Mum takes her mark

The fourth annual Kaikoura Suburban School half marathon fun day is only a month away and training for the event has been done far and wide.

New World co-owner and first-time runner Jo Stafford has been in training for weeks now and says running is addictive.

"I can't believe I even said that, I was always the one to take the lift, if there was an easy way I'd find it," she said.

Mrs Stafford joined the Kaikoura community gym's winter challenge programme which aims to train people over a 12-week period for the event.

"At the start I would have struggled to get to the end of the street," she said, but now she is aiming to complete the 10km run.

"Melissa [gym trainer] has been a huge support, it's something I always wanted to do," she said.

Kathy Hart (nee McInnes) is also preparing for the day, but she is training for the 21km half marathon in Sydney.

"I'm looking forward to coming home to the colder climate and nice scenery rather than pounding through the concrete jungle," she said.

Mrs Hart grew up in Kaikoura and went to school at Suburban so when she heard about the half marathon she thought it would be a great excuse to come home and support it.

She has three children under three, including twin girls, but she still gets out training with an adapted buggy she can run with.

"It's a great excuse to get out of the house too," she said.

This year the event has a new sponsor, Kaikoura Four Square owners John and Rachel Roberts, who are happy to be backing the event.

School principal Michelle Spencer said she was hoping for more local entries this year to push numbers up past the 200 mark.

Last year the run attracted 183 competitors, two thirds of whom were from outside Kaikoura.

The course begins at the school, follows the Kowhai River bank, goes along the base of Mt Fyffe and finishes with picturesque scenes of Kaikoura, back at Suburban school.

The Suburban School 2010 half marathon run/ walk, 10km run/walk and 2km MaraFun run is on September 11, entries are now open and can be found online at kaikourasuburban.school.nz/half-marathon.

- © Fairfax NZ News