Last weekend was one of those weekends that I will never forget.
My task was to run all 42.2km of the Queenstown Marathon - my first marathon - to raise funds for Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition, which advocates for New Zealanders living with incurable breast cancer. I'm delighted to say that I achieved my goals of (1) raising $100 for every kilometre; and (2) running the full distance.
6.00am on marathon morning and I was seriously apprehensive. The weather forecast had been atrocious the whole week. I hadn’t slept well. It was raining steadily. I'd never run so far before and certainly wasn’t keen on doing so in the rain. "What if, what if, what if?"
Mum drove me to the start line at Millbrook Resort, but there was so much traffic, and 15 minutes before kick-off I was still nearly a kilometre away, that I jumped out and bounded over the golf greens to make sure I got there on time.
I was on time. I gave Mum a hug, the clouds separated and, before I quite realised what was happening, the wave of runners that I was in (those hoping to complete within 4.30-4.45) were on their way. We ran through beautiful Arrowtown, where my partner waved me through the ‘40km to go’ marker. We followed the leafy Arrow River trail, before turning west toward Lake Hayes.
The first half of the marathon had its share of slopes, and I was pleased to have trained in Wellington as I had no problems on the undulating trail. Through the second half, my support crew met me at around the 27th kilometre, on the far side of the historic Shotover Bridge. It was invaluable to have had such gorgeous scenery to distract oneself along the way. I loved tracing the crystal-clear Kawarau River below the Remarkables; and the final haul took runners 10km along the Frankton Arm (the photo is of me running along Lake Wakatipu, more than 40km into the run) and into Queenstown where townsfolk and tourists lined the streets to cheer us on. My final time over the finish line was 4:34:15.
It can be hard to fathom the effort that one puts in to get to the start line of a marathon. In my case, I started running less than 5 years ago. I’d been training for this day since Easter 2019, and run 950km on my feet - the distance of Wellington to Kaitaia. Hence the sensation of crossing the finish line, with my mum and support team to welcome me with open arms (and Milo!) was one of those magical moments in life - something that I’ll carry with me forever.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to every supporter of this cause, and I’m honoured that you were part of this endeavour.
Together, we have raised $5,400 for New Zealanders living with advanced breast cancer.
Together, we have made a difference.
Arohanui
Lachlan
