The wind coming into Christchurch was brisk and on the nose, but at least the Waimakiriri River was in good flow helping the 70-km paddle go a little easier. Rob and Sam overcame numerous obstacles along the way to complete the Two-Day Tandem Team Coast to Coast event this month, raising >$26,000 (and counting) for Cure Parkinson’s NZ/NRCT and the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust. A phenomenal effort!
The event, which consists of 140 km of cycling, 36 km of running (including a 33-km mountain section across an alpine pass), and 70-km paddle with grade 2 rapids, takes competitors from one side of the South Island to the other. It didn’t start well for Rob when he got cramps in both legs during the first stage, but he soldiered on and “ran it off”.
The boys stayed positive throughout the whole race, running the alpine section over Goat Pass on a stunning day. The kayak leg was eventful with a couple of capsizes, a collision with a four-metre-wide rock, and a near loss of lunch as they carried their kayak across one of two portages. According to Rob a highlight was “running up that sand bank [to the finish line] with our girls”. They had a wonderful support crew that pushed them along at transitions.
We are hugely grateful to Rob and Sam for nominating Cure Parkinson’s NZ/NRCT as one of two charities benefitting from their challenge. They are edging ever-closer to their fundraising target of $30K — for those who didn’t believe they could do it, or were waiting for confirmation (see photos below), their givealittle page will remain live until the end of the month.
Massive thanks Rob and Sam for supporting Parkinson’s research and bringing potential disease-modifying treatments that little bit closer.
NZ news media interviewed our CEO on World Parkinson’s Day as we launched our documentary One in 37 and discussed global collaborations as we work toward a cure.
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While most of the country was watching the RWC final live, our small team of CPNZ athletes blitzed the Auckland Harbour Bridge in blustery conditions at the 2023 Auckland Marathon.
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