News & Updates

25 August 2022 • Road

Fiona seeks inspiration from her son in 100km test

On Saturday, Fiona Hayvice will take to the road to compete in the gruelling World 100km Championships in Berlin, Germany. (Photo: Fiona Hayvice)

When Fiona Hayvice competes for New Zealand at the World 100km Championships in Berlin on Saturday (27 August) the endurance athlete will have no lack of incentive to perform to her absolute best as her ten-year-old son, Spike, will form a key component of her support crew.

The 46-year-old Wellington mum is one of the country’s leading endurance athletes and recently impressed to finish top woman and third overall in the gruelling Southern Sydney 48-Hour Ultra, racking up a staggering 303.607km in the two-day challenge.

Preparing for her latest international appearance in Germany for the past month has proved a wise move and with her son in her corner on race day – as she tackles a total of thirteen 7.5km loops plus an additional 2.5km circuit – Fiona could not be prouder.

“Spike is my chief support and seeing him on every lap will be a big motivation,” says Fiona, who runs a furniture, hardware and lightning business YOYO Design by Kiwis with her husband. “Spike will be responsible for refilling my hand-held flasks with a mix of carbohydrates, electrolytes and water. He will also be on ice duty, stuffing it anyone he can to keep my body temperature down and he will, of course, be chief cheerleader.”

The endurance specialist has appeared for New Zealand twice before on the global stage, finishing 41st at the 2016 World Trail Running Championships in Portugal and 34th at the 2019 World 24-Hour Championships in France and the diminutive ultra-runner could not resist the allure of the 2022 World 100km Championships.

“I’ve run for New Zealand a few times and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed those experiences, particularly the camaraderie of being part of the team and meeting athletes from other nations,” she explains. “That honour of running for my country really motivated me, so I put my name forward.”

One of three Kiwis competing in the German capital – alongside her Wellington Scottish clubmate Mel Aitken and Dawn Tuffery of Hamilton City Hawks – she will form part of a select but experienced New Zealand team in Berlin.

Delighted with her performance on her 48-hour debut in June – where she moved to number three on the all-time Kiwi rankings for the event – she flew to England for a family wedding in July and has subsequently spent the past four weeks training in the German city of Magdeburg.

Living there with her son – who sometimes runs and cycles on some training runs – Fiona believes her base has provided ideal preparation for the 100km challenge.

“Magdeburg is based on the Elbe River on a flat terrain with a lot of trees and river trails, ideal for running and similar to the course I will face in Berlin,” she explains.

“It’s been exceedingly hot, so it has been good to have had this time to acclimatise and get used to running in the heat because it looks like it will be around 30C on race day,” explains Fiona. “Running in such temperatures is not ideal because it does sap your energy. But I’ll try and stay as cool as possible by stuffing ice down by arm-sleeves and bra and keeping my headwear wet.”

Currently in a “recovery phase” after the exertions of completing the 48-hour race she has been training around 80-100km a week during her time in Magdeburg, so what are her aims and ambitions this weekend in Berlin?

“Running 100km is not really my forte as I prefer the longer 24-hour and 48-hour races, so I will be expecting that the race will be fast,” explains Fiona.

“Let’s be honest, I’m not going to be on the podium (on Saturday) but I see it as an opportunity to push myself in a race environment and to hopefully be spurred on by being around other phenomenal athletes and to get a PB.

“My official PB of 9:44 was recorded in a portion of my race at the 2019 World 24-Hour Championships, so all being well, I have a good chance of accomplishing my goals.”

***The 2022 World 100km Championships starts on Saturday at 4.30pm NZ time. For more go here.