It's going to hurt!

A shocking weather forecast meant we hit the Tongariro Northern Circuit earlier than planned and all started out well. But tiredness makes you do some funny things and 20 minutes in we realised that we had started the circuit the wrong way round – no way were we going to back track! Unfortunately that meant we would be heading into the steepest terrain of any of the seven runs in the worst weather, and when it hit it was hold on for dear life. Icy 50 km/hour winds followed by hail dogged our progress as we fought our way up the huge scree slopes, definitely not for the faint hearted. The last section of the run is known as “The Ditch”and the torrential rain had turned the track in to a torrent of water – picture part running part canyoning for an hour and a half and you would be close. All up the run took eight and a half hours  – an hour more than we had hoped for – but I still rated it – it was an adventure. My fellow runners, Graeme, Greg and Lisa were guardian angels and everyone finished up unscathed despite the freezing temperatures. By the time we wound up, my trusty side-kick Sal had been trying to make alternative plans to get us to leg three – The Abel Tasman Coastal Track – as the shocking weather had grounded the plane. We had Plan B – to drive to Taihape and meet the pilot there and hope to hit clear skies. A moment of elation when we arrived to the sun shining was soon dashed as the pilot had just been told another big front was on the way. So, Plan C .. we drove to Wellington – all the while on the phone working out the best options – take the risk and fly at 6am in the morning on Sounds Air or get the ferry tonight. We’ve decided to play it safe and we’re leaving on the 9pm ferry to Picton – arriving at midnight – then a five am start in the morning to get to the start of the track. Thanks to everyone who has been texting and sending messages – keep them coming – they make my day .. and a massive thanks to The Park Travellers Lodge, National Park who last night held an auction to support “7 in 7”and raised a whopping three and a half thousand dollars … and fed and watered us and even got up at 5am to make us breakfast and coffee … legends.

Remember that you can track me via Satelite using my SPOT – a Satellite Tracking device that I will have with me on all of the runs.

Click here

What a run … The anticipation was getting too much and it was fantastic to tick one race off the list. Waikaremoana is a tricky track to walk let alone run – technically it’s a challenge and with temperatures climbing in to the late 20’s it was tough. The run was definitely harder than I expected – but no injuries and still feeling strong. I was running with my support crew, Wade, Paul and Ash and as usual the breath taking scenery from the high bluff was enough to keep us rolling along at a good pace. The most incredible part was that word had obviously got around the tramping fraternity about “7 in 7″ and we were clapped and supported along the track… one couple actually shouted to us they had pledged a donation – how awesome is that! Now it’s time for some food and a bit of shut eye before we kick off run number two The Tongariro Northern Circuit. The weather God’s have been kind so far … fingers crossed. I’m definitely earning my keep, so keep the donations coming in, we’ve almost raised $61,000 …. your support is the fuel that is keeping me going.

About to hit the southern motorway – 7in7 is on the road! Thanks to everyone for the awesome show of support over the last 9 months and in particular over the last few days. Ultreya!

Casey and Sal - the dream team!

Two days to go….. and it’s been a big one. The alarm went early so we could get to TVNZ in time for my maiden live TV performance. Very interesting to get behind the scenes and all good publicity for the cause. Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/y8ka25e

Then lots of last minute logistics and packing. We have the 2 Basejumper vans parked outside ready to go and this evening Casey – support driver of Van 2, already dubbed White Tiger – came by for a briefing. This whole venture would not be possible without the support of Roadcraft (suppliers of the vans) and Sal and Casey, who will between them drive several thousand kilometres over the next week, as well as all sorts of other support tasks. Massive thanks to both of you!

So, this time tomorrow we will be camped up at Lake Waikaremoana and ready to start The Longest Week Ever. I feel curiously calm yet ridiculously excited. I’m just so looking forward to being out there with a wonderful bunch of people, in wonderful surroundings, doing something for a wonderful cause. Talking of which, we have now just about reached $60,000 in donations!

The wonderful Becs, Bodysmart Gym

3 days to go…. the calm that has held sway over 7in7 HQ over the past few days almost cracked today. It was full-on from start to finish and I have RSI in my fingers from banging out so many “thank you” emails as the donations continued to pour in. The total raised now stands at almost $59,000 – close to being enough to fund the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation’s Support Service operations for 2 months!

Today was also the last session with my inspirational and totally lovely personal trainer, Becs Underdown. Becs has given me an hour a week of free training for most of this year, has taught me heaps, kept me motivated and made me laugh lots. Thanks for everything Becs and I look forward to sharing a celebratory glass of bubbles in a couple of weeks time (assuming baby doesn’t come early!)

Tomorrow is the last full day before we jump in the Basejumper vans and head south…. perhaps time to start packing me thinks!

Barack Obama counts down to the start of the 7in7

4 days to go…. and a good time to publicly express my enormous THANKS to 17 special people without whom the 7in7 might just be possible, but it would be one hell of a lot less fun! These are my support runners – they are scattered from Kerikeri to Christchurch and many points in-between; they range in age from 23 to 64; some are old mates, others I am yet to meet; 13 are men and 4 are women; some are experienced runners, some are not. They are all legends. Thanks to:

Ash Scott, Wade Gillooly, Paul Rogers, Greg Akehurst, Graeme Brown, Lisa Markwick, Karen Walshe, Andrea Koorey, Thom Charles, Jeff Greenwood, Kevin Bowler, Hazel Shuttleworth, John Gundesen, Rob Cooke, Pete Swanson, Alistair Cory-Wright and Guy Cory-Wright.

Check out these guys’ bios at http://7in7.org.nz/the-support-team/

5 days to go and the buzz is really building. Today I had my final massage, a meeting with the documentary team and then picked up our ever-so-cool Roadcraft Basejumpers and took them off for signwriting. In between all this I counted money… lots of it… the fundraising site has been running red hot so we now stand at over $55,000. We also have almost 700 Friends of the Challenge (i.e. people who have donated) – amazing! Pretty much all that’s left to do is the food shopping and the packing…. I just can’t wait to get going!

Friday 8.40am TV1 - be watching!

6 days to go. I’m feeling strangely calm and relaxed about it all, but not so sure this will last all the way through to Sunday! Have a couple of busy days ahead as we start to pack, and then on Friday I have my live TV appearance – Breakfast on TV1 at 8.40am on the off chance that you find yourself near a TV at that time of day. We will also be feeding through a ‘video diary’ at the end of each day for Breakfast to show during the week of the Challenge. Another way you can follow the painful progress of The Longest Week Ever!

This time next week I’ll be 1/7 of the way through the Challenge. It seems to have taken so long to reach this point – planning started in January – that it’s hard to believe that it’s now this close. With the organisational side of things falling nicely in to place ( I think!) I took some time out today to go and do what I love best – running! I did a couple of circuits of Cornwall Park with Hazel (one of the Routeburn support runners) in distictly English-like drizzle. Actually very pleasant conditions for running in, even if the views from One Tree Hill were limited. That’s my last real run before Waikaremoana – just a few round-the-block jogs this week to keep the body from seizing up. And the best bit to look forward to – carbo loading, my real speciality!