This is the story of Sam.
His unique personality and sense of humour are going to inspire you to either start somewhere or push yourself a little bit further.
Sam has been running for years and he is not going to stop now.
We can’t wait for you to meet him in one of our Thursday session once we are back to level 2 in Auckland!
Hey Sam, first, can you tell us how you began your running journey?
I guess my running journey first started in primary school where I did well at cross country and at the athletic events. Shout out to Pt Chev Athletics!
What has been your biggest personal achievement in running?
Either being selected for the NZ Secondary Schools Cross-Country Team and competing internationally or completing the 102km Tarawera event, such a slog – sheeessh!
Do you have a funny story about a previous running coach?
Kind of somewhat? He got me out of an expulsion at school by saying I was a good kid for volunteering to paint his house with my mates for free. Couldn’t be more far from the truth as he paid us to do so – it worked though.
What are a couple things that are most important to you running?
Using it as a means of exploration. I lived overseas in Canada for a few years, and I honestly believe that due to running I got to experience & see so much more of the country due to it. Adding onto that the community for sure, I feel as if it’s a very diverse community with people from all walks of life which is awesome to be a part of.
Do you have any fitness and lifestyle goals set for the rest of the year?
Hopefully complete the Raikura Challenge if Aunty Cindy get’s us to L1 in time. Try get to the top of the RR Strava leader board, watch out number uno.
The most classic question - Who has been your biggest inspo?
The old timers of NZ’s golden era of athletics such as Snell & Walker, absolute weapons! On top of that “The MoBot” and David Rudisha and of course that one race Dave Wottle churned up the field. Too many to choose from geez.
What does the FAT ROAD RUNNERS mean to you?
I’m quite competitive so to me it means something along the lines of like-minded people wanting to push and improve themselves not just from a physical standpoint but mentally too in regards to increased resilience.
Finally, what else do you do other than runs?
In terms of staying fit I box quite regularly and try to push tin even though my sticks probably don’t show it. If surfing counts as staying fit then yep a bit of that too, just got a sick Gerry Lopez board yeeow!