Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Getting deep before sleep
Every time I think the romance of the Great Kiwi OE is diminishing, I hear stories that restore my faith.
The idea of young New Zealanders heading off for adventure and to explore and experience the world has been embedded in our culture for generations.
But the advent of crippling student loans, the crushing responsibilities of careers, and the groaning difficulty of buying a first home have, understandably, made it impossible or less appealing to many, it seems.
There’s something about it, though, that I think makes it important.
There’s a value in just hitting the road, not quite knowing where you’re going, finding things out about yourself and the world around you.
They’re all experiences that the OE has in common with running. When I lace up my shoes and head out the doors, sometimes I just like to see where the road (or, better still, the trail) might take me. There’s something quite special about not having a plan.
Decades after my OE days, those runs are little reminders of the joy of not having a plan; of being open to whatever it is I might see, hear, or smell; and of savouring those experiences.
Of course, for me, the ultimate would be combining running with a Kiwi OE.
So when I hear stories of New Zealanders getting around the world racing and also soaking up adventures, I can’t help but smile (and feel a twinge of jealousy).
On the Dirt Church Radio podcast, co-host Matt Rayment and I chatted with Wellingtonbased runner Weston Hill.
I say Wellington-based, but the reality is for the past three years Weston has been a citizen of the world, tripping through Asia, Europe and America and lining up in some of the biggest – and most obscure – trail and adventure races.
After growing up on a farm out of Upper Hutt, he went to Christchurch to study engineering and landed a good job. But soon enough, he started getting itchy feet.
And so he came up with a plan, one he calls his ‘‘No Plan Plan’’, his confidence bolstered by advice from an older work colleague. ‘‘He talked me into following my nose and I’ve been doing it ever since,’’ says Hill.
At one point he ended up in the United States, where he bought a van for $1300 and hit the road, admittedly without much luxury.
‘‘The windows wouldn’t go down, the back slider was open the whole time – it was a character-filled van.’’ I love the sound of this vehicle.
Along the way, he met Majell Backhausen, an Australian runner on a similar adventure (how often do Kiwis and Aussies connect like that on the road?) and they spent time driving from race to race.
More impressively, though, they were open to adventure, including tracking down top American runner Rickey Gates, who was on a mission across America.
‘‘We somehow got Rickey’s number and ended up meeting him in the middle of the desert.
‘‘At first we couldn’t find him. It was the middle of the day in the desert in Nevada and he was hiding in culverts on the side of the road because it was so hot.
‘‘So we were driving up and down this road not sure where he was, what was going on, and this man then pops up with a baby stroller running through the desert and we thought, ‘oh, it must be him’.’’
They spent the next few days on the road with Rickey, the two of them taking turns to run and drive the van.
I can just picture it, and I love it – the spontaneity, the ingenuity of tracking him down, and the sheer fun.
I’m all for Hill’s ‘‘No Plan Plan’’, and for seeking out adventures, even in our day-today lives.
‘‘An older work colleague talked me into following my nose and I’ve been doing it ever since.’’
Weston Hill