If there is one thing that kept Grant Koedyk running as a teacher for most of his life, it is running.

The King’s High School Maths teacher is retiring after 36 years, but took his final jog with the school’s running club before classes began on Tuesday. Mr Koedyk said he was looking forward to a change in his life, but would still be joining the boys for a run when he could.

He had loved running since he could walk and had been hired as a Physical Education teacher, but as he grew older could no longer perform on the gymnastics equipment.
He always wanted to be a teacher that led by example and decided to shift to another subject. Across the years he had taught a variety of subjects, but had settled on Mathematics.

Twice a week he would meet pupils before school to run, which he always looked forward to.
The group was noncompetitive and obligation-free. Any pupil who showed up with a desire to run could. It was a great way to build a relationship with pupils across all year levels, he said. The exercise had been a great benefit to his mental health over the years and always left him feeling good.

‘‘Running’s just great". ‘‘You can think about everything or nothing.’’

He would miss the pupils and staff, but did not think he would miss the work as now he could spend more time with his family.

Also as a retiree he was getting paid to run now, which meant he had accomplished his dream of becoming a professional athlete, he said. 

Reprinted with permission from Otago Daily Times