Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Hits presenter Mike Puru's journey to the Rotorua Marathon featured dog attacks and spider bites

Rotorua Daily Post
25 Apr, 2021 02:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Hits presenter Mike Puru is tackling the half marathon distance at the Rotorua Marathon event. Photo / File

The Hits presenter Mike Puru is tackling the half marathon distance at the Rotorua Marathon event. Photo / File

Hits radio presenter Mike Puru has been attacked by a pack of dogs and endured a nasty spider bite in a far from straightforward preparation for the 2021 Rotorua Marathon.

However, nothing will stop him from fulfilling his goal on May 8.

Puru, who will be tackling the half-marathon alongside his co-hosts Anika Moa and Stacey Morrison, entered his first half-marathon in Queenstown in 2019 and has since become a running addict.

Today a daily runner, the Auckland-based presenter says regular exercise has markedly improved his mental health and wellbeing and also led to a 6kg weight loss.

However, earlier this month he suffered a pair of unpleasant blows in preparation for his 21km test in Rotorua.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I was up in coastal Kerikeri for Easter and as I went for a run and went up a country road out of the middle of nowhere, I was attacked by a pack of five dogs," Puru said.

"They took a few nips out of me. Thankfully, I learned from when I was a kid to stay still if a dog attacked me and luckily they backed off.

"I had to go the doctor and get a tetanus shot and I missed a couple of days running."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Just days after returning to training, Puru suffered a second blow when a whitetail spider dealt a nasty bite on his little toe.

"It was worse than the dog bite and the next day my toe was swollen.

"I was put on a course of antibiotics and I missed three days of running."

Entering the 2019 Queenstown half-marathon on a whim, the 45-year-old presenter loved the experience so much he developed an almost overnight passion for the sport.

Discover more

Currie and Wells claim Ironman New Zealand titles

27 Mar 09:45 PM
Lifestyle

'I was killing myself with food': Robyn's 92kg weight loss

19 Mar 09:00 PM
Kahu

Charles Williams: The street artist turned ultramarathoner inspiring change

22 Feb 02:12 AM
Kahu

100 miles in gumboots, what could go wrong?

14 Feb 08:13 PM

Running a 6km to 7km route every lunchtime in central Auckland Puru said: "If I don't go for a run every day I feel a bit discombobulated, like I need to run to aid my brain.

"Mentally it has given me so much more clarity. It is amazing what you think of and can plan in your head when you are running. I now feel I can have a guilt-free wine on an evening after I've gone for a run."

Mike Puru's training for the Rotorua Marathon has been eventful. Photo / Supplied
Mike Puru's training for the Rotorua Marathon has been eventful. Photo / Supplied

Puru said co-host Moa had been "a huge inspiration", acting as the trigger for dozens of people to get off the couch and go out for a run.

"It has been incredible watching her journey.

"She's a busy mum, filming TV shows, presenter on radio and still manages to get her run in every day. She's looking very healthy and she tells me how good it is for her mentally.

"Anika has inspired so many people and when MP Kiri Allan was given her cancer diagnosis, Anika started her hashtag #lezrunforkiri to show support."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It was Morrison, however, who acted as the spur for the team to tackle the Rotorua Marathon.

She has family based in the area and Puru believed the weekend would be a blast.

"Rotorua is always such a cool place to visit, we can drive down on Friday, run the race on Saturday and have the rest of the weekend free to do what we want."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Rotorua Daily Post

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

30 Jun 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

25 Jun 07:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

24 Jun 09:26 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

30 Jun 06:00 PM

Primary school Rocket League players qualify for major tournament finals in Australia.

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

25 Jun 07:00 PM
Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

24 Jun 09:26 PM
Three tests, surplus of Twenty20s as Black Caps summer fixtures announced

Three tests, surplus of Twenty20s as Black Caps summer fixtures announced

24 Jun 06:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP