Tamati - Running Hot

RUNNING
HOT

LISA TAMATI

First published 2009

Copyright Lisa Tamati and Nicola McCloy

Chapter quotes reproduced with the kind permission of Charles Donoghue from his book, Kites Rise Against the Wind. www.donoghuedynamics.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

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National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Tamati, Lisa, 1971
Running hot / Lisa Tamati and Nicola McCloy
ISBN 978-1-877505-01-0
1. Tamati, Lisa, 1971- 2. Long-distance runnersBiography.
I. McCloy, Nicola, 1971- II. Title.
796.42092dc 22

ISBN 978 1 877505 01 0

Typeset in 10.5 pt Bitstream Carmina by Janet Hunt
Cover design by Katy Yiakmis
Cover image by Mike Scott
Printed in Australia by Griffin Press

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In memory of Andrea Needham.
With thanks to my family, friends and Gerhard.

Contents

Me and my big mouth! Why cant I just keep my mouth shut and be normal? Its 9.45 on the morning of 14 July 2008. I am freaking out badly but putting on a brave face. In fifteen minutes, the starters gun will go off. Once I hear that gun, I know I wont be sleeping for a few days but thats the least of my worries. It will also mean the start of one of the hardest races on earth the Badwater Ultramarathon. Why the hell did I ever tell anyone that I wanted to do this?

Yep, thats Badwater as in Badwater, Death Valley. Its the lowest part of the United States at 85 metres below sea level. It is also one of the hottest places in the world with temperatures recorded as high as 56.7C. I just hope that Death Valley doesnt live up to its name over the next few days!

Im standing at the start line and its about 50C. Ahead of me lies 217 kilometres of one of the most demanding and extreme running races in the world. From where I stand now, Ive got to walk, run, dance and drag myself through places with welcoming names like Furnace Creek, Devils Cornfield and Lone Pine. But thats not the worst of it, once Ive made it through the desert, theres a couple of mountain passes to climb culminating with making my way up 2500 metres to the slopes of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the mainland United States.

Its a race Ive wanted to tackle for about eight years but until now I havent had the money or the experience. Ive been ultra-running for thirteen years and Ive covered more than 50,000 kilometres in races and training.

Ive run in the Sahara, Libyan and Arabian deserts but Im still not sure that will be enough to prepare me for what is to come. The heat here easily outdoes anything Ive experienced before and here I am alongside some of my absolute heroes Dean Karnazes and David Goggins. Im completely star struck and cant believe that Im lining up next to them. OK, so rookies like me would normally start in the 6 am bunch running through the valley in the coolest part of the day but Ive got a film crew with me so Ive been lined up to start at 10 am with the elite runners. I hope like hell Im ready.

How am I going to do this? Ive got 60 hours to cover those 217 gruelling kilometres. But I cant think of the days ahead in that way. Ive got to focus on moving as little as possible, on reserving my energy, taking one step at a time then one kilometre at a time. I cant begin to think about the whole 217 kilometres ahead of me that would just blow my mind.

Its just minutes to the start now. Ive eaten and drunk so much to build my reserves that I feel bloated. I just want to get going. Chris Kostman, the race director, gives us all a wee pep talk. The American anthem plays and the countdown begins. Three... two... one. The gun goes off.

Ive visualised this moment over and over again in the past couple of years. Now that Im here, its completely surreal. I cant quite believe that Im really here. Me and my big bloody mouth!

1
GROWING UP IN TARANAKI

Be constantly in search of knowledge

When I was born, Mum and Dad lived in New Plymouth in a wee one bedroom house. Dad was working as a printer and Mum worked as a teacher. Not long after I came along, they built a house out in a rural area near Bell Block. Around that time, Dad decided hed had enough of the printing industry and joined the Fire Service it seems that a dislike of the nine-to-five life runs in the family.

I was two when my brother Dawson was born. Eighteen months after Dawson was born, Mitchell came along and rounded out our family. Life on the farmlet was pretty cool but always really busy. There were always chooks to feed and animals to look after.

One of the main things that shaped my childhood was that I had severe asthma from the age of about two. We lived about 15 kilometres out of town, we didnt have any neighbours and Dad was in the fire brigade working 24 hours on and 24 hours off, so it was pretty full on whenever I had a bad asthma attack. Mum would always have to arrange my auntie Peggy or grandmother to come and look after the boys before racing me into the hospital in New Plymouth. When we got there, Id get put in a Ventolin tent until I came right. Mum was always right by my side the whole time. I believe thats why my relationship with my mum is as close as it is today.

I just remember the attacks being terrifying, I couldnt breathe and I didnt know why. Right throughout my childhood I had to fight with asthma to achieve what I wanted. I never really considered it as a disability; it was just something I had to work around.

The one thing that did stay with me because of the asthma was that I was really fearful of dying and I was a bit more dependent on Mum and Dad than a lot of other kids might be. I didnt like being away from home much because I was scared that if I stayed at someone elses house they wouldnt know what to do if I had an asthma attack. The only person I knew could deal with it apart from Mum and Dad was Nana so I was always happy going to her place.

Thankfully though, Mum and Dad didnt wrap me up in cotton wool because of the asthma. They decided the best way for it to be treated was learning to swim, which helped me with breathing control and upper body strength, and being as active as possible.

I never felt like I was expected to be slower or less robust than the others because of my asthma I just always did my best to keep up with everyone else. When I was about three, Mum took me to creative dancing classes thats the first organised class I can remember going to. Me and all the other little kids would flit around pretending to be fairies and have a great time. I absolutely loved it!

Our place was close to the beach so, even if it was raining, Mum would take us down there for a bit of a run around. We all absolutely loved the beach. My two cousins, Kim and Victoria, were a similar age to me so I spent heaps of time hanging out with them when I was a kid.

There was plenty of sibling rivalry between me and Dawson. We used to fight all the time and I absolutely doted on Mitchell. He was my wee baby when I was a kid. I think it was partly because he was quite sick. I used to do whatever I could to protect him from everything.