Running for redemption
Ants Pitman is running away from his demons, and, writes Benn Bathgate, he’s determined to take as many of Huntly’s kids with him as he can.
Ants Pitman’s eyes fill with tears twice, firstly when he talks about the moment his life changed: July 20, 2015 at 6.56am. That was when his daughter died.
The second time is when he speaks about the pride he feels in his Huntly Team Little Big Bots running group.
The group gained national attention when Pitman’s former cellmate from Rangipo Prison, Paora Raharaha, ran the 100km Tarawera Ultramarathon wearing gumboots as a fundraiser for the group. He also did 10 burpees for every kilometre at each rest stage.
Pitman said they thought they might raise $2000. At the time of writing, the figure stands at $11,935.
When the Sunday Star-Times calls at Pitman’s home to talk about his running group on a scorching hot summer afternoon, he shows us into a living room adorned with photos and medals his group of kids, aged between six and 14-years-old, has won over the past year.
We’re joined by eight of the kids, some Pitman’s own children, some not, and some of their mums.
The stay-at-home dad doesn’t shy away from the man he used to be.
‘‘Numerous charges, varied from burglary, aggravated robbery, meth, there were assaults, very serious-type charges,’’ he says. ‘‘I was out of my mind, I assumed no-one cared, I was angry.’’
When his daughter died, he realised he needed to turn his life around.
‘‘That was a big upset, that hurt. Then my nan passed away a year after.
‘‘After that it all came to me in one big hit. I needed to do something. I never thought I’d be doing something with other people’s kids, but they make me happy every day.’’
The passion for running coaching began two years ago, starting with concern about his son’s weight, and helped by the knowledge of Raharaha’s experience.
‘‘I thought I could ring my old cellmate. This dude has been doing a whole heap of work around running, he can give me some dietary [information] and running exercises, and so every day he sent me a training regime.’’
Armed with that information, he then took son Niikcassinel’s Playstation away, telling him, ‘‘Now you’re going to run the block’’.
Soon enough sisters Vienna and Dalyn wanted to join in, then the trio completed their first running event in Hamilton.
After that, ‘‘everybody started coming’’.
He has 30 kids in the group now, and tears up for a second time talking about the positive effect they have had on him.
‘‘They pull me up. Prevents me from becoming what I used to [be],’’ he says.
In return, he’s earned their respect and affection. At one point Pitman asks the kids, what are the three things that keep you learning?
A sea of hands shoot up, answers following quickly.
Exercise, good food and sleep.
Pitman speaks repeatedly about the importance of education for the kids. No school, no running group. They start at 6am each weekday, with some kids banging on his door at 5.45am. Then it’s 5k runs, burpees, breakfast, then school.
He asks the kids what they do after school. ‘‘Training.’’
‘‘Not walking around with red or blue [colours] in their pockets, pulling gang signs. There’s enough
of that on this street already,’’ he says. Pitman says the kids’ behaviour has improved, and they’re no longer the ‘‘sweary kids’’ they once were.
He’s even been known to move the whole group each morning if one parent has trouble with petrol money, taking them to Hamilton one time so everyone could be included in that morning’s exercise.
Carrie Cole, who has a son and daughter in the Bots, says it has transformed her children. Her daughter was overweight, and being bullied.
‘‘She was in a dark place, it helped and pulled her out,’’ says Cole. ‘‘He doesn’t know it, but he’s amazing. What my kids have been part of, I haven’t seen anything like it.’’
It isn’t just the kids that have changed though. ‘‘Everything has changed a whole heap in me,’’ Pitman says. ‘‘I’m no longer an angry person.’’
As we shift out into the street, Pitman gives us a demonstration of putting the kids through their paces, starting with some star jumps.
Then it’s time to hit the pavement, the children barely seeming to notice the heat as Pitman’s words of encouragement ring in their ears.
‘‘They bring so much joy to my life, they help me so much, help me stay on the right track.’’
Pitman also feels pride that he’s part of a positive conversation about Huntly, a town that as recently as December 2019 was named New Zealand’s worst town.
It’s also partly why he agreed to speak to the Star-Times.
‘‘So I can push for more opportunities for kids in Huntly, an outdoor gym set for our kids. People that have kids that do nothing but walk the street with different colours on, their parents can tell them to go over there,’’ he says.
‘‘When a parent sends their child to me I’ll keep working with them. They’re part of something.’’
Pitman is also keen to share the credit with a host of other names, Raharaha, his ‘‘rocks’’ Cole, Jo Luke, Sandra Tipa, Sarah Davidson, his brother Viana Pitman, and sponsors who have stepped up like Built Smart director Philip Leather.
‘‘Without their help and guidance I don’t think I would have made it,’’ he says.
He also wants to thank the Huntly West Community Hub, the first group to help his Bots ‘‘before they had anything’’.
That’s the group he aims to give back to on March 13 at the ‘‘We Run the Night’’ event in Tauranga, where his Bots plan to take a leaf out of Raharaha’s book and complete the 10km event in gumboots.
They’ll be doing burpees along the way too, and Pitman is hoping he can make a bit of history.
‘‘Youngest kid to run 10k in gumboots doing burpees, [it might be] a Guinness Record.’’
Pitman hopes the group will expand in the future and take forward his mission to make positive change in the community.
‘‘I enjoy watching them succeed,’’ he says. ‘‘We just want the best for them.’’