Round the Bridges not the only challenge for Kaela
The Hamilton community is proud of the glorious Waikato River that courses through their city, and every November people from all walks of life come together to embrace it in a truly unique way.
Lugtons Round the Bridges offers the opportunity for people to run, walk or even push a stroller alongside the river and explore the sights the city has to offer.
One competitor, 17 year-old Kaela Bennett, had an important goal in mind when she decided to tackle the 6km race. Not only was she facing the challenge of the walk and a surprisingly hot Hamilton day, her biggest restriction is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, known as POTS. This condition is a blood circulation disorder characterised by factors like exaggerated increase in heart rate.
Kaela is working full-time as she waits to see what her next steps in life look like. While she has been enjoying a period of freedom with no study, she wanted to take a big step towards her goals, including tackling the 6km Round The Bridges walk. Kaela said she has been working towards this goal for several months.
“This walk is something that I have been looking to complete as a way to show that I can still do the things that I enjoy, even with POTS. My family was also a big motivator as I was really excited to experience this with them.”
Kaela Bennett
As the walk got underway, Kaela enjoyed the time, chatting away with family as she broke out of her comfort zone.
The weather didn’t help her condition however, as she had a goal to not only walk the event but even run it at a strong pace in some areas, and she struggled in the heat.
Kaela had worked on preparation to tackle the event and running some of it was a huge part of her goal,. She regularly attended the gym and went for walks prior to the event to give her plenty of breathing room and practice for the big day.
“I kept reminding myself that this walk is something I have been wanting to do for a while and it would be a big achievement for me.”
Completing the walk at a strong pace, Kaela and her family were extremely proud however afterwards she suffered a medical event and ended up spending the rest of the afternoon and the night in the hospital.
Making her way to the medical tent immediately after the race wasn’t in Kaela’s plan for the day, although it gave her the opportunity to think about the next time. She said “I definitely learnt through this event that I should’ve prepared myself better, by keeping my fluids up and pacing myself.”
Despite finishing the event under some stress, Kaela plans to do it again, hopefully next time without a stay in the hospital.
