Running Hot

Running Hot

'The pain is temporary, but the achievements last forever. Like any great achievement in life, it is necessary to put great effort in.'- Lisa Tamati.

Ultra-marathon runner, Lisa Tamati, has never been a nine-to-fiver. Despite having severe asthma and a broken back, Lisa was yanked out of her cosy life in New Zealand in her early 20s and taken on wild, often dangerous, adventures by her fearless boyfriend: sleeping rough and biking all day through Corscia; avoiding avalanches while traversing fiords in Norway; close encounters with giant grizzly bears while canoeing through the Canadian wilderness; and trekking across the deadly Libyan desert for seven days drinking only the water they could carry in their 35kg backpacks (nowhere near enough).

It was the trek across the Libyan Desert that changed Lisa's life. Despite suffering irreversible kidney damage from severe dehydration, and bring dumped by her long-term boyfriend in he middle of the desert four days from civilization, Lisa became obsessed with desert ultra-running.

Lisa went on to run the toughest, most feared ultra-endurance races in the world: the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, twice (240lm across the Sahara with plenty of water was considered easy by Lisa's standards); the Desert Cup in Jordan; the Niger Trans 222 marathon (which she completed despite having severe food poisoning from dodgy goat curry); and finally, what is considered the most extreme race in the world… The Badwater Ultra-marathon in Death Valley, Nevada. Lisa is the first New Zealand woman to finish the 217km through the hottest place on Earth, where temperatures reach 55 degrees. Lisa ran it again in 2009, and is still the fastest New Zealander to ever complete the race- male or female- in 37 hours, 14 minutes.

Running Hot is the story of a life full of adventure, heartache and triumph. It's about pushing the body and mind to their absolute limits and where running is more than just physical feat.

'Lisa Tamati is a true inspiration... she has pushed her mind and body to the limit'- Dead Karanzes, Ultra-marathon Man.

Lisa Tamati was born and bred in New Zealand. When she is not designing jewellery for her store, she competes against the world's best ultra-athletes in endurance races, usually over 200km.

Running Hot
Allen and Unwin
Author: Lisa Tamati
Price: $29.99