A motley crew, a bunch of misfits - call them what you will, but this eclectic group of Whangarei friends have a newfound fondness for running, thanks largely to their mentor Ady Ngawati.
Two-time Auckland Marathon winner Ngawati started a Sunday morning coffee running group aiming to help prepare first-time orcasual runners achieve their goal of completing the 2010 Kerikeri Half Marathon.
Six of the runners - Mick Treend, Paula Lang, Heather Wright, Liese MacGill, Frances Hill and Andy Mears - turned up every Sunday morning.
All six completed the 21.1km course to cross the finish line at Kerikeri Domain on Saturday, where they were greeted by Ngawati, who decided not to race in this year's event after a hectic few months of training and racing.
"I just wanted to support these guys. I've really enjoyed coaching these guys - I like to see people accomplish their goals and I got to meet new friends," Ngawati said.
Tired and a wee bit sore, the coffee group gathered for prizegiving and chatted about their experience.
Lang, a Whangarei business owner, mother and "wanna-be runner", said she was stoked with her second half marathon, carving 12 minutes off the time she recorded for her first, the Whangarei Half Marathon.
"I always talked during training," she said, with the group nodding in agreement, "but today, I couldn't talk at all ... my quads have never hurt before but they do now - I don't think Ady has been training us hard enough," she quipped.
Lang summed up the group's thoughts on their running guru Ngawati.
"Ady has been fantastic. She is such an inspiration - she kept us going when we were dragging our butts around at training, giving us some interesting concepts to think about."
Although no one in the coffee group knew each other before they began running on Sunday mornings, they are now good mates and are already planning their next event - with even thoughts of making a group trip across the ditch to run the Gold Coast Marathon next year.
