\u201cI started 75 years ago on a cycle, racing in England. Came out here and took up marathon running. I did a few races, stopped for a while, and then decided to have a go at walking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wartime England to Kiwi life <\/p>\n
Reg\u2019s life story sounds like something from a history book. As a 9-year-old boy in England during World War II, he survived a terrifying bombing. <\/p>\n
\u201cMr Hitler injured me during the war,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy would he choose me?\u201d<\/p>\n
He remembers sitting at the breakfast table when the blast hit. <\/p>\n
\u201cA window blew in on me, and a shard of glass went into my neck, hitting the tube inside, and then it was spurting out with my heart rate. The boiled egg I was eating was special \u2013 I\u2019d never seen one before. I said: \u2018Mum, my egg\u2019s full of dirt!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Marie Denny is Reg Denny\u2019s number one supporter. Photo \/ Rosalie Liddle Crawford<\/p>\n
The blast deafened them, and as Reg\u2019s mother rushed upstairs to find his sister, he held a towel to his bleeding neck. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe wardrobe had fallen across her bed, but she\u2019d gone to sleep in Mum\u2019s bed instead. I was still bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the chaos, Reg survived and in 1958, aged 23, he sailed to New Zealand. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe ship arrived in Wellington. The Government paid for the trip, so they decided I would work at Todd Motors as a storeman. I wanted to quickly make more money, so got a job at the gasworks because it was 24-hour shift work, so got paid more.\u201d<\/p>\n
He later joined NZ\u2019s National Airways Corporation, where, surrounded by aircraft, he was soon inspired to take to the skies himself. <\/p>\n
\u201cGot my private pilot\u2019s licence at the Wellington Aero Club and did a bit of flying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Love at first flight <\/p>\n
It was at Wellington Airport that Reg met his wife Marie, a Kiwi working at NAC\u2019s information counter. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe got married in 1962 \u2013 and four girls later, we still love each other,\u201d Reg said. <\/p>\n
Together 63 years, there is plenty of spark and playful banter. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was saving money to go to England, and then he decided he wanted to marry me,\u201d Marie said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe joked: \u2018I need your money to buy a motorbike.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, there were no buses from Eastbourne to the airport, so I needed money to buy a bike,\u201d Reg said.<\/p>\n
Marathons to kiwifruit <\/p>\n
Reg said to burn off energy and \u201cto escape the female population in the house\u201d, he took up marathon running. <\/p>\n
After moving to Tauranga, the couple also ran a kiwifruit orchard, which Reg credits for keeping him fit \u201cand out of trouble\u201d. <\/p>\n
Reg and Marie Denny have been together for more than 60 years. Photo \/ Rosalie Liddle Crawford.<\/p>\n
Marie said Reg\u2019s fitness today still amazes doctors. Earlier this week, he walked the full 21.1km City to Surf course. \u201cI\u2019ve done it twice before. I know I can finish it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he won\u2019t win on Sunday. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I won\u2019t be last. If the last person starts to overtake me, I\u2019ll trip him up!\u201d<\/p>\n
Team effort <\/p>\n
Marie, now in her 80s, recently had back surgery but remains Reg\u2019s number one supporter. \u201cSomebody has to be the support crew,\u201d Reg said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really important,\u201d Marie said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Reg was running full marathons, I\u2019d meet him every 5km, give him a drink and a bit of encouragement. Now he\u2019s got his Camelbak [water pack].\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey hold out drinks along the course, but I tell them: \u2018No thanks \u2013 I\u2019ve got plenty of whisky on board,\u201d Reg said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a terrible London sense of humour. I wonder why I married him,\u201d Marie bantered back.<\/p>\n
A life of purpose <\/p>\n
Between them, the Dennys have raised four daughters \u2013 one in Wellington, two in Tauranga, and one in Te Awamutu. \u201cThat\u2019s why I have white hair,\u201d Reg said. \u201cI\u2019ve grown used to having doors slammed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marie, a former Bethlehem College art teacher, said keeping active has been vital for both of them. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to achieve a goal of a marathon, you\u2019ve got to find ways around doing it,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cReg doesn\u2019t always want to go out, but he sticks at it and remains constant \u2013 whether it\u2019s wet or fine. You\u2019ve got to stick with things.\u201d <\/p>\n
Reg has walked the Tongariro Crossing seven or eight times, often alone. <\/p>\n
\u201cMarie doesn\u2019t like that. But I don\u2019t find it a problem. It\u2019s about 19km \u2013 takes three or four hours. I\u2019m hoping to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reg Denny walking the Tongariro Crossing. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Reflecting on their ages, Reg teased: \u201cMarie\u2019s 105.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 21 \u2013 plus shipping and packing,\u201d she shot back.<\/p>\n
Still moving forward<\/p>\n
This Sunday, Reg will park his car at the start line, Marie will meet him at the finish, and together they\u2019ll celebrate another milestone. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m quite taken aback that somebody wants to go to print about me,\u201d Reg said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you wait until I\u2019m 100?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitre 10 MEGA Tauranga City to Surf Half Marathon and 11km course takes participants from Tauranga Marina to Mount Maunganui on Sunday, November 9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI started 75 years ago on a cycle, racing in England. Came out here and took up marathon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[86405,4765,2199,86406,6097,2964,56387,86408,33031,111,139,86407,69,36602,62328,44439,213,86409,10809,18694,1227,37865,61,34890,4770,1533],"class_list":["post-123742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-90yearold","tag-annual","tag-city","tag-denny","tag-down","tag-half","tag-isnt","tag-lace","tag-marathon","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nonagenarian","tag-nz","tag-reg","tag-shoes","tag-slowing","tag-sports","tag-stride","tag-sunday","tag-surf","tag-tauranga","tag-taurangas","tag-to","tag-walk","tag-walking","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}