Wairarapa trio eye New York | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

The 2011 New York marathon is less than six months away - on November 6 - and three Wairarapa people are preparing to contest it for the first time - and for a worthy cause.

Husband-and-wife Paul and Lynn Rodgers from Greytown and Craig McBride from Masterton are committed to raising funds for the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust which has guaranteed them starts is an event so popular that just gaining entry is an achievement.

The trio are faced, however, with meeting their own entry fees and travel and accommodation costs and of readying themselves to successfully complete the 42.195km journey.

For the Rodgers, this will be their first marathon and while McBride now has a number under his belt, he admits this will be easily his most challenging.

It was, in fact, while on a training run last year that McBride came across CatWalk founder Catriona Williams who was preparing for the 2010 New York marathon.

Williams invited McBride to be part of Catwalk's 2011 contingent and the Rodgers also came on board. Indications are this year's CatWalk team will consist of 22 runners, including some with disabilities, from all over the country.

Williams set up the trust in 2005 as a fundraising charity and it has quickly grown in stature. Princess Anne's daughter, Zara Phillips, is the international patron and national patrons include well-known identities such as Richie McCaw, Aaron Slight, Dion Nash, Lance O'Sullivan, Sarah Waloker, Mark Todd and Sir Brian Lochore.

All funds raised through CatWalk - which is based in Masterton but operates actively on a national basis - go towards supporting spinal cord injury research, a feature of which is the New Zealand Spinal Injury Research Unit which is being developed at Auckland University.

Preparing for a marathon is, by its very nature,a testing process and for the Rodgers and McBride there have already been hitches.

Lynn Rodgers has been battling a frustrating leg injury which is slowly improving, Paul Rodgers is learning to run for more than two hours and McBride has had a support put into his running shoes to help alleviate a niggle in his heel.

The recently-opened Masterton Shoe Clinic has made things easier for them by donating running shoes, Icebreaker are helping out with training equipment and clothing and plans have been made for fundraising activities such as karaoke, quiz nights, garage sales, cake raffles and voluntary work.