Sunday move a sign of the times

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

HARRIERS

The Gisborne Harrier Club winter season series starts on Sunday with a trail run at the Forest Enterprise Millmore Forest mountain bike tracks at Mander Road, off Waimata Valley Road.

The 10am run will be the first event of a revamped approach to winter running. Events will generally be held every second Sunday with a focus on easier coffee runs (close to a coffee provider) and more challenging trail runs, offering races over some of the most scenic paths the district has to offer.

The new approach complements the upcoming weekly Tuesday-evening run academy classes that offer cardiovascular improvement and coaching that will be available with newly appointed coach and manager Michelle Rennie.

The club had to make the difficult decision to move its weekend activities from Saturdays to Sundays.

“We found it increasingly hard to compete with the many other sports offerings and activities on Saturdays,” club president Hans van Kregten said.

With the recent arrival of Parkrun on Saturday mornings, the time had come for the harrier club to do something different, he said.

“The abundance of school sports on Saturday also provided many other options for potential running participants, so we decided to move to Sundays, even though we realised that this is not the ideal option for all runners.”,

The twice-monthly approach still leaves options for runners to have their long Sunday runs at least twice a month.

Runners will still find a few Saturday events sprinkled throughout the winter season, like the historic Hawkes Bay/Gisborne champs. Also, off-weekends allow the club’s runners and walkers of all levels to prioritise attending fun, club-friendly regional events both in and out of Gisborne.

Registrations for the 2019-2020 season will be taken at the venue on Sunday, and people can also register for the one event only.

The trail and coffee runs provide opportunities for themed runs for charity.

“Runners are lucky people, as they often are healthy and happy,” Van Kregten said.

“They realise that many people are not as fortunate.

“We will use the runs to direct attention to good causes and see whether we can help. We have found that this is also a good way to make connections with the wider community and so improve the profile of running.”

Sunday’s first run will raise the issue of breast cancer. Pink running outfits are recommended and a small koha to support the work of the Breast Cancer Foundation can be left at the venue.