“One of my earlier memories of running was just me and my best friend running to the lake from our houses in Maine (USA).
I was born in Wellington and was about 6 months old when my parents moved from New Zealand to Maine. My dad was Kiwi, my mom’s American. My parents weren’t really runners, but they were into sports and activities so when we went on family vacations, there would be tennis, skiing, or mini golf. I played soccer, tennis and gave different sports a go, so running just seemed to be a necessity.
I grew up in a competitive family, but I’m just not competitive in running. I actually had a group of girlfriends and we would go on doughnut runs. We just ran to the doughnut shop, had a doughnut, sometimes an iced coffee, and then run back.
I did get into Sprint Triathlons. My first event was the Kapiti Women’s Triathlon and the organisers were so nurturing of newbies. I was kind of going at it alone and didn’t have friends doing it so I went to the organised trainings and group swims. I remember I’d come out of the swim completely winded and then I was like, “Oh my gosh, I have to bike and then run too!” My experience of running in Triathlon was just to get to the finish line.
So yeah – running was always part of something else.
‘Why do I run?’. It’s a one word answer – Community.
I would not have signed up for the Luxmore Grunt if I hadn’t been motivated by Te Anau Run Club. This is my fourth year in Te Anau and I had never even considered entering. The run community has been incredibly generous with their tips, knowledge or what hills I should train on. The Kepler Challenge and Luxmore Grunt are such iconic local legends, right, and hearing from other people about their experiences in those races and on that track has been fantastic. I’m grateful to be part of the running community in Te Anau, I’ve met great people and the collective enthusiasm is motivating.
It was exhilarating to do the Fiordland Trails Meridian Hydro Half Marathon this year and beat my time from two years ago. Like my friend said to me after, “as runners we’re aging like fine cheese, a little bit stinky, but we’re getting better.”
Alanna @kiwigurl3
(Te Anau)
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Portraits of Runners + their stories
@RunnersNZ
