Ultra marathon runner to tackle 24-hour Relay for Life in Gisborne

Gisborne-East Coast Cancer Society's 24-hour Relay for Life fundraiser starts at midday on Saturday at Showgrounds Park. Sixty teams are taking part compared with 47 last year, including this crew called The Trots, consisting of, from left, Ali Curtis, Tracy Utting, Frank Erceg and Sian Johnson. Photo / Liam Clayton

Gisborne’s Relay for Life is going where it hasn’t been before on Saturday.

Ultramarathon runner Darren Rudd is out to run the entire 24-hour relay – midday Saturday to midday Sunday – at Showgrounds Park.

Rudd is no innocent at the task, having finished seventh in the 2020 New Zealand 24-Hour Running Championship and eighth in 2022.

Gisborne-East Coast Cancer Society fundraiser and events co-ordinator Shay Podjursky said she had heard anecdotally that some people had tried to walk the entire relay before, but Rudd’s attempt was unprecedented.

As part of the action, over the course of the event, Gisborne Hospital’s Tui te Ora Long Term Conditions Unit oncology nurse Kelly Norris will shave her head at 10am on Sunday.

“She’s been doing some exceptional fundraising,” Podjursky said. “The more she fundraises, the crazier her haircut becomes.”

The relay features the usual moving events such as the Celebration Lap for Survivors, which opens the event, and the 8.30pm Candle Ceremony on Sunday to honour those who have had cancer and to remember those who lost their battles.

Podjursky said more than 60 teams were taking part, compared to 47 teams last year, and the fundraising campaign looked good.

Gisborne-East Coast Cancer Society has set a target of $120,000, with all funds remaining in the district.

By noon on Thursday, more than $75,000 had been raised.

Podjursky is now hoping for some good weather.

They lost one relay because of Cyclone Gabrielle, “so, we’ve had our run of bad weather”.

“But I can’t change the weather, so we’ll just get on with it.”