RUNNING

Epic feat of endurance finishes tomorrow!

By Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand

Over the past 49 days, Mal Law has run, walked and crawled his way up 49 of New Zealand’s most challenging peaks, running the equivalent of nearly 49 marathons. Tomorrow his epic feat of endurance concludes with his fiftieth and final run – the Rangitoto Dual Marathon. It’s the final day of the High Five-0 Challenge for Mental Health – the most audacious feat of endurance ever attempted on New Zealand soil.

Although he’s come close to breaking point several times since taking his first step on the 7th of February, Mal has woken up every day since to climb a mountain, running the equivalent of nine Mt Everests in the past five weeks, and he’s raised over $420,000 for the Mental Health Foundation. He hopes to push that number up to $505,050.

Tomorrow he will be joined by a legion of cheering fans and over 30 support runners as he embarks on the last leg of this incredible journey. He’s tired, battered, bruised and skinny, but he’s not broken – his belief in the cause he’s running for remains unshaken. He’s spread the word about mental health and wellbeing wherever he goes, and has inspired countless Kiwis around the country to take action to look after their own mental health.

Tomorrow will be an especially poignant day for Mal – he’s running it in memory of his brother-in-law, Max.

“Max would have turned 45 tomorrow, the day I finish the Challenge, but sadly he took his own life twenty years ago,” says Mal. “We know that this project has already saved lives and with your help we can save more. Every cent donated goes straight to the Mental Health Foundation to be used in programmes that aim to improve the mental wellbeing of all New Zealanders.”

“Mal Law is truly incredible,” MHF chief executive Judi Clements says. “We cannot thank him enough, not only for his extraordinary efforts in raising funds to support our work, but for being a living example of the benefits of focusing on positive mental health and wellbeing, and passing that message along to others.”