Med student on the fast track

Third-year Otago medical student Annise Boothroyd loves a challenge.

Annise says she is doing this to push herself and to encourage people to get active and find ways to enjoy the outdoors alongside work and study commitments.

“I always wanted to tramp the Great Walks, but it can be difficult to book, is more costly and was challenging to find the time around studies and work. After training for my first ultramarathon, the Great Naseby Water Race, I figured that if I ran them instead, each walk would only take a day.

“Not only did it resolve many of the complications, such as booking huts and managing commitments, it provided an example of ways to engage in the outdoors around the responsibilities of life.”

Annise, also a medic in the New Zealand Army Reserves, chose to raise funds for the Trust because she is interested in aeromedical rescue and believes the Trust is “vitally important to facilitating safe access to recreation, including the Great Walks”.

She started the challenge late last year and across the 11 tracks she will run a total of 522.8km, plus she completed a 145km kayak on the Whanganui River.

She says the tracks themselves have been easier than she thought.

“As long as I maintain a good morale, the physical challenge can be overcome. Each track is very different and weather dependent, so it can be surprising which ones are harder than expected, with heat and gentle inclines being the most draining components.”

While it is tricky to balance the runs, including travel, with her studies, the biggest challenge has been managing training in a tight timeframe. Generally, Annise gets up early so she can fit training in before classes begin.

This isn’t Annise’s first experience with the Great Walks. She did the Kepler last winter with the Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club and has also done the Tongariro Crossing a couple of times, but not the Northern Circuit.

So far, she has completed the North Island and upper South Island Great Walks and has the five lower South Island tracks to go – the Milford, Kepler, Routeburn, Rakiura and the newest track, the Hump Ridge.

Annise is almost halfway to her $5000 fundraising goal, with all funds going to the Trust.  Follow Annise's journey via her Instagram @great_runs_aotearoa

-  Kōrero by Andrea Jones, Team Leader, Divisional Communications