Time and tide wait for no man: the story of Jeff Reid and his Cook Strait crossing BY 9.30pm the black sea and night sky are one. The ocean kicks up around the swimmer. He can’t see his hands pulling through the water. Vast and silent forces swirl around and just 800 metres beyond him lies New Zealand's North Island. He left the South Island over 11 hours ago and the weather is getting nasty . . . It is Friday May 6, 2022. Autumn in New Zealand. The night-time swimmer is 50-year-old Jeff Reid and he’s trying to cross the treacherous Cook Strait. Incredibly, Reid has already swum this challenging passage back when he was just 14. Today, the father of two, aims to earn the record for the longest period of time between two crossings. “I want to see if I can do it again because I don’t want my legacy to be that I swam it when I was 14.” But there’s another reason the Napier Port marine team leader wants to swim. A few years ago, he and wife Amy learned that Reid has polycystic kidney disease, which causes the deterioration of kidney function with the eventuality of regular dialysis. Read feature article.
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In it for the long run: Gavin Murphy and the 100-mile race DURING one of the toughest 100-mile races in the world Gisborne’s Gavin Murphy overcomes fatigue and pain most of us couldn’t imagine. He runs or walks continuously and sees two sunrises without sleep. What on earth drives a man to move for two days non-stop, and can there really be any enjoyment?
SPOT 44-year-old Gavin Murphy jogging down Wainui Beach and you might not give him a second glance. But consider he’s probably been running since 3am and suddenly you realise this easy-going bespectacled Gisborne business manager is a running extremist. He’s that breed of athlete that relishes the feel of shredded legs and miles of agony, and embraces the rush of runs that last for hours, even days. Last month [March 2017] Gavin had a crack at the Northburn 100 that pits athletes against 161 kilometres (100 miles) of barren Central Otago terrain including 10,000 metres of up and down. Read feature article |
AuthorWritten by Hayley Redpath, published in the New Zealand Herald, Hawke's Bay Today and The Gisborne Herald. Archives
April 2023
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