Friends put in marathon effort to support teen

By Evie Sinclair

Four friends running a marathon to help her son take part in sports again is "friendship in its most true and pure form", Madeleine Berry says.

Her son Jake, a 17-year-old Wānaka boy, suffered a spinal seizure late last year which left him paralysed.

Mrs Berry described Jake as "a very outdoorsy kid, who is keen to get back into the community".

A team of runners — all old friends — committed to running in this month’s Queenstown Marathon to help Jake stay connected to both the outdoors and the community through skiing.

Celebrating finishing the Queenstown Marathon on November 15 are (from left) dairy farmer Simon Johnson, of South Canterbury, factory owner Glen Reid, of Hastings, rural reporter Shawn McAvinue, of Dunedin, sheep and beef farmer Glen Mitchell, of Lumsden and (centre) Jake Berry, 17, of Wānaka. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

"We were just totally humbled by them wanting to do that, it was challenging conditions, it hailed at one point and they just absolutely went for it," Mrs Berry said.

The team of runners all finished the November 15 marathon, they consisted of four "middle-aged men": Shawn McAvinue, Glen Reid, Glen Mitchell and Simon Johnson.

They met at the University of Otago in the 1990s and were now living across the country but the group reunited to support their friend’s son and his recovery.

Jake Berry, 17, who was paralysed last year, still hits the slopes in adaptive ski gear.

For Mr McAvinue, a reporter at Allied Media, his main goal was to finish the race in under four hours.

"When it started to hurt, just thinking about Jake being able to carry on with the sport he loves was a big motivation to get across the finish line," he said

"The Queenstown Marathon was close to where Jake lives so he could attend and support.

"For many of the group this was their first marathon, we wanted to do a beautiful one."

The furthest he had ever run before the 42.2km marathon was 26km, Mr McAvinue said.

With words of encouragement written by his children "all over his arms", he finished 25 seconds under his four-hour marathon goal.

Money raised by the group will go towards funding future adaptive sports equipment and events for Jake.

A Givealittle page set up for Jake said, "being in a wheelchair hasn't stopped the Wānaka teen from continuing to enjoy sports, hitting the tracks and slopes on adaptive ski gear".

The initial Givealittle goal of $6,500 has already been surpassed, it was due to close on Saturday.