Back in 2009 Wilderness supported a man with a mission. That man was Mal Law; his mission was to do what nobody before him had ever even attempted, let alone achieved – to run New Zealand’s 7 mainland Great Walks back to back in just 7 days (the equivalent of 9 mountain marathons in a week!)
Wilderness provided the ‘7in7 Challenge’ with two Basejumper motorhomes for this project, which ultimately went on to raise more than $260,000 for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ (Mal’s brother having died from this illness as a teenager). That adventure was also the subject of a short movie and a book – One Step Beyond.
A few years on, now with many thousands of hours running rugged trails under his belt, Mal is setting his sights on another world-first adventure right here in New Zealand. This one is, by his own confession “off-the-scale scary”. His audacious plan is to run 50 mountain marathons in just 50 days, including a named peak on each day. That’s more than 2,000 kms of backcountry trails and the equivalent ascent and descent of 12 Everests from sea level – all in just 50 days!
This latest adventure – the Partners Life High Five-0 Challenge – kicks off on Feb 7th next year in Rotorua, takes in the many mountain ranges of both islands and goes as far south as Bluff before returning to finish in Auckland at The DUAL Marathon on March 28th. Along the way Mal will be joined by upwards of 200 keen supporters, who as well as running by his side for a day or two each will help him achieve his equally audacious goal of raising more than $250,000 for the Mental Health Foundation NZ.
Such is the nature of this Challenge – big in its scale and ambition, taking in so many beautiful, remote parts of our stunning country – that we at Wilderness just couldn’t help but lend Mal our support once again. So if you’re on the road during February & March next year, keep an eye out for two Wilderness Motorhomes making their way around the country helping Mal achieve his dreams. If you see him or his support crew give them a toot or better still make a small donation to this very deserving cause via his fundraising page
For more information about the Challenge check out www.high50.org.nz
