North Shore Times (New Zealand)
On the start line for a 40th time
For 40 years, Steve Barbant has never missed the starting gun for the Round the Bays.
After first competing in the iconic Auckland fun run as a 14-year-old, Barbant has entered every year since.
As a football referee, Barbant has used training for the run as a way to improve his fitness for when the football season kicked in.
Participating in the run also lead to Barbant completing four Rotorua Marathons in his 20s.
‘‘You realise if you train well for Round the Bays it is not a huge step up to run a half marathon or go further.’’
However, he knows not everyone is as avid a runner as he is.
‘‘Some people do Round the Bays, and it is the first time they have ever run more than 5km, and you either like it or you don’t - some people never run again.’’
Barbant had to convince his sons Josh, Aaran and Ryan to take part over the years.
‘‘I definitely made them do it. After running by myself for quite a few years, it was really neat when they started …you remember those years when you get family involved.’’
The event has had many guises over the 45 years it has been running, including a time when the course was 11.3km and started at
‘‘You realise if you train well for Round the Bays it is not a huge step up to run a half marathon or go further.’’
Steve Barbant
Victoria Park.
‘‘It was a longer distance and they’ve gradually moved it down to 8.4km but that’s quite good for me because as I was getting older they were making it shorter.’’
Participation numbers have fluctuated over the years, from the huge crowds of the 1980s, when corporate teams were popular, to the more recent entrants with very different motivations.
‘‘What I’ve noticed in the last couple of years is people take their phones and are taking selfies all the way around. It’s probably more important to them than doing the run.’’
This year Barbant has a special reason to run, he is supporting the Cancer Society.
Barbant says the event needs to keep reinventing to keep relevant.
‘‘Auckland is starting to realise they’ve got a brilliant waterfront and they can probably reinvent Round the Bays when they start developing the wharves. That is something I would like to see.’’