Alterations go down well as marathon entries flow in
THE concept of opening entries earlier and delaying the cutoff time for late entries to the Dunedin Marathon is proving fruitful for organisers as they prepare for this year’s event.
Any fears over lack of support because of changing the course from finishing on Watson Park at Port Chalmers to Forsyth Barr Stadium have been allayed with a high number of entries to date.
For the first time, organisers decided to open entries much earlier. In previous years, entries opened at Queen’s Birthday weekend, but this year online entries have been available since January.
Numbers are already more than double those of of last year, with the number passing 900 last weekend.
At the corresponding time last year, a month out from the event, the number had just nudged over 400.
Standard entries will remain open until the end of the month.
The marathon will be held on September 9.
The event grew in popularity over the first decade of this century, peaking at 2369 entries in 2009, but over the past seven years numbers have dropped to about 1500.
The unpredictable nature of the weather and the relative lack of shelter at Watson Park, combined with new sponsorship arrangements, led to the decision to explore courses finishing inside the stadium.
With the changes, course records are also up for grabs, and records set on the preceding marathon, half marathon and 10km courses locked away for all time.
‘‘Although it was not possible to fully utilise some areas around the north end and university area, we hope the changes we have made will help make this a truly iconic Dunedin event,’’ race director Charlotte Meiklejohn said.
With the finish area now under shelter there are more facilities for competitors and supporters. Runners will do a lap of the stadium pitch before finishing.
The annual children’s marathon challenge has been sim plified to a children’s minimarathon challenge. Children aged 58 run a kilometre from Logan Park into the stadium, while those aged 912 run 2km over a course from Logan Park into the stadium.
The full marathon is restricted to those 18 and over, and for the half marathon the age restriction is 16. The 10km section is restricted to those aged 12 and over.
The event will be promoted at the Wall Street Mall next Thursday, between 10am2pm.