Adopt a Runner a winner at Rotorua Marathon
Overview
On a chilly early-May morning in 2009, over 2500 runners and walkers lined up for the 45th Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon. Amongst them were about 80 runners who had been ‘adopted’ by around 30 classrooms of children from Rotorua schools.
The marathon’s Adopt a Runner initiative proved a great way of connecting the local community with this major sporting event. Children were enthused by the experience and gained valuable learning opportunities. Runners gained extra support beforehand, and for some, while they were tackling the 42.2km. Some of the adopted runners were from overseas, and commented they’d never come across such an initiative before – they thought it was great.
Background & partners
The idea for Adopt a Runner came from a brain storming meeting at Rotorua District Council (RDC) – discussing ways to include the local community even more in the annual event. With Sport Bay of Plenty (Sport BOP) on board, RDC approached Angela Salmon, Event Manager of the Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon.
Angela was very keen to implement the concept, with full support from Athletics New Zealand. She explains: “As owners of the event, Athletics New Zealand give me full support to go for it with any excellent ideas! I knew they were happy for us to do Adopt a Runner as it is core to their goal of bringing athletics to all communities, of all ages via ‘fun, fitness and success’.”
Jo White, local Active Schools Facilitator for Sport BOP, led much of the organisation to bring the initiative to life.
Adopted runners came from around Rotorua and New Zealand, as well as overseas. The primary schools who adopted runners included: Rotokawa, Whangamarino, Westbrook, Malfroy, Malfroy Montessori, St Michaels, Glenholme, Mamaku, Broadlands, Lake Rerewhakaaitu, Lynmore, and Western Heights Primary School.
The initiative
An email was sent from the marathon to all entrants, inviting them to be adopted. This was accompanied by a simple form to gather core details such as their name, age, race number, home-town, number of marathons completed, and email address. Around 80 runners responded.
Jo then contacted schools around Rotorua and raised the idea. “[Sport BOP] do a weekly email sports news to schools so we talked about it there. We also put it on our web site,” she said. The initiative was also profiled on the Rotorua marathon web site. Media coverage and word of mouth did the rest.
Adopt a Runner was promoted to the schools as a great learning opportunity – as well as a good way to get involved in one of the country’s pre-eminent running events. The initial emailing to schools suggested that:
The class may ask approximately five questions which could relate to training, goals, nutrition or whatever may interest them. The runner would then respond. Prior to the race the class may like to send a good luck e-mail/letter. The class would know their runner’s number and be able to watch them on the day…
Schools who were keen were partnered with either two or three runners. As closely as possible, each classroom was matched with at least one man and one woman, one of whom was an overseas runner. It was then up to schools to get in touch with runners. All did so, some by setting up blogs. Clearly Sport BOP couldn’t track such communication but anecdotal feedback from both teachers and runners suggests it was mutually rewarding.
“There was heaps of positive role modeling. Lots of children said they’d like to run a marathon one day. There were lots of questions about good nutrition, why marathoners swear by bananas. Some of the schools arranged for their runners to visit the classroom to talk directly to the children. One Australian couple had brought all the children pencils. The children had all signed a card and put together a good luck package,” Jo enthuses.
“One of the runners does a lot of marathons each year – the children have kept up their blog [after the Rotorua marathon] to follow him. He’s challenged them to run a marathon distance as a class relay. There has been lots of ongoing communication,” she explains.
On the day of the race, the cold temperatures and a biting wind meant there were fewer children out on the roadside than if it had been mild. Even so, some classes came out and supported their runners with banners, and at the finish. All 900 or so children who took part in the initiative now have a much better idea of what the challenge of the Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon is all about.
“After 45 years of the Rotorua Marathon it is refreshing to have new ways to involve the local community, especially the children. Adopt a Runner is a fantastically tangible way for the children to feel part of the event. It also gave our runners a huge buzz, many taking on the challenging event to prove, now not just to themselves, but also to a group of youngsters, they could finish it. It also nicely rounds off the lower end of the age scale. We have teens and adults who are out on the course manning the drink stations, marshalling, or at their front gate vociferously supporting the participants. The event is renowned for this community support – it is now beautifully balanced with all ages involved!”
- Angela Salmon, Event Manager of the Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon.
Key benefits
Adopt a Runner was a significant organisational challenge for Jo White and Angela Salmon, as well as a commitment for teachers. As Angela notes, though, there’s now a successful template in place for future years. The initiative required no additional financial investment – just time. Simply bringing people together, electronically and in person, brought all the benefit:
- The initiative created a sense of connection to the event. From the city’s perspective, it helped to build the pre-race excitement. It also neatly matched the friendly, supportive atmosphere of the event and the community commitment of the funding partner, The Lion Foundation.
- Children learned about marathons, and got a sense of appreciation for the effort and commitment they require. They learned about the rigors and rewards of training, and the benefits of good nutrition. They had the mathematical challenge of working out when their runners would reach certain parts of the course. They learned a sense of connection with people from other parts of the country, and from overseas.
- Some schools used the initiative as an ICT project, with children learning communication skills through technology. Some created a blog to ask questions and get answers from their adopted runners.
- Adopted runners got the boost of an enthusiastic team of fans, and a strong sense of local connection. “I’m getting emails from some ‘adoptees’ saying what a great idea this is, how special they feel,” wrote Angela shortly before the big day.
- The schools gained local radio and press coverage: a buzz for the children and wider school communities.
Looking ahead
After the success of 2009, Adopt a Runner will almost certainly be repeated. It’s detailed on the marathon web site. So as long as runners are again willing to be adopted, and children are again keen to get involved, some participants will be lining up for the 2010 Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon, knowing they’ve got a classroom of children behind them every step of the way.
“It has been good corresponding with the runners and the kids have enjoyed emailing questions and receiving answers … This has been a great idea.”
- Morag Owen, teacher at Glenholme Primary School
Contacts and links
Updated | 29 Jul 2009.
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