No man left behind in charity run
No man left behind was the motto for three Christchurch students who supported each other across the finish line gruelling charity run.
Max Christian, 17, Mitch Van Der Plas, 17, and Corbin Haitana, 18, were part of a large group of St Bede’s College students running the equivalent of a half marathon each day for five days during the Run for Life event .
The group, made up of 160 St Bede’s College pupils, and eight students from other Catholic schools, was running in an effort to raise funds for CanTeen, a charity supporting teenagers with cancer. Christian, Van Der Plas and Haitana had run the event together over the course of the days and when Christian hurt his knee on the last stretch, the boys were determined to not let his injury slow him down.
Haitana and Van Der Plas carried Christian across the finish line.
‘‘We had run it together the whole time so it was cool to be able to finish it together,’’ Haitana said.
The boys were split into eight 20-person teams, each running to Christchurch from a different South Island location.
St Bede’s student Doug Walter, 16, ran 120km and said the cause was what made the hard work worth it.
‘‘Knowing that we were doing something for CanTeen really helped. I think if I didn’t have that thought in the back of my mind I wouldn’t have been able to do it.’’
Teacher Rachel Pitcaithly said the cause hit home for a number of the boys.
‘‘It is a really big thing. Even this year we have had a couple of boys who have had a parent with cancer.
St Bede’s College rector Justin Boyle said he was ‘‘extremely proud’’ of the boys.
‘‘They are learning about actually getting out their and doing something that makes difference for people less fortunate than themselves,’’ he said.