Paeroa runner ends 2200km marathon

A Paeroa man yesterday completed a 2200 kilometre run of the length of New Zealand in a record 28 days.

Ultra-marathon runner Andrew Hedgman kissed the Stirling Point signpost at Bluff at 10am. He had set off from Cape Reinga on February 22.

The 22-year-old averaged 80km a day to become the first person to complete the journey in under 30 days. Hedgman said the feat was emotionally, physically and mentally draining but the best thing he had ever done.

"I'll take my hat off to the person that does this next," a tired Hedgman said yesterday.

The emotion was evident at the end of the leg with Hedgman describing it as "unbelievable".

"I'm full of emotion. To set out to do something like this and know you have done it is amazing," he said.

Hedgman was welcomed by Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt, who rewarded the determined runner with a meal of Bluff oysters.

Hedgman is a relative newcomer to distance running, taking on his first 100km ultra marathon just over a year ago at the New Zealand nationals where he gained a top 10 position.

He said the first two weeks of his New Zealand odyssey were "absolutely brutal".

He got shin splints as he arrived in Auckland which slowed him down for a week.

"Just as they were getting better I tore a muscle in my right thigh and struggled to run for the first two hours of every morning until it warmed up." So what is the best thing about completing what is running's toughest feat in New Zealand?

"Knowing I don't have to get up and run again tomorrow," he joked.

Along the way Hedgman stopped at some schools to talk about his efforts and to try to inspire children to reach for their goals. Fairfax

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