Nathan Casey – ‘Football Convener’ at Avalon Public School – has been a long time supporter of the Pub2Pub. In fact, he remembers running in it as a youngster himself “… when it still started at the Pub, or ‘The Jet Club’ as I knew it”. (Now that is going back Nathan!)

Until this year, Nathan had the same role at Narrabeen Lakes P.S., moving to Avalon to start the new school year this January. He always made sure his old school had a Team entered in the Pub2Pub and he’s now kept the tradition going.

“As did Narrabeen Lakes, Avalon Public has a great community spirit”, said Nathan. “And here at the tip of the northern beaches, there’s even more of a tendency to get outdoors and enjoy this amazing part of the world. Most of the kids in my class walk to school and in their own time, they all surf or skate. So it’s not difficult convincing them to take part in something like the Pub2Pub.”

There’s also a parent-led running group that meets and runs once a week on a Wednesday morning, so Nathan was able to tap into that enthusiasm and have the parents encourage their kids to join the Team.

“As a newcomer to Avalon, the Pub2Pub is proving a great way for me to really get to know the students and their parents. I’ll be running with many of my class over the 3km on the day. And of course, after the race, the Finish Festival at Newport is such a great way to mix and mingle with both kids and parents away from the school environment, with everyone still pumped from the run“, says Nathan.

Asked if this year’s 25% cashback offer provided extra incentive for the school, Nathan said that while it wasn’t the prime motivation, it was a great little sweetener. “I did use it as a selling point when I announced at assembly that we’d be entering a team… it’s great for the students to know that over and above the fun of running with their mates, they’re also earning money for their school. We’re looking to use the cashback to purchase sports equipment, but also to add a teaching resource focused on leading a healthy lifestyle – a specialist in teaching children about nutrition, exercise, school-life balance, etc. That would be a big win for the school.”

Nathan said that the School Captain had signed up to join the Team this week and he hopes that may lead to other students getting on board and growing the Team. Every school needs a a Champion like Nathan to push the benefits of spending less time on devices and more outdoors. Good luck to Avalon Public on Sunday week!