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Adventure for Dementia

  • Twelve laps for December - we smashed it 🤩

      4 December 2023
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    We did it! Twelve laps of the Pipeline of Pain and nearly $12,000 raised for Dementia Canterbury!

    Saturday's twelve laps took 17:58:10 and covered 60.9 km and 5,745 m of climbing - that's 1.5 times the height of Aoraki Mt Cook. I've run 78 laps of the Pipeline of Pain this year - that's 395.7 km and 37,166 m of climbing. I may not do it again for a while....

    I'm not sure that it has really sunk in yet - the enormity of what we have achieved. I say "we" because I certainly couldn't have done this without the community of people that have rallied around my mad idea. Back in January, this whole thing was a bit of a pipe dream (pun intended) and I wasn't entirely sure that it was possible. But with a bit of stubborn and a whole lot of support, we have totally smashed all of my goals!

    Thank you so much to everyone who helped me on my Adventure for Dementia! To those who showed up to run a lap or two, the folks who donated money to a stranger doing a mad thing, the friends, family and strangers who gave up their weekends to feed me snacks and offer moral support, the online community who cheered me on from afar, local businesses Further Faster, Team CP & Pure Sports Nutrition for their support, my partner Hamish for facilitating the madness and the mad bugger Ken who joined me for 66 of my 78 laps(!) - thank you! This would not have been possible without you all!

    Now I might go and have a nap - I need to rest up before the next mad adventure, whatever that might be..

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  • Only twelve laps to go!

      22 November 2023
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    This is it - the grand finale!

    🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️

    It's nearly December(!), which means that it's nearly time for me to do twelve laps of The Pipeline of Pain to raise awareness and money for Dementia Canterbury. That's around 60 km and 5,760 m of climbing! It's going to be a long day out (like 20 hours long!) and I'd love for you to come along and support me in whatever way you can.

    📅: Saturday, 2nd December 2023 ⁠

    🕡️: 4am - ~midnight(!)

    📍: 10 Bridle Path Road, Heathcote Valley, Christchurch

    If you're based in Christchurch, come on down and join in for as many (or few) laps as you want or come and hang out at our aid station tent at the bottom of the pipeline to cheer me on and help share Dementia Canterbury's story.

    Jump over to https://fb.me/e/4NN1JP68J for all the event details.

    I'm also looking for some volunteers to help out at my aid station tent if you have a couple of hours to spare. Interested in helping out? Please fill out this spreadsheet (https://tinyurl.com/hhdmcnp) or drop me an email at amylouisewhitehead@gmail.com

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  • Eleven Laps for November

      6 November 2023
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    Eleven laps of The Pipeline of Pain to raise money for Dementia Canterbury ✅

    🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

    56.5 km & 5,148 m in 17 hours and 42 minutes - it was a loooong day out. We started and finished in the dark, had all the weather (but thankfully avoided the thunderstorms), watched some fireworks and lots of very random chats (plus a little macarena). Things mostly went to plan, although eating and I weren't really friends towards the end 🤮 Pretty tired today but the legs still work and I'm stoked to have knocked off another month!

    This wouldn't have been possible without the support of so many good folks! Over forty(!) people turned out to support my adventure, joining me on the hill, hanging out at the tent, cheering me on, donating to the cause. Super cool to meet some new folks who had heard me chatting on Dirt Church Radio (https://www.dirtchurchradio.com/) and The Stag Roar (https://www.stagroar.co.nz/episode/ep307-amy-whitehead-adventure-for-dementia/) podcasts.

    Thanks so much to Further Faster (https://www.furtherfaster.co.nz/) and PURE Sports Nutrition (https://www.puresportsnutrition.com/) for their support.

    Together we raised nearly $1000 for Dementia Canterbury.

    That's 66 laps done - just another 12 to go! See you on December 2nd for the final showdown!

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  • Ten laps for October

      8 October 2023
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    What a day! Ten laps of the Pipeline of Pain to raise money for Dementia Canterbury - 51.5 km and 4,839 m of climbing over 15 and half hours. That's equivalent of climbing Mt Wood (from sea level) - Canada's seventh highest peak.

    The weather was interesting but the company and support were superb. I had a stellar cast of 39(!) folks (& eight dogs) come out and support me. Together we did over 76 laps - that's 380 km and 36,480 m of climbing!

    Thanks to everyone else who cheered me when I went past and donated to the cause. A massive shoutout to Further Faster, Valley Ultra, Crater Rim Ultra and Enduranz Events for supporting the October Adventure for Dementia with a fantastic treasure hunt on the hill! Together we raised over $510 for the great people at Dementia Canterbury.

    I've now done 55 laps of the Pipeline of Pain this year (275 km & 26,400 m of climbing). Only two months and 23 laps to go!

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  • Nine laps for September

      3 September 2023
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    What a day! A solid 12 hour effort supported by a stellar crew to knock off nine laps of the Pipeline of Pain to support the good work of Dementia Canterbury. A total of 45.8 km and 4,312 m of climbing - basically a marathon run while climbing the height of Mt Sneffels in Colorado from sea level! It was a long day out and I was definitely starting to feel pretty tired by the end. But I've now passed the halfway mark with 45 laps done and only another 33 laps to go!

    A massive shout out to everyone who came out to support me! There were 22 runners who turned up throughout the day to join me for a lap or two or nine. Carol arrived at 6am intending to run one lap and ended up doing five, while Ken has now done all of the laps with me since he first turned up in May!

    Eleven others did an excellent job of staffing the aid station, keeping me fed and watered and drumming up support from people passing by.

