Proud Ngāpuhi representing New Zealand in China

Thank you for supporting me. Having decided to do the Great Wall of China Marathon as a challenge and to also prove to my daughter Raiha that you can do anything you put your mind to, I trained hard and as often as I could for 52 weeks. There were 88 kiwis that took part in the marathon – we called ourselves the ‘Influence Crew’. Although I didn’t complete the tortuous 35 kilometres in the 6 hours cut-off time – I did finish it, in 7 hours and 4 minutes.

I am extremely proud of my efforts and so are my family and friends. I set out to be the best role model for my daughter Raiha and to show her how hard work, commitment and more hard work pays off. I am extremely proud to be a Māori nō Ngāpuhi who represented New Zealand at this event.

Ngā mihi nui ki te Rūnanga mo te tautoko.

Cautney Kemp

[Published in E Mara E Pānui 29 June 2017]