It’s hard to believe it’s all over, and Jup Brown has DONE IT! He’s actually run the length of New Zealand (and then some!) covering 2930km in 67 days!
These past few days have been a strange time for Jup - realising he’s accomplished his goal, bidding farewell to crew mate Rick, unloading and handing back the beloved Guardian van, re-organising his life.., and unbelievably, he has actually stopped running! (…for now anyway…)
The finish was incredible… thank you to all who managed to make it to the Auckland waterfront to cheer Jup over the line. With around 100 supporters
there, including stroke survivors, sponsors, family and friends it was an emotionally charged event.
Jup set out to raise funds and awareness for the Stroke Foundation. The donation tally is currently sitting around the $16,000 mark, but with a corporate donation still to come, and the text line remaining open until the end of this month, Jup is hopeful of handing over a cheque for around $20,000 to the Stroke Foundation. With a whopping 65 published and broadcast interviews (with a couple more to come this week) and more than 20 school visits up and down the country, Jup has surpassed his own expectations for getting the stroke awareness message out.
Thank you to each and every one of you and your organisations for the immense support you gave to Jup. Without you, he genuinely would not have had such an amazing and successful adventure. Together Team Running New Zealand helped spread the word of the Stroke Foundation and raised valuable funds to help stroke survivors.
A massive thank you to Rick Zwaan - “cameraman/driver extraordinaire” - for the 120%o he put into this mission. Armed with a camera and a first aid kit he selflessly took nine weeks out of his life to help make this adventure happen. He has now hung up his driving hat and is starting the massive task of sifting through tape upon tape of footage in order to put together the documentary of this incredible run. He hopes to have it finished in early 2012, so watch this space!
So, what next for Mr Brown? Well, he is off back to Wanaka for a few days, before heading back to Australia next week to start a new plumbing job in a mining town near Perth (got to pay off the trip somehow!). And in true Jup form, he is already contemplating his next adventure. Having thoroughly enjoyed the kayak leg from Devonport to the Viaduct, Jup says a multi-sport challenge may be the next on the cards…
