Athlete to raise $50,000 for The Heart Foundation
A West Auckland woman who has shed 50kg for Ironman is throwing her weight behind the Heart Foundation in the hope of lowering obesity rates in Maori and Pacific Islanders.Dezma McGregor has just returned from Nepal where she completed the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon - a gruelling event with only 120 entrants – in 16 hours and 50 minutes.
And now she plans to raise $50,000 for the Heart Foundation to help fund healthier lifestyles within indigenous cultures.
The latest NZ Health Survey shows more than half of New Zealanders are overweight or obese and the figures are climbing. Over 1.1 million adults are considered overweight and more than 820,000 obese.
Heart Foundation Medical Director, Professor Norman Sharpe, says one in three New Zealanders are overweight and one in four is obese.
"Maori and Pacific Island people are particularly pre-disposed to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease," says Professor Sharpe.
"The most recent survey data suggests we are now on a par with America in respect to obesity prevalence."
In fact, cardiovascular disease (heart, stroke and blood vessel disease) is the leading cause of death in New Zealand, with approximately 40 per cent of all deaths each year being cardiovascular related - many of which are preventable.
The findings are fuelling Dezma's desire to make a difference. She vows the Everest event is the start of many adventures to push her crusade.
The Tenzing-Hillary marathon is a race to commemorate the historical ascent on Mount Everest by the late Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953. It is effectively a downhill scramble from Everest Base Camp to Namche Bazar.
But thanks to her guide becoming lost, Dezma says the grueling marathon was unexpectedly extended four hours, stretching from 7am to 11.50pm.
"We probably ran 50km instead of 42km and it was over incredibly rough terrain," says Dezma.
"Our final descent was down a very steep hillside. There were two headlamps between four of us and the only way we could make out where to go was to listen for music because there was a concert on in one of the villages."
But despite a chronic dose of vomiting, diarrhea and a viral infection in the lead up to the challenging event, Dezma is keen for more.
She plans to complete seven challenging endurance events, two of which are considered to be the toughest endurance events in the world whilst raising $50,000 along the way. Next up is the 60km Kepler Challenge at Te Anau in December.
Another assault on the New Zealand Ironman in Taupo looms in March 2009, followed by the 320km Enduro Cycle, also in Taupo, next November.
"My sister has done the Coast to Coast so I'm going to hopefully have a crack in 2010. I need to learn how to kayak first".
Then I'll be aiming for a Cook Strait crossing (26km) and the Marathon Des Sables across the Sahara Desert in Morocco. They say it's the toughest footrace on earth and covers 243km over six days."
Dezma is now also contemplating climbing Mount Everest after a chance meeting with fellow Kiwi Lydia Bradey in Kathmandu following the Everest marathon. Brady is the first woman to ascend Mt Everest without bottled oxygen and is a mountain guide for world renowned mountain guiding company Adventure Consultants.
"I'm certainly no elite athlete but I want to show people that they can get off the couch and achieve like I am. I'm just a plodder. The kind of person who comes last.
"But I want to say that I have been down the obesity track, was almost a diabetic but have turned my life around. Had I not done something I would have been knocking on the cardio surgeon's door. There have been a lot of obstacles but it is a matter of remaining focused and chipping away.
"When I lost those 50kg, I dropped down to 70kg. I hadn't been that weight since I was a teenager. I'd gone to university and let bad habits develop. By the time I realised I was obese my self esteem was through the floor and I didn't want to leave the house. My eating habits were appalling and I did not exercise. I was lazy.
"I would virtually be wearing sacks I had so many layers of clothes on to hide my weight but there is no hiding in an endurance event. And it doesn't take much for anyone to get outside and go for a walk. It doesn't cost a lot but with a consistent approach exercising gets better over time. To see the transition in yourself gives you an immense amount of pride.
"That feeling of finishing my first Ironman was just amazing. That's when I wanted more. And the funny thing is the more I train, the fitter I am and the less weight I carry. It turns me off all those bad foods I used to eat.
"I want my participation in these events to inspire others and prevent them from becoming overweight or obese."
Dezma's racing weight hovers around 70-75kg and while she despises cycling, her bike has now ticked over 6,000km.
A few days out from 40, Dezma says her life is now only just beginning and there will be no let up. Her eight-year-old daughter Farren won't allow it now she is also an endurance athlete in the making. This year she took part in her first Weetbix Kiwikids Triathlon and is now keen for more!
Click here to view Dezma McGregor's Fundraising page.
