IAU Asia Oceania 24 Hour Championships in Hirosaki

Two of our members, Keith Burrows and Ketina Chivasa recently took part in this event representing New Zealand. And they did very well! Ketina completed 191.285 km and came 24th overall. Keith, who is current national champion for this discipline, finished the 24 hours with 225.161 km coming 17th and was the top performing Kiwi runner. Well done to both of them. I think you will agree that they have more than earnt their place on the wall of national reps in the club rooms!

With the NZ team. Keith's in the middle. Ketina's on the far right,

Here's Keith's race report

In 2020 I ran the 24 hour race at AUT, I only entered as I found out a couple of mates were up from Wellington, so certainly wasn’t planned.  Anyway, I won and in a strange way I found it ok.

I ran a few more, won most, this got the NZ selectors excited, but I am from the UK so didn't qualify to run for New Zealand until I finally got my citizenship in November 2025.

As far as I know, everybody loves Japan. It is such a cool country, so it seemed an obvious place to make my debut.  I won’t lie, I had a couple of wobbles about running for NZ as it is not something I expected growing up on the outskirts of London, but there you are… But in the end I did and I am so pleased that I did.  I grew up in team sports, running is generally quite individual, but it did feel like a team and one I was proud to be in.

Anyway, the race…

The track was a 1.25k loop, essentially, around the track, then around the outside of the track with a wee hairpin to make up the numbers…

My rough plan was run to 100k, see how I feel, hoping that was around 9 hours.  The run to 100 miles, see how I feel. THEN KEEP RUNNING.  In most cases I have walked it in as it is very very hard to keep running.  If I could just action this simple plan, I would get a solid PB and who knows...

Everyone seemed to be lining up in teams, with NZ way back.  But this is race where every metre counts, so I thought it best to start up the front, someone has to ....right?

Off we go, I led into the first corner.  That felt quite cool.  Then I let the fast folk go and they were very very fast.

Keith takes an early lead!

I think my over-riding memory of the whole thing was how effortless and fast the proper runners were.  On the male side wer 5 Indians I think, a couple of Thai, a guy from Chinese Taipei, a Mongolian, Phil Gore from Australia and a really young Japanese guy who was flying around.  I was running circa 5:30 pace and when they came past it was like I was standing still.  

But most impressive of all was a Japanese lady who was the ex world record holder. She was faster than everyone.  Mind blowing…

For 2 hours I felt amazing, 4 hours still good, but although I was consuming some energy drinks, I was aware I was not eating enough as I could not work out the food available, partly as it was in Japanese and partly because it was just confusing and my usual support was not there.  I could also not see any water.  

So, alas, I started to plummet into a not so good place.  Losing energy, losing interest, pretty thirsty as it was hotter than expected.  My first walk was around 90k, so not 100, I struggled on for a few more hours, but ended up walking and then getting cold and I felt like I was about to pass out.  Clearly not great. So, I spoke with my support crew, we found some warm clothes, opened up the chippies, got the tea brewing and I kept walking, consuming each lap and slowly but surely I came back.  I think there was about 90 minutes all up of just walking.  So bang went any thoughts of a big total. But I was moving forward and that was the main thing.

The body though is amazing, at around 170k (probably 17 hour or so), I started running again and I was flying, I was even lapping the fast folk, who admittedly had slowed a bit by then, but for about 30 minutes I was the fastest person on the circuit. I even got a lot of cheers from everyone as I came past (my second over-riding memory), that was never going to last, so I slowed, but knew I was good for the rest of the race (about 7 hours).  

I am not sure if I felt pressure, but I certainly expected to be the furthest NZ person.  So that is what I focussed on for the rest of the race.  There were 3 or 4 NZ women, putting up some big numbers and I was able to work my way past them, using them both as inspiration and a gauge for how I was doing.

I then found there was a a guy called Steve, whose wife was crewing for me, (was there a conflict of interest here? (no of coure not) ) and he was a lap or so ahead.  So it became a war of attrition to slowly pull him back over the hours.  I knew I was faster than him when running, so it was just a case of running more than him.  Though very irritatingly he did not seem like a man who was going to walk.  So I ran as much as I had too, possibly more than I have in the last hours of all of the 24 hour races I have entered.  I gained a lap and then just managed him by watching where we entered and exited the track.  By running I think I picked up a few more places, which was good, though it is amazing how little interest even a competitive soul like me has after 22 hours.

I ended up at 225k, my 3rd best.  Not what I had hoped, but still not bad and way, way more than what I thought I might get to at 100miles.  First place was a remarkable 57km up the road.  Utterly humbling and inspiring in equal measures, most of the time he ran with a smile on his face, geeing up everyone around him.

On reflection, the key issue was that Nat [Keith's wife] was not with me. I won’t be doing that again, it really showed just how important crewing is, even though I am fairly easy compared to some, she would have sorted me food, insisted on me drinking more, actioned the cup of tea earlier, etc…  This is taking nothing away from my crew who was amazing especially as they were having to crew two.

So I think I have one more in me, with Nat, where I would like to get a big total.  Not sure I will get there, as running for 24 hours is very very hard and I am not getting any younger.

I am as surprised as anyone that I do this.  But everyone should give it a go IMHO, mentally and physically it is obviously very tough, but it isn’t as bad as you think…. (no?, alright fair enough )

Well, he looks in better shape than the Japanese guy!

And here's what Ketina had to say about the experience:

The race was one of the toughest and most rewarding experiences of my running journey. For 24 hours, athletes from around the world ran in challenging conditions, testing not only physical endurance but also mental resilience. The experience tested every aspect of endurance physical, mental, emotional and spiritual and reminded me that success is often about persistence rather than speed. It is about perseverance, faith, community and continuing to move forward when things become difficult.

Representing New Zealand and the opportunity to wear the Silver Fern in Japanwas a tremendous honour. The experience reminded me that endurance is not just about running long distances, it's about resilience, faith and continuing to move forward one step at a time. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to experience the warmth and hospitality of the Japanese people. A huge thank you to everyone at Owairaka Athletics, my family, friends, coaches and the wider running community for the encouragement and support along the way. It was also special to share the experience with fellow Owairaka Athletics club member Keith Burrows, who was New Zealand's overall champion at the event.

Experiences like these are a reminder that extraordinary things can happen when we keep showing up, one step, one lap and one day at a time.