Tamati dashes off to Cape Reinga from Bluff

BY NATHAN BURDON

Ask Lisa Tamati what the hardest bit about her length-of-New Zealand run that starts in Bluff this morning will be and the answer is simple.

Everything.

"It's such a long time, psychologically it's going to be so hard on the crew as well.

"We are on the road for 33 days; we've got speaking engagements all the way through the country, we are visiting primary schools. It's going to drain a lot of energy out of all of us, not just me running."

During the next 33 days the Taranaki runner will cover 2200km from Bluff to Cape Reinga. averaging more than the equivalent of a marathon each day.

She will have to draw on every bit of her experience as New Zealand's best female ultra-marathon runner, and the prospect is little short of scary.

"I'm scared as hell, actually. To be honest with you, I`m freaking out," Tamati said.

"You get to the point where you think `what was I thinking, me and my big mouth', but that's all part of it."

Having spent the past three weeks in quiet mode as she allowed a range of aches and niggles to subside, the super-fit Tamati has been bouncing off the walls.

"It's been a long time coming, it's been almost a year of preparation so it's getting exciting."

Tamati's ultra-distance feats have taken her through the infamous Death Valley and the Sahara desert, but she rates the next month of her life as the toughest thing she's done.

"Looking at it from my perspective I'd say it will definitely be harder than anything I've done before – not on a day-to-day basis, I mean Death Valley is 37 hours straight and you don't have a minute to spare so you've got sleep deprivation, heat and exhaustion.

"What we have got is cold, rain, traffic and just the huge distance."

Tamati hopes to inspire people, particularly children, to become more active.

She will also be raising awareness and money for two causes that are dear to her heart – CanTeen (for teenagers and their families fighting cancer) and Curekids (dedicated to finding cures for a myriad of illnesses that affect children).

"What I'm really looking forward to is meeting some of the CanTeen kids along the way. CanTeen and Curekids is all about the kids and their fight against diseases," she said.

"No matter how tough it gets for me, I've got to take a reality check and think 'well you aren't getting chemotherapy and you aren't going to die next week, so get over it'. "Some of the kids I've met and their stories, their smiley faces, when what they are going through – I can learn a lot from that and it's a huge motivating factor for me."

Tamati's run began at 6am today at Bluff. On day one she will travel almost 70km to Edendale and she will have got as far as Balclutha by the end of day two.

You can follow her progress at nzrun.co.nz

- © Fairfax NZ News