Sun, 06 Dec 2009 3:51p.m.
For Malcolm Law the Kepler challenge has a lot of significance
By David Di Somma
As weeks go, they can’t come much more draining than this. Auckland’s Malcolm Law has just completed the equivalent of nearly nine marathons in just seven days – and all for very personal reasons.
For most people, the Kepler challenge is a one-off, the climax of months of training.
But for Law it has so much more significance.
“I’ve always wanted to do something for my brother who died of leukaemia many years ago,” he says.
Law was only nine when his brother died in 1969. In order to raise money for the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation, he decided on what has been called ‘The Seven in Seven’.
With the help of a helicopter, a plane, and two campervans to get himself and his supporters around the country, Law has completed the ‘seven great walks’ in seven days. Starting at Lake Waikaremoana last Sunday, and finishing at the Kepler.
All told he has walked, run and hiked 360kms in seven days.
“We are ultimately hoping to raise $100,000,” he says. “At the moment we are sitting at $70,000.”
This isn’t the Auckland market researcher’s first fundraiser – in the 1980s he rode from London to Lisbon for the UK-based Leukaemia and Blood Foundation.
At 60kms through the picturesque Fiordland National Park, the Kepler Challenge is a tough event – but pain has been Law’s constant companion of late, not that you would know it.
“We are out to have a good time,” he says. “Certainly having it at the moment.”
Law finished the event in 10 hours.
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