RUNNING ON EMPTY

Athletes succeeding on a shoestring

The pain is expected to settle over the next year. And Maia is trying to generate extra income through public speaking events.

She is an ambassador for outdoor clothing brand Macpac, which provides equipment but it is not a paid partnership. Last year she won one of its Fund for Good grants.

Climbing New Zealand is the national sporting organisation, with around 500 members, and 150 competing at national level. It’s a registered charity, run entirely by volunteers.

David Sanders, its president, says: ‘‘We are not at the stage yet, in the development of the sport in New Zealand, of being able to provide financial support for any of our athletes, including para.

‘‘As the sport grows and we attract more participants, as expected with Olympic exposure, we anticipate a parallel rise in interest from financial partners and sponsors.’’

Paralympics NZ chief executive Fiona Allan says: ‘‘With para climbing not currently being on the Paralympic programme, it doesn’t fall under the current investment model towards supporting athletes on the pathway to the Paralympic Games.’’

Allan encourages athletes to explore options such as grants through community organisations and gaming trusts to cover travel costs.

‘‘There is an opportunity, I believe, for an athlete to look at opportunities to increase their profile, whether it’s website presence [or] through the media.

‘‘With that, there’s an opportunity of increasing their commercial activity value for a potential partner through increased viewership of them as an individual.

‘‘For the likes of Rachel, and a lot of our para athletes, they are inspirational role models. Often they are training, they’ve got families, and it’s very difficult, juggling competition, life and wellbeing.’’

Maia must balance her training with physical recovery, pain management and taking care of her mental health. She often struggles with insomnia.

‘‘I have PTSD and I find my climbing helps manage that.

‘‘I find the climbing very meditative, it blacks out a lot of the other stresses in life and lots of other triggers. My sport is my way of pushing through that.’’

She has learned to allow herself to rest. And she is loath to be portrayed as an indefatigable champion. ‘‘It used to really frustrate me and I felt like my body had let me down, and that my mental health let me down.

‘‘Now I’ve flipped it around. I bet you there’s lots of mums that wish they could binge on Netflix for an entire day. And there’s lots of other productive things you can do while you’re sitting.’’

Maia says achieving that balance is something every athlete must strive for. ‘‘The hardest part is working out the balance between working at your limit and working over your limit.

‘‘But when I add in three children . . . and then the financial pressure, it can really affect not just your training, but your performance and your selfbelief that you’re ever going to get to your goal. And that can shake you a little bit.

‘‘So every week I’m working at my limit and sometimes probably a little bit over it.

‘‘That’s quite a juggle but I wouldn’t be satisfied if I didn’t

. . . I don’t want to walk away from it and think I could have done more, what if?’’