Winona Lee

Running is one of my favourite things to do, I love how rewarding it can be, as well as the awesome community it brings with it. I completed my first half marathon in 2023  and am a regular at the local Owairaka parkrun. Owairaka athletics has been a part of my life since I can remember. I have been a member of the club since I was 5 years old, and as of 2024, am 21. I have seen the club grow tremendously over the last decade and a half, from having 5 kids on club nights in 2009, to hundreds of them in Owai t-shirts running around this past summer season.

After spending many years taking part in club nights and competing in cross country seasons, I decided to take up coaching. For the last 3 seasons, I have coached our littlest athletes, the Halberg squad. These guys are the under 7s you see in the middle of the grass infield every Wednesday, and I am the person you see trying to wrangle them :) Coaching the Halberg squad has been a really fun and rewarding experience, so I knew I definitely wanted to take up a bigger behind the scenes role at the club. So I joined the committee and have really enjoyed helping plan events and have learnt a lot about how the club is managed and operated.