A team of Black Hill pupils wanted a little extra motivation to get their school community moving in Run For A Cause. They went straight to the top for expert advice from race director and world championship marathon runner Julian Spence.
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Black Hill news personality 'Roaming Maggie' and camera-girl Emmerson were on the case in a filmed segment for the school's Friday afternoon bulletin, The Blueprint.
They said Spence offered goods tips for how people could still get involved running or walking or strolling with their pets. Even though it might be too late to be ready for a half-marathon, there were still good challenges for everyone in the 10 and five-kilometre events, or the 1km children's dash.
Maggie often gets tips from Spence at The Running Company, where she buys her shoes, but said going in for an interview for her segment and talking to him about his running was a good news challenge.
The grade six pupil has built a school following as 'Roaming Maggie', known for her on-the-spot interviews in coverage of school events, like inter-school sport or zoo excursions.
Maggie hoped this episode would offer some motivation to get involved in the community run, which this year supports early childhood development programs.
This helps many people and is a very important cause. We thought we have a great team at Black Hill. The school actually has a lot of good runners.
- Maggie, Black Hill grade six pupil and news personality
"This helps many people and is a very important cause. We thought we have a great team at Black Hill. The school actually has a lot of good runners," Maggie said.
"(Julian) in the video told everyone to sign up because it was important to Ballarat and to have a fun run in Ballarat."
Black Hill has been distributing official Run For A Cause training programs this term and trying to rally support for the schools team challenge.
Teachers said a lot of families tended to enter separately anyway, which did not matter - they just hoped to see lots of Black Hill families out on course.
Maggie and Emmerson, who does most of her running for basketball, said a few parents might run the half-marathon while a lot of their classmates were prepared to test their run in the distance events or get out there and walk with their parents and pets.
The Blueprint followers will have to stay tuned to see if 'Roaming Maggie' pops up on race day.
Meanwhile, auditions are underway for the school's news team next year. Pupils film, write scripts, do interviews and edit new packages for the weekly show.
Larrikin Lewis is also a popular presenter, known for his dodgy jokes in a bid to get everyone smiling before the weekend.
Run For A Cause action starts with the half-marathon from 8am on Sunday. All courses work through Victoria Park and pass along Lake Wendouree. Prams and pets are allowed in the 5km family walk, at 9am.
