River Summer Series starts tomorrow

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GISBORNE Harrier Club starts its popular River Summer Series tomorrow.

It will feature weekly 2.5- and five-kilometre races on a traffic-free course alongside the city rivers.

The series challenges runners to race regularly and see how much they can improve their 2.5- or five-kilometre running times in two months.

The nine-event series will be run until the end of March. Each race will start at 6pm at the Marina carpark.

Club co-president Hans van Kregten says the series — originally run over four weeks — has been very popular.

“Two years ago, the club extended the duration of the series to include all of March because of consistently high numbers of participants,” he said.

“We are expecting great numbers again this year.”

For many the aim will be to get faster and fitter over the duration of the series through a combination of training, race hardening and friendly competition.

The runs will start from the Marina carpark and take in the Derby Street footbridge, Gladstone Road Bridge and the William Pettie Bridge. The race is essentially traffic-free and takes in one or two laps around the scenic river walkways around the central business district rivers. The bonus this year is a few hundred metres of additional seal between Grey Street and Bright Street, leaving only a very brief grass section between Derby Street and Grey Street.

“The new seal may slice a few seconds off racing times, but runners won’t expect a big impact,” Van Kregten said.

Experience shows that heat can be a problem, particularly in February, but the racing frequency will soon condition participants to deal with the realities of Gisborne’s summer climate. Running in March can be cooler, which will help people run faster times.

All are welcome.

“These races will be low-key affairs,” Van Kregten said.

“A simple $2 fee will be charged. Formalities and the course will be simple. Races will start at 6pm.

“The course is safe for kids, and most of them will find one lap of 2.5km enough of a challenge.

“There will be no big prizes or extended ceremonies at the end, so people can be home for dinner by 7pm.”

He said spot prizes would be given out but the biggest prizes would be the satisfaction experienced by those runners who made a marked improvement in their times over the two months.