7in7 gets more chick power
Yeeha! I’m thrilled to announce the latest support runner to join the Challenge – Andrea Koorey (aka Koo) - who brings the total female quota up to four. For Thom and myself the Abel Tasman is going to be a lot of fun as we now have the delightful company of TWO top gals (Karen being the [...]
Jetlag Rules OK!
I’m beginning to think that jetlag is actually a really good thing. Awake again by 4.30am I was out running in the foggy wilds of Haddon Hill while it was still pitch black. This is part of Exmoor and home turf for one of my heroes, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. But even he was probably still snug [...]
Sleep deprivation training
I’ve always found that the second night after a long-haul flight is the worst. And so it was no surprise that I found myself wide awake before 4 o’clock this morning, waiting for dawn to crash through the curtains, so I could get out running. But before that time arrived my impatience had got the [...]
My body is in England, my mind is ?????
When you run into a farmer who comments “you’re up early aren’t you?” you know you must be jetlagged. Actually, my first night’s kip wasn’t too bad but I was awake early and I was out at sparrow’s fart running through glorious Devonshire countryside. Glorious, that is except for the stinging nettles – just as [...]
7in7 is Tweating
I know it’s not everybody’s cuppa tea but thanks to Twitter I can now give live, up-to-the-minute status reports on 7in7 progress. This will be great during the Challenge week as it means that whenever we are in cellphone range we’ll be able to let all our followers know how we are going. Here’s how [...]
Welcome to the Awesome Foursome
I have 4 more Support Runners joining the Challenge. Welcome to Hazel Shuttleworth (running Routeburn), Lisa Markwick (running Tongariro), Ash Scott (running Waikaremoana) and Thom Charles (running Abel Tasman). IT’S GREAT TO HAVE YOU ALL ON BOARD. We now have three women on the Challenge which makes us a bit more gender-balanced. [...]
Another twist in the tale
This 7in7 thingy keeps finding new ways of challenging me. And providing new rewards. The latest twist is a sad one – my dear old mum is in hospital in England, very sick. I need to abandon plans for running Waikaremoana this weekend, and for a big week of running based at Karekare after that. [...]
All good things come to an end…
Well, it was a week of glorious weather, glorious scenery and glorious running. So guess you could sum it all up by saying it was a glorious week! I spent the night after Heaphy parked up on the side of the road somewhere near Motueka. I got the fright of my life early next morning [...]
Pushing new limits
I have always thought that the Heaphy Track will be the crux of the whole Challenge and my experiences on it over the last couple of days have certainly confirmed that. After a lovely early morning drive from Takaka (pukeko playing chicken with the van, soft sun on ridiculously green paddocks) I arrived at the [...]
The Forgotten Track
The road trip continues. Blenheim to Nelson with Radiohead blasting; Nelson to Motueka and an obligatory stop at one of the world’s best cafes, the Red Beret; over the Takaka hill (stunning, stunning, stunning views and memories of a younger self riding up that humungous hill many years ago), finally arriving at the Wainui Inlet [...]
A real southern beauty
Wow, what a weekend. I had been looking forward to some time in Nelson Lakes with my ol’ mate Karen, but this surpassed all expectations. After a cruisy start to the day we arrived in Nelson Lakes late morning and set off around Lake Rotoiti. The mountains were mostly clear and just got clearer as [...]
Let the tour begin!
I am sitting at the airport waiting to board a plane to Christchurch where I will pick up my cooler-than-cool Roadcraft Overland Camping Vehicle for a week long road trip around the top half of the South Island. I have some serious running planned that should amount to at least 160kms over the week and will [...]
Completing the hatrick
Training for 7in7 has moved into the phase of ‘back to back’ long runs, conditioning this much abused, often ridiculed body of mine to the idea of “so you had a hard day yesterday? tough s**t mate, get out there and do it again”. Last week I put together two long runs on consecutive days, [...]
An almost perfect day
No day can be described as perfect while my beloved, gorgeous wife is on the other side of the world, but today did come close. I was gently awoken this morning by the best son in the world bringing his dad a Father’s Day cup of tea, a perfectly prepared bowl of muesli & fruit [...]
Nike ACG join the Challenge
Nike ACG have for some years sponsored the Kepler Challenge, and as this race is the final leg of the 7in7 Challenge it seems only appropriate that we join forces. John Elliott from Nike ACG is a passionate follower of both Challenges so it is great that he is supporting us with a stack of [...]
The ultimate weekend road trip
Getting jealous of us driving around the country in the coolest Overland Camping Vehicles ever seen on NZ roads? Well, now you have a chance to escape for a weekend of wild fun in one yourself. The Base Jumper is manufactured by our sponsor Roadcraft and they are offering a weekend’s free hire of one [...]
A fundraising triumph
Last night I was invited to give a short talk about the 7in7 at a wee soiree organised by the nicest real estate agent in Auckland, if not New Zealand, if not the world. The lady in question is Pene Milne of Pene Milne Properties, Herne Bay (part of the Premium franchise). Pene is an [...]
Getting serious
With less than 3 months to go before the Challenge kicks off the training has moved up a notch. While I’ve built a good base doing lots of long runs I hadn’t started stringing them together as ‘back to backs’ – until this week. Yesterday I hit the Waitakere trails (mud, glorious mud) for 5 [...]
Will you be watching?
Okay, this is one of the coolest and most exciting things to have happened since 7in7 was conceived – especially if you have any geek tendancies (which of course I don’t!). I recently heard about some great new technology called the SPOT satellite messager that can be used to track people wherever on the planet [...]
