With a month to go before the 2021 Emerson’s Dunedin Marathon is held on Sunday, September 12, planning for the full and half-marathon, 10km and 5km events is well under way.
Emerson’s has come on board as event sponsor for the first time this year, and will host the finish line for all races, along with an associated family carnival.
Caversham Harriers president and race committee chairwoman Maria Sleeman is thrilled to have Emerson’s both as naming rights sponsor and an active participant in the 2021 marathon event.
"It’s a great partnership for us — our expertise is in running the race and Emerson’s have the expertise on hospitality," Ms Sleeman said.
"Having the finish line and a carnival at Emerson’s will give it a real boost as a community event.
"We are very excited about it."
Emerson’s sales and marketing manager Greg Menzies said the company was pleased to step up and support the Dunedin Marathon, which was an iconic community event.
"It’s a good way for us to give back to the community, and to support an event that is synonymous with Dunedin," Mr Menzies said.
A fixture of the Dunedin calendar for more than 30 years, the Dunedin Marathon event could not be held last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Sleeman said.
The involvement of Emerson’s, and its offer of hospitality, combined with the ongoing work on the West Harbour cycleway-walkway and SH88, had led to significant changes to the routes for all of the races.
The full marathon will start at Portobello Domain and proceed towards Harington Point before runners turn for a straight run up the harbour to the finish line at Emerson’s.
"The full marathon runners will spend more time on the Otago Peninsula this year, which we hope will be positive for them and the local communities," Ms Sleeman said.
The half-marathon run-walk will start at the Sargood Centre in Logan Park, with runners completing two loops around the Logan Park-harbour area to finish at Emerson’s. Runners will collect a wrist band at the halfway point.
Both the 10km run-walk and 5km run-walk will also start at Logan Park and finish at Emerson’s.
"The event routes are all near to the university area, and we are hoping that will encourage more students to join us on the day, as runners and spectators," she said.
Mr Menzies said the finish line and associated carnival would be located in the large car park area at Emerson’s, and would run from about 9am until after the prizegiving at 2pm.
The event would be tailored for families and would include food and refreshment trucks, musical entertainment, and children’s activities.
"We are aiming for a fun and festive atmosphere, which will encourage people to stay on after they finish the race," he said.
Ms Sleeman said entries for the Emerson’s Dunedin Marathon were on track to achieve about 2000 participants, with standard entry pricing available until midnight on August 23. After that, a late entry fee applies.
The Star is also a sponsor of the Emerson’s Dunedin Marathon and will highlight aspects of the event in the coming weeks, as well as publishing the event race guide on September 2.
