mata] Peak and that was all shut,” proud mum Jennifer Chesterman told Hawke’s Bay Today.

On one run, his car was broken into, and he lost keys, wallet and other items, which didn’t help with the already strained communication issues in the region.

But this didn’t stop Chesterman, who worked tirelessly and continued to train despite all that was going on.

“I think sticking to his training had kind of kept him sane while he’s managed to do some of the troubleshooting for us,” Jennifer said.

Chesterman said he had been “giving the races a good nudge” for a year or so, but the cyclone had thrown things out of the loop.

“I thought I’d just see how this one goes.”

He was victorious, edging out his competitors with an impressive time of nine and a half hours.

While he couldn’t confirm or deny if his hard yakker on the farm had helped get him over the finish line, he said it was a lesson in “dealing with what you’ve got.”

Glen Chesterman runs the gruelling 73km Ring of Fire as part of the Ruapehu Trail Festival on March 11.

Jennifer said her son had been an immense help on the farm. Before August, he was in Wellington with FarmIQ, and has since bought incredible knowledge and work ethic to the table.

“Some people might criticise people for taking time off the farm, but I really think it’s important to maintain a good work-life balance.

“I think Glen has proven that. It’s great for your mental health and look at the achievement.”

Glen and his mum highlighted that many farms across Hawke’s Bay are struggling, with some a lot worse off than them.

“Comparatively, we were lucky as it didn’t hit the house or the woolsheds,” said Glen.

While there’s still more work to do on the farm, Glen hopes to compete in another race in Australia this year.

And with his family’s support and continued training, there’s no doubt we may see another Hawke’s Bay success story very soon.