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3rd February 2025

ROBYN OVERCOMES THE ODDS TO TAKE ON 100 MILES AT TARAWERA ULTRA-TRAIL BY UTMB

In just over a week’s time, Robyn Lovewell will stand on the start line of her first 100-mile race – the culmination of a remarkable journey which began with doctors telling her she’d never run again following a devastating accident.

Beginning at 4:00am on Saturday 15 February, Robyn will have 36 hours to complete Tarawera Ultra-Trail by UTMB’s 100-mile / 163-kilometre race through the stunning natural landscapes of Rotorua.

Twenty years ago, Robyn's life was turned upside down. A severe accident involving her horse left her with significant injuries, including a shattered right ankle and a compound fracture of the fibula that required surgery.

When she woke up seven hours later, she didn’t know what to expect. Thankfully, the amputation of her leg that had been discussed didn’t eventuate, but the myriad of screws in her ankle and a solid plate in her leg were a stark sign of the hardship to come.

"The specialist told me I would never again do four things: dance, play squash, ski, or run. There was nothing like that kind of positivity to make someone like me say, 'I don’t accept that’,” said Robyn.

It would also later come to light that Robyn had also suffered a concussion and lost four centimetres in height due to damage in her back from compressed discs.

Despite the grim prognosis, and although Robyn’s 20 years of equestrian was brought to a sudden halt, she was determined to get moving once again. It was a long, arduous, and often painful process of recovery, as Robyn gradually built up the hours spent on her feet each day.

“For the next three years, I did a lot of walking – mainly hiking – building up to hours every day. I realised I needed to do something more specific as I had no muscle tone in my right leg, so I worked with a personal trainer for a year to try and generate something. She had to do a lot of research to adapt exercises and figure out what might work, and it took the best part of that year, but eventually, a tiny little bit of muscle developed. Then I started to learn tennis. Gradually, I found I could play a little squash. I could dance a little. And I could run,” she said.

If you’d have asked Robyn several years ago if she was a runner her answer would have been “definitely not.” But there’s something about the mental solace of being out on the trails amongst such a supportive community that has changed her life. In the space of a few years, she has gone from a couch to 5km program to preparing for her first 100-mile race.

“As a kid, I was overweight and not active at all. I was the one who was ‘sick’ on cross country day every year and walked the track events. I’d never have believed I would run even 5km, let alone what I have achieved since. As an overweight young adult, I took a friend’s advice: walking is the elixir of life. He believed that movement was the key to wellness. That hit hard for me, and has been a motivating statement, even before my accident,” said Robyn.

“The trail community is amazing, people from all walks of life come together and support each other, treating each other as equals somehow. I never feel like I don’t belong,” she said. “Running has given me a confidence I never would have found otherwise. It has also been my solace, my time out to process my thoughts, and my escape when life is hard. From a mental health perspective, it has been a lifeline. From a physical health perspective too, as I’ve had a few issues which running has helped with.

“The sport has taken me to places around New Zealand and around the world that I would not otherwise have been to – and I feel like I’m really only just beginning. So it’s fair to say, when I stop and think about it, running has had a huge influence on who I am now, and who I am becoming still. I have to admit that it has evolved into one of the most important parts of my life. I even have three trophies for long distance events now. And I never saw it coming!”

Two years ago, after finishing the 50km race at Tarawera Ultra-Trail feeling like she had plenty more to give, Robyn’s running buddies joked that she should have done the Miler instead. Initially laughing the idea off as ridiculous, a seed had been planted. What if she could?

“The decision to do it came after my life kind of came undone at the end of 2023,” said Robyn. “I needed a goal, a chance to focus on something as part of a reset. This was the obvious choice, something hard, to prove to myself that I can get through hard things. I felt that taking this on to mirror my personal challenges was the right thing, at the right time.

“I also am very drawn to the idea of representing ordinary people, those who are not super fit, or super-fast, or able to run for crazy amounts of time in training. People who are in the midst of full-time work and paying mortgages and raising families. People who don’t have amazing trail networks on their doorstep. I am highly motivated to prove that ordinary people can do extraordinary things, and to show just what the ordinary human body is capable of. I guess I have some pretty solid ‘whys’ to focus on when I hit dark places in this Miler,” she said.

For Robyn, the Tarawera Ultra-Trail Miler represents more than just a race. Should she make it to the very end, crossing the finish line will be a highly emotional moment for the 49-year-old mother of two.

“Honestly, I fully expect to fall apart – there will be tears! This will be the culmination of a massive journey for me, which has been as much of an emotional one as it has been physical. The physical effort represents how far I have come in my own personal growth, so crossing that line is going to be a significant turning point in my life. That sounds big, doesn’t it? That’s because, well, it is,” she said.

“I do worry about what that means if I DNF for any reason. I’ve never yet had to face that, but it will happen sometime and let’s be honest, this is a huge challenge, and it could well happen. But, as my people have pointed out, it is both an achievement and a privilege to get to the start line. Crossing the finish line will be the icing on the cake, but the cake is still good even if it doesn’t have icing.”