Auckland Marathon - Race Reviews

I know that coming from the North American prairies, when a course description uses the term 'rolling' that means hilly to us. The first half, including the bridge crossing, certainly fit the bill. The out-and-back second half has its own challenges, but was very flat by comparison. The finish line area gets a little busy with the staged starts for all events meaning that there is significant crossover of the three different distances, but it was organized well so that it did not present an issue. The only real problem we had was with our 4 hour pace bunny. The announcements just before the race suggested runners try to achieve negative splits, especially in light of the first half being more difficult. By the 10k mark, we asked the bunny about his apparent fast start and he indicated he was aiming for a 1:51 first half! We let him go and ran our own pace to get the time we had trained for. We are from Canada and made a vacation of it, spending 2 weeks in NZ in total. Wonderful country, great city and a nice destination marathon.

This is a great mid-size race. The first half has a few rollers, but once you get across the Harbour Bridge, the course is primarily flat, with only a very slight incline in the final mile. Organization-wise, it was superb. The ferry ride to Devonshire was easy (especially since we stayed at the hotel just across the street from the ferry building), there were plenty of porta potties for the marathoners, and the start was the most uncrowded of any of my 10 marathons. The views are spectacular! There wasn't much at the expo, so be prepared and bring your own nutrition instead of relying on purchasing it at the expo. We came from the west coast of the US and had no problems with jet lag. Arrived on Friday for the Sunday race and stayed on west coast time, which helped when we had a 3:30am wake up (7:30 pacific time) for the ferry Sunday morning! If you love mid size races and love to travel, this is a must-do.

PROS: Cool to take the ferry to the Devonshire start, great course. Wonderful sunrise, scenery. Great crowd support. CONS: Twisty and turny towards the end. Hard to get to from the US

This is a very nice marathon. The course starts on the north side of the water and the first ~10 miles are nice but certainly non-spectacular. After crossing over the bridge and taking in the views, the race enters Auckland proper and has beautiful sections along the water. There are very few spectators and those present aren't particularly vibrant cheerers, but the scenery is lovely, the course mostly flat and not too crowded. The organization was good and the race went off flawlessly, but it is quite a bare bones marathon - not too many water stations, none of the frills you'll find with the best run races (e.g. bands playing, lots of signs, etc.). I won't run it again but was happy I did.

This is a great marathon to do if you are looking for a vacation destination. The course is mostly flat (a few small hills during the first half), and very scenic. Much of the route runs along the water. You also get to run across the Harbour Bridge. Course support is limited, but very enthusiastic and friendly. The "expo" packet pick up is also on the small side, but I didn't go to New Zealand for the expo. I went for the scenic run, and a great vacation after. Be sure to allow some time to get over your jetlag. I suffered for it.

At the start of the course, slow runners (those finishing in more than 3 and a half hours) and walkers need to be better segregated. I finished in 3:12 and spent the first 3K avoiding people who should have clearly started in the rear. One way to correct this is to note that the half-marathon typically draws slower runners in general. Realistically, they should start 30 minutes after the full marathon, and I think the issue would be corrected. Water points do need to be more frequent in the second half of the marathon. There may have been five on the second half of the race, but even with the cool weather, another one or two could have been beneficial. I absolutely enjoyed the race, and at the time it was a PR for me. The hills aren't really as bad as they are made out to be. Also, the packet pick up and expo were much smaller than expected. Maybe some more corporate sponsorship could help the event. Overall, it was a good race, and if I am back in the area, I would definitely do it again.

