Club of the Week: Tauranga Road Runners | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

Long-distance running is a mental challenge as well as a physical one - so running with a group of people who understand what you're going through can make all the difference.

Tauranga Road Runners train together every Sunday morning and help each other achieve goals such as running full- or half-marathons.

Club president Ross Steele says new members often think such achievements are impossible.

"They turn up and think there's no way in the world they'd ever be able to run a marathon, but it's a matter of giving them the confidence to get out there and do it by saying to them 'we will help you get there'."

More than half of Tauranga Road Runners members are women, many of whom have children and are looking for some "sanity time".

"We get new runners to the club who haven't run more than 10km, so we'll start them off and just build, build, build. It does so much for their confidence."

Mr Steele says many Tauranga Road Runners train towards competing in the annual Rotorua marathon. In April this year, 11 club members crossed the finish line - two for the first time.

"It's a huge milestone. Seeing the elation of people, particularly first-timers, as they finish is amazing. They cry tears of joy to have made it. It's brilliant for people's self-confidence."

Tauranga Road Runners set out on different-length runs every Sunday morning. Mr Steele says the more experienced runners pass on lots of advice to newer members, and camaraderie within the group is strong.

"We all take the mickey out of each other. It's a lot of fun. The runners do help each other and feed off each other ... we've all been at the starting point at one stage."

Current members are aged in their 30s through to their 50s, and Tauranga's own MP, Simon Bridges, is a member.

The beauty of living in Tauranga is there are so many scenic places to run. Websites such as www.mapmyrun.com and www.mapometer.com make it easy to plot different courses, depending on the distance the group needs to run each week.

Mr Steele says some of the faster runners will go back and pick up the slower ones so no one is left behind.

"Running in a group motivates you to keep going and before you know it you've run 30km. There's a lot of mental toughness involved. It's like that old saying: 'if you think you can, you will - if you think you can't, you won't'."

Each weekly run finishes with a lap of the running track at Tauranga Domain so runners can emulate crossing the finish line.

Mr Steele says club members have completed marathons all over the world - including Antarctica.

"Whether it is running, swimming or walking, at the end of the day any exercise is good exercise. It's good for the soul, and good for the mind."

WHEN AND WHERE

Name: Tauranga Road Runners.
Number of members: 25.
Established: 30 years ago.
Meeting times: Every Sunday morning at Tauranga Sport's Rugby Clubrooms in the Domain grounds, Cameron Rd. Meet at 7:45am. Run begins at 8am. Annual club membership $35.
Contact: Ross Steele, ph 576 4852.