Round the Bridges 70th anniversary

A happy Hawk reflects on his association with Round the Bridges and its 70th anniversary

Graham Dudfield from the Hamilton Hawks stumbled across Round the Bridges as a child when he was in town with his father back in the 1960s.

He didn’t know back then how involved he would in the future with the Hamilton Hawks’ running club or the popular event.

Over the decades, he has competed 12 times, and won the event in 1992 at 39 years old.

Working behind the scenes over 10 years as volunteer race director, he led the charge on expanding the race to the masses, significantly raising the popularity of the local event that is seen today.

Graham is thrilled at the record participation numbers in this year’s 70th anniversary event, having seen the event evolve from a national road race that showcased NZ's top athletes including; Arthur Lydiard, Peter Snell, John Walker, Barry Magee, Dick Quax and Lorraine Moller, to the popular fun-run that thousands of local community members enjoy today.

“When I won in 1992 there were 150 competitors, this year we’ve hit a record number of 6,024 of the 6,800 tickets allocated. There’s still a couple of days to go so it could be a sell-out yet. It’s really exciting to see the event grow in popularity and reach iconic status,” Graham says.

Excited to be celebrating a milestone in an event that the Hamilton Hawks (formerly known as Hamilton Harrier Club) began back in 1945, Graham says the reason the event continues to thrive is because people are able to run in the heart of Hamilton, the heart of the Waikato region.

“A lot of the older running events have fallen by the wayside over the years but Round the Bridges has continued on. It truly has gone from strength to strength and is now back to its former standing as one of the premier running events in the country.

“People come back year after year because of its iconic status which has been achieved over time.
The atmosphere in the centre of town keeps them coming back,” Graham says.

Online entries have now closed. To enter you can still enter in person at registration, which takes place Saturday 15 (2.00pm - 6.00pm) and Sunday 16 November (from 7.30am). As entries are filling fast, we would recommend anyone wanting to take part to head to registration on Saturday as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

ENDS

© Scoop Media