Back in February 2015 I set off on the adventure of a lifetime, a solo backpacking trip around New Zealand and Australia. I planned to be away for four months in total so of course I made space for my running kit, having visions of me frolicking through forests, hurtling down mountains and powering along beaches. As it turns out, this was wildly optimistic. The combination of spontaneity, the absence of my normal routine, hostel living and trying to make new friends was not conducive to regular running and I barely managed a mile for weeks. Once I became a bit more comfortable with this lifestyle though, I started to make time for a bit of running. It became clear to me that I had lost a lot of my hard-earned fitness over the past few weeks so none of my running was in any way impressive, but doing something was better than nothing. Once I decided to base myself in Wellington, I joined a gym and it became much easier to fit in regular running again. Recently, I have been taking part in the Wellington Waterfront 5K, a weekly timed run along the seafront. To my surprise, my 5K times don't appear to have suffered too much from my months of infrequent exercise and I have even managed to notch up a win!

Check out my page dedicated to some of my running adventures while in New Zealand...Running in New Zealand