CROSS COUNTRY - Runners hit road after field turns into a bog

Drastic recent weather has forced Parua Bay School's runners, preparing for the Whangarei Cross-Country Championships at the beginning of September, to train on the area's roads.
With the school's fields literally under water, the primary and intermediate school's students have been donning high-visibility jackets and running on the side of the road under the watchful eye of teachers.
"We don't have any choice really because our field's an absolute bog," teacher Gail Green said.
"But running on the roads is also a part of the Road Sense Initiative in Northland, which is to make our children safe when they're anywhere near traffic."
The kids use high-visibility jackets to make sure they'll be seen on the road, which has been a regular focus of leaving the school grounds since the students came up with the idea when they first became involved in the initiative two years ago. The school's roll is about 160 and all of them participate in their cross-country championships, with the top finishers in each age group going on to the Whangarei event at Barge Park. The sport is a big deal for the school and they have taken on a training schedule designed by fitness guru and parent at the school, Paul Coffon, that sees them out pounding the asphalt four days a week. The programme is aimed at helping the kids peak at the right time for the cross-country championships.