Length of NZ run ‘no walk in the park’
There are not many roads across the country ultra marathon runner Perry Newburn doesn’t know.
Newburn is running the length of New Zealand to raise money for autism support group Running on the Spectrum.
This is the second time he has run the length of the country and he has also run from Auckland to Christchurch, the complete circumference of New Zealand and has a world masters record across the United States.
The 64-year-old ran from Waiouru to Hunterville on Sunday, getting a bonus four hours’ sleep overnight, then Hunterville to O¯ taki on Monday, briefly stopping in Sanson for five minutes to speak to Stuff.
‘‘It’s never a walk in the park,’’ he said. ‘‘You’ve got to remember what worked last time, what didn’t work.
‘‘Every one is a learning process, but it’s going well this time. I got behind, I caught up, I got behind, I caught up.
‘‘The body has gone through the adjustment process and is starting to feel OK with the 100-kilometre plus days and it’s starting to scream out for food now, which is a good sign that everything’s adjusted.’’
He was due to catch the ferry from Wellington to Picton on Tuesday. He set a target of completing the run in 18 days to beat a 43-year-old record and he said he was still within range. People have joined Newburn for stretches of the run to support him. He said the event was about meeting people who supported him on the run and supporting the charity.
It is a gruelling effort to run the 2100km from Cape Reinga to Bluff, but Newburn said he always expected parts to be hard and parts to be easy.
‘‘Nothing that happens is unexpected.’’
Newburn had lived in Feilding, but shifted to Napier in February for what he joked was ‘‘a change in running scene’’.