"I cycled London to Paris in a weekend - never has the taste of freshly baked warm pan-au-chocolate ever tasted so good than at 6am in a random french village bakery. I was so exhausted when I reached Paris I fell off my bike twice trying to unclip my cleats, not good when your entering the Arc de Triomphe!"

Meet Natalie Gallant, bodyneed's own sports physio and running coach. Hear about the minefields on Falkland Islands, London Olympics and Glasgow Commonwealth Games and more!

"I'm going back again in 2018 to compete and the most important thing that I will do differently is to relax in the environment. In the cold everything is difficult. Moisture freezes instantly, gear failures are just a part of the race due to the extreme temperatures and on top of that you need to be aware of the clock and to keep moving towards your goal for the day."

Richard Charles is talking ultra running with us - hard events, hard training, mistakes made and some tips if you are thinking about running your first ultra!

"I see a great variety of clients at bodyneed. From young to old, from weekend warrior to elite athletes – to nuns. Usually their goal is the same – to continue doing what they love."

Read on to hear the story of Sophie McKay, how she became our own massage super star and about the trails that got her hooked!

"The best way to land is to NOT put your hand out to take the impact as that’s how many collarbones have been broken. I can say it’s important to avoid landing on your head etc., but sometimes crashes happen so fast you don’t have much control! But putting the hand out is a big rookie no-no!"

Ruby Livingstone, pro cyclist and bodyneed sponsored athlete, shares hot tips on cycling (and crashing!), recovery and more.

The surgeon said and I quote "you won't ever run again, and you'll probably not walk properly either” I was with another physio for a year prior to Bodyneed, and I was frustrated by the lack of progress when my brother Ben said "go see Bodyneed they'll sort you out...". Meet Tony Frith; intrepid trail walker, favourite teacher and long term member of the Bodyneed Family .. read his inspiring story through injury and beyond...

This month we are profiling Pip Meo who is no stranger to Bodyneed! She regularly features on our blog and facebook as one of our sponsored athletes but we thought we would take the opportunity to get to know Pip in a different light. From favourite workout music to mistakenly wearing her pantyhose as a scarf we think it is well worth a read.

At Bodyneed we really love the unique stories of our clients and staff and decided it would be cool to share some with you. We plan to regularly profile people from our Bodyneed community in our new feature, we are coining 'Faces of Bodyneed'. Check out our first profile on our longest standing Bodyneeder and founder... Karen Finlayson!

If you have been following her story you will remember that Natalia had one last chance to prove to the Sailing NZ that she is good enough to get to Rio… here is her update …
 

Natalia Kosinska is one of our awesome Massage Therapists here at Bodyneed. She is also New Zealand’s top female windsurfer – her road to the Olympics has been fairly epic to say the least – she has qualified in her windsurfing class to go – but that is not enough according to Yachting New Zealand to guarantee them a place in the NZ team. Why?

Well that is a tale of politics and funding decisions – the upshot is Natalia has one more chance to get to Rio (competing in Hyeres, France at the end of the month) but even if she proves herself there she will still have no financial support from Yachting NZ.

And we wonder why we don’t get more medals?? Read the full story from Dana Johannsen, NZ Herald’s Chief Sports Reporter ….
 

Ben Frith (26) has been part of the running circuit for about four years. It was after
he returned from a stint in the UK doing his OE that he sought help for a longstanding
ankle injury. He’s a junior Sous Chef and got into cooking when he was 16

This week we sat down with Pip Meo - professional triathlete, bodyneed ambassador and all round good sort.
With her sights set firmly on the 2020 Olympics, Pip's dedication and drive has helped her overcome injury and train over 30 hours a week, all while maintaining a full time job, find out what her secret is.....

We love catching up with our regulars and learning more about them. One of our favs (we don’t actually have favs!) is the dynamic Claire Fox. Claire is a charismatic, goal-setting fire ball – she started running just over ten years ago and her latest goal is to complete the 85km Tarawera Ultra marathon this coming February. She’s learnt a wee bit during her time running so we were eager to pick her brains.