Great start for Mount half marathon

Click the image above to view slideshow

A field of more than 2100 runners and walkers are pounding the pavements as part of today's Hawaiian Airlines Mount Maunganui Half Marathon.

The inaugural event sees competitors either run or walk the 21km, 10km and 5km distances around the Mount, with the course offering a mix of smooth hard packed dirt trail and sealed road surfaces.


Racing is currently underway in the Hawaiian Airlines Mount Maunganui Half Marathon. Photos: Chris Callinan.

Principal organiser Frank Clarke says with the massive amount of entries and the weather clearing up they couldn't have asked for a better launch for what they hope will become an iconic annual event.

'We've had a great start so far, it's quite windy so that has proved a bit challenging for the runners and the walkers, but they're all tough,” he says with a laugh.

'The 5km race is now finished, and the 10km race is more than half way through. The 21km are still out there doing it.”

The 21km race started from Simpson Reserve in Papamoa at about 8am, while the 10km and 5km races started from the Mount Main beach at 8.15am and 8.30am respectively. The Mount Main Beach is also the finish line for all three races.

The age of the runners and walkers competing today range from seven all the way up to 79, with the majority of competitors aged 30-50 years old. While 69 per cent of the field are female which Frank adds is part of a growing trend in half marathon events which was pleasing to see.

Frank says the Mount has chosen as the location for the half marathon as they wanted to put on a 'destination event” and have received a huge amount of support from both local businesses and the Tauranga City Council.

'About 78 per cent of competitors have come from outside of the Bay of Plenty and have or will be staying a night or two, ate in a restaurant, visited the cafes, so it's great for the community,” says Frank.

For more information about the Hawaiian Airlines Mount Maunganui Half Marathon visit: www.mountmaunganuihalfmarathon.co.nz


Tauranga's Karen Humpreys (left) and Auckland's Siobhan Jordan (right) racing towards the finish line in 5km event at today's Hawaiian Airlines Mount Maunganui Half Marathon. Photo: Chris Callinan.

You may also like....

0 comments

Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.