Organisers are pleased with the interest shown in the Dunedin Marathon that will return on September 12.
With standard entries set to close at midnight on Monday, numbers to date are on par with those received at the corresponding time in 2018.
Entries lodged after midnight on Monday incur a late fee.
There are about 1200 entries so far, and entry steward Maria Sleeman said following the trend from previous years, a field of 2000 could be expected as the event drew closer and interest increased.
Last year’s marathon was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Most of the early interest has been from those eager to return to the course billed as one of the most picturesque in the world.
However, several changes have been made to make the experience more enjoyable and to eliminate a problem with congestion in the final stages of the marathon and half-marathon sections.
The marathon will now start from the Portobello Recreation Reserve at 8am, and head northeast up the peninsula to Harwood, turning left towards Wellers Rock then back on to the peninsula road back towards the city and the new finishing area at Emerson’s Brewery.
The half-marathon has changed to a two-lap event starting at 9am from the Sargood Centre at the top of Logan Park Dr and encompassing the Logan Park and waterfront areas.
The half-marathon walk starts at 9.05am.
The 10km and 5km events also start from the Sargood Centre and encompass smaller versions of the half-marathon course.
The 10km walk starts at 9.15am and the run at 9.30am, and the 5km event starts at 9.45am for both runners and walkers.
An early favourite for the marathon is 2019 runner-up Matt Moloney, of Wellington Scottish.
The women’s field in the marathon remains wide open and, like the half-marathon, 10km and 5km events, picking a possible winner becomes easier closer to the time as the entry list increases.
Sleeman said much work had gone into modifying the course for a favourable finish area and possibly faster times, but conceded there was still the dark cloud of a Covid lockdown looming behind every event during the pandemic.
“Hopefully, what happened to the Wellington event earlier this year won’t happen with us.”
The Wellington Marathon had to be postponed in June — for a third time — when the city briefly went to Alert Level 2.
- By Wayne Parsons
