Inspired by his father Shane enters 60th anniversary race

Published 13 December 2023

At the age of 53 Shane Burns hopes to finally follow in the footsteps of his father as a Rotorua Marathon finisher when he tackles a ‘lap of the lake’ for the 60th anniversary edition of the historic event on Saturday 4 May.

The Whangarei-based Real Estate agent has long been inspired by his father, John, a former sub 2:40 marathoner, who completed the 1983 Rotorua Marathon towards the end of a mega three-week 1250km sponsored run around New Zealand.

With the years ticking by, Shane, a dad of four, saw next year’s race as the ideal opportunity to lace up his training shoes and finally commit to the iconic marathon.

“Dad’s getting older, and I want him to be around to appreciate it,” explains Shane. “Also, at 53 I have more good running years behind me than ahead, so I don’t want to miss the opportunity and my mate Mark Jewkes is also lining up having just completed the Auckland Marathon – his first - so I can’t let him leave me behind either. Being the marathon’s 60th year is a happy bonus.”

Shane Burns’ father, John, running in the 1970s.

Growing up as part of a Salvation Army family, Shane’s dad was always philanthropically minded and as a keen long-distance runner throughout the 1970s and 1980s he embarked on several ultra marathons for charity. One such run involved racing from the East Cape to Gisborne against a horse and vintage truck – in which he finished second – and his last was that epic 1250km effort which included the Rotorua Marathon on his way to completing the Hamilton-Palmerston North-Gisborne-Hamilton loop.

Shane has set himself a goal of trying to crack four hours and he has been pleased with how his training is progressing for the big day.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with my progress so far, pain and injury free,” he says. “I ran 18km last Saturday and could have kept going so was happy with that. Finding enough time and energy for all that’s required between now and May is not going to be easy though.”

His wife, Sally, is registered to walk the half marathon and his 86-year-old father will be driving from Tauranga to watch his son in action on the day.

“None of his four kids have taken up running and I’d like to finally put up some competition or at least make him proud that one of us has attempted to run a marathon,” adds Shane.