I grew up in Boise, and I knew a lot of people who came from NZ - distance road running was in it's heyday and Anne Audain (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Audain) lived in Boise for a while - a local celebrity, and she enticed a lot of her fellow athletes and compatriots follow her lead.
A trip to NZ is definitely on my list as soon as life starts to return to normal.