Woman smashes world record by running length of New Zealand in just over 20 days

By Ed Cullinane via SWNS

A British woman has run the length of New Zealand in just over 20 days - smashing the world record by TWO WEEKS.

Emma Timmis, 37, covered some 1,300 miles (2,100 km) during her journey from Cape Reinga, at the top of the country, to Bluff.

She completed the run in just 20 days and 17 hours - shattering the previous record of 35 days and 27 minutes.

Emma, originally from Derby, covered around 62 miles (100 km) a day while battling scorching temperatures.

She also had to dodge terrifying traffic and deal with the physical toll of running on roads - which she described as "damaging".

Emma completed the run in order to raise money for the UK children's mental health charity Young Minds Trust, and New Zealand charity YouthLine.

She has raised nearly £3,300 in the UK so far, and nearly $24,000 dollars (£12,000) in New Zealand - but hopes to raise more.

She said: "It was very intense, especially on the road - it's very damaging to the body.

"There were some parts, particularly in cities, where running on the roads meant traffic was just so loud, and close to my body itself, that it was completely overwhelming for my mind.

"It was a constant battle. The first two days in the far north of the north island, were pretty peaceful.

"But from day three onwards it just got so loud on the roads and there were so many people around, and so many trucks, I really just didn't know how I was going to get through.

"Thankfully there were also moments which weren't so bad and helped keep going.

"I was very lucky that in most of the cities I had to pass through, like Aukland, I found local guides to pass me through the easiest way.

"In Aukland, I had a great local cyclist who took me through cycle paths which made it way less intimidating than I thought it would be.

"I had visions of having to stop for traffic lights, and traffic, and moving around people, but having someone local there was just brilliant.

"The aim was always to do roughly 100km a day, and based on my averages from my calculations I've now done after the run I averaged 98.8km a day.

"There was a lot of obstacles at the beginning, which meant I couldn't complete 100km a day.

"So towards the end, I was having to do over 100km a day to get the run done in good time".

Spurred on by local supporters and members of the public, Emma said that the support she had received from people she had never met has been amazing.

She set off on December 18 and arrived at the finish line on January 7.

Emma continued: "Loads of people across the country were following me, people I'd have never met otherwise.

"People would just show up and run alongside me parts of the way, and children would wait with their families at the ends of driveways to cheer me on.

"People would stop in cars with banners at the side of the road and cheer me on - it was just amazing, I was absolutely blown away by the support.

"I've had people message me from the UK as well, which is helped by the fact I'm raising money for a charity in the UK as well as New Zealand."

An artist and illustrator, Emma moved to New Zealand six years ago as a last chance to use her under 30s work holiday visa.

She said she fell in love with the place within days and now lives with her boyfriend Tristan Phipps, 41, in Kaiapoi, Canterbury, on the South Island.

He along with two others made up her vital support team who helped her along the way.

She had originally planned to do the cross-country run four years prior but had been stopped by a mystery leg injury that affected her mental health - inspiring her to raise money.

She explained: "I struggled with a leg injury, that basically put me out of training for on and off about three years.

"The injury was undiagnosable for a long time, I had a lot of tests done and they really struggled to find an answer to it. I actually came back to the UK for part of that too.

"It was just a very messy part of my life. Obviously, throughout that time I struggled with my own mental health problems.

"Normally people would recommend you do exercise to counter that, but I was told not to do any because of my leg.

"It really gave me a loss of my identity, and the loss of the one thing that gave me peace - so I struggled with my own mental health problems.

"When I eventually got my condition fixed and got back into running, I really wanted to go for the world record and felt strong enough to do it.

"I just really wanted to combine the two things; my desire to get the world record but also understanding people with mental health problems' struggles.

"In particular young people, so the two combined quite well in the end.

"The feedback I've got from people on the run just talking to them, and others messaging me, It's made me aware of just how important this all was".

A repeat record-breaker, Emma has previously ran 1,500 miles across South Africa in 2011, before crossing the continent of Africa in 2014.

Explaining why she was such a keen runner, she said she had been doing it since she was a child in England.

She said: "I've been running since I was 12. I used to run for Derby Ladies Athletics club. I've just run ever since, it's my thing - it keeps be happy.

"It's always been something I turn to just to have private moments of reflection. I also just love being out in nature in the hills and forests - it's really good for your mind".

The previous New Zealand run record was set by Welsh woman Menna Evans in 2020.

You can donate to Emma's fundraiser to reward her efforts here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emma-timmis-run