Max Baxter nails three-hour goal in Rotorua half-marathon

Te Kawa's Max Baxter on his way to 2nd place in the Rotorua half marathon walk, on crutches, well within his three-hour goal, finishing in 2:40:25. Photo / Marathon-Photos.com

Max Baxter walked into the unknown on Saturday - setting himself a goal of walking the Rotorua half-marathon in under three hours, on crutches.

As we reported last week, Max had done his training and knew what was required, but achieving that was another story.

A little over two hours and 40 minutes after the starting gun he knew the answer.

Max well and truly nailed his three hour goal - in fact he finished in 2:40:25 which placed him second in the men's walking category and third overall for walkers.

Max is a well known figure around the Te Awamutu and Otorohanga districts. He farms at Te Kawa and has been mayor of Otorohanga District since 2013.

For 30 years has been carrying a leg injury that has threatened his mobility - femoral artery failure, which resulted in no pulse below his left knee.

It was detected soon after he ran his first marathon at Rotorua in 1991.

An operation fixed the condition for 22 years.

He went on to run marathons again, running three sub-three-hour times in the process, including his personal best 2h 49m in New Plymouth.

Then he felt the artery go eight years ago. More surgery was an option, but it meant cutting open his arms to harvest healthy veins, and there was no guarantee it would be successful.

Max says he went into a dark place for a while, the natural instinct to feel sorry for himself.

It was his wife Lindsay who told him to "'snap out of it' ... and I did".

Max decided to find ways to handle the pain and get back to running and his decision to once again take on the marathon where it all started.

The 56-year-old hopes his achievement will inspire others to get out and be active.

He says it felt fantastic to push himself again and get the competitive spirit going.

"I settled into my rhythm and thought I would top three hours by five or 10 minutes.

"Beating it by 20 minutes was awesome."

Max says it is the most punishing event for his hands and shoulders he has ever done, but the recovery is good.

And, as planned, it was a huge celebration for the Baxter family.

Lindsay, who has run and walked half marathons previously, finished the walk in 2:55:45, 26th of 235 finishers - 14th woman and eighth in her class.

First time marathon runner Taegan Baxter going strong at the 25km mark. She finished in 3:56:54. Photo / Marathon-Photos.com

Daughter Taegan honoured her father's history by taking on her first full marathon, and finishing in a time of 3:56:54.

She placed 225th overall from 746 finishers and 36th in the women's division.

Max and Lindsay are looking to continuing their training and taking on some of New Zealand's great walks for pleasure, as well as competing in some trail and off-road events.