Andrew Hedgman is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

born ultramarathon runner who resides in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia. He is also a licensed Skydiver and Scuba diver.

Early life

Andrew was born on 30 June 1987; he grew up in the town of

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 k ...

in New Zealand. He has three siblings, two older brothers and one younger brother. He attended Paeroa College until the age of 18 which is when he moved away of his town.

Running

Andrew began running at his high school in Paeroa College. He found himself breaking school records and as an intermediate was running against the seniors and beating them. It wasn't until his P.E Teacher Ava Meek challenged him to run an entire Marathon when Hedgman found his passion for long distance running. Between 2003 and 2009 Andrew ran various Marathons and Half Marathons. He often would gain top three positions for the

Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

for the under 20s. In 2009 Andrew ran his first Ultramarathon in Taupo, New Zealand. The 100 km New Zealand nationals, gaining a top ten position in a time of 10 hours 40 minutes and 52 seconds. In February and March 2010 Hedgman ran the entire length of New Zealand in which he completed in only 28 days. Averaging 50 miles per day, battling

shin splints A shin splint, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome, is pain along the inside edge of the shinbone (tibia) due to inflammation of tissue in the area. Generally this is between the middle of the lower leg and the ankle. The pain may be dull ...

, a torn muscle,

extreme weather Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a loca ...

with having only one rest day. In 2012 Andrew ran 1000 km from Brisbane to Sydney in Australia. He also was invited to take part in the Lycian Way Ultramarathon in Turkey where he gained a top 10 position. Other notable races Hedgman has completed include the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon in South Africa and the Larapinta Trail Ultramarathon in Australia, both multi day races where he placed in the top 10. Andrew can often be seen running the trails throughout South-East Queensland in preparation for his next major events.

WSPA and the Brisbane to Sydney Run

In September 2011 Andrew ran 200 kilometers in Queensland, Australia to help raise money for the

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

, WSPA. This was the first time Andrew had used his running to fundraise for charity. From 16 to 30 June 2012 Andrew ran 1000 km from Brisbane to Sydney to once again raise money and awareness for WSPA. Andrew noted on his online fundraising page that the Brisbane to Sydney run "is the most satisfying run that I have ever done in my life".

Writing

Hedgman is currently writing a

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...

about his New Zealand run among other adventures. He often writes articles for different sports magazines in Australia and New Zealand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedgman, Andrew Living people New Zealand ultramarathon runners People from Paeroa 1987 births Male ultramarathon runners Sportspeople from Waikato