Andrew running through Waioeka Gorge. Photo / Felicity Townley
Andrew running through Waioeka Gorge. Photo / Felicity Townley
The lure of the festive season won't stop Andrew McCrory's run across New Zealand.
McCrory is on day 13 of a 40-day run across the country to raise money for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) surgeries for people with cerebral palsy.
Last week, McCrory ran to Ngongotahā and turned up StateHighway 5, finishing his Rotorua run at 45km.
On Friday he reached $10,000 on his Givealittle page, which is halfway towards his goal of $20,000 for three surgeries for SDR.
McCrory said he has had "no days off" after running up to 50km every day for two weeks, and he doesn't plan to take a break for Christmas or New Year's Day.
McCrory's fundraising journey started in 2017, when he involved CrossFit gyms in a dedicated workout class for a young girl with cerebral palsy.
When he decided that he wanted to run New Zealand, McCrory's son suggested he run for more people.
Despite his legs packing in, blisters, bucketing rain and 33C heat, McCrory is continuing to run every day.
"The first few days were not good. If someone had told me they were gonna be that bad I probably wouldn't have done it. There were some dark times there when I was thinking 'why am I doing this?' and now the mind's come right.
"I was coming out of the Waioeka Gorge and it was just bucketing down, [I] really needed a mask and snorkel to get through that."
He said the cause keeps him going, "it's better to do it for something".
Local Chris Townley, Blue Lake 24HR organiser, ran on Saturday through to Matawai and Sunday to Opotiki, tagging in and out with his wife Felicity Townley.
The first young girl McCrory fundraised for was in a wheelchair before her surgery.
