For the Fenners sport represents more than competition.
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Rod and Necia Fenner, along with their children Damon, Warwick and Sian, have taken supporting family sports to a whole new level, with a little bit of friendly contention mixed in.
Rod doesn’t consider the family to be particularly sporty, however between them they have ran marathons in New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Vietnam, Bhutan and most recently Berlin in September.
Rod has the Fenner record for completing a marathon – running the Launceston Marathon in 1985 in two hours and 47 minutes.
Since then, his children have tried to dethrone him at every opportunity, while seeing and experiencing the world in the process.
Rod said it’s only a matter of time before one of them takes the crown.
“They’ve been pegging away at my time, but they haven’t done it yet,” Rod said.
“I’m in two minds, I’d love them to do it, but at the same time I'll have my time in the sun while I can.”
I've been so keen to tell the story because, it was such a great moment in my life. The marathon had a wonderful atmosphere, lovely weather, people from all over the world, absolutely superb. Marathon running is something that if you persevere, you can do. Us Fenners are stickers, we stuck. They all picked up those habits from their father.
- Rod Fenner
These days Rod no longer runs marathons, but his children and their families are following in his steps.
This year the Fenners met in Berlin to support Damon and his wife Petra along with Warwick and Sian Fenner in the marathon.
“I’ve been so keen to tell the story, because it was such a great moment in my life,” Rod said.
“It was too crowded to give them water and follow them down the track.
“The marathon had a wonderful atmosphere, lovely weather, people from all over the world, absolutely superb.”
Though none of the Fenners broke any records, Rod said participating in the renowned run exemplified what the Fenner family spirit was about.
“Marathon running is something that if you persevere, you can do,” he said.
“Us Fenners are stickers, we stuck.
“They all picked up those habits from their father.”
Whether in Berlin or around the world, Rod’s children have stuck to sporting spirit wherever they went.
Damon strives to dethrone his father’s record, participating in marathons across the world.
He will attempt the Tokyo marathon in March, thus completing the group that is considered the “grand slam” of marathons [Berlin, New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Tokyo].
“I still feel a bit under pressure, Damon is close to knocking it off so he'll give it a shake in Tokyo,” Rod said.
Damon’s marathon personal best is two hours and 53 minutes, and Rod believes it’s only a matter of time before his time will be the family record.
Damon’s wife Petra attempted her first marathon in Berlin.
“She completed it, she was very happy,” Rod said.
Rod’s other son Warwick has taken a charitable approach to his sporting endeavours.
Warwick campaigned for the children’s rights charity Save the Children, raising $1800 during his Berlin Marathon attempt.
Sian Fenner, also known as “the pocket rocket”, lives in Singapore undertaking runs in Bhutan and Vietnam.
“Sian’s basically a triathlete,” Rod said.
“She is competing in the world championships in Nice this coming year and we’re [Rod and Necia] going to go over an see that.”
Rod, however, remains adamant that his family is not athletic.
“They’re not sporting stars,” he said.
“They’re plodders who achieve because they try very hard.”
During their time in Germany the Fenners were able to reconnect with someone who, despite not being directly related, was considered a member of the family.
“It was 16 years ago, we had a German exchange student, Matthius Oser, who lived with us for 12 months,” Rod said.
“He was a remarkable kid and is a remarkable adult.”
After spending time with the family, Matthius fell in love with Australian rules football.
“When he was here [Launceston], he didn’t play soccer, he played Australian rules,” Rod said.
“He went along to play for South Launceston, because Warwick played for the seniors there.”
But Matthius’ love for footy didn’t end in Launceston.
He now plays for the Hamburg Dockers, a team from the Australian Football League of Germany.
The Fenner’s surprised Matthius in Dresden for the national championships between the Dockers and the Berlin Crocodiles.
“We didn’t tell him that we we’re going to be at the game,” Rod said.
“We weren’t worried about putting Matthius off his game, that boy strutted.
“He took his game to a whole new level.”
Rod said his own accomplishments in sports were not his favourites.
It was being proud of what his children had achieved, whether they be direct offspring, in-law or from the other side of the world.
“That’s the highlight of my sporting career, to see it and go that was then, this is now,” he said.
“It [sports] transcends borders, it’s a lovely moment.”