Taking the long road for hospice

Ed Shuttleworth doesn’t do things by halves.

The 45-year-old Sport Tasman chief executive only took up running a few years ago to fill the gap after hanging up his rugby and cricket boots, and to fit in with the demands of a young family.

He was chuffed to complete a 10km race. But instead of slow and steady increments to a half-marathon and full marathon, he bounded ahead by entering a 100km event in Taupo.

He finished, but not before a night of hallucinations.

“Every leaf I saw was a fish.

“It was incredibly hard but I realised I could do more.”

Doing more had since included completing a 100-mile event (160km) at the fourth attempt.

“I find it a really fascinating physical and mental challenge. The thought of setting a goal that seems unachievable, piecing together a way through is a really rewarding process.”

Now he has set his sights on an even bigger mission.

At 3am on February 1, he will lace up his running shoes at Farewell Spit at the start of a non-stop 210km run that will take him over Tākaka Hill and to Tapawera, before finishing at the Nelson Tasman Hospice in Stoke.

The idea came after he was nominated as one of the contestants for hospice’s Dancing For a Cause fundraiser in May. At a briefing he learned the hospice saw 210 patients each month from right across the region.

He went home, looked at a map, and started putting together a 210km route. Each kilometre is dedicated to someone cared for by hospice, and people can sponsor a kilometre for $210 or donate any amount. The event has a fundraising target of $210,000.

Shuttleworth has been racking up between 70km and 90km a week in training, with long runs of up to 70km, Shuttleworth knows that going 50km further than he has ever run will have its moments.

Running up the Rameka Track on the Tākaka Hill will provide a tough physical test, but he thinks the hardest part mentally will be the 60km stretch from Riwaka to Tapawera when he will be running away from his ultimate destination.

But he would be buoyed by the cause.

“You can’t have a bigger why than running for hospice.”

Shuttleworth says the importance of hospice was brought home when he and his family returned to Britain to care for his ill mother a few years ago. There was not an equivalent hospice organisation, leaving his family to care for her at home.

He would also be remembering Sport Tasman stalwart Tony Thomas, who worked for the organisation for 30 years. He was cared for at the hospice before his death last year.

“Everyone knows how amazing hospice is, but we should not take it for granted.”
Shuttleworth hopes to finish the run late on Sunday, February 2, after more than 40 hours, and the community were invited to join him for the last 2.1km.

He says while the thought of 210km was daunting, his philosophy was to think about taking one more step.

“It’s really taught me about staying present and not worrying about the future.”

You can donate to the run through 210-reasons-to-run.raiselysite.com. Shuttleworth says the event had been made possible with the help of Bowater Toyota, Malloch McLean Accountants and Glen Thompson Ray White.
By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail