Help is just a click away!
Great news… Yahoo!Xtra have asked me to write a regular Travel Blog to share my impressions of the great places my training takes me with. Even better news…. for each blog posted they will make a donation to the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation. THE MORE PEOPLE THAT READ THESE BLOGS THE MORE THEY WILL DONATE! [...]
The final piece in the jigsaw
At last. After months of plotting, phoning people, sending out emails, cajoling and pleading, even grovelling, we have the final important part of the great Logistics Puzzle solved. This morning I met with the very affable Andrew Crawford, Managing Director of Sounds Air. He has offered to fly me (and a few support runners if [...]
Making friends with barnacles
No, I haven’t plunged new depths of depravity or finally bored all my other friends to death. I just NEEDED those barnacles today…. the reason?…. a 9km stretch of brilliant rocky coastline that made up part of the wicked course for the final race in the XTerra series. It was beautiful but technical and slippy, [...]
Opportunity Knocks!
Since announcing the 7in7 to the world we have been inundated with enquiries from people who would like to join in the Challenge. With keen competition for places we had planned to hold an online auction for these spots, but for various reasons this idea has fallen from favour. Instead we’d like to offer the [...]
The Fine Art of Running Slowly
Yesterday, before the sun had got out of bed, I climbed into my borrowed car (actually, a Ute – hey, I’m a real man at last!) and headed west, like all good young men should. The destination was Bethell’s Beach and ahead lay the longest training run yet. This also marked a new point in [...]
Two Go Wild in the Waitaks….
With so much time away over the last few weeks I have had little chance to run in my favourite back yard spot, the Waitakere hills. So it was great to get out there at the crack of dawn today with good mate Wade. But I was a bit worried to see that Wade’s sole source [...]
100 days and counting
Gulp! When I started out with this crazy idea it was 300 days away…. we’re getting to the sharp end of things now and still a hell of a lot to do – training,organising, fundraising…. it’s going to be a very busy 100 days… not made any easier by having to reassemble our lives and [...]
Size isn't everything
Before leaving Wanaka yesterday I went for a fantastic wee run with good friend and fellow 7in7′er Greg…. it was only 7kms long and took well under an hour, but it was packed with breathtaking scenery. Anyone who has been on the Millenium Track just out of Wanaka, heading towards Glendhu Bay will know what [...]
Chopper found!
Success at last…. after chasing dozens of dead ends we have finally found a Good Samaritan who is prepared to fly me from Karamea (end of the Heaphy) to Glenorchy (start of Routeburn), thus saving a 12-hour overnight dash in the van. The good man is Wanaka resident and keen amateur pilot Dennis, who we [...]
Cross-training, Theft and Redemption
Well, it’s been quite an eventful few days. Last Friday we came down to Wanaka to enjoy a few days cross-training (oh okay, fun skiing) with friends. Two great days at Coronet Peak and Cardrona. But the fun was cut short when we got a call to tell us our house had been burgled and [...]
Several more milestones
This week has been a big one for milestones. If you’re as hopelessly goal-oriented as me you’ll know how important these things as motivators. So here they are: 1. I have now run >1,500 kms in training for 7in7. I expect to do at least another 1,500 over the next 3 months. 2. We have [...]
Making it through in one piece
I had another one of those humbling moments yesterday when I was contacted out of the blue by Karen Baas from the Survival Kit Company. She had read about the 7in7 Challenge and emailed me to offer a customised first aid kit to take with us on the Challenge. Not one to look a gift [...]
Where am I?
Here’s a little quiz for the Aucklanders amongst you….. where was I when this photo was taken? Clue: I didn’t have to drive from my home in Westmere and I only ran for an hour. First person to email mal@7in7.org.nz with the correct answer wins a Nike ACG beanie and a Mule Bar.
Welcome John
Great news! My good mate John Gundesen has just signed up as a Support Runner for the Routeburn leg of the 7in7 Challenge. John’s participation has special significance as he also lost a brother to leukaemia at a young age. So while John hasn’t done a lot of running in the last few years (some excuse [...]
Another milestone
Finally, an excuse to publish a photo of my beloved Wanaka! Why? Well, today’s canter through the bush reserves of the North Shore brought up the 1,500kms of training runs since it all began back in March. Which I figure is the equivalent of running from Auckland to Wanaka. Now, with just about 100 training [...]
Running the red line
Yesterday was Xterra race 5 at Whitford – a place I have never run before but which gave us a really nice mix of trail conditions – lots of single track, some a little technical, non-stop hills…. just my kind of thing. And it was the first race in the series where I have turned up [...]
One for the geeks
I’ve been having a lot of geeky fun with my new Garmin 405 GPS watch…. using the data collected while out running and the ever-so-cool Garmin Connect website it’s possible to ‘re-live’ and share with others all kinds of stuff. By way of example CLICK HERE to see the first part of the Sunrise to Sunset run [...]
A beautiful baby trail run
Born recently to proud parents the Mizone 7in7 Challenge and Total Sport…. a small, but beautifully formed and TOTALLY UNIQUE, KNOCK OUR SOCKS OFF FUN RUN – yes, it’s the MIZONE 7in1 CHALLENGE. Entries are now open for this FUNdraising event, happening on Sunday Oct 18th near Parakai, just 50 mins north of central Auckland. [...]
Training resumes
What a difference a few days can make. On Sunday I was dragging my weary butt around the streets doing an impersonation of a geriatric tortoise on Prozac. I felt awful; I was in pain; I pulled out of my run and got a lift home. Today, after 3 days of rest, lots of stretching [...]
Buy a Mule, help the cause!
You may have already heard my rant about how good Mule Bars are. Only just launched in NZ, the makers tout them as Fuel for Adventure, and I for one can testify to their yumminess, their energyness and their stayingdownwhennothingelsewillness…. on the recent Sunrise to Sunset 100km run the Liquorice Allsport Mule Bars saved my [...]
Friends of the Challenge are winners!
We have just made our second monthly Friends of the Challenge prize draw and selected 5 winners, each of whom has won a very cool Icebreaker GT150 top (pictured). Our winners are Ewa W, Greta M, Hilary A, Margaret R and Neil W. Congratulations to all you guys! This just goes to show that donating [...]
The wheels fall off….
Since running the Sunrise to Sunset 100k race I’ve been feeling really good and thought my recovery had been great. So, as today marked the start of Phase 2 of training, I set the alarm for 5.30am and by 6am was off on my 38km ‘V6′ tour of Auckland’s volcanoes. I took it really steadily but after an [...]
Back home
Regular readers will know that I have been out of contact for the last couple of weeks – you may even have missed these regular missives (??) – but after the most brilliant time in Mongolia and Beijing I am now back in rainy old Auckland and determined to make up for lost time. What [...]
