Mal Law was 9 years old when his 13-year-old brother Alan died of leukaemia.
His brother's illness and death sparked a passion to live a life less ordinary and make a difference for people suffering from the illness.
When he was 21, Mr Law cycled from London to Lisbon in three weeks for his first fundraising mission for the UK-based Leukaemia Research Fund.
Now a New Zealand resident, Mr Law took up multisport about 15 years ago.
He has raced the length of New Zealand in the Mizone Endurozone event and has taken part in the Speight's Coast to Coast and other adventure races.
Last year, his focus returned to charitable missions in memory of Alan.
"After that [ride to Lisbon], life and career overtook me but I always had tucked away in the back of my mind that I would go and do another big adventure.
"So I sold my business two years ago, intending to take a summer off.
But I have now acquired a two-year obsession," he said this month at his Wanaka holiday home.
Mal Law (50) was born in Devon, raised and educated in Liverpool and now works in Auckland as a market researcher.
He came to New Zealand on a one-year working holiday in 1987, fell in love with the country while walking in the Tasman lakes area of the South Island, and decided to stay.
He is married to Sally and they have a son, 13-year-old Beinn. They plan to build their dream home in Wanaka and move there.
Mr Law's first 7 in 7 Challenge last year saw him complete seven marathons in a week, from the central North Island to Fiordland, and raise $85,000 for the foundation.
This year, he aims to raise $150,000.
Mr Law is reducing the organisational overload and restricting his challenge to the Queenstown Lakes district, starting at Lake Hawea on November 28 and finishing at Lake Te Anau on December 4.
One run is just short of the full marathon distance and six runs are longer.
Mr Law does not intend to fail at exactly 42.2km and call for a helicopter ride home.
He picks day three, when he runs the 49km alpine Motatapu Trail, will be "the killer" and is concerned he has not done enough training, because the organisational workload has been eating into his time.
He is also worried about some niggly little injuries, "but then I am 50, so I have to expect a bit of creaking".
Mr Law has supplemented his run training with core strengthening exercises, stretching, Pilates and regular visits to a physiotherapist, but rues not doing as much cycling and kayaking as he would like.
"By the time I start, I will have run close to 3000km in training this year.
I think, over two years, with all the training and the two challenges, it will have been 7000km all up," he said.
Last year, Mr Law thought the challenge would be a "week from hell", with the only reward the sense of achievement.
But support from family and friends and fresh scenery every day kept his spirits up.
He has experimented with eating on the run for years and finds he can consume most things.
His on-the-run menu includes performance gels, sandwiches, ginger oatcake, fruit cake, dried bananas, nuts, muesli bars, jet plane lollies and licorice.
"I am not going for personal bests so will be travelling at a pace I can keep food down."
He has not sought a lot of medical advice about the mission but jokes he has received plenty of mental advice.
"I think most people see the positive in it, though."
Three keys to long-distance running are managing nutrition, preventing injuries and getting sleep, Wanaka GP Andrew McLeod says.
Dr McLeod, an experienced multisporter with an interest in sports medicine, will be among 40 athletes starting the 7 in 7 Challenge with Mr Law at Lake Hawea.
Dr McLeod is running three, the most of any Otago supporter, and is familiar with much of the terrain that lies ahead.
Dr McLeod is confident Mr Law is on the right track.
"The terrain is the thing.
He has chosen some very steep and hilly trails.
I've done all but two of the tracks he's contemplating doing and it takes so much more out of you running that kind of track than just doing seven runs around the roads.
That also increases the risks of injury from running down steep hills and standing on rocks.
He's a very experienced trail runner but it could add a degree of trouble for him, particularly as he gets fatigued later in the week," Dr McLeod said.
Mr Law could expect sore legs and feet during the week, which may mean changing shoes and in turn adjusting his feet and ankles to different shoes.
Resting, massage and wearing compression garments also helped recovery, he said.
Mr Law has a special incentive to be there at the end.
He will be joined in the final 10km of the Kepler Challenge on December 4 by his son, Beinn.
"That will be pretty cool," Mr Law said.
