Ross Runs 99 for Alzheimers

Due to injury, Ross will now be running his 99th Marathon in March. The century will have to wait until after a hip operation!!

We think this is an incredible achievement and are very proud that Ross has chosen Alzheimers Tauranga to benefit from the event.

Ross writes about his amazing experiences running:

I took up running in 1991 because the spare tyre around my waist is increasing. My first ever run was 3.5kms ... and I remember walking the last km of that. Gradually I start to increase my distances and my walking becomes less. I join the Tauranga Marathon Clinic in 1992, which later becomes Tauranga Road Runners, which later becomes Tauranga Road and Trail Runners.

My first ever event was a half in Tauranga where I ran 1.28.55 in 1991. The following year was my best year ever, time wise, ( such a long time ago), I cracked a PB for a half at the Mount in 1.23.59 ... and the first Auckland marathon where I clicked 3.17.28 which remains my marathon PB. I also ran the Rotorua marathon that year in 3.18.29 which is my best Rotorua marathon time ... have run around that lake 23 times.

In the early 2000's, I was running 10-12 halves a year, my half tally now sits at 116. For approx. my first 15 years of running, I was only pushing out 1-2 marathons a year and had finally cracked 50 marathons by the end of 2011. It was at this point that I decided to pull finger and start taking concrete pills and bump my marathons up to 10 plus a year, if I ever wanted to crack 100 marathons, whilst still alive.!! So, the journey began. I did a couple of years where I ticked off 13 marathons each year, a BIG number for me.

As I write this as the end of October 2016, I am sitting on 98 marathons, ( 12 don't qualify for the 100 Marathon Club, so I guess I will be running marathons for a little longer yet so that I can qualify for my official, 100 ... 42.195km marathons ), a journey I look forward to ... AND, to officially become a member of the 100 Marathon Club.!!

My last 25 years of running has been the most amazing journey ... I have been to some magic places and have met some wonderful and very special people ( including many in the 100 Marathon Club ), ... my life is so much richer for that journey that I have been on.!!! With all the events and training that I have done, I reckon that I have probably ticked over 50,000 to 60,000kms ... think of the petrol that I have saved.

Part of my journey also is, that I have run a marathon on all seven continents ... Gold Coast in 1997, New York in 2001 (seven weeks after 9/11), Great Wall in China in 2004, London in 2005, Antarctica and Santiago in Chile both in 2007, and finally Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 2009. Three weeks after returning from Africa I had the word "seven" tattooed on my left calf. I wear that tattoo with absolute pride.!!!

Divorced a few years ago, I have two beautiful adult daughters Lisa and Hayley (both married), and 2.5 very special grandies, Jacob, Caitlyn and "Bump", who is due before the end of the year. I have my own real estate business in Tauranga, Westbay Real Estate, which I own with two business partners ... where I have worked for the last 36 years.!!

I live life to the max, love my large running family ... as well as my own little family, love the colour orange and tutu's, take heaps of photos while running marathons and am super EXCITED, about running my 100th marathon on the 18th March 2017 which will be the Kirikiriroa Marathon ... come and join me. It will be tutu compulsory with a splash of orange.