There’s a real bite to the air and a huge moon still hangs in the sky as we head down Stewart St at six in the morning for Wednesday’s community run, park the car and wait.
Sure enough someone soon appears out of the gloom, wearing a head torch while jogging to the weekly meeting place at Joyce Petchell Park next to the local museum and iHub.
“It’s good to see people out in the dark,” says that someone, adding this is his fourth meet-up with the group, having come to Raglan to live not so long ago.
Brad tells the Chronicle he runs here from Raglan West to warm up, but cuts off from the rest of the group close to home on the second of the three bridges loops so he’s done about the same 5km distance all up.
An architect working from home, he reckons a bracing early-morn run with like-minded souls is a good way to start the day.
“But it’s bloody cold!” chimes in a second runner at the scene, George, who’s been on seven or eight of these crack-of-dawn runs now and is also keen for an invigorating start to his day, in his case as a timber trader working from home.
Next to arrive is Tai-anne, who studies law from her home at Cox’s Bay. “It’s a beautiful morning,” she says, marvelling at the full moon.
The time now edges towards our 6.30 start. It’s still dark and chilly as we stamp our feet up and down and rub our hands together to keep warm while other eager beavers join the group.
Tania arrives – here for the sake of her mental health, she says. “It’s good motivation for the day ahead.”
Then Ethan – a dad with his girls Lila, 11, and Flora, 8, in tow. “Once we’re out of bed it’s all right,” he chirps. The girls have done the run with their mother too, all before being dropped off at school.
Finally we’re off, at a jogger’s pace, over the Wainui Rd incline, across the one-way bridge and on to the second bridge on Marine Pde, then a good way further till the walk bridge looms in the eerie half light.
It’s different, it’s refreshing, and there’s a real sense of camaraderie and wellbeing, although I make a note to self to wear a head torch next time so some kerb or rough surface doesn’t prove my downfall.
We encounter a few early morning walkers around-about the walk bridge, and below us a dedicated older couple stride into the tide beneath for a dip. All before sun-up.
This is a weekly social run, started late last year by Raglan Surf Co operations manager Asa Puriri.
People do it for fitness, for fun and for their mental health, especially if they are lone workers from home it seems.
As it happened Asa wasn’t there the morning the Chronicle turned up unannounced. He’d run a 100-mile race the weekend before and was “due for a rest I think”, as Tai-anne put it.
Asa’s grateful to those who continue to support the weekly community run. “Whether there are two of us or 20, it’s special to see the consistent efforts by locals to get up early every Wednesday morning and take part,” he says.
