Bay slog makes it 13 daily marathons

DOUG LAING | Friday, November 25, 2011 16:01

LAPPING IT UP: John Kirkby, from England, ends his 42.195km run up and down the Rotary Pathway in Napier, continuing his attempt at 15 marathons in 15 days. PHOTO/DUNCAN BROWN HBT114423-02

The number 13 waved its wand of ill-fortune just a smidgen as globetrotting poverty battler John Kirkby strode the Napier beachfront yesterday on his 13th outing in a string of 15 fundraising marathons in 15 days.

The 50-year-old founder of Christians Against Poverty (CAP), based in Bradford, England, found the Rotary Pathway tailormade for the purpose - "about the best we've had", he said.

But the same could not be said for the weather, at least one squall making it about the worst conditions he and running companions Paul Cribb and Martin Cowles had encountered since the first of their 42.195km intrepid journeys in the UK a fortnight ago. Not that they particularly noticed - there's barely enough time to.

They ran five in the UK before flying for more than 24 hours to begin a series of five runs in Australia, which started in the early morning darkness, barely an hour after touching down in Melbourne last week.

The New Zealand leg started with a marathon in Whangarei on Tuesday, then came another in Christchurch on Wednesday, before a flight to Napier and a fundraising event at Mission Estate Winery on Wednesday night. Yesterday, they hit the pathway near the Sound Shell on Napier's Marine Parade before dawn, and started running - 8km to the north, 8km back, a few minutes hydrating and eating, a few kilometres to the south, a few back, and so on, until their high-tech pedometer wristwatches told them they'd done enough for the day.

Support crew member Dan Lane said the times didn't matter, apart from making sure there was enough time to get to the next engagement, which yesterday was a 1.45pm flight to Auckland, to get to Hamilton for a dinner last night and the penultimate run today.

The first run was in Edinburgh, others have been in Newcastle, Nottingham, London and Bradford in the UK, and Canberra, Brisbane, Newcastle and Sydney in Australia, and the last is in Auckland tomorrow.

Mr Kirkby hadn't been to Hawke's Bay before, but CAP programmes had been run by churches in the area, including The Station, a Christian fellowship church in Hastings, which helped organise the local needs, including accommodation, supplies and transport.

"I can't quite comprehend it all," he said as he warmed down, referring to the "phenomenal" support for the runs staged to profile CAP, the plight of the poor, and the non-denominational organisation's work.