TAKING IT TO THE WORLD
I don’t know if it is the economy of scale, or cultural interest, or an overwhelming focus for economic purposes on our national game, but New Zealanders don’t seem to celebrate our athletes from other codes who do well on the international stage.
Take Fiona Hayvice for instance. This 42-year-old Wellingtonian runs for Salomon, placed fifth at last year’s Western States Endurance Run 100-miler and won the 2016 100km Tarawera Ultramarathon.
Check on Ultrasignup and you will see that every finish – be that domestic or international – she has had since starting to run competitively in 2011 has been in the single digits. Fiona trains and races in addition to a busy family life and owning YoYo Design By Kiwis, a popular design store. It’s time that we celebrate our top-ranking athletes of all codes. How did this person not get a parade?
I was able to interrupt Fiona’s busy schedule and final preparation for the Tarawera 100-mile endurance run to speak with her about (amongst other things) where she’s come from, the challenges that female athletes face in a (traditionally) male-dominated sport and where she sees herself going in the future.
Trail Runner: When did your journey with running begin, when did it become apparent that this was something that you a) enjoyed and b) excelled at?
When I was thirteen, I left the family farm and went to boarding school in Christchurch. It was quite a big change and I was soon yearning for time out from the regimented environment that I found myself in. I would get up in the morning and run before
