Leading from Behind - Niva Retimanu

From overweight, heavy-drinking junk-food fan to motivated, healthconscious marathon runner.

Leading from Behind is a funny and entertaining read. In it, radio newsreader Niva gives a frank description of how her health had spiraled out of control. Overweight, depressed and grief-stricken at losing both her parents Niva decided she had to do something to take charge of her life, she begun by attending counselling to sort through her depression and grief.

Explains Niva, “a few months after starting counselling, I woke up one morning and said, ‘Enough is enough’. I was sick of myself. I was sick of looking and feeling like shit. I was ready to change my life. I had no choice. My mum had died of heart disease. I didn’t want to end up the same way. And I needed to stay as healthy as I could. I had no idea how to tackle it so I went to see my GP.”

Niva quit smoking, cut back on drinking and encouraged her group of friends to start walking together. She even tried bootcamp!

“Walking and boot camp saved my life. I started feeling better a couple of weeks after making my exercise debut. I was amazed at how something as simple as walking could make so much difference. Being outside in the fresh air helped. It felt good to breathe. It felt good to smile. It felt good to move my body.”

From bootcamp to marathon running, Niva has never looked back. Even though running doesn’t come easily to Niva — her running never seems to run a straight course — she works hard to get to the finish line. Through sheer determination and perseverance she manages to run marathons and has run them all over the world. She always finishes, even if she finishes last, sometimes taking up to eight hours.


Photo courtesy of Penguin Random House New Zealand

“It’s not about the destination”, explains Niva. “It’s the journey that makes a marathon special. It’s the people I’ve met along the way. The adventures I’ve had. The life lessons I’ve learnt. And it’s about having fun. I have only fond memories of every marathon I’ve completed.”

“What’s the worst that could happen? Come last in a marathon? I’ve done that. And it was fantastic.”

Motivating and encouraging, Niva will make the biggest couch potato want to get out there and give it a go. We all need a little motivation in life and Niva’s inspiring tale will have you keen to get out there.

And Niva is not the only one featured in this book who is inspirational. As an Achilles NZ Ambassador, Niva helps raise awareness for the work that they do with people with all types of disabilities in enabling them to participate in mainstream athletics. Niva has ran alongside Achilles athletes and supported them in their goals to run marathons. Bursting with Niva’s energy and vivaciousness, Leading from Behind is an inspiration. Niva’s enthusiasm is catching, her passion and joy infectious — this is a must read.

‘I take one day at a time. I live for the day. As long as I’m fit and healthy I’ve accomplished the biggest achievement of all.’