After three gruelling days racing around Otematata on little sleep, New Zealand runners have punched well above their weight to finish sixth at the backyard ultra world team championships.
It was a phenomenal effort from the 15-person team who ran 6.7km every hour — day and night — and raced against 63 other countries running simultaneously around the world.
Belgium won the event, followed by the United States, Australia, Japan and France.
Co-organiser Steve Tripp said the New Zealand team — named the Flying Kiwis — did "exceptionally well" after finishing 11th of 37 teams in 2022, and 16th of 20 in 2020.
Sam Harvey, of Christchurch, was the last runner standing for New Zealand, finishing after 73 laps about 2am yesterday.
It was a giant effort from Harvey, who raced for 57hr 39min to extend the national record by 21hr.
Dunedin’s John Bayne put in a huge shift, finishing after 72 laps, beating his personal best by 21 laps.
Wanaka runner Julia Chamberlain finished with 51 laps to break the New Zealand women’s record.
She surpassed her previous record on New Zealand soil of 40 laps from earlier this year.
Tripp said 11 New Zealand competitors finished with personal best times.
It was the camaraderie of the group — many of whom were recovering at their base at the Otematata Hotel with "dodgy feet" yesterday — that struck Tripp the most.
"I just really was quite in admiration of the way the 15 people ran together, supported one another and worked together to solve problems.
"When someone was having a problem, they talked about it, they shared solutions and probably ran a lot further because of that.
"Running’s often seen as a solitary sport, and this is a team format and you could really see how the team functioned to make everyone go further."
