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Regional | Iron Māori

Iron Māori Tamariki 2015

More than 200 children took part in the Iron Māori Kids at Pandora Pond in Napier this weekend. An event designed to promote healthy living within the family.

“I suppose the philosophy behind the Iron Māori Tamariki is about a whole way of living for the whānau, training together, eating healthy foods and participating in a pretty awesome event” says George Mackey, one of the founding members of Iron Māori.

Iron Māori is a fun event where children between 7 - 9 years old can complete a 100m swim and a 1km run.

For Jonee Ahipene it was something she’d been preparing for all year, “Like I've achieved something that I've been training for to do.”

“I found it really hard but it got really fun” says competitor Maria Johanson from Ngāti Kahungunu.

For the 10 – 12-year olds it was a 200m swim and a 2km run.

Ōtane School principal Rachel Kingi believes the journey before the race is just as important, “We're trying to talk about manaakitanga and whānaungatanga and these guys all coming together as a family and supporting each other has been a huge part of that.”

This year marks seven years since Iron Māori began and the movement has since introducing a kids and teen section it's inspired more families to get active.