Palmerston North’s Josh Gowan is running a half-marathon a day in November

Palmerston North storeman Josh Gowan is taking part in Marathon in a Month.

Josh Gowan wasn’t sporty at school - quite the opposite.

He certainly didn’t enjoy running, but is now completing a half-marathon a day throughout November.

At Palmerston North Boys’ High School, Gowan enjoyed dodgeball and football.

“Whenever it was games, it was fun, but make me run or throw me in the pool and I just wasn’t there for it.”

The Palmerston North man is taking part in Marathon in a Month, a fundraiser for the Cancer Society.

Gowan spoke to the Manawatū Guardian on day 24. He said it was nice to push himself physically.

During the week, he runs 12km before work and 9km after work, and over the weekend, he generally completes the full 21km in one go.

It’s meant a lot of early rising, as he starts work at 7.30am.

Gowan finishes work at 5pm and will go for a run straight afterwards. His mindset is that once he finishes at Anzor, he has a bit more work to do before he can blob.

He is 23: “A good age for this sort of silly thing.”

This is Gowan’s third Marathon in a Month, after a friend roped him into his first one in 2021.

He says he knows how deeply cancer affects people. A grandfather died from the disease 10 years ago and a grandmother is battling skin cancer.

“It’s an ever-present thing.”

Palmerston North runner Josh Gowan is raising money for the Cancer Society. “[Cancer] is a very real and ongoing problem.”

November has had some topsy-turvy weather and a couple of hairy days, but Gowan says for the most part, he has been lucky.

In December 2020, he started running seriously, and then started taking it more seriously.

This year, he has competed in 12 half-marathons, one marathon and two ultra-marathons and enjoys the competition.

Gowan says anyone can run. “It’s really about just having the motivation or dedication to actually do it.”

He is a storeman at Anzor, which sells stainless fasteners and fittings. His duties include picking and packing orders, counter sales and answering the telephone.

By Tuesday lunchtime, Gowan had run 590km and raised $3617, making him the initiative’s top individual fundraiser. His goal is to raise $10,000 for cancer research.

To donate, visit marathoninamonth.org.nz/josh-gowan.