‘‘It keeps us together as a team,'' captain Megan Haggerty, of the Cromwell SBS branch, said of her team's bright, Hawaiianthemed get-up.
‘‘We'll never lose anybody on the race course and it helps provide that festival atmosphere on the day, because it's a celebration of what everyone has achieved in terms of fundraising,'' Mrs Haggerty said.
In the build-up to the event, the Cromwell branch has run a raffle and a garage sale - with goods donated by the community and banking staff - to raise funds for the event. The response had been overwhelming, Mrs Haggerty said.
‘‘We've been blown away with the community support.''
The bank's Queenstown-based team members have also been running various raffles and activities in their branch to contribute to the fundraising tally. Mrs Haggerty said she had had ‘‘absolutely no trouble at all'' pulling together her team of about 20 registered walkers made up of staff from the Cromwell and Queenstown branches of SBS and ‘‘associated friends''.
‘‘If you don't have enthusiastic people, it's like dragging a dead horse around the track.''
Fortunately, Mrs Haggerty will not have to worry about any lack of enthusiasm, with her team members buzzing about the event and getting involved in plenty of ‘‘fun along the way'' through their fundraising efforts.
‘‘It's just so exciting. We can't wait. Its all about, for us, being part of the community and that's what were honing home.
‘‘There are just so many people in this community who have been affected by cancer in one way or another, so it's a good way for the community to come together.''
