The Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Marathon and

Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

is an annual

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

event held in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The event is held in October or early November of each year, which is during the spring in New Zealand. The main feature of the event is the crossing of the

Auckland Harbour Bridge The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and th ...

, which involves a climb of 33 metres to the highest point.

History

The first Auckland Marathon was held in June 1936, using an Auckland waterfront course. The race did not become an annual event until 1949, or the 1960s, or until 1992 if the Great Northern Marathon (Takanini) events are not regarded as the Auckland Marathon editions of 1989 to 1991, and it was not until October 1992 that the Harbour Bridge crossing was first used, becoming the first sports event to cross the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Harbour Bridge crossing was the brainchild of Rendell McIntosh, a 1974 British Commonwealth Games 400 metres hurdles competitor. Together with Paul Ryken, as Race Director, they planned and implemented the first event on the 25 October 1992. The initial bridge crossing event attracted over 3,000 entrants, had 500 accredited media and a budget of $450,000. In September 2006, the Auckland marathon course was officially measured by approved measurer Bob Braid. This means an athlete's time over the 2006 marathon course can be recognised to qualify for international events such as the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

. The 2020 edition of the race, held on , was notable for being one of the only large marathons in the world that was held during a time when many other countries were suffering through the second wave of the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, as the effective coronavirus management protocols in New Zealand allowed thousands of runners to compete in the race.

Course

The course begins in the seaside suburb of Devonport on the North Shore and travels through

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

and Northcote before crossing the Harbour Bridge and heading towards the finish line at

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

. While the half marathon runners complete their race at Victoria Park, those competing in the full marathon continue eastward through Viaduct Harbour and along Tamaki Drive to the turn-around point at Saint Heliers Bay. The marathon then returns along Tamaki Drive and back to Victoria Park.

Winners

Key: Course record (in bold)

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

Auckland Marathon Official Site
Marathons in New Zealand Sport in Auckland Spring (season) events in New Zealand Events in Auckland Waitematā Harbour