Year-Long Running Challenge Rounded Off with Impromptu Marathon by Gillian O’Neill

Issue 947 - 27 April 2021 Phone (07) 866 2090 Circulation 8,000 Year-long running challenge rounded off with impromptu marathon By Gillian O’Neill Whitianga physiotherapist, Grace Smith, piece of toast and off I went.” is not quite sure how the idea of running In terms of route planning, Grace says she 5km a day to stay physically and mentally quickly rejected her first thought of running well during last year’s lockdown culminated to Coroglen as she felt the main road would in her spending a recent afternoon off work be particularly tough. Instead, she set out completing a marathon, but that’s exactly from her home in Wharekaho and ran all what happened, a feat that brought both the way to Hahei taking the short ferry ride agony and ecstasy. across and back, eventually being met by Although extremely active with a passion her PhysioFirst colleague and housemate, for high adrenaline activities like MotoX Terri Evanson, who ran the final kilometre and snowboarding, distance running was with her. not among the notable skills or indeed on “I don’t think Terri had ever seen me so the bucket list for the young professional grumpy,” Grace laughs. “The body was who relocated to Mercury Bay in January definitely hurting by then. There were a few this year. times out there when I was asking myself “It wasn’t something I had done before or why I had decided to do it and it was pretty had planned,” Grace says. “It started with hard to keep going. Luckily I am a physio just wanting to have a plan for getting out and I live with another physio, so we were and moving during lockdown. I was living in able to put me back together.” Auckland at the time and a lot of my activity However, the agony quickly gave way to a was based around the gym, so with that not real sense of accomplishment. “Within half available I wanted to make sure I was doing an hour I was a lot better, it’s almost like you something else to stay well both physically forget how bad it was,” Grace says. and mentally.” Although it wasn’t in the plan, her 365-day By the time lockdown came to an end, challenge has seen Grace develop a bit of a the 5km a day had become an enjoyable habit, but the seeds of a new challenge had love affair with running. “I’m fully addicted been sewn - running 5km every day for a now,” she says. “I can’t stop now, I just year. “Then you start talking to other people love it. Some days it is hard to get out there, and they are suggesting things that you but you always feel better when you do.” should do,” Grace says. “So on the 200th day Asked if her sister was proud, Grace says I marked my 25th birthday by running 20km for sure. “Although when I talked to her at and that went okay, so I decided I would do the 30km mark when I wasn’t feeling all that 30km on the 300th day. Then I was talking great, she laughed at me,” she says. to my twin sister, Sophie, who is in the UK, As to whether another marathon might be and she said you’ve got to do a marathon for on the cards, it’s possible but not planned the 365th day.” at this point. “Terri and I are going to a half Initially, Grace wasn’t sure how she felt marathon in Hawke’s Bay, so we’ll work about the idea, or even if the 42km distance towards that for now,” Grace says. would be achievable. “The weekend before I In the meantime, the tracks and trails of was hanging out with my friends who were Mercury Bay provide the perfect backdrop all encouraging me to do it, but even then I for Grace’s newfound passion. “Sometimes didn’t want to commit,” she says. “But it got I’ll go on a run, maybe to Hahei or Cathedral to the night before and I just thought if I feel Cove and I look around and think is this okay tomorrow I will do it. So I left work at really where I live,” she says. “It’s pretty Whitianga physiotherapist, Grace Smith, has recently celebrated 365 days of running 5km midday, came home, had some coffee and a special and I feel really lucky.” a day with an imporomptu marathon from Wharekaho to Hahei and back. Distributed throughout the Coromandel Peninsula, coast to coast from Thames to north of Colville - www.theinformer.co.nz Newest Aero Club life member “someone special in New Zealand aviation” By Tony Stickley For a man who has achieved so much in the of fuel and get back again, and John had his reasonably competent because I did okay, so I to receive it. world of aviation, pilot Grant Biel is remarkably part to do.” just continued.” It was not until 1985 that he started flying down to earth about his accomplishments. In fact, the flight in a single engine Squirrel Grant describes himself as a fortunate helicopters. From being involved in some of the most helicopter at night across the Southern Ocean man whose career has been “interesting, In earlier years, Grant worked for James daring aerial rescues off the New Zealand took over three and a half hours in each challenging, satisfying and rewarding,” Aviation, delivering New Zealand-made coast to competing in the London to Sydney direction, so the margin for error was very particularly in regard to the people he helped Fletcher agricultural aircraft to places such air race, Grant has done it all. slim indeed. save on the rescue missions. as Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Last week when Grant was made a life Grant was involved in another noted rescue He added that there was an added incentive Solomon Islands. member of the Mercury Bay Aero Club in July the following year when a crewman on to take up flying, as prior to 1963 there was Grant said that flying the slow Fletchers (MBAC) - the highest accolade the club can the vessel Mary Ann was crushed by a pallet of a subsidy of around 90 pounds in old money over water for many hours taught him a lot confer - a bullet point list of his achievements frozen fish 350 nautical miles northeast of the for people to get their private pilot’s licence. about preparing meticulously for flights and in 60 years of flying was outlined. Chatham Islands. The crewman was winched That was a policy carried over from the war leaving nothing to chance in order to make But bullet points don’t really do justice to a into the aircraft with just 10 minutes to spare years and Grant said he was the last person sure he reached his destination. “You learn man who has made his mark in so many areas before dark for the return flight. of New Zealand aviation. It was one of those quirks in life that Grant, a member of the MBAC for 56 saw Grant, a young engineering student at years, was employed as a pilot by the club, Auckland University, take up a career in flying regular services between Whitianga and flying in 1961. In those days, the engineering Auckland from 1965 to 1968. After moving faculty was based at Ardmore Airport, south from Whitianga, he remained a member of the of Auckland, and students lived in two hostel club and often returned to Mercury Bay for air buildings on site. shows and staying at the family holiday home On the first day, during a free period from at Opito Bay. lectures, Grant got on a bike to go exploring However, other major milestones in his and chanced upon the Auckland Aero Club career set him apart as someone special in which had just moved there from Mangere. New Zealand aviation, both with regard to He was invited to go for a flight - the first time fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. he had ever been in a plane - and has never Grant was involved in many helicopter looked back. rescue missions with his friend and business But to say Grant was instantly hooked or partner, John Funnell, including the dramatic that adrenalin took over and that he suddenly rescue of meteorologist, Mike Fraser, from discovered the passion of flight, is something Campbell Island after he had been severely that he adamantly denies. “To me flying was mauled by a great white shark in April 1992. primarily a convenient and rapid means of “I was only flying from A to B, but the hard transportation in a country that wasn’t easy to part was John Funnell’s who did the work get around,” he said matter-of-factly. “There locating Mike and transporting him to the wasn’t much to do at Ardmore except work, hostel where the medic worked on him for an so it became a form of recreation. hour and a half,” Grant said. “I had my job to “But I don’t get too passionate about Grant Biel (left) receiving his Mercury Bay Aero Club Life Membership do, which was to get us there, not to run out things. It was interesting and obviously I was award from club president, Brian Wigley, last week. What’s happening in the night sky? Night sky information provided and sponsored by Week of Wednesday, 28 April to Wednesday, 5 May - Jupiter and Saturn will be easy to spot this month.

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