Hastings man takes on ’24 hours of pain’ to support Cancer Society

• Gareth Mentzer will walk over 100km around his Mahora block in 24 hours on April 4 and 5.
• The walk aims to raise money and awareness for the Cancer Society’s Relay Your Way.
• Mentzer previously raised $12,388 in 2022 and hopes to better that effort this year.

Some people travel to exotic locations to complete epic walks, but one Hastings man will be taking his epic walk around his block.

Gareth Mentzer is preparing for a monumental journey on April 4 and 5 where he will walk more than 100km in 24 hours, exclusively around his Mahora block.

It’s to raise money and awareness for the Cancer Society’s Relay Your Way, also known as the Relay For Life.

This won’t be the first time Mentzer has undertaken a Herculean walk like this. In 2022 he raised $12,388 in the Relay Your Way when he walked around his block for 12 hours.

“It was absolutely terrible, I had the biggest blisters I have ever seen,” recalls Gareth.

“I didn’t prepare for it, well I thought I had the right shoes and the right socks, and I had the wrong shoes and the wrong socks and didn’t treat blisters.

“But that was only 12 hours of pain and this will be 24 hours of pain, but the people who suffer from cancer that’s all the time. So a little bit of pain isn’t the end of the world.”

Gareth’s father Geoff Mentzer thinks what his son is doing with this walk is wonderful.

“I wouldn’t ever do it myself,” laughed Geoff.

According to the Cancer Society, 71 New Zealanders are diagnosed with cancer every day, 9500 New Zealanders die from cancer each year, with Māori twice as likely to die as non-Māori.

Geoff is currently working through chemotherapy following a leukaemia diagnosis.

“There’s a lot of side-effects, only little things but they’re a bloody nuisance,” he said.

“I’ve got one more round of chemo and then I’ve got six months I’ve got to take antiviral and antibiotics.

“Six months of poison, and then six months of just testing and waiting.”

After seeing what Geoff had been going through, Gareth thought it was time to raise funds for cancer patients nationwide again.

“It kind of just reminded me of how devastating cancer can be,” said Gareth.

“It’s an opportunity to lace up the shoes again and to raise funds for a really great organisation.”

The last time Gareth competed in the Relay Your Way, he managed to finish in the top five in the country in terms of funds raised by individuals. A feat he would like to recreate this year.

“I’m just going out to everybody I’ve ever met and ask for donations,” he said.

Donations can be made at Gareth Mentzer’s profile on the Relay Your Way website.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region.