Clinic motivates for marathon | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

Training for a marathon is a big enough commitment but a group of Rotorua runners want to make that process a little easier.

Lake City Athletic Club will run its marathon training clinic for anyone interested in completing the Rotorua Marathon and starts in January.

But they want prospective marathon runners to get their shoes on now to make sure they can start the clinics as they mean to go on.

The clinic starts on Sunday, January 16th and will be a 15-week programme to get all runners ready for the April 30 event.

"I couldn't have done the long runs without running with other people," club member and clinic runner Jodie Hickson said.

"There were experienced runners there who gave me plenty of advice.

"All you need to be able to do is run for an hour. Some might think that's a lot but it's an hour at your own pace."

The clinic will have different groups depending on runners' speeds. Hickson finished her first marathon at Rotorua this May in 4h 12m.

There were others who finished in just over five hours she said, which meant no one had to worry about being too slow.

Runs start from the Lake City club rooms at Neil Hunt Park every Sunday at 7am. Routes are varied and include long forest runs as well as course familiarisation.

For this year's marathon Hickson said the clinic ran to Lake Okareka and around Tikitapu (Blue Lake), returning through the forest. They also ran the hills on the far side of the lake, and a long run through the Waikite Valley.

"It was a really good motivator," marathon finisher Aroha Sutherland said.

"I tried to do it by myself and I wasn't doing all my runs. Joining the clinic and having support from everyone else was great. They got me to the finish line."

Included in the build up is the Rotorua Off-Road Half Marathon on Sunday, March 6.

Hickson said runners could train for that event and then decide afterwards if they wanted to continue to the marathon. "It['s not too late to start training for the marathon," she said.

"Finishing is what it's all about."

She said the 15-week programme and setting of long run routes meant the hard work was taken out for runners.

Lake City Athletic Club is running an information evening for anyone interested in finding out more about the marathon clinic. It is on Thursday, January 13 at 8pm after the Trout Fly run. It is at the club rooms at Neil Hunt Park.