Challenge completed ✅
6 January 2025
On 5th January before 2am I finished and completed the 10 under 10 challenge, it was a steep mission to run/walk the New Zealand land 10 Great Walks under 10 days both physically and logistically.
It took 8 days 16 hours to go from the South of New Zealand in Rakiura to the North Island in Tongariro. It sets, I believe, the new record for the 10 Great Walks.
To understand the magnitude of the challenge here are some key stats:
530km, the equivalent of 12.6 marathons
81h on my feet on the trails only: an average of 6.5kph including photo stops, food and bio breaks
17,000 elevation gain, equivalent of 2 Everest
Lots of calories and liters of water
The scenery was out of this world, amazing views all around. The weather came to the party and the weather windows I had on trails were really good, I was lucky.
None of it would have been possible without Bernd support who was my legendary crew driving me from trailheads to trailheads and took care of me while I was physically tired and mentally exhausted. And on that last great walk the Tongariro Northern Circuit my friend Jay who ran with me through the night to help me complete the challenge. Thank you to everyone who supported, encouraged me and sent me messages, they all contributed to stack up my energy levels.
I feel even stronger and more connected to the ecosystem after this challenge having witnessed the beauty and diversity of the fauna and flora which we all need to make an effort to protect.