    Yesterday we raised another $350 for Dementia Canterbury, putting the total nearly $5,500. My original goal was $5,000 - do you reckon we could make it to $10,000? Please share my story with your friends and let's see what we can do!

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  • It's nearly September already

      26 August 2023
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    And that means it's nearly time for nine laps of the Pipeline of Pain. That's 45 km and 4,320 m of climbing and will probably take mea bout 12.5 hours to complete! It's going to be a long day out and I'm going to need as much support as I can get.

    If you're based in Christchurch, pop down for a lap or two (or nine) or come and hang out in our aid station tent at the bottom of the pipeline to cheer me on and help share Dementia Canterbury's story. It would be amazing to see you ou there!

    For more information about the event, head over to our Facebook page https://fb.me/e/38FhXVn2F. Please share this with your friends and help me support the great work of Dementia Canterbury.

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  • Eight laps for August

      7 August 2023
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    Eight laps for August - 39.8 km and 3,758 m are done! (It would have been 40 km but I forgot to start my watch 🙄). An epic 11-hour day on Saturday that started and finished in the dark, with plenty of mud to keep us on our toes (or rather try and tip us on our butts).

    🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

    Once again, this was a big team effort, with so many people to thank.

    🏃 Ken, Campbell, Holly, Nicole, Jess, Trix, Henry and Darren all ran a lap or two or eight.

    🍪 Michelle, Maaike, Jon, Ali, Anouk, Alex and Hamish did a stellar job of running the aid station and providing moral support and snacks.

    🐕 Olive, Doug and Foehn provided the pats.

    📷 Kely took some amazing photos.

    🥤 PURE Sports Nutrition sorted me out with my nutrition

    I've finally cracked the halfway mark, with 36 laps done and just a mere 34 laps to go!

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  • Seven laps for July

      2 July 2023
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    July's Adventure for Dementia turned out to be a dawn to dusk affair, with a chilly start, some glorious sunshine and lots and lots of mud! Another seven laps of the Pipeline of Pain done - 35.5 km and 3,338 vertical metres (up and then down again) in 9.5 hours. A fairly solid day out!

    🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

    Thanks to my superstar support crew of fifteen (and five muddy dogs) who came out to do some laps, hang out at the awesome aid station tent and bring me delicious snacks! Thanks also to the many generous folks out enjoying the sunshine who dropped in to say hi at the tent and donated nearly $400 to the cause.

    That's now 28 laps done - only 50 laps to go!

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  • Six laps for June

      14 June 2023
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    Christchurch put on a cracker day for June's Adventure for Dementia and we smashed out another six laps of the Pipeline of Pain - 30.4 km and 2,872 vertical metres (up and then down again).

    🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃

    Thanks to my star support team who came out to do some laps, trim some shrubbery off the track and leave me delicious post-run baked goods. Twelve folks and four happy (but very tired) pooches!

    We're now halfway through the year, with 21 laps done! But there are still another 57 laps to go!

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  • Five laps for May

      9 May 2023
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    Somehow May has rolled around already and another five laps of the Pipeline of Pain are done 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃.

    This month seemed like a tougher gig, with my body feeling pretty fatigued on Laps Three and Four. But I had a stellar support crew on the day, with 22 folks (including 2 dogs and 2 small children) coming out to support me. This included three absolute keen beans who did all five laps with me (well truth be told they were out in front setting a cracking pace!). Thanks so much for the banter and for waiting for me at the top!

    Thanks so much for all your support. Fifteen laps are done - just another 63 to go...

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  • Three laps for March

      17 March 2023
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    Last weekend I completed the three laps of The Pipeline of Pain for March's Adventure for Dementia challenge ☑️☑️☑️

    Once again, it was pretty warm and sticky out on the trail and quite a lot of sweat was lost! But I feel like I'm getting stronger every month 💪💪. Thanks to my fabulous support crew - Alex, Vaughn, Jo, Hamish and Foehn 🐕 - for coming out for some laps!

    That's six laps done - only 72 to go! Next up: four laps for April, which will probably happen on April 1st.

    Thanks for all of you who have donated to this amazing cause so far - I'm so grateful for your support. We've already raised $1,000 and it's only March. Imagine how what we could raise together by December!

    Meanwhile, my amazing Uncle Pete is scheduled to complete his 3,010 km Ride to Remember today - what a legend! You can check out what he has been doing to raise money for Dementia Canterbury at https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/ridetoremember2023

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  • Two laps in February

      5 February 2023
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    Two laps of The Pipeline of Pain for February's Adventure for Dementia challenge ✅️

    It was pretty hot and windy, and Lap Two was definitely a LOT harder than Lap One!

    That's three laps done - only 75 more to go!

    Big shout out to Jo, Rachel, Hamish and Foehn who came and supported me while doing their own version of the adventure!

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  • Lap One Done (77 more to go)!

      15 January 2023
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    Saturday marked the start of my Adventure for Dementia campaign - running one lap of the Pipeline of Pain (5.2km & 480 m of up).

    So good to be out on the hill on a cracker Christchurch day. The route seemed steeper and less runnable than I remember, with some pretty technical and overgrown sections in places. I took it pretty slow, took lots of photos, waded through some head-high grass wondering if I was actually on the track (I was), and chatted to a bunch of people about the challenge.

    Super-excited (and a tad nervous) about what lies ahead.

    One lap down - 77 more to go!

    Follow the journey at www.facebook.com/adventurefordementia.nz or www.instagram.com/amy_goes_adventuring

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