{"id":405570,"date":"2026-04-30T20:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T20:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/405570\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T20:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T20:40:08","slug":"peoples-marathon-thousands-of-participants-lace-up-for-rotorua-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/405570\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018People\u2019s marathon\u2019: Thousands of participants lace up for Rotorua Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Women'sWomen’s double scull gold medallists Brooke Francis (right) and Lucy Spoors at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo \/ Iain McGregor <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to do one, and we are currently living in Rotorua, so it seemed perfect timing to aim for this iconic marathon.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she had been rowing on Lake Rotorua but couldn\u2019t imagine running around it.<\/p>\n

Francis returned to elite rowing after the birth of her now 3-year-old daughter, Keira, and now balances training with two children under 4. Her son, Flynn, is 10 months old.<\/p>\n

She said she enjoys running, because \u201cit\u2019s so easy to chuck shoes on and head out the door\u201d.<\/p>\n

Her training included shorter runs with Flynn in the pram and one long run a week on her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cRunning has been a good way to help build back my aerobic fitness for rowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, she said marathon training had been different from rowing training.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very novice when it comes to running, and just tend to put my shoes on and go without overthinking anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the marathon had been a good challenge and goal to work towards.<\/p>\n

On race day, her aim was to enjoy it, fuel well, and finish in under four hours.<\/p>\n

\" The 2025 Red Stag Rotorua Marathon. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Event director James Cameron said watching Francis run 42.2km around the lake she trains on every day would be special. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t wait to see her come through that finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cameron called the race the \u201cpeople\u2019s marathon\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the longest-running major annual marathon in New Zealand and in the Southern Hemisphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said about 80% of participants were from outside Rotorua, and 2400 tamariki (children) were from primary schools in Rotorua and the district.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a special way to start the marathon weekend with the next generation getting their opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cameron said the marathon was one of Rotorua\u2019s most loved events<\/a> and was always held in the first weekend of May every year.<\/p>\n

He said the event had captured the hearts and minds of the community over generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cRunning is booming at the moment, so we\u2019re seeing a lot of interest in running events.\u201d<\/p>\n

NZME\u2019s Flava breakfast hosts K\u2019Lee McNabb, Azura Lane, and Charlie Pomee were taking part in the Rotorua Marathon with other team members.<\/p>\n

McNabb and Lane were running the Te Puia 10km, while Pomee was running the half-marathon.<\/p>\n

Lane said the team had been \u201clocked in\u201d to their fitness since Christmas.<\/p>\n

\"FlavaFlava breakfast hosts K\u2019Lee McNabb, Azura Lane, and Charlie Pomee. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cRed Stag Rotorua Marathon partnered with us, giving us the opportunity to run in the marathon and promote a healthy lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said Pomee had been the most competitive \u2013 \u201cno one else is running his distance, but he still finds a way to talk pace, food, and training every day\u201d.<\/p>\n

Her goal for the race was \u201cdon\u2019t stop running\u201d. <\/p>\n

Lane said she was excited about the Rotorua atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful to see so many people with a common goal or showing aroha to the people they care about.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the race, the Flava team would be at the Good Eastern Taphouse from 5.30pm playing musical bingo. Listeners could register on the Flava website and come along.<\/p>\n

Lane said they would also watch the Warriors play the Eels at 7.30pm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t wait to be with other passionate league fans that night \u2013 we know RotoVegas loves their footy.”<\/p>\n

Injury warning<\/p>\n

Before the marathon, ACC injury prevention leader James Whitaker advised runners to pace themselves.<\/p>\n

He said the Rotorua Marathon was one of the special days on the national running calendar. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rotorua Marathon is known for being a world-class event.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccess on race day starts well before the gun goes off,\u201d Whitaker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing your limits is just as important as crossing the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Participants at the 2025 Red Stag Rotorua Marathon. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Whitaker said the \u201crule of thumb\u201d was that the Rotorua Marathon was about seven minutes harder than any other marathon in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to have a plan for race day and to make sure you get your nutrition and hydration right.\u201d<\/p>\n

His biggest tip was not to try anything new on race day.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure you replicate what you have done in training.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said appropriate footwear, good nutrition, and training on similar surfaces could help reduce injury risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf something doesn\u2019t feel right, get it checked early.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you are injured, talk to a professional about the right time to return to training rather than pushing through pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bijou Johnson<\/a> is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Women’s double scull gold medallists Brooke Francis (right) and Lucy Spoors at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo \/…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2082,86408,33031,111,139,69,1118,24366,21041,1327,213,2742,810],"class_list":["post-405570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-for","tag-lace","tag-marathon","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-participants","tag-peoples","tag-rotorua","tag-sports","tag-thousands","tag-up"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}