Beat cop in for ultra long haul

Brendon Keenan has been running for only the past two years but has already clocked up a good few kilometres.

Mr Keenan is a Senior Sergeant for the Rotorua police but has recently returned to the city from the 24 Ultramarathon World Championship in Poland.

The event was last month and Mr Keenan was one of seven people to represent New Zealand. He came second in the New Zealand team, which came 19th overall.

During the event Mr Keenan ran 198km, which he said was a great achievement.

He said he took up running two years ago when he agreed to help a colleague train for a half-marathon.

After ticking off that half-marathon Mr Keenan wanted more of a challenge and quickly progressed to the extreme distances.

"I got hooked on running and I found that I am a bit of an all-or-nothing person."

Mr Keenan finished third in his first ultramarathon, a 60km race last year. In November he won a 160km race in Taranaki, setting a new course record. He also won a 60km in Wellington, with those results revealing a natural aptitude for ultra-running.

"I found some early success in longer distances, that's where my strengths lie."

He said running long distances was more of a mental challenge rather than a physical one.

"It was particularly challenging in Poland because you were running around a 1.5km track so you were just going round and round the same circuit."

Mr Keenan said in preparation for the race he would try to fit in 160km to 200km a week in training, a hard feat when he is a shift worker.

"I would run to and from work and I would run the back road from Rotorua to Tauranga when I could."

Shortly after arriving back in New Zealand after taking part in the world championship event, Mr Keenan ended up in Rotorua Hospital on a saline drip. His kidneys were working over-time to clear the waste produced by his hard working muscles.

He said his running skills often came in handy as a police officer, not when it came to foot chases with offenders, but in terms of discipline and focus.

He said endurance often helped on a night shift and being a shift worker his body was used to being up and about during the night which came in handy for 24-hour events.

He said anyone who was looking at getting into running should start off small.

"Find something you are comfortable doing and make sure it is what you enjoy," he said.

"We are pretty spoilt in Rotorua. It is a great place to get active with some amazing scenery."