Pack collection was easily accessed with a short walk from ferries and there were not any lines when we reached the collection point. Staff were very helpful and answered all questions. The t-shirt was fantastic - many jealous friends when i arrived home. The race started in Devonport which in itself is a beautiful little town to start a marathon. The start was well organized with ample toilets and a toilet for elite starters - very impressive. The initial 14 km of the race was quite hilly but still manageable. Drinks tables were well staffed and accessible. The run through Auckland city was nice and very scenic. Overall i enjoyed the run and was pleased to have traveled from Australia to run it. Thanks to the organizers

First half is definitely hilly - no question. I knew that from before, but it should be on the site. They should do what Boston does and show a side map with elevation by distance. To address the distance marker comments, they were every KM EXCEPT for over the Harbour Bridge. Unfortunately, the 15 KM-point occurs on the bridge. I agree that the water stops should be more frequent. As the marathon entered the second half, the stops were also about a KM later than advertised. However, my only real gripe is the start. Walkers were positioned near the front of the crowd, ignoring the barrier behind which they were supposed to start. Many slow runners ignored the "start here if you are running xx time" signs and also started themselves near the front. I placed myself according to the appropriate sign and then spent the first half-KM dodging slow runners and walkers. After a while, my patience was gone and I decided any walkers that selfish deserved to be pushed past with force. Perhaps walkers should start at a different time to runners like at other events?

Race was really crowded at the start with marathon and half marathon starting together. Was much hillier than described on the race website, which is as follows: "The first 5KM is undulating (not too steep), then flat to 13KM. The Auckland Harbour Bridge is a very sharp climb of approximately 1KM with the balance of the course being flat." After completing the first 5K at my target pace, the course did flatten out slightly. Great I thought, it is supposed to stay flat now until the bridge and then just one more steep hill and it's flat all the way home. This description is just not true. The hills continue right up to the bridge (which is actually not as bad as a lot of the preceding hills). It was also an extremely windy day, therefore dehydration can be a problem, and they only have drink stops every 5Ks, sometimes 6. This is really not good enough for a race of this distance. Kilometer markers were scarce, and we didn't see any from 11KM to 19KM (not great if you are trying to pace yourself). All in all I found this marathon to be disappointing. I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Positives: Great course, a bit more hilly than expected - especially in the first half. Harbour Bridge was well worth going over though! Good crowds, even in the suburbs, through Devonport and at the finish. The organization of the race pack was top-notch and the goody bag contents were fantastic! We were still eating stuff from it two weeks later into our trip! Good weather, although in Auckland that can't be guaranteed. Negatives: Mix up at the start whilst still in the porta-loo! Could laugh afterwards though.... Not much segregation at the halfway point between 1/2 and full marathon - had to dash across the flow at the last minute. It was a bit lonely on the final there and the back leg, as most people were only doing the half. All in all, if you are in the City of Sails for whatever reason, it would be rude not to do it; just because the kiwis give every finisher proper respect.

I ran this race as part of a holiday in New Zealand, and my marathon experience was the highlight of this terrific adventure. I showed up at packet pick-up with nary a clue of where to go or what to do other than 'run.' Without the fantastic organization of events, I certainly would not have made it to the start line much less met my goal of breaking 4 hours. The cages for taking runners' clothes and accessories from the start line to the finish? What a great idea! Ferry ticket sales at the same place as packet pick-up? Too easy! One help would be to post mile markers along with the kilometer markers. A typical American, I completely forgot about racing in km and am used to seeing miles posted with km during races. On race day, the start-time issue did bother some folks, but those of us who are proud just to finish didn't seem to mind. The one problem? Certainly the potty situation, as written below. Fans and on-lookers were extraordinarily pleasant and supportive.

