A report in The Dominion Post says Melissa Moon has no plans to rest on her laurels after spending 95 days running around the world for charity, now intending to run up the world’s tallest building.
Running through the Gobi Desert, Melissa Moon looked up to see a billion stars.
In Moscow, she ran down a main street with a police escort, blocking traffic.
In Kansas, she ran past miles of cornfields while battling pneumonia.
And in Mongolia, she ran alongside wild horses.
She ran her way through five pairs of shoes and an unknown number of socks and as she ran into view of New York City – and the end of a 95-day round-the-world run – she started to cry.
“It was much, much harder than I anticipated,” said the champion Wellington runner. “You were on this fantastic treadmill for 95 days. It was bloody tough, but I’m grateful for the experience.”
The 37-year-old is home after becoming one of the first people to run around the world as part of a relay raising awareness of the importance of clean water.
The Blue Planet Run covered more than 24,000 kilometres across 16 countries. Moon ran 16km a day, the equivalent of 21 marathons.
“Your body didn’t know what it was doing. It was quite a shock,” she said.
“It was mentally, physically and emotionally very, very tiring.
“You couldn’t think more than one day ahead or else you probably wouldn’t have finished.”
She often visualised herself running along Oriental Parade when things got tough.
She came down with mild pneumonia in the United States, picked up a stomach bug in Russia and suffered an eye infection in the Gobi.
She ran at 10,000 feet in Colorado, and through 44-degree temperatures in Nevada. She never thought of quitting, nor of missing a day of running.
“I could never think that I couldn’t do it. If you allowed that thought to enter your mind you would have lost the plot.”
Moon, the only Blue Planet runner from the southern hemisphere, signed up after witnessing Third World poverty in countries like Nigeria and deciding to do something to help.
About one-sixth of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water; 6000 people die a day from waterborne disease.
“I’m a person who is always concerned about people and community, and I’ve seen what’s out there,” she said.
“If you can do just a little to make a difference, then you’ve got to go out and do it.”
Now back in Wellington, she is also back to running.
She has no intention of putting her feet up for long, with in November, she plans to run up Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building.
“You’ve got to take yourself out of your comfort zone,” she said, “or you’ll be kicking yourself when you’re 80.”
Report by The Mole and The Dominion Post
