Rosie Perez and her ‘sole sisters’ have seen a lot of Wellington in the past year.

Rosie Perez and three of her friends hail from the Philippines and were training for the 2021 Queenstown Marathon when it was cancelled due to Covid.

Still wanting a challenge, they set their sights on going for a walk every week for a year.

For Wilderness subscriber Rosie, the 52 hikes worked in tandem with Walk1200km.

“I was doing hikes before this but not every weekend,” she says.

Based in Wellington, the friends stuck mostly to local trails.

Rosie says her favourite walks were also the toughest, including a trip up Hawkins Hill near Wellington’s south coast, with views over the region and of the South Island.

“I think the accountability was there, doing it with friends,” she says. “It was more fun and we would push each other.

“If it was just me, I don’t think I would have been as disciplined.”

Rosie says she and her friends have stressful jobs, and walking has been good for their mental health.

They wanted a medal for their 52nd hike, so entered the Hutt Marathon’s 10km event on September 18, when Rosie also completed the Walk1200km challenge, covering 1800km in 12 months.

As well as the 52 hikes, she added 3km to her tally each day by taking her dog, Ziko, for walks.

She’s fitter and trimmer, and has signed up for another year of Walk1200km.