The day started at 4am, which is not a time that a day should ever be allowed to start. It's more the sort of time that you associate with the end of a good evening. I got to the ferry terminal at around 5am. That was surreal, as there were lots of people still enjoying their night out. I was amused by the two drunken chaps looking on in disbelief before exclaiming, 'Oh my God! What are you people thinking?!' I could only turn to my neighbour and point out that our observer had a point. We arrived in Devonport at 5:30am and I realised that the first order of business was to locate some toilets. There was an endless row of portaloos and queues of unbelievable length behind each one. There were something like 7000 people there, with both the half and full marathons starting at the same place and time and it seemed like everyone needed to go. I picked a line and then waited for 45 minutes for my turn.... with ever more urgent clenching than I can describe in good taste! I wandered to the start line with a couple of minutes to spare before the 6:30am start time to find utter confusion. The race had started, accidentally, six minutes early. Off I set. At this point, I can admit that my training over the last 6 weeks had been poor. No 30km run since June. A combination of long hours at work and an inability to commit to early morning runs until 2 weeks out did have me coming in with doubts. However, I am nothing if not stubborn, so figured that a controlled early pace would see me through. I decided that 5:30/km for the first 30km would be a realistic target, but knew I'd lose at least a minute per km for the final parts of the course. I had been warned about the first quarter of the course containing large hills, but I didn't find them to be that bad. Had I been trying to stick to the 4:40 that I target for halves, I would probably have been bitching about them! There was only one hill during the course that made me puff a bit, around 11.5km. At 10km, my time was 54:40 and I felt comfortable. The bridge was a little steeper than I expected, but nothing to get upset about. At 15km, my time was 1:24:05. Still within the 5:30/km target pace, albeit a little off, and I still felt comfortable At 20km, my time was 1:50:40. I'm normally at 20kms about 15 minutes sooner when doing half marathons. When I reached 25km, my time was 2:20:49 and for the first time I was starting to feel uncomfortable. It was the first split in which I missed my target, being a 6:00/km section. I thought Id experience a slow down around this time, but had hoped I could fend it off for a bit longer. I was becoming aware of how hot it was and mentally praised myself for getting a white running top and cap, instead of wearing my customary dark colours. At 30km, my time was 2:52:10. My pace was now falling below 6:00/km. The first half of the course took us from the North Shore to the Viaduct. The second half of the course was an out and back to St Hellier's. I was hanging on for the mental satisfaction of getting past the turnpoint, which I knew would be somewhere around 31.5km. I know it's an artificial milestone, but I wanted to know that I was at least homeward bound. The 6km section of the course heading into the turnaround point is very windy it was tough to turn each bend and see that I was going to have to turn at least one more bend before the turnaround! Finally, I reached the turnaround at St Helliers and began the homeward leg. At the drink station around 33km, I stopped to take 2 cups of water and walked with them until they were consumed - well one consumed and the other poured over me. I normally run through the waterstops, taking sips from a cup as best as I can, but I really needed to drink something cool properly. At the 35km mark, my time was 3:26:10. My pace was now dropping towards 7.00/km. At 36km, I began to feel quite sick. I've experienced feelings of nausea before whilst running 30kms, but this time I really thought I was going to vomit. I stopped running and walked whilst I prepared to 'do the business' hoping that would allow me to carry on. The feeling subsided after a couple of minutes, so I set off. I repeated the water station approach at the next water stop; I knew I was shedding minutes, but I was feeling really dehydrated. I did have some made-up replace fluid in a fuel belt, but by that time didn't want anything that tasted sweet or sticky. It's a lesson learnt for next time that I need to put some of each fluid in the fuel belt. At 40km, I felt really slow. My time was now 4:07:15 and with the disjointed progress the pace for the preceding 5kms had fallen to below 8:00/km. It woke me up a bit and I knew I was close, so I picked it up a little bit. My feet were killing me and my right IT band was feeling sore. I felt confident that I was not going to hit the wall now, but I was in pain! I tried to reach a normal pace, but just couldn't get the legs to respond. I got to 7:00/km, but the legs wouldn't go any faster. However, I figured that it would be enough to get me in around 4:20-ish, which would be just fine. At 41km, I encountered my wife. I took off my fuel belt and cap for her to take from me. She ran with me for half a km. I think she thought I needed that in order to get me to the finish, but there was no way I was going to fail to finish now. When I came to Victoria Park and could see the line was not, as I was beginning to fear, going to require a circuit of the park, I remember saying 'oh thank you' out loud! I went down the final straight. People were crowded round the barriers, clapping and cheering, but I wasn't really aware of it at the time. I had wanted to savour the finish and enjoy crossing the line, but in the moment itself that was all forgotten. I noticed the tannoy was calling out my name and origin. They called out I was from Wellington and I wanted to point out that I'm *from* Brighton not Wellington. When I crossed the line, I forgot that they film each marathon runner at the end, available for download along with photos. I should have remembered and acknowledged the crowd cheering me on and waved at the camera. Instead, I crossed the line, checked my watch as 4:22:33, ran through to the end and lay down After a couple of minutes, I got up, removed my shoes and walked through the lane where they gave me a finisher's medal - very nice quality. I found my wife and promptly told her that I wouldn't be doing that again! So there you have it. My first marathon. I'm now thinking about all the things, especially in my preparation, that I could have done better. I was too timid with my first half pace, too concerned with the wall. I justify that by knowing that failure to complete my first attempt would have been a major morale blow and better a conservative time than risking it. I'm already thinking about doing another one  and this time under 4 hours

