November 19, 2025
Ashburton’s Rhys Blissett has raised $13,000 for charity after running 300 kilometres, fighting fatigue, bad weather and “a few middle fingers” from passing drivers.
Blissett created the Run for Change initiative as a personal challenge last year where he ran from Christchurch to Ashburton and back — about 137 kilometres — while raising money and awareness for Women’s Refuge.
To up the ante this year he doubled the distance, running a whopping 300 kilometres.
“It was from the start of Saturday morning, and we finished on Tuesday, so it was about three days total,” he said.
Blissett was prepared for the distance, but certainly not for the weather, encountering rain, snow and the hot New Zealand sun in one go.
“Saturday was super hot, probably the hardest of the three days.
“I had to keep stopping, and my team had to put an ice pack on my face and the back of my neck.”
Sunday was calm, but Monday’s run back from Timaru to Ashburton brought more chaos.
“At about 11 o’clock it just started pissing down with rain. Real, real heavy rain.
“I was getting so wet, and because of the temperatures getting so cold, my team had to call it off because of some signs of hyperthermia.”
As if it wasn’t cold enough, Tuesday bought sleet and snow.
“Woke up and the truck was just covered in thick snow.
“Heading towards Dunsandel, it started snowing again. It was about two hours of running in snow and rain again.”
The weather cleared for Blissett’s final leg from Rolleston to Christchurch’s Hagley Park where he was joined by friends and family, who ran alongside him.
There were hugs and cheers as he ran into the park and posed with his “trophy” — a fun little nod to his 300km milestone.
Reflecting on the run, Blissett said the distance and weather sucked, but what hurt worse was the roadside abuse he received while running for charity.
“I couldn’t count on two hands how much hate we got throughout the weekend,” he said.
“Even [from] people that we weren’t affecting, like oncoming traffic.’’
He said there were lots of “arseholes along the way”, and a “few people leaning out their windows, a few middle fingers’’.
“It was quite hard to take that in and keep going, while fighting the pain and everything.”
He was reinvigorated by the positive attention he received, with friendly toots, people stopping to chat with him in the cities, and the donations which poured in online.
“We’re sitting at $13,000 at the moment, which is an awesome amount,” he said.
“A massive thank you to the Ashburton community. They basically all got behind me, they’ve sponsored me, supported me.”
Several local businesses covered some of Blissett’s costs, like vehicle maintenance.
For now, he’s enjoying some R & R time, but Blissett’s not said no to a third year of running.
“I can’t say too much just yet, but we’ve still got a few ideas for events.
“I haven’t really processed this run yet to start thinking about the future.”
by Anisha Satya
Ashburton’s Rhys Blissett has raised $13,000 for charity after running 300 kilometres, fighting fatigue, bad weather and “a few middle fingers” from passing drivers.
Blissett created the Run for Change initiative as a personal challenge last year where he ran from Christchurch to Ashburton and back — about 137 kilometres — while raising money and awareness for Women’s Refuge.
To up the ante this year he doubled the distance, running a whopping 300 kilometres.
“It was from the start of Saturday morning, and we finished on Tuesday, so it was about three days total,” he said.
Blissett was prepared for the distance, but certainly not for the weather, encountering rain, snow and the hot New Zealand sun in one go.
“Saturday was super hot, probably the hardest of the three days.
“I had to keep stopping, and my team had to put an ice pack on my face and the back of my neck.”
Sunday was calm, but Monday’s run back from Timaru to Ashburton brought more chaos.
“At about 11 o’clock it just started pissing down with rain. Real, real heavy rain.
“I was getting so wet, and because of the temperatures getting so cold, my team had to call it off because of some signs of hyperthermia.”
As if it wasn’t cold enough, Tuesday bought sleet and snow.
“Woke up and the truck was just covered in thick snow.
“Heading towards Dunsandel, it started snowing again. It was about two hours of running in snow and rain again.”
The weather cleared for Blissett’s final leg from Rolleston to Christchurch’s Hagley Park where he was joined by friends and family, who ran alongside him.
There were hugs and cheers as he ran into the park and posed with his “trophy” — a fun little nod to his 300km milestone.
Reflecting on the run, Blissett said the distance and weather sucked, but what hurt worse was the roadside abuse he received while running for charity.
“I couldn’t count on two hands how much hate we got throughout the weekend,” he said.
“Even [from] people that we weren’t affecting, like oncoming traffic.’’
He said there were lots of “arseholes along the way”, and a “few people leaning out their windows, a few middle fingers’’.
“It was quite hard to take that in and keep going, while fighting the pain and everything.”
He was reinvigorated by the positive attention he received, with friendly toots, people stopping to chat with him in the cities, and the donations which poured in online.
“We’re sitting at $13,000 at the moment, which is an awesome amount,” he said.
“A massive thank you to the Ashburton community. They basically all got behind me, they’ve sponsored me, supported me.”
Several local businesses covered some of Blissett’s costs, like vehicle maintenance.
For now, he’s enjoying some R & R time, but Blissett’s not said no to a third year of running.
“I can’t say too much just yet, but we’ve still got a few ideas for events.
“I haven’t really processed this run yet to start thinking about the future.”
by Anisha Satya
