Now, he has run more than four.
The Gisborne man was one of the more than 100 athletes who finished the third stage of the final Alps 2 Ocean Ultra marathon yesterday.
The 88km stage, which finished at Loch Laird, near Otematata, was the longest day of the 323km, seven-day event from Aoraki/Mount Cook to Oamaru.
"I’d had enough by about 9 or 10[pm]. I ended up running by myself down a road for about four hours," he said.
"I’d written my resignation letter, rebooked the ferry in my head.
"Once I got going it was all right, it was one step at a time."
One of those was Alex Senior, of Blenheim. She crossed the finish line hand in hand with three other runners nearly 30 hours after setting out, and summed up her emotions in one word — "relief".
"If it wasn’t for the camaraderie among the runners I wouldn’t have finished," she said.
"You just go through highs and lows the whole time so it makes it easier to share it."
Fifteen runners had been forced to withdraw, mainly due to the 30degC temperatures, race director Mike Sandri said.
"We’ve had the best weather we have ever had for a race, but in saying that it’s kicked a lot of people in the butt," Sandri said.
"I’ve had my moments, but as I get closer to Oamaru it starts to really settle in."
The efforts of Sandri and his team of volunteers had not gone unnoticed.
Greg Tompos had travelled to the Waitaki district from Canberra for the event, after reading rave reviews on online running forums.
"It’s so wonderful to talk to the volunteers," Tompos said.
"Mike is not getting paid a cent for the work he does.
"All the money is getting filtered in the community — I’d rather go to a race like this than one where someone is lining their pockets."
The event finishes at Oamaru Harbour on Saturday.
