During the week he took some time out to explain his challenge.
Where did the inspiration come from for the challenge?
I've had a lifelong love affair with bagging peaks - the result of spending all my childhood holidays in the Scottish Highlands. The idea of combining this with my more recent passion for long-distance trail running and fundraising came about while I was looking for a new way to push my boundaries way beyond where I've previously gone.
NZ has a beautiful landscape - what will be some of your favourite runs in this mission and why?
There are so many to choose from; every one of the 50 is special in some way. There are three successive big days in Aspiring National Park that perhaps stand out, but there are also crackers in Kahurangi and Nelson Lakes National Parks, not to mention the 'holy trinity' of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Taranaki.
Why have you chosen to run for the Mental Health Foundation - do you have a connection there?
Yes, as well as losing my brother-in-law some years ago when he took his own life, I have battled periodic bouts of depression myself and know just how scary and debilitating it can be.
You are aiming to raise $250,000 for the MHF?
Yes, to make the target would be great. But to smash it would be even more rewarding. And as this project gathers momentum I'm getting more and more confident that we can blow that target out of the water. I now find myself thinking "how cool would it be to reach $500,000?"
What do you think will be the toughest part of this challenge?
Any one of the 50 runs that make up the challenge would normally be considered a big day out. Of course the physical challenge will be immense but the mental battle will be bigger still. It will be relentless - no rest days, no matter what the weather. The mental battle required to fight this cannot be underestimated.
What do you think will be the most enjoyable part?
Apart from finishing? [laughs]. More than anything I look forward to the incredible camaraderie that develops between runners when they are collectively engaged in achieving a massive goal.
How much have you been training for this?
An enormous amount. Last year I ran every day, a minimum of 5km a day, and clocked up 5000km in total, mostly on trail. This year my focus is shifting to getting supremely strong on the hills, so I've set myself the goal of bashing out 230,000 vertical metres - the equivalent of climbing Everest from sea level once a fortnight.
How will you manage your body and injuries throughout the year?
I find that so long as I stay off the road, which I hate anyway, and focus on 'time on feet' rather than 'speed on feet', my body is pretty robust. But I'll also be doing stacks of core strength work.
You are hoping to share this challenge with other runners - what has the response been like?
Fantastic! The idea is for people to sign up to join me for 1-3 days each and share in both the adventure and the fundraising. Within a few days of the website going live last week I had around 40 people enrolled. I'm picking that eventually there'll be somewhere between 300 and 400.
I bet you are looking forward to the finish line but also the journey to get there is going to be an incredible one?
Indeed. I use my mental image of the finish line [Home Bay on Motutapu at the end of the Partners Life DUAL marathon on March 21 2015] and the emotions that will be flooding through me at that instant, as a powerful visualisation tool. But every day will be incredible. Every day will present special challenges, every day will give me intimate interaction with our unparalleled wild places and every day will bring me into contact with big-hearted people with a passion for living life to its fullest.
What advice do you have for other people looking to take on a big goal or fund-raise for others?
Find a goal and a cause you are passionate about. Don't compromise on this. It's that passion that will sustain you through the hard times. Other than that, the only sage bit of advice I can offer is, don't listen to the naysayers who say it can't be done - there's always plenty of them, so take pleasure in proving them wrong.
Partners Life High Five-0 Challenge
Challenge: 50 Peaks + 50 marathons in 50 days
When: Saturday, January 31, 2014-March 21, 2015
Running for: The Mental Health Foundation of NZ
To run with Mal or help fund-raise visit: http://www.high50.org.nz
