Father and son run together

Ryo Miyanami and son Zen training around the Daisy Hardwick walkway where part of the marathon will be run. Photo: Chris Callinan.

Not many people will be thinking about running another race at the end of the inaugural Tauranga International Marathon.

But Ryo Miyanami will be tacking on an extra two kilometres when he runs alongside son Zen in the 2km Kids Dash at Gordon Spratt Reserve.

'I saw the course advertised and felt excited. It's very familiar to me and my son so I thought it would be fun to run it together. We have lived here for nine years – Zen was born in Tauranga so it's our home town.”

The 43-year-old has been running seriously for about eight years. He used to play soccer until a knee injury meant he had to give it up.

'I enjoy exercise though so I tried running instead. I couldn't run more than 10km initially due to my injury. But around six years ago I changed my style of running, which allowed me to overcome the injury and start running longer and longer.”

The full marathon starts at 7am, with the Kids Dash scheduled for 11am. Ryo's confident he can make it in time, and is hoping to come in under three hours and 30 minutes.

Zen, 8, plays soccer and enjoys running too. He did the Tauranga trail run with his dad when he was five years old, and was hoping to do the 6km run on Saturday, but unfortunately the start times didn't match up.

Still, it will be another race run together as father and son. As for the secret to running a good race, Ryo says it's all about having fun.

'You have to enjoy the challenge. If you think it's going to be hard that can act as a mental barrier to success.”

The Tauranga International Marathon starts on The Strand at 7am, Saturday, October 7 and finishes at Gordon Spratt Reserve in Papamoa where there will be entertainment and a market.

For more information visit www.marathontauranga.co.nz

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