As runners all over the city prepare for the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Marathon on October 30, Canvas spoke to four members from the real estate agency sponsoring the event about why they're running, what they're doing to prepare, and how they'll celebrate reaching the finish line.
KAMAL SIVIA
RESIDENTIAL SALES, HIGHLAND PARK
FIRST-TIMER
Kamal Sivia is no stranger to pounding the pavement. The residential sales Rookie of the Year 2021 for the Highland Park branch has always enjoyed taking long walks or jogs, clocking 10-11km runs regularly. But this year will mark his first time running 21km in the Auckland half-marathon.
With Starship as a fundraising partner for Auckland Marathon, Kamal is grateful his efforts are going to a good cause.
"I'm feeling very enthusiastic for the challenge," he says. "I'm ready to run and hoping for a beautiful day on race day. This is the first time Barfoot & Thompson has been naming rights sponsor for the full marathon, and Starship is such a great cause."
Training for the event has so far consisted of scenic runs from his home in Flat Bush, around Barry Curtis Park or through Point View Reserve. Then on the weekends he ups the ante with a longer run, his most recent a decent 18km.
Once the running shoes come off the training continues. Kamal stays inspired by watching professional runners on YouTube. On the day he suspects the biggest challenge will be physical.
"Mentally, I'm a tough guy," says Kamal, who takes comfort he'll have support on the sidelines from his wife and two daughters, aged 11 and 12.
His best race tip? "Keep your pace. You might reach a point where you feel you can't go any further. When that happens to me I tell myself, you've got to keep on going!"
Kamal joined Barfoot & Thompson Highland Park two years ago, having made a career switch from working in logistics, including a stint in Australia. But he'd always seen himself in a more flexible career such as real estate, and where better to do it than his adopted country of Aotearoa? Kamal moved here in 2006 from a small village in Northern India, and says there's nowhere he'd rather be.
"I love everything about New Zealand," he says.
It's the flexibility he enjoys about his real estate career, along with meeting new people all the time.
"It's exciting. Every time you take a phone call, you don't know who you're going to talk to. There are always different people, questions and challenges."
HENRY BARFOOT
MILFORD BRANCH MANAGER
SUPERHERO
If you recall seeing a caped superhero running over the Harbour Bridge a couple of years ago, there's a good chance it was Henry Barfoot. The former triathlete – who is now training to run an ultra-marathon at the end of the year – dressed up as Superman for charity. At this year's Auckland Marathon however he's opting for a little less Lycra as he prepares to run the half-marathon, a different kettle of fish to the 60km ultra.
"It's a different style of running," Henry explains. "With ultras, the terrain has a lot of ups and downs and you run fast and slow, and in some places, walk. I'm not doing much road-running these days as I find it quite hard running at the same pace for 21km."
Henry first ran the Auckland Marathon in 1992 as an 18-year-old, alongside his father, Garth Barfoot, who also worked in the real estate business co-founded by Henry's grandfather Val in 1923. He's entered it nearly every year since.
"It's a really good day out," says Henry. "There's a real buzz in the air beforehand, and really cool support. Lots of people come out quite early. You see families with kids in their pyjamas and people sitting in deck chairs, people with musical instruments."
On the day Henry says he'll fuel up early with a couple of pieces of easily digestible toast with banana and honey, and will look forward to enjoying a post-race massage in the Barfoot & Thompson tent. He has sound advice for those running the marathon for the first time.
"Definitely start slow," he says. "There's this natural adrenaline you get in a race at the start line and people can run those first couple of kms way faster than they should. Then you pay for it along the way. The Harbour Bridge has great views of course but it's surprisingly heavy-going when you run up it!"
After years working in accounts, sales and marketing, Henry joined the family real estate business 13 years ago, and has gone on to sell houses all over Auckland. Now he enjoys sharing some of the wisdom he's gleaned over the years, as branch manager in Milford.
"I like that it's not a corporate job. You can set your own timetables and schedules and work the way you want to. And there's a really direct measure of success – if whatever you're doing is working you'll know because you'll make sales."
NIKKI CHEN
RESIDENTIAL SALES, ROYAL OAK
TEAM PLAYER
Nikki Chen knows the importance of maintaining a good network – and not just in real estate. When she participates in the Auckland half-marathon, running it for the second time (she also ran the 11km in 2017), she'll do it with her friends cheering from the sidelines. The Royal Oak residential sales professional has been making the most of her training with help from two of her closest buddies.
"We're ready to celebrate at the finish line already," she laughs.
One of the experts helping Nikki prepare for the race is a friend since university, a personal trainer who has put together a programme to help Nikki build muscle and prevent injury. Nikki has been supplementing her gym routine with regular morning and evening runs from her home in Epsom, during which she takes in multiple Auckland suburbs, through Royal Oak, Onehunga, Penrose and Greenlane.
"It's a great way to get to know those suburbs," she says.
She has another close friend who is a physiotherapist, who she agrees is probably the ideal companion to have at the finish line. "I'm lucky!"
"The last two times I wanted to see if my body could cope and I could make it to the finish line. This time I'm doing it to fundraise for Starship and hopefully to inspire people. The last two years going through lockdowns, the atmosphere is a bit low. This feels like it's cheering people up."
Nikki quips she's "made in China", moving to New Zealand with her parents in 1997. While resisting the temptation to join the family business in construction, it was a life-changing conversation with a stranger on the street that saw her take up real estate.
"I have more flexibility and it's all about people," she says. "For most people, real estate is their largest asset in life. You get to see how people manage in life, how they encourage themselves, the way they think. To me, it's not just a job, it's my passion."
BEN BUCHANAN
RESIDENTIAL SALES, GREY LYNN
IRONMAN
You could be forgiven for thinking Ben Buchanan would find this year's Auckland Marathon a walk in the park. At 42km it's the equivalent to the final leg of an Ironman, something the Grey Lynn residential sales rep and competitive triathlete has accomplished several times. But having originally toyed with the idea of running the 11km with a goal of finishing in the top three, it didn't take much convincing for Ben to commit to the full distance.
"It'll still be tough," says Ben. "It's not so long that you can stop and have nutrition. It's long but you can still do it fast."
While the majority of runners will be aiming simply to finish, Ben's training put him in good stead to reach the finish line in 3 hours although the competitive runner says he plans to pace himself and enjoy the experience, aiming for a finish of 3 hours 30 minutes.
Ben lives in Westmere and starts every day with a 10km run up towards Jervois Rd to Grey Lynn and back. He's now interspersing these with a handful of longer runs, from 20-30km, in the lead-up to the event.
"Running sets my day up because real estate can be tough," he explains. "Once I've gone for my run, I never regret it and I feel good. Then everything else in the day seems relatively easy by comparison!"
On race day, Ben plans to fuel up with a bowl of oats with banana and peanut butter. Afterwards, he hopes to share a bite to eat with his family and friends – and a cold beer.
"If I've done the work and been honest with my training, I feel pretty good," says Ben of how he expects he'll be feeling before the run. "I visualise having already been at the finish line, so mentally I've already done it before I've started."
Before joining the Barfoot & Thompson team in Grey Lynn three years ago, Ben was an aircraft engineer. Seeking a change of scene he went into real estate for the challenge, and his love of people, and getting a great result for them.
"Real estate is like running a marathon. You can do nothing and get no result and maybe not finish, or you can work really hard, train hard, talk to a lot of people, sell a lot of houses and get rewarded. I absolutely love it."