Constable Scott Hansen put his mind, body and hard armour plates to the test as he ran an astonishing 111 kilometres in his BAS.
Scott undertook the challenge on Saturday 21 February to show support for Blood Cancer NZ and for his colleague and friend, Constable Brad Maxwell, whose father is undergoing treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). He finished the run in 16 hours 51 minutes.
What started as a simple idea to “do something tough for someone going through something tougher” grew into a powerful show of solidarity and determination.
Running 111km is an achievement in itself - but doing it in 10kg of body armour adds a whole new level of grit, especially in the heat of late summer.
With this in mind, Scott started the race at 3am to ensure he took advantage of the cooler temperatures.
Scott says he wanted to honour Brad’s whānau and contribute to an organisation that supports so many New Zealanders facing blood cancer.
“AML is something no family ever expects to deal with,” he says. “This is my way of standing beside Brad and his dad and helping others going through the same battle.”
Scott had plenty of support - including from his wife Nerys - to prevent the loneliness of the long-distance runner becoming a thing.
The run was around Papakura’s Massey Park running track - an astounding 277.5 times - with colleagues, friends and supporters joining in at different stages along the way. They included Counties Manukau District Commander Superintendent Shanan Gray.
“I like to think I’m reasonably fit, but Scott has taken fitness to a whole new level,” says Shanan.
“I’m just so impressed that he has put this huge amount of training and effort towards supporting this outstanding cause."
Having finished the event, Scott is thrilled that his training and perseverance paid off. “It’s been a long time in the making,” he says. “I’m just so happy that I achieved what I set out to."
Brad says the support has meant a great deal to his family.
“We’re incredibly humbled. Dad is fighting hard, and seeing Scott and the wider Police whānau rally around us has been a massive boost.”