This was my first marathon ever and I completed the half-marathon within 3 hours - 2 hours 58:28 to be exact. Had an awesome time with my sister-in-law. Hooked now and so can't wait till we`ve gotten over our aches and pains so we can compete in another. Thanks Adidas, this marathon was organized so brilliantly.

The furthest distance travelled ever for a marathon run, being bounced off continents, must be mad. Ferry across the harbour to start was just amazing, then to come running back over the harbour bridge added to its scenery. That nasty hill at around thirty odd kilometres must be someone's idea of a bad joke. Overall, pretty good, although I did witness one fellow jump into the sea as we ran along the coast road, crazy or what! Reception after at City Hall exceptional, they gave me a huge bag of gifts, thank-you Mayor Christine Fletcher.

Actually I ran the half marathon. The course was shared with the marathon course too. Good things: - Nice but rather difficult course - Nice weather - Unique ferry travel to the start - Nice volunteers Bad things: - Water station placed on every 5km. It should be placed at least on every 2 miles (3.2km) - Very early start and yet short traffic cut off times - No kilometers marks from km 13th till km 16th (bridge crossing) - Poor variety of food (I could see bananas only) in the finish area I'd like to do it again, but I'd like to see some of the above mentioned things improved.

Race could have been good had it not been for the fact that 1,000+ of the runners (including me) missed the start due to the fact that there weren't enough ferries from Auckland City to Devenport. I started 20 minutes late and I wasn't even on the last ferry. The response to my complaint on this matter was very unsatisfactory and I wouldn't recommend this race to anyone.

I was looking forward to the race despite the 6:30am start (which means eating breakfast around 4am!) The ferry to the start was unique. There were not enough toilets - but then again there never are at these races. The queue moved so slowly that I missed the start of the race. Never mind, I enjoyed the first half of the course through Devonport and over the Harbour Bridge. The people at the drinks stations could have spread out a bit more. Why do they have to stand shoulder to shoulder? After all, allowing for spillages, 1/3 of a small plastic cup of water is nowhere near enough when you're running 42K. The worst thing by far was the last mile where the marathon route joins up with the walkers... thousands of them... many walking in groups spread right across the road. At first I thought it was a political rally or march. I spent the next 5 minutes dodging in and out, trying to avoid an accident. You could run outside the cones but cars were coming in the opposite direction at speed - not wise! There should have been a seperate lane for runners - at least on the final circuit around Victoria Park. At the end of a race, you should be sprinting to the finish line, not zig-zagging or shouting to warn people or being elbowed in the ribs! Good shirt at the end though, but an accident waiting to happen at that 'nightmare finish'.

The weather for the 2002 race was perfect and made the coastal route even more attractive. The organization was good but not closing the whole route to traffic was an issue for some runners. Spectators were a bit thin on the ground at the turn-a-round point past Mission Bay - just when you really need them! However, the atmosphere at Victoria Park and the finish line made it all worth while in the end.

The course is excellent, the volunteers great,the weather fabulous. So why did the organisers screw up by: A.) opening the course up for traffic 45 minutes earlier than advertised, B.) requiring runners to wait for the green light to cross the road into Victoria Park for the finish [see A] C.) placing the baggage pick up on the far side of the park most distant from the finish line? The fact that I nearly got hit by a car on Beaumont St at 21k is also a problem! This could have been a great race.