Lake Tekapo, the Routeburn and Sefton Bivy

Dreams mean work, but dreams also require sacrifice! Enjoying the solitude by the Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo, reflecting on the journey and praying for strength and determination to continue on. So happy to be here, living the dream to the fullest!

Those long training runs, racing in ultra marathons, losing toenails, blisters, twisted ankles, hypothermia, eating ibuprofen like candies, kicking ass but mostly getting it kicked, witnessing sunrises and sunsets, running under the stars, eating constantly… It’s times like these that I feel most present and alive, and God, it feels so good!

Trail running at its best at Lake Tekapo, and an epic sunrise from the summit of Mt Ollivier in the Mt Cook region.

Mountain running at its best on Roys Peak. I ran up and down this peak many times training for Northburn. The views of Lake Wanaka, the stunning mountain backdrops and Mt Aspiring are epic.

Another great walk, the Routeburn Track, completed. The weather wasn’t ideal but it was still gorgeous. I managed to hike the whole track in about 9 hours, and ran for shelter just when it started pouring cats and dogs. I couldn’t wait to run the whole track once again when the weather was ideal, and see the beautiful mountains hiding behind those clouds.

My daily cup of positivitea, at Milford Sound.

Then the Routeburn Classic mountain run, 32 km of the entire Routeburn Track, and a recovery run after it: 10km of pure mountain running on Queens Drive in the Remarkable Range, Queenstown.

Let’s go h̶i̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ pooping. One place you absolutely must poop before you die: Sefton Bivy in Mt Cook National Park, at the base of Mt Footstool and Mt Sefton, so close to the Te Waewae glacier. It was -2 with windchill, but pooping with a hot cup of coffee, a copy of The Lord of the Rings and this view: GLORIOUS.