Another First...

When I started this challenge, I threw out the offer to all of my Facebook, internet and BNI contacts, that if any of them wanted to run their first Half Marathon at one of my events, I would run it with them.

My home City of Rotorua Half Marathon, which was part of the first Rotorua Running Festival,
was the perfect venue for me to fulfill this offer.

Peter Moengaroa is a log time business associate and BNI member and had been getting himself fit for several months on boot-camps and was looking pretty trim. I suggested to him that he might like to run Rotorua with me... then, in a moment of inspiration, I suggested that he get a stroller for him wonderful special needs son Wikaira and we could push him for the half. Peter is devoted to his son and his eyes lit up.

So on a stunning Rotorua morning we headed off, we pushed Wikaira 1km and then switched. This worked pretty good. Later on when Peter was feeling it I suggested that we do 2 to me then 1 km to him and he was having none of it.

The course was quite neat, most of the length of Fenton Street, the main drag into Rotorua from the South, then winding through a few streets. Around and back over to the Scion Campus and some trail running through the trees and into the Redwoods. I drew the short straw in the Redwoods and pushed Wikaira aver the roller coaster trail and passed over to Peter for the downhill.

Some winding through the streets of Lynmore and then back onto trails and along the wonderful thermal part of the Lakefront trail around past Polynesian Spa and out to Sulphur Point... then back along the Lake trail to the finish.

Peter was amazing, most runners struggle in their first half, and Peter did, but he never stopped gritting his teeth and trying as hard as he can.

In the end we were just over 3:15 and while it was the slowest half of the year... it was one of the most rewarding. The smile on Wikaira's face at the finish summed it up.