Reasons to run
A Wellington man has completed an ultramarathon during the lockdown without leaving his suburb.
Simon Lawson, 25, was running 56 kilometres in memory of his ‘‘second mother’’, covering one kilometre for every year of her life.
Locked down, Lawson found himself unable to visit the family when their mother, Monique, passed away on Sunday last week.
‘‘I couldn’t go over and see my best mate and support him, or his sister ... obviously I wasn’t going to break the lockdown, so I thought what can I do?’’ he said.
‘‘I thought that it’s going to hurt a lot, but it’s going to hurt a lot less than what they’re going through.’’
Before lacing up his sneakers on Saturday, Lawson didn’t tell anyone what he was doing – and yet residents of the Whitby neighbourhood came outside of their homes to support him.
‘‘The amount of people that were out even sitting on their driveways, it was just really cool.’’
Whitby is the suburb Lawson grew up in, and where he grew up with his best friend and his mother Monique.
Since age five, Monique was ‘‘essentially a second mother’’ to him, and her son was his ‘‘best buddy’’, Lawson said.
‘‘She was the most caring, loving, nurturing person.
‘‘She’d always go the extra mile to make sure that everyone had things sorted for them ... making sure everyone was happy.’’
Lawson moved temporarily back to Whitby to live out the lockdown period with his parents.
Despite being confined to his small suburb, Lawson managed to complete the run in about seven hours. Thinking about the family and what they’re going through during the nationwide lockdown pushed him through it, he said.
‘‘They can’t be together ... they can’t even get together and have a beer and a laugh.’’
On Sunday, he said he was feeling okay after running the 56 kilometres.
‘‘I am feeling pretty tired, and my legs are pretty sore,’’ he said.
‘‘I think she would’ve been there, telling me how stupid I was – in a lovely way.’’
Since the lockdown started, Lawson had been doing more running locally in Whitby, he said.
He’s been running for one year and four months, and in that time has already completed three ultramarathons.