Marathon effort raises $73,000 for charity

Malcolm Law ran the equivalent of more than eight marathons in just one week to raise funds for charity.

An Auckland man has raised $73,000 for the Leukemia and Blood Foundation after running almost 360km in seven consecutive days.

Malcolm Law, 49, ran for a total of 66 hours and 10 minutes along each of the country's seven Great Walks - a task nobody had achieved until now.

"It's been such an amazing experience. I'm totally elated, a bit tired ... I'm still on cloud nine."

Mr Law said he was still on a high from finishing the Mizone 7in7 challenge and had not been able to stop smiling since.

"There were a lot of golden moments. On the Abel Tasman track a party of 30 school kids and their teachers gave us all high fives as we ran past.

"And at the McKinnon Pass - the high point of Milford Track - a Canadian hiker gave us a $20 donation, our highest altitude donation."

But he said nothing compared to the last day on the Kepler Track,
when crowds gathered to cheer him on to the finish.

"I'm very proud of my effort, which could never have been achieved without the generosity and support of so many New Zealanders. The money raised has surpassed all of my expectations."

Mr Law, who works in market research, took a sabbatical this year to organise the project.

The charity is one close to his heart, as his older brother Alan died of leukemia in 1969.

"When Alan died I decided that one day I would dedicate myself to doing something momentous to help other families."

But he said his job was not over, and was already "throwing ideas around" about keeping the 7in7 concept alive.

"Next year or the year after I'd like to enable more people to take part," he said.

Mr Law has done a lot of running over the years and taken part in endurance events such as the Coast to Coast, but nothing quite prepared him for running the equivalent of over eight marathons.

"It's getting used to the idea that you work hard and the next day you don't get to rest, but just do it again," he said.

He said running in the dark on day four on the Heaphy Track was especially challenging, with time pressure dictating a 3am start.

But he credited his training regime for getting through the week without a single injury, despite expecting "something to blow out".

"I did an awful lot of gym work and Pilates to improve core strength and stability, and it worked."

SEVEN GREAT WALKS

Lake Waikaremoana
Tongariro Northern Circuit
Abel Tasman Coast Track
Heaphy Track
Routeburn Track
Milford Track
Kepler Track