Wellington Marathon Turns 30

Wellington Marathon Turns 30

Wellington three decades ago was a different city to the one you see now. The wharves were windblown commuter short cuts rather than weekend hangouts, the Museum Hotel still sat on the end of Taranaki Street, Te Papa was just a glint in the eye of a few politicians and Westpac Stadium was a wasteland with a few rail tracks winding through it. But one thing that remains 30 years later is the Armstrong Motor Group Wellington Marathon. Although like the City itself, this too is bigger and better than ever.

Almost 4500 runners from 16 countries will line up this weekend for the 30th Armstrong Motor Group Wellington Marathon. Although the race they’ll take on this Sunday is almost unrecognisable from its modest beginnings.

Established by the Wellington Marathon Clinic in 1986, what was then called the Harbour Capital Half Marathon was a popular local event for almost 20 years. But since 2003, when they shifted the race base to Westpac Stadium and established a safer and more scenic waterfront course, entries have grown some 400 percent to become central New Zealand’s premier marathon event.

“The success of the Armstrong Motor group Wellington Marathon,” says race director Sally Anderson, “has been providing something for everyone.”

“The Stadium is a great venue and the course is incredibly scenic and also flat and fast. But I think the big thing is that we cater for runners and walkers of all age and ability.”

“People come from different fitness backgrounds and have different goals. Not everyone has the time or inclination to train for Armstrong Motor Group Full Marathon, but most people can achieve the Shoe Clinic Half Marathon, or the Mizuno 10K, or Bluebridge 5K, and the Classic Hits Kids’ Magic Mile makes it a family occasion.”

With participants ranging from four to 84, the age spectrum is certainly covered.

Eighty four year old Newtown resident, Michael Browne is the oldest and has entered the 10K. New Plymouth’s Brian O’Shea is the oldest Half Marathoner at age 79. Seventy four year old Johnsonville runner, Ashley Smith, is the oldest in the feature 42.2k Full Marathon.

The youngest full marathoner is 17 year old Gina Tynan from Hamilton, while other keen kids include 13 year olds Quintin Johnson (LH), Finn Durrant (Napier), Harry Sargisson and Andrew Harris (both Palm North) taking on the Half Marathon distance.

Participants come from far and wide too. With 1000 participants and their supporters coming from outside greater Wellington, the event brings close to 3000 people into the region and estimates economic impact around $1million.

Auckland has the biggest visitor representation with more than 220 entrants, followed by almost 150 Cantabrians. Countries represented include Australia, USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, South Africa, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, Qatar, Dubai and Spain.

Spain could well provide a winner too, in Madrid’s Juan Garrote des Marcos. Having twice run 2hrs 34min, the 42 year old engineer is among the fastest starters for the Full Marathon.

Another runner with lofty goals is Napier’s Warren Bernard. The 32 year old is including the Armstrong Motor Group Wellington Marathon in his bid to finish 20 marathons in 20 months raising money for South African orphanage LIV Village. The Armstrong Motor Group Wellington Marathon is the 19th of his 20.

The keenest participant, however, must be Kilbirnie’s Des Young. The 58 year old has been a fixture on the local running scene for more than 30 years and is the only person to have run in every Wellington Marathon event since the first in 1986.

Another standout is Lower Hutt’s Mike Stewart, who at age 63 is tackling his 530th Full Marathon.

For local Wellington Harrier Club member Paul Hewitson, however, the 42.2k Full Marathon is just part of his training. On Sunday Hewitson will run to and from the start line for a total training day of 54k as part of his preparation for a 250k ultra-marathon in Ecuador starting on July 26.

Another goal many entrants choose is to participate in support of the New Zealand Heart Foundation, which is the official charity of the Armstrong Motor Group Wellington Marathon event. Their Heart Racer programme provides a platform for participants to raise money via their run, with this year’s race expected to raise more than $10,000 for the Heart Foundation.

Entries for the 2015 Armstrong Motor Group Wellington Marathon event are still open. Entry forms are available at Shoe Clinic stores nationwide, or visit: www.wellingtonmarathon.co.nz.

ENDS

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