Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Boxing Day means the Mount Maunganui King and Queen of the Mount Race

Kristin Macfarlane
By Kristin Macfarlane
Bay of Plenty Times·
23 Dec, 2018 04:59 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Athletes will line-up on Boxing Day at the starting line of the annual Mount Maunganui King and Queen of the Mount Race. Photo / File

Athletes will line-up on Boxing Day at the starting line of the annual Mount Maunganui King and Queen of the Mount Race. Photo / File

While many people spend Boxing Day recovering from an over-indulgent Christmas Day or snapping up bargains in the shops, some will be looking to win the titles of King and Queen of the Mount.

The annual Mount Maunganui King and Queen of the Mount Race, which first started in 1945, is on Wednesday and there are two events to enter. The main event, in which runners head off from the beach opposite Mt Drury to the top of Mauao and back, starts at 11am. Before that, at 10.30am, the juniors will head off on their course, which takes them partway up the mountain.

Organiser Malcolm Taylor says, depending on the weather, they are expecting up to 150 runners to take part in the main competition and about 40 juniors. According to Metservice, Wednesday will have a few showers and southwesterly breezes, with a high of 27C.

Among those expected to compete is two-time New Zealand mountain running champion Sabrina Grogan, a favourite for the Queen of the Mount title. Last year the title was won in wet conditions by Mount Maunganui's Courtney Pratt.

Taylor did not believe Pratt would be competing this year and believed Grogan - a Tauranga woman who is Christchurch-based while studying medicine at University of Otago - would be hard to beat.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"She's very good at going uphill," Taylor says.

He said Grogan's downhill may need some work but "I would say she'll be hard to beat".

Last year, Te Puke's Bobby Dean took the King title for the first time having raced in five of the Boxing Day races. He had also spent three of those races behind Whakatāne's Daniel Jones, who was after his fourth consecutive title in 2017.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Taylor says that was a big win for Dean, especially considering how well-known the Jones family is in the running circuit.

The Mount Maunganui King and Queen of the Mount Race always attracts elite racers. Taylor describes it as more of a sprint race for athletes, and he's expecting the same level of talent to be on display on Wednesday as well.

Although there is no doubt those involved in the race are capable, having the event on Boxing Day can be hard, Taylor says.

It used to be held on the first Saturday after Christmas, but that often meant it clashed with other events such as the Tauranga Twilight Track and Field Meet, which "made it tough for those doing both".

Discover more

Motorsport

Peter Hickman - international star of 2018's Suzuki Series

14 Dec 03:58 PM

Endurance put to the test at Mount Monster race

13 Dec 04:05 PM

National Sevens kick-off on a scorcher Saturday

15 Dec 03:49 AM

'At last': Money secured to look into Tauranga stadium

19 Dec 08:00 PM

Ideally, he'd like future events to be held on December 27 to allow people an extra day to travel and recover from Christmas Day.

Taylor says entries will remain open up until the start of the race for anyone wanting to sign up on the day.

The King and Queen of the Mount Race:
11am start from the beach opposite Mt Drury.
Entries accepted on the day.
Cost: $35.
The Junior Mountain Race:
For runners 15 and under as at December 26, starting at 10:30am.
Starting line on the beach opposite Mt Drury.
Cost: $15.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Bay of Plenty Times

New home for Tauranga netball: $14m Baypark plan progresses

Bay of Plenty Times

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought

Bay of Plenty Times

Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

New home for Tauranga netball: $14m Baypark plan progresses
Bay of Plenty Times

New home for Tauranga netball: $14m Baypark plan progresses

The new facility will include a new building plus 14 asphalt and nine cushioned courts.

14 Jul 07:00 PM
Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought
Bay of Plenty Times

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought

14 Jul 05:17 AM
Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes
Bay of Plenty Times

Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes

14 Jul 04:28 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP