Major Kiwi relaxes

Press, 17 February 1978, Page 24

Major Kiwi relaxes

Major Alby Kiwi, who on February 24 will begin his 1380 mile run from Bluff to Cape Reinga, received encouraging greetings from scores of lunchti„.e runners around Hagley Park yesterday.

Major Kiwi decided to do his preparatory run around the park yesterday to help encourage running in the city, instead of a scheduled run through outlying country districts. He is scaling down his training in preparation for his run and yesterday completed a mere 50 miles. Members of the Long-Dis-tance Runner’s Club of New Zealand ran with him yesterday.

As usual, Major Kiwi started early from Burnham, shortly after 2 a.m.

During a luncheon break at King Edward Barracks in Christchurch, Major Kiwi’s dog, Free Fall, who will accompany him through New Zealand, tried on his specially made Adidas road boots to protect his paws. Free Fall pranced around the

barracks in his new boots but the designers decided to modify the boots to make them a more perfect protection.

Major Kiwi will run in the city council’s “Hagley Lope” on Saturday morning. He will wind up his preparatory training in the LongDistance Club’s run from Waimairi Surf Club to Taylor’s Mistake Surf Club on Sunday. This will enable runners to take advantage of running at low tide on the first section of the journey. Major Kiwi said the Sunday run would be an easy outing and he would like ail runners of whatever age or ability to come with him.

The international athletics star, Rod Dixon, and other leading Canterbury sportsmen and women as well as news media personalities will lead groups of joggers in tomorrow’s Hagley Lope. Joggers will have a choice of three distances, with the shortest at 3.6 km and the longest at Bkm. The joggers who tackle the 3.6 km course round Hagley Park will be led by the chairman of the council’s

parks and recreation department (Cr P. N. G. Blaxall), Nan Phillips (netball), Tane Norton (rugby), and Larry Saunders (“Christchurch Star”).

Medium-fitness joggers will be led over a 5.6 km course by Laurie Blyth and Terry Connelly (soccer), George Balani and Peter Williams and Colin McKenzie (Radio N.Z.), Tony Ineson, Barry Maister and Selwyn Maister (hockey). . “Super-fit” joggers tackling the Bkm course will be led by Dixon, Don Cameron (long-distance runner), Alan Taylor (rugby), Rex Page and lan Brownie (canoeing), Tim Guthrie (hockey), and John Drew (“The Press”). A spokesman for the City Council said that joggers should select their own group and would be permitted to run and walk as they felt. There would be a fitness talk, fitness tests on a University of Canterbury ergometer, and visual displays. Joggers should assemble a( the Armagh Street gate at 9 a.m. They are advised to bring their own refreshments.