What I Pack: Lisa Tamati

Do you travel light or heavy?

I used to travel light (have backpack, go anywhere), but as you get older, you have nicer clothes and the suitcase gets heavier.

Cattle or first class?

Definitely in the cattle category.

I can't travel without ...

My adidas running shoes. No running shoes, no trip.

What's the best thing you've brought back from a trip?

A husband.

Favourite or most exciting airport to land in?

Agadez international airport in Niger - one small concrete building surrounded by men with machine guns and an upturned plane on the runway that the pilot had to dodge while landing. You know it's not your usual tourist destination when the plane is full of ultra-marathon desert runners and Red Cross doctors... and no one else.

Most memorable trip?

Flying home from the Commonwealth champs in England three weeks ago. The night before the return flight I had to run in my 24hr non-stop running event, my poor mum had to stay up and freeze all night and my teammate Macca broke his leg during the race and was wheelchair-bound, so the three of us were a wreck for the 40 hours it took to get home (the things we do for our country).

Lisa Tamati is a long distance runner and author of new book Running Hot, which tells her story of travelling all over the world by foot, bicycle and kayak. She will be running the length of NZ in November - for more information visit www.nzrun.co.nz