Police will have an extra presence at Ironmaori Half in Napier this weekend, but not for the usual reasons the constabulary bolsters its numbers at big sports events.
A team of at least six will be looking for prospective recruits from an event where a common theme among more than 2000 competitors and their supporters is a desire to make change and improve health and wellbeing not only of themselves but also those around them.
As part of the two-day project the new Auckland-based "pirihimana car," with a Maori motif rearrangement of the blue and yellow decal common to the rest of the fleet will make its first trip to Hawke's Bay.
Police have had a similar connection to Ironmaori event in the past and Hawke's Bay area iwi liaison co-ordinator Sgt Phil Rowden said it was an event where police expected to find people who were interested in policing as a career.
"But at the same time, we don't want to be like car salesmen, we don't want to be intrusive," he said. "They are here to do Ironmaori, not become police officers."