BEN HEATHER
Rightford, a Wellingtonian, and running mate William Tokona have both battled through injuries that should have sunk their dream to compete in the Marathon des Sables, known as the toughest footrace on earth.
Rightford, 29, a personal trainer, broke his neck mountainbiking in October and was in a brace for nine weeks.
But three weeks after the brace came off, he and Tokona ran five marathons in five days. Today they are in Morocco, just days away from competing in the gruelling six-day slog through the Sahara Desert, where temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius.
“I was talking with my girlfriend about it today, just how crazy it is that I’m here,” Rightford said.
Tokona, 39, who is also a personal trainer, was supposedly recovering from hamstring tendonosis while he was running the five marathons earlier this year.
When he first sustained his injury in August, he was told it could keep him from running for up to nine months.
“Initially the idea [of running the Marathon des Sables] wasn’t even on the cards.”
But with the help of sports doctors, the pair have made it to Morocco. Rightford still gets a tingling sensation from his neck, and if Tokona runs too quickly his leg seizes up after only a few kilometres.
In the face of multiple setbacks, their dream often seemed doomed. But after 2 years of preparation, which has included raising thousands of dollars for the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research based in Welllington, they were not willing to give up.
“We had committed so much personal time and we were doing it for charity. It just didn’t seem right, after we had done all this work, to not compete,” Tokona said.
And running on injuries has become the norm in the buildup to Morocco, with the pair posting competitive results in ultra-marathons over the past few years despite various niggles.
“We have pretty much been running injured for the past couple of years.”
Yesterday, they were training in the Sahara dunes in preparation for the race on Sunday, learning tricks from locals about how to expend less energy while traversing the shifting sands.
In a field of 1100 competitors, Rightford said he would be happy with a top-100 finish.
Tokona is slightly less ambitious. “I’m a bit more realistic about my situation than Greig. I first just want to finish.”
