A Queenstown nurse has become the fastest woman to run the length of the country, in 57 days and 12 hours.
Brooke Thomas Photo: SUPPLIED
Brooke Thomas crossed the finish line of the Te Araroa trail in Bluff last night, after covering more than 3006 kilometres.
She beat the previous record by a week and fundraised $22,000 for the HeartKids charity.
Brooke Thomas started in Cape Reinga at the end of November and finished in Bluff on 22 January Photo: SUPPLIED
Thomas has a pacemaker and said she wanted to test her limits.
She said her achievement had not sunk in yet, but it had been strange to have a relaxed day today after weeks of hard work.
"It's such an adventure, and I'm just so excited that I finally got to do it. I'm sure it's going to hit home over the next couple of days, when things slow down a bit. It's been amazing."
Thomas said the rough trail made created many challenging moments.
"Navigation isn't always and you're over pretty high mountain climbs, but I had a fair amount of time on my own to think about what it is that drives me, and the answer that keeps coming up is: whenever it felt tough - keeping it in perspective, I'm not at war, I'm not struggling in a hospita;l bed, I'm just out doing something I've chosen to do and love doing."
