University of Otago third-year medical student Annise Boothroyd has now run nine out 11 of New Zealand’s Great Walks.
She is completing the runs to raise money for the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Trust.
Miss Boothroyd chose the helicopter trust as she was a medic in the NZ Army Reserves.
As a runner, if she were to get into trouble in the South, it would be the trust that would come to her rescue, she said.
"In the reserves, we do a lot of ... evac and point of contact care — they’re very relevant to running, because people carry PLBs [personal locator beacons] and whatnot, but obviously they only work if there is someone there to come rescue you."
The only walks left for Miss Boothroyd to finish are the Hump Ridge Track in Fiordland and the Rakiura Track on Stewart Island, which she plans to complete over Easter.
"When I decided to do this, there were 10, and then two days before I did the first, they made the Hump Ridge a Great Walk too ... the finish line got pushed out a bit," she said.
She tried to complete the runs by going north to south, as she spent the summer break in the North Island.
The run she enjoyed the most was the Paparoa Track on the West Coast.
"That was probably the one that I came back with the biggest smile ... I was on a runner’s high afterwards.
"It was my first one back in the South Island after the holidays, so I was happy to be back as well."
The shortest track will be the Rakiura Track at 32km and the longest was the Whanganui River Journey, which included 87km of running, or the same distance as two marathons.
"I always get to the point where I’m like, ‘Oh, just a marathon to go now’."
Earlier this month, Miss Boothroyd completed the Milford, Kepler and Routeburn tracks in the same week, adding up to over 145km of running in seven days.
On her run, Miss Boothroyd always carried a backpack that weighed roughly 10kg.
Inside was a medical kit, water, a PLB, and anything she might need if she finds herself needing to spend the night anywhere.
With the end in sight, Miss Boothroyd plans to spend a few extra days on Stewart Island to relax after completing her final run.
