Jack Keeys prevailed yesterday in the battle against the Auckland Marathon – and over his gumboots.
Keeys chose the footwear as part of a fundraising effort for Melanoma New Zealand and the Rural Support Trust.
“The fundraising has gone phenomenally, our target was $2000, we are already over $4,500 plus another $2000 corporate sponsorship so absolutely blown away by all the support."
The run was tough, with Keeys losing a toenail and battling cramps, but he managed to finish inside four and a half hours.
"Suffering now, we are one toenail down, but I think the rest are holding on,” he said at one point during the 42km.
“The gumboot is split here so the rubber inside was just pinching my feet for the last five kilometres,” he said later.
That pain was all worth it in the end, with ASB surprising Keeys with a cheque for $10,000 at the finish line.
“I didn’t know anything about it, its amazing,” a laughing Keeys said.
“This will push us to something like $17,000 when I was aiming for $2000 so unbelievable."
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