Ultra-marathon runner Lisa Tamati makes her way out of
Waihola on the way to Henley, south of Dunedin, yesterday
afternoon. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Lisa Tamati is 212km down, 1988km to go and "scared as
hell" about the next 30 days.
The New Plymouth ultra-marathon runner has finally embarked
on a dream she started "brewing" in her head about 16 years
ago, and on December 3 hopes she will have run the length of
New Zealand, or the equivalent of 52 marathons in 33 days.
The run is to raise money for CanTeen and Cure Kids and get
children active through the K Per Day challenge set up on the
NZ Run website.
Yesterday, Ms Tamati ran 70km from Waiwera South, west of
Balclutha, to Henley on the Taieri Plain.
By the end of the day, she had completed 212km in three days.
She is joined on the journey by her brother, who has been
running sections of the course, and her mother, who drives
the support car, as well as other support crew.
Taking a couple of minutes' break yesterday, Ms Tamati told
the Otago Daily Times about the first couple of days, since
starting on Saturday.
The support in Southland and Otago had been amazing, she
said.
"I have had some wonderful encounters."
These included seeing residents in their slippers and
dressing gowns cheering her on from their gate, the farming
couple who refilled a support car from their own petrol
supply and another who gave her a fresh lamb roast for
dinner.
She had also had her first "moment of desperation" when she
wondered how she was going to complete the almost impossible
challenge.
"I'm scared as hell - still am - about the rest of the run.
What I am undertaking is pretty much on the limits of the
human body."
Tamati recently returned from competing in a 24-hour
Commonwealth event in London and completed her second Death
Valley ultra-marathon in California in July.
She took a couple of weeks off to prepare her body for the
latest challenge and says she has the conditioning, endurance
and mental toughness to complete the task.
Each night, she has an ice bath to reduce the swelling in her
legs.
She had to fight against her immune system breaking down, her
muscles breaking down and the ever-present threat of injury.
Today, she will tackle the journey from Henley to Waikouaiti,
a distance of 73km.
People can make donations and follow her progress at www.nzrun.co.nz
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