New Zealands Top 10 Best Running Events Announced

Popular women’s online sportswear company, The Runningskirt Shop, last night announced  the ‘2015 Top 10 New Zealand Must Do Running Events ‘.  The ASB Kerikeri Half Marathon took top spot, followed by the Buller Gorge Marathon on the West Coast.

Each year The Runningskirt Shop has an annual poll to discover New Zealand’s favourite running events and this year 38 running events were nominated by their Facebook followers and over 1200 votes were counted.

“We have a great variety of events that feature in the Top 10, from shorter  themed fun runs to epic 100km mountain runs, there’s something for everyone in the mix,” said The Runningskirt Shop founder Valerie Henderson.

“The results show a similar trend to last year that kiwi’s love running scenic routes, enjoy a social element and are often grass roots events.” she said.

2015 Top 10 Must Do Running Events

1)      ASB Keri keri Half Marathon

2)      The Buller Gorge Marathon

3)      Run for Your Freak’n Life

4)      The Julians Berry Farm and Café Toi’s Challenge

5)      The Waihi Nugget

6)      Paihia Half Marathon

7)      St Clair Vineyard Half Marathon

8)      Marina2Marina

9)      The Hillary

10)   The Great Naseby Water Race

Running is seen by many as a solo sport, but there’s a large social element that motivates many. Often a runner will make an annual pilgrimage to their favourite event to not only compete but to socialise with their peers.  If they can’t run, they will show up as a supporter or offer their services as a volunteer.  The running community’s engagement with these events brings considerable revenue into a local community, making events a very strong part of regional development.

“There are usually only a handful of elite runners in any event and the rest of the field is either competing for a PB (personal best) or aiming to simply finish.  Perhaps this is why our results include races that encourage a strong sense of community within their events”, said Ms Henderson.

The Runningskirt Shop encourages its fans to participate in the poll to recognize race organizers for their contribution to New Zealand running and to increase the awareness of the variety of events throughout the country.  “Running events have been growing strongly in the past decade, “ said Ms Henderson, “ and new events continue to pop up, allowing runners a rich choice to participate in.”

If your running shoes are gathering dust perhaps it’s time to dust them off, check out one of Top 10 Must Do Running Events and hit the pavement or local trails.

Race descriptions can be found at: http://www.therunningskirtshop.co.nz/2015-nzs-top-10-must-do-running-events