Family trio swap rugby whistle for running shoes | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

For the last 45 years Stuart Booten wouldn't have dreamed of being anywhere else on a Saturday afternoon but at rugby either playing, coaching or blowing the whistle.

That was until last November when he eyed his 50th birthday in February and decided 2006 would be his time to run a marathon - a first marathon.

So on Saturday, Stuart will line up with thousands of others and tackle the mother of all Kiwi 42km races - the annual Rotorua Marathon - now in its 42nd running. "I wouldn't have dreamt of doing one [marathon] in the rugby season before but as you get older you realise there's more to life than rugby," Stuart, a regular Baywide premier referee, told the Daily Post.

And no, he won't be whistling up a storm once he passes the finishline at the Village Green sometime after midday on Saturday.

This weekend is solely about the marathon, he'll be back on the paddock next month some time.

"The goal is to finish - I thought about a time but injuries have taken their toll," Stuart says of his road to the startline.

But this isn't just a story about one man battling the ups and downs of his first marathon.

Also tackling distance adventures of their own on Saturday will be Stuart's wife Lee and son Hugh who turns 14 next week.

Mother and son will face the starter's gun 15 minutes after Stuart departs in the supporting 10km run/walk around the Government Gardens area.

Their job is to get around the two loop course as quickly as possible and then head out to the marathon course in support roles.

"We'll park the car in town, whiz around, and then try and find him around the lake with the drinks and protein bars," says Lee.

The Bootens have lived in Rotorua for six and a half years, moving from Upper Hutt in Wellington, with Stuart a Fire Safety and Investigation officer in Rotorua's Fire Brigade and Lee a nurse. The family live a healthy mantra where the outdoor delights afforded by Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty region get a regular run, walk or cycle over.

"It's the outdoors, we're outdoor people, as often as we can we're out there whether it's running walking or camping," says Stuart. The family's last outing was a three-hour hike to take in the Tarawera Falls.

Stuart's been a regular runner for fitness and last year walked the Taupo and Auckland half marathons with wife Lee.

She's hooked on walking and has not ruled out tackling her own 42km challenge in the future.

Hugh has his eyes set on taking on the 12 hour component of Rotorua's annual Cateye Moonride mountainbiking event with a team from John Paul College.

* The Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon starts at 9am Saturday morning and the supporting 5km and 10km events start from 9.15am.