New IronMāori race director Donna Whitiwhiti (left) with ambassador Waiora Rogers. Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga is set to help continue the event's spectacular legacy in Te Matau-a-Māui. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
New IronMāori race director Donna Whitiwhiti (left) with ambassador Waiora Rogers. Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga is set to help continue the event's spectacular legacy in Te Matau-a-Māui. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
While new owners helm the waka this year, the themes of manaaki, tiaki and whanaungatanga will remain at the event’s core, with organisers saying they intend to build on the successful legacy without significant changes.
Mitchell Hageman reports.
New IronMāori race director Donna Whitiwhiti is no stranger to giving it her all on the triathlon field.
The Te Matau-a-Māui local has completed the event many times during its 15-year run and has even run the New York Marathon alongside fellow IronMāori ambassador Waiora Rogers.
These two passionate wāhine will help guide Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga’s team effort to bring the event to the shores of Ahuriri next month, retaining its kaupapa of promoting health, wellbeing, and longevity for mokopuna through to kaumātua.
“We’ve got a saying that we walk in the footsteps of our tipuna, and that’s exactly what we will be doing again this year,” Whitiwhiti told Hawke’s Bay Today.
She and her team are taking the reins from former CEO and now Hastings District Councillor Heather Skipworth, who came up with the idea of IronMāori while working at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga as a health coach.
“We just want to follow on from the foundation that Heather has set, but we are also looking at places where we can grow, and every year, we’ve looked at how we can improve things. We’re pretty much following the same template.
“IronMāori is an opportunity to share with Aotearoa, keeping in mind Ngāti Kahungunu will always be home.”
The current participation numbers are looking strong. About 1355 people are signed up for the quarter and half events, with another 83 gearing up for the Kaumatua event and 58 for the Tamariki event.
After a pōwhiri and wero, participants will cycle, swim, walk, and/or run various distances around Ahuriri Napier as part of teams or as individuals.
Traffic management plans are rock-solid, as are health and safety measures and contingency plans.
Whitiwhiti acknowledged that planning and executing an event of this scale was a big task, but an impressive lineage and a diverse team were very helpful as the big weekend approached.
“Some people in the team are quite new, and some, like me, have done it for years, so we are all working really well together.
“It is a challenge being new to the role, but having such good mentors in place and going through it myself makes me understand how things work.”
Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga chairperson Mike Paku said the event had gone from “strength to strength”.
“It has taken individuals, whānau, hapū and iwi along for the ride, even across Te Tai-o-Rehua (Tasman Sea), so we are happy to keep it here in its ūkaipō, Kahungunu.”
Swimmers prepare to go from turf to surf at the 2023 IronMāori triathlon event. Photo / Connull Lang
Rogers, who has been involved since the event’s inception, said it had always been about whanaungatanga (building relationships).
“Coming together to work towards that goal of healthy mind and healthy body, you just put one foot in front of the other, then the next week you walk a little farther, then the next month you start thinking about the kai that you fuel your body with and on it goes.
“[IronMāori] has been wonderful for our people on all levels. We’re not going there for a concert or something like that, but we’re doing it for our own wellbeing.”
Whitiwhiti said a word she liked to use to promote the event’s ethos was ngāwari (kind, flexible, easy-going). She said it gave people opportunities to prove they could do something in a supportive and welcoming environment with other like-minded people.
“I don’t want to say the events themselves are easy because you have to train, but the kaupapa is ngāwari, where you can come in and be relaxed and warmly welcomed.
“It’s not just about the competitors; it’s also about the whānau and friends who share the kaupapa.”
ACC has supported IronMāori for the past six years. Andy Milne, deputy chief executive for strategy, engagement, and prevention, said it was a natural fit, with the government agency focused on ensuring Māori were aware of the support they’re entitled to following an injury.
“We believe in the kaupapa of IronMāori, and we want to support whānau to live well.”
Rogers said anyone considering applying for the race shouldn’t be afraid to give it a go and be comforted in the fact they would be well supported.
“Believe in achieving, take that step, and commit to doing it.”
The details:
IronMāori Tamariki and Rangatahi: Friday, November 1
