She gets under way at Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub at 9am on Sunday.
If successful, it will be her fourth Guinness World Record. Timmis holds the record for running the length of New Zealand (female) in 20 days, 17 hours, 15 minutes and 57 seconds. She also holds the record for the longest journey by elliptical cycle in a single country, reaching 7951km.
And she accidentally smashed the 48-hour treadmill world record last year.
“My intention last year was to go for the seven-day record, and then I decided as a practice I would run for 48 hours on a treadmill, not knowing there was a world record for it . . . It was never an intention to do the 48-hour world record,” Timmis told NZ Herald.
Sunday’s attempt will raise awareness and funds for the Speed Freaks Trust, which supports recovery from addiction and mental distress through running and walking.
For Timmis, mental strength is a huge part of her training.
“I’ve been just putting myself in that frame of mind of how I am going to feel on day five or six when I’m severely fatigued . . .
Thinking of all the reasons why I’m doing this, really digging deep into what a difference this money is going to make to so many people,” she told the Herald.
Last year, Timmis had to stop running at 48 hours due to damaged feet. To break the 833km record, she will need to run on average at least 119km per day, with time for breaks and sleep.
She said she has adjusted her training accordingly.
“I’ve done a lot of strength work and a lot of flexibility compared to last year . . . and I have a great team of people working around me which is something which is absolutely necessary.”
