Masterton marathon man spurns training

He is about to run a 67km marathon but Wairarapa's Shaun Rolston doesn't believe in training.

Mr Rolston, 22, who is now an instructor for Outward Bound in Hong Kong, is doing the Great Lake Relay around Lake Taupo on Saturday to raise money for an Outward Bound scholarship for someone affected by last year's Christchurch earthquake.

But the former Wairarapa College student hasn't so much as run around the block to prepare.

"People in Christchurch didn't get to prepare for the earthquake, so I won't prepare for the run either," he said.

Mr Rolston has a deep involvement with the Christchurch quake. Although he was overseas when it happened, his parents lived there at the time, in what is now the red zone.

He said that after the earthquake the actions of young Cantabrians in helping both his parents and the wider community clean up spurred him into doing something in return.

"The generosity of people from Christchurch was outstanding, and so I figured it was my turn to give something back," he said.

He has so far raised $1845, with the money going towards someone aged 16 to 26 chosen by the YMCA who has either been affected by the earthquake or who helped out after it.

He needs to raise $3755 and is still looking for a major sponsor.

Mr Rolston said his efforts in getting to the finish line would mirror the efforts of Cantabrians trying to pull their lives together after the quake, and he had an inspirational message for them.

"You've just got to put your head down and keep on going. Like they say, if you're going through hell, you've just got to keep on going," he said.

His website is http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/outwardbound.