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
