Seven students from Tauranga Special School are participating in a team relay for the Hawaiian Airlines Mount Maunganui Half Marathon this weekend.
And the children are beyond excited, says Tauranga Special School's teacher in charge of fundraising Jo Crean.
'Oh, they're hilarious. One of the boys is a really cool kid. I saw him the other day and he said ‘Oh Jo! I'm signing autographs because I'm famous!'”
Jo says participating in the half marathon is a great way to involve the students in their fundraising events.
'We've been fundraising for a new play area and changing sheds for our school, and so much of it is done without any of the kids being able to have any input.
'But then I thought ‘We have got some pretty good runners and we have got parents who do lots of exercise', and so I approached the seven families and asked if they would be happy with their child being entered and if the parents would push [the wheelchair students].”
'And all the kids have been involved in getting some sponsorship, so they're all involved in that process.”
So Jo entered seven students – three who use wheelchairs and four with developmental delays.
'They're all doing about 3km each. I'm giving the people who are pushing wheelchairs a little bit of a respite so theirs is slightly less.” Fair enough, pushing a wheelchair can be hard slog.
Jo says even though the students participating have a disability, she wants people to see that they have talents and abilities too.
'What I'd like people to know first and foremost is that, despite having a disability, we work towards developing their best abilities and that they're great kids; and it's so cool to see them out doing stuff with everybody else. We'd like it to be a positive experience for them.
'We're very excited and we just hope that when people see Tauranga Special School it's about the kids and them participating. Just give them a clap or cheer.”
For more information on the Mount Maunganui Half Marathon, visit their website. For more information on Tauranga Special School, and to donate to their fundraiser, call 07 578 4424.