Scaling Great Heights

Scaling Great Heights

18 September 2008, 10:26AM
Femme

For a once time couch dweller and junk food addict; Dezma McGregor is scaling some stunning heights as an endurance athlete these days.

Most recent has been her assault on Nepal’s Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon – a gruelling event with only 120 entrants. She finished in a time of 16 hours and 50 minutes.

The Tenzing-Hillary marathon is a race to commemorate the historic ascent of Mount Everest by the late Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953. It is effectively a downhill scramble from Everest Base Camp to Namche Bazar which was unexpectedly extended four hours for Dezma - stretching from 7am to 11.50pm - after her guide became lost.

‘We probably ran 50km instead of 42km and it was over incredibly rough terrain,’ laughs a now reflective Dezma. ‘Our final descent was down a very steep hillside. We had two headlamps between four of us and the only way we could make out where to go was to listen out for the music that we knew would be playing at Namche Bazar.

‘It was a pretty hairy experience as we had to contend with limited light, thick mist, a path that resembled something similar to walking on marbles with a very steep drop down one side – we really needed our wits about us for the final 2km of the race.

‘You know, the race organisers didn’t even realise that there were still competitors out on the course. They’d packed up and gone home!

Dezma says that equally tough was the 21km trek the next day. We completed the marathon, had five hours’ sleep and then had to complete the 21km trek back to Lukla – it was a pretty tough 48 hours.

In the lead-up she experienced altitude sickness, a dramatic decrease in appetite, a chronic dose of vomiting, diarrhoea and a viral infection. Still, Dezma, who is of Ngapuhi and Ngati Kahungunu descent, is keen for more. It’s a level of enthusiasm that makes her partner Adrian nervous every time she suggests another challenge – even though he was there at her side for the Everest challenge.

Despite her unexpected adventure during the marathon, Dezma was given the opportunity to sit down with the race organisers and discuss improvements for the race so that it would be safer for future athletes.

Dezma plans to complete six more challenging endurance events in all - two of which are considered the toughest endurance races in the world - whilst raising $50,000 for the Heart Foundation along the way. She says funds will be used by the charity for research, education, prevention and care in heart health.

Next up is the adidas Auckland Marathon on November 2, then 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.

It’s a remarkable turnaround for the West Auckland woman who shed 50kg from her former self after watching her sister finish an Ironman event in 2005 – the catalyst for her own change of heart.

‘I’d love nothing more than to influence even just one person to adopt a healthier lifestyle, particularly amongst my own people.’

Dezma says the fact the latest NZ Health Survey shows more than half of New Zealanders are overweight or obese (and the figures are climbing) is even more reason for her to step up. 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 is 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.’

Cardiovascular disease (heart, stroke and blood vessel disease) is the leading cause of death in New Zealand, with approximately 40% 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.

‘My sister Lyndell has done the Coast to Coast so I'm going to hopefully have a crack in 2011, but 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, so that will be tough going. But I’m determined to finish what I’ve started and be a role model for others.’

Dezma is now also contemplating climbing Mount Everest after a chance meeting with fellow Kiwi Lydia Brady 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. I don’t possess the traditional physique of an athlete but I want to show people that they can get off the couch and achieve like I am. I'm a plodder, the kind of person who comes last I guess. I just want to say to people that I have been down the obesity track, was almost a diabetic but have turned my life around and I never want to go back there.

Had I not done something I would have been knocking on the cardio surgeon's door and although there have been a lot of obstacles, it is a matter of remaining focused and chipping away. When I lost those 50kg, I’d dropped down to a weight that I hadn’t been since I was a teenager. I'd grown up on a farm in Northland (Waimate North), 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 just didn't want to leave the house. My eating habits were appalling and I did not exercise. To be honest - I became lazy.

In contrast, Dezma’s dad Mathew (whom everyone knew as Mac) and who passed away last year was a former rugby rep. Her mum Gloria represented the NZ Armed Forces in basketball and she was also a Bay of Islands athletics champ as well as a netball representative. Gloria still competes in half marathons and her junior hurdling record at Northland College still stands – decades after setting the benchmark!

Such achievements are spurs for Dezma as she recalls when she first started training for Ironman.

‘On my first cycle I found myself wobbling all over the road, precariously trying to maintain my balance whilst doing my best to avoid not getting hit by the cars and trucks that were constantly passing me. I was so proud of myself when I mastered the art of clipping in and out of my bike after three weeks and I celebrated again when I finally managed to ride 10km around the Auckland Airport Industrial estate after two months of training.

‘When I began swim training I was so self-conscious about being in togs - something that I had not worn since I was 13 years old that it took me two hours to muster up the courage to get into the pool and another two hours to get myself out.’

Nevertheless, she made it to her first half Ironman in Taupo.

‘I was the fourth to last person to complete the event but I was so absolutely overjoyed with just finishing that I really didn’t care where I came.’

However, Dezma says that time can be a great friend and she noticed that over time distances were becoming longer, gasping for breath became less and the weight started to drop off.

‘Even though my weight was dropping I was eating like the proverbial horse and my grocery bill tripled. But I was choosing more healthy food options because I also discovered that when I didn’t eat properly I felt like crap and my training subsequently suffered. I’ve now realised that it doesn't take much for anyone to get fit and healthy - going for a walk is pretty simple and with a consistent approach exercising does get better over time, seeing the transformation in yourself can keep you pretty motivated.

Yet it was not the weight loss that spurred her to change.

Says Dezma: ‘My eight-year-old daughter Farren was my motivation to get fit and healthy. When I was overweight I simply didn’t have the energy to take her to a park or go for a walk and because I had terrible eating habits she was simply following my lead. I had to make a change for her sake.’

Dezma believes finding your inspiration/motivation to make a lifestyle change keeps you focused and having a good support network to keep you going is equally important.

‘My partner Adrian is amazing. He is my cook, cleaner, babysitter, fellow training partner and shrink - it would be pretty difficult to do this without his assistance.’

Dezma labels another key person as her coach of two years, Sean Palmer.

‘I trust Sean completely. His programmes get me across the finish line comfortably but I feel that I can still be a partner, friend and full time working mum. Given the number of events that I am doing over the next couple of years he certainly has his work cut out for him!’

Having reached 40, Dezma says her life is now only just beginning and there will be no let up. Farren won't allow it either as she is also an endurance athlete in the making. This year she took part in her first Weet-bix Kiwikids Triathlon and is keen for more – just like her mum!

Visit Dezma's website: www.nothingstoohard.co.nz or www.heartracer.org.nz/DezmaMcGregor/ to sponsor Dezma in her effort to raise $50,000 for the Heart Foundation – the charity leading the fight for heart health for all New Zealanders.
 

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