Blister-free bliss after epic run

Mal Law and his support team, on Dragonfly Peak, near Wanaka, during his High Five-0 charity...
Mal Law and his support team, on Dragonfly Peak, near Wanaka, during his High Five-0 charity running challenge. Photos by Partners High Five-0 Challenge For Mental Health.
Mal Law.
Mal Law.
Approaching Beuzenberg Peak, in Canterbury
Approaching Beuzenberg Peak, in Canterbury
Terry Davis (left) joins Mal Law on his challenge summit of Mt Dunstan
Terry Davis (left) joins Mal Law on his challenge summit of Mt Dunstan
Celebrating wife Sally's birthday during the challenge
Celebrating wife Sally's birthday during the challenge
Studying a map of Arthurs Pass.
Studying a map of Arthurs Pass.

Tired and hungry, Mal Law is still coming down after 50 days of running up mountains to raise money for charity, Lucy Ibbotson writes.

Mal Law's feet are in ''amazing nick'' for someone who has just spent 50 consecutive days running up mountains.

''I didn't get a single blister the entire time. I haven't lost any toenails,'' he told the Otago Daily Times from Auckland this week.

''I generally have pretty hard-wearing feet anyway ... that's probably the benefit of five to six years of long-distance running. It's conditioned them.''

Just as well, too, as Mr Law has had little time to put his feet up since last Saturday, when he completed his High Five-0 fundraising challenge for the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, the culmination of two years of planning and the latest in a series of increasingly ambitious charity runs.

With media and sponsorship obligations to fulfil, hundreds of thank you emails to send and a fundraising campaign still to run, Mr Law does not expect to feel ''back in the real world'' until he returns to his home in Wanaka with wife Sally some time next week.

While his feet have survived intact, his quest has left him feeling tired, constantly hungry and anticipating the inevitable ''postchallenge blues''.

As a sometime sufferer of depression himself, Mr Law - who turns 55 next week - knows what a ''totally debilitating thing it can be'' and has used running to help manage his ''down'' times over the years.

Those experiences, coupled with the suicide of his brother-in-law in 1995, were the catalyst for partnering with the Mental Health Foundation for his recent fundraising project.

Coincidentally, the day Mr Law crossed the final finish line in the challenge was the same day his brother-in-law would have celebrated his 45th birthday, which ''just added to the emotion of the occasion really''.

Unexpectedly for him and his support runners and crew, the challenge not only ''legitimised'' the subject of mental health but had even saved lives.

''I've heard several stories of people who have drawn strength from what we're doing and it's had a major effect on their life to the point of actually saving ... at least a couple of lives.

''I didn't realise the challenge would have that much power. I thought, yeah, we can raise money so the professionals can do their job and ... try and reduce the stigma around the topic.

"But when you start hearing stories about how it has directly had an impact on quite a large number of people, I get really emotional about that and feel huge pride.

''That's probably the biggest single unforeseen reward out of what we've done over the last couple of years.''

Mr Law had ''no lingering qualms whatsoever'' about having to forgo his original plan to run 50 marathons, which was curtailed by his getting both a chest infection and knee injury early in the challenge.

''The goals around raising money and raising awareness and putting out some important messages around mental health, that was always the number one objective and we have absolutely smashed our goals in that respect.

''On a personal level, I'm extremely pleased that despite all the adversity that came our way in the first half of the challenge, I still got to climb 50 peaks ... doing the distance was really just a secondary thing.''

He did still manage a ''not too shoddy'' 40 marathons, ascending the equivalent of almost 10 Mt Everests from sea level.

The reception at the finish line of Auckland's dual marathon on the final day of the challenge was Mr Law's proudest and most humbling moment, as he ran through a guard of honour with his wife and 17-year-old son Beinn (a Gaelic name which, fittingly, means mountain).

The lowest point came during his early struggle with his knee injury, when he was told of the death of close friend and challenge supporter Steve Combe, in a helicopter crash near Queenstown.

''I just broke down and lost it, but from that, very shortly afterwards, [I had] the realisation that maybe that's the resolve I need to get me through ... it was a double-edged sword.''

Mr Law now has a forthcoming European holiday with his wife to look forward to, a new house to settle into in Wanaka and a trail-running business to expand.

But his latest charity challenge has fuelled his appetite for ''adventure for a cause'', so another mental health fundraiser is inevitable, albeit with a bigger team of people managing the project, and on a smaller scale.

''Rather than the bigger than Ben Hur that we've just done.''

lucy.ibbotson@odt.co.nz

 


High Five-0 challenge

Duration: 50 days

Distance run: 1659km

Marathons completed: 40

Total elevation gain: 81,779m

Time on feet: 427 hours

Blisters: 0

Toenails lost: 0

Money raised to date for mental health: $442,920

Target: $505,050


 

 

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