Round the Bays Half Marathon – Wellington, New Zealand 15/2/09.
Since New Zealand is probably the furthest South that the Portobello Running Club vest has been worn in a race, I thought I would send some photos and commentary of the Round the Bays Half Marathon...
When I was planning my trip to New Zealand, I thought to myself I couldn’t possibly go “down under” without taking part in some sort of running event. So I did some investigating and discovered that there was a half marathon in Wellington on Sunday, 15th February – great. So my whole trip “down under” revolved around being in Wellington on the 15th.
I registered for the event on-line and picked my number up when I arrived in Wellington. Great that technology allows you to apply for a running event held at the other end of the world, simply by logging onto a website! The Round the Bays is a huge annual sporting event in Wellington, with a 7k fun run and walk on the same day, starting after the half marathon runners zoom off. The walk is very popular with Mums and children.
Race day arrived and I headed to the start at the Quay in Wellington City. It was cool as I waited around with fellow runners, but it was early and I knew once the sun came out, it was going to be hot. To keep myself warm as I waited for the race to start, I did as I normally do, I put my bin liner on. I don’t think the New Zealanders have heard of bin liners to keep you warm as I got some weird looks - I seemed to be the only runner dressed in a black bin liner!
Anyway, the race started and I warmed up very quickly, so the bin liner got ditched! As I had expected, the sun came out not long after the race started and it got very hot indeed. A bit too hot for my liking. The route of the half marathon takes you along Shelly Bay and into Evans Bay. It was lovely running along by the water with the sun beating down on the beautiful blue sea.
The 7k fun runners and walkers who started later, followed the same route as the half marathon runners, but cut off earlier. The half marathon runners did a longer loop, but we all met up at the last 1k for the final walk/run into Kilbirnie Park. It was really weird seeing all these walkers, lots of women walking with their babies in their prams. As I was a bit knackered by the last 1k - the heat had got to me by then, I just mingled with the "pram pushers". The finish in the park had a great carnival atmosphere with a range of bands playing and people just lazing around enjoying the sunshine. The emphasis was certainly more on a family fun day rather than a serious race.
There were some super Spot Prizes too. The first being a return flight for two to Sydney, Australia, donated by Air New Zealand. I’m not sure if Air NZ would have funded the return flight from Edinburgh if I had won! The guy who did win the prize was ecstatic, and rightly so. Other prizes included a few 500 NSD (approx £200) worth of New Balance Vouchers, plus a couple of annual memberships for the local gym. Not bad for an entry fee of 35 NSD (about £13). Only one disappointment – they didn’t give out medals at the finish, so I had to make do with a banana and bottle of water. Still, an absolutely fantastic event and I was thrilled to be part of it all, and great to get the chance to wear my Portie Running Club vest in a race “down under”.
MARGARET SANDEMAN
Finishing Time 1:52
